The Great River Race, which is held every year on the Thames between Deptford and Ham, creates an incredible spectacle. Hundreds of rowers and boats take to the water at the starting line, right opposite Deptford’s former royal dockyard.

The 26th event this year was attended by representatives from the Lenox Project, including director Julian Kingston dressed as Master Shipwright John Shish. With his costume attracting a great deal of attention, Julian was interviewed by TV crews from the BBC World Service, China TV, and Dubai TV who were curious to find out more about the project.

The team spent several hours at the start of the race, talking to spectators, meeting the assembled dignitaries and handing out leaflets to local people and visitors from all around the world.

Lenox skipper Julian Kingston chats to Admiral Alan West, Baron West of Spithead and former First Sea Lord, chief of Naval Staff, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Security Advisor to PM Gordon Brown. Convoys Wharf is in the background.

The race was started by firing an 18th century cannon – not as dramatic as the charge that could be fired from the Lenox Project’s saker but nevertheless a fitting start to such a high-profile race.

Once the 331 boats had passed the starting line, it was down to the VIPs on the following (powered) craft to cheer the rowers upstream with the tide, along the 22 mile course to Ham.

Dutch band Tartoufe helped along the way, keeping the spirits of the rowers up and charming spectators who watched the spectacle from the many bridges, riverside pubs and private homes on the route.

Minutes from the 11 July meeting of Lewisham Council’s Sustainable Development Select Committee underline the whole-hearted support that this committee gave to the project after considering a report and receiving a presentation from members of the Build the Lenox group.

A number of recommendations were made, which will be put before the Mayor & Cabinet at their meeting next week.

These were:

– The Committee recommends that the Mayor write to Li Ka-Shing, Chairman of the Board of Hutchison Whampoa to urge a meeting between the developer and the Build the Lenox group.

– The Committee recommends that a review be carried out by planning officers to determine what support can be given to the Build the Lenox group to assist in achieving the Lenox vision.

– The Committee acknowledges the potential lasting benefits the Build the Lenox project might bring to the borough, including the employment, heritage, tourism, training and education initiatives it should help to create. The Committee also acknowledges that the project could help to create an iconic destination for tourists from around the world.

– The Committee acknowledges the success of similar projects in regenerating towns and cities across Europe.

– The Committee urges the Mayor to work jointly with the office of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly to support the project.

– The Committee welcomes efforts by the Build the Lenox team to encourage the builders of the L’Hermione in Rochefort, France to visit the borough and share their experiences of building a replica warship

– The Committee notes the relevance of sections of the Council’s core strategy,
specifically section 4B of the spatial strategy for regeneration areas, which relate to community well being.

Painting of The Lenox by Richard Endsor ©2013

Today, an article in HistoryExtra.com (the official website of BBC History Magazine) quotes Andrew Lambert, professor of Naval History at King’s College London, as welcoming our project. He said, “I have long held a view that the biggest problem we face with history and heritage is that they are static. We need an opportunity to actually watch people making these things. It will mean that over the course of time people will come back, because they will want to see what has happened since they were last there. Having sailed on a replica of Captain Cook’s Endeavour there’s nothing better than the opportunity to sail on a real ship, doing real work. You learn so much more.”

Prof Lambert said the replica will enable historians to better understand the workings of a warship. “It’s about the environment of the ship and how the ship worked. For example, it’s very difficult to fit that many people into the ship – how did they do it? How did they keep everyone fit and healthy, how did they provide food? Are they operating as one team or, as I have long suspected, working as teams of teams?

“Lenox is steeped in the history of this country and she took part in fights that saved the nation. It really is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who is interested in this period to get to grips with the difficult working environment, and it will help us to understand what important people sailors are in the creation of our national history.”

Read the article by Emma McFarnon in full here.

Saturday 7th September
GREAT RIVER RACE
London’s River Marathon
Featuring the UK Traditional Boat Championship – 21 miles from Docklands to Ham in Surrey – a spectacular boat race up the Thames with 300 crews from all over the globe. With fancy dress and charity stunts as well as serious sportsmen and women.
The Lenox team will be accompanying the VIPs in a support boat and talking more about the project at the finish line. The event programme features a spread on the King’s Yard, its history and the Lenox Project, in celebration of 500 years since the inception of King Henry VIII’s royal naval yard in 1513.
www.greatriverrace.co.uk

Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th September
MAYOR’S THAMES FESTIVAL
A massive celebration which runs for ten days (6th-15th September) featuring river cruises, river relays and races, walks and talks, art exhibitions, plus a spectacular water-borne operatic performance 1513: A Ships’ Opera whose performers include nine ships and HMS Belfast on Saturday evening. Download the programme here.
Build the Lenox will have a stand in the Blue Ribbon Village at Potter’s Fields – an ‘interactive zone’ of organisations involved in the history, ecology and industry of the Thames. We’ll be displaying our restored 1620s naval Saker cannon!
www.thamesfestival.org

Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September, from 10am
OPEN HOUSE LONDON – the capital’s greatest architectural showcase
at the Master Shipwright’s House, Watergate St, SE8
featuring Deptford 500
The Master Shipwright’s House is the oldest surviving building from King Henry VIII’s Royal Naval Dockyard, built in 1513 and remodelled in the early 18th century. The house will be celebrating the quincentenary anniversary of the dockyard – Deptford 500 – with some added attractions and talks, as well as displaying plans and images of the dockyard.
Build the Lenox will be joining in the celebrations.
events.londonopenhouse.org/building/3380

The National Maritime Museum is hosting a day of remembrance on the anniversary of the first successful slave uprising in the western hemisphere – on 23 August in Haiti in 1791.

Although the Lenox was a warship and not directly involved in the slave trade, the dockyard where she was built was inextricably linked to this abhorrent business. As well as playing a vital role in exploration, naval history and the development of new technologies, Deptford docks was the place where many slave ships were built, repaired, or started or ended their journeys.

The event – this Friday 23 August at the National Maritime Museum – will explore the Museum’s vast collections relating to the trade of enslaved people, as well as focusing on the many local connections to be found in the Greenwich World Heritage Site. One of the special events is a walk around Greenwich led by Lenox supporter, author and historian SI Martin (an advisor to Build The Lenox), who will reveal the hidden impact of the transatlantic slave trade during a walk around Greenwich.

Art historian and creative educator Dr Temi Odumosu will explore the themes and attitudes of George Cruickshank’s The New Union Club, which is considered one of the most racist and complex prints of the 19th Century.

Critically acclaimed composer Dominique LeGendre will discuss the impact and work of influential black composers during the period of enslavement, including the celebrated Ignatius Sancho.

Storyteller Rich Sylvester will lead interactive family learning tours around Greenwich Park, exploring Ignatius Sancho’s early life. Starting at Yinka Shonibare MBE’s eminent Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, the tour concludes at The Ranger’s House, and with a ceremony investigating the importance of names. Young people are invited to leave their names in remembrance.

Full programme details are at the National Maritime Museum website.

Build the Lenox project was one of the local community groups from Deptford that were invited to participate in the recent ‘My Deptford’ neighbourhood weekend at the South Bank Centre in central London.

Although we sadly weren’t able to take the cannon into the first floor exhibition area in the Festival Hall, we made very effective use of our new banner to provide an impressive backdrop to the stall.

The ‘ideas market’ played host to other local groups such as APT, Deptford X and Second Wave Arts, and generated interest among South East Londoners who had come specially to attend the event, as well as some of the visitors from around the world who pass through the Festival Hall every day.

The event spaces and ballroom also hosted an exhibition of art from local artists, a replica of the High Street’s famous anchor in cardboard, and a full weekend programme of performances, music, poetry and other events from our many talented neighbours in SE8.

We took the Build the Lenox roadshow to the open day at Brompton Cemetery in West London last weekend, where we were able to display our new banner for the first time. It drew plenty of attention, as did the Saker cannon which was on display inside the trailer.

The open day is organised by the Friends of Brompton Cemetery and is held once a year at the famous cemetery. It is the only time visitors can take guided tours of the catacombs.

Des Pawson, who is a world expert on knots and sailors’ ropework, was also at the event and had a stall opposite the Lenox. He spent the day demonstrating how to make rope and showing some of his collection of rope-making artefacts. Des has kindly offered to support the Lenox Project at an event some time in the future, we will let you know when we have arranged a mutually-convenient date.

It was one of the hottest days of the year so far, and despite Julian starting the day in his Restoration-era outfit, along with thick black wig, no-one  blamed him for discarding it once the sun started shining with a vengeance.

As well as meeting plenty of interested and interesting people, we collected some generous donations for the cause and gave away a good number of our newly-printed flyers.

HMS Buckingham on the stocks at Deptford, by John Cleverley the Elder, 1751. (Copyright National Maritime Museum)

The Lenox Project has gained support for its project from Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

The Mayor pledged his support for the scheme in his answer to a written question from London Assembly member Darren Johnson.

The full text of the question and the Mayor’s brief yet unambiguous answer is reproduced below.

Lenox Vision project, Deptford

Question No: 1907 / 2013

Darren Johnson:

Will you give your support as Mayor to the proposal by the Lenox Vision project to build a replica 17th century warship, on the very site the original ship was constructed, as part of the Convoys Wharf redevelopment in Deptford?

Written response from the Mayor:

Yes.

We are delighted to note that not only does the Mayor support our vision for the Lenox Project, he also agrees that the replica should be built on the very site that the original ship was constructed – the Double Dry Dock.

We believe this would be a much more appropriate use of this part of the site than the park proposed by the developers.

Kids and parents alike were fascinated by the restored Saker cannon on show at the Twinkle Park festival last weekend, right next to the Convoys Wharf site.

The cannon was brought to the festival by the Lenox Project as a way of raising awareness about the project and also giving local people a chance to find out about the Convoys Wharf redevelopment proposals and talk about the impact it will have on them.

The cannon, which has been identified as a ‘short’ naval Saker of English manufacture, was believed to have been cast some time between 1620 and 1630, some 40 years before the Lenox was launched from Deptford Dockyard.

It was in a sorry state when it was first discovered by a scrap merchant clearing a riverside site in south east London, and has been lovingly restored by Lenox Project founder Julian Kingston.

Julian cleaned the corrosion off the shaft, removed the oversize cannon ball which was jammed into the end, and replaced the trunnions and button with replica pieces turned in wrought iron.

The replica wooden carriage was built using the dimensions of an original carriage in Windsor Castle, which carries a ‘long’ saker cannon; Julian built the carriage out of elm and used traditional smithing crafts to forge and shape the wrought iron rings and other components.

Kids were fascinated by the cannon and the story of its restoration, and it proved a talking point for visitors as well as a popular photo opportunity!

The Lenox Project is planning to take the cannon out to schools and youth groups to continue raising awareness. If you would like to know more, please contact info@buildthelenox.org