Notice Board

Sunday, 19 July 2015

Upchurch Best Kept Garden 2015 - The Winners

This years overall winners were Mr & Mrs Friend for their beautifully
presented garden in Beckenham Park.

Gardens, in all parts of Upchurch, were viewed on either the 17 or 18th of July and the judges decided as follows:-

In the FLOWERS category:-

PRIZE WINNER – Mr & Mrs Friend at 56, Beckenham Park

Highly commended – Mrs Joan Lewin at 21, Drakes Close

In the MIXED FLOWERS/SHRUBS category:-

PRIZE WINNER – Mr & Mrs Panter at 16, Wilks Close

Highly commended – Mr & Mrs Boakes at 97, Chaffes Lane

In the SMALL/HANGING BASKETS/TROUGHS category:-

PRIZE WINNER – Mr Paviour & Ms Head at Myrtle Cottage 6, The Street

Highly commended – Mrs Packer at 11, Chaffes Terrace

The overall prize winners were judged to be Mr & Mrs Friend for their beautifully presented garden in Beckenham Park. As overall winners they will be presented with THE BARBARA WEBB MEMORIAL ROSE BOWL which they will keep until next year’s overall winner is announced.

Prize winners will invited to collect their prizes at the Horticultural Show in the village hall on the afternoon of 12th September at 3:30pm, but everyone is welcome to visit the show which is open from 2:00 pm till 4:00pm.

Gerry Lewin

Tel: 01634 366113 or Email: lewing135@btinternet.com

On behalf of the Upchurch Horticultural Society and the Parish Council.

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Monday, 13 July 2015

Swale Borough Council - Members Localism Grants

I have been given an allocation of £2,400 in the civic year 2015/2016 to be awarded to local community projects. If you are a village organisation and would like financial support for a project then please contact me to see whether I can assist. Please bear in mind that I represent the Ward of Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch and you will be unsurprised to learn that I am unlikely to allocate the whole amount to one organisation. Please note that my colleague, Cllr Wright, has a similar allocation in this Ward and we often ‘double-up’ on an application.

Looking forward to hearing from you - Cllr Gerry Lewin 135 Oak Lane ME9 7AY.

Telephone: 01634 366113 or Email: lewing135@btinternet.com

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Summer Produce Sale and Crafts

Liz Mouland
Friends of St. Margaret's, Lower Halstow

Website: www.thesix.org.uk

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Saturday, 11 July 2015

The Story of Upchurch Pottery by David Wood

Although the pottery is named after the village of Upchurch the business started in Rainham when Seymour and Dora Wakeley who had an interest in ceramics had a bottle and kiln workshop constructed in a chalk pit just off Seymour Road on Wakeley family land. While designer Edward Spencer gave a helping hand and advice, Dora Wakeley spent her free time obtaining clay and Roman pots from the Upchurch marshes, had her designs made into her own wares and exhibited these in London at places like Crystal Palace. She described her business to the East Kent Gazette dated March 20th 1920.

“I was first interested in the potter’s art as a hobby. When I started in a very small way before the war I little dreamt that it would develop into a revived history. I enjoyed hunting round museums for designs and most of my models have been copied from Chinese and Korean wares of the 15th century. I supply Upchurch pottery to several West-End firms and as a result of this fair I have been asked to accept far more orders than I can ever hope to execute.”

At the beginning conditions for producing pottery at the workshop were basic without gas or electricity, kick wheels were used to turn the pots and water was obtained and brought to the workshop from a nearby pond. The coal fired kiln proved to be very unpredictable and the clay obtained locally. Despite these problems Upchurch pottery became very well-known over time.

Potter Ted Baker who resided at Windmill Hill in Upchurch became a major reason why the pottery obtained its fame. He had originally worked with his father in the family flower pot business when he left school. He then spent some time in London where he worked in Reginald Wells’s pottery in Chelsea. Wells became a personal friend of Seymour Wakeley.

Ted Baker returned to Kent from London in 1913 and Seymour Wakeley immediately employed him as a potter at his workshop. The designs Baker worked on were mainly influenced by Greek and Roman vases and he used a style of soft colours with a matt finish. This became a characteristic of Upchurch Pottery. His glaze recipe books show that he used a large amount of boracic which intensifies colour and reduces expansion of the glaze to prevent cracking. The pottery had extraordinary and delicate colouring. The pots were fired to a great heat, up to 2,000 degrees, which caused unexpected colour effects. Dora Wakeley continued to be responsible for designs put into practice by Ted Baker while designer Edward Spencer advised and collaborated with regard to glaze recipes.

During the 1920s Upchurch glazes lost popularity, described by some experts as being sombre and stolid but after 1933 the glazes became more pastel and softer. Ted Baker perfected this characteristic and the products were exhibited at major trade fairs. His work became very popular and in demand. The pottery obtained so much fame that Queen Mary became a patron.

Due to the deterioration of the Seymour Road building the original site for the Upchurch Pottery was demolished in 1936 and Seymour Wakeley sold the business to Oscar and Grace Davies who opened the Roeginga Pottery in Rainham High Street. It only operated under them for two years but they recruited Ted Baker’s son Edward to manage it. Mrs Alice Winnecott then purchased the pottery, hired the services of Ted Baker and developed the Claverdon Range of pottery which became very popular. A thatched roof Tudor café and a pottery shop set in gardens and lawn existed close to the Men of Kent pub to attract potential customers travelling along the A2.

Although the Roeginga pottery didn’t function during World War Two it re-opened in 1948 and Ted Baker became the subject of a black and white film made at the pottery which showed the different stages of manufacture in pot making and the business did well with 200 items being produced in 1949, most of which were exported abroad.

During the summer months travellers on the way to the coast frequently stopped to watch Ted Baker at work in the pottery. After making enough money he eventually purchased the business from Mrs Winnecott in 1953. He then ran it as his own business with his two sons and they made pots for clients all over the world but in 1955 he died. Edward Baker junior then bought the business and renamed it Rainham Pottery in 1956. After 18 more years it finally closed in 1963 mainly due to the competition of cheaper, mass produced ware and the construction of the M2 motorway which took away a lot of trade. Edward Baker continued to run the Roeginga pottery until he retired in 1975.

Today Upchurch pottery is still in demand, a style well-known in the porcelain market nationwide and is recognizable by its distinctive colouring and finishing.

About David

David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.

David Wood

Road Closure - Chaffes Lane

Chaffes Lane, Upchurch will be closed from Monday the 13th of July for up to 5 days between Oak Lane and Bishop Lane for work to patch the road.