Kent Archives

22/05/2026

📣 Announcing our next lunchtime talk – Monday 8th June, 1-2pm:
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'Hidden in plain sight: silk textiles in medieval charters' presented by Sue Lamberton (Independent scholar)
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📍 Venue: Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone, ME14 1LQ
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About the talk:
What comes to mind first, at first glance of an ancient document or book? That it’s an incredible survivor? That the handwriting is tiny, beautiful, or in an unfamiliar language? That it may be embellished with illuminated letters with gorgeous colours of deep pigments and burnished gold? That there’s a surviving seal or even multiple seals? For the textile lover however, focus on these wonderful things can fade when encountering the tantalising addition of an original ribbon, braid or embroidered seal bag and the thoughts of how, where, and by whom it was made.
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Sue Lamberton is an independent scholar with a particular interest in the silkwomen of London, who demonstrates, teaches and makes silk textiles for museums and historic sites, the performing arts industry and living history. Being part of the stewarding team at Faversham’s Charters Exhibition gives her ample opportunity to evangelise about the silk industry.
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Free to attend – reserve your seat today:
📧 [email protected]
☎️ 03000 42 06 73
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📸 Image ID: Shown here is a pendant seal with silk cords from an inspeximus of original royal letters patent dated at Westminster, 24th October, 1 Henry [V, 1413], 1423-1424 [ref. Ly/5/1/5]
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Kent Family History Society | North West Kent Family History Society | The Kent Archaeological Society | Maidstone Museums | The Institute of Conservation | British Association For Local History - BALH | Visit Maidstone | Maidstone Borough Council | Maidstone Libraries | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

19/05/2026

Have you viewed our latest document display, curated to celebrate the National Year of Reading? 📜👀
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At the heart of the campaign is a simple message — “If you're into it, read into it” — and what better way to delve into a topic of interest than at your local archive?
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With this in mind, Kent Archives is joining the effort to highlight the joys of reading, using our diverse collections to spark curiosity and take you straight to the source.
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As custodians of an estimated 9 million documents, we’re thoroughly spoilt for choice when it comes to demonstrating how locally held archives can bring the subjects you love to life. Yet for this display, we’ve chosen to shine a spotlight on original manuscripts that tell of Kent’s rich literary connections: unique records that reveal how the county and its residents have inspired, hosted, or shaped some of our most celebrated writers, be it in the most subtle or significant of ways. From Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde to Agatha Christie and Siegfried Sassoon, we hope you’ll uncover something new and feel inspired to take your reading to the next level — maybe by visiting our Search Room...
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🔎 Find our display cabinets at the entrance to our Search Room, in the Community History Area.
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📸 Image ID: Shown here are two photographs of our display cabinets, currently containing original manuscripts by the likes of John Donne, Robert Burns, Agatha Christie, Siegfried Sassoon, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen and Christopher Marlowe.
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National Literacy Trust | Department for Education | The Reading Agency | BookTrust | The Queen's Reading Room | British Library | British Association For Local History - BALH | Visit Maidstone | Maidstone Borough Council | Maidstone Libraries | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

05/05/2026

📣 Announcing our next lunchtime talk – Monday 11th May, 1-2pm:
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'The 1960s Caravan Acts and the settlement of Kent's Gypsy/Traveller communities' presented by Dr David Smith (Anglia Ruskin University)
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📍 Venue: Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone, ME14 1LQ
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About the talk:
Kent has the UK’s biggest Gypsy/Traveller population and was at the forefront of discussions and efforts over how to address the accommodation crisis facing these communities in the post-war period. This presentation will examine the impact and implementation of the 1960 and 1968 (Pt. II) Caravan Acts in Kent, focusing especially on Maidstone, and will use local authority and press sources to consider the factors determining who, where and how itinerants were accommodated and their enduring impacts at the local level.
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Dr David Smith is a Reader in Social Policy at Anglia Ruskin University. Chelmsford, Essex. His extensive research interests lie in documenting the experience of minority and underprivileged communities, including that of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers, foreign workers in the NHS, and working class localities affected by public policy and housing development. His memberships include editorial board member of Romani Studies and advisory board member of The Traveller Movement. Dr Smith’s first monograph On the Margins of Inclusion won the 2006 Social Policy Association Prize for Best New Publication. He has many other publications to his name, including a host of book chapters and journal articles. He has delivered lectures, talks and presentations to audiences around the U.K., Europe and the wider world.
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Free to attend – reserve your seat today:
📧 [email protected]
☎️ 03000 42 06 73
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📸 Image ID: Shown here is a sepia photographic negative capturing a scene of caravans and trucks parked at Steeds Lane, Kingsnorth, 13th May 1966 [collection ref. KHLC-2018/56 – Gordon Herd Collection]. Photograph copyright KM Media Group Ltd.
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Kent Family History Society | North West Kent Family History Society | The Kent Archaeological Society | Maidstone Museums | British Association For Local History - BALH | Visit Maidstone | Maidstone Borough Council | Maidstone Libraries | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

29/04/2026

Have yet to read the latest news from Kent Archives?

🗞️ Spring 2026 newsletter: www.kentarchives.org.uk/archive-newsletter/
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🔎 In this edition...

• Peruse our lunchtime talks programme for April, May and June

• Explore the life of Sir Hugh Garrard Tyrwhitt Drake (1881-1964) in our series 'Tales from the Vehicle Licensing Registers'

• Discover our newly catalogued collections including records pertaining to Payne & Son (Silversmith) Ltd. of Tunbridge Wells [fonds ref. U4094] and The Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men [fonds ref. Ch189]

• Take a detailed dive into a recent preventative conservation project concerning a collection of newly accessioned medieval deeds and later plans.
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Have yet to subscribe? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to add you to our mailing list...

📧 Email: [email protected]
☎️ Telephone: 03000 420 673
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📸 Image ID: Shown here is a photograph of Sir Hugh Garrard Tyrwhitt Drake flanked by two well-groomed horses. It's taken from the cover of his 1936 book, 'Beasts and circuses: being a few experiences during many years of wild animal keeping and intimate connection with circuses and shows' [ref. BK/C150608018]
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Kent Family History Society | North West Kent Family History Society | The Kent Archaeological Society | Maidstone Museums | British Association For Local History - BALH | Maidstone Borough Council | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

27/04/2026

A reminder of the upcoming May Bank Holiday:

🔔Opening Hours - Bank Holiday and Local Elections

Our libraries, registration offices and
the Kent Archives search room will all be closed on Monday 4 May for the Bank Holiday.

Local elections are also happening across England on Thursday 7 May. The following libraries will be used as polling stations, so there will be no library services available on the day:

o Sherwood Library
o Showfields Library

📚 There's still plenty of time to top up your reading list for the long weekend. Pop in and see us at a library near you!

📱 Don't forget our eLibrary is open 24/7. Discover thousands of free eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines with Libby, BorrowBox, ULibrary and PressReader.

👀 Explore our eLibrary apps at kent.gov.uk/elibrary

🔎 Find the latest service updates on our website at kent.gov.uk

Kent County Council

25/04/2026

A highlight from our unexpected Facebook hiatus...

To complement her studies in BA Conservation of Cultural Heritage at the University of Lincoln, early last year we welcomed Auriel Tiltman to Kent Archives for a work placement in our conservation studio.

Prior to her placement, Auriel had mostly worked with metal and ceramic objects including an Anglo-Saxon knife and copper brooch, a fragment from an Early Modern Italian ceramic dish, an 18th-19th century mouthing bit for a horse, and an ornate Victorian vase in the shape of a female figure.

Keen to develop her understanding of paper, parchment and book conservation, Auriel worked under the direction of our Head of Service, Sarah Stanley – an ICON accredited conservator who has previously worked at the V&A, The National Archives, and Canterbury Cathedral Archives. Among the skills Auriel was taught were various dry and aqueous cleaning techniques, the removal of backings from documents, repairing paper using Japanese tissue, preparing adhesives and gels, and flattening documents through humidification.

The photograph shown here was taken during a presentation that Auriel gave to members of the Kent Archives team, sharing how she applied her newly-acquired skills to conserve a large 8-panel paper map and a smaller parchment document.

👩🏻‍🔬📜

University of Lincoln | University of Lincoln Department of Conservation | The Institute of Conservation | Preservation Equipment Ltd. | CXD Conservation By Design | Conservation Resources UK Ltd | British Association For Local History - BALH | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

22/04/2026

Our 2026 lunchtime talks programme is underway and we're excited to share with you our line up for the year ahead!

From talks on the use of silk textiles in medieval charters to Kent's traveller community, visit our website to discover the full list of topics that will be explored: www.kentarchives.org.uk/lunchtime-talks/

Admission to our lunchtime talks is free but reserving a seat is essential. Contact us today to secure your place...

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 03000 42 06 73



Kent Family History Society | North West Kent Family History Society | The Kent Archaeological Society | Maidstone Museums | British Association For Local History - BALH | Visit Maidstone | Maidstone Borough Council | Maidstone Libraries | Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

22/04/2026

Plan to visit our Search Room today?

Please see the notice below regarding our systems update and how this will affect some of our services:

🔔 We’re updating our systems - how will this affect you?

Our essential upgrade on Wednesday 22 April will temporarily affect some of our services. Here’s what you need to know...

Visiting a library or the Kent Archives search room on Wednesday?

• Please bring your library card with you if you’d like to borrow books or items from the library

• You will need your library card and PIN number to use our computers or WiFi

• Our local teams will still be here to help across our libraries, but services will be limited. We’ll be logging loans and returns manually, but we won’t be able to look up or update customer details so please make sure you have your library card number with you

• All loans due on Wednesday 22 April will be automatically extended by one week to Wednesday 29 April.

Online Services

• Our online Kent Libraries catalogue will be unavailable throughout the day on Wednesday 22 April

• You will not be able to search the catalogue online or in libraries during this time

• The Kent Libraries app will also have limited functionality.

eLibrary Apps - Libby, BorrowBox, uLibrary & PressReader

• You will be able to use the Libby app as normal

• Your loans BorrowBox and uLibrary will still be available as long as you log in before tomorrow, Wednesday 22 April, and stay logged in to the apps throughout the upgrade period

• PressReader will also be available as long as you are logged in, and stay logged in to your account. If your 30 day access is due to expire, it’s worth signing out and then signing back in to refresh your access period before tomorrow, Wednesday 22 April.

Library Extra Customers

At Library, Library and Library, Library Extra will be unavailable:

• Evening of Tuesday 21 April
• All day Wednesday 22 April
• Morning of Thursday 23 April

We expect services to return to normal from Thursday 23 April. Thank you for bearing with us while we carry out these important upgrades.

More information about the offers and services mentioned in this post can be found at kent.gov.uk/libraries

18/04/2026

A highlight from our unexpected Facebook hiatus...

Back in December, we gathered to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by our volunteers in 2025. A special presentation was made to Julia, who has volunteered at Kent Archives for an impressive 20 years.

Our thanks to Julia, João, Gill, Pabitra, Julie and Anne for all their hard work! We look forward to working with you and our new volunteers in the year ahead ✨

Whether you’re transcribing historical records, repackaging collections or enhancing catalogue entries, volunteering at Kent Archives offers the chance to deepen your understanding of the county’s heritage, support its preservation, and — if you're considering a career in the archives sector — gain hands‑on experience with the support of our team.

Keen to get involved? Register your interest for future volunteering opportunities by contacting us:

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 03000 42 06 73

📸 Image ID: Shown here is a photograph of Julia (archives volunteer) chatting to Glyn House (strategic manager – specialist & support services) at Kent Archives' annual Christmas party, held to celebrate our wonderful volunteers.



British Association For Local History - BALH | Maidstone Libraries |Kent Libraries, Registration & Archives | Maidstone Borough Council | Kent County Council | The National Archives | Explore Your Archive

16/04/2026

Roadworks Update – Kent History and Library Centre,

From Monday 20 April, scheduled roadworks will be taking place outside the Kent History and Library Centre.

Please note: the disabled parking bay directly outside the building will be unavailable from Saturday 25 April to Saturday 2 May due to these works.

Maidstone Library and Kent Archives will remain open as usual, and the roadworks are expected to be completed by Monday 4 May.

Find the latest updates and more information about our offers and services at kent.gov.uk