New £3,000 Prize Will Support Kent History Research

A £3,000 prize is being offered to the author of the best thesis on any aspect of the archaeology or history of Kent. The Kent Archaeological Society’s new Hasted Prize aims to encourage scholars to choose Kentish studies for their research, and to promote publications that will advance knowledge of the County’s past.

It will be awarded for the first time during the KAS’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2007.

The Society is seeking original, eye-catching work that will shed new light on the history of Kent, or areas of London that were once part of the County.

Any relevant master’s or doctoral thesis that has been successfully examined by a university, college or other higher education institute in 2005 or 2006 can be submitted for the award, provided that it is accompanied by a recommendation from the thesis supervisor and the names of its examiners.

The deadline for the competition is 31 May. The winner will be announced in August and the prize will be presented during the society’s Sesquicentennial Dinner at the University of Kent in Canterbury in September. £1,000 will go directly to the successful author; the remaining £2,000 will help pay for the winning thesis to be published as a book.

The author will be able to choose between having the book published by Heritage Marketing and Publications or by a university or academic press. This will ensure that it will become accessible to the public and not be confined to the shelves of a university library.

The Hasted Prize will be a biennial award. The second will be presented in September 2009 for the best thesis submitted during 2007 or 2008.

The prize is named in honour of Edward Hasted (1732–1812), one of Kent’s most celebrated historians, author of The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent.

Full details of the Hasted Prize can be obtained from Dr James M. Gibson, Secretary, KAS Publications Committee