Living as they do between the devil and the deep blue sea, Sandgate people are aware of the complex geological strata - water absorbent and permeable - which interact beneath the lovely hills to the North. Locally, the slopes are capped by the Folkestone beds which weigh upon soft Sandgate beds of sandy clay. Forming a slip plan (NW/SE) these overlay the hard Hythe beds, mainly limestone and hassock. 

Beneath these lie uneven bands of Atherfield clay with the hard Weald clay at their base. Offshore reefs of ragstone indicate the Hythe beds, mostly taken for sea defences, houses, garden walls and even the Castle itself. Seaweed covered gault or slipe is visible at low tide near the toe of the slipe. This unstable terrain, as records show, is affected by coast erosion, lost of toe-weighting, Spring tides and periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall. The following list is not exhaustive but will give you a sense of the natural forces that Sandgate has faced over the years. 

	1801	Landslips: On Sunday 8 March, as reported, an immense portion of that stupendous eminence the cliff bordering the sea, about a quarter of a mile west of Folkestone, suddenly gives way and is precipitated below with great violence. The footpath from Sandgate to Folkestone is severed.
	1844	Storm & Coast Erosion: In April, the Surveyor of Highways at Cheriton reports to the Inspector General of Fortifications' . .  the sea has been encroaching for many years on this part of the coast and the late gales in conjunction with very high spring tides (have) caused several breaches in it. Large portions of footpath have been carried away, causing public danger. Again 1873, high tide and gale carries away many yards of road at Battery Point.
	1876/7	Storm & Coast Erosion: Over New Year, a devastating gale causes extensive flooding in the Seabrook area endangering the Canal, and large quantities of stonework at Sandgate Castle are dragged away. In 1881 a new seawall and groynes extending as far as a low water mark, further impede the littoral drift to Sandgate.
	1889	Storm & Coast Erosion: The seawall at the west end of Sandgate Esplanade fronting Battery Point is almost destroyed; the sea has undermined the Lifeboat House; gas pipes are laid bare.
	1893	Landslips: A major disaster hits two thirds of Sandgate. On Saturday 4 March around 7pm, a series of shocks resembling those of an earthquake send people rushing from their collapsing homes into the streets. Next morning movement renews. No one is hurt, but 200 houses are damaged of which 70 are rendered uninhabitable. The  face of the cliff for the greater part of a mile has subsided; the main road is cracked in many places, the pavement torn up, the seawall bowed out and gas and water mains are broken and the smaller streets have received serious damage . . many people of the poorer classes are homeless - the Coastguard have had to leave their barracks which are in a dangerous almost ruinous condition. Chasms up to 9ft wide appear at Encombe A pamphlet was produced in 1893 to tell visitors about the Sandgate Sensational Soil Subsidence
	1894	Storm & Coast Erosion: In January a southerly gale ravages Sandgate and its sea defences. The Hythe and Sandgate Tramway Co. comes to a halt, the metals along the Esplanade being seriously undermined.
	1929	Storm & Coast Erosion: A tidal wave, 10-12ft above ordinary sea-level, sweeps up the beach and within 10 minutes attains high-water mark, then collapses ad vanishes as quickly as it came. It is thought to be a recurrence of some deep disturbance under the seabed, as in 1812.
	1935	Storm & Coast Erosion: Folkestone is swept by the worst gale for many years; Sandgate flooded; blocks of concrete removed from Prince's Parade which the S.E. Railway Co. has long since left in disrepair.
	1949-51	Storm & Coast Erosion: Storms devastate the whole Sandgate seafront; the South bastion of the Castle is undermined; May Terrace collapses; Devonshire Terrace flooded; the Coastguard terrace is breached; the Seapoint Cafe and Bathing Establishment is totally destroyed; the waves bang out a mournful tune as a grand piano drifts to a watery grave. Matters are now desperate.
	1960-90	Storm & Coast Erosion: Storms are too many to recount in detail, among them 1967-76-81-83-87. Each is 'the worst gale in living memory' until the next leaves its trail.
	1966	Earth Movement Reactivated: The Kent Development Plan is confirmed. It zones the notorious Sandgate hillside for residential development heedless of liability to earth movement, flooding and subsidence. Predictably, destablisation is widespread. Residents report tremors and both public and private property are affected. Between 1963 and 1980 Encombe House terrace subsides three times, a total of 10ft. Settlement, fractured service pipes (80 recorded incidents between 1966-72), damaged houses, cracked roads are evident, and the seawall is at risk.
	1972	Four houses on Sandgate High Street (Nos 156-162) are so badly cracked they have to be demolished. The site becomes Wilberforce Green. Ludlow's garages, some thirty on Hillside, are in ruins. The site becomes the Wilberforce Car Park.
The Sandgate Society, independent and non-political, is dedicated to preserve, maintain and enhance the character and amenity of a village, rich in history and so pleasantly situated. If you would like to be involved in this invaluable work please contact The Sandgate Society for further information.

Content for Sandgate-Kent Local History pages is mostly taken from 'Rise and Progress of a Village" - by Linda Réne-Martin