Welcome Back to
Dreamland
Why revitalising one of Britain’s best-loved seaside
amusement parks is a hugely inspiring commission for Jack
and Wayne Hemingway. Garrick Webster
www.thecurioinmargate.com
Photo: Jo Bridges
Dreamland Interior
Relics of the 1920s
rollercoaster
“Our slogan for Dreamland is ‘we cater for
pleasure’,” explains Jack Hemingway, son
of the famous designer Wayne. “We want
people to come and to leave with a smile on
their face. We want people to laugh! We want
the Ghost Train to make people cry! We want
people to think, ‘Wow, this is unusual and we
want people to leave feeling inspired.”
He’s talking about HemingwayDesign’s
latest major project - the restoration of
Dreamland in Margate, Kent. Built on the site
of a Victorian pleasure garden, Dreamland
first opened in 1920. It’s home to the Scenic
Railway, one of the UK’s first wooden
rollercoasters. However, along with other
seaside towns, Margate has seen a slow
decline. The park eventually closed in 2006
and two years later a section of its famous
Grade II*-listed ride was burned down by
vandals.
Though Dreamland was at its lowest ebb,
the people of Margate have long supported
their beloved beachside attraction. Now, with
money from The Heritage Lottery Fund, the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport and
Thanet District Council, it’s anticipated that
Dreamland be welcoming new guests next
summer.
As the design consultancy on the
restoration, it’s a dream project for the
Hemingways. They’ll be working with
architects, engineers and The Trust, advising
on all aspects of the new Dreamland’s look
and feel “There’s the idea of having a world
first - the first ever amusement park of thrilling
historic rides,” says Wayne Hemingway.
“When you see something that’s a first,
there’s a real chance for it to succeed because
of all the publicity it will get.”
PINCH OF NOSTALGIA
Wayne Hemingway and his wife have always
put a pinch of nostalgia into their work, from
their Red or Dead fashion label through to
urban regeneration projects like the awardwinning Staiths South Bank development
with Wimpey Homes. HemingwayDesign
curates the Land of Lost Content - a museum
of British popular culture in Shropshire - and
also runs Vintage Festival, hosting a variety
of events marrying together old school music
and fashion.
The new park will boast some fantastic
old rides like The Hurricane Jets, Junior Whip
and Corbierre Wheel, on top of the Scenic
Railway, now being repaired. And at the café
you might even be able to enjoy an ice cream
while sat in a freshly painted old teacup from
a bygone Whirling Waltzer. However, it’s not
just a love of old fairground imagery that has
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