Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour history dates back to before Roman times, it has always played a major part in the area's commercial, military, and tourist activities.
The construction of the Royal Harbour in its present form began in earnest after a violent storm in December 1748 led ships in the Downs to seek shelter at Ramsgate. Many vessels and lives were saved and petitions were made to Parliament for a new harbour at Ramsgate to provide refuge. In 1777 the Harbour Board commissioned John Smeaton, the first modern civil engineer, to re-design the harbour basin and create a dry or ‘Graving’ dock to take on the lucrative work of vessel repair. By 1791 an advanced pier was constructed using Smeaton’s invention of the first workable diving air pump.
In the Napoleonic wars it was a base for the Sea Fencibles, and in the First World War for the Dover Patrol.
During the Second World War it was the landing place for many of those soldiers brought home from Dunkirk by the ‘Little Ships’.
Hoverlloyd operated SRN6 hovercraft out of the Royal Harbour to Calais from 1966, until operations expanded and moved to Pegwell Bay three years later

Visit Ramsgate
Clock House Museum
The Grange
National Pugin Centre & Shrine of St Augustine 
Ramsgate Tunnels
Coastal Activities
King Charles III Coastal Path
Augustine Camino
Saxon Shore Way
Viking Coastal Trail

At the heart of Ramsgate in every way, the Royal Harbour will be front and centre of showcasing the town’s beautiful architecture and heritage attractions.
The Georgian Grade II* Clock House dominates the quayside. In 1819 it was the endpoint for Ramsgate’s own meridian line – 5′ 41″ ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Today it is the home of the Clock House Museum, reopening in 2026 with objects and stories from across the history of the Royal Harbour. Until then, exhibitions and events will be at various venues in and around the Royal Harbour.
Above the Royal Harbour on the West Cliff sits The Grange, the home Augustus Pugin, architect of the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben clock tower. Holidays can be booked in the house through the Landmark and visitors can discover his vision at National Pugin Centre and Shrine of St Augustine.
Round the corner from the Royal Harbour at the base of the East Cliff, are Ramsgate Tunnels, the museum for UK's largest network of civilian wartime tunnels with stories from underground living in the Second World War when part of the system evolved into an underground city with over 1,000 permanent residents.
In spring 2025 Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour will host the 85th anniversary return of the Dunkirk ‘Little Ships’, with more than 50 of the original vessels that took part in “Operation Dynamo” to bring Allied soldiers back from beaches in France, together with around 100 other historic watercraft.
Plans are being drawn up to welcome more heritage vessels and to host regattas and other events for historic ships and boats in the Royal Harbour in the future.