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Craig Campbell – Kent Archaeological Society Archivist. KAS Magazine, Issue 123 (Winter 2024). Maidstone: Kent Archaeological Society.
We have had a request for help in identifying whether a painting of Santa Maria Del Compo Church in Rapallo, Northern Italy was painted by Tonbridge resident John Walter Little.
Check out the latest from Brook Rural Museum Local Stories exhibition, to which the society proudly provided images of Kentish Hop-pickers from its collection.
Craig Campbell, KAS Magazine, Issue 122 (Summer 2024). Maidstone: Kent Archaeological Society.
Did you know the Kent Archaeological Society library, based at Maidstone Museums holds thousands of books, maps, manuscripts and academic journals covering the ancient county of Kent & beyond, accessible by appointment.
The Manorial Documents Register (MDR) is the official index to English and Welsh manorial records and provides brief descriptions of documents and details of their locations in public and private hands. The National Archives at Kew now provide online access to this resource. Manorial documents include court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and books of every description relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor.
The Library is currently involved in a project to digitise the estate plans held within the Gordon Ward archives.
Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder was born c.1503 and died 1542. The son of Sir Henry Wyatt, he became a Sheriff of Kent in 1522, and by 1524 held positions at court, including that of Privy Councillor. He undertook foreign diplomatic missions from 1526, becoming High Marshal in Calais from 1528 – 30, achieving a knighthood in 1535.
The KAS collection includes a number of Twysden/Twisden family portraits that are currently housed at Bradbourne House. When, in November 1937 Sir John Ramskill Twisden died leaving no heir these portraits were bequeathed mainly to the Kent Archaeological Society, with others going to the National Portrait Gallery.
Reports from the "Hoo Peninsula Historic Landscape Project" are currently available to download online, via the Historic England website.
British History Online provides a digital version of "A history of the County of Kent: volume 2", originally published in 1926. This volume deals with the religious houses of Kent, including accounts of the early history of Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals.
A collection of monograph titles have been opened up in their entirety, free to view, during October.
I came across this video (slightly dated) on the weekend where the London and Surrey 'Earth Mysteries' groups have a day trip around some of the Kentish prehistoric sites.
For a short period of time the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names has made its database available for free. "This huge, new dictionary is the ultimate reference work on family names of the UK, covering English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames. It includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers, and those that had more than 20 bearers in the 1881 census."
The National Archives are making digital records available on their website free of charge for as long as our Kew site is closed to visitors. Registered users will be able to order and download up to ten items at a time, to a maximum of 50 items over 30 days. The limits are there to try and help manage the demand for content and ensure the availability of our digital services for everyone.
In response to the challenges created by the global public health crisis of COVID-19, Project MUSE is pleased to support its participating publishers in making scholarly content temporarily available for free on our platform. With many higher education institutions moving into an exclusively online learning environment for the foreseeable future, we hope that easy access to vetted research in the humanities and social sciences, from a variety of distinguished university presses, societies, and related not-for-profit publishers, will help to support teaching, learning, and knowledge discovery for users worldwide.
The UK has rainfall records dating back 200 years or so, but the vast majority of these are in handwritten form and can't easily be used to analyse past periods of flooding and drought. The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to transfer all the data into online spreadsheets. You're not required to rummage through old bound volumes as the Met Office has already scanned the necessary documents - all 65,000 sheets.
The Government has recently published advice on how copyright laws will change in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The library will certainly be affected by changes to the management of 'orphan work' images. See the paragraph below for details. If this comes to pass the Library will create a new policy to apply to those requesting the use of orphan works from within our collection.
British History Online provides online access to "The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent", volumes 1 to 12, by Edward Hasted and originally published in 1797.
British History Online provides access to the 12 volumes in the series titled ‘The history and topographical survey of the County of Kent‘. The volumes, originally published by W. Bristow in 1797, are by Edward Hasted and include a general account of the history, topography and natural history of Kent.
Pernille Richards, Hon. Librarian, 2015, KAS Newsletter, Issue 102 (Winter 2015), Maidstone: Kent Archaeological Society.
Following on from our email sent on the 28th June 2024, we have to remind you that we have made the decision to make Archaeologia Cantiana a digital publication from 2025 starting with volume 146.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
What a fascinating archaeological find from Kent! The wonderful Early Medieval Kingsdown Brooch, currently on housed at National Museums Liverpool as part of the Faussett Collection.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
Gill Bromley is gathering reminiscences which will be passed to Smarden Local History Society for the archives.
A sixth-century sword described as "astonishing" has been discovered at an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Kent.
The KAFS year for 2024, Training Week, The Day of Pagan Rituals, Books for Christmas - 5-star ratings by KAFS, Events for 2025 and more...
In 2025 the Archaeology Research Group (ARG) is proposing to host its annual fieldwork forum with the theme of Challenges Facing Kent’s Archaeology.
RMR are a people-centered strategy, research, and evaluation specialist company. They are working on behalf of Medway council to create a database of all the heritage assets in Medway. RMR are asking people who know about heritage assets in Medway to fill in their online form to capture as much information as possible.
A report on the Kent Place Names Conference held at Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone on 19th October 2024.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Center for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
As we approach the festive season, why not get your young budding artists involved in designing a Christmas logo for the society!
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
A suspected ‘witch bottle’ unearthed at a house in Cliftonville has now been scanned at Canterbury Christ Church University and found to contain objects including a collection of metal pins or staples and a cylindrical object which may be a piece of bone or wood.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
The KAS Maritime Kent Research Group reports on The Kent Shipbuilding Conference held at Chatham Historic Dockyard on the 7th and 8th November 2024.
The latest E-Newsletter from the Surrey Archaeological Society is available on their website.
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) have published their latest research bulletin which focused on the state of grassroots Archaeology across Britain.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
The Christmas 2024 Newsletter is now available to subscribers of the Kent Archaeological Society Field School (KAFS). Subscribe via their website.
Professor Cyprian Broodbank remembers Professor Lord Colin Renfrew, founding Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and former Master of Jesus College, who passed away at the weekend aged 87.
The Society has decided to join other archaeologists, museum professionals and heritage organisations over on Bluesky.
We are proud to announce that the Society has successfully secured a grant from the Kent County Council (KCC) Combined Member Grant Scheme, thanks to the recommendation of County Councillor Alan Ridgers.
The Allen Grove Fund committee of the Kent Archaeology Society is pleased to congratulate Jonathan Tickle on his prize-winning article: Changing Queenships in 10th Century England: Rhetoric and (Self) Representation in the Case of Eadgifu at Kent in Cooling.
Craig Campbell, currently our Society’s Archivist, will be stepping into the role of Editor for the KAS Magazine.
The Society has successfully secured a grant of £40,000 for the groundbreaking archaeological project titled "Silence of the Sentinels: The Violent End of Roman Britain's Coastal Defences c. 400 AD" in North Yorkshire.
The latest update by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
Report by Vanessa Sanderson, Jason Mazzocchi and Kieron Hoyle on the Shipbuilding conference at Chatham Dockyard organised jointly by KAS Maritime Kent Research Group and Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. Featured on the Centre for Kent History blog at the Canterbury Christ Church University website.
The Council is excited to announce the start of a new project to create a Heritage Strategy for the Borough and everyone is invited to get involved.
![Photograph and Postcard collections of Gordon Reginald Ward, M.D., F.S.A., 1885-1962](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65df7835178a9d2b20f8d501/1718879535137-F6JMYLGOGCWI92F7R498/53803717406_2374f9188d_o.jpg)
Photograph and Postcard collections of Gordon Reginald Ward, M.D., F.S.A., 1885-1962
The Gordon Ward archive collection of ephemera is held by the Society and forms the basis of the Archive to which additional material has been added over the years.
Brian Philp. KAS Magazine, Issue 123 (Winter 2024). Maidstone: Kent Archaeological Society.