A free talk by Victoria Stevens ACR (library and archive conservator) at Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone.
The country house library as a concept is so beguiling: it implies elegant space, gentle academia, wide and expansive interests and an excess of research time. Beneath the titles, however, there lies a strong reflection of wider social trends, hints of personal passions and the changing reading tastes of generations of usually the same family.
One such library is that compiled by successive members of the Hammonds of St Alban’s Court, Nonington, in the east of the county of Kent. Here was amassed a small treasure trove of early modern titles which provide clues to the lives of the Hammonds, and tell stories far beyond those within the pages of texts. This short paper will look at the history of the Hammond family through its reading choices as laid out in the detailed inventory of the library, which was used as the basis for the subsequent sale and dissemination of the collection in the twentieth century.
Based on postgraduate research, this presentation will look at the inventory as a catalogue of 250 years of book collecting by an enlightened family, linking their histories through their personal reading, professional and academic interests with wider social and economic trends which affected people of their class status and position. It will also show how the trends identified in the library collection are reflected in other aspects of the family's chattels as shown in the inventory, specifically their extensive art collection. Their cultural reach from a small corner of Kent was found to be remarkable.
Victoria Stevens studied for an MA by Research at Canterbury Christ Church University. Her thesis focused on a lost collection housed in the Hammond family home, St Alban’s Court, and specifically significant library and art collections. By profession, she is a library and archive conservator and preservation consultant, with a particular interest in the materiality of written heritage collections and how this physical evidence of construction and use may be used to increase understanding for all on the history of books, archives and objects.
For further information and to reserve a seat, ring 03000 420673 or email archives@kent.gov.uk