About Us
Beach Creative is a vibrant creative hub, right in the heart of Herne Bay where you can try new activities, meet new people, share your ideas & talents, all while having fun.
We support people on their creative journey, give artists and creators space to produce and show their work and bring people together through creative activities.
Our exhibitions, events and courses make a real difference to people’s lives in Herne Bay.
Beach Creative was founded in March 2012 by three incredible artists, all with a shared vision. Gillian Wilson, an arts lecturer working in outreach at the University for the Creative Arts, was searching for pop-up workshop spaces. At the same time, local artists Mandy Broughton and Mandy Troughton were advocating for affordable studio spaces in Herne Bay. The three women joined forces, forming a Community Interest Company and taking over the space with a clear mission: to create a thriving creative hub for the local community.
With their missions to raise the profile of creative industries in Herne Bay and the surrounding area, provide a supportive, community-focused platform for local artists and makers, build a sustainable, long-term home for creativity in the town. They are actively shaping a space where collaboration thrives, opportunities grow, and local talent is championed at every stage.
Today, Beach Creative is a thriving centre for arts and culture. We provide studio space for artists, host exhibitions and workshops, and offer a welcoming environment where creativity and community meet.
Building History
Beach House was built in 1899 to provide offices and a home to the local gas manager and his family. The Herne Bay Gas Company was formed by act of Parliament on 1 November 1837, and by the end of the century it had rapidly expanded its activities to service Herne Bay’s building and tourism boom.
If you look carefully at Beach House you still see that the building always had a dual purpose. The right hand door led into the house where the family lived and the left door led into the gas showrooms and offices. The hatch we are using in our café is original to the building and was used to pay the gas workers wages and take orders for gas fires and appliances. In the 1930s a second showroom opened at 91-95 High Street and eventually replaced the one at Beach House.
The aerial photograph dates from about the 1920s and shows the two gas storage cylinders and Beach House with a long walled garden running all the way down Beach Street to the corner of the present car park. Some of the original flint wall remains.
You can download the full history of Beach House written by Sue Austen by clicking the button below.