David Starkey speaks at the Historic Buildings Conference
Harrietsham Village Hall was packed on Saturday 17 October last year, with over 130 people - KAS members and non-members - attending the annual Historic Buildings Conference. As 2009 marked the 500th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Henry VIII, the conference had a Tudor theme. It was therefore particularly appropriate that Dr David Starkey, a leading authority on the Tudor period, as well as author, and presenter of many TV documentary series, had agreed to be a speaker at the conference.
The event got off to a promising start with two fascinating presentations; the first by Richard Filmer, who spoke on 'Bricks and Brickwork', followed by Andrew Linklater of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, on 'Homestead to House: the Tudor Building Revolution'. As both speakers had given talks at previous Historic Buildings conferences, one could say that they had been brought back by popular demand, and neither disappointed. Richard traced the history of bricks, a building material associated in the minds of many with the Tudor period. He covered the 6,000-year history of bricks and brickwork, and did this with an ease and clarity that one has come to expect from him. Next, Andrew focussed attention on the homes of the ordinary people, rather than on high status buildings. He opened his presentation by describing the features to be found in the medieval houses of Kent and the South East of England. He then went on to explain in detail the changes that took place during the 'Tudor building revolution', and the reasons for those developments.
This set the scene for Dr David Starkey's lecture in the afternoon on 'The Tudors and Ightham Mote'. Dr Starkey's witty, and at times outspoken, style of presentation never for a moment disguised his immense knowledge of his subject. He held the complete attention of the audience during his enthralling description of the manner in which the royal court operated in the Tudor period, and its influence on the homes of the courtiers. Using Ightham Mote as an example, he explained how to decipher the symbolism in the decorative features of Tudor buildings. Dr Starkey stressed the importance of considering the written word and physical evidence together when trying to interpret history. A lively question and answer session followed the lecture.
Dr Andrew Richardson gave a brief but useful introduction to the KAS's recently launched landscape survey project: 'Peopling Past Landscapes: North Downs to the Weald'. He announced that a networking website was being set up to facilitate communication on the project.
After the conference, in the region of 40 participants went to visit Harrietsham Parish Church, St. John the Baptist, for an enjoyable and instructive guided tour led by David Carder.
TONBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MILESTONE
2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the Tonbridge Historical Society. We have several special events and other activities to celebrate this. One activity is for our membership and others to take photographs of Tonbridge in 2010 to add to our important archive. So, if you are visiting the splendid town of Tonbridge during the year, please bring your camera. More details are available on the website, www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk or contact me.
Any donated photos will be added to the collection with copyright being given to THS. It is hoped that we can hold a small exhibition of these in early 2011. I shall let you know about some of the other exciting plans later.
I wonder how many other local societies were founded 50 years ago, or even before 1960?
ABOVE: Tonbridge Castle, one of the town's many historical attractions.