Dockyard Church to Open its Doors for Heritage Open Day

On Saturday 17th September 2022 the Sheerness Dockyard Trust will be teaming up with building contractors Coniston to give special tours of Dockyard Church as part of Heritage Open Days. The doors will be open from 10:30am - 3.00pm.

Robert Still & his grandsons enjoying their visit to last years site open day.

Photo by Allison Young

There will also be a chance to find out more about the variety of opportunities soon to be available to young people when the new enterprise centre opens.

The Tower Rises.
Photo by Chris Foulds, SDPT Trustee.

Following the success of last years event we are delighted to again welcome people behind the scenes to witness the amazing transformation of this iconic Sheppey landmark. 

Visitors to our open day will be guided by our trustees and members of the Coniston team and will be able to see the building taking shape. This is an opportunity to find out more about the meticulous heritage restoration techniques employed on the project and admire the new roof, clocktower and other reinstated details. Artefacts discovered during the works will be on display. 

3D Visualisation of the church once complete.
Photo by Chris Foulds, SDPT Trustee.

The restored building will house an exciting business start-up centre for young entrepreneurs, and will also display sections of the Great Dockyard Model as well as offering a café, meeting and event spaces, currently scheduled to open in January 2023.

The £7.98 million project has been made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, matched with grants from leading philanthropic trusts, foundations and individuals. 

Internally we will be preserving what is left of the 1881 interior including the cast iron columns and combining this with simple modern finishes. 

The scheme has been designed by the award-winning team of Hugh Broughton Architects working with conservation specialists Martin Ashley. 

The Grade II* listed Church was built in 1829 and was badly damaged by fire in both 1881 and 2001. It is an outstanding example of Palladian architecture designed by George Ledwell Taylor.

Visitors can turn up at our gazebo, which will be located at the front of the church, to join a FREE tour, which will be on a first come first served basis and will run approximately every half hour. You can find more details on our event on the Heritage Open Days website.

The Heritage Open Day tours will take place on Saturday 17th September   10:30am - 3.00pm

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