If you have never heard of sheerness, thats because its the kind of isolated hellhole, you have to go far, far out of your way to wash up in. After a career in aviation, i returned to sheerness for the first time in 2012. From that small start working 7 days a week, we have built the business upto become the largest concrete ornament manufacturer in the uk, employing 30 fulltime staff. Blue town is a suburb of the town of sheerness on the isle of sheppey in kent. Prices reflect that our concrete ornaments are collection only. There was no established settlement in sheernesss vicinity so most of the workers were housed in the hulks initially. This july there are 2 free family friendly dancing shows in sheerness all about our local history. The albion pub in blue town near sheerness, kent, me12 1rn.
Tales of beachfields park, 2003, winner of the 2003 historical association young historian primary school award for local history. When patsy and i went to blue town on our only visit in 60 years, i was shocked at the devastation. The town consists of three parts sheerness proper, including the fortress and dockyards, and the suburbs of bluetown and miletown. Sheerness and the mutiny at the nore, 1997, isbn 0953066509.
I used to stay at the draughty royal fountain is it still there i wonder in blue town. Sheerness dockyard also known as the sheerness station was a royal navy dockyard located on the sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the river medway in kent. While in sheerness, pop into the cottage of curiosities museum in rose street. Minster gatehouse museum and sheppey gateway in sheerness high. For a long time the dockyard workers and their familys in sheerness lived in hulks in the estuary but the conditions inside were. I will be adding the historical information when i find or are sent it, but this project is a very big one, and i do not know when or where the information will come from. The church was originally built in 1835 and 1836 by g. Elmley national nature reserve is 3 miles from queen phillippa. In world war one the original building was bombed during the gotha air raid of 1917, the same year that the music hall closed. Sheerness on the isle of sheppey seems as unlikely a place for a jewish community as one might encounter in england. Indeed there is so much waiting for you to discover here youll be suprised what you didnt know. Dont forget to visit the 100 miles page for the trail information and downloadable leaflet, booklet, walking directions and quiz.
The place has been much enlarged within these last few years, and new streets have been laid out. Mile town was only subsidiary to it, but it would seem as though the growth of this part of the town were resented in the older portion. Sheerness is an industrial eyesore and the majestic crapital of the isle of sheppey, on the north kent coast. Cc014 trams crossing the defensive moat to blue town and the dockyard, sheerness. The devastation of blue town and the dockyard was shocking, with the shell of the church bringing a tear to the eye. A short history of sheerness dockyard the history press. These trails were developed in partnership with barbara twiselton and blue town heritage centre. The blue town heritage centre is a very interesting place with a large display of artifacts, photographs and models exploring all aspects of sheerness history. Sheerness, kent genealogy genealogy familysearch wiki. Branch lines around sheerness, 1993, isbn 1873793162.
At blue town council school in sheerness, the elder girls are knitting items of clothing for soldiers, using wool supplied by the wife of a colonel. Garrison point fort, sheerness docks and blue town, sheerness, kent, 1947 project ideas britain trains nostalgia book places ideas for projects livres books what others are saying. We offer 3 real ales on pump that we regularly change based upon your suggestions. Local knowledge, pictures, and licensee information would be appreciated. Sheerness was once one of the oldest naval dockyards in the uk until it closed. Minster is just a 5 minute drive where you can find everything you need. We are a friendly pub with a wide range of drinks available. Jtrails, the national anglojewish heritage trail, is a new initiative of the spiro ark to raise awareness of this rich, but often unknown, history among both jews and nonjews alike, and to encourage individuals to further investigate their own roots as well as the fascinating origins of the community. The idea of this group is to share and promote, the varied and rich history of the isle of sheppey. The above paragraph is just a sampler of the history the blue town heritage centre and the criterion music hall have waiting for you to discover for just.
Proposal to demolish blue town to allow extension of sheerness dockyard. There was no established settlement in sheerness s vicinity so most of the workers were housed in the hulks initially. For a long time the dockyard workers and their familys in sheerness lived in hulks in the estuary but the conditions inside were very poor, each worker was allowed to carry a piece of wood, no longer than three foot and which could be carried on one shoulder out of the dockyard, its from these chips that they built cabins to live in. History museum in sheerness, kent foursquare uses cookies to provide you with an optimal experience, to personalize ads that you may see, and to help advertisers measure the results of their ad campaigns. The crown and anchor, 20, west street, sheerness bf093362. Criterion blue town is a local attraction in blue town, there is limited free parking available in blue town. By 1738 workers from the dockyard had built the first houses in sheerness, a small shanty named blue town socalled from the greyblue paint they had purloined from the dockyard and used on the exterior of the houses. The area connecting blue town to queenborough was once a thriving community known as west minster but. It sits just outside the dockyard wall which marks the boundary of sheerness proper and today is largely industrial in nature. You can join in with the daisy farris dance collective this saturday at criterion blue town from 2pm where local students from oasis academy isle of sheppey will be performing with professional dancers during the show and you can folllow in their footsteps after each 30 minute performance. Holls 1810 plan for royal dockyard chapel, sheerness tna the 1826 map of the dockyard as it was in 18 shows a chapel with a very similar footprint to the present church on a site roughly in the middle of the yard as laid out by rennie, adjacent to the small section of blue town to the west of the high street that was cleared and incorporated in the new yard. Although there is a lot of history written about the place, there is so much that has been lost. Vivien bailey has written a book about the jolly sailor in blue town. The town is the site of one of the uks first cooperative societies and also of the worlds first multistorey building with a rigid metal frame.
Sixty years ago blue town arrogated to itself all the glories of sheerness. The crown and anchor, 20 west street, blue town, sheerness, swale, kent show all locations the pier and railway tavern, 20 west street, blue town, sheerness, swale, kent reference. However from those early days the jews lived not in mile town, the present center of sheerness, but around the naval port in blue town. History sheerness and blue town trails anglojewish history. Explore your area map to discover people who lived in your area during the first world war. Photos, maps, personal memories and local books of blue town. Blue town heritage centre sheerness all you need to. What a lovely website, so special to see so many very old photos, i am rosie rosemary oram, youngest of 6 now married and rosie snowden, i lived in blue town from 196980 or so, i am now 46, my mother is doreen oram and my father that i have known him that much over my years was sidney fedrick oram, he owned a television shop at 45 high street blue town. The 1901 census recorded the sheerness parish as having 18,179 residents and 2,999 houses. Sheerness example photo of queenborough queenborough example photo of. This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Blue town heritage centre sheerness 2020 all you need to. I was a shipwright apprentice and journeyman in the dockyard from 1954 1959, and was brought up outside the dockyard wall in blue town. Volume containing photographic and textual material.
It is easy to assume that sheerness jews lived in what we now assume to be sheerness proper, that is the district of mile town. In 1883 a further station was added at sheernessonsea, accessed by a reversing curve from the original station, which was renamed sheerness dockyard. Above photo of a pub showing the crown and anchor, unknown date, kindly sent by peter moynahan. You may be able to find further references to sheerness in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a fulltext search here.
Vivien bailey has written a book about the jolly sailor in blue town, sheppey. In the age of sail, the royal navy would often establish shore facilities close to safe anchorages where the fleet would be based in home waters. The afternoon was spent at the blue town heritage centre, where we turned our drawings into textile masterpieces using a wide range of threads and fabrics. Heritage list entry summary for 53, high street, blue town, sheerness. I am giving a talk to a local marine group at the endo of the month and am currently seeking any pictures of the docks at sheerness and, in particular, the banana boats. The sheerness branch line opened on 19 july 1860, from sittingbourne to, at first, a station in the blue town area of sheerness, close to the southern edge of the royal navy dockyard. The music hall has a stage, screen, grand piano, small piano, bar and refreshments, a cinema and private toilets.
An act of parliament was obtained for this in 1816. The 1st floor has bow windows and panelled sash boxes and moulded head. Blue town photos, maps, books, memories francis frith. Permanently closed, moved to me123aa stones garden centre. Books about blue town area browse 38 photo books on blue town and the surrounding area. Each of sheppey s towns and villages is steeped in history and heritage. Show blue town heritage centre, sheerness traveller. So i was just looking for photos of the streets we are interested in. The history press a short history of sheerness dockyard.
History the first structure in what is now sheerness was a fort built by order of henry viii to prevent enemy ships from entering the river medway and attacking the naval dockyard at chatham. Sheerness, town photo gallery by trevor edwards at. Blue town heritage centre is a 5minute drive from the property, whilst queenborough railway station is just 300 metres away. One of john rennies proposals for sheerness dockyard was for the navy board to purchase blue town and demolish the houses, the area then being incorporated into the dockyard expansion. It sits on the a249 brielle way which runs from queenborough to sheerness. Sheerness queenborough isle of grain minster kingsferry bridge old maps of blue town. Blue town, sheerness, no 15 the royal fountain hotel 2. On the site of a palace of varieties, built in 1868 as a hotel and music hall, the centre tells the story of blue town from the 17th to the 21st century by focusing on its maritime, military and social history.
We are a family business which started in a garage at the back of our home in blue town, sheerness in 1974. The building has several areas for hire ranging from the aviation room conference room which will seat 8 people to the music hall which can seat 100. The west street elevation is of 3 storeys and attics faced with rough plaster and paint. We welcome you all young and old to our little gem hidden in blue town sheerness. There is a good selection of gifts and local interest books in the shop. Train crash 1971 thanks for correction from guest site of old sheppey theatre. Criterion blue town, 69 high street, blue town, sheerness. History sheerness and blue town trails anglojewish. The complex is an aladdins cave of odd artefacts and historical facts. The sheppey light railway opened in 1901, connecting the new sheerness east station with the rest of the island. Blue town heritage centre sheerness 2020 all you need. Memories of bluetown photo gallery by trevor edwards at.
The towns low rainfall and ample sunshine made it popular as a seaside resort, with tourists arriving by steamboat and train. My relation, william s gee worked at a bakery in sheerness and lived upstairs. A busy scene on sheerness sea front with ladies promenading, thames barges tied up along side the jetty and dockers operating a steam driven crane. The criterion theatre is part of the blue town heritage centre and home to a regular old time music hall. Hipped roof now covered with corrugated iron sheeting. Aidan, jeanette and the team welcome you to the red lion, blue town, sheerness. History of sheerness, in swale and kent gazetteers and.