Written by Colin Varrall
In 1869 it was reported that from there having once been seventy-nine buildings situated adjacent to the beach along Beach Street, there were now only forty-two remaining. The demolition of buildings along the seaward side of Beach Street had begun in the 1830s, and this had been a gradual process until the majority of Beach Street became a wide open promenade.
In October 1912, the Deal, Walmer & Sandwich Mercury newspaper printed an article with details and the article heading “To builders, contractors, and others – The Corporation of Deal is desirous receiving two tenders for the purchase of materials and pulling down to the ground level two blocks of houses in Beach Street”.
The first tender would be responsible for demolishing the properties along Beach Street that were numbered 124, 126 and 128, which were all located on the stewards side of Beach Street. These properties were all located north of the Royal Hotel and the central promenade, almost opposite Coppin Street.
The second tender would be responsible for the demolition of the properties numbered 132, 134, 136 and 138, along with shoring and strutting the northern wall of No.130, which were also located along the shoreside of Beach Street.
Details in the article explained that “The northern wall of No.130 Beach Street, if deemed necessary would be shored with inclined shores of long stout timbers to the satisfaction of the Borough Surveyor”. These were all adjacent properties, with the most northern building having been the Crown Inn public house addressed as No.138 Beach Street. This particular property has been mentioned in documents from as early as 1680, and had once been used as a Liberal men’s Reading Room, prior to it being purchased by Deal Council in 1912.
Further northwards along Beach Street many of the old capstan grounds had also been compulsorily purchased, and by 1924 the majority of these capstan grounds and the buildings along the seaward side of Beach Street had all been demolished. Plans were created by the Deal Corporation mapping out all the capstan grounds, listing the plot owners and the prices that were paid for them on their sale. The same was also applied to all the buildings that existed along the seaward side of Beach Street and they were eventually demolished.
The cost of labour and materials would need to be made by each of the contractors themselves. Strict guidelines were given that the brick rubbish would need to be left in heaps on the site and would then remain the property of the town of Deal, for its own use. The contractors who were to take on the responsibility would be given six weeks to complete the all the necessary demolition work and start removing all the materials from the time of accepting their contracts.
Each contractor was informed that they would also need to supply all their own fencing, shoring and any staying that was felt necessary to their own use and by the orders of the Borough Surveyor. They would also be fully responsible for any damage or accident that might occur during their progress of the work ongoing during the demolition and they would need to take suitable precautions to prevent dust and dirt, as well as not obstructing the roadway through Beach Street.
Tenders were requested to send their letters of interest to T.C. Golder, Borough Surveyor, No.23 Queen Street, Deal, at a date no later than October 24, 1912, endorsed “Tender for pulling down houses”. Potential contractors were required to sign an agreement that would be prepared by the Deal Town Clerk, for the work to go ahead. The article specifically stated that “the lowest or any tender will necessarily be accepted”.
The local Deal photographer H. Franklin & Son took photographs of the progress of the demolition of the buildings along the seared side of Beach Street, which now show a vivid insight into how narrow Beach Street was in parts. One particular postcard image shows workmen demolishing a property and a sign with details ‘Ben Thomas, Housebreaker & Contractor, 121 High Street, Deptford – Buildings bought to pull down’.
Two properties remained along Beach Street, which included Seagirt Cottage, which was eventually demolished after the Second World War, as it had suffered damage from enemy bombing and was left abandoned for a few years prior to actual being demolished during the 1950s.
Over time all the properties along Beach Street were compulsorily purchased by Deal Council and demolished for the proposed road widening scheme and the Central Deal Improvement, which had initially allowed for a much longer and wider promenade known as the central promenade, and a widening of Beach Street.
Today, most of the seaward side of Beach Street now being occupied by car parking adjacent to the north promenade and the only property that remains from all the many buildings that once lined almost the entire seaward side of Beach Street is the Royal Hotel.