This is the index page for the period 1890 - 1899 in Whitstable. It connects to events in this period in the History, People and Genealogy sections. A single page or group of pages might inform you about that specific topic but by viewing all of the pages we hope that you come away with the feeling that you were actually there at the time, that you can relate to these people and understand what life and work was like for them. Then, when you visit the town, you can see for yourself these places as they are today and cast your mind back to the pictures we painted of the way it was then for our townspeople.

The Empire	During 1890 to 1920 more than one fifth of the world's lands were part of the British Empire. British pride in the Empire was at a peak during Victoria's reign.
1893	The Independent Labour Party was formed by Keir Hardie, an independent Labour MP. The Party was formed to present socialist opinions at Parliament without having to petition the Liberals for support.
1893	Gladstone again presented a Home Rule for Ireland Bill (following on from 1886) and it was passed in the Commons. When the Bill reached the Lords it was defeated. Gladstone resigned shortly after, ending a career of more than 60 years as a politician.
1893	Liberal Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister, he stayed in post for just more than a year when he was replaced by Conservative Robert Cecil Lord Salisbury.
1896	The first modern Olympic Games took place at Athens, Greece. Fourteen countries took part. Britain won three gold medals.
1897	By the time Victoria had been Queen for 60 years she was hugely popular with her public. The Diamond Jubilee was celebrated across the nation. The Jubilee was seen as a symbol of British pride in the Empire as well as loyalty to the monarch.
1898	The British took control of Sudan following a campaign in the area which began in 1896. On September 2, the British defeated the Khalifa of Sudan and destroyed his army of 50,000 men in the battle of Omdurman.
1889	The Boer leader, Paul Kruger, demanded Britain stop sending troops into the Transvaal area and undermining the independence of the Boers. He was ignored and the Boer War began in October (it followed on the from the First Boer War of 1880 to 1881).
1889	An international conference was held at The Hague, the Netherlands, to discuss disarmament. It was attended by representatives from 26 countries.
1889	Although the conference failed to agree on the issue of disarmament, it did lay down rules for the conduct of war as proposed by the Geneva Convention. The Conference also set up the Permanent Court of Arbitration, often known as the Hague Tribunal.

Blean Union Workhouse - 1891 Census, Whitstable born people. We have a look for those ancestors you may have misplaced in the local workhouse at Herne.

1891 Ships census records. Whitstable born people on board vessels in the 1891 Census. We re-transcribe the records to give you a greater chance of finding that name.

Loss of the Flirt. On 23rd November 1898 the Whitstable schooner 'Flirt' was wrecked and three of her crew drowned off the coast of Dorset during a S.S.W. gale force 10. Read the harrowing account published in the area's parish magazine.

Cassells Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894 mentions the new pier at Tankerton, the formation of a company to develop Tankerton along with details of All Saints Church and the Oyster fisheries.

The first of our pages of the old Whitstable Parish Church Magazines is for the issue dated June 1896. Many of the names found elsewhere on the site also appear here with some previously unlisted details of baptisms, marriages and burials.

The second of our pages of the old Whitstable Parish Church Magazines is for the issue dated August 1897. Many of the names found elsewhere on the site also appear here with some previously unlisted details of baptisms, marriages and burials.

The third of our pages of the old Whitstable Parish Church Magazines is for the issue dated December 1897. The vicar is no longer listed, but where did he go? Also details of a social gathering during the previous month.

The Whitstable Times report on the death of the much loved and respected Rev. Henry Maugham on 18th September 1897. This also links to the page about Somerset Maugham, his nephew.

Whitstable Times - 24th Sept 1897 . Issue 1760 of the town's newspaper. Details of a lad's mishap with an explosive charge he found on the beach, the week's shipping news and an advert for bicycles built in the town.

November 1897 - Storm and Floods. Much damage occurred in the town during this storm. Many of the timber houses between the 'walls' were destroyed. We show some postcard pictures of the aftermath.

November 1898 saw the town mourn as five of its seaman were drowned in two separate incidents. We've already covered the loss of the FLIRT from the aspect of the eyewitnesses in Devon, but here we tell the story from the Whitstable perspective. The other loss was of the "Sir Robert Peel" and we follow the newspaper reports as the story unfolds.

As we re-discover more about this period in the town's history and about the people who lived in it we will add to this collection. Hopefully, if you have anything to add you will let us know. In trying to recreate these times the picture will never be complete, but if we leave it too late the stories from this period that have been passed down through the generations might be lost forever.