F. W. J. Palmer
F. W. J. Palmer | |
---|---|
Born | Frederick William J. Palmer 1864 |
Died | 1947 (aged 82–83) |
Occupation(s) | civil engineer, structural engineer, surveyor. |
Employer | Herne Bay Urban District Council |
Notable work | King's Hall, Herne Bay |
Frederick William J. Palmer, CE, (1864–1947), known professionally as F. W. J. Palmer, was an English
Career
He was
Works at Herne Bay
At Herne Bay between 1891 and 1915 (and probably longer) he carried out numerous fundamental engineering works. This involved excavating a large proportion of the town, and this cannot have gone unnoticed by the inhabitants.
Palmer was involved in the complete reconstruction of all the main roads before
Works at East Cliff, Herne Bay
Palmer prepared a scheme for laying out, draining and scarping East Cliff, which cost £40,000, labour being supplied by the Central Unemployed Body For London.[2][14] He "designed the scheme for sewering the whole of East Cliff including a 30-inch cast iron pipe sewer along the foot of the cliff and a 30-inch cast iron pipe up the face of the cliff." He "designed and supervised the construction of the sea defence works at the foot of the East Cliff, reaching from the old boathouse site to practically the eastern boundary of the district; also the top promenade from Belle Vue Road to Sea View Road." He "made up and sewered nearly nine miles of private streets, under the Private Street Works Act" on the West Cliff and East Cliff.[2]
The King's Hall, Herne Bay
This is a theatre, concert hall and dance hall, built as The Pavilion in 1903–1904 and developed as the King Edward VII Memorial Hall in 1913 in memory of the late
1904 phase
In 1903 to 1904 Palmer planned and oversaw the building of the first phase of the Pavilion in his free time as a "labour of love."[1][2] His plan consisted of a bandstand supported by a small building on a steep slope containing a tea room, rest rooms, a deckchair store and a small, covered auditorium (now the vestibule) to shelter 200 people and a band when it rained.[3][4] There was no natural hollow ready and waiting. Palmer had to dig a hole:
"6,000 cubic yards (4,600 m3) [of spoil] had to be removed, 12 inches (30 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm) pitch pine piles ranging from 10 feet (3.0 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) long were driven at stated distances down into the clay, on the north, east and west sides of the site,[15] and connected together by means of 1 inch (2.5 cm) wrought iron tie rods passed through the piles, and interlaced one with the other, and connected together by means of 6 inches (15 cm) by 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) by 1 inch (2.5 cm) iron rings, through which the tie rods were passed, and nuts placed in position, thus enabling the tie rods to be adjusted and tightened to a nicety. The whole of the site was then covered with a solid mass of Portland cement concrete 18 inches (46 cm) thick, which when finished left the ironwork completely embedded in the same. Upon this foundation the superstructure was erected." From a speech by F. W. J. Palmer at the opening of The Pavilion, 4 April 1904[16]
The gracefulness of the building comes from the iron columns and ornamental ironwork manufactured to Palmer's design by MacFarlane & Co of Glasgow.[16][17]
1913 phase
In 1911 to 1913 Palmer planned and oversaw the building of the second phase of the King's Hall.
References
- ^ a b c Herne Bay Press 9 April 1904 p.8
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Herne Bay Press 12 July 1913: "Royal visit"
- ^ a b c Herne Bay Times 22 February 2001 p.8: "Look Back: from summer bandstand to a concert hall fit for a king" by Harold Gough
- ^ a b c "Toutfait". By way of Herne Bay. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- ^ Grace's Guide: Alexander William Conquest Retrieved 21 November 2013
- ^ London's Pulse: Fulham 1890 p.198 Retrieved 17 November 2013
- ^ www.archive.org/ Proceedings of the Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers, Vol XXII. 1895–96 Retrieved 17 November 2013
- ^ www.archive.org/ Proceedings of the Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers, Vol. XXXIV. 1907–1908 Retrieved 17 November 2013
- ^ a b Archive: The Surveyor and Municipal Engineer, Vol.XLVIII, 2 July-31 December 1915, "London AGM, 2 July 1915" Retrieved 21 November 2013
- ^ Archive: Proceedings – Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers, Vol.XXXII, 1906 Retrieved 21 November 2013
- ^ Archive: Supplement to The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer, VOL. XLVII, 1 January to 25 June 1915 Retrieved 21 November 2013
- ^ Herne Bay Museum exhibit label
- Herne Baylibrary)
- ^ Aim25: Central Unemployed Body For London Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine http://www.aim25.ac.uk/ Retrieved 17 November 2013
- ^ Note: the site slopes very steeply to the north
- ^ a b Herne Bay Press 9 Apr 1904 p.2: "Opening of the East Cliff Pavilion, an important ceremony, full descriptive report"
- ^ Trove: Queanbeyan Age (NSW: 1907–1915) 15 March 1910 p.3. Editorial about Velure paint. Retrieved 22 November 2013
- ^ Herne Bay Times 24 March 2005: Past Times: "Ambitious plans transformed bandstand into grand cliffside theatre"
Bibliography
- Bundock, Mike (10 July 2013). The Kings Hall Herne Bay: celebrating 100 years. Herne Bay Past. Vol. 10. Canterbury: Herne Bay Historical Records Society. ISBN 9781909164093.
External links
Media related to F.W.J. Palmer at Wikimedia Commons