December 2019 Faversham Society Newsletter

Faversham Society Newsletter December 2019 668 Our Beautiful Town, a musical presentation by Geoff Sandiford, will be performed at the Fleur hall at 7.30pm on 14, 15, and 16 January See page 2 Chairman’s column have contributed knowledge and ideas over HAROLD GOODWIN the past 18 months. We have presented our final evidence to Every year we hold a reception to thank the examination of the planned Cleve Hill the Open Houses and Open Gardens teams power station. The more we have learnt for their work for the society, these are our about it, the more those of us who have flagship educational events, and they raise worked on the proposal have become money to enable us to maintain the Fleur concerned. and contribute to the maintenance of our See page 7 and a link to our final heritage, in the Fleur and in the town. evidence which is published on the This year marked the peak of our annual Faversham Society’s website. Open Houses programme (see page 2). After The inspectorate’s decision will become 50 years we are going refresh the idea and known at the end of the month, and the evolve Open Houses into Open Faversham, board will then need to decide how we inspired by Open House London. Take a respond to it. We may find ourselves with a look (see page 3) and get in touch if you’d major campaign to mount as the decision like to be part of this. rests with a secretary of state. The final We have been actively working on decision is a political one. traffic, pollution and housing all year. With I would like to thank David Melville and a Swale Local Plan due to be delivered in Matthew Hatchwell who worked with me two years and continuing pressure from to draft our evidence and all those who central government for us to take more Faversham Society Newsletter | December 2019 1 housing, the society’s board will be spending a great deal of time on these DIARY issues in the next few years. The town 22 November-9 December Nick council has decided to develop a Stewart, Mudlark Furniture, Fleur Neighbourhood Plan and several board and gallery other members are already actively 27 November Talk by Dr Pat Reid engaged with it through the Faversham on Faversham’s Saxon finds, Future Forum. The society will be Market Inn, 7.30pm stretched next year. If you are concerned 14-22 December Christmas about these issues and have time to engage bazaar, Fleur gallery, 10.30am- please get in touch. 3.30pm The change in leadership in KCC has 28 December Christmas Walking resulted in cabinet posts changing and with History tour, 10.30am. Michael Whiting is no longer KCC cabinet See page 7 member for planning, highways, transport 14, 15, 16 January Our Beautiful and waste. We are working with his office Town, Fleur hall, 7.30pm. Tickets to organise something in early 2020. £5 from the Fleur. See this page May I take this opportunity to thank all 21 March One-day Historic Swale our volunteers for their work throughout conference on the Swale, Swale the year and to wish you all season’s and our Identity. Plus heritage greetings. fair, Appleyard, Sittingbourne [email protected] Several months later the musical The society in music presentation is finished and ready to GEOFF SANDIFORD perform. It comprises 15 songs and many The inspiration for the musical Our images, which celebrate the achievements Beautiful Town came directly from Christine of the early days of the Faversham Society Rayner’s book 50 Years of the Faversham which saved our beautiful town. Society 1962-2012. Our Beautiful Town will be performed at It tells of the epic struggle to protect this the Fleur hall at 7.30pm on 14, 15 and 16 medieval gem of a town against the January. Tickets are £5 and are available ruthless planners of the 1960s. It features from the Fleur. some great stories about the individuals who founded the Faversham Society. 50th year of Open Houses I thought this would be a great idea for a HAROLD GOODWIN musical presentation. I approached the The Faversham Society ran its first Open society, which agreed to help with the Houses programme 50 years ago with research and had fun poring over old three properties. From this small beginning photographs and videos with Chris it grew until this year, when we sold 650 Wootton. I met Dorothy Percival, who tickets for entry to 51 properties. organised meetings with some of the Over the three weekends, we estimate founder members to get the inside story of that there were 6,300 visits. We have those exciting days. checked nationally and, so far as we can 2 Faversham Society Newsletter | December 2019 Open House volunteers (from left): Moyra Harding, Sylvie Jones, Chris Brooke-Taylor, Annette Brooke- Taylor, Sheila Gibbins, and Helen Albery ascertain, Faversham ran the first Open current committee wishes to retire and that Houses programme in the UK. There is this 50th anniversary year would be their now, of course, a large national last. They have done brilliantly to grow the programme, Heritage Open Days, which programme. Its success is a result of their run in September each year. considerable effort over many months each Heritage Open Days have just celebrated year. It is increasingly difficult to persuade their 25th anniversary and have grown into people to open their houses, and there a vibrant celebration of histories and were none, for example, open in Abbey cultures, with more than 5,500 events Street this year. More and more people and taking place in 2018 across England. The members are commenting that there are London Open Houses programme now few new properties to visit. comprises 800-plus buildings, walks, talks Open Faversham: Jonathan Carey and I and tours. have been meeting Moyra Harding and The current Open Houses Committee, Helen Albery and their committee for a Moyra Harding and Helen Albery, assisted while, and it is clear that it is time for by Chris and Annette Brooke-Taylor, Sheila change. They will continue to assist with Gibbins and Linda Hird, created a great advice, but the work needs to be taken up success this year. Open Houses and Open by others. The Faversham Museums Gardens, the latter run by a different group, Together Group and the mapping project are remarkable for their combination of continue to develop and what has emerged educational work and fundraising. The from our working group within the society society is justly proud of this achievement is Open Faversham. and extremely grateful to all those who Our thinking has been stimulated by have built it into such a great success. how Open House London has grown to I have known for some months that the encompass streets, streetscapes, buildings, Faversham Society Newsletter | December 2019 3 open spaces, talks and cultural activities. In London, there is something of a mini- Masterful sailing study festival across the city. Faversham is good at CHARLES TRAILL festivals. Sailing Coasters of Faversham is the third So Open Faversham will each year invite volume of Hugh Perks’s study of the residents and visitors to share in a vessels associated with the port of celebration of aspects of our heritage Faversham, a trilogy started in 2010. through guided walks, visits, music, drama, Having covered smacks and barges in his talks, displays and exhibitions. The themes two previous Faversham Papers, this new will change from year to year and may one covers the cargo ships that were repeat perhaps every four or five years. We based at or visited the port. are planning two weekends each year in Its 16 chapters encompass not only the mid-July. We hope to attract people from extent of the Port of Faversham but also further afield and to create opportunities the trades it supported and the talented for evening talks and performances. individuals employed in and who, in For 2020 we are planning two weekends many cases, also operated the ships. The with opening events, talks or performances, author investigates the wide variety of on Friday evening. sail-powered cargo ships utilised, such as 11 July The coming of the railway to the brigs, schooners and hoys, as well as Faversham for train buffs and historians the large ketch-barges. Each have a 12 July Victorian Faversham – houses, distinctive rig and redeeming features for streets, public buildings and the recreation relevant trades; all are readily explained ground in the extensive glossary. 18 July Gunpowder in the town – the This is no rose-tinted account of times industrial archaeology, the housing for the gone by. The harsh reality of life at sea is workers, the owners and the managers stressed from the outset: ships sank and 19 July The Gunpowder works on the crews drowned. “Too many Faversham marsh and the great explosion coasters ended their days on sands and If you would like to be involved with rocks or were posted as missing believed one or more of these days, or know of foundered,” he says. Even so, the East others who might, or have contacts with Swale had for decades been considered whom we should be in touch, within or the only safe refuge between the Downs beyond, Faversham please email harold@ and Harwich, much more so than the haroldgoodwin.info or call 01795 532737 Medway. To aid his researches Hugh has Walking with podcasts explored a variety of official documents ANTONY MILLETT including ship registers, newspaper Mike Adams from Creek FM and I met one reports, family history archives and fine Sunday morning for a walk around the personal interviews recorded over many centre of Faversham.

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