Seafront pavilion dilapidated and neglected
Grade II-listed, 1903, Stanley Davenport Adshead
The Royal Victoria Pavilion was originally intended as a theatre and entertainment complex, with a promenade, refreshment room, and observation deck on the first floor. The plans and elevation drawings, based loosely on the orangery designs of Robert Adam and the Queen’s Theatre in Versailles, were apparently drafted in less than a week, and were S.D. Adshead’s first architectural designs. They were submitted to a design competition hosted by the Ramsgate Corporation in 1903, and realised in six weeks, with the complex opening in time for the summer season. Later operated as a casino and nightclub, the building closed in 2008, and now stands dilapidated and deserted: its open arcade has been infilled; balconies and decorative crests have gone; and much insensitive modernisation has taken place. It needs a sensitive refurbishment and a suitable long term use so that generations of locals and visitors can continue to enjoy it.
Status Update / March 2026
Almost uniquely among buildings on our list, the Royal Victorian Pavilion has been redeveloped twice. In 2018, it was repaired and repurposed by J.D. Wetherspoons in a £4.5 million flagship project, becoming the largest public house in England; and then, in 2023, the pub was closed for a comprehensive refurbishment, with a fully enclosed glazed extension added to the beach front terrace, new landscaping to the esplanade, and additional restaurant units incorporated into the ground floor. According to the architects, KDPA, ‘The ambition is to restore all the key features that have disappeared over the years, giving Ramsgate back its architectural gem with a mixed-use development worthy of a twenty-first century audience’.