Silk River

10 Day Count Down – East Tilbury

10 Day Count Down – East Tilbury

On September 13, 2017, Posted by , With Comments Off on 10 Day Count Down – East Tilbury

Oh my goodness, it’s day 9 of our 10 day count down!  Well what a treat we have for you today!  The Bata Heritage Centre are leading the walk to give you real insight into the buildings and local history, and very generously they have agreed to provide real props for the performance.

But I’m sure the Complete Commedia Company will take good care of them as they share their comic retelling of the Bata story.  This is a rare performance, so don’t miss it!

Read more, see the route map and book your place here: 23rd Sept – East Tilbury

Silk River is a journey of surprises from Kew to Southend, with speakers, music, performances and lots of walking!

The whole UK walking programme can be viewed here:  UK Walks

There are still a few places left on the India Walks, for more info go here:  India Walks


Very special thanks go to the Bata Heritage Centre who are leading this walk and providing props for the performance!

The Bata Heritage Centre in East Tilbury promotes the substantial social and architectural legacy left by Bata in the area. They keep the memory of Bata alive through guided tours, lectures and an exhibition space within East Tilbury library. They also work closely with other heritage sites in the area including Coalhouse Fort, built to defend the Thames, and St Catherine’s Church, which marks a historically significant pilgimage route to Kent.

There is a Bata connection to Kolkata as the company also built a workers factory and settlement there in Batanagar. With Batanagar under threat, we are interested in preserving any connections with India so that this memory is not lost.

Through the Silk River project the Bata Heritage Centre hope to raise the international connections and profile of East Tilbury as a surviving and thriving modernist village built by Bata – one of many across the world.


Huge thanks are also extended to the Complete Commedia Company, performing the Cobblers Tale.

The Complete Commedia Company is a collaboration of perfomers who specialise in performance of Commedia dell’Arte in the south east of England and who excel at bringing local history to life.  They were the stars of the show for Thurrock 100 2017!

The Cobbler’s Tale is an original piece of outdoor theatre based on Tomas Bata’s inspirational ambitions for the East of Thurrock.  The Complete Commedia Company have a lot of fun with the characters as their story echos contemporary events in this tale told with the help of the Bata Heritage Centre. It will be performed as part of an animated stroll around the Bata estate which, thanks to its founder, is a surprising example of East European Modernist architecture.



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