Committee Round Up
CHURCHES COMMITTEE
Visit to the Gurdwara, Sikh Temple, Gravesend
by José Gibbs
Once again the Churches Committee not only organised a fascinating and informative visit, but also arranged for the sun to shine on this late September Saturday! This meant that, as we drove through the gateway to the Gurdwara, the marble and granite building glinted in the sunlight and the beautifully kept flower borders added to the welcome. While we were gathered on the forecourt, David Carder introduced our guide, RajVinder Singh Gill, and we showed our appreciation of the forthcoming visit with a warm round of applause as clapping is not permitted inside the Temple. We had been sent guidelines regarding dress and behaviour prior to the visit and removed our shoes and donned head-scarves in the foyer. RajVinder assisted many of the men as they attempted to tie head-scarves correctly. After washing our hands we moved into the Gurdwara.
RajVinder showed us around, explaining as we moved from room to room the different functions of each one and the ethos and symbolism of Sikhism. The building can be entered through four doors, one on each side of the building, to show that you can enter from any direction. The Gurdwara is a building in which to meet other people and to be part of a vibrant community.
The Sikh community arrived in Gravesend from East Africa in the 1950s and 1960s to work in the extensive docks and factories. Building of the temple was commenced in 2000 and the community moved into it in 2010. So far it has cost £14m and a further £1m is needed to complete the building. The site was originally wasteland. It is the biggest in Europe and is modelled on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Indian craftsmen were employed to carve the marble, granite and wood in panels. These were then shipped to England in ‘flat pack’ form and erected on site. The outside of the building is granite as Indian marble would not withstand British weather. The Sikh community of about 8-10,000 people is very much part of Gravesend and welcome all into their Gurdwara.
Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Sahib. Unlike Hinduism, there is no caste system as the Guru felt that humans should be judged by their deeds and not place of birth, hierarchy or gender. The Sikh religious text, Guru Granth Sahib, is considered to be a live person and consists of verses gathered together in the early days of Sikhism from around the known world. It is therefore written in several different languages. Sikhs meditate three times a day and in the Gurdwara music is very much part of the meditation. There is no formal priesthood as no one person holds the truth, but scholars visit and stay in the Gurdwara for two weeks before moving on. RajVinder explained the meaning of the different symbols of their faith. We had covered our heads to hold ourselves in one place and removed our shoes in order to leave the hurts and problems of the world outside the building.
Our visit ended with a meal, provided by the community every day for any who required food, reflecting the acts of charity performed since Sikhism was founded. This account really cannot cover everything that we were told, saw and experienced and I apologise if I have missed something of importance or misrepresented what we were told. There was a lot to take in and I’m sure that many of the group found, as I did, that it was an uplifting visit.
Our sincere thanks go to RajVinder for his detailed explanations and to David Carder of the Churches Committee for suggesting and organising this visit to a place of worship so different to the usual locations. Besides looking at the fabric and history of the building, it also fulfilled another of the committee’s objectives: that of finding out about the community connected with the building.
For further information and submission guidelines contact Professor David Killingray, Chairman, KAS Publications Committee, 72 Bradbourne Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3QA, tel: 01732 453008, email: dmkillingray@hotmail.com
Heritage lottery fund’s new church grants procedure
by Mary Berg, Chairman, KAS Churches Committee
I recently attended an information day in a very cold church in London to hear about Heritage Lottery funding for places of worship. There is to be a new procedure which, if it works as outlined, should be simpler, quicker and less stressful than the present one operated by English Heritage (EH). From April 2013, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will be solely responsible for Grants for Places of Worship (replacing the old EH Repair Grants for Places of Worship) with EH now only providing expertise on request. The grants will cover not only repairs but will also contribute to additions (e.g. loos and lighting) and to ‘heritage’ (e.g. websites, information boards, guides).
The emphasis will continue to be on urgent structural repair need and grants will be between £10,000 and £250,000. We were assured that the funders will be flexible and take such factors as geographical location into account. There are also grants available from other HLF sources for restoring bells and organs, conserving stained glass and wall paintings, as well as church trails and interpretation.
There will be quarterly instead of annual deadlines so, if your church just misses a deadline, it does not have to wait 12 months for the next one. There is a two-round assessment and each round takes three months. First, you ask for funding to help you to develop your second round bid. (Again, flexibility and pragmatism were promised.) A project inquiry service to provide free feedback should be available on the HLF website from mid-December and the response target time is 10 days. New arrangements are currently being rolled out and further information will appear on www.hlf.org.uk in due course.
KAS HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Conference 2012
by Angela Davies
The theme of the annual Historic Buildings Conference held on 20 October 2012 was Cinque Port Towns of Kent and Sussex. The event drew an audience of around 50 members and took place in Harrietsham Community Centre.
Christopher Proudfoot, Chairman of the KAS Historic Buildings Committee, opened the Conference, taking the opportunity to mention the Committee’s work in 2012 on a survey of timber-framed buildings in Wateringbury. The project, still in its early stages, was initiated at the request, and with the cooperation of the Wateringbury Local History Society. David Carder, the Conference organiser, then spoke briefly on the Cinque Ports. He summarised the history of the Confederation from its establishment by Royal Charter when it comprised the five port towns of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich. David explained how the Confederation expanded to a membership of 42 towns at its height, and outlined the obligations and privileges of membership.
The topic chosen by Andrew Linklater of Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT), was The Early Medieval Development of Folkestone and New Romney. Andrew first described the evolution of the town plan of medieval Folkestone, drawing on findings revealed during recent excavations. He explained with great clarity how the geology of the area and major coastal changes had affected the development of the town layout. Andrew next turned his attention to New Romney, where CAT and local organisations had taken advantage of major drainage works to carry out excavations in sites all over the town. One of the aims had been to look for evidence of an earlier town, which pre-dated the great storm of 1287, vestiges of which were thought to be somewhere under the present town. In the event, New Romney was found to be built directly on sand with no suggestion of earlier habitation beneath it. The investigations also established that the New Romney of today possesses most of its medieval street plan.
Next Sarah Pearson, buildings historian, formerly working on the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments of England, and author of The Medieval Houses of Kent: An Historical Analysis, spoke on Sandwich and its Buildings. She drew on data from the book that she had co-authored following research undertaken for the Sandwich Project. Sarah concentrated on the period from the 11th century, before which there was little evidence of an urban settlement, until the early 16th century. Her fascinating presentation detailed the evolution of Sandwich, referring particularly to its topography and the silting up of the Wantsum Channel. She provided a wealth of information on the changes in the design and functions of buildings in the town through the centuries.
The final presentation of the morning was given by David Martin of Archaeology South-East, whose topic was Houses of the Sussex Cinque Ports. He skilfully charted the fortunes of the towns of Hastings, Winchelsea and Rye. David, too, picked up on a theme of the morning: changes in the coastline, and explained the dramatic effects those changes in the landscape had wrought on each of the towns in turn, describing how the decline in the fortunes of one had benefitted another. Using documentary evidence and analysis of building design and construction, David began by talking about the Saxon town of Hastings. He set out the factors that had resulted in a population shift from Hastings to (old) Winchelsea, the demise of which led to the re-foundation of the port, with its grid-pattern street system, on higher ground.