Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Recorded as a 'jetty' by the 2000 Aerial Photo Survey, the structure is part of the Port Victoria Seaplane Slipway constructed in 1917; it went out of use in 1924 and was dismantled in 2003.

Monument Types

• JETTY? (Unknown date)
• SLIPWAY (Modern - 1917 AD to 2003 AD (between))

Full description

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Jetty (1).

This report is a compilation of the historical, photographic, cartographic and survey information available on the Port Victoria slipway, to mitigate through preservation by record its dismantling in 2003. The dismantling involved the removal of approximately fifty large milled timber-blocks. These 'stanchions' formed the upright supports for the slipway and acted as piles. The piles had been shaped to a point, to facilitate the piling and some had retained metal points. At the top end of the pile, some of the stanchions had retained a flat iron cap, presumably to support the decking of the slipway. The timbers, which were recorded and disposed of in 2003, represented one of the few extant remains of the Port Victoria Experimental Seaplane Station (TQ 87 SE 159)..

It is of note that the area of the slipway is also known as Black Stakes (the use of this place name dates back to the 18th century), as the area was a Royal Navy Anchorage. The slipway itself, was needed to replace the Port Victoria Pier. The pier was built in 1882 as a terminal point of the Hundred of Hoo railway and extensively damaged by an explosion on board a minelayer in 1915 (see TQ 87 SE 1164 and 152) [2].

Mentioned in Isle of Grain Historic Area Assessment conducted by English Heritage in 2014 (3).

<1> 2000, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10427.

<2> RSK ENSR Environmental Ltd, Port Victoria Seaplane Slipway, Isle of Grain, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE12509.

<3> English Heritage, 2014, Isle of Grain, Hoo Peninsula, Kent: Historic area assessment (Monograph). SKE29397.

Sources and further reading

Related records