Westwood is a village and retail estate in
Thanet district of
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England, and south of
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
.
History
Westwood developed on the road between Margate and Ramsgate (now designated the A254). Most of the village is in the civil parish of
Broadstairs and St Peter's.
Haine Hospital opened as an
isolation hospital in 1902. A 2015 car park collapse beneath the
Westwood Cross Primark store revealed underground tunnels believed to have been constructed during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
training exercises. Researchers suggested they were subsequently used as
air raid shelters for servicemen at the hospital and then sealed up.
The village became a focus for retail development towards the end of the 20th century, and is now one of four designated Town Centres in Thanet.
Economy
Shopping centre
A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
s in Westwood include
Land Securities' Westwood Cross, and
Hammerson's East Kent Retail Park and Westwood Gateway Retail Park.
[''Building Design News'' (2009). "CNP Appointed on £4.5M Hammerson Retail Park Project". ]
Notable residents
Entertainers
Kate and
Harry Rickards had a country home called "Westwood Lodge" in the village in the early 1900s.
[ s.n. (3 September 1909)]
"Social Items"
. '' The Northern Miner'', p. 6. Retrieved 17 October 2019.[''Historic England'' (2017)]
"Westwood Lodge. Listed Building 1446506"
. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
References
External links
*
Villages in Kent
{{kent-geo-stub