Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Pencester Gardens were laid out in this location in 1924, the land had previously been a timber yard but was sold off in 1922 to to Dover corporation. The park can be seen from the fourth edition OS map (1927-1952) onwards. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• GARDEN (Extant, Modern - 1924 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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This part of dover had, until the early 20th century, been used as a timber yard and tannery. By 1922 the country had rapidly slid into yet another post-war depression. The neglected Crundall Timber Yard was offered for sale by auction on 31 October 1922. Made up of 15 lots under the general title of Pencester Meadows, the Timber Yard was listed as a separate lot. Earlier that month William George Lewis (1850-1924), had been elected to the office of Mayor and it was generally understood that his prime concern was to pursue projects that provided employment – at the time there were 1,400 men out of work in Dover. Plans were put forward by the Dover corporation to turn this land into a public park. It was proposed to lay a children’s’ playground, on the opposite side from the River Dour, for there to be male and female public conveniences (lavatories) at the southern end of the Meadow and at the north, a shelter and a store. Diagonally, across the Meadow he was to lay two auxiliary paths providing access between Dieu Stone Lane and Pencester Road with a circular promenade walk in the middle. All of these works were estimated to cost £2,940 but that it would provide 3 months work for 50 unemployed men. Upkeep would be ongoing and require a caretaker, seeds, bulbs and general maintenance, which would be approximately between £100 and £150 a year.

The Corporation were interested in securing the Timber Yard site was because it was the only green space in an area of high housing density. The area from Dieu Stone Lane to the Seafront, from Pencester Road to the bottom of Crabble Hill and from Biggin Street westward, including Mount Pleasant and Tower Hamlets, were all densely populated. Further, the elementary schools serving these areas had extremely limited amount of playground space. The provisions to provide this park were to be provided by the Ministry of Health included a £2,900 loan repayable over 20 years for Pencester Meadow to be laid out as a play area and gardens. Also consent for a £4,200 loan, repayable over 50 years, towards the £5,000 cost of buying the Meadow. Although the Corporation was jubilant they were still required to find £200 towards the cost of the site, this Mayor Lewis personally covered. Work began in 1924 on the site which had been renamed Pencester Gardens. Mayor Lewis, however, never saw the project completed for he died on 2 May that year. His old adversary, Edwin Chitty, gave a moving eulogy in which he said that Mayor Lewis had given many benefactions and kindness to the poor people in the town including, most recently, providing work for the unemployed and an open space for the town’s children.(1) The park can be seen on the fourth edition OS map of the town (1927-1952)the layout of the paths running through the park and some of the buildings within it have changed since its original construction. (2)

<1> Lorraine Sencicle, 2018, The Dover Historian - Stembrook Tannery to Pencester Gardens Part 1 (Website). SKE51677.

<2> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 4th Edition, 1929-1952) (Map). SKE30967.

Sources and further reading