A PARTY
In August Malcolm and Bridget Pratt held a tea party in the New Inn to celebrate their 60-year association with the Town of Winchelsea and, of course, Malcolm spent 25 of those years as Town Clerk. It was a most generous and happy event, attended by many friends, the only instruction being not to bring presents. Naturally, therefore, the Corporation did present them with a certificate, designed and produced by Melvyn Pett, as a record of that anniversary and hoping that their links with the Town would continue for many years to come.

THE YOUNGER ELEMENT
It was great fun to see such a broad spectrum of events laid on by the School to mark the end of term. These included a parade around the Town, a remarkable opera written by the pupils and performed in the New Hall, a fete with an amazing variety of things going on and a vibrant leavers’ service. It was all a great way to bring School and Town even closer together and we are going to see how we can further develop that relationship in the future.

In a similar vein, of course, the Town Fete run by the New Hall Committee was a huge success. A great contribution was made by so many people in the Town to support this initiative and the variety of stalls, games and other entertainment was impressive. Someone also got the weather right, the tea and cake was much enjoyed and it was good to see the Hooe Band again. From the mayoral perspective, selecting the ‘Best of Show’ at the Dog Show was the greatest challenge faced to date and the expert advice was much appreciated.

OUT AND ABOUT
In terms of the representational role, the lazy, hazy days of summer have featured three themes, namely sport, wining and dining and remembrance. A delightful day was spent at Sandwich for the Cinque Port Mayor’s Association Annual Bowls match, although the presence of the Mayor and Deputy on day two was clearly something of a distraction for the Winchelsea team, who did not quite reach the heights of day one, but still finished creditably in mid-table. Mike and Jo Melvin’s organisation of this major event was much to be admired.

On a lesser scale, and earlier, a visit to Ramsgate for the Mayor’s Charity Croquet Tournament resulted in victory for the combined WinchelRam team on a hot day and in the face of some pretty warm competition.

With the important exception of the Cinque Port Speaker’s Day in Hastings later this month, the civic events across the Confederation have largely been completed. The Mayor and Deputy have managed to attend an event in all the Cinque Port Towns, except Deal, Dover and Margate, but they are in our sights, particularly as we will now be supporting various Mayors in their charity fundraising events. This is where the gourmet bit comes in and a sublime trip on the Tenterden Ale Train is an example, with the Faversham Food Festival in the offing. We plan to do something here in Winchelsea in October to raise funds for Court Hall works.

In terms of Remembrance, the Mayor attended a service of rededication of the Shepway Cross at Lympne last month. The cross was originally dedicated on 4th August 1923, by the then Lord Warden on the ninth anniversary of the commencement of hostilities and has recently been renovated. It also believed to mark the spot where, for centuries, the Lord Warden held his Court for Shepway.

On 2nd September at Alexandra Park in Hastings, the Mayor will attend the unveiling of a memorial stone by the Lord Lieutenant to Private. This is the centenary of the award of that medal to a really interesting man. He was born in Hastings, orphaned in London, sent to Canada, joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and arrived on the Western Front in 1916. Promoted to sergeant and winning a Military Medal and a Distinguished Conduct Medal in pretty short order, he was reduced to private in 1918 for striking an officer and was actually on his way to military detention, where he might have safely spent the rest of the war, when he led the rescue attempt of a crashed German aircrew, being badly burned in the process. For his selfless conduct, his sentence of imprisonment was suspended and he returned to the trenches, winning a VC for leadership and example at the Battle of Amiens, where he died of wounds received.

FABRIC AND HERITAGE ENGLAND
The visit by the Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments for the Heritage England South East Area provided a helpful opportunity to explain the particular challenges faced by the Corporation in terms of maintaining the wide range of properties in its charge. She was also able to meet people most closely engaged in this business and we were able to gain something from her perspective. It was encouraging to hear that she considered our approach to looking after our properties was spot on.

Unsurprisingly, money always depends upon the strength of the case being made, but it is very much hoped that future dialogue will be welcomed as a result of this visit. Against this background, the Fabric Committee of the Corporation is close to agreeing its priorities for work on the Court Hall, falling out of the Quinquennial Review. This will represent a containable and relevant package that can be taken forward in stages over the next 5 years and provide a focus for fundraising by both the Corporation and the Friends of the Ancient Monuments. Rother has also approved the sign for the Court Hall, so that and those for the Pipewell and New Gates can now be fixed. The state of the Town sign is also being surveyed from the point of view of appearance and stability and the fixing of appropriate plaques.

TOWN CLERK HANDOVER
As previously announced, Angela Hill will pass on the mantle of Town Clerk to Lorna Challand later this year and the date of Saturday 3rd November, in the afternoon has now been chosen. It will be done within an Assembly and Hundred and will be a public meeting, with all Freemen duly invited. More details will be available in the next edition of this magazine.

WEBSITE
Finally, and with thanks to David Page and Felix Lozano, the Corporation’s entry on the Town Website www.winchelsea.com/corporation has been reviewed from top to bottom and rationalised with some parts being rewritten or removed. This is an exercise that needs to be done from time to time for the sake of both currency and accuracy. The website is our shop window for the Town and beyond and the Corporation’s Media Committee seeks to maximise use of this method, complemented by articles in this magazine, as the principal avenue for outward facing communications.

John Rodley, Mayor

Speakership of the Cinque Ports 2019
Winchelsea will take up the Speakership of the Cinque Ports in 2019 and, although the Mayor will not be selected until much later in the year, there is considerable preparation to be done, certainly for the ceremonial aspects of the role. Accordingly an initial planning conference is being held in August to develop a timeline and to make sure that the potential pitfalls and choke points have been identified good and early, drawing upon previous experience. Detailed planning can then be taken forward with confidence. More on the Cinque Ports here

Heritage England Visit
Also in August, a visit is being hosted for the Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments for the Heritage England South East Area. The purpose of this visit is to enable her to see all the buildings which are within the charge of the Corporation and to understand some of the issues involved with them. This is a timely visit, given that the Fabric Committee of the Corporation is very much engaged with finalising its five-year Maintenance Plan for these buildings, folding in the results of the Quinquennial Review of the Court Hall. On the face of it the costs associated with the Court Hall are a bit scary, but hopefully a dose of pragmatism can be applied. This is important work, because it will then provide a focus for the excellent fund raising activity of the Friends of the Ancient Monuments, to whom the Corporation is so grateful for all the support it has been given over so many years.

Millennium Artefacts Art Show
August is also the month when the Millennium Artefacts Society will host its annual Art Show and please do come along and support this exhibition of the rich and varied talents of local artists. This is the Society’s main fundraiser of the year, the money it raises being used to help the Corporation look after the three Artefacts in its charge, namely the Town Sign, the Beacon and the Millennium Tapestry in the Church. Some work will be required on the Town Sign in the near future. This will involve appearance and stability as well as work on plaques recording those who created this particular landmark. The Beacon, of course, will come into its own later in the year as we come to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War, in a ceremony run jointly with the Guy Fawkes Society.

Winchelsea Museum
The Museum has had a steady start to the year, but anything you can do to encourage visitors to go in would be much appreciated. Those leading cellar tours have also been asked to try and direct their participants towards the Museum at the end of their tours. If any readers haven’t been in this year, please try and do so; there are some really exciting new exhibits and thanks to the efforts of Jo Turner (Curator) and Melvyn Pett (Archivist) it is all looking very good.

Cinque Ports Events
Looking beyond the Town, the Mayor and Deputy have, between them attended 18 Cinque Port related events out of 35 invitations received up to the end of July; this has principally covered the Mayor Making and Civic Service season. Other highlights have included visiting Brompton Barracks at Chatham, where the Constable of Dover Castle is now based, for a ceremonial Beating Retreat, the High Sheriff’s reception at Ashburnham House, the Rye and Winchelsea a Rotary Club’s 70th Anniversary Dinner and attending on the Archbishop of Canterbury as he blessed the Fisheries at Folkestone. The High Sheriff’s do is worthy of comment as he had drawn together representatives of so many voluntary and public service organisations in the County. It was really rather humbling to see the amount of good that was being done and pleasing to have the opportunity, in some small way, of encouraging it.

John Rodley, Mayor of Winchelsea

More on Winchelsea Corporation here