Margate railway station
railway station in Margate, Thanet, Kent, England, UK
Margate railway station serves the town of Margate in Thanet, Kent, England. It is 73 miles 69 chains (118.9 km) down the line from London Victoria, between Westgate-on-Sea and Broadstairs. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. Trains from the station generally run to Victoria via Chatham or to London St Pancras via Ramsgate, Canterbury West and Ashford International.
History
Trains first reached Ramsgate in April 1846 when the South Eastern Railway (SER) opened a line from Canterbury. It terminated at Ramsgate SER, later to be called Ramsgate Town. Later the same year, the line opened across Thanet to Margate, to Margate SER, (later Margate Sands). Trains from Canterbury for Margate had to reverse at Ramsgate Town; a chord was built bypassing the station in 1864, costing £13,707. St Lawrence for Pegwell Bay railway station was opened in 1864 just before this chord but closed in 1916.
The London Chatham & Dover Railway (LCDR) reached Margate from Herne Bay on 5 October 1863.
The public source identifies “Margate railway station” as railway station in Margate, Thanet, Kent, England, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Margate, railway and station.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Margate railway station”, the useful work is to connect “railway station in Margate, Thanet, Kent, England, UK” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4296894. Authority coordinates are 51.385, 1.372. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1846, 1864, 1916 and 1863.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Margate railway station”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Margate railway station primary sources, Margate railway station archive and Margate research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Margate railway station”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Margate railway station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.