Gloucester and Ramsgate officially become Heritage Harbours on Saturday 7th September 2024, joining twelve other locations across the UK already recognised for their contribution to saving our maritime heritage. The Heritage Harbours project is supported by National Historic Ships UK, Historic England and the Maritime Heritage Trust.
“We are very pleased to welcome on board Gloucester Docks, and Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour, during Heritage Open Days 2024, the largest festival of history and culture in the UK,” said Henry Cleary, Heritage Harbours’ convenor and chair of Maritime Heritage Trust.
“Heritage Harbours are about capturing the interactions between navigable water and the land and buildings alongside it. No other designation does this and we now have locations which represent the main types of historic port from the Roman period to the 19th century."
Gloucester and Ramsgate join Bideford, Bristol, Buckler’s Hard, Chester, Exeter, Faversham and Oare Creeks, Ipswich, Maldon and Heybridge, Sandwich, Shardlow, Stourport, and Wells next the Sea in the Heritage Harbours National Working Group.
Gloucester, a Roman town in origin, will be celebrating its Heritage Harbour status on Gloucester Day, Saturday 7th September, with a procession through the city and proclamation by the town crier, rounded off with cannon fire from the Sealed Knot re-enactment society.
Tony Conder, Chair of the Gloucester Docks Bicentenary Working Team, said: "Heritage Harbour designation is an amazing achievement for Gloucester, building on the work of the City Council, Canal & River Trust, previously British Waterways, in bringing new life to the waterfront. It offers fantastic opportunities for all the current partners engaged within the historic Port of Gloucester to celebrate the Bicentenary in 2027 and to go on to strengthen the Gloucester Docks businesses and enhance the enjoyment of visitors to this maritime heritage site into the future."
Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour is Grade II* listed and is the only royal harbour in the world, an honour bestowed by King George IV in 1821.
"We are thrilled to receive the Heritage Harbour designation," said John Walker, Chair of the Ramsgate Heritage Harbour Working Group. "It's wonderful that our amazing maritime heritage, combined with the activities of a working harbour and thriving cafe culture, has been recognised nationally. Ramsgate is a great place to work and to visit.”
Many of the Heritage Harbours are staging maritime events during Heritage Open Days. In Ipswich, Suffolk, on Saturday 7th September, and Maldon, Essex, on Saturday 14th September, both ancient ports dating back to Saxon times, visitors can clamber aboard Thames sailing barges and experience the highs and lows of life on the water. In Exeter, River Radio will be streaming live on Friday 13th September from 8am-8pm; Bideford has an open day on Sunday 15th September on the restored Steamship Freshspring. And in Ramsgate, throughout the week, there will be lighthouse and ship open days as well as walks, talks and tours.
For more information on all the Heritage Harbours, and a map showing the locations, see www.maritimeheritage.org.uk/heritage-harbours/location-map
Summary of events in Heritage Harbours during HODs:
- Ramsgate: Friday 6th – Sunday 8th September and Friday 13th – Sunday 15th September: Clock House Museum exhibition with stories from the people from the Royal Harbour’s past. Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th September: music at the Sailor’s Church. 9th September: talk on Heritage Harbours; 13th September talk on Ramsgate’s royal connections. 7th and 14th September: guided tours of the Royal Harbour and its historic figures, vessels, buildings and landmarks, with a self-guided audio tour, available free on all smartphones from the USEEUM app. See https://ramsgate-society.org.uk/events/ and search for “Ramsgate” on https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/search-2024-events.html for other Heritage Open Day activities and events.
- Ipswich: Saturday 7th September. Explore Sailing Barge Victor, exchange maritime stories with Ipswich Maritime Trust, visit the Window Museum and displays in the Old Custom House, and sing along with the Shefarers, Orwellermen and Shotley Wailers shanty groups. www.ipswichmaritimetrust.org.uk
- Shardlow: 7th – 8th September: Shardlow Inland Port Festival https://www.facebook.com/groups/144705997759926/
- Gloucester: 7th September. Procession on Gloucester Day led by Town Crier who will proclaim Gloucester’s designation as a Heritage Harbour. 7th, 14th and 15th: Below Deck aboard Kathleen & May, West Country Coastal Schooner, lying in Gloucester Docks - Guided Tours & Vintage Archive Film. 13th September: Origins and History of Mariners Chapel, Mariners Chapel in the Docks led by Robert Kingston – Talk. 14th & 15th September - LV14 SULA Lightship, Llanthony Wharf - Guided Tours. 13th & 14th September - Walking Tour of the Historic Docks from National Waterways Museum Gloucester - Walking Tour. 14th September - Gloucester's Docklands Railway History - Circular Docks Walk, from the North Warehouse, Gloucester Docks - Walking Tour. 14th September - Sailing for a Living - led by leading historian Tony Conder at the Ed Shed at the Folk Museum - Talk
- Exeter: Sunday 8th September: Tales of the Land and Songs of the Sea; https://exetercustomhouse.co.uk/event/tales-of-the-land-and-songs-of-the-sea/ Friday 13th September: River Radio will be streaming live, 8am – 8pm. https://artworkexeter.org.uk/projects/river-radio/ Saturday 14th September: Shanty festival https://exetercustomhouse.co.uk/event/quayside-shanty-festival-2/
- Maldon: Saturday 14th September: activities on board barges and other vessels for all age groups, including talk by Huw Wahl, producer of Wind, Tide and Oar film on engineless sailing. www.M3ha.org.uk
- Bideford: Sunday 15th September. Heritage Open Day on Steamship Freshspring (www.ssfreshspring.co.uk) plus a seafarers day during the Appledore Book Festival (15th – 22nd September) www.thewharves.org
For further details on each, go to www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/search-2024-events and enter the location or date.
