EXTRACTS FROM
BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
No 154 June and July 2010.
THE NINTH HYTHE FESTIVAL 2 to 11 JULY - DON’T MISS IT!
Click on any heading to go to that section:
| SOCIETY EVENTS | FRIENDS OF ST. LEONARDS CHURCH | TOWN AND AROUND |
| PLANNING MATTERS | SOCIAL HISTORY | HYTHE FESTIVAL |
Summer Outing. There are still some places available for Doug's evening
outing which will be on Wednesday 30th June. We will be visiting Amanda
Cottrell's garden Laurenden in Challock, Afterwards we will have a finger buffet
at the Wheel Inn, Westwell. The coach leaves Red Lion Square at 5.30 pm. The
cost, to include coach, gratuity, garden and supper, will be £20 per head.
Please make cheques payable to D.H.Amans and send them to 4, The Maltings, High
Street, Hythe CT21 5AB
Our Annual Autumn Lunch will be on Saturday 2nd October at Hythe Bay
School and Margaret King will be doing the catering as usual.
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN WINE OR OTHER DRINKS, WINE GLASSES AND WATER WILL BE
PROVIDED
The guest speaker will be Mark Everett, Theatre Director of The New Marlowe
Theatre, Canterbury.
The price is £15.00 per head. Please make cheques payable to Hythe Civic Society
and send them to D.H.Amans. Contact the Hon Secretary if you need Doug's
address. Each
table will be for six diners so, on booking, please, if you have a preference,
tell us with whom you would like to sit. A refund is possible if you cancel
before 28th September
Our Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 11th May. As promised last year
the minutes will be sent to members as soon as possible so that those unable to
attend are aware of the full proceedings. Before the official proceedings
presentations were made of two HCS Awards to Hythe Cricket Club and to Hythe
Lawn Tennis Club for the re-building of their clubhouses on the south bank of
the canal.
Also on show was a Blue Plaque commemorating the residence of Olympic Gold
Medallist, Don Thompson, at 28, North Road which will shortly be given to the
new owners for display on the property.
(Please see NL151 for details
of Don’s achievements).
Hythe Lawn Tennis Club was established in 1889 when it was part of the Cricket
Club. In 1946 it became a separate Club and a wooden tennis pavilion was
constructed. This would have had a life of 20-30 years but by 2008 it can safely
be said to have reached its sell by date and plans were put in place to replace
it. The old building was rotten, rats were nesting in the concrete plinth on
which it stood and it leaked like a sieve!
Peter Saul had become the new Chairman in 2004 and commenced a modernisation
programme with the construction of 4 new hard courts to compliment the existing
4 grass courts, floodlighting to these 4 hard courts and was anxious to see a
new Pavilion constructed during his 5 year tenure as Chairman.
A large proportion of the cost of the new Pavilion was raised from social events
and from members of the Club agreeing to take out 2 or 4 year memberships which
gave the Club a £10,000 boost.
£20,000 was received from the Lawn Tennis Association and the Club also received
2 small grants from The Hythe Institute Fund, the Tory Family Foundation. Kent
County Councillor Chris Capon, who is a great supporter of the Club, managed to
obtain two separate grants of £6000 for which the Club is extremely grateful.
The balance came from the Club’s reserve funds. HTC and SDC didn’t respond to
our appeals.
Work commenced on April 1st 2009 and over the following 14 weeks favourable
weather helped us to complete the work on schedule and, at £82,500, on budget.
The new Pavilion and the large new terrace surrounding it was officially opened
by Councillor Capon on July 12th 2009.
Di Cobb writes to tell us: Hythe Cricket and Squash Club pavilion was first
built 154 years ago, and has been admired by all who see and use it. It was even
pictured in Kent magazine as a typical cricket pavilion!
Unfortunately in April 2004 the building was completely destroyed by fire, as an
act of arson.
We decided immediately that we would try to recreate the original building and
have built the replica as close to the original design as possible. It took
nearly two years and we used the original footprint to recreate what we think is
a building fit for purpose.
We are very proud of this achievement and hope this building stands the test of
time and goes on to house cricket for at least the next 154 years for the young
and not so young of Hythe.
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FRIENDS OF ST. LEONARDS CHURCH
Click here for details of the
Friends of St Leonard’s Church
programme giving details of all concerts in St Leonard’s during 2010.
Members of the Friends
of St Leonard’s Church are reminded
that the Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 17th June at 6.00pm
in the church. For more information on the Friends association please contact
the secretary Mrs Gill Roffey: telephone 01303 263739 or e-mail
Click here to go to the section with
details of The Hythe Festival concerts.
Other concerts planned in the following weeks are:
5 June:
The Grier Trio: Francis (piano), Indira (cello) and Savitri (violin).
24 July:
Nigel Ogden (organ)
27 July:
Choir from Ashfield Comprehensive School, Nottingham
7 August:
Dorothee Jansen (soprano) sings Italian bel canto, with Hanns Heinz Odenthal
(violin), Rachel Waltham (cello) and Haydn Rawstron (piano)
All the above are at 7.30.pm
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A truly rare event took place
in Hythe on 26th March when our retiring Member of Parliament, Michael Howard
Q.C. was made a Freeman of the Borough.
He served as our Member for 27 years and is widely admired for his services to
the community. The scroll was presented by the Mayor of Hythe, Cllr. Keren
Belcourt accompanied by the Town Clerk and former Mayor, Cllr. Ewart-James.
The Town Square
has just seen the completion of its refurbishment with the installation of trees
and screens to soften the southern perimeter, finalising the creation of a most
pleasant area in which to relax for a few minutes during a visit to the High
Street. Moreover, ALDI has responded to our Town Clerk, Mrs Judith McCormick’s
efforts to negotiate with them over the state of their two properties in Bank
Street and they have redecorated the exterior.
The new Sports Pavilion
in South Road will come into use shortly. It will replace the present totally
run down and inadequate building and we will have more details in NL155
Age Concern
is participating in the Hythe Festival
with four events, details of which can be found in the Festival Programme free
from all Hythe shops.
The Royal Air Forces Association’s
local branch will be presenting two concerts during the year; the first is at
7.30p.m.on Saturday, 24th July
and will be performed by the Keele University Concert Band at Folkestone's
United Reformed Church. Tickets are available from Don Nowers at £8 (call 01303
238435), or at the door. Details of the second in NL155. Profits go to RAFA’s
“Wings Appeal”.
RAFA (and HCS) Member, Colin Ellis has made many interesting contributions to a
new book “Hurricane –
the Last Witnesses” by Brian Milton,
published by Andre Deutsch.
“The Tin Church”,
actually St.Michaels Church, Stade Street, is to be closed for church services.
Its congregation will merge with the Methodists and they will all use the
Rampart Road building. There is widespread concern that this might result in the
demolition of this relatively unusual structure and, prior to further
developments, we invite members to send us their views on its future.
Fishermen’s Beach
Urgent - The application for this development was
registered on 14th May. To voice any concerns you should write as soon as
possible to SDC Planning Department, quoting Application Number Y10/0436/SH at:
Civic Centre
Castle Hill Avenue
Folkestone
CT20 2QY
Email:
planning@shepway.gov.uk
Your committee’s greatest worry about this plan is that, as this is the last
undeveloped area of sea frontage, more consideration should be given to
alternative public uses for the land before any possibilities are extinguished
through sale to a private developer. For example, Hythe will need a new swimming
pool and a development there that included such a facility would release the
present swimming pool site – already owned by SDC – for profitable development.
This is especially relevant now that the much touted idea of a pool at the –
albeit practically inaccessible – Nickolls Quarry site seems to have receded
into the dim and distant future. Without due care, Hythe will end up losing both
of these premier seafront locations to developments which only benefit SDC in
the very short term and deny us and future generations the attractions and
facilities that all good seaside communities should be able to enjoy.
The plans were presented by Shepway District Council at two meetings in the Town
Hall (26/11/09 and 30/03/10). At the first meeting, SDC explained their desire
to turn the area from cost-producing to income-producing while at the same time
halting dereliction and vandalism. New facilities for the fishermen together
with a new fish-market building for Griggs with a super restaurant on top would
be built at the western end of the site, adjacent to the MOD rifle ranges.
Houses and flats totalling 90 units, 30% “affordable”, would be built in the
remaining area. At the second meeting, the layout of the housing was changed and
the number of units reduced to 69. In both layouts, access to the beach in front
of the new housing from Prince’s Parade is provided by a boardwalk. We were
informed that designs and specifications for the buildings would be of high
quality.
Apart from precluding future public uses we have other serious misgivings about
some aspects of the plan. One concerns road access. In spite of many challenges,
SDC maintained that the existing Range Road would be sufficient. We don’t think
so. Another is the means of procurement. Once planning consent is granted, SDC
propose to sell the non-commercial parts of the plan to a private developer for
implementation. They say that the contract of sale would contain clauses
obliging the developer to adhere to the plans and specifications approved for
planning consent. But we all know of examples in our area where developers have
not adhered to limits set by approved plans. And what would happen if the
developer simply went bust? Would Hythe be left with a useless area inviting
more dereliction and vandalism? SDC expect to make £M2.25 from the sale. This
would go into their general funds. None would be dedicated to Hythe. This is
disappointing! We also think that the height of the two main blocks – some 63
feet above ground level – is out of keeping with housing at that end of the
front and will set a precedent for further redevelopment. We think SDC need to
reconsider these aspects and present their plans with more sensitivity shown to
our community.
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SOCIAL HISTORY
One of our members has suggested that it would be interesting to
know more about the origin of some of Hythe’s less obvious street names. We
have, coincidentally, just received this article from local author, Martin
Easdown, about Theatre Street.
Originally known as Back Lane, the small narrow thoroughfare off Hythe's High
Street known as Theatre Street was so renamed because it did indeed once boast a
theatre. It was part of the empire of the south east theatre impresario Thomas
Trotter, who in the first quarter of the 19th century not only owned Hythe
Theatre but also others at Worthing, Southend and Gravesend. Furthermore he
leased Brighton's Theatre Royal and had interests in theatres at Chatham and
Faversham.
Trotter was born in 1779 at Gravesend and became an actor and strolling player.
The first record of his appearance on stage dates from 1802, by when he already
ran his own touring company that visited theatres throughout Kent, Sussex and
Essex. Within two years Trotter was also planning to erect his own theatres and
in 1804 those at Hythe and Southend were off the ground.
Among the surviving deeds of the Hythe Theatre is a reference to its proposed
building in March 1804 addressed to Thomas Trotter, New Theatre, Faversham
(sic). It says that John Cooper, a surveyor from Canterbury, agreed to build a
theatre at Hythe and lease it to Thomas Trotter for ten years. In return Trotter
was to pay £72 for the first year and £62 for each successive year providing
Hythe Corporation licensed `a company of comedians .... for exhibiting plays,
interludes or other amusements....' Land was obtained in Back Lane from Henry
Tritton (a Riding Officer in His Majesty's Customs who had leased it from Hythe
Corporation in 1771) with the aid of financial assistance from Edward Smith of
the Archbishop's Palace, Canterbury and James Worsfold of Dover, who was to
erect the theatre. By late 1804, at a cost of around £400, the theatre was in
situ and comprised a tile and weather-boarded building on brick and stone
footings about 18 inches high. In addition to the stage and auditorium area,
there were two dressing rooms complete with fireplaces.
Upon completion Trotter bought out Smith's share in the property for £270 and in
November 1806 he became sole owner having acquired Worsfold's share for £220. In
1807 he opened another theatre in Worthing and decided to settle there. Trotter
appeared to split his time between his various theatres and during his absence
touring companies were invited to keep the theatres open and raise revenue. On
13th March 1809 Trotter was at Hythe performing Sheridan's 'The Rivals' and we
know he was still at Hythe the following month as a poster still survives for a
performance of the comedy `The Soldier's Daughter' on 19th April 1809. Seat
prices were 3 shillings (boxes), 2 shillings (pit) and l shilling (gallery) with
entry to the boxes available at only 2 shillings from 9.00pm. The poster also
announced three other productions in the following weeks.
However, due to the success of his Worthing Theatre, Trotter decided to
concentrate his efforts on Sussex (also leasing Brighton's Theatre Royal from
1814-19) and his theatres at Southend and Hythe were closed in 1812 and 1813
respectively. For the next 13 years the Hythe Theatre appears to have remained
largely closed, but upon the retirement of Thomas Trotter in 1825 his four
theatres were put up for auction at Messrs Robin's room at the Piazza, Covent
Garden on 1st May 1826. Hythe was the only one of the four to sell (the others
remaining in Trotter's hands until his death in 1851); the purchaser Henry Roxby
Beverley having paid £480, half in cash and the remainder left on mortgage. A
surviving playbill shows Beverley gave a performance of `Saltwood Castle 1649'
at the theatre in October 1827 with the scenery painted by his brother. Yet it
appears Beverley failed to make a go of the theatre for in 1831 the Mayor's
bailiff closed it down. He certainly never completed payment on the property as
it was still in the hands of Trotter's trustees upon the latter's death.
In 1847 Bagshaw's Kent Directory reported the theatre had not been used since
1837 and "the roof has fallen in from decay and neglect - the interior is one
mass of ruin and dilapidation." It is said the building spent some time as a
furniture store, but by 1857, when Henry Dray (a local builder) had acquired the
site, the theatre had been cleared away. By this time the theatre's founder
Thomas Trotter had himself passed away, on 16th September 1851 at his home in
Worthing. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Gravesend in a handsome tomb of
an obelisk surrounded by an urn. His last surviving theatre at Worthing closed
in 1855, but remained in use as a warehouse until 1970 when it was
controversially demolished.
Martin records many thanks to Pam Dray for her help with this article.
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THE NINTH HYTHE FESTIVAL 2 to 11 JULY - DON’T MISS IT!
LOOK OUT FOR THE FESTIVAL BROCHURE IN THE SHOPS DURING JUNE, or click here for the festival website.
Some programme items.
Hythe Civic Society will be participating with
Town Walks, daily except Sunday
from the Town Hall at 10.30am, (with extension tours of the Crypt and, on some
days, of the Church also),
an Exhibition: “Hythe Salutes Men of Duty and Service” at the Library,
and two Talks at 7.30 pm in the Town Hall – on
Monday 5 July “Hythe’s Ossuary –
Latest Research” by Mark Farmer and Deborah Gulliver, formerly of Bournemouth
University, and on Thursday 8 July Peter Ewart will give us "Gone for a Soldier:
The British Tommy in Victorian Times through the verses of Rudyard Kipling”
The Society is also sponsoring the popular
Poetry Prom at St. Michaels Church on
Monday 5 July at 3.00pm. The Prom is free and followed by afternoon tea for
£3.00.
The Friends of St. Leonards have a full concert programme in the church:
3 July at 7.30pm
: Cadenza Trio: Ilya Movchan (violin), Alisa Lyubarskaya (cello) and Alissa Tavdidishvili (piano)
11 July at 6.00pm: Festival of Favourite Hymns ‘Raise the Roof’with the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas
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Annual subscription for HCS membership is £8 per household.
We are on the Web :
www.hythe-tourism.com/civic
You can e-mail us at:
Secretary |
Treasurer |
Editor |
Membership & NL |
Mrs. Mary Hunter |
Alan Joyce, |
Christopher Melchers |
Mrs. Anne Woodward |
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