After reading about the threats to what little culture we have been able to hold on to in Thanet in the form of badly funded and under performing museums I decided to do a little homework. The short story is that things don't look especially bright at the moment (links for the full story at the end).

I have lived in Thanet 31 years and spent a great deal of my youth interested in the maritime Museum (which I actually only visted 3 times due to it often being shut) and Ramsgate's once fantastic library where I learned to love books. I did not even know that Thanet had any more to offer. I remember once when I was about 12 or so thinking that it was a bit poor that there were not more interesting places to go in the area.

Thinking about it I could have probably named the shell grotto but it was not until sometime after I had finished my A levels that I even knew where it was and only then because I needed to ride a bus past it. The big problem is that I simply did not know where to look. These things are a well kept secret, let me tell you.

So 31 years later when the dull afternoons are filled with shopping trips, in-laws, business meetings and children too young to enjoy it all I discover I could have been learning more after all.

Why did no one tell me?



The big issue here is information. These resources are under used because exactly no publicity is provided to the point that even Google is a bit dry on the subject and the wikipedia is mostly empty. Were it not for reading between the lines somewhat and searching hard I'd not have found anything at all.

So the problem is simply this - no one knows that these things exist and even when they do know it is the last thing on their mind. Public information would help go a long way to invigerating Thanet if only those that inform had any idea that there was something to inform about.

As bloggers we have something of a duty to raise the level of awareness not by talking shop with slight references to assumedly shared knowledge but by getting the raw information out there too. As the most public part of Thanet (online) who else is going to tell the world that this is an OK place to visit?

So being the philistine of the arts that I am I set out to look into what we have to offer. It turns out we have a Margate Museum that I never knew about and I've lived in Margate for over seven years. Listed below is what I was able to find out please let me know if anything is missing.

• Crampton Tower Museum
• Maritime Museum, Ramsgate
• Margate Museum
• RAF Manston History Museum
• Ramsgate Library
• Shell Grotto, Margate
• Turner Contemporary (!)
• Quex Museum

In addition to that there are some fine news prints of when the sea last iced over (they were building a certain sea side eye sore back then) and these are to be found in Barnacles (pub) in Margate. Beer is a bit pricey but it's a nice place to drink and the pool table is mostly free (unless I get in there).

I could try to suggest that there is something available in Margate Library but let's be honest it's a bit dry. A certain well known bookshop in Ramsgate has several volumes (I am told) on the history of the area and Ralph Hoult, I seem to recall, has prints of old time Ramsgate that might be worth a look and the Wikipedia has a nice collection of Creative Commons and Open Source images of the area... OK so not exactly top stuff but we're scrapping the bottom of the barrel here.

As promised I'm going to tell you the not so sort story of why this might matter. If you were more interested in listing museums skip to the comments (they should be interesting especial after you have your say).

It seems that what remains might be closed due to lack of funding. The problem being that the powers that be want to use the money for other things (that win votes) and as they make money winning votes who can blame them? Well, we can but that's another story.

I came across a post in the Thanet Beachcombers blogspot blog entitled "Running a Museum, a solution" and then found another post in Margate Architecture which shed light on the issue entitled: "Margate Museum Under Threat of Closure" (December 2007, margatearchitecture.blogspot.com).

The sharp witted Thanet bloggers are not going to let me get away without pointing out that I could have read any of a number of archives for more information. Such is the way of it sometimes - even sharp minds (and mine is not perfect) miss things.

So that's the back story - if you know of anything I missed please let me know.