Westgate Bay Avenue, Westgate On Sea, Kent

This handsome five-bedroom house is within the Westgate-on-Sea Conservation Area in Kent. The red brick Dutch gabled façade is a striking elevation within the terrace: windows are set under arched heads with decorative keystones, and the Flemish bonded brick is finished with stone dressings. Internally, living spaces have been renovated with a playful palette of vibrant blues and greens that complement a plethora of original features. A few minutes from the house are the Blue Flag beaches at St Mildred’s Bay and Minnis Bay, as well as Westgate-on-Sea’s train station, which runs direct services to London St Pancras in an hour and a half, making this house a wonderful seaside retreat.

Setting the Scene

Westgate Bay Avenue and the surrounding area were predominantly farmland until the late 19th century, when it was developed with private villas and lodging houses, Westgate-on-Sea’s first doctors and its vicarage. Between 1906 and 1910, this house was home to the artist Louis Wain, a prolific late-Victorian illustrator of anthropomorphised cats and kittens, whose life was recently dramatised in the film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Wain made hundreds of drawings for magazines, newspapers, books and postcards, and, during his time living on Westgate Bay Avenue, was heralded by the press as ‘the world’s most famous cat artist’. For more information, please see the History section.

The Grand Tour

Beneath an arched entrance porch is the front door, which opens to a hallway with original pine floorboards and walls finished in ‘Pink 01‘ by Lick. From here are the living room, the dining room and the kitchen, organised in a lateral arrangement, with each room flowing into the next. The living room is at the front of the house, where light filters through the windows of a canted bay to imbue the room with a warm and bright atmosphere. On one wall is an original fireplace, complete with carved jambs and a corniced overmantel washed in ‘Pea Green’ by Edward Bulmer to complement the bottle green-tiled hearth and ‘Invisible Green‘ walls. The window shutters can be closed, and, on stormier days, a seat by the fire is a cosy spot to hunker down with a favourite book.

The dining room opens directly from the living room. The walls, moulded cornicing and picture rail here are painted in ‘Parma Gray’ by Farrow & Ball. There is plenty of space for a long table in the middle of the room, and an original cabinet on one side of the fireplace is a handy place for glasses and crockery. A door to the garden can be opened wide to admire the plantings outside, making the room an excellent space for hosting indoor-outdoor summer parties.

At the rear of the plan is the kitchen composed of yellow and teal-coloured cabinetry, with a double sink and a four-ring induction hob set into the central island. There is space for a breakfast table to be set at the end of the room in front of sliding doors opening to the leafy patio garden. A handy WC is accessible from the kitchen, as is a staircase descending to the basement floor where there are generous storage rooms and two further reception rooms currently in use as a playroom and a music room.

A staircase with ‘Hague Blue‘ balustrades and a mahogany handrail rises to the first floor. At the front of the plan is the primary bedroom, where a large window overlooks the garden below. Here, a Victorian fireplace with a pretty blue tiled has an inbuilt cupboard in the alcove on one side. A wide arch connects the bedroom with a generous en suite bathroom, where a bathtub is placed centrally atop the original weathered pine floorboards. There is a rain-style shower in one corner and the door to a walk-in wardrobe. The second bedroom is at the rear, with a smaller WC just in front.

On the second floor are three further double bedrooms and a family bathroom. Two of the bedrooms are at the front of the house, their paned windows framing glimpses of the sea beyond.

The Great Outdoors

The garden and expansive patio extend behind the house, accessed directly from the kitchen and dining rooms to create an open indoor-outdoor feel in milder weather. Bordered with mature perennials and climbing plants, the garden is perfect for outdoor entertaining, with ample room for a barbecue and dining furniture. Raised beds have been incorporated along painted timber fencing to create the perfect space for growing herbs, flowers or even vegetables. An established laurel tree casts gentle shade along the back patio and wisteria curls tendrils along a back corner filling the space with scent in the spring. A bamboo hedge line imbues the space with a sense of seclusion despite its town location.

Out and About

There are two blue flag beaches in the Victorian town of Westgate-on-Sea, St Mildred’s Bay and Minnis Bay. The cliff-lined and sandy St Mildred’s Bay is only a five-minute walk from the house, and has a long promenade ideal for brisk coastal walks which can be finished at the Bake and Ale House on St Mildred’s Avenue, a microbrewery serving a changing offering of warming Real Ale and Cider.

Staple Stores, less than a 10-minute walk from the house, is an artisanal bakery and café championing traditional techniques for its bloomers, pastries and scones, and is a lovely place to pick up a morning coffee and a cinnamon bun. For an evening meal, the newer restaurant Quince is nearby, with a changing menu of seasonal dishes built around local produce.

Margate is a five-minute drive along the coast and is home to a wonderfully creative community as well as an abundance of galleries and contemporary art spaces. It’s home to the Turner Contemporary, named after landscape painter J. M. W. Turner and designed by architect David Chipperfield Architects. The contemporary gallery Carl Freedman, has also recently opened, with murmurs of further creative initiatives to follow.

Among the favoured restaurants in Margate are Angela’s, a sustainable seafood bistro, and its sister restaurant, Dory’s, a fantastic seafood bar that prides itself on working closely with Kentish fishermen and independent growers to build its menus. Other much-loved dining spots include Sargasso, Bottega Caruso, and Sete, while the Rose in June pub is a wonderful stop after a walk along the seafront. Little Swift is an excellent choice for cocktails and natural wine, while Dive is a must for margaritas and tacos. Independent retailers include clothing shop Werkhaus, Haeckels, and the cosy Margate Bookshop.

The Viking Coastal Trail can be picked up in Westgate, the eight-mile hike linking the town with Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate along Kent’s cliffs and beaches. Broadstairs and Ramsgate are also known for their array of pubs, restaurants and independent shops, as are Herne Bay and Whitstable, which are slightly further afield.

Westgate-on-Sea has excellent links to London, with services to London Victoria in just over one and a half hours and trains run from nearby Margate Station to London St Pancras in approximately an hour and a half.

Council Tax Band: D