about flamingo house
Flamingos aren’t exactly native to Kent but we decided to call our place ‘Flamingo House’ because flamingos and Nelson Road have one important thing in common – salt marshes. The house was built near the old Whitstable salt marshes and salt works. Here they used to allow the marsh to flood, then drain and dry so the salt left behind could be collected. Street names off what is now Cornwallis Circle include The Salts and Salt Marsh Lane. These salt works, like those in Seasalter, were in existence since the turn of the 14th century and finally ceased production in 1830. Flamingos’ favoured habitat are saline marshes or water and that inspired us to name the house after them.
The house itself is just over 130 years old. The plot of land which Flamingo House and its next door neighbour now stand on was bought by local builder Horace Lawson for £61.10 on 19 September 1895. The house was built in a matter of months and on 10 April 1896 Horace sold it for £275. The buyer was a Caroline Sims, a widow who lived in Brixton. Almost all of the owners up to the 1970s had a South London connection. For instance Miss Mary Bessie Idle, of 99 The Chase, Clapham, bought the house for £350 in 1925.
Caroline Sims may have regretted her purchase because just over a year later, in November 1897, Nelson Road flooded. This storm also swept away the Old Neptune pub on the beach (it was rebuilt at its current location).
Whitstable was again hit by a devastating flood in 1953, which covered much of the town. The sea reached as high as 5 feet and you can still see the water marks on some houses. Lying adjacent to the old salt marshes, Nelson Road was one of the areas particularly badly affected. You can see photographs of Nelson Road submerged in water in both 1897 and 1953 in the master bedroom.
Fortunately things have been less eventful since then! If you want to find out more about Whitstable’s history, and why it is famous for its oysters and diving helmets, we would thoroughly recommend a visit to Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery (5a Oxford Street, www.whitstablemuseum.org).