 Papers, periodicals and refreshments were available and there were boatmen for hire to row gentlemen bathers out into deeper water.The business grew and by the beginning of the 19th century, the number of bathing machines on offer at Ramsgate sands had risen to over 20.The new proprietors, Messrs Barling, Foat and Wells, replaced the sheds with more respectable “Bathing Rooms” and removed the chalk promontory to put in a small row of shops, a bazaar and even a billiard room.