The Mayor's Parlour

The site of the Old Town Hall Building was once the Pier Green, where visitors could enjoy a game of Bowls. The first Town Hall was built in 1820, but demolished and the present building erected in 1897.

The Mayor's Parlour is on the first floor and consists of a large and airy room that also houses the Mayoress' parlour. On the same floor is an impressive room used for Charter Trustee and other Meetings, which has a comprehensive exhibition of portraits of previous Mayors of Margate. A third room houses the Civic Secretariat.

On display in the Parlour are copies of the Margate Charter, the Margate Crest, and the Twinning Agreements between Margate and Les Mureaux (France) and Idar Oberstein (Germany). Margate is also "twinned" with Yalta on the Black Sea, but recent political upheavals in the former USSR have caused difficulties in arranging reciprocal visits.

The Distinguished Visitors Book, dating from 1923, is of particular interest, and includes signatures of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Last updated 6 December 1998.