38 CONTEXT 188 : JUNE 2026 DIANE HARVEY-WHITE Protecting unconventional heritage assets The statutory designations given to our precious heritage assets are designed to protect them for future generations, but that is not so easy when the asset is a rollercoaster. Within the heritage environment there are many structures that do not fit into a categorisation: they are not habitable, provide shelter or relate to need. They do not describe purpose and they are not legible, but their significance charts and contributes to a time in history that tells of far greater change or reform than the structure portrays, showing the progress of society in ways that are obliquely linked. When viewing the asset it is not obvious where these connections lie, and the historic evidence and intangible values are bigger than the physical palimpsest. If that relates to something as ephemeral as leisure time, the value also includes a swinging pendulum of fashionability and public safety. When considering a scenic railway – a wooden rollercoaster from 1920, designated Grade II in 2002 and upgraded to Grade II* in 2009 – heritage value abounds, relating to the significance of the structure because it is situated in an amusement park on the Kent Coast. It is visible from the train as visitors arrive into the town. It is a feature of the skyline. The clacking of the wooden mechanism as the cars are pulled up the tracks and the air displacement as it trundles down the valleys makes its operation the background of being at the park or just visiting Margate. There is an awareness of the ride because it is different. It neither huffs nor howls, nor belches steam. It is a unique ride experience that instantly connects the passenger to the past, to the infancy of amusement parks and to Coney Island, New York, in particular. The Margate ride was designed by the engineers of the Coney Island one (which was also in a park called Dreamland). It has a feel of the Wild West, a criss-crossing timber framework like American The Margate Dreamland Scenic Railway running in 2016 (Photo: Peet13, Wikimedia)
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