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No, you can’t move 1922 war memorial says inspector

DOROTHY PERCIVAL

Faversham’s war memorial cross will stay at the corner of Stone Street and Roman Road, where it was put in 1922. The Faversham War Memorial Garden Committee wanted to move it to the front of the large central stone slab on the new part of the garden, but Swale Council refused and a Planning Inspectorate officer has turned down a final appeal.

A procedural error by Swale in registering an earlier refusal in time left an opening for a further appeal by the memorial committee. However, the inspector, N. Thomas, said that to go round the same loop again merely to correct that formality would serve no purpose, as the council’s decision was clear.

The Faversham Society has always opposed any relocation of the old stone cross.

The report, which you can read from the link here, leads us through a masterly analysis of the whole matter, expressed with a deft choice of words that makes its complexities comprehensible to the lay person.

The relevant points of planning law in respect of listed buildings and conservation areas together with the historical, practical and aesthetic considerations are all examined in a professional and objective manner. Due recognition is paid to the possible benefits that might have accrued. However, these were not considered anywhere near enough to outweigh the greater case against the scheme.

One of the additional realisations that this report brought to my mind is the skill with which the inspector has clearly familiarised herself in detail with so much of the whole history of the site from the 1920s to the present day when presumably she might never have set foot here before. It’s a requirement of the job, you might say, but she has certainly succeeded here in the most impressive way. See also my comments below.

Whether you agree with the outcome or not I think everyone may see be able to see this report as a very thorough and fair one. Reading a government report does not readily come to mind as an attractive pursuit. However, I do recommend that members give this one a go. It has so much of interest to offer in content and style.

ANN FUREDI

We had a full house on 28 October. More than 100 members came out on a cold Monday night to listen as local MP Helen Whately, councillors Julian Speed (Swale) and Josh Rowlands (Faversham) plus Harold Goodwin (Community Land Trust) and Carol Goatham (Farms, Fields and Fresh Air) offered their perspectives on large developments.

The presentations were followed by a lively discussion and indicative vote to guide a Faversham Society board decision the following evening.

About two-thirds of the meeting voted to oppose all development on greenfield sites as a principle. A small number voted for dropping this commitment. Most people who took the opportunity to share their opinion in writing as they were either unable to attend the meeting or unwilling to indicate their view in public, made comments that were in line with the majority vote.

Subsequently following statement was agreed by the board:

“The Faversham Society welcomes the Faversham Neighbourhood Plan and encourages members to vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum. The society supports the development of affordable homes but remains opposed to all large developments on greenfield sites. When developments are proposed we will engage with stakeholders to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits to our town.”

Ah, but some of you insisted: what does that mean for the Duchy of Cornwall’s plans for southeast Faversham? Why isn’t it specifically mentioned? When is the Faversham Society going to climb off the fence join those who have formally notified Swale Borough Council?

So, here we are … this is our response to the duchy consultation as submitted to Swale:

“The Faversham Society is opposed in principle to all proposals for large-scale developments on greenfield sites around Faversham town and, while recognising the pressure of government targets, is of the opinion that Swale Council should not approve the duchy application – or any other similar substantial development proposals — prior to the approval of a Swale Council Local Plan.

“The revised Swale Council Local Plan will, we assume, consider fully the scale of growth and spatial patterns of proposals for the expansion of Faversham and its surrounding villages, and take full account of environmental, social infrastructure and traffic/transport impacts.

“It would be premature to approve any large developments on a piece-meal basis before a valid local plan is in place.”

The process of developing the Faversham Town Plan has underlined just how important it is to consider developments, however big or small, in context. The town plan’s strength is how it fits different priorities together and it is nothing short of bonkers to approve any significant development without a plan.

Already, a proposal for between 6,000 and 9,000 homes (depending on which report you read) in Highsted Valley, south of Sittingbourne, is awaiting a final sign-off by inspectors. The proposed development at Winterbourne Fields, between Faversham and Canterbury, provides another 1,800 homes.

It begs the question: who is going to buy these properties when they are built? As one person wrote, on a card handed in at the meeting: “I am 29 and have lived in Faversham for the majority of my life. The new developments will not make housing more affordable for my generation, unfortunately. I earn more than most of my peers and still can’t afford to buy.”

Those of us who are old enough to remember the Soviet Union, or who learnt a bit about Stalin’s five-year plans, may recount stories of factories that made only left shoes. They met the state-driven target but with utterly useless products. A left shoe needs to be matched to a right shoe – and a home needs to be matched to the people who need it.

It’s the job of local planners to make that match. Presumably it’s why they’re called planners. What we need is planned development which gives us the houses we need, in the right places. That might actually allow us to have homes and keep the farmland.

CONTACT ANN

Chris Wright: a true gentleman who campaigned for a better town

We were deeply saddened to hear of Chris Wright’s death. Spreading the word of Chris’s demise revealed a theme: “a good egg and a sad loss”; “a fine, gentle man”; “a true gentleman, a wonderful man”; “We shall miss him and we are all the better for having shared our time with him.”

Chris, who was 80, chaired the Faversham Creek Trust and campaigned for the swing bridge. He campaigned against painting yellow lines through the heart of our historic town centre and for data to understand how people move through Faversham in cars, on foot and by bike, evidence to support a kinder form of mobility: one that prioritised human interaction over speed and obvious convenience.

“He was an engineer of a particular kind, with a social conscience and a sensitive outlook,” said one tribute. He brought his professional and research skills to campaign for a better, more liveable Faversham. His authoritative voice gave weight to the 20’s Plenty campaign and helped that project become an unstoppable reality.

More tributes: “He was an amazingly knowledgeable professional and will be a great loss to his family and the community.” “Chris leaves an indelible legacy of safer streets, cleaner air and healthier conditions for all Faversham’s residents and visitors.”

In his own words: “Professor Chris Wright BSc PhD ACGI MICE CEng FIHT CMath FIMA is emeritus professor of transport management, Middlesex University, London. Originally trained as a civil engineer, for the last 45 years he has specialised in transport research, becoming a chartered mathematician in 1995. He has been chairman of the Executive Committee of the (UK) Universities Transport Study Group, and a member of several professional committees including the editorial board of the Municipal Engineer.

“He has advised the London Assembly on aspects of the mayor’s transport policy, has appeared on a number of radio and TV programmes, and produced over 150 research papers in the transport field. Chris was a founding director of the Whitstable Improvement Trust, is a past chairman of Faversham Creek Trust, and in 2024, he retired as a trustee of the Faversham Society. He has recently contributed to the development of the Faversham Neighbourhood Plan and continues to take an interest in local transport and development issues.”

Harold Goodwin brought together the thoughts and memories of many to write this obituary

Fine words spell end of memorial plan

DOROTHY PERCIVAL

My report (above) on the recent decisions about the Faversham War Memorial was not the place for personal comment. I would like to add, though, that I found the report a tour de force of English usage.

As a great lover of our rich language with its way of having six different words meaning – not quite – the same thing, I relished some telling choices in the report. The difference the subtle selection of a particular word makes conveys so much more than the bald meaning.

We all know how absurd instructions for some device can sound when they have been optimistically translated by someone with a dictionary of synonyms in one hand picking out a word with a pin. An electric sewing machine handbook told me that I must “upgrade the needle from the hopping position”. You know the kind of thing. Just about clear what it means, but not the words we would choose.

So, I particularly enjoyed some passages in the inspector’s report where it seemed to me she had hit upon exactly the right ones. She describes relocating the old cross in front of the “grandiose” stone slab as giving the former “the appearance of architectural salvage or a relic” and would be a “jarring juxtaposition”. Some might say this veers towards a subjective opinion. However, the inspector’s reasoning behind those comments are explained and to me they represent an acceptance of some level of objective aesthetic standards in these matters.

It may also interest new members to know that my late husband Arthur, while working at the Civic Trust in the early 1960s, helped to draft the Civic Amenities Act that paved the way for councils to set up conservation areas. So many decisions have rested on that act to the benefit of conservation, including the one that the original war memorial cross should stay where it is.

Christmas opening times

LEIGH ALLISON

The Fleur de Lis Museum will close at 3pm on Saturday, 21 December, and reopen on Saturday, 28 December.

That is the last day we are open this year, the museum will then be closed until February half-term.

The Visitor Information Centre at 12 Market Place closes on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Don’t forget we are a Scout Post drop off point – you don’t need to spend 85p on a stamp, it’s only 30p per card for local delivery and all the money goes to support our local Scout groups.

The second-hand bookshop in Preston Street will close at 1pm on Christmas Eve and reopen on Thursday, 2 January. However, it will be open on Saturday, 28 December.

Finally, a big thank you to all our volunteers who give so much of their time to keep all these places running for locals and visitors to the town to enjoy. We are always looking for new volunteers, so do please do get in touch if you have some time to spare.

volunteer@favershamsociety.org.

Museum’s big clean

HEATHER WOOTTON

While the museum is closed, we do an intensive clean of our displays. This year it’s all happening between 6 and 24 January. It’s a really fun job and a chance to get close up and hands-on with our collection.

You don’t need any specialist knowledge, and you’ll work within a team. All equipment, including vital supplies of coffee, tea and biscuits are provided!

So if you have a couple of hours (or more!) to spare then please contact me, Heather Wootton, on chwoott@aol.com.

Illuminating baroque

MO WICKHAM

A wonderful rendition of favourite baroque compositions will sung by Caritas Chamber Choir, directed by Benedict Preece and with a professional string ensemble, at St Mary of Charity Church.

We will be singing Handel’s Dixit Dominus which uses the Latin text of Psalm110. Handel completed this work in 1707 when he was living in Italy. The programme also includes the Bach motet Jesu, Meine Freude, Buxtehude’s Der Herr Ist Mit Mir, and Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir – a very exciting programme! Tickets cost £15 and are available online or on the door.

Our concert is on 30 November – the day Faversham Christmas lights are switched on – and starts at 6pm, so, once the town is illuminated why not head to the parish church for this wonderful concert, and then head home via the special evening market?

We’re planting the museum garden in true Jacob style

THE GARDEN TEAM

About this time last year we offered to help regenerate the Fleur de Lis Museum Garden, and in doing so rediscovered Plantae Favershamienses – A Catalogue of The More Perfect Plants Growing Spontaneously about Faversham in the County of Kent. This book (pictured), written by Edward Jacob in 1777, lists more than 600 plants that he found in and around the town at that time, and it seemed a perfect idea as a blueprint for a new garden.

The time period, although slightly earlier than the shop front, which is in the museum garden, puts us squarely in the Georgian era, tying the two together, and the provenance of the book means that we can share the garden as an exbibit to engage and inform as well as providing a lovely place to sit.

And so it became that we started to develop some new planting schemes based on this book.

We managed to begin the sowing of our wildflower meadow late spring. We have begun to incorporate our areas of native hedging and our cornfield area too, and now as we head through autumn and into winter we will look to move on the planting further with autumn sowings, bare root hedging and seeds for spring. The garden has been a bit mismatch over the past few months as we didn’t want to remove everything before we had plants to replace what we took out, but moving forward you will begin to see the new structure evolve.

The benefit of basing all our planting on the examples listed in Jacob’s book is that we are working with many wild flowers and native British plants. The result is that we have already seen a noted increase in wildlife in the garden.

Jacob categorised his plants in the areas that he found them. In response we are creating different zones of our garden to reflect this.

Closest to the door we have a cornfield area full of calendula, cornflowers, poppies and corn marigolds. We have just sown wheat in this area too to complete the
 look.

On the right-hand side is our meadow area sown with many wild flowers. Incidentally this has become a bit overrun with wild flowers we didn’t sow this year (and that unfortunately weren’t listed in Jacob’s book) but with the help of Caroline from the museum we have thinned this area out and resown with further plants which should germinate after the winter cold.

In the far corner is our woodland area which looks a bit bare at the moment, but has been planted with wood anemones and bluebells which we hope will establish themselves over the next few years to give a beautiful display.

By the far wall we will continue to plant some native hedgerows. These may take more time to establish but will provide a great wildlife habitat, hide some of the brickwork and help the feel of the garden in the process.

We are now looking for volunteers who would like to come and be part of the garden team. There is always a bit of weeding or planting or pruning to do, and although I have led on the idea and redevelopment, the plan is to have a team of gardeners to look after it, as and when they are available.

Without meaning to sound pretentious the new garden is a concept rather than a design. What I mean is that I don’t want anyone to feel that they couldn’t join in because they might break something. There are a few “rules”, if you like, to maintain the concept – basically all plants should come from Jacob’s book, and should also fit into the zones he identified.

To help with this we have a database and plans. I’m sure we will have as many failures as successes as we go along, but that’s all part of growing a garden!

If you’re interested in joining the museum garden team, or want to find out more, please do contact the Faversham Society’s volunteer co-ordinating team at the address below and share with them your interest. We can share with you what we’re up to and see if there is something you’d like to help with.

So please come and get involved, and a huge thank you to those who already have, in growing seeds, weeding and clearing to help us get to this point so far.

fleurdelis.museum.volunteer@gmail.com

History gift idea

CATHERINE LEE

Most Christmas shopping lists call out for something different but inexpensive. Whether you need a seasonal thank you for a child’s teacher or Scout leader, a stocking-filler for the friend who has everything, or a token of appreciation for the neighbour who feeds the cat and waters the plants while you’re away … the gift of a guided walk of Faversham is perfect!

Our walks have been recommended for visitors and locals alike and as a way of helping even long-term townspeople to see their town through fresh eyes. What a great way to share your love of Faversham with friends.

Vouchers cost £5 and can be exchanged for a place on any of the walks taking place in the 2025 season. Vouchers are available in the Visitor Information Centre at 12 Market Place from and next year’s schedule will be on our website in the New Year.

Street artist Graham shows how it’s done

JANE SECKER

Graham Upton, who was commissioned to design and produce two murals that now brighten the subway between The Mall and Preston Street will be giving a free talk for Faversham Society members at the Guildhall in January.

The subway art, funded by Network Rail, involved town councillors, the Faversham Society, West Faversham Community Association, and MP Helen Whately.

Graham worked with young people at schools and collected ideas from the society over the design of the murals, which were produced with spray paint. They depict the places that mean most to our young people and residents including: the Guildhall, St Mary’s Church, the Creek, Shepherd Neame brewery, the swimming pool and cinema and Ossie’s fish and chips!

The talk is at 7pm on Tuesday, 21 January. Come along and hear more about this and other projects (pictured) that Graham has worked upon n Kent, and learn more about the importance of community engagement in art projects. Graham’s work can be seen on his Instagram account: @shade2uk.

PAUL MOORBATH

An exciting development has emerged concerning the Tudor prayer book on display in our museum. The book consists of large portions of three Tudor books – the King’s Primer, Psalms and Prayers and Prayers or Meditations by Queen Katherine Parr – all bound together.

On the front end-paper is a message in blue pencil “Found hidden away in an old chimney” signed “George Johnson 1881”. The three were published during the reign of King Edward VI (1547-53). This bound group of three books was submitted to Dr David Shaw of the British Library who examined it and added it to the online English Short Title Catalogue of the British Library with the location of Fleur de Lis in Faversham.

Now the surprise! Having examined it, he has ruled that our edition of the King’s Primer is “apparently unrecorded”. So it is newly discovered and so rare that the British Library does not have it!

Postscript. A new film, Firebrand, was released in September based on the novel Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle. The film tells the story of Queen Katherine Parr who was appointed regent for King Henry VIII while he went off to war in Europe and as part of the deal he allowed her to write and publish Prayers or Meditations which you can see in our museum.

This was the first book in the English language printed and published by a female author.

Note to contributors

THE EDITOR

This is a joint issue for December and January. Make it your resolution to write for the newsletter in 2025. We welcome your views, but they must be signed.