Collage of 1850's Commissioners' Plans

This is a collage of 1850's plans of properties along Sea Wall (Valley Wall),
that 'emblazoned' ...Wm. Edwards is
the Divers' storehouse (Stag) and was
Deane and Edwards' store.
(Edwards died of cholera in the Crimea, 1855)

The Oyster Company's storehouse was bought/rented from Kemp.
(Looking at a number of these plans by Thos.Thurston, drainage Board surveyor, his graphic convention is to number the property subject of the Deed Poll (sale of frontage), leaving blank any stores associated...and nominating properties to either side)

It was alleged in Court that the dotted line running down through the middle of the properties... represented the line of the extent seaward, of development in 1860... In particular the structure that became...The Stag Public House...
And what lay beyond was described as an "undeveloped plot"
onto which the Pub was...
'l a t e r - e x t e n d e d'.

The 25ft indicated dimension represents the extent of the Drainage board's "right title" ...a kind of way-leave for the 'Old Sea Wall'.

The Old Seawall was an earth/clay structure over 50ft wide and the 12ft road, Sea Wall...now runs along the top.

Owners of land and buildings on The Wall bought back the 'frontage rights' ... @...5 shillings per ft-run of 'Frontage' so securing their buildings against the Board's right to demand demolition for the purposes of maintenance of the wall or other civil works.

Left is the Margin Plan off the 1853 Deed Poll,whereby Deane and Edwards Bought an 18ft 6in wide section @...£4 12s 6d of the Side of the Seawall i.e. frontage rights.
On this 1853 Drainage Board plan for 'Stag' the 25ft dimension arrows are somewhat indistinct, although the text of the document, of which the plan is a part, makes it plain that this dimension...is taken from the centre of the 12ft wide road.
Land Registry, at first registration for Stag in 1971 created plans scaled as though the...25ft dimension was from the road verge.

Land Registry plans were later used by the claimant and the surveyor to the court in alleging the existence of a...'Structrual Break' or join in the timbers of the cottage. Lap joints in 1st floor ceiling joists that were about 25ft 9in from the inside of the front wall of the cottage...
(there is a similar feature symetrically positioned at the roadward end too)....
were said to...align with the supposed position of the extension ...
at the dotted line.
Clearly this is foolish,
as any such 'joints' would be at 19ft from the front of the building...
But...the ridge beam, wall plates and sole plates are single 33ft pieces of timber.
In the 19th c. Whitstable was a boatbuilding centre and long baulks of timber
were easily available, in fact the structure of Stag demonstrates the re-use of old masts. Like all timber buildinge there are lots of joints.
There is no evidence whatsoever of foundations...
at what would have been any supposed ... original... Gable End Wall...