Castlemere Hotel

13-16 Western Esplanade

Broadstairs

Above postcard dated 17 June 1939.

Above postcard, circa 1967.

Above photo 1976.

Being an hotel you would probably have had to be a resident or guest to gain entrance.

Believed to have been built in 1900, on land originally sold in plots by a local convent that dominated the west side of Broadstairs. Its annex was added in 1911.

Described as a "luxury country house" style hotel, it was likely built as a gentleman's summer retreat, possibly by local builder W.W. Martin.

From the early 1900s until at least the mid-1940s, it was owned and run by Miss Jessie Bennett and Madge Knight Bruce.

The renowned composer Richard Rodney Bennett (born 1936) was the nephew of Jessie Bennett and spent many childhood holidays at the hotel.

In 1939 the telephone number was 1166.

The building was demolished in 2000 due to its deteriorating condition. Today, the site has been largely redeveloped for residential housing, while the main hotel is gone, the Castlemere Annex was purchased by a private family in 2000 and remains as a residential property today.

LICENSEE LIST

KNIGHT-BRUCE Margaret & BENNETT Jessie Elizabeth Miss 1900s-44+