Set high above the dramatic coastline of St Margaret’s Bay, the Grade II listed Coastguard Cottages have watched over the English Channel for more than 140 years. Built in 1884 to house coastguards and their families, the terrace was carefully positioned to command uninterrupted views across one of Britain’s most historic stretches of coastline and one of the busiest smuggling routes in England, where surveillance, community and coastal life were woven into the architecture.
At the entrance to the site sits the former Boathouse, once used as a workshop for repairing and maintaining the coastguard boats that served the bay below. Together with the cottages, stores and service buildings, the site operated as a small self-contained coastal community shaped by the rhythms of the sea and the demands of life on England’s edge.
The cottages still carry the scars of their history. During the Second World War, the western end of the terrace suffered severe bomb damage, leaving part of the building lost for almost fifty years. Despite this, the surviving structure endured, its distinctive silhouette remaining a landmark above the bay and a lasting reminder of St Margaret’s maritime heritage. Smugglers, coastguards, war and peace have all come and gone. The sea remains, a silent witness to more than a century of life lived within the cottages above.
Hollaway Studio were appointed to restore and modernise the iconic cottages for contemporary living, carefully balancing preservation with contemporary intervention. Sensitive rear extensions preserve the rhythm and character of the original terrace while opening the interiors towards the landscape and sea beyond. A new apartment building introduces a confident architectural contrast between the Victorian survivor and modern coastal living.
Using materials that echo the original architecture, including textured render, slate and muted coastal tones, the design draws from the character of the historic terrace while embracing a lighter contemporary language. The result is a project rooted in memory, resilience and place, allowing the Coastguard Cottages to continue their long relationship with the coastline.
