This week. I thought we would visit Margate. A town on the southeast coast of England. To a piece of Margate history for the jetty no longer exists. It has sandy beaches, the Turner Contemporary gallery, and a stone pier. But before this stone pier Margate had a previous jetty. It was constructed in 1824 in wood. Then replaced in 1855 with ironwork and over the years it was extended and added to. The jetty closed in 1976 and demolition of the jetty ended in 1998 although some parts still remain.

It has been, over the years, immortalised by many artists. Possibly the most famous would be JMW Turner but I want to look at another artist. #JamesWebb (1825-1895). Webb specialised in marine views and landscapes. His scenes encompass views from Wales, Holland, France, the Rhine River, and the English coast.

This lithograph was recently acquired for my collection. Lithography is one of the more under-rated skills, I think. Drawn onto stone and then inked and pressed onto paper (usually black ink). The colours are all done by hand after the pressing. We get an idea of how extensive this pier really was. It was 1100 feet (340m) long. An amazing structure. Below is a view from the 1892 Ordinance Survey map of the Iron Pier. It gives you a better perspective as to its’ size.