All meetings are held in the Church Room, Back Lane, Goudhurst.
Meetings start at 7.45pm unless otherwise stated.
1st October 2019 – Gill Joye – Depicted in Doggerel: Victorian Goudhurst Revealed –
Detective work uncovers the targets of a mysterious gossip monger.
5th November 2019 – Dr Jean Stirk – The History of Papermaking in Kent –
Papermaking came late to England compared with Europe, but that skill developed extensively in Kent where papermakers set the pattern of skilled standards and strict adherence to rules for the trade.
3rd December 2019 – N.B. This meeting will start at 7.15pm for minced pies and mulled wine, followed by –
Prof. Stephen Prickett – Riot, Robbery and Bloody Murder: Shakespeare & Marlowe in Kent –
Three of Shakespeare’s plays have substantial scenes set in Kent, and a fourth play, Arden of Faversham, even if not by him, has intriguing links at least to his name.
4th February 2020 – Peter Ewart – The Swing Riots –
Violent rural dissent in the summer of 1830 in Kent rapidly engulfed southern and eastern England. The tragic causes of incendiarism, machine wrecking and riotous behaviour by starving men with nothing to lose, also prompted the mysterious ‘Captain Swing’ letters, leading to punishments so harsh that they shock even today.
3rd March 2020 – Mike Bundock – Trackway to Motorway – a history of some of Kent’s roads –
We all use roads, often daily, but how much thought do we give to their origins, design and maintenance? Trackway to Motorway is an illustrated historical account of our use of roads taking us from prehistoric trackways through to our present-day motorway network, via the Romans and the despised Turnpikes.
7th April 2020 – AGM
followed by – ‘Unknown Goudhurst’ –
A slide screen picture display of ‘Unknown Goudhurst’ which will test your knowledge of the Parish.
5th May 2020 – Melanie Gibson Barton – Elizabeth Barton, Maid of Kent 1506 – 1534.
A talk about the visionary of Aldington who was executed as a result of her prophecies against the marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Membership for the year, giving free entry to all the season’s meetings, is an annual subscription of £10.
A charge of £3 is made for a visitor per meeting.