Margate was to become one of the first English seaside resorts, but it had been little more than a fishing village before the pleasures of sea bathing became popular in the early eighteenth century. It had a natural harbour, originally protected by chalk cliffs, but as the chalk cliffs washed away the local inhabitants had to build a small pier to protect the harbour and the town itself. The costs of maintaining the pier proved to be high, and, despite frequent requests to Government, had to be met by the users of the harbour, leading to frequent disagreements between the local ship owners and the local inhabitants. The location of the town at the south-eastern tip of Kent gave it a strategic importance, and the town was threatened with invasion on many occasions during the frequent wars with France, Spain, and Holland. A small fort was built to protect the town and harbour and the many ships sailing round the North Foreland. The town was part of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports and was governed by the Mayor and Jurats of Dover, a source of complaint that was not removed until the nineteenth century. There was little attempt to maintain law and order in the town, and smuggling was rife. However, despite all its problems, the records of the local Overseers' of the Poor suggest that the many poor in the town were treated humanely.

This book describes the rich local history of Margate in the period leading up to its establishment as a major seaside resort, using the wealth of documentary evidence available for the period.