FolkestoneAerialViews

Folkestone has changed a lot over the years. I don't have a date for the photo on the left which was taken by something called an Airco Machine, but it shows the Victoria Pier, and in the background a busy harbour with a ferry berthed on the other side of the pier.

The main bathing area was the beach in the foreground, because the East Cliff Sands hadn't been cleared of rocks or developed.

The photo on the right, sent to me by a Folkestone gentleman, tells a very different story. The pier in the background is deserted because the ferries are no longer running. The Victoria pier has burned down, and the west beaches, although still used, are not as popular as the East Cliff Sands for swimming, as they are shingle, which forms high ridges under the water, caused by the tides, making it unsafe for children and non-swimmers, as they can suddenly find themselves out of their depth.

In the old days, there was a stretch of sand near the Victoria Pier at low tide. I am not sure if they made a point of clearing this regularly to give the children a place to play, or whether it was naturally sandy there. As far as I know, it is not the case these days, and these beaches are all shingle.

Isn't this a fabulous view? Taken in 1956, you can see the swimming pool, Marine Crescent and the Bathing Establishment. Up on the Leas, you can make out the War Memorial, then you can look right across Folkestone to the Gas Works on the upper right.

This wonderful modern aerial view of Clifton Crescent was sent to me by Brian Glover. Looking at these buildings all at once, you can see that they were probably designed by the same person, because they all look very similar don't they? In the centre is the Holy Trinity Church. Thanks Brian.

This fabulous shot was taken in 1990. Just look at the detail! You can of course see the harbour and Stade, then up on the Durlocks you can see what used to be the St. Andrews Nursing Home, but is now a block of flats, then to the left of that is St. Peter's Church.

Can anybody pick out their house? (Alan said he can! Did you know that he swims in the sea 365 days per year? Is that brave or insane?) :-)

This great photo, and the one further up taken in 1956 were sent to me by Karen Iverson. Thank you so much Karen!

This 1931 photo was taken from the Central Hotel. I have a feeling that the church you can see there is no longer there.

This one was courtesy of Alan Newble. It was taken by his father, Ernest F. Newble who took quite a few of Folkestone, especially if they involved steam engines, which was his first love. If you would like to see more of Alan's dad's photos, click here: http://www.newble.co.uk/rpics/dadspics.html

This is an old and interesting photo. It shows the first three of the Martello Towers that were built right down the coast.

When I first obtained this photo, I wasn't sure if all three were still standing, but
I checked out this wonderful Martello Tower website:
http://www.martello-towers.co.uk/south-coast/towers/1.htm and found out that all three are indeed still standing. No. 1 is located on East Wear Bay, and has been converted into a residence, but I believe is standing empty at the moment. No. 2 is also a residence, on East Wear Bay, and is difficult to be seen due to shrubbery and trees around it. The one I am familiar with is No. 3, now used as an interpretive centre, and is owned by the Shepway District Council. There were 74 towers built originally, and around 9 of them were in Folkestone, many still standing, although derelict at Shorncliffe Camp.
Do check out that Martello website, it is fascinating!

OK, so this wasn't taken from the air, but it was taken from the Leas. It is a 1908 picture of Marine Crescent. No Rotunda in this photo - but the space was being occupied by something, what exactly I don't know.

Are those steps still there that you can see leading down from the Leas? I don't ever remember seeing them.

This is another very old one. It looks towards the East Cliff, and you can see the buildings up on the Durlocks. I can also make out signs for the Alexandra Hotel and Freeman, Hardy & Willis. Now I do remember the latter, they were a shoe shop!

Every once in a while, I come across a photograph that just cries out to be enlarged to see the detail. This is one of them! Click on it, and be patient, because it is 'very' large! But it is worth the wait, because you will see the Leas Shelter, people in turn of the century clothing, the pier, three - count them - three Fagg's bathing machines. The switchback railway, and in the bottom right corner, there is even a donkey on the beach!

Use your back button to come back here afterwards.

There are those steps again! I just cannot for the life of me remember them being there. Can anybody tell me exactly when they were in existence? Hmm, Alan says they are still there, opposite the war memorial at the top of the Rd of Remembrance. I will have to take a look next time I go.

This photo shows the swimming pool below, and beyond that you can see the Rotunda, but there doesn't look to be much more than the Rotunda building itself, I can't see any rides.

Aha! This photo of the same place explains a question I had running through my mind. I was wondering why anyone would pay to swim in seawater, when there was a whole English Channel out there to choose from. But the advertisement on the roof of the baths explains it. The magic word is 'Tepid' Sea Water Swimming Baths. They warmed it up for the bathers! :-)

This general view from the cliffs was taken in 1927, and it looks like a hive of activity down there doesn't it?

Anybody know what those buildings were in the bottom right hand corner? Also, what those long structures were opposite Marine Crescent?

The left building is the Lifeboat House & the other one is the Rowing Club . Those long structures are rows of hedges each side of Marine Gardens...Alan

Here is a wonderful aerial shot sent to me by the Folkestone gentleman again. It shows the Rotunda, Marine Crescent, The Hotel Burstin, the Harbour and the East Cliff Sands.

Of course, the Rotunda is undergoing demolition, so this view will look drastically different in a few years, when they have put in all that they are planning for that site.

I was so thrilled to have received this aerial photograph by e-mail from a man who is living in what used to be the old Toll House (See more pictures of this house on its own page).
If I am not mistaken, I have the arrow pointing to his house in this picture.
This is a lovely aerial view of the Leas as it is today, clearly showing The Crescent, the hotels, and the beach on the right.
Thank you so much for this picture, Gerry, it is a wonderful addition to the page.

This photo is especially for Bob Robson, who complained (tongue in cheek) about there not being any photos of Dallas Brett Crescent or Hill Road, then what do I get in my e-mail from the same gentleman who sent the one above, but this 1953 photo showing said Crescent and Road.
It shows Dallas Brett Crescent/Keyes Place(bottom right) the wide Grass Area is Hill road, part of Ingoldsby road, and the Crete Way Estate, the shops at Fleming way had not yet been built.

Here and directly below are a couple of fabulous aerial shots taken in 2004 and sent to me by Bob Gaylor.

In this one, you can see the harbour and the Burstin Hotel over on the left, and as you can see, the Rotunda has already been partially dismantled.

This one sent to me by Bob shows even more clearly how much is left of the Rotunda. You can then look right across Folkestone, past the viaduct and on to Caesar's Camp and Sugarloaf Hill. Aren't these shots amazing? Thank you so much for sharing them with us Bob.

Another beautiful shot. This time we are looking across the Warren and East Cliff. The Burstin Hotel stands out, and is that Sandgate Castle in the distance?
No, you can't see Sandgate Castle from here. That would be No. 1 The Leas, a complex of flats...Alan

These two great shots were sent to me by Frank and Jane Sharpe of Dundee, Scotland, who took them while on holiday in Folkestone in 2004.

The first was taken from the Leas, and looks down upon the Amphitheatre on the Lower Sandgate Road, and also shows the men working on the new breakwater on the West Beach.

The second gives a great view of the Sunday market in full swing. Note the lack of parking spots!

As you can see, there is also not much left of the Rotunda.

Thanks very much you two! :-)

Brian obtained this photo from Channel Photography. I urge you to check out their website, as they have loads more fabulous aerial photos of Folkestone and many other places in the South East of England, they are available for sale too: http://www.channelphotography.com
Many thanks to Simon, who took this photo, for allowing me to reproduce it here.

This great shot was taken by Malcolm Jeffery from the window of a toilet in a house in Joyes Road in July of 2005. We are looking down Canterbury Road, and you can see the viaduct, and beyond, behind the lampost is the Post Office at Bouverie Square.

Alan Taylor of course had the answer to this one, here is what he said:

Baker's Gap is the area just past the sunny sands promenade.
It gets its name from the smuggling days when a preventative officer by the name of 'Baker' was shot & killed one night during a run. 'Run' the name used when contraband was being smuggled ashore.

Stan Cascino sent me this really interesting photo of Bouverie Square, developed in 1862. The bus station wasn't built here until 1955. What a nice residential area that must have been once upon a time. Can you imagine the uproar when it was first announced they were going to fill it with diesel fumed buses? I do believe the row of houses bottom left are the only ones remaining today, and I do believe that Stan lives in the end one!

This general view from 1938 shows what a hive of activity it used to be. You can see the lifeboat station bottom right, the bathing establishment is the second building up on the left. I am not sure what the white unusual shaped building was on the corner.

I should probably add this one to the Cheriton page as well. Who remembers the prefabs in Biggins Wood? They were hurriedly put up after the war, and were still there when I lived there. Are they there now?

My sincere thanks to Lisa & Tony in Folkestone for this scan!

This photo, and the following 4 are Folkestone Now, however, I suspect they are already out of date, because it has taken me longer than I anticipated to get them onto the page. This is Folkestone's brand new shopping centre that is now getting towards completion. I believe it is due to open in November.
These photos were sent to me by Robbie Paramor, and I apologise for not getting them up sooner Robbie.

Bouverie Place is going up right next to the bus station. and will take up the whole block, in fact, I think it has gone right across what used to be Alexandra Gardens, but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

I believe these photos were taken from the multi-storey car park. In the background, on the other side of the bus station in the photo on the left, you can see the main post office. Would you believe they have plans to close this, and move the post office into W. H. Smith in Sandgate Road? I wonder what will happen to this building after that? The last time I was there, I went to both the post office and W. H. Smith. They were both extremely busy, and I had to queue for quite a while in the post office. Isn't it going to be rather chaotic to move all these people into an already busy shop? In Winnipeg, we have sub post offices in retail shops everywhere, mainly in drug stores, but they haven't touched our main post office yet. Surely Folkestone will still need somewhere for sorting won't they?

It's going to be big isn't it? I know the young people are quite excited about it. I have heard rumours about which shops are going in there, but will wait until I hear for sure. So if anyone is in the 'know', please send me a list to pass along to those who want to know! Thank you so much for the photos Robbie, please send more when it is finished!