A perambulation of Cliftonville
You are invited to join a perambulation - a walk around the boundary - of Cliftonville. This is intended both as a way of thinking about this area of Margate in which we live (or happen to be visiting), and also as a way of encouraging us to open our eyes as we chart the path around the boundary - what surprising landmarks will we discover?
Sunday 22nd June, 10am
2 - 2.5 hours
Meeting on the lawns opposite Forts Cafe, 8 Cliff Terrace, CT9 1RU
There are various definitions for the act of making a perambulation. While the more common use now is that of a stroll, and as such lent its meaning to a child’s pram (originally known as a perambulator), it stems from the act of marking and remembering the boundary of an area of land, such as a manor or parish. In this way a perambulation is synonymous with the act of ‘beating the bounds’.
Strolling on the promenade. Lee's Promenade and Bandstand, Folkestone (detail). c1890. Photochrom print. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002696748/.
Before modern, drawn surveys, a perambulation would note landmarks (natural or man made) which were encountered on the route, recorded in writing or committed to the collective memory, in order that future perambulations would be able to follow the route more closely, further reinforcing the boundary.
As such a perambulation was not only an act of defining a particular area, but also an act of observation.
Boundaries shift
Different civic organisations, cartographers and individuals have their own ideas about the boundaries of any given area. The current boundary of the Thanet District Council wards of Cliftonville East and Cliftonville West, used as a guide for this walk, are subject to minor changes currently being consulted on by the boundary commission. If the proposed changes are enacted additional streets will be brought into Cliftonville West from Margate Central & Dane Valley. Whatever the outcome, any change is due to take effect for elections in 2027.
Looking more broadly, the existing local government arrangements in Kent are soon to change dramatically. In the current system Kent (excepting Medway) has a two tier system with the County Council and local district councils (as well as town/parish councils in places). The government has asked the county and district councils to propose a new landscape of a series of unitary councils to cover Kent. Their proposals have yet to be published, but the initial response and the government’s requirements point towards a settlement not that dissimilar to the system of Lathes, unique to Kent, which saw the county divided into (at the end) 5 lathes. This originated with the Jutish settlement of Kent and lasted into the C19.
An Accurate Map of the County of Kent Divided into its Lathes and Subdivided into Hundreds. 1775-1795. Emanuel Bowen. National Library of Spain (CC BY-NC-SA).
Meanwhile individual and commercial notions of the boundary change, responding to public perception, fashion and media. 10 years ago when Cliftonville was considered by many to have less positive connotations, estate agents would extend the boundary of the old town and enlarge the notion of Palm Bay (not a ward, but the area in the east of Cliftonville East). Today that story plays rather differently.
The perambulation group
Depictions of early 19th century perambulations often show the perambulation being led by a beadle (a lay official of the parish or manor) and typically with a priest in attendance. Sometimes they seem to have included a wide range of people, including children, and been quite chaotic affairs, others appear more formal with a list of dignitaries present.
We will be led by a temporarily installed Cliftonville Beadle, all are welcome to join, including children. We can make this as chaotic as we like …
A beadle, carrying his staff: behind him two churchwardens lead a procession of orphans of the parish, the boys carrying wands to beat the bounds. Coloured aquatint by W. H. Pyne, 1805. Wellcome Collection. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Beating, boundary markers and perambulation mementos
Beating the bounds is the act of swatting landmarks passed on the perambulation, reinforcing their commitment to memory. Apparently this was often done by the young boys in the party, using green sticks of birch or willow. Looking further afield - there’s a very long tradition of physical boundary markers in various parts of the world, and a much more recent tradition of signs which welcome the traveller into a settlement.
Boundary token for Gateshead ©The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Twin Peaks. 1990–1991. Lynch/Frost Productions.
Some of the more formal C19 perambulations often left participants with a token to mark the occasion. This is a custom the artist Sara Trillo has developed for her walks and we'll be following these examples in some way.
We may not have branches of green birch, but will find our own ways to mark this boundary as we walk it, eyes open to whatever we might discover along the way.