MARGATE, a municipal borough and seaside resort in the Isle of Thanet, England, 74 m. E. by S. of London by rail. Pop. (1931) 31,312. Margate, on the north coast of Thanet, was an ancient and senior non-corporate member of Dover. In 1347 it contributed 15 ships of small tonnage at the time of the siege of Calais. A pier existed before 1500, but by the reign of Henry VIII. it was in a decayed condition. The amount of corn shipped was small, the droits being insufficient to keep the pier in repair. Under Elizabeth Margate was still an obscure fishing village employing about 20 small vessels ("boys") in the coasting and river trades, chiefly in the conveyance of grain, on which in 1791 it chiefly subsisted. The droits increased, but were not properly collected until 1724. In 1777 the pier was rebuilt and about this time Mar gate first began to be known as a bathing-place. In 1835 Margate was still a liberty of Dover and no right of citizenship could be acquired. In 1857 it was incorporated. In 1777 a weekly market
was granted on Wednesday and Saturday. It is now held daily, but principally on those two days.
The town is now practically contiguous with Westgate on the west and with Broadstairs on the south-east. An electric tram way connects it with Broadstairs and Ramsgate, and during the season it is served by pleasure steamers from London. The mu nicipality owns over 8 m. of sea-front, with promenades along almost the whole distance. A jetty built in 1854 permits the ap proach of vessels at all tides. A pier constructed in 1815 is now chiefly used by fishermen and colliers. The church of St. John the Baptist, founded in 1050, contains some portions of Norman architecture, the remainder being Decorated and Perpendicular. The manor house of Daundelyon, or Dent de Lion, with its early 15th century gateway remains between Margate and Westgate. During the widening of the Minster road in 1922 an Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered.