Tankerton

Tankerton is a suburb of Whitstable in Kent in south-east England. It was designed in the late 19th century as the train network brought holidaymakers to the sea.HistoryThe place-name 'Tankerton' is first attested in The Book Of Fees for 1242, where it appears as Tangrenton. The name means 'the town or settlement of Tancred's people'.Tankerton-on-Sea was a commercial development by the Tankerton Estate Company in the late 19th century, and was designed with a grid of streets leading from the shoreline.EnvironmentThe slopes to the shore are a site of special scientific interest because they support the largest single population of the large umbellifer hog's fennel in Britain. The Tankerton Estates still exist and are managed by County Estate Agents in Whitstable.EconomyThe economy is based around tourism. The little wooden beach huts at the base of the slopes are currently highly desirable, and notable owners have included Tracey Emin, who sold hers to Charles Saatchi for £75,000. Seaview Caravan Holiday Park adjoins Tankerton, and formerly also contained a large number of chalets, as well as static caravans and camping. It is one of the largest holiday parks on the North Kent coastDemographyAt the 2001 UK census, the Tankerton electoral ward had a population of 4583. The ethnicity was 98.7% white, 0.4% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% black and 0.1% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.3% United Kingdom, 0.7% Republic of Ireland, 1.3% other Western European countries, and 2.7% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 80.2% Christian, 0.4% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh and 0.2% Muslim. 12% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 6.6% did not state their religion.