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Invicta would be wasted, and in danger, at harbour
I’ve just read the Whitstable Area Member Panel (WAMP) report on the relocation of the Invicta Engine, in which they recommend that it be moved to the proposed new development on the South Quay.
The report actually identifies four possible locations, two in Canterbury, and two in Whitstable, but then proceeds to dismiss all but the last: wrongly in my opinion.
First things first: it is obvious that it should be in Whitstable.
You don’t often associate our quaint little town with the epic landscape of Britain’s industrial past do you? And yet here it is: a steam engine, built by Robert Stephenson & Co, who also built the Rocket, pulling the world’s first scheduled passenger train along the Crab and Winkle line, from Canterbury to Whitstable.
In fact it only worked the Whitstable end of the line, from South Street to Bogshole, being far too puny to make the Church Street gradient. The rest of the way was served by static engines hauling the carriages by cable. Nevertheless, it is a significant artefact from Britain’s industrial heritage, and intimately connected with the history of our town.
The first problem with the WAMP report is that it simply wrong on the facts.
It dates the engine from 1825, when it was actually made in 1829, and then says that it was delivered to Whitstable Harbour in 1832, when it had already been working for two years by that time, long before the Harbour was even built.
This doesn’t bode well for the report’s conclusions, does it?
It also fails to take into consideration the fact that the Harbour location is actually five feet below the sea defence wall. If – God forbid! – there was ever a major flood, then this priceless object could be significantly damaged. Or even worse. The South Quay was last flooded in 2013.
Meanwhile we already have a museum in the town, with room to house the engine immediately, and enough space outside to build a custom made home for it in the future.
What would its purpose be in the harbour? It would sit in a glass box and serve as a backdrop to people’s shopping and dining experience.
In the museum it could be so much more.
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From The Whitstable Gazette 25/01/18
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Whitstable Views 
As a kid growing up in Canterbury I remember seeing The Invicta rusting outside the city wall by the Riding Gate opposite the popo station but isn’t that just a tad typical of our care of priceless heirlooms the caxton press fared little better rusting away near the Kent Gazette offices. So no wonder the favoured positioning as a backdrop for shops really. On a separate note in Dover there is the Grand Shaft a unique bit of architecture that very few people have even heard of.
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Actually Rocky, the Invicta Engine is now in Whitstable museum where it is housed in a special exhibition all of its own. Worth a visit.
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