WHERE TO GO IN THE OLD HIGH STREET INTRA, MEDWAY
From Star Hill to Sun Pier, between Rochester High Street and Chatham High Street, lies arguably one of the most interesting streets in Kent
From Star Hill to Sun Pier, between Rochester High Street and Chatham High Street, lies arguably one of the most interesting streets in Medway.
Lined with Grade I- and Grade II-listed buildings, the Old High Street Intra - or the ‘Intra’ as it is now commonly known - has a rich, wild history that we are only just scratching the surface of.
Being awarded High Street Heritage Action Zone status by Historic England, and a share of £1.6m back in 2020, certainly put eyes on the area.
But, realistically, the rebirth of this place was started long ago by the independent businesses and artists putting their necks on the line and daring to do something.
From the Medway Little Theatre to the Hysteria Escape Room and the Chatham Memorial Synagogue, there is plenty to do and see.
An area with a historic and thriving LGBTQ+ community, The Ship Inn and Coyotes are known for their warm welcome, while main music space Poco Loco is famous for its drag events.
In the centre of the road, you will stumble across a small piece of Thailand, with the popular Limehouse Thai restaurant and the Thai Market (pictured) for all those hard-to-find ingredients.
Of course, food and drink is a huge part of the business community, and there is plenty to choose from. Dylan’s Nepalese, which was named as the most popular curry house in a poll by KentLive, has an excellent reputation, while there is also Fogah’s Caribbean, Selale Turkish and Lounge 44’s African cuisine to pick from. Poco Loco’s Mexican cuisine is hard to beat, while the coffee and cake options come in the form of No.64 and the incredible Miss Sourdough Bakery. Micropubs The Flippin’ Frog and 12Degrees put on the craft beers alongside the brilliant Dead Pigeon.
The backbone of Intra is arguably its creative people.
The live music scene is led by Poco Loco, who have spent more than a decade putting on the best local and touring acts. Spearheaded by owner Jody Carrington and performer/promotor Olivia Nuclear Bomb, there is always a buzz - go for the tacos and tequila but stay for the Loco Cabaret!
Known as one of the premier spots in the South East for picking up house music on wax, Decktronix is a mecca for turntable heads with its own DJ booth and enough record boxes to delight even the most seasoned vinyl peruser. More traditional in its outlook, The Nag’s Head is an old-school boozer that still knocks it out of the park with its choice of live acts that play there most weekends.
‘Cene Magazine has been fortunate enough to speak with two of the leading fashion minds on the Intra, having worked with both Konstanty Mvrzynski and Jatin Patel, both of whom have studios on the street and are heavily involved in community programmes.
The arts scene is thriving: from The Tack Room Intra and Hulkes Lane Darkroom at the back of the former Lion Brewery to the Sun Pier House studios and buzzing community at Intra Arts.
Sun Pier House
You will know when you come across Sun Pier House. It’s got a bloody great blue bomb out the front of it.
Started in 2012 by Heather Burgess and husband Edward Gransden, Sun Pier House has become one of the cornerstones of the art scene in the Old High Street Intra.
A decade of hard work in turning the riverside building into a hub of studios has resulted in a buzzing community of more than 34 artists that includes painters, silversmiths, animators, a milliner, a tattoo studio and even the team behind digital arts festival Electric Medway.
The team are also responsible for the curation of events in the area and across Medway: from Open Studios, which sees members of the public invited to visit local creative studios, to the Sun Pier Sounds nights offering monthly chilled, lounge-style live music. There is, of course, also the Chatham Reach festival, Intra Spring, BIG DRAW Little People and many more.
“I think the area’s becoming a bit known as this place that has stuff happening,” says Heather, who is also looking to build on the monthly arts markets in 2024. “Part of what we’re trying to do is bring people into the area and have a reason to come here and be proud of it.”
Sun Pier House also has a cafe and a gallery space for exhibitions - with a stunning view of the river - which has been used by both individual artists and community initiatives. Ironically, it was the pandemic lockdown that pushed the businesses on the Intra together.
“There’s a much more community vibe to the businesses here, like I know a lot more businesses since lockdown than I did before,” says Heather. “And I’ve got more confidence to go and talk to a lot of them - we all know each other and I’ve programmed events now along the High Street.”
INTRA ARTS
With its stunning Art Deco glass windows acting as a mini exhibition, the Victorian ‘Intra’ building, which houses Intra Arts, has been a community arts venue and makerspace since 2014.
“The idea of it is to capitalise on the fact that artists love tools,” says founder and artist Xtina Lamb. “Very often those tools are sitting around unused. So it was a way to try to connect with people who would really love to be able to get access to that equipment.”
Offering the public access to a wide range of specialist artist-owned equipment, there is a range of workshops - from the Medway Fine Printmakers to the Karen Verna Glassmania classes. Intra Arts welcomes the community and educational organisations to interact with the creative industries across its vast spaces.
From hosting poetry groups to write together, to textile printing and even offering film nights on its projectors, the Intra Arts mantra seems to be ‘Yes, we can’.
“I get so much from being in this place, the opportunities that you can get in Medway,” says Xtina, who moved to the area from London more than a decade ago. “To me, it was very easy to move here, the art scene was developed. And I could just tell that there was the appetite there for people doing workshops and, you know, understanding engagement with arts.”
The windows of the Intra building have become one of the must-see attractions on the Old High Street.
During lockdown, we tried to put stuff in the windows that would amuse people,” says Xtina. “We put up Rosie James’s embroidered piece all about people in lockdown. The amount of people who were just stopping and photographing and just loving seeing it. I thought, isn’t it about time that we used these windows properly?
“So the windows now have a programme of exhibitions that are street-facing. So people come and look at it, they don’t have to walk inside the gallery, they can just see the exhibitions.”
Intra Arts has been at the centre of a number of community events and has seen the interest in the area begin to flourish.
“It feels like people have started to recognise it has its own identity separate from Rochester High Street and Chatham,” says Xtina. “It’s just really trying to make other people see and understand it’s not just the ‘in-between bit’. But it’s got this whole slightly quirky kind of feel to it. There’s a lot of interesting stuff and a lot of people trying to do good things along this part.”
Mrs Sourdough Bakery
With its open bakery at the back of the room, it’s hard not to fall in love (with bread) at Mrs Sourdough’s.
Started by Kat in 2021, the patisserie and coffee shop serves up loaves that are the talk of the street - quite literally, three people told us to visit and try the bread.
Every loaf is carefully crafted and every sandwich or toastie is served up with passion.
With the words ‘I will feed you like I feed myself’ ringing in our ears, we were furnished with a cheese toastie that melted in the mouth. Hearing about how Kat left a job in the city and only began baking a few years back, we quickly discovered that Mrs Sourdough supplies many artisan stores, cafes and restaurants across the county.
While members of the Bread Club can pick up their favourites weekly, our advice would be to go into the store, smell the bread baking and taste it as fresh as it can possibly be. But make sure you go there hungry.
HL DARK ROOM
Positioned in the mazey former Lion Brewery building, the HL Darkroom was set up by James K Barnett out of a desire to create a quality photography hub for artists and photographers in Kent and the South East.
“I wanted to design and reproduce the high standard of facilities and equipment you would find in bigger cities and universities across the UK. This would also enable me to continue to progress with my love of analogue photography, as this has always been a major part of my photographic practice.”
Having worked at Central St Martins as a technician for many years, James has taught darkroom photography and studio lighting workshops.
‘My darkroom and studio is a friendly and inclusive workspace within the community,” he says. “The services I provide not only support local photographers and artists but also contribute to preserving the art of analogue photography in our digital age.”
Like many of the arts spaces on the Intra, opening the doors for others to use facilities is the name of the game.
“The darkroom at Hulkes Lane can be hired for printing and processing film and the large studio space can be hired for photography shoots and exhibiting work.
“Being alongside other creative businesses for the last three years has, and continues to, be a good source of inspiration and creativity for me.”
MISS AVA’S MILLINERY
Based in Sun Pier House since 2020, Miss Ava’s Millinery was started by Sarah Blacker-Barrowman after making a career switch from archaeology.
“In my studio I used traditional millinery and hat-making techniques and tools to handcraft both ready-to-wear and bespoke headwear, alongside undertaking repairs and customisations,” says Sarah, who has made pieces for photoshoots, television and stage and cabaret performers.
“I’d always wanted to have a dedicated space to work in and invite clients to,” she adds. “Setting up my millinery studio there was one of the best moves I could have made and it’s always a joy to go into work.
“Once settled in, I found myself part of a vibrant and proactive community of creatives and small businesses who are really welcoming and supportive, and I think this is part of the real strength of the Intra area.
“Places like Sun Pier House, the Mess Room and Intra Arts have helped to support and nurture creativity and the arts in the area.”
The Dead Pigeon
Having started The Dead Pigeon in 2018, owners Jamie Clark and Tom Mudge could hardly have envisaged the Covid storm coming down the track just a short time after launching the new generation of sports bar. But it wasn’t long before the quality of their food and drink offering became a takeaway hit during the lockdown.
Now The Dead Pigeon has become renowned for its high-quality, award-winning burgers and beverages painstakingly picked from the finest brewers across Kent, the UK and abroad. One of the go-to spots for entertainment, with regular themed events and quizzes, The Dead Pigeon is proudly independent.
“The community in and around The Old High Street Intra want to see the area succeed, so there is a huge community push from everyone to see that happen,” says Jamie.
“I love the variety - there’s a whole street of independent venues and everything is different in its own way.
“There is just so much history here and it’s worth taking part in the numerous history walks that happen just to learn what has happened along this stretch of road over the years - it will shock anyone how much history there is right on their doorstep… Harry Houdini once played in a theatre here…!”
