Faversham

Na de affaire met de City of Adelaide is het volgende stukje maritiem erfgoed van onze Britse vrienden in gevaar: Standard Quay in Faversham. Projektontwikkelaars hebben hun oog laten vallen op deze historische scheepswerf, gespecialiseerd in de restauratie en het onderhoud van Thames barges.

"Of a winter's morning, the attractions of Standard Quay are not immediately apparent. A chill north-easterly wind slices in across the marshes from the Swale and, beyond, the open sea. The tide is out, and Faversham Creek is mostly mud. The tarred and weatherboarded sheds look deserted. The old wooden boats lying alongside are de-rigged, swaddled in tarpaulin, done sailing 'til spring.

Appearances, though, are deceptive. Down at the end of the quay, in a floating dry dock, is the Cambria, a 92ft Thames sailing barge, the last British-registered vessel to carry a commercial cargo solely under sail. Deep in her bowels is Tim Goldsack, a traditional master shipwright. The barge, built in 1906, is being completely restored at a cost of more than £1.4m, partly funded by a big grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project is employing a good half-dozen skilled shipwrights over three years. "At first glance," says Goldsack, "the Quay may not seem an important place. But believe me, it is."

But Standard Quay is threatened: the landlord, a developer, has not renewed the leases of the small company that operates it nor of the individual craftsmen who work there. All expire next summer. Amid mounting uncertainty, many here fear that the quay – one of only two in the country with the facilities, and skills, to look after historic wooden boats – will not now survive as a working yard."

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Steun deze mensen. Faversham overstijgt het Britse belang, want de vakkennis die op deze werf aanwezig is, vind je niet op elke hoek van het Europese straatje.