‘England’s Past for Everyone’ in Kent

Survey work forms an important part of the England's Past for Everyone project, both nationally and in Kent. Architectural studies have always featured heavily in the traditional VCH volumes, and this emphasis on the built environment is something the Editorial Board is keen to continue in the new accessible EPE paperback series. Not only do studies of old buildings help bring the past to life through architectural drawings and building photography, they also provide a direct link between archives and the real world. Surveyors use both archival materials such as maps, title deeds and architects drawings, and practical fieldwork when drafting their reports.

In Kent there are two distinct survey projects. The first of these is a study of three contrasting villages - Snodland, Aylesford and Eccles. Snodland was a large village even in the nineteenth century due to the employment offered by the local paper mill, and had acquired the status of a town by 1900. Its development was significantly influenced by the expansion of the paper mill, and by the Hook family that owned this business from the mid-nineteenth century. Both Eccles and Aylesford lay in the same parish, but had very different origins and social makeup. Eccles was erected by speculative builders from the 1850s to house the employees of the nearby brick and cement works established by Thomas Cubitt. The housing consists mainly of terraces of workers' cottages, arranged according to a grid pattern. Local resident Thomas Buss described the place as 'a backwood village in a little commonwealth, with no aristocrats to interfere with them'. Aylesford, in contrast, can trace its origins back to the Dark Ages, as an important crossing point over the Medway. From medieval times it had the first bridge south of Rochester, and was home to an important Carmelite priory, later the Friary, seat of the Earl of Aylesford. The streets here are narrow and irregular, built on the side of a steep slope leading down to the river. Buildings come in a variety of styles - many are timber-framed, some of them refaced with brick. There are, however, also rows of nineteenth-century cottages as in Snodland and Eccles, reflecting the expansion of the village in response to industrialisation.

In each village a team of volunteers, led by an architectural consultant, will record details of all properties built before 1900 using a standard survey form. Recording will focus on the exterior of the properties, noting the type of structure, the building materials used, stylistic features and any evidence of modification or change of function. For instance, in some cases a former shop may have been converted into a house. Photographs will also be taken of selected buildings to provide a visual record. Some of these may later be mounted on the website with the permission of the householders. In some cases where a house has been re-fronted it

BELOW AND RIGHT: Substantial remains hidden in undergrowth at the site of Burham Cement Works.