Since purchasing the old fire station, to turn the building into a place for Ramsgate’s community, Ramsgate Town Council has been finding out everything possible about the history of the building, to help its renovation to be sympathetic to its past.
Before it became the Ramsgate Fire Station, the building was called Effingham House.
By the mid-18th century Ramsgate was becoming increasingly popular as a seaside resort, its expansion accelerated by road improvements and faster sea passage offered by hoys, packets and steamers. In the town, an assembly room, warm water baths, subscription libraries and places of worship were joined by new streets such as Effingham Place, which became the most desirable residential street in the town.
A building on this site first appears on a map from 1723, but we cannot yet be certain this is the building that is now Radford House. We do know that around 1781 the house was purchased by Rear Admiral Sir William Fox (1733-1810). Fox had been commissioned as a naval Lieutenant in 1759 and following the Moonlight Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1780, he was posted as Captain. He gained the attention of King William IV for his work and after the campaigns in America in 1783, he was made a superannuated Admiral in 1799. Admiral Fox died unmarried on December 3, 1810 and was buried in St. Laurence Church, Ramsgate. A monument to his memory was erected by the future King William IV who, when visiting Ramsgate in October 1811, was so dismayed to find that the relatives of his late friend had been unable to afford one, he commissioned it on the spot. It is situated in the church close to the vestry.
Admiral Fox’s sister Mary married Richard Tomson, son of Richard Tomson who began the Tomson & Wotton brewery in Ramsgate. They were heirs to the estate of Sir William Fox and so inherited Effingham House. By the early 19th century, the house appears on maps. The house had extensive grounds to the rear which extended to the west and north as far as Elms Avenue and Clarendon Gardens. We can see these clearly on a map from 1873. In 1851, Richard and Mary’s son, William, with his wife Harriot moved in as the residents of the house, to be followed by their son William who moved in with his wife Eliza in 1878. By now, this extensive Tomson family possessed land holdings across Ramsgate and in 1891 they sold their managing concern in Tomson & Wotton brewery. It seems at this time in the late 19th century that they had no further use for Effingham House and by 1899 it lay empty.
Following the arrival of the South Eastern Railway’s branch line to Ramsgate in 1846, a series of major urban improvements were made. The construction of Royal Parade and landscaped paths to join the upper promenades to the seafront and Undercliff walks responded to and encouraged the town’s burgeoning tourist industry. New hospitals, schools and services were established to serve the expanding permanent population of the town.
After a disastrous fire in the town in 1886, this led to the officer in charge of the existing fire station in York Street, Captain Charles West from Paddington Fire Station London, to update equipment and find new premises. Finally, Captain West, with the assistance of the press, won his campaign and the new station was proposed on August 29, 1904. In 1900, the Effingham House building was bought by the Ramsgate Corporation. It was agreed that it would be converted into a fire station with living premises.
Conversion and significant rebuilding work was conducted in 1905 under the direction of Borough Engineer T G Taylor, to turn the old Effingham House into the spaces you see today, with the ground floor rooms turned into the fire engine hall with its huge window doors. The fire station opened in 1905 and operated in the building until 2018, becoming one of the oldest buildings still operating as a fire station in England.
We now begin the ‘third life’ of this building, as Ramsgate Town Council start renovations. It has been named after the person who left money in his will, Mr Radford, to help the community of Ramsgate. Radford House will be open to all, a community space with workspaces and meeting spaces as well as a revitalised hall for events and activities.
For further information please contact
radford.events@ramsgatetc.org.uk.
TIMELINE
1723 A house on the site first appears on a map of Ramsgate (we have not confirmed yet that this is the same building you see here).
1728 The street was potentially known as ‘Brick Street’.
1759 William Fox was made a Lieutenant in the Navy (aged 26).
1780’s Brick Street had become Effingham Place and was considered ‘desirable’.
1781 William Fox goes to live in the house in Effingham Place.
1783 Naval campaigns in America over, Fox was not re-employed.
1799 Fox was made a superannuated Admiral.
1810 Admiral Lord William Fox dies (1733 – 1810), leaving his estate including the Effingham House to his heirs.
1829 By now the house is owned by Richard Tomson of the Tomson & Wotton Brewery.
1849 – 1872 The street was renamed as Effingham Street.
1851 William Fox (the Admiral’s nephew) and his wife Harriot move to the house.
1856 The family make extensive household purchases from the ironmonger.
1875 Harriot dies.
1878 Eliza and husband William Fox move to Effingham House.
1891 Eliza and her brother-in-law Martin Fox sell their concern in the Tomson & Wotton brewery.
1900 The house is sold to the Ramsgate Corporation and the lands used to build the Ramsgate Library and Chatham & Clarendon School buildings.
1905 The house is converted into the new Fire Station for Ramsgate.
1915 Chief Fireman Captain Charles West dies.
2018 The Fire Brigade moved from Effingham House and into Ramsgate’s first purpose-built Fire Station after 113 years of operation at this building.
2019 Purchased by Ramsgate Town Council with a legacy from Mr Radford and renamed Radford House.
2025 Renovations begin converting Radford House into a community space and hub.