St George the Martyr - Architecture
The church is built of brick with stone string courses, battlements, parapets, pinnacles and dressings. The most impressive feature of St George's is the octagonal stone Lantern with flying buttresses and balustrades which was built to be a navigational guide to shipping in the Channel.
Like the rest of the building it had suffered greatly from the eroding effects of salt-laden winds, rusting iron dowels and pollution to the point when it had become a dangerous structure. Restoration of the Lantern began in January 2001 and was completed in September 2004 at a cost of £1,204,000. Round the top of the Lantern are letters spelling the name 'St George'. The tower is 136 feet high and contains a set of tubular bells as it is not strong enough to carry a peal. The Vulliamy clock is one of the main timepieces in the town with dials facing south, north and west and was donated in 1829 at a cost of 250 guineas.
Interior - The first impression the visitor gains is of a high, light building with tall slim pillars bearing a quasi-triforium and ribbed roof vaulting. The style is English Gothic with some examples of Early English and Perpendicular influences. On three sides are balconies which, together with the nave pews, provide seating for 1,300 people.
On the walls of the aisles are tablets commemorating those buried in the Crypt.
Chancel - The Chancel houses the Choir stalls and the fine four manual Hill organ moved from the West Gallery in 1884. Part of the screen was installed in 1886 to to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria and was extended in 1901.
Sanctuary - The High Altar is set in the Sanctuary. The original East window depicting the twelve apostles and presented to the first incumbent by grateful parishioners was destroyed during the Second World War and was replaced in 1961 by the present lights showing the Crucifixion and Ascension; St Matthew, St Mark, St Luke and St John - the four evangelists and the four patron saints of the United Kingdom - St George (England), St David (Wales), St Andrew (Scotland) and St Patrick (Ireland).
To the left of the Chancel steps the brass lectern with the eagle bearing the Word of God dates from 1876. To the right of the steps the high oak pulpit replaced an even higher one in 1884. Near the pulpit is one of two War Memorial Books in the church.
South Aisle - The Chapel at the East end of the South Aisle is known both as the Lady Chapel and the Victory Chapel. Here is to be found the only original glass in the church - the Harvey Memorial window. Above it are two medallions from other original windows.
The Dunkirk Memorial window, installed in 1961, shows the Little Ships sailing from Ramsgate Royal Harbour to evacuate troops from the Dunkirk beaches in 1940. The window also shows housewives who greeted the returning men with food and blankets, the evacuation of troops from the railway station and the receiving of Holy Communion in the Crypt where services were held during the war. The badges of six organizations involved in the rescue operations are also depicted. The inscription reads:
'Deliverance for the shipwrecked, Health for the sick, Safety for those troubled by war'.
Immediately under the window is a casket of sand from the Dunkirk beaches. Opposite is a half size copy of a statue by Michelangelo of the Madonna and Child: the original is in the Church of Our Lady, Bruges. To the right of this is a Wardroom panel from an Air Sea Rescue launch of Dover Command which operated from Ramsgate.
As you go towards the back of the church do look at the mural above the West Gallery by Henry Weigall showing angels bearing a departed saint to heaven.