St Paul's

Getting here

We are a vibrant, welcoming, Spirit filled church catering for all ages. We have a lot going on here with our services, 9.15 am Sunday Mornings being a more traditional service, with entry from the side door, then at 11.00 am we have our family service with lots of praise and singing with our inhouse band and a Sunday School for our younger members. In the evening at 18.00 pm we usually have a quiet time of prayer in our River service. We also have a Wednesday Holy Communion for those who need a top-up midweek, this starts at 10.30 am with entry from the side door and it is a shorter service in the Chancel area.

During the week we have Open Church on  Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10.30 - 12.00 pm. This is a chance to pop in and have a spiritual chat with somebody and a prayer if something is on your mind, or just sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit with like-minded folk. We have the Foodbank pick-up point here on these days and times too.

On Wednesdays opening at 19.00 pm we hold our Ignite evenings with lots of quizzes, food and drinks, and talks about many different subjects but focusing on the spiritual side. It is fast paced and full of fun. Please come and see for yourselves, and join in.

We also have many other activities going on most of the year, including our up-to-16's Youth Club on Tuesday evenings starting at 18.00 pm, entry from the side door. An over 16's is being trialed at present so please ask for details for either club. A games afternoon on Thursdays from 15.00 - 17.00 pm with table tennis, darts and pool. Please come and try. Tea, Coffee and a chat seems popular here. Entry is also from the side door. The St Paul's Church Health Walk (including a light meal for just a £1) on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays each month starting at 12.00 pm, and AA hold meetings on Monday evenings at 19.00 pm at the side door.

We hold a Brite-Night evening for our younger generation (adults welcome) on 31st October, All Hallows' Eve each year which is very popular. Brite clothing is optional but no Halloween outfits please. 

We often have a Christmas lighting up event with so much going on you just have to come and see for yourself. A poster will be up in the notice board outside with all the event times and activities.

Short History:

St Paul's Church was built 1872-73 for the new Down-From-London (DFL) population of the time who started to make this coastal area their own. 

The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Archibald Campbell Tait dedicated the Church in November 1873. It was built to expand on Trinity Church which stood just down the road in Trinity Square, Margate until it was bombed in 1943 during the second world war and later demolished. The growing numbers coming to buy homes on the coast away from the smoke in the city meant new churches were needed to cater for them. St Paul's could hold up to 800 parishioners on the tiers of pine pews and was often full up in the early years. Cliftonville quickly became an up-and-coming resort full of guest-houses and hotels lining down to the esplanade in rows from Alexandra Road, later renamed Northdown Road. It became 'the' area to stay for the lovely sandy beaches, clean sea water and fresh air. Margate being the first dedicated seaside resort in the Country with the introduction of the regular steamer boats bringing crowds of day-trippers and holiday-makers in 1815 and later by the new railway-line. 

<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Cliftonville today has evolved and is no longer the holiday resort it once was, with most of the guest-houses and hotels since being converted into flats or HMO's with some of the once tree-lined roads suffering from the problems associated with areas of multiple occupation and deprivation. Several of the old Hotels including the old Butlins complex were demolished to make way for new retirement flats but many of the previously converted flats and guest houses are now being converted back into family homes with the regeneration of the area. Many new generation DFL families and couples are moving into these newly converted homes. </span>

<span style="font-size: 1rem;">The award winning Turner Contemporary art gallery established in 2011 and closure of the ex RAF airfield at Manston in 2014 has brought a huge resurgence of tourism back to Thanet as a whole and many smaller galleries are opening in the old town area of Margate and also Cliftonville. Many multicultural shops and restaurants have opened in this area which is now up-and-coming once again.</span>

The area is slowly changing for the better but the need for Jesus never changes and St Paul's Church is here serving that need, come along and say hello we would love to see you.

93 Northdown Road
Cliftonville,
Margate
Kent
CT9 2RD

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