Give Us Back Our Bloomin’ Anchor

For 25 years, the anchor – a gift from Chatham Dockyard – was the only visible reminder of Deptford's rich, unique and international maritime history.

High Street renovation works required the removal of both the anchor and its plinth, but a survey carried out prior to these regeneration works found that 84% of respondents wanted it to remain in Deptford.

Since the completion of the renovation works, and more than three years since its removal, the anchor has still not been reinstated and the council has not made any plans for its future.

The former setting of the anchor, on a low plinth, made it attractive to street drinkers, and their presence was one of the reasons given for its removal.

Now the drinkers gather in Giffin Square instead, next to the school and library. Removing the anchor has swept away Deptford’s history, but the social issues persist. There is an empty space where the anchor once stood as a proud reminder of the Royal Dockyard.

Our anchor can be reinstated without a plinth. The landscape architect responsible for installing the anchor in 1988 has said the plinth is not essential. There are many examples of anchors without plinths across London and the UK.

Deptford began as a small fishing village and grew prosperous from its position on the river. The anchor serves as a reminder of the skills, industry, trade and international links so significant to the town’s history. We therefore demand that the Deptford Anchor is returned – without a plinth – to its rightful place, marking the gateway to the river where the town was born.

(Petition originally fronted by Peter Collins, former Chair of the Deptford Society, in association with Deptford Is Forever)

Photo shows the anchor in 'storage' in the crumbling Olympia building at Convoys Wharf