Aylesford
Priory
Aylesford
www.thefriars.org.uk
Set
in the heart of Kent The Friars - Aylesford Priory - is an ancient
religious house of the Order of Carmelites dating back to the 13th
Century.
When
the friars returned to Aylesford in 1949 it was never with the intention
that it should become a place of pilgrimage. However, as soon as
they returned so the people began to come to pray and to help with
the enormous task of rebuilding and restoring.
 Aylesford
Priory is half way through a restoration project, funded by English
Heritage and the EH Lottery Fund. During the last 12 months the
gatehouse has been completely restored, and future work will focus
on an ancient barn
The
project forms two distinct parts - repair and restoration of the
Gatehouse and repair and renovation of the North Barn.
Work
is expected to take approximately 12 months and the scheduled date
for completion is June 2005.
Herne Bay Pier
Local inhabitants, fishermen and tourists alike have
never let go of the idea of the Herne Bay Pier being rebuilt to
its original glory. Recent surveys have put the figure at around
£12,000,000. Get
involved (BBC iCan)
Westenhanger
Castle
Stone
Street, Westenhanger,
Hythe, Kent CT21 4HX
Tel: 01303 261068
www.westenhangercastle.co.uk
The
castle is a unique example of how restoration works. However, not
many people are familiar with the scale of restoration which has been
carried out.
The
castle was in ruins and used to be on the English Heritage "At
Risk" register but it’s now completely restored. Parts
of the site still need restoring, the barns and some of the castle’s
outer wall will be the focus of the next phase of restoration.
One
of the barns at Westenhanger is classified as an Ancient Monument
and is one of only 2 examples in the country.
John
Forge lives and works on site. His family own Westenhanger Castle
and he has been working on the restoration for many years, together
with his wife and one full-time worker. So it really has been a
labour of love.
Greenhouse
at King George VI Memorial Park
King George VI Memorial Park, Ramsgate
www.ramsgate-society.org.uk
The Italianate greenhouse is a fantastic structure situated in the
middle of King George VI memorial park in Margate.
The greenhouse was imported from Italy 200 years ago and has 3,500
panes of glass, all individual, all different sizes.
 Work
is to scheduled to start in July 2004. The Italianate Greenhouse
is listed Grade II and is one of the surviving parts of the former
East Cliff Lodge Estate, which was once the home of Sir Moses and
Lady Judith Montefiore.
Chatham
Dockyard
The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent
Tel: 01634 823800
www.chdt.org.uk
Chatham Dockyard finds out in July 2004, whether or not its bid
for Heritage Lottery Funding is given the go-ahead.
If they get the green light, restoration will be carried out on
the Smithery. The Smithery is an important metal working building
with local, regional and national significance.
It played an important part in the mechanisation of the Royal Dockyards
during the Napoleonic Wars and in the subsequent transition from
the timber-hulled sail powered warship to the iron hulled steam
powered warship.
It has important associations with people and ships, in particular
Edward Holl, and HMS Achilles. Today the Smithery is one of only
a small number of industrial scale metal working facilities to survive
in Britain.
Ightham
Mote
Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, Kent
Tel: 01732 810378
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Although Ightham Mote is a National Trust property, it has recently
undergone major conservation work, which was part-funded by English
Heritage.
Most
of the work is now completed, and the attraction took the radical
step to stay open during all the reconstruction.
They chose to use this ongoing work as an asset instead of a hindrance
and inserted viewing windows, so that members of the public could
watch what was going on and watch the work in progress.
Margate's
Scenic Railway
Dreamland, Margate
Save Dreamland Campaign:
www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway
Kent has the oldest roller coaster in the UK and the second oldest
in the world. The scenic railway ride in Margate is the first theme
park ride ever to be listed.
The ride will operate again as Dreamland recently announced it will
be open in July and August 2004.
The
people behind the "Save Dreamland Campaign" have home
video footage of the European Roller Coaster Enthusiasts - who as
the name suggests are people fascinated with rollercoasters, they
adore the ride.
They visited Dreamland as part of a special trip honouring historic
rollercoasters.
Higham
Park
Bridge, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5BE
Tel: 01227 830830
www.higham-park.co.uk
The house is a work in progress and a real labour of love for the
current owners Amanda Harris-Deans, Patricia Gibb and her son Barry.
They brought the property during the mid 90s after it had fallen
into disrepair. The manor house has 87 rooms and stands on 24 acres.
Former
Owner, Louis Zboroswki was the 1920s multi-millionaire racing driver
and son of Countess Margaret Zborowski (nee Aster).
Louis and his engineer Captain Clive Gallop built three aero-engined
cars, all called Chitty Bang Bang and a fourth monster the Higham
Special, later known as Babs - the car in which Parry Thomas died
at Pendine Sands in 1927 during his final land speed record attempt.
Louis
entertained many famous guests at the house. He would regularly
give them each one of his cars as they raced each other down to
Dover using the A2. Louis was killed racing at Monza (Italian Grand
Prix) in 1924.
After
this Walter Higham bought the Estate. He was one of the founders
of Robert Fleming Merchant Bank and Ian Fleming's grandfather.
Ian
and his brother would regularly board the “007 East Kent Road
Car Company Bus” down to Dover. See
our feature on Bond in Kent»
Ian Fleming later bought the Archbishop's
Palace at Bekesbourne next door to the property. It was while
living there that he wrote "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" -
the story of the flying car. It was published after his death.
The
house is still a work in progress and there are 30 rooms still to
restore. It is probably one of the largest restoration projects
in the South east being done privately.
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Kerry
Gray visits Aylesford Priory
