Heritage Centres, History and Museums

Heritage and London 2012

As a Cultural Olympiad project, Discovering Places has been able to bring together the key projects available to historic and natural environment organisations from the plethora of activities happening over the year. It’s all in the newly launched Heritage Toolkit, with the relevant information in an easy-to-digest format. The toolkit also sheds light on the many other organisations involved in London 2012.

As Lloyd Grossman, Chairman of The Heritage Alliance, said: “London 2012 has a particular emphasis on the involvement of local communities so that people throughout the UK feel that they can participate in activities associated with the Games, and the heritage sector is ideally placed to help with this.”

The Heritage Toolkit is now available to download on the Discovering Places and The Heritage Alliance websites.

If you represent a local heritage group or attraction and would like to discuss the opportunities on offer please contact Claire@discoveringplaces.co.uk

Swale Heritage Centres, Museums and History Groups

Museums

Swale is host to a number of museums for you to visit, celebrating our rich and varied heritage and offering unique glimpses into our past. Click on the links below or scroll down to find out more.

Sittingbourne Area

Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway 

This heritage steam railway represents the preserved southern half of the Bowater Lloyd Railway, which served the paper industry in Sittingbourne. Take a ride on one of the trains, see an exhibition of rolling stock and discover evidence of how people lived and worked in the paper mills and on the railway in a small exhibits museum. The railway is also noted for its 'Steam and Beer Festival', 'Ivor the Engine and Jack the Station Cat' children's events and 'Santa Specials'.

The locomotives and rolling stock are owned by the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, which is a registered charity, and the railway is operated entirely through voluntary effort. New working members are always welcome.

 Address: Public access at Sittingbourne Viaduct Station, ME10 2XD or Milton Regis ASDA Holt, ME10 2PD

• The 2012 season will now commence from May 27th with a normal Sunday service, however over the Jubilee Bank Holiday trains will run on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 11am, please see SKLR Website for more details.
• Call: 01795 424899
• Email SKLR
• Visit the SKLR Website

Wheelchair access: By prior arrangement
Refreshments: Yes
Admission / Fares: Adults £5, Child £2.50 (3 -13 years), Concessions £3.50, Family £14 (2 +4)

Sittingbourne Heritage Museum 

This museum, sited in an old shop, aims to preserve and promote local heritage and history, such as the growth of Sittingbourne, coaching inns, brick-making, paper-making, the creek and barge building. Explore a 1940s kitchen and 1940s shop and discover 'The Plough finds', a nationally significant find of artefacts that were purposefully hidden in an old pub which has now been demolished. A satellite exhibition is currently running in The Forum shopping centre in Sittingbourne, where you can see Anglo-Saxon finds being uncovered and restored (contact the museum for more details).

• Address: 67 East Street, Sittingbourne, ME10 4BQ
• Opening hours: 10am-4pm on Saturdays from Easter to October
• Call: 01795 471876
• Email the Sittingbourne Heritage Museum
• Visit the Sittingbourne Heritage Museum Website

Wheelchair access: No
Refreshments: Not normally
Admission price: Free

Milton Creek: In Our Memories

This is an oral history project which has been funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and is supported by Swale Borough Council and Swale Council for Voluntary Services (CVS). The aim of the project is to engage a variety of volunteers to interview and record the memories of people who remember Milton Creek when it was a hub of industrial activity.

If you would like to get involved in this project or would like more information please do get in touch:

Laura Bailey
Swale CVS,
Central House,
Central Avenue,
Sittingbourne,
ME10 4NU.

Call: 01795 473828
Mobile: 07928 808960
Email: Oral History Project at Swale CVS
Website: Milton Creek Memories

Dolphin Yard Sailing Barge Museum 

Unfortunately the museum was destroyed by fire but a recovery has been formulated, and the trustees would be interested to hear from anyone who can offer help to turn this disaster into an opportunity. Contacts: Clive Reader Chairman of Trustees 01795 520491, or John Hull Yard Officer 01795 471725

Faversham Area

Chart Gunpowder Mills

This is the oldest gunpowder mill in the world, part of a complex which includes the remains of three others. Powder was first made in Faversham in the 16th Century and during World War I the town was the main centre of the UK explosives industry with six factories, one of which occupied an area as large as the City of London. As well as seeing the surviving mill, which is a scheduled Ancient Monument, visitors can view displays that explain how powder was made. The Mills are managed entirely by voluntary effort.

• Address: Off Stonebridge Way, Faversham (pedestrian access signposted from South Road)
• Opening hours: 2-5pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from April to October
• Call: 01795 534915
• Email Chart Gunpowder Mills
• Visit Chart Gunpowder Mills

Admission price: Free but donations are appreciated
Wheelchair access: Yes
Refreshments: No

Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre 

Comprised of three adjoining 16th Century buildings, "The Fleur" was the first heritage centre in the south of England when it opened in 1977. Run by volunteers from the Faversham Society, it includes the only Accredited Museum in Swale, a Kentish bookshop, hall for hire and an exhibition gallery. The museum holds artefacts tracing the eventful history of the Faversham area, from Iron Age times through to the present day.

• Address: 10-13 Preston Street, Faversham, ME13 8NS
• Opening hours: 10am-4pm Monday-Saturday and 10am-1pm Sundays, or by appointment
• Call: 01795 590726
• Email Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre
• Visit the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre Webpage

Admission price: Free-£3
Wheelchair access: None to the upper floor but a DVD is instead provided
Refreshments: No

Maison Dieu

The Maison Dieu is a medieval building that once formed part of a complex including a Royal lodge, pilgrims' hostel and hospital. Originally founded by Henry III around 1230, it was secured by local residents in 1923 and has been open as a museum ever since, housing Roman and medieval finds that have been excavated from nearby sites. The museum is owned by the residents of Ospringe but is in the care of English Heritage.

• Address: Corner of Ospringe Street (on the A2) and Water Lane, Ospringe
• Opening hours: 2-5pm Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from Good Friday to the end of October
• Call: 01795 534542
• Visit Maison Dieu's Webpage

Admission price: Free-£2
Wheelchair access: None officially due to the antiquity of the building - please contact the museum to discuss
Refreshments: No

Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park

This nationally important archaeological site and valuable wildlife habitat is home to the remains of Oare Works, where gunpowder was manufactured for more than 300 years until 1934. The park can be explored via well-marked trails, with interpretation panels at key points which include old photographs of the buildings.

• Address: Signposted off Bysing Wood Road, Oare
• Opening hours: Vehicle access 9am-5pm weekdays all year round and 10:30am-4:30pm weekends and Public Holidays from April to November, visitor centre 10:30am-4:30pm weekends and Public Holidays from April to November
• Telephone: 01795 417850
• Email Oare Gunpowder Works
• Visit Oare Gunpowder Works Website

Admission price: Free
Wheelchair access: Toilet suitable for wheelchair users located inside the visitor centre
Refreshments: Small picnic area with tables

Sheppey Area

Blue Town Heritage Centre 

Originally a Music Hall and Hotel, this building now preserves and promotes the heritage and culture of the Isle of Sheppey, including the maritime legacy of the Sheerness Dockyard and the development of aviation on the island. There are figureheads, models, photographs and music hall restoration project art to see and a film about Sheppey to watch. The main hall, which includes the cinema and a small meeting room, is available for hire.

There are monthly history talks, as well as heritage tours and walks between May and October. The tours go on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month and start at the Heritage Centre in Blue Town at 10am and finish at 3pm. They are guided tours with local historians at each stop. The cost is only £15 for the day.

We are also starting guided dramatised walks in July every Wednesday at 11am. Work has also now started on an educational resource facility, which will have a 30 seat lecture theatre with a small cinema screen and interactive displays about life in Blue Town. The museum is managed by Jenny Hurkett and a group of trustees and volunteers, with the building leased by the charity 'Blue Town Remembered'.

• Address: 69 High Street, Blue Town, ME12 1RW
• Opening hours: 10am-3pm Tuesday-Saturday and most Bank Holidays
• Telephone: 01795 662981
• Email Blue Town Heritage Centre
• Visit the Blue Town Heritage Centre Website

Admission price: £1.00
Wheelchair access: Yes
Refreshments: Tea room specialising in cream teas

Queenborough Guildhall Museum 

Housed in a building dating from circa 1794, which replaced an old courthouse, this museum tells the fascinating story of the historic town of Queenborough and is an absorbing visit for children and adults alike. Queenborough grew from a small Saxon settlement into a wealthy borough with a Royal Castle built by Edward III and is full of both Victorian industrial heritage, still evolving today, and maritime heritage - the town was home to hundreds of minesweeping vessels during World War II. There are changing exhibitions and so one visit may not be enough!

• Address: High Street, Queenborough, ME11 5AA
• Opening hours: 2-5pm (last admission 4:30pm) Saturdays from April to October, or by appointment
• Call: 01795 667295
• Email Queenborough Guildhall Museum

Admission price: Free-50p
Wheelchair access: Yes to the museum but not to the Guildhall itself

Minster Abbey Gatehouse Museum 

As part of Minster's stunning Royal Saxon Abbey, the Gatehouse museum boasts three floors of exhibits including Victorian costumes, wartime ephemera, paintings and photographs, fossils, Roman coins, early newspapers, radio and communication devices, cannonballs and many other fascinating Sheppey artefacts. There are incredible panoramic views of Kent and Essex from the rooftop battlements, an impressive 200 feet above sea level.

• Address: Union Road, Minster, Isle of Sheppey, ME12 2HW
• Opening hours: Bank Holiday weekends, Saturdays and Wednesdays from May to October and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends from July to September, or by appointment
• Call: 01795 872303

Wheelchair access: Regrettably no

Sheerness Heritage Centre 

Visit this 19th century wooden building, one of the last few of its type, to see how residents lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally built for dockyard workers, it then became a bakery, then a furniture shop, then a fish and chip shop and then a home, before finally becoming the museum it is today. It has a Welsh slate roof and there are several examples of mangles in the kitchen.

• Address: 10 Rose Street, Sheerness, ME12 1AJ
• Opening hours: Vary - see the website
• Telephone: 01795 663317/875047
• Email the Sheerness Heritage Centre
• Visit the Sheerness Heritage Centre Website

Admission price: 50p
Wheelchair access: None to the upper level
Refreshments: No