St.
Margaret's-at-Cliffe Lost Golf Links
I stumbled upon
this little known local fact whilst doing some research for a work
project. I was delving through some old maps and archives when I
found reference to a golf course at St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe. There
is very little evidence of the course today except for faint
outlines viewed on satellite photographs and a house on Station
Road called The Old Golf House.
The club was
originally founded in 1899 with forty members and nine holes. The
club soon expanded to 200 members by 1926 with 18 holes spanning an
area of 180 acres.
The cache is
hidden along the footpath that ran from the clubhouse into and
through the course between the first four and penultimate two
holes. I have included some interesting photographs and information
from the 1926 handbook which was tucked away in the library
archives. I haven't found out what 'officially' happened to the
course but I do know that during World War Two the village as a
whole including this site was used heavily by the Royal Marines and
the Royal Artillery. Some old maps show railway lines running
through parts of the course providing supply lines for the channel
guns. I expect that the course was ruined after the war and also
know that the guns were used for training exercises for a few years
after the war.
One interesting
piece I found in the handbook was the following piece of
writing:
St. Margaret's Bay
The Jewel of the Kentish Coast St. Margaret's Bay can be reached by
a delightful 4-mile walk along the cliffs eastward of Dover Castle.
By this route one may perceive what a big future lies before Dover
as a resort should this four mile space be so developed. Those who
know St. Margaret's Bay will hope that such an evolution is a long
way off. They need not trouble; St. Margaret's will not lose it's
charm in our time, whatever our blundering descendants may make of
it. The sands of other resorts on the Kentish coast may be turned
into human ant hills by the hundreds of thousands who, by a sort of
inherited instinct, visit them year by year, but St. Margaret's, it
is hoped, will long continue unpolluted by excursionists' litter.
Thank heaven for the diversity of tastes distributed among the
race, by means of which everybody can feel at home somewhere. So it
is that many people of artistic, cultured and reposeful tastes, and
dispositions are glad that St. Margaret's is where it is, as it is,
and what it is - the loveliest jewel of the Kent coast - with ample
room to grow without being spoilt.
Extract from St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe Golf Club Handbook
1926
At the time of
placing the cache contained:
Winner medal for FTF
Marbles
Tic Tac Toe game
Sleeve of golf balls
Please ensure
that all log items and photographs are replaced back inside the
polythene bag for a little extra protection. Please also ensure
that the cache is well hidden when replaced.