Tag: Purifier Building

Faversham Stories

May 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

It is a bit of a Faversham based post today starting with the fact that I have now received and been able to watch my copy of the latest film by Mike Maloney of ‘Red Sails’ fame; this one called Visions of a Creek. In this, which was never intended originally as a DVD for sale they tell the story of the controversial saga of Faversham’s Standard Quay being pretty much closed down as a barge-repair and maintenance centre (all be it we may see it retained as a safe haven for mooring in winter). It also discusses the current efforts to repair and reinstate the swing bridge which gives access to large craft to the Upper Basin and the project to establish the old gasworks Purifier Building as a venue for Marine Trades and related apprenticeships. Well worth a look if you can get hold of a copy. I think there were a limited number made; I bought mine through Mike’s Countrywide Productions website (link from our useful links tab).

Faversham Nautical Festival stand manned by Hannah and Miranda Pihama with Cathy, Mark and Kess Chapman; Pic by Griselda Cann-Mussett

Earlier I advertised the Faversham Nautical Festival as a ‘date for your diary’. This has now happened this weekend and by the look of all the pictures on Facebook, many by Nathalie Banaigs, it was a bright, warm sunny event well supported by folks clad in summer wear. I have now had from Griselda Cann-Mussett (Faversham Creek Trust) a lovely picture of our own effort, the manning of the Cambria Trust Shop by (pictured here), Hannah and Miranda Pihama with Cathy, Kes and Mark Chapman. Nice to see you all, guys and well done on keeping on the Volunteer bit. It must have been nice to do a bit in warm sunshine for a change.

Purifier’s Progress

November 11, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Future barge loading/unloading door in Faversham’s Purifier Building; Picture from Faversham Creek Trust’s website.

In what is now becoming known as Purifier’s Progress, the Faversham Creek Trust website has the latest progress report on the renovation of Faversham Creek’s old Purifier Building (off the Morrison’s car-park) for their Maritime Trades and Apprentice Training centre. This is on http://favershamcreektrust.com/2012/11/10/purifiers-progress/ to which you can easily subscribe by clicking on links in the website. Today, fascinatingly they have the return to Faversham of old friend, owner of SB Westmoreland and former Standard Quay workshop tenant, Colin Frake.

“The East Wing roof is complete”, says the website, “and now work starts on the South Wing roof which is a lengthier and more complex operation and hence much more costly; all the existing slates must be carefully removed to minimise damage and reduce replacement costs. The East Wing [sounds grand doesn’t it?] interior is being painted ready for Colin Frake to inhabit for his block making business. The roof has to be insulated inside by a sprayed on material, and all the services installed. Check out the link to Colin Frake’s website to see what he makes”.

Excitingly, the report also shows “the waterside of the building showing the doorway that will eventually be opened up for access for materials to and from a barge”. See our picture. This has got to be the only building converted to allow sailing barge loading/unloading for decades anywhere, I would have thought.

A Bridge Too Far

October 21, 2012 /

Mast at Night; Picture by Matt Care

Oh Dear. It seems that Faversham’s Swing Bridge is in need of repair or replacement and this has rather snookered the plans of Faversham Creek Trust to get the basin (upstream from the bridge) dredged and opened up for larger vessels as part of the campaign to give the area back its Maritime Trades. Faversham Council tell us that the repairs or replacement could be as long as 5 years away, so Faversham Creek Trust have had to park their plans to restore the Purifier Building as a centre for workshops and shipwright appenticeships. So says Faversham Creek Trust in their newsy website at http://favershamcreektrust.com/2012/10/21/trouble-at-bridge-but-there-is-a-way-forward/ .

Trust Chair, Griselda Cann-Mussett is quoted as saying “we have done some research into this and we know that a new lifting bridge could be supplied and fitted for a relatively modest cost”, so hopefully all is not lost.

The Trust AGM takes place in the Alexander Centre at 7:30 pm on Tuesday November 20th. I expect the bridge will feature high in discussions!

New Roof!

August 11, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Good progress on the Purifier Building on Faversham Creek, new home for a Maritime Trades Apprenticeship scheme and workshop, organised by the Faversham Creek Trust, whose website today carries a picture of the new roof. This is, I think, the old metal frames of the old roof taken down, restored and repaired, then re-installed and a new skin put on.

New roof on the Purifier building in Faversham, photo buy the Faversham Creek Trust.

There is a nice comment from one Chris Marshall which reads “I can’t help being impressed by how much progress is being made in renovating the Purifier Building. It is also becoming apparent what a handsome building it is now that the windows have been unblocked. Keep up the good work!”. We quite agree, CM!

Meanwhile, good luck to all the barges competing in the Swale Match today. If you are a Facebook-er like we are, look up Faversham’s ace photographer, artist and organiser of the 365 Year-in-the-Life picture exhibitions, Nathalie Banaigs, who has some superbly atmospheric early morning pictures from Harty Ferry where she was dropping off some friends to join their barge for the race. They are pictured wading out through a flat calm in beautiful pale grey light, with them and the withies and boats all creating striking reflections. Lovely pictures, Nathalie. You don’t always need red sails to make a good ‘barge’ picture.

Three Updates

July 15, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Hilary Halajko for “Cambria Watch” reports that “Our delivery to the Railway Tavern at Brightlingsea completed, our next passage is to Halfpenny Pier at Harwich with a delivery for the New Bell”

Faversham Creek Trust report good progress on the Purifier Building (on the Creekside, currently being restored for use as a workshop and Apprentice Training Centre for the maritime trades). Their post on 14th July, which includes this picture says, “You may have seen scaffolding up but you may not have realised that it goes around the corner, over the water. This all about renovating the cast iron window frames, pointing where necessary, and opening up windows that have been bricked up from the inside.

Temporary polycarbonate glazing is being used to let light in, until the frames can be properly glazed. Some of the cast iron frames have to be repaired, with new sections fabricated, all the original very hard putty knocked out, then primed and painted. (It is) Hard work chipping and grinding”

Last but by no means least, our friends the ‘Barge Blog’, on http://sailingbarges.wordpress.com/ are reporting that one of their contributors, a certain Ryan Dale, has found a spritsail rig in Italy. Ryan provided them with the link http://www.caravanstage.org/description.htm and added the following description of “The Caravan Stage Company which performs on the deck of a 30 metre tall ship as the Caravan Stage Tall Ship Theatre. The boat, the Amara Zee, is based on the traditional design of a Thames Sailing Barge, and has the best of contemporary marine and theatre technology. With its shallow draft of 1.2 metres and its self-lowering masts via on-deck winches the boat can access virtually any waterfront community. The Amara Zee uses the masts and rigging for the scenery, light and sound equipment and special effects. The shows are staged on the entire deck, on the masts and rigging, on the water and land surrounding the vessel with the audience sitting on the shore.” There’s more, but I’ll let you nip off to Barge Blog if you fancy that.

Creek Trust Website

July 4, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Faversham Creek Gut Way ploughed by Medway Ports; Photo by Faversham Creek Trust

Faversham Creek Trust are now motoring well in their drives to get the Creek back open and to do up the creek-side Purifier building as an apprentice training facility cum workshop. They have published this significant picture of the main gut-way of the creek (below the swing bridge) after Medway Ports engineers had dragged something called a “plough” straight down the length of it to create a straight channel down which the muddy silty stuff from the basin and swing-bridge operations could make it’s fast exit seaward without stopping at Standard Quay or Iron Wharf for a rest. They have also published pictures of the engineers down at the base of the swing bridge sluices with huge backward “Vax” hoover-style pumps stirring up the accumulated silt round the gates so that the gates could open and close. More recently I have also seen some nice pics of the Purifier windows being opened up again to let the light in, where they’d been boarded and bricked up to stop vandalism and squatters while the building was basically abandoned. All this is on the lovely Faversham Creek Trust website on http://favershamcreektrust.com/ where you can also read all the other news stories and sign up to be emailed the latest news.