MARGATE, a municipal borough, market-town, and watering-place of Kent, England, is situated in the Isle of Thanet, 4 miles west of North Foreland, and by rail 90 miles east of London, with which it has also in summer daily steam communication by water. The streets of the town are regular and spacious, and there are many good villas in the suburbs. There is a marine terrace 2500 feet in length, parallel to which there is an esplanade. The pier, 900 feet long, was constructed by Rennie in 1810. A landing-place permitting the approach of vessels at all tides was constructed in 1854, and enlarged in 1876. The church of St John the Baptist, founded in 1050, contains some portions of Norman architecture, the remainder being Decorated and Late Perpendicular. It possesses several fine brasses and monuments. Among the other public buildings are the new town-hall, the market, the assembly rooms, the deaf and dumb asylum, and the royal sea-bathing infirmary, which has lately been much enlarged through the munificence of Sir Erasmus Wilson. The old name of Margate was Meregate, the entrance to the sea. Previous to the last century it was only a fishing village with a small coasting trade, but since then, owing principally to its fine stretch of sand, it has been steadily rising into favour as a watering-place, and is now one of the most favourite resorts of the middle classes of London. It received municipal privileges in 1857. The population of the municipal borough (384 acres) in 1871 was 11,995, and in 1881 it was 15,889.