Man of Kent, Jason deCaires Taylor
2025 is the 200th anniversary of the modern railway in the UK
"The Stockton & Darlington Railway opened on September 27, 1825, connecting places, people, communities and ideas and ultimately transforming the world.
Railway 200 will be a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and inspire a new generation of young pioneering talent to choose a career in rail. It invites community, rail and other groups to get involved.
Starting in January 2025, a wide variety of activities and events are being planned to celebrate rail’s remarkable past, its role today, and its importance to a sustainable future.
Born in Britain, rail quickly spread across the globe. Next year, Railway 200 will showcase how the railway shaped and continues to shape national life.
The Open Faversham programme this year will feature Faversham's remarkably rich railway heritage and raise awareness of the Engine Sheds which the Faversham Community Land Trust hope to conserve and bring back into use.
Responding to an email inviting suggestions of events for Open Faversham 2024 and then meeting with Kevin from St Mary’s Church, led to Lowering The Tone and Upping the Shanty welcoming singers to join them for an evening of Shanties and Songs of the Sea on Wednesday 21st August.
Between 30 and 40 singers joined us for a workshop at 6pm. We learned four shanties in an hour and the church was filled with the joy of singing together. Another 30 or so folk joined us for a concert at 7.30pm. The men of Lowering the Tone sang several shanties and led the audience in Being a Pirate! The women in Upping the Shanty sang some of their favourites and got everyone singing Roseanna. And the highlight of the concert was the singing of the shanties learned in the workshop by all of those who at attended with thirty or so singers of Lowering The Tone and Upping the Shanty! A fabulous number of singers!
All of the songs were taught by ear, and the feeling of relying on collective memory during the concert shone through! Great fun! Huge thanks for the team at St Mary’s for allowing this event to take place in the church and for great refreshments during the evening. The evening resulted in conversations about repeating the event next year, several folk signing up for future workshops and a handful of singers interested in joining LTT or UTS. Both groups welcome new singers – for more information contact Christine Adams christineadamsmusic@gmail.com
John Wilson (1595-1674)
Born in Faversham in 1595 John Wilson worked his way into the city and the theatre and was composing for masques by 1614 as his comic setting of ‘Kawasha comes in Majestiee’ composed for the Masque of Flowers, was published in that year along with text of the masque. This setting seems to have given him some early success and notoriety as a composer. In February 1608, he was apprenticed for eight years to the actor John Heminges, a freeman of the Grocers’ Company and started his long association with the stage and in particular the Blackfriars theatre in London.
Ian Spink is emphatic that the ‘Jacke Wilson’ mentioned on page 107 of the 1623 Shakespeare folio edition of Much Ado became the later doctor, and then professor, John Wilson. Certainly, by around 1615 Wilson was attached to the Kings Men company, where he would have worked alongside Robert Johnson, taking over from him as composer and musician for the troupe from 1617. In particular, Wilson provided music for a string of plays by John Fletcher, working at the theatre until the 1630s; though it is his early association with Shakespeare and the original settings of the bard’s songs that Wilson is probably best known.
After becoming a King’s musician, he followed the Court to Oxford becoming the Professor in 1656. After the Commonweath he returned to London to serve the King and Chapel Royal. He died in 1674 and is buried in West Minster Abbey with full honours.
Download the concert programme
Prayers or Meditations was the first book published by an English woman under her own name and by an English queen, said Justin Croft, a specialist in antiquarian books.
A letter found with the books suggests they were hidden during the reign of Mary I, often nicknamed "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants in an attempt to restore Catholicism in England.
Possession of such items could have been a "death sentence", said the Faversham Society, which runs the Fleur de Lis Museum
The prayer books are in English rather than Latin when it was "new and contentious", said Mr Croft, adding they could have been "dangerous".
"Just a few miles away in Canterbury, Protestants were being burned at the stake for their beliefs, which included the conviction that praying in their mother tongue was part of their faith.
"Whoever owned the Faversham prayer books in the 1550s wouldn't want to advertise the fact - and probably had good reason to hide them."
Faversham Faces: Bob Geldof, Gulliver Immink and Arthur Percival
"As part of Open Faversham, we have got together with some of the resident artists based here at Creek Creative to put on our very first outside pop-up art exhibition to celebrate some of the people and stories from Faversham, past and present. Gulliver Immick Another one of Faversham's unsung heroes,
Gulliver Immick is one Faversham resident who truly gives back to our town. Former businessman, Gulliver is one of the current Trustees for Abbey Physic Gardens, a magical space in the heart of Faversham that helps people to maintain or improve their physical and mental well-being. The gardens are a haven for visitors to relax and enjoy, connect with others and learn new skills. The Abbey Physic Gardens offers a range of services and workshops. To find out more, it's well worth visiting their website here Being a trustee of one charity is pretty much a full-time commitment, but Gulliver isn't afraid of getting stuck in and supporting local causes. Until recently he was also a trustee for Faversham Creek Trust, where he was involved with a number of projects, but he is most passionate about engaging the younger Faversham residents. Often taking Ottor, a half-length replica of the famous Graveney boat that was discovered on Graveney Marshes in the 1970s, into schools for pupils to learn more about the Anglo Saxons and our coastal heritage. His passion for supporting local youth groups and his passion for our maritime heritage meant that Gulliver also volunteered for the Sea Cadets for a number of years, regularly attending events and parades. In addition to this, Gulliver has been an active campaigner for local causes and initiatives, including Faversham's 20's Plenty campaign, undertaking studies into Faversham's air pollution issues, and campaigning against the solar farm at Graveney. It is thanks to people like Gulliver that Faversham is such a lovely town to live and work in, and we hope he enjoys being part of our selection of Faversham Faces.
The Abbey Physic Community Garden was delighted to hold a Wine'd Down Evening on Thurs 17th August as part of the Open Faversham week of events.
Many members of the Community were able to enjoy an evening relaxing in our garden, eating food & drink prepared by our Mindful Kitchen, and listening to the saxophone played by Chris Peters AKA time traveller.
We look forward to being part of Open Faversham 2024.