Public Convenience

Janet Keates, from Cliffe, recently sent me a scan of an old 1950s newspaper, referring to a major dispute between villagers living on the Isle of Grain. The subject of the row was the siting of a toilet block in the centre of the village!

The story appeared in the Daily Express in April 1959. And if you want to know what happened - the toilets were granted permission and they served the community for many years, until being demolished in the 1990s.

In 2000, the Cat and Cracker pub and the Working Men's Club were also demolished, leaving the village with only one watering hole for the first time in a century (The Hogarth).

Another snippet of our local history.
 

Cliffe History Project launch new website

A group of local residents from Cliffe have begun a project to record the social history of the village. Their project takes in the impact the Saxons and Romans had on the area and continues through the changes which have taken place since the beginning of the area’s industrialisation in the 1800s.

Much has already been written about the area’s history and military connections, but this new project is different as it will also focus on how war affected daily life.

Janet Keates, who is involved in the project, told me that the group would like to hear from anyone on the Hoo Peninsula who is interested in local history or who has knowledge they’d like to share, especially concerning our local military heritage.

The above photo is of a largely forgotten pillbox from the GHQ line that was constructed across the Hoo Peninsula. The Cliffe History Project hopes to spend time looking at their importance and remembering those who were responsible for defending the coastline of North Kent.

If you want to find out more about this project, take a look at this interesting new website by clicking here. This website is partially under construction and more will be added, but if you want to get involved there’s a contact button in place.

Thanks Janet for getting in touch.