Our next Ramsgate Society talk will be by Diane Harvey-White, a heritage consultant and part of the design team from Curl la Tourelle Head (CLTH), the architects appointed in March 2023 for the regeneration projects in Ramsgate Harbour.

She will be drawing on her research to produce a Conservation Management Plan for the harbour, a project that involved the research of eight individually designated buildings (including the Grade II* Clock House) and structures as well as four that come under the harbour designation – also Grade II*. Through this work she was able to plot the succession of engineers to the harbour and pinpoint who was responsible for various phases of construction and repair from 1773 through to 1926.

Her analysis places Ramsgate Royal Harbour into the wider context of engineering innovation that includes it in the canon of work by the engineers responsible for Scarborough Harbour, Holkham Estate, Sheerness Dockyard, London Bridge, the London Docks and Newlyn Harbour. She contributes a greater understanding of the choices made for construction and materials, showing how fashionable considerations have shaped innovation, including the social care of the seafaring community, for centuries.

A focus for this presentation is not just to look back, but to look forward and provide a greater understanding of the challenges our 280 year old harbour presents today. She will touch on conservation and sustainability, including collaboration and partnership with other heritage harbours around the country, and discuss the issues TDC have to deal with as owner, which can often be misunderstood by the public.

This talk will take place at the San Clu Hotel in their downstairs meeting room with full disabled access and much nearby on street parking. To attend you must book in advance at £2 (+88p Eventbrite fee) a ticket. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Non-members are requested to make a further voluntary donation of £3.

Book at bit.ly/HeritageHarbourTalk or use “Website” link below