B.R. Philips made Home Brewed Ginger Beer at The Invicta Works, Nos 22 – 24 Railway Street – Chatham Placemaking Project – Chatham Patterns – Image: Christopher TippingRailway Street from New Cut Viaduct date unknown. Collection of Rex Cadman. by Permission of Rex Cadman and Kent Photo Archive.No. 26 Railway Street. In 1961, this was the premises of Frank Bannister & Son Ltd – Motor and Motorcycle Engineers. Chatham Placemaking Project – Chatham Patterns – Image: Christopher Tipping
In 1912 – No 26 was the home of the Invicta Furniture and Baggage Depository. No 28 was a Garage and Cycle Works.
Rome House, No 41 Railway Street. Chatham Placemaking Project – Chatham Patterns – Image: Christopher Tipping
The 1848 Ordnance Survey Public Health Map of Chatham shows Rome House – a large detached mansion set in landscaped gardens – opposite St John’s Church on Rome Lane. Following the building of Chatham Railway Station, Rome Lane became Railway Street sometime after 1871. No 41 would have been a new property named after the original house.
A detail from the 1848 OS Public Health Map of Chatham, with St John’s Church and Rome House on Rome Lane at top right. The pink line shows the eventual route of the railway and Chatham Railway Station, which opened in January 1858. By permission of Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project.A detail of the OS Map of Chatham from 1864. By permission of Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher Tipping
This detail of the OS 1864 Map of Chatham shows Chatham Station at the bottom of this image. Railway Street to Military Road runs from the middle of the image to the top of the image. St John’s Church and Rome House can clearly be seen.
A brilliant time-lapse film celebrating the Chatham Placemaking Project, by the Filmmaker Simon Williams was premiered on the Waterfront Big Screen in Chatham on Friday evening 6th May – and then ran at hourly intervals through Saturday 7th May –
‘A series of films will focus the eye and the heart and have clearly distilled a vision for the project – a reductive process of stripping back and looking afresh. Simon refreshingly admits he has fallen in love with Chatham – he has lived here for 15 years. ‘Chatham, Kent, England’is a remarkable 12-hour time-lapse work beautifully filmed from the roof of UCA at Fort Pitt. Standing in front of the Big Screen, the River Medway can’t actually be seen . The disengagement is clear. The film powerfully makes the case for Chatham to celebrate and acknowledge this enduring and symbiotic relationship. It could be an elegy for a Chatham we have forgotten but which is actually still alive and well and all around us’. Project Lead Artist Chris Tipping –
‘Chatham, Kent, England’, is the first in a series of films being delivered as part of the Temporary Art Programme supporting the Chatham Placemaking Project. They were commissioned by FrancisKnight Art Consultants and myself as project lead artist. ‘These are our Streets’, a collaboration between Simon and Rob Young, Writer, will be the second film in the series to be released.
Simon Williams on the roof of UCA Rochester at Fort Pitt. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Simon Williams.Simon Williams by the Waterfront Big Screen – showing ‘Chatham, Kent, England’. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: By Permission of Simon Williams.
Saturday 7th May 2016 – Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham
A workshop day – talking, being talked to – gathering stories, memories and an understanding of life in Chatham. Thanks to all who cam to speak to us – Elsie was one of them ! Her Dad used to say that the Thomas Waghorn Statue on Railway Street pointed to the toilets under the New Road viaduct. As a young girl, her impression of Chatham was that it was brim full of Public Houses.
Rob Young and Elsie – Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher TippingOne of our brilliant badge-makers working with Xtina Lamb. Pentagon Shopping Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher Tipping‘These are our Streets’ – Postcards handed out at the Pentagon Shopping Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher Tipping
WE HAVE THE POSTCARDS !
…and we wore the T Shirts! Chatham Placemaking Project. Pentagon Shopping Centre. Image: Christopher Tipping
AND WE WORE THE T SHIRTS !
Very grateful to Shelly Goldsmith, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Textiles: Print at UCA Rochester for producing the shirts for us at very short notice !
Some enthusiastic badge-makers ! Pentagon Shopping Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher TippingBadges made at our Pentagon Shopping Centre workshop day. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Christopher TippingChatting about Chatham’s History at the Pentagon Shopping Centre. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Rob YoungPhotographs of Chatham past and present helped to jog memories and start conversations. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Rob YoungPhotographs of Chatham past and present helped to jog memories and start conversations. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image: Rob Young
Chatham Placemaking Project – Draft artwork for Chatham Up Magazine. Image & Artwork: Christopher TippingChatham Placemaking Project – Still image from an episodic film series by Simon Williams & Rob Young with additional graphics by Xtina Lamb.The Fish Finger – by Rob Young. Chatham Placemaking Project.Draft page for print proposal. Text by Rob Young – Still Images from documentary film by Simon Williams. Chatham Placemaking Project.‘Is This You’, Draft Page layout – Chatham Placemaking Project. Artwork: Christopher Tipping – Text by Rob Young – Photograph by kind permission of Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre.
On Tuesday 3rd May, Rob Young & I had a meeting with Rachel Kerr, Project Coordinator (100 Objects That Made Kent) and the Education Officer, Jeremy Clarke at The Guildhall Museum,High Street, Rochester. We were looking to explore opportunities for us all to collaborate in some manner during the project, taking advantage of the Museum Collections cultural importance to Medway and its outreach work with the community – particularly in education and schools.
Rob is very keen to build this relationship into his commission and has already submitted a wonderful proposal for an engagement with St Michaels Roman Catholic Primary School,who are already working with the Museum on an arts award educational project, focussed on the Statue of Thomas Waghorn on Railway Street and a portrait of whom hangs in the Museum. The school is the most local to our project route. Rob is also keen to meet with The Friends of the Guildhall Museum to hear their thoughts about Chatham. Simon Lace, Medway’s Heritage Services Manager is also helping our cause by contributing a call out for stories by Friends of the Guildhall in their ‘about to be launched’ newsletter.
Thanks to all involved for your continuing help.
Interior stucco ceiling of the stairwell in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterA Portrait of Thomas Waghorn. Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image by Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterOrnate ceiling & Electrolier in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterPortrait of Sir Cloudesley Shovell, Admiral of the Fleet & MP for Rochester hanging in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, Rochester
Ornate ceiling, electrolier and wall decorations in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterOrnate ceiling & electrolier in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterRob Young, Writer, looking at vintage photograph in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image: Christopher Tipping – reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, Rochester
Jeremy Clarke, the Museum’s Education Officer – found this image for us of a young boy taken at the Photographic Studio of W. Kent, Photographic Artist at No 19 Military Road, Chatham – a great find for us right on our project route. I’m sure Rob will make some resonant response to this.
Photographic portrait of a young boy taken by W Kent, Photographic Artist at No 19 Military Road, Chatham – in the collection of Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, Rochester.Photographic portrait of a young boy taken by W Kent, Photographic Artist at No 19 Military Road, Chatham – in the collection of Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterPhotographic portrait of a young boy taken by W Kent, Photographic Artist at No 19 Military Road, Chatham – in the collection of Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, Rochester.Figure in Diorama in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image by Christopher Tipping reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, RochesterBeautiful and magical three mast rigged ship in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. Image by Christopher Tipping reproduced courtesy of the Guildhall Museum, Rochester
The Chatham Placemaking Project is now on Facebook ! Profiles of the project team artists can be viewed and updates of works in progress and new images will be posted at regular intervals. Perhaps you could let us know what you think and support the project.
Chatham Placemaking Project – ‘These are our Streets’. Image: Simon Williams and Rob Young.
I was appointed as Lead Artist back in September 2015. We have now appointed three artists to work on a 6 months art programme running from March to August 2016. The artists are – Writer Rob Young, Printmaker Xtina Lamb and FilmMaker Simon Williams. Although each artist has a specific brief, we are working collaboratively to ensure that the creative outcomes can inspire and influence the permanent public realm works, which are due to be on site from early in 2017. The project is hugely exciting !
Rob came up with this quirky set of Lego figure to represent the artists !
Chatham Placemaking Project Artists ! Image: Rob Young
There are many ways in which the Chatham Placemaking Project can communicate with the local community. Large scale visuals can be really effective – such as these mock-up ideas drafted onto a series of primesight billboardson Railway Street.
The Chatham Big Screen too would provide a great opportunity for us, as we could post film and moving images as well as sound.
Chatham Patterns – Mock-up artworks have been used on these primesight billboards on Railway Street Chatham to illustrate the kind of work we could take into the community. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingChatham Patterns – Mock-up artworks have been drafted onto these primesight billboards on Railway Street Chatham to illustrate the kind of work we could take into the community. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingThe BIg Screen, Chatham. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingChatham Patterns – Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher Tipping. Historic Dockyards ChathamChatham Patterns – Railway Street Chatham. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingThe BIg Screen, Chatham. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingChatham Pattern – Chatham Historic Dockyard. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingChatham Historic Dockyard. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher TippingChatham Patterns – Chatham Historic Dockyard. Chatham Placemaking Project. Image by Project Lead Artist Christopher Tipping
