36 VIEWS

Not so very long ago, Whitstable was an industrial town. At its heart, a harbour handling coal and aggregates, boat building and repairs and, most famously, a fishing port renowned for seafood and oysters. It was also a place that encouraged visitors. The world’s first railway season tickets were introduced to encourage people from Canterbury to visit the town regularly via the “Crab and Winkle Railway”.

Most of these industrial activities continue in the town today, but, for many people Whitstable is first and foremost a holiday destination. People flock to the town all year round, from the UK and abroad, with many escaping urban environments, to enjoy a day at the coast. But visitors can’t escape Whitstable’s industrial past, because on East Quay, in the harbour, at the very centre of the town, looms Brett’s aggregate coating plant. The plant’s tower is visible from all over Whitstable and beyond, yet the postcards and pictures for sale in the souvenir shops ignore it, electing to show the customary views of beach huts, fishing boats and sunsets. 

36 VIEWS sets out to address this imbalance and encourages visitors and residents to reconsider Whitstable’s townscape. In the spirit of Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji we present thirty-six views of Whitstable – a series of paintings and photographs that embrace the town’s past and present – and celebrate it.