When Woodstock came to Whitstable

Photo© Paul Clarke

Do you remember the 1976 Seasalter Free Festival?

by

Christopher James Stone

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Following the release of the 1970 documentary, Woodstock, there was a spate of free festivals in the UK. In part this was an attempt to recreate the spirit of the film. One of those festivals came to Seasalter.

It was in 1976. Prior to that there had been festivals in Windsor Great Park, from 1972-1974, and then in Watchfield in Oxfordshire in 1975. That last festival is unique in that it was the first and only time that the government worked with organisers to create a free festival on British soil, by providing the land.

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In 1976 there was much to-ing and fro-ing trying to find a new site. This was eventually fixed for Broad Oak, near Canterbury, on land compulsorily purchased by the water board. The papers, both local and national, were full of the story.

The Whitstable Times ran a two page spread. “Stand by to repel pop fans,” blared the headline, claiming that the festival was a health danger and a fire hazard.

“Hundreds of Whitstable pop fans planning to go to the illegal Broad Oak free festival are likely to meet police barricades,” it said.

Cllr Arthur Porter said: “I believe the festival is not a business venture but one backed by a nameless political group to test the establishment’s reaction.”

Actually there were several groups involved and they all had names. There was the Polytantric Circle, the Wallies of Wessex and the Hyde Park Diggers, to name but three. Those were colourful times. Even the political groups had interesting names.

In the end a High Court injunction was taken out, and the venue moved to Seasalter, to a marshy field opposite the Sportsman pub. The land was owned by farmer Spencer King. The festival goers claimed that Mr King had given permission, but he denied it.

“They are a bloody nuisance and I want them out,” he said, “but I don’t know what to do about it. They just sort of moved in without saying anything. I asked them to move but they just smiled at me.”

The organisers had promised an audience of thousands, and a host of bands, including Hawkwind, Motorhead and Arthur Brown; plus “jugglers, clowns, theatre groups… farmers, bakers, craftspeople and STARS!!!” according to their flyer. In the end the numbers were much reduced – about 1,600 people – and none of the name bands turned up. The only act of note was Tim Blake, a synthesizer player who had worked with Gong and later with Hawkwind. There’s a bootleg record which includes some material from his appearance at the festival, called Crystal Machine.

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The festival lasted for ten days, from Friday 27^th August to Sunday September 5^th. The weather was inclement for much of the time, after what had been a glorious summer. The lack of bands and the miserable conditions wore down the festival goers’ enthusiasm and the numbers began to dwindle. Only about 900 people remained till the end, many of them locals.

The Vicar and the Curate of Seasalter, Rev. Ronald d’E Meredith and Rev. Ray Beardall, went down to take a look. Rev. Beardall said he was impressed. He became involved in long discussions with pop fans, including members of the Radha Krishna Temple. Later he told his congregation to stay away from the site, “to save the festival goers from being gawped at,” he said.

In Whitstable, opinions were divided. Older residents were outraged at the hippies’ strange looks and behaviour. Robert Bater of the Blue Anchor pub turned away 10 people one Friday night. He described them as “rather dirty hippies,” adding: “they caused no trouble… We served everyone else if they did not stink.”

Younger people, on the other hand, were fascinated by the peculiar goings-on down on the marshes. Many of the local youngsters turned up to join in with the fun, hopping the dykes to get to the site. Among them was Charlie Rouse. He was a merchant seaman at the time. He’d just got back when a friend told him about it. He got straight on his bike and cycled down. It changed his life. He was never the same after that. It opened his horizons to a new way to live.

In fact there is a whole generation of people, in their 60s and 70s now, who would have attended the festival and who will have their own memories. Suffice it to say that, despite the brevity of its existence, the Seasalter free festival left an indelible mark on the cultural life of Whitstable.

Story originally appeared here:

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Gallery

Click on images to enlarge

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For more information about the festival follow the link here.

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Eric Fisher says:

I was there for the last few days. I read about it in the Times when I was in Cyprus at an art summer school. When I got back it was still going, picked up my tent and headed straight there.

Here’s a couple of bootleg field recordings I made of a band called Visitor 2035.

In stereo too!

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About CJ Stone

CJ Stone is an author, columnist and feature writer. He has written seven books, and columns and articles for many newspapers and magazines.

Read more of CJ Stone’s work here, here and here.

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