London Open House

The Master Shipwright's House on Deptford's waterfront dates from 1513 and is a regular feature of London Open House. It is sandwiched between the Convoys Wharf site (formerly the King's Yard of which the building was a part) and Paynes & Borthwick Wharf (now a luxury housing development).

Along with plans, maps and photographs of Deptford Dockyard inside the house, there were other attractions in the garden – which overlooks the river – in order to celebrate the founding of the Royal Dockyard exactly 500 years ago.

Build The Lenox had a strong presence, and on Saturday had invited a re-enactment group from the Isle of Wight to come and fire their cannon and muskets and demonstrate their sword skills all day. The cannon could be heard next door at Convoys Wharf (which also had visitors - see below) and across the river.

The Lenox Project invited ship's carver Andy Peters to display his work inside the house. Some enthusiastic visitors kept him talking for a long time.

In celebration of the Quincentenary the Lenox team is selling T-shirts and tote bags to raise funds for their campaign.

In addition, they held a Press Conference on Saturday morning, featuring local actor Jim Conway playing Samuel Pepys, which resulted in BBC News coming down to film and, because of their interest, also a 10-minute spot on BBC London Radio early in the morning before the press conference. The conference was chaired by Ben Willbond and Larry Rickard, the actors from Horrible Histories. See the coverage here. The BBC News item went out on Monday morning and lunchtime, but is unfortunately not archived for viewing now on iPlayer.

Also on show in the garden was a model of John Evelyn's Sayes Court Garden, as part of a presentation by the Sayes Court Garden project.

Local artists Laura X Carlé, Sue Lawes and Hollie Paxton displayed artwork, Willi Richards showed a film about Deptford, and on Saturday evening, Up Projects held an art seminar to examine the part played by artists in regeneration, chaired by artist and educator Rebecca Beinart. That debate requires further discussion, since the Hutchison Whampoa application has a Cultural Strategy attached to it that feeds on Deptford's creative reputation that may not be able to survive the gentrification and high rents that may result from the developer's masterplan.

Meanwhile, next door on Convoys Wharf, developers Hutchison Whampoa also took part in London Open House on Saturday, and erected a marquee inside the historic Olympia Shed. There were a couple of additions to the display boards that were shown in their previous exhibition, and a new model, which showed much more of Deptford than the previous model, making the Convoys site appear much smaller. Spread out like this, the impact of the taller buildings and their surrounding masses was lessened. But not many were fooled.

The 48-storey tower at the front of the development was see-through, so that it almost disappeared in some views. The Olympia Shed was also dwarfed and hidden from many views. One display board invited visitors to suggest uses for the Olympia Shed (because the developers don't have any?). Some visitors were infuriated by the attitude of the developer's team, and returned to the Master Shipwright's House to show their support by purchasing Deptford 500 T-shirts from the Lenox team.

Also on Saturday, Henry VIII, who had been lurking in the gardens of the Master Shipwright's House, took a wander over to the Convoy's site, where he found the Deptford Anchor being stored in the Olympia building. This was Bill Ellson in costume, resuming his role from the local campaign of 2005, Convoys Opportunity, which had presented a viable alternative plan for the site (as a cruise liner terminal) when the previous owner, Rupert Murdoch, was attempting to get planning to build almost as many luxury flats as the present owners.

On Sunday at the House, a highlight was the appearance of the Deptford Dolphins, who took to the water off Watergate steps for a swim in the high tide. They were subsequently invited into the house to wash off the Thames water, and stopped to pose next to Laura X Carlé's giant cardboard anchor.

Abridged from an article on Deptford Is Forever – a new website created for Deptford X Visual Arts Festival 2013. The theme of this year's Deptford X is "Art Makes People Powerful" so Deptford Is Forever is campaigning to bring back the Deptford Anchor and Save the Royal Dockyard.

Thames Festival - 14th & 15th September 2013

Build The Lenox brought their restored cannon to the Blue Ribbon Village on Potter's Fields, as part of the Thames Festival this year. They had a great pitch next to Tower Bridge, but the weekend weather was less than clement.

 

One of the highlights of the festival was on Sunday when a choir of 600 children sang a repertoire of songs inspired by the maritime history of the Thames, composed and conducted by local Deptford resident and school teacher Jonathan Pix (a great supporter of the Lenox Project and the work of Deptford Is...).

 

Many children's imaginations were captured by the restored cannon and the cannonball, but most thought Lenox skipper, Julian Kingston – dressed as John Shish master shipwright – was a pirate!

 

David models the Lenox Project's new merchandise...Go to the Build The Lenox website to order yours!

The Great River Race, 7th September 2013

Build The Lenox took part in the Great River Race earlier in September. The team were not involved in the rowing race itself, but were invited to have a presence at the start and end of the race. The programme for the race had a large centre spread over six pages focusing on the history and future of Deptford Dockyard, with a special feature on the Lenox project.

We have extracted some points from the article by Sylvia Wicks here:

"There are three realistic options for the future of our Royal Docks: replacement with high-rise blocks of flats; preservation as a heritage visitor site linked with Greenwich; or the reinstatement as an interactive heritage visitor site and working boatyard.

"An application to build multiple high-rise blocks of luxury flats has been made to Lewisham Council. If it is approved, the docks will be lost forever. In future, Great River Race coxes might need to manage wind gusting between more tall buildings.

"Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site, is downstream from the Race start....It is The Royal Docks that authenticate Greenwich's historical Maritime significance....

"World Heritage visitors are generally well educated, mostly well informed, and often well travelled...Visitors now want to see the real thing..."

She then goes on to make the case for the Lenox, and for the establishment of a Maritime Enterprise Zone. She makes the point that London needs a substantial, centrally located working boatyard, since only three remain in London.  

"It seems perverse to destroy a restorable, urgently needed dockyard in order to build blocks of flats on a flood plain....Reinstating the Royal Docks as an interactive Heritage attraction with a contemporary working boatyard would show visitors that the maritime facilities developed, and still available, at these Royal Docks over some 500 years, remain appropriate for use today."

To read such advocacy was a great boost to the Lenox team. Meanwhile, at the start of the race on Millwall slip, opposite Convoys Wharf, the Lenox skipper Julian Kingston was interviewed by various film crews in his guise as John Shish, the master shipwright. 

 

After the last rowers had left the starting point, the Lenox team joined the organisers, VIPs and a Dutch brass band aboard the committee boat which ran along side the rowers. 

 

Further up river the Lenox team had the opportunity to cheer on the rowers from Deptford's Ahoy Centre, who had several rowing teams taking part.

 

 A great reception for rowers at Richmond...

More pictures can be found on the Lenox website.

Previously, in August, the Lenox Project took part in the South Bank's Festival of Neighbourhood, as one of the local community groups invited to participate in My Deptford. They were also met with great interest and support at that event. Read more here.

September events: Build The Lenox and Deptford 500

Saturday 7th September

GREAT RIVER RACE

London’s River Marathon

Featuring the UK Traditional Boat Championship – 21 miles from Docklands to Ham in Surrey – a spectacular boat race up the Thames with 300 crews from all over the globe, as part of the Thames Festival (see below). With fancy dress and charity stunts as well as serious sportsmen and women.

Build the Lenox will be accompanying the VIPs in a support boat and talking more about the project at the finish line. The event programme features a spread on the King’s Yard, its history and the Lenox Project, in celebration of 500 years since the inception of King Henry VIII’s royal naval yard in 1513.

www.greatriverrace.co.uk

Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th September

MAYOR’S THAMES FESTIVAL

A massive celebration which runs for ten days (6th-15th September) featuring river cruises, river relays and races, walks and talks, art exhibitions, plus a spectacular water-borne operatic performance 1513: A Ships’ Opera whose performers include nine ships and HMS Belfast on Saturday evening. Local Year 5 school children will be taking part in a 600-strong kid's choir at The Scoop in More London at 1-2pm on Sunday, in Voyages of Discovery, led by local resident Jonathan Pix.  Download the programme here.
  
Build the Lenox will have a stand in the Blue Ribbon Village at Potter’s Fields – an ‘interactive zone’ of organisations involved in the history, ecology and industry of the Thames. They’ll be displaying their restored 1620s naval Saker cannon!

www.thamesfestival.org

Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September, 10am-4pm

OPEN HOUSE LONDON – the capital’s greatest architectural showcase

at the Master Shipwright’s House, Watergate St, SE8

featuring Deptford 500

The Master Shipwright’s House is the oldest surviving building from King Henry VIII’s Royal Naval Dockyard, built in 1513 and remodelled in the early 18th century. The house will be celebrating the quincentenary anniversary of the dockyard – Deptford 500 – with some added attractions and talks, as well as displaying plans and images of the dockyard.
  
Build the Lenox will be joining in the celebrations. They may even fire off the cannon!

events.londonopenhouse.org/building/3380

Ancient mulberry tree in Sayes Court Park threatened by damage.

The ancient mulberry tree in Sayes Court Park on Evelyn Street, believed to have been planted by Peter the Great, has been put at risk by the loss of a large section of its trunk. Two founder members of the Sayes Court Gardens CIC, who are campaigning to have the park restored to its former glory as part of the Convoys Wharf redevelopment, came across the damage when they visited the site last weekend.

One large branch - about a quarter of the tree - has fallen off the prop which was supporting it, and broken fully away from the trunk. The tree is surrounded by a low fence which is supposed to protect it from damage, but visitors to the park climb on the low branches to harvest the mulberries.

The story was reported in the South London Press last week.

Updates: 22 August 2013

Sayes Court – London's Lost Garden
London's Lost Garden has posted about the Mulberry tree, with some interesting details on its history. Author Karen Liljenberg ends her post thus, "If the Deptford High St anchor symbolizes the area’s dockland and maritime past, you could argue that the Sayes Court mulberry tree is an icon of its land-based history. Despite the press headline declaring that the mulberry “faces the chop” and can’t be saved, with some well-deserved tlc, it surely can. Even so, with an eye to the future, and since it is easy to propagate mulberries, Lewisham Council really should see to that this autumn. Oh, and let’s hope they look after any cuttings better than the one planted in the adjoining border that died of neglect recently…"

Grasshoppers and Ghost Gardens
The Secret Garden Project (funded by Up Projects) recently staged some events in Deptford, led by artist Rebecca Beinart, who set out to explore the history and botany of Sue Godfrey Nature Park next to Crossfields Estate on Deptford Church St. The nature park was established in 1984 after a lengthy campaign by local residents, and named after one of those residents, who sadly died in a bicycle accident on Deptford Church Street. Rebecca's project included workshops on making clay medicine bottles to contain herbal remedies made from herbs and plants growing in the nature reserve. But firstly, she took participants on a walk from the food growing project on Crossfields Estate to Pepys Estate to discover "hidden pockets of green" in the area.

After viewing Convoys Wharf through the security gates, the walkers came upon Sayes Court Garden in Grove Street in a very timely fashion to find the Sayes Court Garden team at the 300 year old Mulberry tree, having just discovered its plight. The team explained to the walkers what had happened and what their project is about.

Malcolm Cadman from Pepys Community Forum then spoke about the Convoys Wharf redevelopment before leading the walkers to John Evelyn Community Garden on Pepys Estate, where residents are growing fruit trees and vegetables and honing their gardening skills and knowledge. Their gardening project was begun in 2005. The group were treated to a healthy wholefood feast around the garden's community table, courtesy of the Secret Garden Project, and the Sayes Court Garden team were pleased to find so much support for their project. Presently, they are included in the Hutchison Whampoa masterplan, but not all of their requests have been met. That would involve the developer making some adjustments to their masterplan to make more space for this important heritage scheme.

English Heritage urges reduction in density

English Heritage has urged Lewisham Council to seek further revisions in respect of reducing the maximum levels of development on Convoys Wharf, in its official response to Hutchison Whampoa's latest planning application.

The response has already been highlighted in the specialist press but we thought it would be helpful to publish additional extracts, to demonstrate the full extent of the comments.

The heritage watchdog's official response is formed of two letters; one from historic buildings & areas advisor Richard Parish, and one from archaeology adviser Mark Stevenson. The former addresses the impact of the proposals on the historic built environment, the latter the impact on the archaeology of the site.

In his introduction, Parish underlines the importance of Convoys Wharf: "As the site of Henry VIII's Deptford Royal Dockyard, Convoys Wharf is of major historic significance."

While he acknowledges the desirability of bringing the site back into use (as indeed does Deptford Is..) he says that EH "remains concerned that the overall scale of the development is such that the opportunity to create a distinctive sense of place which responds to local character, and provides an appropriate setting for designated and undesignated heritage assets, is lost."

Settings for historic buildings - a lost opportunity

He continues: "We would urge the council to seek further revisions in respect of reducing the maximum levels of development, particularly in respect of the immediate setting of the grade II listed Olympia Shed, and to seek further measures to safeguard its significance and secure its beneficial use."

Parish also suggests that the council seek further opportunities to reflect the historic character across the site, as well as ensuring that the tall buildings that are proposed 'offer an elegant and attractive addition to the skyline.'

In setting out the significance of the historic environment, Parish explains:

"Deptford Royal Dockyard was founded by Henry VIII in 1513 and by the mid-sixteenth century....alongside Woolwich Dockyard, was the most important naval dockyard in the Country. In terms of designated heritage assets the site reflects the extensive redevelopment of the late C20th which removed many earlier structures.

The surviving designated assets are the grade II Gateway, the centrally located grade II Olympia Building with its distinctive roof form, the scheduled Tudor Storehouse (scheduled ancient monument), the grade II* Master Shipwrights House, and the grade II* Dockyard Offices on the eastern perimeter (now outside the site boundary). The site also encompasses the remains of John Evelyn’s home, the medieval manor of Sayes Court (demolished 1930) and part of the site of its formal garden, from which it draws historic significance.

Investigations have shed considerable light on the evolution of the site, including the extent of remains of Sayes Court and its gardens, the Dry Dock, the Great Basin and Double Dock, and Mast Ponds. The River Wall is also currently under consideration for listing. As such we consider the site to demonstrate extensive historic and evidential value. It must also be considered to hold significant communal values through its association with John Evelyn and garden history, and maritime history and its proximity to the Greenwich WHS. This communal value has manifested itself in the popular movement to build a replica of Henry VIII’s warship the Lenox on the site."

His assessment of Hutchison Whampoa's plans for the site is unambiguous.

"We remain concerned that the overall scale of development is such that the opportunity to create a distinctive sense of place which responds to the outstanding historic legacy of the site has not been realised. "

In regards to the listed Olympia Shed, he says: "Whilst we acknowledge the reduction in height of the surrounding elements, we remain concerned that the proximity and massing of the feature buildings and 14 storey riverside block create a dominating scale around the listed building."

The link between the Olympia Shed and the river is a crucial one, he says, and the 'narrow, glimpsed view' that is included in Farrell's masterplan 'fails to make the best opportunity of this prominent and centrally-located heritage asset'.

'Unconvincing' visualisations

Parish also remains unconvinced by Farrell's proposals for the three tall buildings, and says that their location and arrangement risks creating a 'canyon' effect. Moreover he questions whether the towers will be sufficiently elegant and well-proportioned to contribute beneficially to the skyline.

"As the proposal is in outline and only refers to parameters of height, mass and location, to be undertaken in accordance with design guidelines. We are concerned that this may not result in this being achieved, and we are unconvinced by the visualisations."

In relation to the public realm works, Parish suggests that "further consideration be given to the design and associated landscaping of the school, to reflect the location of the Sayes Court Garden and the proposed Sayes Court Interpretation Centre."

He closes by reiterating that EH has overriding concerns about the proposals, and even goes so far as to say that "the overall scale of the scheme, including the tall buildings, will cause harm to the significance of designated and undesignated heritage assets."

Convoys Wharf transport #2: public transport

One of the strongest arguments against allowing Convoys Wharf to be developed to the density that Hutchison Whampoa is suggesting, is the fact that the public transport accessibility of the site is so poor. 

This situation has not improved with the new masterplan, so many of the comments made in our last assessment still apply. Many of the people living in these new properties will have to travel into London for work on a daily basis, so how will they do this?

Planners measure public transport accessibility by measuring it on the PTAL (Public Transport Accessibility Level) scale. This provides an assessment of how easy it is to get from the site to public transport, and ranges from 1 to 6, with 1 being the lowest rating and 6 the highest. In London a rating of 4 is generally a good level for major developments such as this to aspire to.

The PTAL rating of Convoys Wharf ranges from 1 to 2 across the site, with 2 being the level at the exit on Princes Street. With Hutchison Whampoa's plans for redevelopment, the rating will rise very slightly, but will still be an average of 2 across the site, and 3 closest to Princes St.

The diagram below indicates the transport plans for the site - in simple terms, HW is in discussion with TfL about the possibility of having a pier for the Thames Clipper river bus, and also proposes either a new bus through the site, or the diversion of one of the existing services that go along Evelyn Street, the 199 having been suggested. 

For a Thames Clipper service to call at the site will require the refurbishment of the existing jetty and the construction of a new pier on the jetty. Although TfL has acknowledged the possibility of a new pier at Convoys Wharf, there is no firm commitment to a date other than during phase one, which is five years long. There is also no confirmation of whether the service would be the regular London-bound boats, or just a shuttle boat to Canary Wharf.

In either case, use of the riverbus service is impractical for many people - not only in terms of its restricted capacity, but also because it serves so few destinations and is slow in comparison to other public transport options.

Aside from the bus and boat services, future residents at Convoys Wharf will have to travel somewhat further afield to access trains or DLR services. Naturally Deptford station is the closest train station to the development, and as the transport strategy points out, the station has recently been refurbished. But although the station is now more pleasant to use and easier to access, and the capacity of the station itself may have been increased, there has been no change to the capacity of the actual trains.

The analysis of available capacity on services from Deptford station depends heavily on completion of Crossrail in 2018; this is predicted to reduce the number of people using London-bound trains from Woolwich, and is entirely credible. However there is no reference to the most recent Office of Rail Regulation figures which showed Deptford station experienced 7.1% increase in usage last year, and this is expected to continue as redevelopments continue and residents move into the new properties.

According to the trip generation figures, 258 people from Convoys Wharf will take the train towards London in the morning peak hour between 8am and 9am. This seems a very low figure considering the total population that could number 10,000 or more. But even taking this point aside, the addition of around 44 passengers to each already-overcrowded train is not a pleasant prospect.

Bus services are also likely to suffer - while the transport plan envisages a bus route through the site, there is no firm commitment to a new service as yet, so it could well be an existing route diverted and hence making journeys longer and more overcrowded than they are now. Almost 500 people from the development are estimated will be catching the bus during the morning peak hour, many presumably going towards Underground or Overground services elsewhere.

Meanwhile less than 200 will catch a river bus, although with only four services in the peak hour, that's still an estimated 50 per boat. The boats in the current fleet each have 220 seats.