Strictly speaking Herne Bay is a satellite of the centuries old village of Herne, found on the main route to Canterbury. The town, just north of the village, started life as a haunt for smugglers, but gained popularity when it later became a fashionable bathing resort as an alternative to Margate. However the present town was developed just 150 years ago.

The town developed from a pub, "The Ship" which still exists today, a small row of houses and a post office. The town really made a name for itself in the 1830's when some visitors from London noticed an empty beach and a paddle steamer full of tourists travelling from London to Margate. These visitors put up hotels and houses, built the Town's first pier and arranged for the steamers to stop off on their way to Margate.

After just 30 years the steamer traffic ceased, but the introduction of the railways opened up a new way to reach the town and the town thrived once more.

In the 1870's a new, short iron pier was built, but the 1900's brought Steamer traffic back and the pier was extended to accommodate this (the landing stage of which can still be seen). Even so, in 1890 the towns resident population stood at less than 7000. By 1940 the local population had exploded to 16,500 with summer visitor numbers around 50,000.

The 1980's took their toll on the area with the main shopping centre resembling a ghost town with many shops standing empty and the sea front having seen better days. In the early 90's however, things began to look up for the town with a multi-million pound investment to improve the sea front with a sea defence arm and the development of new garden areas. This period also saw the return of a cinema to the town, the building of a swimming pool and the beach gaining the Tidy Britain Seaside Award and a blue flag in 2000 and again this year (2003). In 2003 Herne Bay joins just 6 other beaches in Kent in holding the Blue Flag standard.

A noticeable landmark is Herne Windmill which stands overlooking the town and can be seen from the A299 when approaching the town from London. The mill stands on the site of one from 1511 and the present mill is from 1781 and completed extensive restoration work to replace the cap and sweeps (sails) in the early 2000's.

Looking to the future the town looks set for more improvements. Safeway (now Morrisons) had shown a commitment to serving the town with a proposal to build a new superstore in a central location, sadly, this never got past the planning and consultation stage. The Central Bandstand is now complete and is home to a "Thorley Tavern", JD Wetherspoons have now come to the Sea Front taking over the old Chaplins building and numerous housing developments in all areas of the town are springing up swelling the population. There are also plans to rebuild the Pier and pull down the pavaillion.

The new A299 is now complete allowing faster, more direct access to the town and making travelling to areas such as Herne, Greenhill and Broomfield much easier, safer and quicker by relieving through traffic.

Further information, historical records, photos and articles can be seen at:

Herne Bay Museum
12 William Street
Herne Bay
CT6 5EJ

Tel : +44 (0) 1227 361911
Email : hernebayinformation@canterbury.gov.uk