News from the KAS Library
The Wotton transcription project gave our working group of KAS members a taste for more palaeography and they are continuing work this year under the leadership of Dr Bower. The group often come into the Library to work on a Tuesday morning. To help facilitate their work Peter Titley generously donated the following useful items to the Library stock:
- Bristow, Joy - The Local Historian’s Glossary of Words and Terms
- Marshall, Hilary - Palaeography for Family and Local Historians
- Raymond, Stuart A. - Words from Wills and other probate records 1500 -1800
These complement the current Library stock well and we now have a good collection of books for those starting out in the art of Palaeography and for those needing more specialist reference works. Please do come and use them.
One Thursday morning I was delighted to discover a book commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Dartford Historical & Antiquarian Society, deposited in the Library by Dr Mike Still. The book’s title is Dartford: A Century of Change. The book includes a brief overview by Chris Baker of the history of the Dartford Historical and Antiquarian Society since its founding in 1910, but mainly consists of a selection of images of Dartford through time. The images are well chosen to give a feel for the changing face of Dartford though the years and, as always, bear a special resonance if you know a place well. I especially enjoyed the image of the Dartford Road looking west towards West Hill Schools and Crayford c 1910. Having lived on the Dartford Road it is amazing how a place can be scarcely recognisable and yet still retain an element of familiarity.
The KAS supported the production of ‘The Royal Charters of Faversham, including the Magna Carta’ by Peter Tann, with contributions from other scholars, which is hot off the press currently. Peter Tann has kindly donated a copy of this both beautiful and useful book charting the history of Faversham from the 12th to the 17th century. It is bound to prove a useful resource for KAS members.
Finally, I have been asked to highlight the Library’s collection of Journals and to help you to access them. We have an extensive collection of both national and local society journals.
The 2012 editions of the following journals are now available to consult at the Library:
- The Antiquaries Journal, vol. 92
- Britannia, vol. 43, which incidentally contains an article by R.S.O. Tomlin on Inscriptions, including the East Farleigh Curse Scroll and a mention of inscribed sherds of coarseware found in Minster-in-Thanet at Abbey Farm.
- The Journal of Roman Studies vol. 102
- Medieval Archaeology, vol. 56
If you are looking for Journals that the Library holds please be aware that the online catalogue is a little quirky and does not always pick an item up on the title. The easiest way of getting an overview of the Journals is by typing ‘Journal’ into a CONTENT search which then brings up the full Journal list.
If you come and visit the Library regularly you may notice that it is a little tidier. We are making a real effort to catch up with the ‘housework’. The Visual Records group’s appearance on BBC South East this July was in a smarter library than the last performance! If you have not been before you might like to visit us on a Wednesday or a Thursday morning. The Library is open at other times, but please do ALWAYS CHECK in the online diary before you travel to avoid disappointment. During term time Adult Learning takes place on Mondays and meetings and talks take place at other times. Please also remember to show your membership card and sign in at the front desk of the Museum. I will look forward to seeing you there.
Pernille Richards, Hon. Librarian
Dartford: A Century of Change
Palaeography for Family and Local Historians