Save our seaside: Dreamland, Margate

We've launched a campaign to rescue once-glorious seaside buildings that now sit empty and abandoned. Help us save those at risk by joining forces with Coast and other campaigners to preserve our seaside heritage for future generations to enjoy.

Each case study has been sourced and written by Allan Brodie, an architectural historian who specialises in the study of seaside resorts. He is the author of four books on the seaside and has published papers on subjects as diverse as seaside resorts in the 18th century and holiday camps.

Case one: Dreamland, Margate

Campaign update, Nov 2010: Plans are progressing well to open the world’s first heritage amusement park on the site in 2012. The Dreamland Trust has also acquired Southsea’s Corbiére Wheel.

We start with the makings of a success story: Margate's derelict amusement park has received £3.7 million funding as a result of lobbying.  In 1874, the self-ennobled circus proprietor ‘Lord' George Sanger converted an unused railway station booking hall in Margate into a restaurant and ballroom. On the land behind, he lodged his animals when not travelling (some of their cages have recently been rediscovered).

By the early 20th century, the site was used as pleasure gardens and
reopened in April 1920 as Dreamland Amusement Park. John H Iles, the new owner, was marketing American rollercoasters in Britain and, during the park's first season, he opened the Scenic Railway. This is Britain's earliest surviving rollercoaster and has been listed Grade II. Dreamland's cinema, which opened in 1935, accommodated an audience of 2,200. It was a Modernist addition to the Georgian seafront but it was dwarfed by the most prominent feature in the town, Arlington House. This parade of shops opened in 1963, suggesting that for this part of Margate, the future was bright.

It's come to this...
By the end of the 20th century, Dreamland was in serious decline. Most of the rides had been dismantled and in 2003 it was announced that the site would be the subject of commercial development. Only the listed Scenic Railway remained, but in April 2008 a fire destroyed a quarter of it. To add to Dreamland's woes, the cinema closed due to the opening of an out-of-town multiplex. The sense of decay was increased by the neglected Arlington House and the unoccupied, graffiti-covered shops and car park at its base.

As a result, Dreamland, once enjoyed by two million visitors each year, is now a car park with a badly burnt wooden rollercoaster at its heart, overlooked by two imposing but neglected Modernist structures. But ambitious plans are afoot to return Dreamland to the heart of the Margate holiday experience.

What is being done?
Work is about to begin on the creation of the world's first heritage amusement park, due to open in 2012. Thirteen vintage rides have been collected and there are plans to obtain another 15. Visitors will be able to experience family favourites including a ghost train, a chair lift and the fully restored Scenic Railway. In subsequent years, the cinema will be redeveloped into a public venue, visitor facilities and a celebration of youth and street culture.

How can we help?
Although this ambitious project is being largely funded by local and national government, much of the drive behind it, and the initial funding, came from local people and enthusiasts. The progress of
Dreamland's resurrection can be followed and supported by visiting www.savedreamland.co.uk and www.dreamlandmargate.com.
All donations will contribute to the acquisition and repair of historic rides.

Photo: iknow-uk