Picture of the Month, May 2012

Outside the Cannon, c.WWI
Landlord Thomas Pilcher (civilian in back row), his son Bernard T. Pilcher (civilian in front row, with dog) and a group of Royal Engineers.

SEPTEMBER 2012

Brompton History Walks
Sunday 9th September
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

AUGUST 2012

Brompton History Walks
Saturday 25th August
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Friday 17th August
10.30am Chatham Lines Walk
2.00pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Sunday 12th August
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Thursday 2nd August
5.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

JULY 2012

Brompton History Walks
Saturday 28th July
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Thursday 19th July
10.30am Chatham Lines Walk
2.00pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Thursday 12th July
5.30m Chatham Lines Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Sunday 8th July
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

BVA Annual General Meeting
Sunday 1st July
(Provisional date, venue TBC)

JUNE 2012

Brompton 200: Civilian Life in A Military Village
Saturday 30th June
Opening of a new exhibition about life in Brompton in the 200 years since the Royal Engineers arrived in Brompton. At the Royal Engineers Museum.
See here for more details.

Brompton History Walks
Thursday 28th June
5.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Saturday 23rd June
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Brompton History Walks
Sunday 10th June
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Next BVA Meeting
Sunday 10th June at 7pm, in the Cannon Public House, Garden Street.

R.E. Museum Library Open Day
10.30am till 3pm Friday June 8th 2012.
An exclusive opportunity to visit for FREE the Royal Engineers Museum Library. Explore the local history collections held in the Library.
No booking necessary but visitors are required to bring photo ID. Please come to the Museum reception on the day to sign in.
Please note entrance to the Library is stepped.

MAY 2012

Brompton History Walks
Saturday 26th May
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Third Brompton Research Open Day
Saturday 19th May 2012

By popular request - the Brompton Research Study Group – led by local volunteers - is running a third oral history event and is looking for memories of Brompton. If you visited, worked or lived in Brompton, near Chatham, in the ‘40s, ‘50s or ‘60s (or earlier) please come along to a drop-in session, or if you know anyone who fits the bill, please encourage them to attend. If you have any old photos or documents relating to Brompton you are willing to share with the group, please bring them along too. There’s no need to book, and refreshments will be provided. All welcome on Saturday 19th May between 1pm and 4pm at the Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Road, Chatham.
This session is part of a bigger project exploring what it was like to live in Brompton from the age of sail onwards. For more information on the open session or the project as a whole, please contact Nicola Moy on 01634 334319 or chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk

Brompton History Walks
Sunday 13th May
11.00am Chatham Lines Walk
2.30pm Brompton Village Walk
See here for details of the walks.

Next BVA Meeting
Sunday 6th May at 7pm, in the Cannon Public House, Garden Street.

APRIL 2012

Next BVA Meeting
Sunday 1st April at 7pm, venue TBA.

MARCH 2012

Second Brompton Research Open Day
16th March 2012

By popular request - the Brompton Research Study Group – led by local volunteers - is running a second oral history event and is looking for memories of Brompton. If you visited, worked or lived in Brompton, near Chatham, in the ‘40s, ‘50s or ‘60s (or earlier) please come along to a drop-in session, or if you know anyone who fits the bill, please encourage them to attend. If you have any old photos or documents relating to Brompton you are willing to share with the group, please bring them along too. There’s no need to book, and refreshments will be provided. All welcome on Friday 16 March between 1pm and 5pm at the Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Road, Chatham.
This session is part of a bigger project exploring what it was like to live in Brompton from the age of sail onwards. For more information on the open session or the project as a whole, please contact Nicola Moy on 01634 334319 or chathamworldheritage@medway.gov.uk

Next BVA Meeting
Sunday 4th March in the Cannon at 7pm.

Brompton Disco
3rd March

“To promote Brompton as a working and inclusive village community both to its inhabitants and to the outside world.”

29th MAY 2012

Chatham World Heritage Bid Does Not Go Through This Time

Yesterday it was announced that despote being on the shortlist for several years, the Govenment did not put Chatham's world Heritage Bid forward this time. Instead they submitted Scotland's Forth Bridge and Gorham's Cave Complex in Gibraltar. UNESCO's World Heritage Committee is expected to take the final decision on the Forth Bridge in June 2015 and on Gorham's Cave Complex in 2016.

From the Expert Assessment (which is online) it is clear that there are two serious concerns – one that the universal value is doubtful as comparison has really only been with the equivalent Spanish and French yards, second – and of more interest to the community of Brompton – is that encroaching development since 1999 is damaging the authenticity of the site. There is a strong undertone that this bid is going to fail in the end unless the council shows active steps to protect the site.

The first concern seems to not take into account the combination of all the factors - not only does the bid cover the Dockyard, but also the associated defences, barracks and artisan's village (i.e. Brompton).

The second concern is something that needs dealing with - a couple of extracts from the report demonstrate the concerns (in the following quotes the term OUV refers to "Outstanding Universal Value"):

There was concern about development encroaching on the site, despite the fact it had been on the UK Tentative List since 1999. The Group would have expected greater effective protection to have been demonstrated for a Tentative List site. The commitment of the Local Authority to conserving potential OUV when there was pressure for economic development would need to be clearly demonstrated. The Technical Evaluation suggested that there would continue to be development within the site and within the proposed buffer zone but not much information was provided. This also raised concerns and it was essential that any proposed developments respected the potential OUV of the site. There were protection mechanisms in place (it was noted, for example, that the Steering Group was invited to comment on planning applications) but questions about how they were applied. The Group thought that in dealing with development pressures over the next few years, the Local Authority would have the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of its commitment to effective conservation of the site within its setting.

The Group considered that there might be a case for OUV but that this was currently compromised by concerns about authenticity and integrity of the site as a whole and about protection from development pressure since the time the site was included on the 1999 Tentative List and in the future.

Presumably developments such as The Eye in Chatham, built on the Field of Fire in 2006, The Lampard Center on the Inner Lines in 2011 and the current building of the New Brompton Academy on the Lines and the development threatening the dragon's teeth defences in Medway Road are the sorts of developments the experts are concerned about.

Press Release.

Expert Group Comments.