The history of the Downs

Herne Bay is lucky enough to have the Downs because, from 1881 onwards, a series of local people gifted plots of land to the town. About half of the site was gifted to the town in this way. There are long-standing covenants between these benefactors and the Council to keep the Downs as a public open space for the recreation and enjoyment of local people and the wider public forever. The Herne Bay Urban District Council, in receiving these gifts of land on behalf of the town, recognised at the time what a great resource and asset the Downs would be to Herne Bay.

A tithe map of the Downs... fields and not much else!​ (1840)

The other half of the site has come into the hands of the Council for a number of different reasons. Some plots of land were acquired under the powers of the Coast Protection Act. Others have been acquired on the basis of adverse possession.

It is important to the Friends of the Downs to stay true to the original intentions of the town’s benefactors, and to keep the Downs open for everyone to use for lawful recreation, freely and free of charge, forever.

In the town’s Victorian heyday, the Downs was used extensively for that popular pastime – promenading. “A Visitor’s Guide to Herne Bay” published in 1859, has the following description:

“It is a pleasant change from the stroll along the beach to ascend the rising ground at either extremity of the Parade. At the eastern end, you come immediately on The Downs, which though narrow, extend for miles along the coast. Gradually ascending, they form at first an easy slope of greensward, dotted with brakes of furze and heath, and falling away to the level of the beach. Seats planted on the green turf are liberally provided, and no healthier spot can be imagined for exercise and recreation. Here children gambol in freedom an safety in the sea breeze; and after the plunge of bath or bathing machine, of which there are stations just below, nothing can better help to circulate the blood than a bracing walk on The Downs.”

Edwardian postcard​

 “The New Guide to Herne Bay” published in 1875, describes the Downs as follows:

“The East Cliff, situated beyond the confines of the old town, a parade of an altogether wilder character, is not inappropriately styled “The Down”. Here invalids who cannot make excursions inland may take advantage of the many rustic seats dotted in every direction on these grassy slopes, and enjoy at leisure the exhilarating sea breezes, and the expansive view across the bay below.”

​An undated painting, earlier than 1831, shows a crop of what looks like corn being harvested on the Downs and a story going as far back as 1818 tells of two soldiers from the military signalling station at Herne Bay fighting a duel on the Downs.

Signage for the Downage has arrived!

The long-awaited information panels have arrived on the Downs. These have been nearly two years in the making, with the world at large getting a peek in the last couple of months. Here are the "before and after consultation" versions of the panels and below them, for what it's worth, is what I sent the nice people at CCC.

Here's some thoughts on the panels:

Orientation

• Do not have just one copy of this on The Downs. There should be copies at 1, 3, 4 and 8 - even if only A4 or A3 in the existing noticeboards, to encourage people to come and have a look.
• I understand what you're trying to do with the background photo, but it could be confusing for visitors.
• On the map at the bottom, the colours seem to have been reversed: it should be green for The Downs, and grey (or residential splodges) to show where the housing is. At the moment, Herne Bay appears to consist of green fields running up to a concrete strip next to the sea!
• The map should show the main paths on The Downs and the Promenade, so that people know they can actually get to all the places shown.
• If the numbered dots on the map aren't going to be arranged to scale (putting Reculver off the right of the map!), they should be in the correct relative positions, i.e. Bishopstone Glen to the right of You Are Here.
• An indication of the distance, especially to Bishopstone and Reculver, would be helpful.
• PLEASE increase the size of the text.
• Space can be reclaimed from the top and bottom of the panel, allowing more height for the 8 text boxes, and the boxes can run wider across the panel. This would allow for the all-important text to be readably large - as it is, it's simply too small, given the space available.
• (Box 1) I'm sure you can find a better picture of the Pier.
• (Box 2) The clocktower is 75 feet (23m) TALL. Free-standing is usually hyphenated.
• (Box 3) In the heading: Neptunes Arm. In the text Neptune's arm. Correctly, both should be: Neptune's Arm.
• (Box 4) King's Hall has an apostrophe.
• (Box 7) There's no need to repeat "Bishopstone Glen" in the text.
• (Box 8) There's no need to repeat "Reculver Towers" in the text.

Wildlife

• The Downs are seething with nature, and it's hard to know which bits to choose. Personally, I would swap the Chiff-Chaff for a Kestrel - people are more likely to notice a kestrel and wonder what they're looking at.
• I would like to see the Slow-worm get a look-in - it's an endangered species, we're lucky to have it, and we should be proud of it.
• Coastal wildlife section: 2nd paragraph "habitats. chiff-chaff" should be "habitats. Chiff-chaff" and in the next sentence chiff-chaff should be hyphenated.
• Bishopstone Glen: don't just repeat what's appeared on the Orientation Panel - say something additional and wildlife-y about it, like its distinctive insect life.
• Bishopstone Glen: rather than a picture that doesn't even show the Glen, have a picture looking up (or down) the glen, so people can see what an odd and interesting place it is: attached.
• The description of the Miramar landslip is confusing.
• Pictures, or at least line drawings, of the plants mentioned would be much more useful than the very brief descriptions.
• About one-third of this panel is wasted on pictures of what people can already easily see, just by glancing away from the panel - use it instead for wildlife identification pictures and/or wildlife info.

Heritage

• I like this - it gives a feel for the range of history in Herne Bay. Easily the best of the three panels.
• I think the Hundred Steps, George & Mary Seat, and the Barnes Wallis statue should be marked on the Orientation Panel.
• The Bouncing Bomb section should mention that it was tested just along the coast at Reculver - otherwise it looks like the statue is our only link to the Dambusters.
• There MUST be a clear message directing people to the Herne Bay Museum (for example in the white space under the bouncing bomb paragraph). I've had an email from Margaret Burns saying that she cannot see any objection to including a reference to the Museum.