Deal’s own version of the internet …….. circa 1821

Now I am always pleasantly surprised at those little bits of history which challenge our 21st century obsession with high speed communication and the internet.

Because, here on the seafront, Deal had it all.

This is the Deal Time Ball, which stands atop a building which helped the Admiralty convey messages to the Fleet in a wave of a semaphore.

I say semaphore, but I am full prepared to be put right by Mr. Eric Trellis of Barnes whose chosen specialty is naval communication during the nineteenth century.

Leaving that aside, the tower carried a semaphore mast maintained by the Royal Navy, and from 1855 supported a time ball which fell at 1 pm triggered by a signal from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

Added to which the building is on the site of an earlier shutter telegraph, which from 1796 to 1814 allowed the Admiralty to send messages quickly from London to the Naval Yard at Deal.

Today the building houses, a series of display related to communication, semaphore and signaling, including interactive displays. *

And for those unlike Mr. Trellis who have an interest in the time ball it, is programmed to “drop every day at 1pm. Additionally, during the open season (1 April – 30 September) the ball drops hourly from 9am to 5pm. The Timeball also drops at midnight on New Years’ Eve.  The drop cycle is as follows: At 5 minutes to the hour the ball goes half way up; at 3 minutes to the hour it goes to the top of the mast and drops on the hour. The drop cycle is automatic. The Timeball is controlled by the MSF Radio Time Signal transmitter located at Anthorn, in Cumbria”.

The picture was taken by our Elizabeth and Colin on one of their regular visits to Deal.

All of which is straightforward, but left me with a little mystery, because the last picture in the collection is this one also on the sea front.

The mystery is not the installation but the Canadian national flag fluttering in the breeze on the right.

But like all these things, someone will put me right

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Deal Time Ball Display, http://www.dealtimeball.co.uk/visit-us

The Regent Cinema Deal ……….. and a lesson in long distance writing

Now, it is a simple but well observed observation that you don’t have to live in Deal to write about its cinema …………. although I concede it helps.

This is the Regent Cinema on Victoria Parade.

Our Liz and Colin came across it recently, took the picture and sent it up to me, 288 miles away, or if you choose to fly, just 219 miles or 353 kilometres.  At which point I have to confess I have no idea why it is shorter by plane, but there you are it is.

As for the cinema, it has had a chequered life.  It opened as the Pavilion Theatre on July 28th, 1928, at the height of the holiday season and was owned by Deal Council.  But bookings for live performances became difficult and it was converted into a cinema, showing its first film on July 13th, 1933.  This was the "King of the Ritz" starring Stanley Lupino.

I doubt that many in the cheap stalls on that first night would have known that during the conversion the stage was turned a full 25 degrees from the south end to the west which gave better sight lines. A cafe was provided in a room to the left of the entrance doors and a new projection box and offices were built in a first-floor extension over the front of the building.

It closed in 1963, exchanging cinema images for bingo callers and remained a bingo club until it went dark in 2009.

Plans to reopen it as a cinema in 204 stalled because of objections by the Highways Committee, but there has been popular support for its reopening, and earlier in the year the council announced it had no plans to oppose its reopening. **

That was in February, and plans may now be reaching a speedy conclusion for the return of the silver screen.
Or not and that is where living 288 miles away can be a problem.  So, while it was easy to obtain the picture, and equally easy to track the Regent’s history and the subsequent story of the attempts to reopen it, all of which were done online, I have no idea of the outcome, but someone will.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Regent Cinema, Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

* Regent Cinema, Victoria Parade, Deal, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/32928

** Deal Town Council raise no objections to Regent cinema plans
KENT TRAVEL NEWS, Eleanor Perkins, eperkins@thekmgroup.co.uk, February 08, 2019
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/council-support-plans-for-long-awaited-cinema-198521/

Down in Deal ………… with a camera …… a sky line and some boats

Now, my guide book tells me that “Deal is a town in Kent, which lies on the border of the North Sea and the English Channel, eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate”. *

I also know that “it is a former fishing, mining and garrison town. 

Close to Deal is Walmer, a possible location for Julius Caesar's first arrival in Britain.

Deal became a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1278 and grew into the busiest port in England; today it is a seaside resort, its quaint streets and houses are a reminder of its history along with many ancient buildings and monuments.

In 1968, Middle Street was the first Conservation Area in Kent. 

The coast of France is approximately twenty-five miles from the town and is visible on clear days. 

The Tudor Deal Castle, commissioned by King Henry VIII, has a rose floor plan”.

And that is enough for me.

Despite growing up just over an hour away, I only visited the place recently and in the short time we were there never did the place justice.

Which just leaves me these three photographs from our Elizabeth and Colin.

I could go on about the sky, the expanse of water, and the boats, but the pictures do it better.

My favourites are the one of the boats, but as a historian I had the include the castle.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Deal Kent, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal,_Kent

The Deal Bandstand and memorial

Now I bet I am not the only one to associate bandstands with the 19th century, and that explosion of civic pride that saw the creation of municipal parks which came with carefully laid out flowerbeds, water features and of course a bandstand.

And when our Liz and Colin sent over some pictures of Deal I fell on their bandstand image.

What surprised me is that it dates only from 1989 and was erected in memory of eleven members of the Band of the Royal Marines School of Music who were killed at 8.25 am on Friday September 2nd 1989 by an IRA bomb.

The names of the eleven servicemen will be found on special plaques mounted on the bandstand itself”.*








Location; Deal

Picture, The Deal Memorial Bandstand, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

* The Deal Memorial Bandstand, Information Board

Just how many accidents can a sea side pier have in its life time?

Now I thought I had finished the Deal series, but no, I was wrong, because yesterday our Colin and Elizabeth sent me this picture.

Most residents and visitors to Deal will I guess give the plaque only a glance. 

After all, if you are local you will know the story of the accident-prone pier, and if you’re not, the story is just  background to what is "a significant local landmark and public amenity offering excellent views of Deal sea front.

It is internationally recognised as an angling venue and features a glass-walled café-bar at the end of the pier".* 

But armed with the plaque, a tourist information board and Dover Council’s account, I can reveal that the pier has had a chequred history.

The construction of the first pier began in 1838, but suffered from cash flow problems, and was opened unfinished, before being destroyed in 1857 by a large storm.

The second was completed in 1864, but seemed to attract ships caught up in storms, with the barque Merle hitting the pier in 1873, the schooner Alliance, in 1884, and a Dutch vessel called the Nora which in 1940,  after repeatedly bashing the pier in a storm, finally went right through it, bringing down 200 feet of ironwork.*

And soon after this last encounter with a rogue ship the pier was blown up by the army.

There is a happy ending, involving a new pier, but that is another story for another time.

In the meantime, you could just follow the link and read the full official story from Dover Council what happened next in 1954.*

Location; Deal

Pictures; at the pier in Deal, 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

*History Diamond Pier, Dover District Council, https://www.dover.gov.uk/Leisure-Culture-Tourism/Leisure-Facilities/Deal-Pier/History.aspx

Of lifeboats and shingle .............

This will I think be the last of the short series on Deal.

I say that but I have every expectation that our Elizabeth and Colin who live just outside the town, will be back with their camera, and soon I shall have more pictures to write about.

But for now, it’s the Walmer Lifeboat which sits in its 1870s building looking out from the shoreline.

The lifeboat station was established in 1830 and apart from a short break between 1912-1927, it had ben saving those in peril o the sea for one hundred and eighty-nine years.

During that time there have been stories of saved seamen and awards for the teams that risk their lives to save others.

And that just leaves me with the shot of the beach.

I am prepared to be corrected but the picture shows that broad expanse of shingle, which unlike sand is not as nice to sit on.

Location; Deal

Pictures, Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April ……… part 5

Somewhere there will be a book which records all those bits of seaside architecture the rest of us take for granted.

Now, I bet there are plenty of images of the iconic buildings from Blackpool Tower to a host of 19th and early twentieth century cast iron piers.

But I wonder how many of those mid twentieth century seaside structures make it into the books.  I doubt many do. 

And if they are photographed hey will be in the form of a holiday snap or one destined for the official tourist guide.

So here is the one in Deal taken by our Liz and Colin earlier in the month.

I don’t have a date, or a name, but someone will, and I hope they make a comment.

In the meantime, I think it is a wonderful example of its type.

Location; Deal

Picture; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Liz and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April ……… part 4

So, any trip to Deal, just has to include a walk beside the sea.

And if you are going to do that you had best add a few pictures, which is just what our Elizabeth and Colin did last week.

The sun shone, there wasn’t a rain cloud in the sky and while it was a tad cool, it was a perfect day to see the sea, along with the bits that are left along the shore line.

In this case it included a few beached boats and of course those huts.

I did wonder how much they might be going for, but wisely decided it would be a price too far.

Location; Deal



Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Stories with a camera in Deal ….. on a day in April

Now, it always pays to wander off the main roads when you have a few hours to spare, and just let the streets and your curiosity do the rest.

Dolphin Street, 2019

And so it was last week when our Liz and Colin wandered into Deal, which is not far from where they live.

They know the place well, but there is always something new to see.

So, taking a turn off from The Marina which is the wide road that runs along the shore line, they plunged down a narrow side street, and came on Middle Street which runs from Oak Street to North Street, and is equally narrow.

It was saved from demolition in 1964 when it was the subject of a grand town plan, which happily was shelved due to popular outcry.

The Ship, Middle Street, 2019

And I can see why there was a public campaign to keep it.  Many of the properties date back to the 17th and 18th centuries and look the part of any period scene.

That said these quaint houses and the narrow streets off Middle Street were once neither so quaint or so picturesque, having once been a dangerous place, where poverty and crime were bedfellows and more than a few murders occurred, including that of a young naval ensign murdered by the landlord of the Ship Inn  for being cheeky to his wife.

So notorious was the murder, that the Ship Inn which dates from 1764 briefly changed its name to the Seagull.

Not that any of that racy past was on offer when Liz and Colin meandered along Middle Street, taking in both the Ship Inn and Dolphin Street which leads back to The Marina.

Location; Deal

Pictures; Deal, 2019, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

The Vending machine .......... nu 2...... lost and forgotten in Deal

Now here is another one of those bits of street furniture we all took for granted.

There was a time when the cigarette machine could be found almost everywhere.

But now I doubt that there are many left.

So much so that recently I was asked whether I could remember the machine that stood opposite the Seymour, and while the answer was yes I couldn’t offer up a date for its disappearance.

And I suppose that is the point about street furniture.

They are so part of our everyday lives and so taken for granted that we no longer see them let own clock when they vanish.

I don’t know when this one in Deal High Street was abandoned or why but given that neither of the properties on either side is now a shop I am guessing it will be a long time ago.

Today of course you can still come across and use vending machines but they are big, brash and usually dispense products which cost an arm and a leg.

Look closely and you can pick out that the charge for a packet of cigarettes was 30p compared to £9 today.

All of which may help date our machine as well as offering up a lesson on the price of things.

So as a way of celebrating their passing the challenge is to find and display a vending machine near you.

There are no prizes save the gratification of knowing you will have shared your vending machine with the world.

Location; Deal Kent







Picture; cigarette vending machine, 2016, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

Boring pictures after the lock down …. no. 7.... pebbles, more pebbles and even more pebbles ..... Deal

So, as we edge to a relaxation of lock down, the new series is launched.

Boring pictures after the lock down, invites everyone who is out and about to offer up their own photograph. *

The only qualifications are that it should be by you and be boring.

And I think Colin and Elizabeth hit the brief ............not only have they managed to get three very boring pictures, but they caught the beech at a moment of supreme self distancing, with not a visitor to be seen.

The added bonus was a bit of Colin's thumb and the club house.

To which I have included this exciting piece of information from the Guide to Deal Beach.

 "The long pebble beach at Deal is punctuated by the pier which dates back to the 1950s. 

Whilst it might not be the most attractive pier it is long and features a cafe and fishing decks at the end.

The beach at Deal is an interesting spot for a stroll. Some way to the south of the pier fishing boats are pulled up on the beach and a little further along is Deal Castle.

Backing on to the charming historic town of Deal there are no shortage of amenities".**


Location; Deal

Pictures; Pebbles at Deal and a clubhouse, 2020, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick

*Boring pictures after the lockdown, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Boring%20pictures%20after%20the%20lockdown

**Deal Beach, https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-east-england/kent/deal.htm

A bit of new street furniture ……… coming to somewhere near you

The onward march of Amazon and how we use this shopping experience continues apace.

Those familiar with Morrisons in Chorlton will know the yellow machine just outside the entrance.

And then there is this one on Barlow Moor Road.

Both have been a permanent features of the landscape for a while.

The challenge and indeed the offer if you so choose, is to post your own ones, and building on that theme, share other different street vending machines, be they the old milk ones, Wrigley’s chewing gum, Five Boy’s Chocolate or Pink Paraffin dispensers.

There is of course no reward, just the pleasure in knowing you have added to the collection of street furniture, past and present.

Added to which there is a serious side to this, which is the ever-onward search for more about how we lived through the bits we used and continue to use.

So, the dispenser for Senior Service cigarettes, reminds us of both a time when this brand was available and popular, as could be bought from machines across the country.

While of course online shopping took a new turn with Amazon.

Pictures; Amazon street furniture, Chorlton, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and cigarette vending machine, 2016, from the collection of Elizabeth and Colin Fitzpatrick