‘Chip on Your Shoulder’
October 2020- November 2020
About:
Our first exhibition, Chip on Your Shoulder, took place in October-November 2020 and looked at the poor conditions of naval ship-builders alongside the extractive and violent histories of enslavement as a trajectory of exploitation and violence that links communities often seen as separate and has important consequences for the area today.
The 'Chip on Your Shoulder' exhibition was developed by Deptford People’s Heritage Museum in partnership with The Lenox Project and supported by the Naval Dockyard Society.
Where does the phrase ‘A Chip on Your Shoulder’ originate?
The term ‘A Chip on Your Shoulder’ comes from the Deptford Dockyards. Many people came here looking for work, often there was no paid work available or the payment would be very late to arrive. So as a form of payment it was agreed that workers could take large heavy planks of wood or ‘chips’ as payment. They took as many planks as they could carry. So, the term comes from having to carry a heavy load on your shoulders to survive in the world. `
Did You Know?
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That
Deptford was once home to the first Royal Dockyard.
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The
Main Gates of the dockyard is on plough way opposite the Evelyn Children’s
Centre.
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During the reign of Henry
VIII the Dockyard was a site for building, repairing and supplying both commercial ships and
the royal navy.
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Sir
Frances Drake operated on these dockyards and Queen Elizabeth knighted him here.
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James
Cook’s expeditions to Australia came from the docks.
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Important
port for trade with the East India Company.
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Connected
to the slave trade with John Hawkins using it as a base for his operations.
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Samuel
Pepys made a living insuring slave ships and other vessels that operated here.
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John
Evelyn became known for his restoration work here.
︎(Click here for more information)