The big 5-0 – Deal Museum is 50 years old We go behind the scenes to discover its own history and some of the treasures within

the big 5-0

Writer

Sharon Powell

Photography

Deal Museum & The History Project

Still undiscovered by many, Deal’s small but perfectly formed museum is quirky, welcoming, free to all and this year celebrates a milestone

The year is 1972. Edward Heath is in No 10, Ford is launching its new flagship car the Granada and if you go to the cinema, chances are it will be to see the new epic The Godfather or the controversial A Clockwork Orange. Turn on the radio and the sound of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” by the New Seekers or Donny Osmond’s “Puppy Love” would fill the room. On TV, thanks to the lifting of broadcast time restrictions, you can tune into Pebble Mill at One on the BBC for the first time. Over in the USA, the Watergate scandal is just beginning to bubble up.

Much closer to home, here in Deal, another major event is taking place… the opening of the Museum of Maritime and Local History. And 50 years later it remains something of a hidden gem in our wonderful town. Let’s face it, there’s not many places that can boast a 90-centimetre leather shoe, beautifully carved wooden stern boards from the fleet of the owner of the Cutty Sark, and £5 notes from Deal’s very own bank… and so much more!

Deal’s history is almost embarrassingly rich. Chronologically, the associated artefacts begin with important archaeological finds, some forming the collections of local collectors WPD Stebbing, Manser and Hazeldene, which were housed in the town hall before the museum’s conception. These finds originated mainly from the Mill Hill and St Richards Road area, which was described by Stebbing as an “archaeological paradise”. Recent discoveries during the building of new properties in the area confirm this.

This rich history and the town’s proximity to the strategically important area of the Downs produced many treasures, but these were often just discarded. In the 1920s one of the last of the Deal luggers – a unique type of beach boat – handed over to the then Walmer Urban District Council was left to rot and eventually used as firewood. The need for the safekeeping and public display of these treasures was growing, and the roots of what is now Deal Museum lie with the Deal, Walmer and District History Society. Former Deal mayor and one of the founding members of the museum, Nick Tomaszewski, recalls that the idea of a maritime museum was mooted around 1969 by the Deal and Walmer History Society. Crucially, Miss Nora Oppitz (above), a fellow member, had long desired to see a museum in Deal.

Miss Oppitz, who lived in St Patrick’s Road, generously (and secretly) bought the building in St George’s Road that still houses the museum to this day. ►

Nobody knew who the mystery benefactor was, and they were, of course, referred to as “he” in all contemporary notes. By 1982 the secret was out and Nora left the building to the museum upon her death in 1985. Several other sites had been mooted, but the disused St George’s Road site that had once housed a market garden and a depot for army horses during WW1 was deemed perfect. Nick remembers that the mangers and halter rings for the horses were still visible in the yard when it was taken over.

The Society went into overdrive to raise the money needed to bring their vision to life, with jumble sales, events and appeals for donations. Items to auction came from no less than the eminent art historian Lord Kenneth Clark of Saltwood Castle and Magnus Magnusson of Mastermind fame! Even the Duke of Edinburgh championed the cause and had his secretary write to the Society in 1971, sending “best wishes for the success of the venture”.

By 24 June 1972 the building was ready, and the vision of Miss Oppitz (the use of Nora was seldom allowed) and her fellow members of the Deal, Walmer and District History Society was realised when the Museum of Maritime and Local History was officially opened by Frank Carr, who for more than 20 years had been director of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The ceremony was attended by many local dignitaries.

At the opening Mr Carr described the museum as a “splendid venture”, and appealed for “objects of all kinds, writings, drawings… anything from the past should be given to the [museum] and not destroyed”, stating, “These small but significant articles were the very sinews of history.”

In the years that have followed the collection has grown considerably and now consists of a varied and important range of artefacts. In 1973 £125 (the equivalent of around £1,300 today) was donated via an appeal through the East Kent Mercury for the purchase and preservation of the journal of William Henry Stanton, an able seaman and Deal pilot who lived from 1803 to 1878. The fascinating but at times harrowing journal is a compilation of his nautical memoirs from the early 1800s onwards: life at sea, accounts of overseas voyages on merchant ships, along with interesting local detail including local shipping incidents and shipwrecks on the Goodwin Sands. Museum director at the time William Honey knew the value of this unique handwritten manuscript, and the Mercury records him stating, “This important local historical record deserves to find a final resting place in Deal.” Funds were raised within weeks and the book remains in safekeeping for future generations and is currently on display.

One of the most important artefacts is hard to miss. Saxon King is a now rare example of a Deal galley which once belonged to the internationally famous coxswain of Walmer lifeboat, Freddie Upton, and was of personal interest to the Duke of Edinburgh. Built around 1890, the galley would have been at sea almost constantly in her early years and on retirement was given to the members of the Deal, Walmer and District History Society when she was decaying. A dedicated team of volunteers put in hours of hard work every week to restore the craft and today she stands proudly, pride of place.

Look upwards and on the wall are two magnificent carved stern boards with an amazing heritage. Along with the figurehead of the tea clipper Zenobia, these boards – thought to be unique in Europe – were gifted to the museum back in the 1980s by the owner who had them displayed in his Kingsdown garden. They originate from the fleet of ships owned by Captain John Willis, the designer and owner of the Cutty Sark. The naive renditions of lions and bears are particularly charming.

Go through the spacious courtyard to the former stables and you will be in the section of the museum that houses the history of the Royal Marines in Deal, with uniforms, photographs and medals displayed along with a detailed event history. Venture upstairs in the main building to even more delights, now more from the social history of Deal. Here among the eclectic collection you will find that huge leather shoe that once stood pride of place in the window of Baker’s shoe shop, now the Bar in the High Street, while £5 notes from Deal’s

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the museum is running a blue plaque programme for shops and important places. Following extensive research, the team have designed a blue plaque decal to commemorate the history of many buildings. You’ll soon be seeing these around town. Email museum@ dealmuseum.co.uk for more

▲ The museum has several versions of the famous Heroes of the Goodwin Sands image ▼ The outside of the museum building, 22 St George’s Road in 1904

▲ Ratty has a twin – somewhere out there. Can you help the museum find him?

▲ The Whiteadder stern board discovered in a Kingsdown garden ▼ The Zenobia figurehead very own 19th century Hulke bank, which closed in 1840, are tucked away in the old cash till of the East Kent Mercury. Fresh from his restoration Ratty, the museum’s wonderful fluteplaying mascot, stands in a mini diorama of a cobbler’s shop. Rumoured to be from Wratten’s cobbler’s shop, he won’t fail to win your heart. (His twin, a fiddle-playing rat is missing – any leads hugely appreciated!) Old shop signs, important pictures of Deal scenes and significant artworks line the wall while the original Hooden horses peer eerily at you from their display case.

Wonderful artefacts aside, the history of Deal Museum wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the darkest period in its history. In 2010 the trustee board of the time decided to reclaim a very small piece of land that elderly neighbour Kathleen Thomson had used for many years as a flower garden. A dispute flared up, tempers frayed and the trustees decided to erect a four-foot fence around Mrs Thomson’s home, blocking off two windows in her kitchen. Reports from the time record the trustees stating this fence was on the advice of police to protect the museum’s artefacts. Local protests followed, the museum was blocked from opening on several occasions by angry but peaceful demonstrations, and the stress and upset led to Mrs Thomson having to move home.

Thankfully the fence was eventually taken down and light was restored to the house, but the damage to the museum’s reputation was done. The dispute and its fallout was funded entirely by donations from the trustees involved, with no charity money used, but it still remains a very upsetting event for many, including the current trustee board, none of whom were serving during that time. A currently serving trustee said, “It seems utter madness to have pursued this course. None of the trustees of that time are known to us and we condemn such thoughtless and unneighbourly actions.”

Here we are, 50 years on from the moment the doors opened for the first time – and the future is looking bright. The trustees spent the recent lockdown

Deal Museum is run solely by volunteers and relies on donations from visitors to keep the collection safe and volunteer stewards to keep the doors open to visitors.

Please visit the website at dealmuseum.uk and click on the Donate Now button to help keep this asset to our community. Contact the museum if you would like to join the team of volunteers or become a Friend.

The museum is open Friday to Sunday, 1 to 4pm from April to mid October. Admission is free with donations welcome.

period rearranging the collection and re-cataloguing the hundreds, if not thousands, of artefacts. The space is now brighter and more structured, while retaining its distinctly eclectic atmosphere. Hard-working volunteers under the guidance of archivist and trustee Suzanne Green have improved the ability to search the extensive archive collection and they frequently receive requests from all over the world for information linked to ancestors who lived in the town. Schoolchildren are regular visitors as part of fun educational visits run by the History Project.

As the museum moves into the future we remember the past and the hard work of the founders. The reason we have this wonderful gem in our town is due to the vision and drive of some very determined people back in the early 1970s. Will Honey, Julia Small, Frank “Wimpy” Fishlock, Les Cousins and of course Miss Nora Oppitz to name but a few. I must leave the final word to another of those few, Nick Tomaszewski, whose recall of those early days ensures that the history of Deal Museum isn’t forgotten. He says, “It cheers me to see that the museum has a bright future, with the personnel well informed to continue the tradition.”