After five years of determined campaigning and collaboration, the people of Deptford got what they wanted. They got their anchor back. A symbol of the area’s identity and what the people of the area stood for.
The history behind the beloved anchor stretches all the way back to the 1980s. Back then Deptford was a very different area. Despite a vibrant art scene, it was deeply affected by the closure of the dockyards, which left many out of their jobs. Deptford was an area that was in need of new hope. In 1988, it had received an anchor from the Chatham Dockyard. It was an emblem of hope and what the area was losing. It stood tall for over 25 years at the junction of Deptford High Street and New Cross Road until 2013.
A community regeneration scheme known as the Outer London Fund (OLF) regeneration project, was a community-wide initiative which was initially seen as beneficial. When a graphic of the expected results of the project was released something was missing. Something incredibly important. Something which meant a great deal. The anchor was gone, and the people were not having it.
As Peter Collins of the Deptford Society said ‘Things like that [Anchor] make people realise that somewhere is their own place.’ Without such a symbol how would people know they were in Deptford. It was clear that something needed to happen and the people of Deptford rose to the challenge.
A campaign almost immediately began and in the five years that the iconic anchor was absent from its place, graffiti and chalk anchors began to emerge. They were everywhere; such effort symbolised an anonymous articulation of pride and defiance. Free anchor tattoos were also offered which showed how serious people were about the campaign.
A prominent initiative, Deptford is Forever, was also central to the campaign as they promoted it through the selling of merchandise such as T-shirts and Paper bags which read ‘Give us back our bloomin’ anchor’. An online petition also gained much popularity, which as a result collected over four thousand signatures.
With all of the momentum being caused by the campaign, it could no longer be ignored by those in the surrounding government. In the March of last year, a meeting led by Deptford Mayor Steve Bullock was called to reinstate the anchor back in its original place. The people finally won.
Today, the anchor stands tall in the same place as it stood before. Elevated on its strong plinth, in the junction of Deptford High Street and New Cross Road. However, it stands in an area which has undergone drastic changes over the past five years. Many new bars, restaurants and expensive properties have emerged, and the anchor preserves something that Deptford is losing. It's original identity.
