It’s true. Revered artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman’s beautiful cottage is under threat from a private sale. The fisherman’s cottage embodies all that Jarman stood for. When he moved to Dungeness with his partner, Keith Collins, it was a relatively desolate place in the shadow of a nuclear power station. Jarman famously said in Derek Jarman’s Garden (1995) “The bleakness of Prospect Cottage was what had made me fall in love with it.” Like everything that the man did, he turned this overlooked part of the world into a beautiful artistic oasis. His home and garden were an extension of his artistic expression, defiant and thoughtful in equal measure. Jarman sadly died of AIDS in 1994 and now his physical legacy is threatened.

A group of his friends have gathered to try and save the cottage and give it a life that Jarman would have approved of. Opening it up to artistic residences, so that artists can touch the spirit of the man and be inspired. This seems particularly in keeping with the beautiful soul that lived here. Keeping it open for the public to visit, with lectures and events, would keep Jarman’s spirit and memory alive. Please join the creative community in saving Prospect Cottage.