Kent Archives and Local History Service
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A nationally accredited archive repository for Kent, established in 1933 and based in Maidstone. Get involved and keep up-to-date with the latest news and events from our service.
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![Shown here is part of a black and white photograph capturing male students using the 'spider's web' ropes in the gymnasium at Nonington College of Physical Education, 1970s [ref. U4164/P3/3/3]
[Archives@Kent] is the quarterly newsletter published by Kent Archives and Local History Service, Maidstone. From publicising newly catalogued material to exploring documents in detail and sharing information about upcoming events, our newsletters can be delivered straight to your email inbox or accessed at www.kentarchives.org.uk/archive-newsletter
Have yet to subscribe? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to add you to our mailing list –
Email: archives@kent.gov.uk
Telephone: 03000 420 673](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreiddqg2bjfksq6hzp6lmtidjqldrnjpssuwlu465zeibg77tbjhuky@jpeg)
![Shown here is part of a Lettre de Bourgeoisie – a formal document once issued in certain European regions to grant non-native individuals specific rights and privileges. This example, with blue and gold marginal decoration, was received by Philip Stanhope (2nd Earl) and his son, Charles Stanhope (3rd Earl) from the Republic of Geneva in 1771 [ref. U1590/C709/2]
Given the prestige of receiving such rights in a foreign region and the social status of the recipients, this manuscript exemplifies the type of historical document that might feature gilt decoration.
Gold embellishments can be achieved in several ways. Methods include applying fine gold leaf over a thin layer of adhesive (flat gilding); affixing gold leaf to a substrate textured with gesso (raised gilding); mixing gold powder with gum arabic to create a gold paint (shell gold); and in bookbinding, impressing heated tools into leather through gold leaf to achieve lettering and ornate decoration (gold tooling).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreihxjmp7ssh4ogwsakg3xbhjydzhh2uhsdpq5onymcmxqg5kcs3wo4@jpeg)
![Shown here is a sample of main courses and desserts from a ring-bound booklet titled 'School Meals Service Recipe Book' issued by the Kent Education Committee, November 1957 [ref. C/E/15/4]
Love them or loathe them, there was no escaping the concoctions in this volume if you attended school in Britain between the 1950s and early 2000s. That's right — many of these, shall we say, “vintage” recipes lingered on dinner hall menus well into the early 21st century!
Among the nightmare-inducing dishes we'd really rather forget are cold boiled bacon, meat roly poly, pilchards, and the unappetisingly-named 'brown stew'.
That said, the recipe book redeems itself when we reach the desserts section. From an array of sponge-based puddings and delicious biscuits to fruit crumbles and flavoured custards, it's a reminder that not everything served in the dinner hall was a culinary crime.
We'll still pass on the tapioca pudding, though...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreidmfwqi7rc5hlwoe6emgvry2m7ytt35hw2ld7l4457a2qv5yvksuy@jpeg)
![Shown here is an extract from a ring-bound booklet titled 'School Meals Service Recipe Book' issued by the Kent Education Committee, November 1957 [ref. C/E/15/4]
Titled 'Menu Making', this section describes how to plan nutritious and varied school dinners under three headings: 'Remember', 'Avoid', and 'Plan'.
Key tips include serving only one flour-based dish per meal; ensuring a starchy main course is accompanied by light vegetables, followed by a light dessert; and serving a substantial dessert after a light main course.
Variation is encouraged, with catering staff advised to avoid repeating the same menu each week; serve different combinations of main courses and desserts; and limit jam to just once a week.
Advice is given on how to improve the attractiveness of meals, including embracing the bold natural colours of ingredients; using garnishes such as chopped parsley and sliced tomatoes; and enhancing pastry by glazing with sugar and water (sweet) or milk and water (savoury).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreicezpdjrmcudi4e7d2pcfox25mk4jyd7amka7vqo6uckvvyagfvxm@jpeg)
![Shown here are two photographs from a hop picking-themed scrapbook [ref. U3685/Z1]. The left photo, dated c.1910, captures a tally master and pickers at Lenacre Farm, Eastwell, emptying a large basket of hops into a sack; and the right photo, undated, comprises three tally sticks used at Provender Farm, Faversham.
Tally masters were responsible for measuring the quantity of hops gathered by pickers. Using a type of basket known as a bushel, masters would scoop hops from pickers’ bins to determine their wages – the more bushels filled, the greater the pay. With volume as opposed to weight being the unit of measure, less generous masters were known to overly compress the hops within bushels to force pickers to gather more.
Tally sticks were an agricultural currency. Often in two parts (one end for the master, the other for the worker), they were marked to indicate the number of bushels picked. At the end of the day or season, workers could exchange tally sticks for a cash payment.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreic7hcq22sks4ueryuukd64hc2rtirxzoc6bwhcrgzm3ork5zfm3fm@jpeg)
![Shown here is a certificate awarded to The Whitstable Oyster Company at the International Fisheries Exhibition, 1883 [ref. CAN-U372/X/684]
The sheet has significantly yellowed, the crease at its centre has developed into a split and numerous losses have occurred at the margins.
The yellowing of paper is largely caused by the oxidation of lignin, an organic substance found in wood which provides structural support and rigidity. The Industrial Revolution made paper more accessible and affordable owing to mass production but with this came greater demand. To meet this, the use of rags as the primary material in paper making was replaced by wood pulp, a readily available but less durable alternative.
Exposure to excessive heat, light and low humidity causes the lignin in wood pulp paper to degrade and become acidic, and this weakens the cellulose fibres. Whilst the resulting embrittlement is irreversible, it can be somewhat managed through deacidification treatments and careful storage.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreig6zadbdewmkyczv56ehlbev6lktreryd3iktcepkw2o25xshb7e4@jpeg)
![Shown here is a postcard titled 'Hampton, nr. Herne Bay', published by Fred C. Palmer at Tower Studios, Sea Front, Herne Bay, n.d. [c.1911?] (ref. HEB 741)
The turn of the 20th century brought no respite for the residents of Hampton-on-Sea. The merciless hydraulic action of the waves combined with severe weather episodes, such as the Great Storm of 1897, continued to scour the soft, permeable London Clay upon which the fishing hamlet stood. Between 1909-1911 the properties of Hernecliffe Gardens were razed, an action taken by the council owing to the terrace’s increasingly precarious foundations. With no hope of a stable future for the settlement, it was abandoned by 1916 and entirely consumed by the sea in 1921.
What remains of the ill-fated fishing community can be counted on one hand: namely remnants of the pier and failed sea defences, visible at low tide; and the Hampton Inn pub, which can be seen in the background of this postcard – a lone survivor above sea level.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreigj6pmbhxkjdmddqlnfjwsdaosuziqwnmgw5p5gfmikp3b5vb4vzi@jpeg)
![Shown here is an engraving titled ‘Hampton Oyster Fisheries nr. Herne Bay’ by J. S. and Co., n.d. [mid 19th century] (ref. KHLC-IMG/PR/1/HEB/21)
Before the arrival of the oyster fishing companies in the 1860s, a community existed at Hampton-on-Sea residing in crudely assembled wooden huts made from wreck material. The establishment of the Herne Bay, Hampton and Reculver Oyster Fishery Company in 1864 saw the construction of a 300-metre pier, terraced housing to accommodate staff (visible at the far left of this engraving), and a tramway to transport oysters inland. However, the decline of the oyster industry in the 1870s left the area available for redevelopment.
In 1879, land agents and developers attempted to transform the site into a coastal resort. Plots were sold, amenities planned, and ambitions to establish a thriving seaside suburb took shape. However, the area was low-lying and vulnerable to coastal erosion, a problem that had been long known but somewhat overlooked...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreigd4zutary737x5wjdgcmjdu26xwhzaifomfh4opmxgwft4ohj4kq@jpeg)
![Shown here is a charter issued by King Wihtred (c.670 – 23rd April 725) granting freedom from taxation to the churches and monasteries of Kent, AD 699 [ref. U140/T1]
Dated at Cilling, the witnesses include Archbishop Berhtuuald; Gemmund, Bishop of Rochester; Tobias (Gemmund's successor); and Hadrian, described as 'indignus monachus' – a colleague and advisor of Theodore of Tarsus, a former Archbishop of Canterbury.
This charter was purchased by Sir Albert Stern at Sotheby's in 1946, for presentation to the county. Some information as to its previous history can be gained from its endorsements. It was sold by Messrs Puttick, auctioneers, in 1861 and purchased by Sir Thomas Phillipps. Prior to this it was probably in the Surrenden Dering collection for 200 years – Dering's ownership indicated by marks of a saltire cross in a circle and a Greek letter Delta. An earlier endorsement, possibly dating to the late 12th century, indicates that it was formerly preserved at Christ Church.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vof7rjobhzoxvub42zxtot/bafkreihkns4nrw25pllz3hrvso7gkn3llsmyorhowtp2ymdi7xqupvbcgm@jpeg)