Archive 2008
December 2008
Government has today launched the eagerly awaited World Heritage Policy consultation for the UK and Overseas Territories.
Each nation is required to review their shortlists ("Tentative Lists") of sites to propose for World Heritage Site status every decade. Chatham Dockyard and its Defences were first included on the previous UK Tentative List, which was published in 1999. Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport are combining this review with a broader look at the UK's approach to the selection, management, promotion and protection of its internationally significant sites.
The consultation remains open until 24th February 2009. If you would like to find out more, please access the report here. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk or visit www.culture.gov.uk.
October 2008
We are pleased to announce the results of the Chatham World Heritage Community Fund – our small grants scheme to help local residents and community groups achieve the aims and seize the opportunities of our World Heritage Site application.
The Community Fund will finance the following four projects:
Fairbridge in Kent will receive £993 to pilot a ‘Chatham Teen Time Team’ investigation. Fairbridge will work with teenagers to investigate life as seamen, shipbuilders and fitters (boys and girls) throughout the dockyard’s 400-year history. They will use drama, story telling, film and music to represent ‘a day in the life’ of a dockyard worker from the age of sail.
The village of Brompton will benefit from up to £500 towards a community notice board and website, which will help involve all residents in the promotion and preservation of Brompton as a central part of our World Heritage Site application. (NB. The website is now up and running – see www.bromptonvillage.co.uk)
The Friends of the Admiral’s Gardens will receive £1,000 towards recruiting new members to support the development and promotion of the Lower Lines Park. The funds will cover production of a leaflet and creation of a website, as well as a special ‘picnic in the park’ event. The funds have also secured a meeting venue for the Friends for the next year.
The Mixed Media Adult Education Class from Gillingham has received a £100 grant towards a project entitled “Chatham’s World Heritage – past and present”. Students will each produce a piece of work inspired by Chatham’s World Heritage. The Community Partnership Fund will meet the costs of displaying the artwork in a suitable local venue.
We hope to be able to run a further funding round next summer, subject to funds being available.
September 2008
New Partnership Sponsor
We are delighted to announce that ASDA will be sponsoring the next meeting of the Chatham World Heritage Partnership (date and venue to be confirmed).
Chatham Store Manager David Jones said: “The World Heritage bid is something that can truly help Chatham and the renovation of the Great Lines is a fantastic project that will be of great interest to our customers. Myself and store colleagues will be sitting down to think of ways in which we can help our customers find out more about Chatham’s bid.”
ASDA's sponsorship celebrates the opening of their newly refurbished store in Chatham.
September 2008
An excellent season of summer opening at Fort Amherst closed with a record 747 visitors yesterday. In total, the summer's free open Sundays welcomed 4,925 guests across thirteen days. The open days were funded by Chatham World Heritage to help raise the profile of Chatham's World Heritage Site application, and the Great Lines City Park project.
September 2008
MAKE Lecture Series 2008
The University for the Creative Arts at Rochester are offering a series of FREE public lectures, beginning on 18th September with "Building Bridges and 4000 Model Ships". Guest speakers Derek Flippance of the Royal Engineers Museum and Richard Holdsworth from Chatham Historic Dockyard will speak about the use and role of analogue models in their museums’ collections and their plans to expand the range of artefacts on display.
MAKE is a research cluster at the University that was set up in 2007 to explore the use of models in the development, presentation and marketing of ideas.
This first lecture event will also see the launch of MAKE’s new on-line research platform, a website that will host and record ongoing research events and projects. All are welcome to the event. The lecture will start at 5pm in the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre, UCA Rochester, with tea & coffee from 4:30pm in the college’s main foyer. Click here for details.
August 2008
Summer Sundays at Fort Amherst have proved a tremendous success. Visitors to the site on Sunday 10th August topped 630 - the highest ever visitor figure for a non-event day. Chatham World Heritage and the Fort Amherst Heritage Trust have been delighted by the enthusiasm for the site, the World Heritage application and the Great Lines City Park project.
There's still time to enjoy a free visit and guided tour of the site, with ongoing Sunday opening until 14th September, and bonus open days on Monday 25th August and Saturday 13th September. Opening times are 10.30am-4.30pm.
July 2008
Chatham World Heritage and the University of Greenwich have joined forces to create a post-graduate student placement from September 2008 - July 2009. Chatham World Heritage will cover a student's fees and limited expenses for a MSc degree in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. The selected student, based at the University's Medway campus, will explore the development of Chatham's proposed World Heritage Site from the Age of Sail to the present day, using a series of historic maps and sophisticated GIS tools. This will provide an excellent resource for the identification of potential hotspots for archaeological remains, and in support of the interpretation of Chatham's significance. The student's work will make a major contribution to the future management and promotion of Chatham's World Heritage.
Students interested in applying are invited to contact Joanne Cable at chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk.
July 2008
Free entry to Fort Amherst this summer!
The spectacular Napoleonic fortification of Fort Amherst will open free of charge this summer, from Sunday 13th July and every following Sunday until 14th September 2008. There will also be free entry on August Bank Holiday Monday (25th August) and Saturday 13th September.
Opening times are 10.30am – 4pm.
The free admission is a joint undertaking between Chatham World Heritage and Fort Amherst Heritage Trust, aimed at increasing public awareness of the future Great Lines City Park, and the World Heritage Site application for Chatham Dockyard and its defences.
Visitors will be amazed at the extent of these fortifications in the heart of Medway, and a free guided tour through the maze of tunnels dug deep into the chalk cliffs will lead to one of the finest views across Chatham and Rochester.
No need to book - just arrive on the day. Free parking is available on site (voluntary donations will be most welcome).
June 2008
We are pleased to announce that The Aerial Reconnaissance Co will be the generous sponsors of the next Chatham World Heritage Partnership meeting. Details of this meeting will be confirmed in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, why not have a look at the amazing aerial views of Chatham's World Heritage which The Aerial Reconnaissance Co have kindly donated to the project.
June 2008
The present will be buried for future generations tomorrow when a time capsule celebration takes place in the Town Hall Gardens, Chatham.
A group or residents and artists - fascinated by the history of Medway that the gardens contain - came up with the idea of making a time capsule that would contain their memories of the area, and their ideas of how they might like to see the gardens change in the future.
Local residents are warmly welcome to attend the event from 2.30-4pm.
The contents of the capsule are to remain a secret, preserved for residents of the future to discover.
The project has been funded by Medway Council (through the EU project REIGNITE), Medway Renaissance, Chatham World Heritage, ward councillor Bill Esterson and the Brook Lines Residents Action Group.
May 2008
A summary of last week's popular Chatham World Heritage Partnership meeting is now available here. The summary also contains important guidance for anyone wishing to apply for project funding from the Chatham World Heritage Community Fund.
May 2008
Thanks to everyone who participated in Tuesday's Chatham World Heritage Partnership meeting. Another successful event saw over 100 people visit the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks. The majority of participants also stayed on after the meeting for a rare guided glimpse inside the Officers' Mess.
Participants were welcomed by Brigadier Tony Harking of the RSME. Cllr Rodney Chambers, Leader of Medway Council, summed up the evening with very positive reflections on the significant momentum which is powering the project, and the excellence of the case underpinning Chatham's potential nomination.
Another of the evening's highlights was the announcement of the launch of the Partnership Heritage Fund, providing local residents and community groups a funded opportunity to develop projects in support of Chatham's World Heritage. Full details of how to apply will be posted on the website next week, along with a full summary of the evening's activities.
May 2008
The draft summary of the Management Plan - a central part of Chatham's World Heritage Site application - has been launched. The background to the document will be presented at tomorrow's World Heritage Partnership meeting, and comments are very welcome: chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk. Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to the development of the plan, and in particular, those who attended the World Heritage Partnership meeting on 30th January.
The draft of the full Management Plan will follow, once a full range of potential projects and actions in support of the agreed objectives has been collated. This full draft will also be subject to its own period of consultation.
The draft summary can be downloaded here.
May 2008
Registration has opened for the third meeting of the Chatham World Heritage Partnership, which will take place from 6.00pm - 7.25pm on Tuesday 20th May. The meeting will take place within Brompton Barracks, and there is a (free) optional tour of the Headquarter Mess after the event. The programme for the evening can be found here.
The meeting is open to anyone who is interested in attending. Places must be booked, however, by emailing chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk. Please include your name and address, job title where appropriate, and any special access or dietary requirements. Please also note if you would like to take part in the optional tour. There is ample free parking within the barracks, although please provide your vehicle make, model, colour and registration details should you wish to park on site.
April 2008
On Saturday 26th April several new arrivals will make their long awaited appearance at the Royal Engineers Museum.
The Royal Engineers Museum will oversee the arrival of six new large vehicles to their grounds. The car park will be closed for a day, allowing room to maneouvre and position the new Churchill Tank Bridge Layer, Combat Engineer Tractor, Churchill Tank AVRE, and Terrier Manoeuvre Support Vehicle. Perhaps the most exciting arrivals will be the newly de-classified TROJAN and TITAN tanks, which will sit at the entrance to the Museum, providing a fantastic welcome for visitors.
Trojan in action.
April 2008
There is an exciting community vacancy for a Trustee for the Lower Lines Park - also known as the Admiral's Gardens.
The park will open in autumn 2009 and is the first phase of the Great Lines City Park. It has been made possible thanks to the development of Mid Kent College's new campus, off Medway Road, in Gillingham. The Lower Lines Park will be owned and operated by an independent trust and the college is seeking a local resident to join the Board of Trustees. The successful applicant will have:
- experience of working on a voluntary or elected body,
- a strong commitment to the local area,
- an enthusiasm for heritage and / or ecological issues.
More information can be downloaded here
March 2008
Save the Date. The next World Heritage Partnership meeting will take place on Tuesday 20th May, within the Royal School of Military Engineering (Brompton Barracks). All Chatham World Heritage Partners will receive an invite. If you're not already a member, why not sign up today?.
The meeting will help develop an action plan arising from the opportunities and challenges identified in the Partnership's last meeting. It will make an important contribution to Chatham's World Heritage application. Anyone with any nature of interest in the site is very welcome.
More details will follow.
February 2008
Thanks again to everyone who came along to the Chatham World Heritage Partnership meeting on 30th January. A summary, analysis and record of comments can be found here.
There is still time to add your contribution - whether you came to the event, and have more to say, or whether you were unable to make the meeting in person. The summary contains a few particular questions where we would especially welcome additional contributions.
The Partnership will meet again in May, focusing on specific actions stemming from the challenges and opportunities raised in January.
February 2008
Many thanks to all who attended the Chatham World Heritage Partnership meeting on Wednesday evening.
Over 80 residents, businesses and stakeholders came along for a lively evening of discussion, designed to shape the way Chatham's World Heritage is cared for into the future. It was the first opportunity to meet the Partnership's new Chair, Lindsey Morgan, who spoke of the long and exciting road ahead, and of her joy at representing such a committed partnership. It was also an opportunity to hear about exciting plans for the National Museums at Chatham project (see December updates below).
The Partnership will meet again in the early summer.
The event was once more kindly supported by Hamptons International, seling agents for the quays at Chatham Maritime. To view their words of welcome, please click here.
January 2008
The next meeting of the Chatham World Heritage Partnership will be held on 30th January 2008, from 5.30pm - 7.45pm, at the University of Greenwich's Medway campus. The meeting will focus on how to protect and promote Chatham’s World Heritage, and its findings will form an important part of Chatham’s World Heritage application. All are welcome. The invitation letter and map can be downloaded here: invitation.pdf maps_and_directions.pdf
To find out more, or to reserve a place, please e-mail chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk.
We are pleased to confirm that Hamptons International are again generously supporting the event.
January 2008
The Historic Dockyard has won a prestigious award from the Black History Foundation for “the most outstanding contribution to black heritage in 2007 South East”, for the exhibition entitled “Freedom 1807 - The Chatham Dockyard Story”.
The exhibition commemorates the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. It opened on Sunday 25th March 2007, the actual date that the Bill was passed 200 years before.
It takes a different look at the history of Chatham, in the context of Slavery and the Royal Navy’s role in protecting British interests including Caribbean plantations where many of the slaves were forced to work. It also covers the work of Chatham built ships in stopping the slave trade and looks at the ‘hidden history’ of people from ethnic minorities who served with the Royal Navy or worked in the dockyard.
One of The Historic Dockyard’s Historic Warships, HMS Gannet is the only surviving British warship to have taken part in the suppression of the slave trade off Africa during the 19th century. Between 1885 and 1888 she undertook anti-slavery patrols in the Red Sea intercepting Arab slave traders operating off the East Coast of Africa.
