FWJ Palmer

Career

He was articled to Alexander William Conquest (1848–1892), who was borough engineer and surveyor of Ramsgate and then of Folkestone, and who was the son of William Conquest, secretary to Joseph Bazalgette who created the London sewerage system. Palmer was then appointed assistant borough engineer and surveyor of Folkestone, remaining in that position until 1886, when he became assistant surveyor of the Vestry of the Parish (later Borough) of Fulham. In both positions he was working under A.W. Conquest. Subsequently, in 1891 he became the surveyor to Herne Bay Urban District Council, and remained there until at least 1915. He became a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers on 25 April 1896.

Works throughout Herne Bay

At Herne Bay between 1891 and 1915 (and probably longer) he carried out numerous important engineering works. This involved excavating a large proportion of the town, and this cannot have gone unnoticed by the inhabitants. However, by virtue of his duties as Surveyor to the Council, he contributed to a great extent in providing employment and in making the town what it is today. All this digging was certainly appreciated by the acquisitive antiquarian, Dr Tom Bowes, who subsequently donated stone tools, pottery and artefacts, found by workmen and builders, to the collection that was to become Herne Bay Museum and Gallery.

Palmer was involved in the complete reconstruction of all the main roads before Kent County Council took them over. He oversaw the entire renovation of Herne Bay's Town Hall, including the erection of a new gallery, and he directed the enlargement and construction of the Council Offices in Herne Bay High Street. He was responsible for the 1903–1904 reconstruction of 350 feet (110 m) of Hampton Pier "which sets as a protection against the inroads of sea along the whole front" of the town. Until at least the 1950s a local "concrete tomb" urban myth survived, suggesting that a construction worker had fallen into the poured concrete of Hampton Pier and was still there. During 1913 Palmer was responsible for the design and construction section-by-section of a new concrete sea wall. He also designed the Tower Lavatories on the sea front.

Works at East Cliff, Herne Bay

He prepared a scheme for laying out, draining and scarping East Cliff, which cost £40,000, labour being supplied by the Central Unemployed Body For London. He "designed the scheme for sewering the whole of East Cliff including a 30in cast iron pipe sewer along the foot of the cliff and a 30in cast iron pipe up the face of the cliff." He "designed and supervised the construction of the sea defence works at the foot of the East Cliff, reaching from the old boathouse site to practically the eastern boundary of the district; also the top promenade from Belle Vue Road to Sea View Road." He "made up and sewered nearly nine miles of private streets, under the Private Street Works Act" on the West Cliff and East Cliff.

The King's Hall, Herne Bay

This is a theatre, concert hall and dance hall, built as The Pavilion in 1903–1904 and developed as the King Edward VII Memorial Hall in 1913 in memory of the late king. Palmer designed both phases of the building.

1904 phase

In 1903 to 1904 he planned and oversaw the building of the first phase of the Pavilion in his free time as a "labour of love." His plan consisted of a bandstand supported by a small building on a steep slope containing a tea room, rest rooms, a deckchair store and a small, covered auditorium (now the vestibule) to shelter 200 people and a band when it rained. There was no natural hollow ready and waiting. Palmer had to dig a hole:

"6,000 cubic yards (4,600 m³) [of spoil] had to be removed, 12 inches (30 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm) pitch pine piles ranging from 10 feet (3.0 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) long were driven at stated distances down into the clay, on the north, east and west sides of the site, and connected together by means of 1 inch (2.5 cm) wrought iron tie rods passed through the piles, and interlaced one with the other, and connected together by means of 6 inches (15 cm) by 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) by 1 inch (2.5 cm) iron rings, through which the tie rods were passed, and nuts placed in position, thus enabling the tie rods to be adjusted and tightened to a nicety. The whole of the site was then covered with a solid mass of Portland cement concrete 18 inches (46 cm) thick, which when finished left the ironwork completely embedded in the same. Upon this foundation the superstructure was erected." From a speech by F.W.J. Palmer at the opening of The Pavilion, 4 April 1904

The gracefulness of the building comes from the iron columns and ornamental ironwork manufactured to Palmer's design by MacFarlane & Co of Glasgow.

1913 phase

In 1911 to 1913 he planned and oversaw the building of the second phase of the King's Hall. For this, Palmer had to dig an even bigger hole in October 1912: "many thousands of yards of London Clay" were removed to extend the building into the cliff. The 1904 phase remained as vestibule for the new Hall which was dug into the cliff at its back, or south side. The Hall was intended to accommodate 1,500 people inside, plus an audience of 1,100 above, for the rooftop bandstand. So inside the Hall there were large windows, ceiling roses doubling as natural ventilators, and two large louvred natural ventilators at the corners. The total cost for this phase was £6,000, the high price reflecting the excavation work and the new and fashionable use of ferro-concrete.