Description
Now an event and exhibition venue Folkestone’s Custom House was once a grand Italianate building befitting of the town’s importance in Victorian and Edwardian times, and the building’s role as both the centre of activity on the harbour and the gateway to Britain. Passengers would step off the boat from France and pass through the hall before boarding the train at the harbour station. Only a small part of the building remains today, having been heavily bombed ruing World War II. The remains were used as a cloakroom and telegraph mainly.
The restoration by the Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development Co replicates the main entrance façade, with some windows and doorways unblocked, though keeping elements of the buildings changes over the years, it recognises the importance to show how it was originally seen.
Picture Credit: © Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development Co.
