KAS Committee Round-Up
Historic Buildings Committee
Tickets for the Autumn Historic Buildings Conference, to be held on Saturday 17 October in Harrietsham Community Centre (Village Hall) are now available. This year's Conference will have a Tudor theme. The Committee has been very fortunate to secure as the main speaker Dr David Starkey CBE, eminent historian, author and broadcaster, who will be giving a talk on the subject of Ightham Mote and the Tudors. More information on this one-day Conference can be found in the What's On section of the Newsletter.
The first of the visits to buildings of historic interest planned for 2009 took place on Wednesday 27 May. A group of 42 members of the KAS braved the drizzly, blustery weather for the tour of The Grange. This Grade I listed building, built by the 19th century architect and designer Augustus Pugin, was rescued from development by the Landmark Trust. Restoration work was completed in 2006. The Trust provided an extremely knowledgeable guide for the visit. During what was aptly described as her scholarly talk during the course of the tour, she gave a wonderful insight into the life and work of Pugin, and his remarkable family home overlooking the sea at Ramsgate.
Both of the first two visits, to The Grange and to Luddedstown Court and Dode Church on Wednesday 10 June, had been so heavily oversubscribed that Joy Saynor found it impossible to accommodate everyone who wanted to go on them. She managed to arrange a second visit to The Grange on Wednesday 1 July, although again there were more applications than available places.
Churches Committee
Visit to Faversham and Preston: Saturday 25th April
The subjects of the committee's first visits of 2009 were the large parish church of St Mary of Charity, Faversham, and the smaller but no less interesting St Catherine's Church, Preston near Faversham.
At St Mary of Charity, following an introduction from the vicar, the Revd Tony Oehrling, those attending were split into two groups which were then expertly guided around by Clive Margetts and Jos Richardson. These members of the congregation are involved in the church's 'Built to Inspire' project, which has obtained lottery funding for education work and the production of a range of excellent historical leaflets. The church, which is one of the largest in Kent, is certainly worthy of these efforts, being full of interest. It has a Victorian chancel with side chapels, 14th century transepts and an 18th century nave and west tower. The latter is topped by the distinctive crown spire which is visible for miles around. The exterior of the church is encased in flint dating from Gilbert Scott's mid-19th-century restoration. The chancel contains a fine set of late 15th century choir stalls with misericords, which probably came from Faversham Abbey after the Dissolution. The north transept possesses a remarkable octagonal painted column dated to circa 1306, which depicts Gospel scenes from the Annunciation to the Passion.
A short walk away, Preston is a suburb of Faversham with Anglo-Saxon origins. St Catherine's Church is a small but lofty building located a mere stone's throw from Faversham Station. The building is of Norman origin, but the fine chancel was rebuilt and lengthened in the late 13th century and the nave substantially rebuilt in the 19th century. The tower is located at the southeast corner of the nave and chancel. The chancel contains some 15th century choir stalls and a large marble memorial to Roger and Joan Boyle, grandparents of the scientist Robert Boyle, which was erected in 1629. On the south side of the sanctuary is a fine 14th century Decorated sedilia. More recent features include the rood which was put in place across the chancel arch in 1947. Michael Taylor, author of the church's guide book, gave a talk, after which fellow members of the congregation provided welcome refreshments.
Place-Names Committee
The printers of The Dictionary of Kent Place-Names, an EPNS publication by Dr Paul Cullen, have suffered it from the current recession. This book will be the precursor of his 6-volume opus on Kentish place-names. Since it may not meet its summer 2009 deadline, this committee hopes to launch it by running a Place-Names Day on 24 April 2010, with Dr Cullen and another speaker lecturing on place-names and surnames. More information will be available in the autumn issue of the KAS Newsletter.