Marconi's Wireless Shed At Dungeness — Julian Calverley

Dungeness is a curious and beautiful place. For years it has attracted artists, architects, writers, photographers and wildlife lovers. It is notably famous too for Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage and garden.

I made my first trip there in June of 2006 and was fascinated with what I saw.

A vast desert of shingle, with abandoned fisherman’s huts and strange buildings dotted about the place. The area was punctuated by a lighthouse and in the distance, the ever present Dungeness nuclear power station.

There was one particular structure that caught my eye, and that I became particularly drawn to, which was reached by walking across what looked like railway sleepers. I recently discovered it was known as ‘Marconi’s Wireless Shed’ and it had a rather fascinating story.

Marconi’s Wireless Shed, Dungeness, Romney Marsh, England - June 2006.

““About 100 yards from the present lighthouse, is a dilapidated old wooden shed in a forlorn state on the shingle. It was here that Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of radio, conducted his tests in Dungeness in the 1890s””

For three days I returned trying to make some photographs that conveyed the feeling of this mysterious place, and for three days I was met with nothing but clear blue sky. It just didn’t feel right.

On the day I was due to travel home I set my alarm for 4am and headed back for one last attempt. It was worth that one last try. The sky, the mood, the feeling I had simply standing there on the shingle… was perfect.

A little history, courtesy of the Romney Marsh web site…

“About 100 yards from the present lighthouse is an dilapidated old wooden shed in a forlorn state on the shingle. It was here that Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of radio, conducted his tests in Dungeness in the 1890s.

Built around the late 1890's, Marconi used the shed for research and development in the transmitting of radio signals. His goal was to use radio waves to create a practical system of "wireless telegraphy", the transmission of telegraph messages without using connecting wires. In 1899 Marconi became the first person to send a message across the English Channel. NB It is not clear whether this was from Dungeness.

Later, the site was used by the Decca Navigator Company as a research station. At the time, the site consisted of a wooden hut surrounded by a high fence. The hut had radar mounting platforms on the roof and the site was used for testing radars in uncluttered surroundings not available at other Decca installations…”

Note - The strangely proportioned Marconi shed has now been demolished and replaced by a rather striking and contemporary dwelling. All that remains are the concrete posts that held the fencing and barbed wire. In fact many of the buildings are now privately owned and converted to homes, so the place has a very different vibe and you can’t wander freely in the way you used to be able to.

Available now in the Print Shop in the form of an unframed 20”x16” Archival pigment print.

16.5x12 inch (40.5x30.5cm) image area, on 20x16 inch (51x40.5 cm) paper.

The print is made on Platinum Cotton 305gsm paper. Signed, numbered and embossed with Julian’s studio blind stamp. From an edition of 50.

You can find more work from the series here, all of which can be made available as prints on request.

View Print Details Here