A Toast to the Oast!

Celebrations for the 40^th anniversary of the Oast Centre in Rainham have been kicked off in style with a specially brewed beer taking pride of place at a fundraising beer festival.

The Oast Community Centre in Rainham opened its doors in 1978 and three Kent real ale enthusiasts have brewed a beer to celebrate the occasion. Named “Toast to the Oast” the beer was brewed at Four Candles Brewery in Broadstairs and will take top listing at the Oast festival taking place on 22/23 June to raise funds for ongoing restoration work. The festival will feature 40 Kentish beers and 10 Kent ciders as well as live music from local bands on both days. Friday features bands Fightmilk, Theatre Royal, Stuart Turner & the Flat Earth Society and Darren Hayman while playing on Saturday are Love Reptiles, Ravella Bridge, Ancient Orange and Turtle Circles.

Oast Centre Chair Paul Clark said “It’s fantastic to see the Oast hosting a beer festival in the kiln where hops were dried in the early 20^th Century. The Oast is on a journey of reinvention and we hope to highlight the facilities that exist here to all the visitors over the festival weekend.” Andy James, an organiser of the festival added “Being adjacent to Rainham station the Oast is a perfect location for a beer festival so we’re looking forward to raising much needed funds to help the Oast centre to continue to provide a place for local groups and businesses to meet”

Photo of Paul Clark (left) Chair of The Oast Centre with  brewers Karl Martin (centre) and Nick France

The Oast was acquired in 1970 by Rainham and Wigmore Community Association and converted to open as a community centre in 1978. The centre is a registered charity run by volunteers with facilities for hire by groups, conferences and business meetings. The buildings date back over 130 years and funds raised will help to maintain the fabric of the Oast as well as making the site  accessible to all sections of the local community. The Oast website is http://www.oastcentre.org/

More information on the festival can be found on the website www.rainham-kent.co.uk or www.Facebook.com/oastfestival

Barclays Bank for Sale Rainham

I saw mentioned on a forum that Barclays Bank in Rainham was for sale with the suggestion that it was closing. On closer inspection of the sign the building is for sale but it says the businesses within it including Barclays Bank are unaffected.

Micropub Opening in Rainham called Prince of Ales

The new micropub opening in Rainham appears to be progressing well. Looking on their website the bar furniture has now been fitted and chillers being installed so hopefully it will be opening soon!


The Prince of Ales micropub will be at 121 High Street next to the Post Office, previously the convenience store in the photo below.

Micropub Opening in Rainham called Prince of Ales



Prince of Ales Micropub Opening in Rainham

You can keep up to date with how the building is doing on their website here:


http://princeofales.co.uk/index.php/progress-blog

The Angel Pub Rainham Old Photos

We've received a request for any old photos of The Angel pub in Rainham. If anyone has any they can share please get in touch via info@rainham-history.co.uk

Gordon Hotel Beer Festival - Rochester Sweeps 2015

The Gordon Hotel in Rochester holds an annual Beer festival during the Sweeps festival weekend. 

Click here for the beer listing and band programme for 2015.

Full details here

New Asda Petrol Station Rainham

The old Esso petrol station on the A2 at Rainham has now been taken over by Asda. This means we now get cheaper Asda fuel in Medway as it seems to keep the prices of other garages lower as a result.

New Asda Petrol Station Rainham

Archaeological field school at East Wear Bay, Folkestone

Details of our new archaeological field school at East Wear Bay, Folkestone, along with our programme of taught one day archaeology courses at Canterbury, are now available on the CAT website:

http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/community_archaeology/east-wear-bay/ and http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/community_archaeology/archaeology-courses/

I’d be really grateful if you could circulate these links to your membership and/or network of contacts in the wider heritage and Kentish community.

If you have any questions about either the courses or the field school, or indeed other aspects of Canterbury Archaeological Trust’s public outreach and educational work (including lectures to local groups and societies), please get in touch with me.