text: herne bay , kent herne bay / / is a seaside town in kent , south east england , with a population of 38 , 563 . on the south coast of the thames estuary it is 7 miles ( 11 km ) north of canterbury and 5 miles ( 8 km ) east of whitstable . it neighbours the ancient villages of herne and reculver and is part of the city of canterbury local government district . herne bay 's seafront is home to the world 's first freestanding purpose - built clock tower , built in 1837 ; from the late victorian period until 1978 , the town had the second - longest pier in the united kingdom . the town began as a small shipping community , receiving goods and passengers from london en route to canterbury and dover . the town rose to prominence as a seaside resort during the early 19th century after the building of a pleasure pier and promenade by a group of london investors , and reached its heyday in the late victorian era . its popularity as a holiday destination has declined over the past decades , due to the increase in foreign travel and to a lesser degree exposure to flooding that has prevented the town 's redevelopment . history the town of herne bay took its name from the neighbouring village of herne , two kilometres inland from the bay . the word , meaning a place on a corner of land , evolved from the old english , meaning corner . the village was first recorded in around 1100 as . the corner may relate to the sharp turn in the minor roman road between canterbury and reculver at herne . one of the oldest buildings in herne bay is the late 18th - century inn , the ship , which served as the focal point for the small shipping and farming community which first inhabited the town . during this time , passenger and cargo boats regularly ran between herne bay and london and boats carrying coal ran from newcastle . from herne was easy access by road to the city of canterbury or to dover , where further passage by boat could then be obtained across the english channel to france . the 1801 census recorded herne bay , including herne , as having a population of 1 , 232 . during the early 19th century , a smugglers ' gang operated from the town . the gang were regularly involved in a series of fights with the preventive services until finally being overpowered in the 1820s . in the 1830s , a group of london investors , who recognised herne bay 's potential as a seaside resort , built a wooden pier and a promenade on the town 's seafront . this and the subsequent building of a railway station led to the rapid expansion of the town ; between 1831 and 1841 the town 's population grew from 1 , 876 to 3 , 041 . the london businessmen intended to rename the town st augustine 's , but the name was unpopular with residents and the " herne bay " remained . in 1833 , an act of parliament established herne bay and herne as separate towns . local landowner sir henry oxenden donated a piece of ground for the site of the town 's first church , christ church , which was opened in 1834 . in 1837 , mrs ann , a wealthy lady from london , donated around £ 4 , 000 to build a 75 feet ( 23 m ) clock tower on the town 's seafront . it is believed to be the first freestanding purpose built clock tower in the world . during the 1840s , steamboats began running between herne bay and london . there was a type of beach boat unique to herne bay and nearby thanet , known as the thanet wherry , a narrow pulling boat about 18 feet ( 5 m ) long . these boats were mainly used for fishing ; however , with the advent of tourism and the decline of fishing , they became mainly used for pleasure trips . a document dated 1840 records the town as having the following schools , all of which are now defunct : haddington boarding school , oxenden house , the british school , prospect place and herne street school . the village of herne was often called herne street around this time . the same document also mentions the still - existing rodney head , the ship and upper red lion inns . in 1912 , the first " brides in the bath " murder by george joseph smith was committed in herne bay . bbc scriptwriter anthony coburn , who lived in the resort , was one of people to conceive the idea of a police box as a time machine for doctor who . during world war ii , a sea - fort was built off the coast of herne bay and whitstable , which is still in existence . the coastal village of reculver , to the east of herne bay , was the site of the testing of the bouncing bomb used by the " dam busters " during the war . the pier the original wooden pier had to be dismantled in 1871 after its owners went into liquidation and sea worms had damaged the wood . a shorter 100 metres ( 328 ft ) long iron pier with a theatre and shops at the entrance was built in 1873 . however , it was too short for steamboats to land at . the pier proved to be unprofitable and a replacement longer iron pier with an electric tram began to be built in 1896 . at 3 , 600 feet ( 1 , 097 m ) , this pier was the second longest in the country , behind only the pier at southend - on - sea . the town 's heyday as a seaside resort was during the late victorian era ; the population nearly doubled from 4 , 410 to 8 , 442 between 1881 and 1901 . much of the resulting late victorian seafront architecture is still in existence today . in 1910 , a pavilion was added to the landward end of the pier . by 1931 , the town 's population had grown to 14 , 533 . at the beginning of world war ii , the army cut two gaps between the landward end of the pier and the seaward terminal as a counter - invasion measure . the pier 's two gaps were bridged for pedestrians however after the war . 1963 marked the end of steamboat services from the pier . in 1970 , a fire destroyed the pier 's pavilion and plans began to replace it with a sports centre , which was opened in 1976 by former prime minister edward heath . the centre section of the pier was torn down by a storm in 1978 , leaving the end of the pier isolated out at sea . it has not been rebuilt due to the cost ; however , residents and businesses in the town have campaigned for its restoration . the sports centre was demolished in 2012 , leaving a bare platform . governance since 1983 , the member of parliament for north thanet , covering northern thanet and herne bay , has been the conservative roger gale . at the 2010 general election , he won a majority of 13 , 528 with 52 . 7 % of the vote in north thanet . labour won 21 . 5 % of the vote , liberal democrats 19 . 4 % and united kingdom independence party 6 . 5 % . herne bay , along with whitstable and canterbury , is in the city of canterbury local government district . the town contains the five electoral wards of heron , herne and broomfield , greenhill and eddington , west bay and reculver . these wards have thirteen of the fifty seats on the canterbury city council . as at the 2011 local elections , twelve of those seats were held by the conservatives and one by the liberal democrats . geography herne bay is centred at 51 ° 22 ′ 14 ″ n 1 ° 7 ′ 37 ″ e in northeast kent , on the coast of the thames estuary . the town is 1 mile ( 2 km ) east of the town of whitstable and 7 miles ( 11 km ) north of the city of canterbury . the village of herne is just to the south , and the village of reculver is 1 mile ( 2 km ) to the east . the town 's suburbs are hampton , greenhill and studd hill in the west , eddington and broomfield in the south , and beltinge and hillborough in the east . the drowned settlement of hampton - on - sea once existed beside what is now hampton . the landscape of the town has been largely influenced by the plenty brook , which flows northward through the centre of the town and into the sea . it is thought to have been a much larger stream in ancient times . the coastline has two distinct bays , separated by a jut of land created by silt from the outflow of the brook into the sea . the first buildings in the town were built along the east bay , a short distance from the brook outflow , where the road from canterbury met the sea . the town has since spread across both bays , across the plenty brook valley and onto the relatively high land flanking both sides of the valley . the land to the east of the valley reaches a height of 25 metres ( 82 ft ) above sea level and to the west reaches 10 metres ( 33 ft ) . cliffs are formed where this high land meets the sea . the rising land beside the coast , between the valley and the eastern cliffs , is known as ' the downs ' ( no relation to the north or south downs ) . this area has been named a site of scientific interest and a special protection area for birds . the whole of the north east kent coast has been designated a site of special scientific interest . the geology of the town consists mainly of london clay , overlaid with brickearth in the west . the sand and clay of the downs are subject to landslips . the plenty brook now passes through the town 's drainage system , allowing buildings to be built over the top . the brook has been prone to flooding during heavy rain , especially in inland areas , which regularly causes problems for people living in the eddington area in southern herne bay . stormy weather can cause the sea level by the coast to rise by up to two metres . in the past , this has caused disastrous flooding in the town , the worst in the town 's history being in 1953 . coastal defences were subsequently constructed including groynes , sea walls and shingle beach . in the 1990s , these defences were deemed to be inadequate and an offshore breakwater , now known as neptune 's arm , was built to protect the most vulnerable areas of the town . in east kent , the warmest time of the year is july and august , when maximum temperatures average around 21 ° c ( 70 ° f ) ; the coolest months are january and february , when minimum temperatures average around 1 ° c ( 34 ° f ) . east kent 's average maximum and minimum temperatures are around 1 / 2 ° c higher than the national average . herne bay is sometimes warmer than other parts of kent as it is backed by the north downs to the south . between 1999 and 2005 , herne bay recorded the highest daily temperature in the united kingdom nine times . east kent 's average annual rainfall is about 728 mm ( 29 inches ) , the wettest months being october to january . this was lower than the national average annual rainfall of 838 mm ( 33 inches ) , and recent droughts have led to hosepipe bans by mid kent water . demography as of the 2001 uk census , herne bay area wards had a population of 35 , 188 and a population density of 11 . 3 persons per hectare . of the town 's 14 , 732 households , 48 . 7 % were married couples living together , 8 . 4 % were cohabiting couples and 8 . 3 % were lone parents . 30 . 2 % of all households were made up of individuals and 20 . 5 % had someone living alone at pensionable age . 27 . 7 % of households included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full - time education . the average household size was 2 . 74 . the ethnicity of the town was 98 . 5 % white , 0 . 6 % mixed race , 0 . 4 % asian , 0 . 2 % black and 0 . 3 % chinese or other . the place of birth of residents was 96 . 3 % united kingdom , 0 . 6 % republic of ireland , 0 . 3 % germany , 0 . 6 % other western europe countries , 0 . 2 % eastern europe , 0 . 6 % africa , 0 . 3 % far east , 0 . 3 % south asia , 0 . 2 % middle east , 0 . 2 % north america and 0 . 2 % oceania . religion was recorded as 77 . 3 % christian , 0 . 3 % muslim , 0 . 2 % hindu , 0 . 2 % buddhist , 0 . 1 % jewish and 0 . 1 % sikh . 14 . 2 % were recorded as having no religion , 0 . 3 % had an alternative religion and 7 . 4 % did not state their religion . for every 100 females , there were 89 . 9 males . the age distribution was 6 % aged 0 – 4 years , 14 % aged 5 – 15 years , 4 % aged 16 – 19 years , 29 % aged 20 – 44 years , 25 % aged 45 – 64 years and 22 % aged 65 years and over . the town had a high percentage of residents over 65 , compared with the national average of 16 % . as a seaside town , herne bay is a popular retirement destination ; many modern retirement complexes are located near the seafront . the economic activity of residents aged 16 – 74 was 36 % in full - time employment , 13 % in part - time employment , 9 % self - employed , 3 % unemployed , 2 % students with jobs , 3 % students without jobs , 18 % retired , 7 % looking after home or family , 6 % permanently sick or disabled and 2 % economically inactive for other reasons . this was roughly in line with the national figures , except for the number of people in retirement . this figure nationally was significantly lower at 14 % . of the town 's residents aged 16 – 74 , 12 % had a higher education qualification or the equivalent , compared with 20 % nationwide . according to office for national statistics estimates , during the period of april 2001 to march 2002 the average gross weekly income of households in the herne bay area was £ 516 ( £ 26 , 906 per year ) . economy the advent of overseas travel and changes to holiday trends eventually caused the town 's economy to decline after the 1960s ; regular flooding of the plenty brook prevented redevelopment of the town centre . however , extensive seafront regeneration in the 1990s followed the creation of the neptune 's arm sea defence jetty . the jetty has created a small harbour used by leisure boats and from where tourists can take sailing yacht trips to a seal - watching site in the thames estuary . the victorian gardens on the seafront were then able to be fully restored . the central bandstand , built in 1924 , was refurbished after years of disrepair and closure to the public . a swimming pool and cinema were added to the town centre in the early 1990s . in 2005 , a wind - farm with thirty 2 . 75 mw wind turbines was built 5 miles ( 8 km ) off the coast of herne bay and whitstable , generating a total of 82 . 5 mw of electricity . the recent upgrades by the council have helped improve the image of the town and raise its profile . it is hoped this will attract new investment in tourism and business by the private sector , and lead to the regeneration of the town 's economy . in 2006 , canterbury city council began a public consultation to discuss the regeneration . a concern raised by the council is that the shopping centre is incoherent and fails to attract the tourists that come for the seafront . other issues raised are the lack of holiday accommodation , car parks and clear pedestrian routes between the three main attractions in the town : the seafront , memorial park and shopping centre . the council is considering relocating the sports centre from the pier and replacing it with other tourist attractions . as of the 2001 census , the industry of employment of residents of herne bay was 19 % retail , 14 % health and social work , 11 % manufacturing , 10 % construction , 9 % real estate , 8 % education , 8 % transport and communications , 5 % public administration , 5 % hotels and restaurants , 4 % finance , 1 % agriculture and 5 % other community , social or personal services . compared to national figures , the town had a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health / social care industries and a relatively low number in manufacturing and real estate . many residents commute to work outside the town . as of the 2001 uk census , 14 , 711 of the town 's residents were in employment , whereas there were only 8 , 104 jobs within the town . one of the largest employers is the centrally located supermarket , which as of january 2006 was considering further expansion . it is one of the major attractions to the town 's shopping centre , however there are fears that its expansion could lead it to become too dominant , at the cost of smaller shops in the town . apart from tourism and retail , many jobs are also provided in the manufacturing industry , mainly located in industrial estates on the outskirts of the town , which produce goods such as kitchen furniture and factory machinery . a high number of construction jobs have been created by redevelopment of the seafront , which is expected to continue with the proposed regeneration of the town centre . the elderly population of the town has led to many health and social care jobs at local care homes and at the town 's queen victoria memorial hospital . as of the 2001 census , 1 . 9 % of the town 's population resided in a medical or care establishment , compared with the national average of only 0 . 8 % . landmarks the seafront has a 2 miles ( 3 km ) shingle beach , which has been awarded a european blue flag and the yellow and blue seaside award for its safety and cleanliness . the seafront features a victorian bandstand and gardens , amusement arcades , and children 's play areas . landmarks by the seafront include the clock tower , the sea defence jetty , the off - shore world war ii sea fort and the off - shore wind farm . there are seaside cafés , fresh seafood restaurants , guesthouses , beach huts and numerous water - sports facilities . the memorial park , situated near the centre of the town , incorporates a children 's play area , a large shallow duck pond often used for remote control boats , basketball and tennis courts and a large expanse of grass for field games . the park has a monument and an ' avenue of remembrance ' as memorials to the town 's residents killed during the two world wars . reculver country park is home to the cliff top reculver towers , the remains of the 12th century st mary 's church and its distinctive twin towers . the park also contains the remains of a roman fort , the remains of a saxon church , a migrating - bird watching spot and an information centre on the geology , history and wildlife of this area of the coast . located on the main road between herne bay and canterbury , wildwood discovery park features over fifty species of native british animals , such as deer , badgers , wild boar and wolves . herne mill , a late - 18th century kentish smock mill overlooking the village of herne from a hilltop , is usually open to visitors on sunday afternoons between april and september . a concrete funnel - shaped water tower overlooks herne bay from the top of hill . this water tower is now used as a base for radio transmitters . transport herne bay railway station is on the chatham main line , which runs between ramsgate in east kent and london victoria . other stations on this line include broadstairs , margate , whitstable , faversham , gillingham , rochester and bromley south . herne bay is around 1 hour and 40 minutes from london . a national express coach service also runs between london victoria and ramsgate , around every two to three hours during daytime . a selection of trains run to london 's cannon street station , primarily for business commuting . there is the stagecoach in east kent bus services 4 / 4a / 4b / 6 / 6a / 6b ( branded as ' the triangle ' ) running every 10 minutes to neighbouring whitstable and to canterbury , where many herne bay residents go to work and shop . also an infrequent bus service 7 links herne bay to canterbury but the triangle routes are more frequent , quick and direct . an hourly bus service 36 runs to the seaside resort of margate , 13 miles ( 21 km ) to the east of herne bay the a299 road , also known as the thanet way , runs between ramsgate and faversham via herne bay and whitstable . the road merges with the m2 motorway at faversham . in the late 1990s , the road was converted into a dual carriageway and redirected to avoid passing through urban areas of herne bay and whitstable . education herne bay 's secondary school is the modern herne bay high . it is a mixed ability foundation school with about 1 , 500 students . in 2002 , herne bay high was designated a specialist school and sports college . in 2005 , 14 % of the school 's pupils gained at least five gcses at grades a * – c including english and maths , ranking it 107th out of kent 's 120 secondary schools . many students commute to schools in other nearby towns , especially to the grammar schools in faversham , ramsgate and canterbury . herne bay junior school , situated in the town centre , has about 500 students . it was originally established in the late victorian era and was formerly joined with the neighbouring herne bay infant school . in 2006 , herne bay junior school 's key stage 2 results ranked 139th out of kent 's 386 state primary schools . there is one smaller primary school in the area called grosvenor house , which is a school for pupils permanently excluded from mainstream schooling . the village schools are herne primary school , herne church of england junior school , herne church of england infant and nursery school , primary school in greenhill , hampton primary school and reculver church of england primary school . the voluntary controlled church of england schools are owned by the church but like the other schools , are run by kent county council . in 2006 , reculver church of england primary school achieved the best key stage 2 performances of the schools in the herne bay area , ranking 133rd out of kent 's 386 state primary schools . canterbury college herne bay is a branch of canterbury college in herne bay town centre , which provides a range of short information technology courses to adults . whitstable adult education centre runs adult learning courses at various herne bay locations . religion the church of england has two parishes in herne bay : christ church with st andrew 's , and st martin 's with st peter 's . the catholic church of our lady of the sacred heart is in sea street . there are baptist churches in spenser road and in reynolds close . there is a united ( methodist and united reformed ) church in mortimer street . there is also a united reformed church in the meadows , broomfield . herne bay salvation army corps is based in pettman close . the canopy church is in south road . the beacon church meets at school , greenhill , herne bay . herne bay evangelical free church meets in road . herne bay christian spiritualist church is in avenue road . culture herne bay festival happens every august with ten days of almost every event being free , including live music , performance , creative commissions , cultural treats , family fun , workshops , competitions , walks , talks , exhibitions and family entertainment . other summer events include happy days – a programme of bandstand concerts and family entertainment , herne bay carnival through the town centre , a travelling funfair at the memorial park and herne bay bus rally . each summer , the council runs a gardening competition , " herne bay in bloom " , which encourages residents and businesses to keep the town looking well presented . the town is home to the herne bay little theatre , a playmakers drama society and member of the little theatre guild of great britain who have a 72 - seat theatre in avenue . in 2007 , the theatre won a large grant from the big lottery fund to renovate and extend their building and provide improved disabled access . the theatre also has an active youth theatre and between them , they put on at least eight productions every year including a pantomime . , a local theatre group , produce three shows a year including an annual pantomime at the king 's hall theatre . other groups and touring companies often put productions on at the open - air ' theatre in the park ' on the grounds of strode park house in herne . the town 's only cinema , the kavanagh , is part of a greco - inspired building that incorporates the heron 's swimming pool and the council offices . there are a number of drinking venues , especially in the town centre and on the seafront . there are nightclubs , social clubs and many pubs , including one in the recently renovated seafront bandstand . ( as of january 2013 the bandstand is an indian restaurant ) sports the town is a popular destination for water sports ; it has clubs for sailing , rowing and yachting . the town has hosted the powerboat racing championships . fishing is popular on the pier and herne bay angling association competes nationally in beach and boat fishing competitions . herne bay hockey club , greenhill gymnastics club , herne bay cricket club and herne bay youth football club are located at herne bay high school , a specialist sports college . the hockey club runs a ladies ' team and five men 's team , the highest of which plays in the kent sussex regional 1st xi league . herne bay cricket club runs two junior teams , a men 's sunday team and two men 's saturday teams ; the saturday teams play in the kent cricket feeder league east . herne bay youth football club has 22 teams , and over 320 players aged 6 to 18 . four teams play in the kent youth league and the remainder in the east kent youth mini soccer & 11 a side leagues . herne bay tennis club is situated on the outskirts of town and runs multiple teams in the kent league , east kent league and dover & district league . their facilities include four all - weather courts ( two floodlit ) , up to six astroturf courts and a purpose built clubhouse . the club offers junior coaching and runs regular club nights for players of all ages and abilities . herne bay basketball club runs teams for men , women and juniors in the east kent basketball league . herne bay golf club has an eighteen - hole course on the outskirts of the town . the memorial park contains a sports field , eight tennis courts and a basketball court which can be used free of charge . herne bay bowling club is situated next to the memorial park and hosts several lawn bowls open tournaments each year . there is a council owned sports centre — the bay sports arena — opened in september 2011 . there is another privately owned gymnasium in the town centre . herne bay judo club is located near the railway station and the same venue also holds clubs for table tennis and badminton . there are also two other table - tennis clubs in the town . karate classes are held at herne bay junior school . herne bay football club , based at winch 's field , play in the isthmian league division one south . they were kent league champions in 1992 , 1994 , 1997 , 1998 and 2012 . also playing at winch 's field is canterbury city f.c. the town is the founder of the roller hockey sport with the " herne bay roller hockey club " being the first to exist in the world . herne bay judo club , located next to the town 's railway station , has been active in the town since the 1960s . the club originated underneath the old st marys college on station road until it moved into the purpose built dojo where it still resides . media there are five local weekly newspapers : , the paid - for herne bay gazette and herne bay times , providing news related only to the town , and the free km extra and canterbury adscene , providing news on the wider canterbury district area . the km group owns herne bay gazette and km extra , while trinity mirror owns herne bay times and canterbury adscene . kmfm canterbury is a radio station on frequency which serves canterbury , whitstable and herne bay . the station was founded in september 1997 as ctfm , but was rebranded after a takeover by the km group . radio cabin is a radio station aimed only at herne bay listeners . it airs part - time and can only be accessed through the 15th june 2016 , announced that radio cabin had been successful in their bid to obtain a community radio licence , meaning that they can begin broadcasting on fm within two years . filmography due to the town 's traditional seaside appearance , it has often been used as a setting for television programmes and films . the seafront has been featured in programmes such as the itv period drama upstairs , downstairs , the 1984 bbc seaside comedy cockles , cbbc 's the and the bbc comedy little britain . the town 's railway station was seen in an episode of the 1970s comedy some mothers do ' ave ' em . the town has featured in movies such as ken russell 's french dressing , and the medusa touch , starring richard burton . in fiction , jeeves from the stories by p. g. wodehouse regularly holidays at the town , spending much of his time there fishing . herne bay was the hometown of the three main characters in the 1990s bbc sitcom , game on . to celebrate anthony coburn 's contribution to the doctor who series , bbc south east today is celebrating 50 years of doctor who by screening the first ever episode an unearthly child , at the kings hall theatre on 22 november 2013 . twin towns herne bay is twinned with the towns of : wimereux in nord - pas - de - calais , france ; waltrop , germany . since 1994 , the herne bay / wimereux twinning association has aimed to promote friendship between the people of the two towns by organising activities , such as cycling trips and quiz evenings . herne bay and waltrop have been twinned since 1976 , although as at february 2007 , their twinning association was not in operation . however , herne bay rowing club promote friendship with the waltrop rowing club by organising rowing events and visiting in each other 's towns . notable people the actor and presenter bob holness lived in the town as a child and attended herne bay primary school until moving to ashford . nicki chapman , the judge on the uk television series popstars and pop idol , was born and raised in the town . originally from london , daniel , the subject of the uk documentary the boy with the incredible brain , has now moved to the town . he is an autistic savant with outstanding abilities in mathematics , sequence memorising and language learning . lydia cecilia hill ( 1913 – 1940 ) , known as cissie hill , lived at westcliff ; she was a favourite of ibrahim of johor and former dancer . the yorkshire - born writer will scott lived and wrote in herne bay until his death in 1964 . during the late 1960s , many successful rock and jazz bands were formed around the city of canterbury , creating a subgenre of music known as the canterbury sound . some of these musicians were residents of herne bay , including dave sinclair and richard coughlan of caravan , and kevin ayers of soft machine . george w. m. reynolds , one of the most popular british authors of the early victorian era , moved to herne bay in 1854 and became one of the town 's improvement commissioners . the children 's writer evelyn whitaker was born there in 1844 . héctor garcía , the mayor of lima in peru during the 1950s , had part of his schooling at the now defunct herne bay international school . colin dixon , the depot manager held hostage with his family during the £ 53 million depot robbery of february 2006 , lived in herne bay at the time . frederick christian palmer , known professionally as fred c. palmer , was the main public photographer of herne bay in the early years of the 20th century . he photographed the detective edmund reid , who had hunted for jack the ripper and who also lived in the town . ann paid for the construction of the clock tower . palmer , surveyor to herne bay urban district council 1891 – 1915 , designed both phases of the king 's hall in 1904 and 1913 . gabrielle davis was sheriff of canterbury 2009 – 2010 and helped to save local museums from closure in 2010 . william matthew scott ( 1893 – 1964 ) was a local author living at high view avenue , and architect ernest trevor lived next door to him between 1959 and 1965 . william sidney cooper painted local scenes and is buried at eddington cemetery . h. kempton dyson designed the central bandstand .