Catalogue Transfer Project Update on Phase 2 Progress

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Issue 17, Spring 2020 Some of the local history books follow- ing covering, labelling and barcoding. Catalogue Transfer Project Update on phase 2 progress

Kent Archives and Local History service staff [left-right] Soniya, Pippa, Anne and John, hard at work in the Archive searchroom covering local history books.

As advertised in the Winter 2019 edition of the Archives@Kent newsletter, Kent Archives closed to the public for two weeks from 9-26 December 2019 so that we could make further progress with the second phase of our catalogue transfer project.

In order to prepare our archive and local history collections for our online document ordering system, we need to ensure that our collections are as accessible as possible. For the archivists, this meant checking the structure of our existing electronic catalogues to identify any errors that would prevent them from displaying correctly online and render them unorderable. Over the two weeks we were able to check and correct over 1500 catalogues. This left us with a further 1345 catalogues left to check, although we have already managed to reduce this to less than 1100.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team concentrated upon preparing the rare book collection. Our initial target was to cover, barcode, label and locate 1350 rare books. In fact, during the two weeks we covered and barcoded an additional 1500 local history books, repackaged and barcoded 700 pamphlets and located a further 1100 rare books. We still have a lot more work to do to prepare the local history collection for online ordering, namely barcoding and locating 404 oversize rare books, approximately 55 more boxes of pamphlets, 29 more bays of the main local history collection and 24 more bays of the oversize main book collection. When this work is achieved, it will open up our fascinating local history collection to many more users.

Newly Catalogued Collections at Kent Archives Search these and other records using our online catalogue Hamilton House School, Tunbridge Wells, and West Farleigh Cricket and Football Teams, 1929-2000 [U4133] Hamilton House Girls' School was founded in 1860 in Tunbridge Wells and had closed by 1971. In 1936, the School moved to Speldhurst. This collection consists of copies of the school magazine, ‘The Hamiltoni- an’, covering the periods 1929-1938 and 1965-1968; a school reunion brochure from 2001; postcards de- picting the pupils performing Shakespeare plays; and two full school photographs from 1930 and 1934. The school magazine offers an insight into school life, recording news from Old Girls of the school, including births, marriages and deaths; school events and prize-giving; the results of examinations and games; and accounts of school trips from a period when this entailed visiting the South Eastern Gas Board or local elec- tricity showroom in Tunbridge Wells!

A trip to the South Eastern Gas Board recorded in the 1967/8 edition of The Hamiltonian school magazine [U4133/1/1/29]. Also donated with the collection were photographs of West Farleigh Cricket XI, 1936-2000, and West Far- leigh Football XI, 1935-1936.

Kent Small Schools Association, 1987-2004 [U4165] Kent Small Schools Association was formed in 1986 to support those schools in the county that had less than 100 pupils (later 150 pupils). The Association initially ran twice-yearly conferences in the autumn and summer terms which covered staff training needs and teaching techniques, whilst providing invaluable net- working opportunities. The frequency of the conference was later amended to once a year as attendance reduced due to the pressures faced in sustaining small schools. The Association also maintained close links with counterpart Associations in other counties, including Devon, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Derby- shire. This collection contains AGM minutes and committee minutes; annual conference programmes; survey reports; and newsletters. The Association was wound up circa 2005 but unfortunately no minutes survive to record this decision.

Additional Charing and Local History Society Collec- tions: Title deeds for 30 High Street, Charing, 1715-1834, and visitors’ book for The Swan Hotel, Charing, 1880- 1919 [U3648 addn.] These documents supplement the existing Charing and District Local History Society Collections and include title deeds relating to 30 High Street, Charing with accompanying transcripts, and letters and wills relating to members of the Hutton and Barwick families and other Charing residents. Also included is a visitors’ book from the Swan Ho- tel, Charing, covering the period 1880-1919. It includes entries from various bicycle clubs that visited the Hotel, often with the crest of their club drawn next to the entry, as well as many doodles added by travel- One of the illustrations contained in the lers. Visitors’ Book of the Swan Hotel, Charing [U3648/Z57]. Reminiscences inspired by the visitors’ book for The Swan Hotel, Charing, 1880-1919 [U3648/Z57] Helen Wicker, Archive Service Officer Archive collections contain significant social and cultural records that can be evocative of both personal and collective memory. The newly-catalogued visitors’ book from the Swan Hotel, Charing, represents just such an item. In this article, retired fourth-generation auctioneer and surveyor, Michael Peters, tells us about how entries in the visitors’ book relating to his paternal grandfather, Hedley Peters, recalled family memories. As a keen local historian involved in the production of books on Sittingbourne’s High Street and East Street, he also demonstrates how these entries elucidate the networks that underpinned the town’s business and social communities. Michael Peters’ memories: 25 August 1882 P. H. Bishop and H. Peters, Gore Court B. C. and B. T. C. – en route from Coventry to Margate – stopped for breakfast which was thoro’ly enjoyed after run from Maidstone.

Sept. 27 1882 The five undersigned Members of the Gore Court B. C. enjoyed a jolly tea after a heavy run on the Faversham and Canterbury Roads – H. P. carved bread in his usual style. G. G. Crapnell – Captain P. H. Bishop – Hon. Sec. Hedley Peters Frank Peters F. G. Parrett

My paternal grandfather, Hedley Peters, is first mentioned in the two entries above written in 1882. The Clubs are the Gore Court Bicycle Club of Sittingbourne and the Bicycle Touring Club. My grandfather was a keen cyclist. He owned a penny-farthing, which, on one occa- sion, he rode all the way up Boughton Hill – non-stop! We have a photograph of him standing proudly beside the bike. Later on, he was noted as being the first cyclist in Sittingbourne to have pneumatic tyres. It is amazing that my grandfather and Phil Bishop were cycling from Coventry to Margate, stopping for breakfast at Charing ‘after run from Maidstone’; that must have been quite a journey. The comment in the second entry on 27th September 1882 – ‘HP carved bread in his usual style’ – intrigues me. I wonder what ‘his usual style’ was?! Phil Bishop, as Honorary Secretary of the Gore Court club, wrote both entries in 1882, which is confirmed by comparison with his sig- nature. He was employed by Sittingbourne's registrar. The two families were very pally; in later years, he was my grandfather's Lieuten- ant in Sittingbourne Fire Brigade. I can identify almost all of the other signatories in the entry. Frank Peters was my grandfather's younger brother; they worked together in the firm founded by their father John Peters, auctioneer and house furnisher. Fred Parrett was editor of the Isle of Thanet Gazette from 1909. As the local recruiting officer for the Buffs, it might have been Hedley Peters with his penny-farthing and ca- he who recruited my father in 1914. I regret that I cannot identify the nine friend [private collection of Michael Peters]. 1882 captain of the Club, Mr Crapnell, but there was a lady of that sur- name living in Sittingbourne in 1908. Reminiscences inspired by the visitors’ book for The Swan Hotel, Charing, 1880-1919 [U3648/Z57]

7th May 1915 After many weary years, we were reminded of our youthful escapades [?!!] See Page – 1882 &c. &c. but came again to see ‘The Swan’ and enjoyed a cup of the beverage which cheers. (? loud cheers) Eggs ad lib: Grandma had 3!! [A thing of the past] Annie E. Easton Hilda M. I. Ind Hedley Peters Lizzie M. Peters

The handwriting of this later entry tells me that it was made by my grandfather. Hedley and Lizzie were my father's parents. In 1915 they would have celebrated the 25th anniversary of their marriage. My grand- mother’s father was Henry Packham, one of the founders of Wills and Packham bargebuilder and brickmak- ers. Annie E. Easton would have been intrigued to visit the Swan at Charing. In 1881, she and her husband Dan had moved from Ashford to Sittingbourne, where Dan established himself in business. Dan's business thrived. His son, Montague, bought John Peters's business from my great-uncle Frank; evidently the families had been friendly for many years. Noting the jocular reference to ‘Grandma’ I can confirm that, by 1915, Annie Easton's son Monty had produced at least one of his two sons, both of whom went into the family business. Hilda M. I. Ind was Monty Easton's sister (and Annie's daughter). She had married Dr Charles Ind. In 1915, in the middle of World War I, I note the ‘ad lib’ that Annie Easton had devoured three eggs, and the subsequent pencil comment ‘a thing of the past’. Rationing was introduced from 1918 to counter increasingly severe food shortages in Britain. The Swan Hotel in Charing High Street that my grandparents visited is no longer in situ. However, evidence that the village was a cyclists’ stopping-point remains. In the High Street, at the bottom of the hill, there is an old building bearing a wall plaque from those days – a bicycle with the initials CTC – Cyclists Touring Club. My parents used to shy away from hotels and restaurants with that badge which they regarded as an indication that the accommodation offered in the establishment was basic rather than comfortable. When I was young, public houses of that era, on main roads, were known generically as road-houses - their function being to serve motorists as well as locals. Between the wars, my father loved to drive fast along that stretch of road between Charing and Lenham where, sometimes, he was able to achieve the dizzying speed of 60 miles an hour. He also enjoyed making trips along the "Arterial Road" to Thanet. Along that route, his first port of call was the Duke of Kent – another roadhouse, sadly, now demolished. My grandfather never learned to drive a motor car, but my father, having learnt in Egypt to fly an aeroplane, returned to Kent after the war and learned to drive surface vehicles. He acquired that skill at the wheel of a Vulcan motor-tractor which his father had, as captain of the local Fire Brigade, acquired to tow Sittingbourne's steam fire engine. From about 1915 onwards, cart- horses were in short supply, because so many had been shipped off to the Western front – as retold in Michael Morpurgo’s moving story War Horse. [Anyone wishing to learn more about the Sit- tingbourne families mentioned in this article, can borrow copies of Sittingbourne Heritage Museum local history publications at Sittingbourne Library A postcard from the 1920s featuring the original Swan Hotel in Charing or purchase copies direct from the Museum]. High Street [ref. CHR 54]. Note the wrought iron swan decoration visible at first floor level.

The 200-year Anniversary of the Trial of Queen Caroline of Brunswick Jennifer House, Archive Collection Assistant

200 years ago, the inhabitants of Tenterden were moved to petition the King, George IV, to denounce ‘those unconstitutional and disgusting proceedings, which have been pursued respecting her Majesty the Queen’ [U221/O/4]. In 1820, ill feeling towards the new King was growing, and an opposition campaign rallied around his estranged wife, Caroline of Bruns- wick, in the face of George’s petitions to divorce her. The King was perceived to be extravagant at a time of economic strain and ministerial corruption, and he had made no secret of having many mistresses and even a previous marriage to Maria Fitzherbert that had been ruled void under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. When Caroline returned from living abroad in June 1820 to claim her crown as Queen Consort, the King pressured Lord Liverpool’s Tory government into intro- ducing a Bill of Pains and Penalties that would permit an annulment of the marriage and deny Caroline her title. The Queen was effectively put on trial, as Lord Stanhope’s summons to the House of Lords to attend the reading of the Bill on 17 August 1820 reveals [U1590/C120/4]. Proceedings focused on her alleged relationship with her secretary, Bartolomeo Pergami, neatly supressing any opportunity for the King’s behaviour to equally be brought under scrutiny.

The resulting public and political backlash is docu- mented in a number of sources held at Kent Archives. In January 1821, Mary, Countess Erne wrote of the Petition to George IV from the town of Tenterden, 1820 [U221/ Attorney-General's speech at the Queen's trial, ‘it cer- O/4]. As well as defending the Queen, they also appeal for tainly is most admirable. It is I think quite impossible more government support for the poor by making ‘evident the suffering of the labouring classes in all parts of the country… that anybody who heard that speech should really [who are] out of employment’. have remained in the least degree doubtful of the Queen's guilt’ [U1612/C3/2/1].

In a letter to Frances, Marchioness of Londonderry, Sir Henry Hardinge is equally biting in his condemnation of Caroline: ‘The fury and faction of this woman’s conduct is as bad as her profli- gacy—treason proclaims her its hero- ine—heresy has her for its advo- cate’ [U840/C52/1].

Part of Henry Hardinge’s letter to Frances, Marchioness of Londonderry, where he de- rides Caroline and expresses his frustration at her popular support: ‘I won’t fatigue you with my indignation, the mischief having been done & almost irreparable’ [U840/C52/1]. The 200-year Anniversary of the Trial of Queen Caroline of Brunswick Jennifer House, Archive Collection Assistant

Opinion was divided, though, and the Queen still enjoyed considerable sympathy as a popular figurehead. Despite his scorn, Henry Hardinge was forced to admit the futility of contradicting public opinion: ‘as if the Populace with their present feelings of discontent…care one jot whether the Q[ueen] be innocent or guilty – their aim has been to fight their Battle under her standard...they are under a delusion of an honest nature’ [U840/C52/1].

EK/U1453/Z49/3 likewise records the loyalty of Margate’s residents, effusively praising the Queen’s handling of the evidence brought against her:

We…view with the greatest detestation and contempt, the unconstitutional Bill of Pains and Pen- alties…and particularly the matter in which it is to be supported, by a horde of hired and despica- ble Italian witnesses, whose evidence your majesty has triumphantly refuted.

The inhabitants of Sandwich also praised Caroline for ‘the courage you have evinced in boldly meeting your ac- cusers, protesting against all secret in- vestigations, and demanding an open and constitutional tribunal’ [Sa/ZP2]. The general public’s distaste for the trial, combined with the compelling testimony given by the Whig lawyer, Henry Brougham, had escalated to such a degree by the time of the Bill’s third reading that Lord Liverpool was forced to recognise that passing it might risk the stability of his government.

The defeat of the Bill encouraged oppo- nents of the government to make demands for cost-cutting and reform, but their campaigns lost momentum as gos- sip of Caroline’s immoral behaviour spread. The death knell came when the Tory MPs showed a united front in quiet- ing Whig demands to reverse the omis- sion of Caroline’s name from the Church of England liturgy. The King famously did not give Caroline any role in his cor- onation in July 1821 and she was humil- iatingly turned away from Westminster Abbey when she tried to attend uninvit- ed. Isolated, increasingly mocked and now suffering from ill health, she died shortly after in August; a sad ending to a most public and acrimonious chapter of royal and political history.

Sa/ZP2: Poster in support of Queen Caroline from Sandwich Borough Staffing update Olivia Weekes, Project Archivist As a new starter at Kent Archives, I would like to introduce myself and explain a little of what I am working on. My name is Olivia and I started work at the Kent History and Library Centre at the beginning of Decem- ber. I am currently cataloguing a collection of 102 boxes of records related to the Channel Tunnel and the Channel Tun- nel Rail Link. These records span from c1987-1997 and include operational planning and legislative records. The collection also contains, amongst other things, over 200 reports written about the environmen- tal effects the Rail Link would have on surrounding areas; over 50 files containing hun- dreds of correspondence relating to local views on the Rail Link and the consultative pro- cess undertaken; and 146 plans created by Central Rail- ways to demonstrate their pro- posals for the Rail Link. Highlights include a wealth of maps and plans of various areas and structures, including plans for St Pancras International Station, and reports of the archaeological discoveries found on digs along the route. Alongside this cataloguing project I hope to undertake an oral history project that will collect the unheard histories of members of the community that were involved with or affected by the Channel Tunnel project. This will provide much-needed personal accounts that will enrich and diversify the narrative of this unique and momentous project. The Channel Tunnel is significant within the history of Kent, and having just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the tunnel opening, now is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the processes and people that made it happen. My previous experience with oral history projects gained during my time studying my masters at Aberystwyth University has provided me with a passion for oral history and what it can bring to a subject. I was first involved with the oral history project ‘Story of the Forest/Hanes y Goedwig’ that collected the voices of Forest- ry workers in Mid and North Wales in the late 1990s. After digitising, cataloguing, transcribing and translating from Welsh to English over one hundred interviews, I now have an understanding and appreciation for an industry I never thought I would. Through personal anecdotes and histories, I learned about the diversity and skills that existed in a community of men and women that no longer exists. Collecting these personal narra- tives is vitally important in preserving the cultural memory of communities whether big or small. Oral histories are transient and require capture before they are lost; therefore, oral history projects are an important under- taking. Audio recordings are also an incredible resource in future heritage outreach projects as they can be used in a variety of ways to encourage all members of the public, regardless of abilities, to engage in archives in new and exciting ways. As this position is my first full time archival role since I graduated and qualified as an archivist I look forward to learning everything I can from you all and growing within my role as an archivist. I thank everyone in ad- vance for their help and guidance!

Staffing update Katharine Martin, Project Archivist I have recently joined the Kent Archives and Local History Service team on a project to complete the cataloguing of the committee meeting papers of Kent County Council, 1890- 1974 (about 500 boxes altogether). The project was begun several years ago and so when I joined in December, I jumped straight into April 1956! The files generally include agendas for meetings, correspondence, reports, and memo- randa discussing the policies and decisions being made at local level, as well as the interpretation of new legislation filtering down from central government. The papers make for fascinating reading. They provide insight into what was happening in Kent in these years, re- flecting the day-to-day concerns of the people of the county and the efforts of those working hard to represent their best interests, as well as what was going on both in Britain and the world at the time. The 1950s are proving interesting as the country began to enjoy an era of growth and prosperity after the post-war years of austerity; however, the troubling events of 1956 on the world stage are discernible in the meeting papers. Indeed, it was a challenge for committee members to simply attend meetings and go about their du- ties due to the petrol rationing caused by the Suez Crisis [CC/PC/1/3894]. It is also interesting to read about the efforts made by the Health Committee’s Residential Services Sub-Committee to home Hungarian refugees in Kent in the wake of the Hungarian Uprising of October 1956 [CC/ PC/1/3882]. The Civil Defence Committee meeting papers also provide a stark reminder of the times. During their meeting on 29 June Arrangements for Hungarian refugees recorded in the 1956 the success of Exercise ‘Flash Bang III’ is reported. Health Committee Residential Services Sub-Committee Carried out by the Sheppey Sub-Division on 14 April 1956, it meeting papers for 1 Jan 1957 [CC/PC/1/3882]. was ‘designed to practise all sections of the Sub-Division and elements of Industrial Civil Defence in an area of light damage resulting from a nuclear bomb burst over a nearby town’ [CC/PC/1/3738]. Towards the end of the decade, concern is repeatedly expressed over falling numbers of volunteers and the struggle to recruit, re- flecting the sense that although now at peace, the country should be ready to deal with the very real threat of nuclear war. Another interesting aspect of working on the papers is seeing how familiar and topical many of the concerns of local citizens were to those that are expressed today. For instance, in the Council’s meeting papers, I am always curious to see the questions put to the various committees and answers given: concern over class sizes of over 30 children in schools, the cost to the taxpayer of transporting children to secondary schools some distance from their homes and the dental health of schoolchildren are just a few examples of questions which could easily be asked of the Council today. My favourite so far though is this strongly worded enquiry posed at the Council’s meeting on 15 May 1957: Are any special steps now operating in the schools of Kent to encourage the “Keep Britain Tidy” campaign and to persuade every child that to leave paper, empty cartons and other refuse lying about is a disgustingly offensive thing to do? [CC/PC/1/4007] Concern expressed in the meeting papers of the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee over coastal pro- tection, over-fishing and pollution of fishing waters, as well as alarm expressed over the radioactivity in food- stuffs in the Food and Drugs, Weights and Measures Etc. Committee papers, suggest that the fears we as- sume are new to us were just as worrying 60+ years ago! This collection will no doubt prove to be a rich resource for those interested in the social, political and economic history of Kent and I am excited to be working to make the collection accessible to all. Kent Archives’ Monday Lunchtime History Talks During the Coronavirus Restrictions In spite of the Kent History and Library Centre’s temporary closure we are still hoping to host some talks and make them available publicly. We will be offering these online, though as a shorter series than the one originally intended for delivery live in the Archives Search Room. Links will be made available at www.kentarchives.org.uk and by circulation to everyone signed up to our events and newsletter mailing lists. If you would like to be added to either of the mailing lists, then please email [email protected] as soon as you can. Further talks will, hopefully, still take place in autumn/winter 2020 or early 2021, depending on the lifting of social distancing and lockdown conditions and individual speaker availability. Watch out for an update in the Summer issue of this newsletter.

8 May 2020: Kent Archives and Local History Service, ‘Kent voices from VE Day’ To celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, we are preparing a recording featuring readings of personal diary entries, local newspaper articles, parish magazine items and local government literature from 1945 that describe the experiences of VE Day and VJ Day in Kent. All of the sources featured are held in the Kent Archive and Local History collections.

1 June 2020: Isaac Naylor, ‘Dunkirk and East Kent’

In a talk arranged to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of Operation Dynamo, our speaker will exam- ine the contribution of East Kent, within the wider story of what Churchill later described as a ‘miracle of deliverance’, with particular attention paid to the epic saga of the little ships and the invaluable support of the local population.

15 June 2020: Jennifer Godfrey, ‘Suffragettes of Kent’

Hear the story of Maidstone-born Ethel Violet Baldock, the part Maidstone Prison played in forcible feeding, and the reception that greeted Mrs Charlotte Despard when she visited the town.

Kent History and Library Centre, James Whatman Way, Maidstone, ME14 1LQ Telephone: 03000 420673 If you have any comments regarding this newsletter please contact: [email protected]