A Sheppey landmark has been chosen as one of 10 objects which are being used to tell a history of Kent.

Just months after the historic dockyard was placed on the World Monuments Fund’s World Monuments Watch for 2010 list, the Victorian anchor in High Street, Blue Town, has been chosen by the BBC for its latest project.

Along with nine other objects from around the county, the anchor will tell the story of Kent’s history and its place in the world.

A History of Kent is part of the wider A History of the World project, which is a partnership between the BBC, the British Museum and 350 museums and institutions across the country.

The anchor has been chosen because Sheerness Dockyard played a unique part in the history of the anchor.

The dockyard was the only place in the world where anchor trials took place. In 1852 anchors from around the world were brought to the dockyard to be tested to find the best design.

Jenny Hurkett, who runs the Blue Town Heritage Centre, has set up an exhibition of anchors, including information about the trials, at the centre.

She said the importance of the Island’s place in anchor history only came to her attention when Andy Brown, from the Rotary Club of Minster-on-Sea, donated some prints about the trials which appeared in the Illustrated London News.

This in turn led to a donation of two anchors from the docks and has all tied in with the heritage centre taking part in the Big Anchor Project, which aims to document anchors from all around the world.

The idea of A History of Kent is to give people the opportunity to learn more about where they live through objects connected to its development and place in the world.

BBC Radio Kent listeners will be able to suggest further objects that have a local or global appeal, and it is hoped that by the end of February each BBC local website will have an additional People’s 10 objects.

Mrs Hurkett said: “What’s exciting is that anchors have been used on ships for the past 4,000 years – it was the first safety device man ever had and you can trace technology through anchors.

"We would like a proper anchor museum here and we are hoping to recreate a working model of the trials so people can test anchors."

• The Dover Bronze Age Boat – Dover Museum
• Pudding Pan Pots – Canterbury City Museums
• Haida ritual mask – Maidstone Museum
• Tunbridge ware work table – Tunbridge Wells Museum
• The Maudslay forming machine – Chatham Historic Dockyard.
• Ceremonial club and axe – Rochester Guildhall Museum
• Ethiopian triptych – Powell-Cotton Museum, Birchington
• First World War leather football – Princess of Wales’s Royal Regimental Museum, Dover Castle.
• Needlework box – Eden Valley Museum, Edenbridge

All the objects are on display at the relevant museums.