The name Broadstairs is derived from the Anglo - Saxon word 'Bradistow,' with other derivations being Bradgate and Broadstayer, significant of a bay or an opening in the cliff. As a definite place or settlement, Broadstairs began as an offshoot of the larger farming community of St. Peter's, located a mile inland around the parish church.

As the years of transformation slowly passed the fishing hamlet grew from a collection of cottages into a flourishing town t the picturesque medieval village which had conceived it.