Smallest Listed Monument in Kent Gets Protection
Last week English Heritage listed a 1904 electricity supply
pillar in Bathurst Road which Go Folkestone had applied to get protected after
it was decommissioned when the electrical junctions became dangerous, the door
was damaged and it was on the point of being removed. It is now protected as a
building or edifice of historical interest. English Heritage listed it because
it demonstrated the high level of design and workmanship that went into the work
of the early electricity supply companies who were viewed at the time as being,
rightly, at the cutting edge of technology. Compared with modern junction boxes
that is certainly the case! It is actually an impressive object with a
Folkestone Borough coat of arms, cast iron curlicues covering its surface and a
carefully fashioned Henrician cap.
However it is still in a fairly sad state .GF, together with
the New Folkestone Society is now looking for help. Listing means that the
Highway’s Department of Kent County Council can no longer simply clear it away
as was the intention. But although we must write to KCC at Beer Cart Lane and
others we cannot expect a lot of enthusiasm.
There is perhaps not as much pride in craftsmanship as there
was 100 years ago. But even then people were ‘improving’ churches and clearing
away city walls and old buildings, so probably safeguarding history is down to
us. GF wants to keep it in situ where it has survived against all the odds for
over a century, from a time when almost no houses in the country had
electricity. Environment and Building members, meeting on the first Wednesday of
the month at 8pm at Wards Hotel and local historian Robert Mouland are pushing
for the renovation. Perhaps a local tradesman or company with an interest in
history could help, or some unlikely specialist stuck away on the internet.
Certainly even if we get stuck in ourselves we need help with repairing the door
and deciding on the right 1904 colours for the paintwork...
Article from Go Folkestone Newsletter June 2007
