Big nibs at Newhaven - 2

It's late January 2024, and I've made a special point of seeing what the developer did with the former Parker Pen European management HQ and manufacturing site at Newhaven. I was in for a pleasant surprise.

I had thought that there would either be no link with the old use of the site, or merely a token reference to it - in the name of a road or building perhaps. I was expecting a series of industrial buildings in the modern 'warehouse' style. What I saw instead was a rather attractive affordable-housing estate - already fully occupied - nicely finished off with planting and green areas and some beautiful street furniture that went much further than strictly necessary to remind residents and visitors - and the town at large - that a nationally important factory had once existed here. I was impressed. 

I parked Sophie and walked around to take the place in.

I've passed over the entrance to the development for the moment - you'll soon see it. While driving in, and looking for a place to park, I noticed that I was on Parker Drive. And I passed street signs for Arrow Lane and Fountain Row.

Arrow Lane was obviously referencing the iconic arrow clip that Parker put, in one form or another, on all its pens. Fountain Row clearly brought to mind 'fountain pen'. And a bit further along was Sonnet Drive. 

The Sonnet was (and still is) a popular Parker fountain pen. 

Right where I was parked was an information panel that explained the timeline for the Parker Pen manufacturing here, and the aims of the development. Click on any of these shots to enlarge them.

They'd called the development Safford Park, in memory of Parker's founder in the nineteenth century. 

The estate was still new, and on the whole it seemed clear that its residents were being careful to keep it looking that way. 'Affordable housing' isn't actually cheap, and if you have paid a small fortune to own one of these modern housing units, there is an incentive to look after them. There was a variety of building styles. I especially liked the curving take on traditional terraced houses in Arrow Lane.

But the most enjoyable part was at the entrance. 

On each side of the road into the estate - Parker Drive - was a giant stainless-steel fountain pen nib, set on a white plinth, and roughly as tall as myself. 

These were embellishments of beauty. They were almost exactly what real nibs would look like (as on the Sonnet), except that they bore the text SAFFORD PARK. They were like nib-shaped mirrors. 

Behind each of these sentinels was a line of coloured bollards, in the form of giant pen caps - with, of course, the Parker arrow clip.

It was extraordinary. What a brilliant idea. And it was all much more than I had expected to see. 

But there's even more. I had a notion (from the information panel) that the giant stainless-steel nibs might be lit up in some way at night. The opportunity to go there after dark came up last week. I'd spent the day in Kent, with Romney Marsh my main objective, and I timed my departure for home so that I'd be passing through Newhaven well after sunset. As I turned into the estate, I thought I saw a blue glimmer from the two giant nibs. I parked as before, and walked back to take a close look.

Nothing was happening with the coloured pen caps. I walked on, stood next to that white van, and looked back.

Hmm. The giant nibs seemed to have a blue light inside them that - every few seconds - flared up, then died away. I got in close and took a series of shots at mid-flare.

I couldn't see what was producing the blue light, nor how it was able to grow brighter before waning. But it lit up a line of apertures around the base of the nib, as well as the SAFFORD PARK lettering. It was rather discreet illumination, all said. In any event, a very nice touch. 

Quite possibly this is the prettiest thing in Newhaven just now. I'm hoping that rival developments will try to cap it, so that bit by bit Newhaven becomes more attractive as a rather cool and chic place to live. I hear that the large quayside scrapyard further down the road is being moved to a bigger site on the Thames estuary, freeing up the land for fresh use. An opportunity then.