New Books
Windmills – A Pictorial History of their Technology by Rex W. Richard Hills. 184306 1880. £19.99
This book, by the former Curator of The Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, covers the various types of windmills and their main uses, both in this country and within Europe. 16 Kentish windmills are included in the text. Over 450 photographs appear, many not previously published.
Available in bookshops, or direct (no p&p inland) from Landmark Publishing Ltd, Ashbourne Hall, Cokayne Avenue, Ashbourne DE6 1EJ, tel: 01335 347349, email: landmark@clara.net.
The 1639 Special Eyre of Surrey and Kent
Are you interested in 17th century crime in Kent? Published by the Surrey Record Society, this volume is packed with details about justice, especially the task of a local level in the 1630s. It also offers the opportunity of learning how to translate the Latin used. Every entry is given in full, both in extended Latin and in English, making the information held in the original pleasroll at the National Archives easily available for the first time.
Cost to non-members of the SRS is £15.00 plus £1.00 post/packing. Available from Maggie Vaughan-Jones, Hon. Secretary, at the Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking GU21 6ND. Cheques payable to the Surrey Record Society.
Taxatio of the Templars by George F. Tull
Reprint of original 2000 edition. An examination of the remains today of the various properties established by the Knights Templar in England, including the Preceptory and the church of SS Peter and Paul at Temple Ewell, the church on Western Heights at Dover, Temple Manor at Strood and various other handful of sites in Kent.
210 pp plus 15 b/w photos; from The King's England Press, Canterbury House, Commercial Road, Goldthorpe, Rotherham S63 9BL.
The West Kent Probate Index 1750-1858, compiled by David Wright
Names of males, of wills and administrations etc for the two preferred and two peculiar courts of the Diocese of Rochester. All the 8,300 or so entries have been brought together into a single alphabetical sequence, each entry showing the name and surname of the testator or intestate, the parish of residence, the occupation and/or marital status. The index is preceded by a comprehensive account of the material indexed (including Crick's essay), summary of abbreviations, index of parishes, other locations, and occupations. The entire text of 'Kent Probate Records – A Catalogue and Practical Guide' by the same author, is also included.
Available as a CD-Rom in Adobe Acrobat, price £12.50 + 50p package inland, or £13 airmail, from D.B. Wright, 71 Island Wall, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1EL.
Tonbridge's Industrial Heritage – a Guide and Gazetteer, Tonbridge Historical Society £10.00
A broad survey of the town's industrial development covering a wide range of topics, including agricultural and allied trades; water and wind power; extractive industry; metalworking and engineering manufacturing (including Tonbridge Water and toilet brushmaking); utilities and services; communications and entertainment, and transport. Each topic has an historical introduction followed by a number of gazetteer entries describing surviving sites and artefacts, 98 in all, plus a further 68 of relevance but where nothing now remains to be seen. Publication date is before Christmas. Further details from Shiela Broomfield, Secretary, Tonbridge Historical Society.