NEWS UPDATE

                             LOST SUNDIAL REDISCOVERED?

Nearly 100 years ago, our village historian Halford Mills, wrote about a sundial made by Thomas Hogben of Smarden in 1754 and which had been stolen many years earlier. Nothing more was heard about this sundial until the Heritage Centre received an enquiry a few weeks ago from a gentleman researching the Hogben family. In answering his questions, the story of the sundial was re-told and our enquirer wrote back to us that it " sent shock waves through me."

Believe it or not, this gentleman had been offered a Hogben, made in Smarden, sundial by an antique dealer in East Anglia only the week before and has since purchased it! Is it the same one? Well, after further investigation it now appears unlikely that the two sundials are in fact one and the the same.

　

IRON WORKING IN SMARDEN 180 BC

　        

The Centre will shortly be displaying a collection of furnace materials, some of which the Society has had carbon dated to 180BC. The finds result from field-work carried recently by members of the History Society. With four sites identified in Smarden and others nearby, a picture is now emerging of quite widespread smelting activity in our Parish prior to and during the Roman occupation. The same project brought to light a number of flints dating from the Stone Age, which may be evidence of a seasonal encampment along the banks of the Beult, and these will also go on display at the Heritage Centre.

These finds are beginning to paint a different picture of Smarden’s early beginnings compared to Halford Mills’ time, when the Kentish Weald was believed to have been uninhabited.

 

Take me to the SMARDEN BIG DIG pages

 

 

TIME TEAM

　The Society’s junior Time Team section closed another enjoyable year with a session on family history, led by Judith Hardy, with support from Eleanor Bliss and Geraldine Dyer, when the children also had the opportunity of creating their own family crests. This year the Team has extended its activities to include environmental themes such as Pond Dipping in May

                    

as well as the traditional historical activities such as Lashenden Museum in November and Smarden Chapels in March. We should like to take this opportunity of thanking all our helpers and contributors for their enthusiastic support throughout the year.

　

SCHOOL REUNION

In June the Society was closely involved in the collation and presentation of displays at the Charter Hall for the first Smarden Primary School reunion. Several hundred ex-pupils attended the event and were able to enjoy a series of photographic and documentary records dating from the 19th century to modern times, which the Society had prepared for the occasion. Many interesting records have subsequently been donated by returning pupils to the Society’s archive at the Heritage Centre.

　

BIG DIG 2 POSTPONED - MINI DIG PLANNED

Due to a lack of external funding, the planned Big Dig 2 in September has been postponed. The current economic downturn has meant that several sources of funds are inevitably closed to us, however we would like to thank the many residents and organisations who wrote in support of this popular Smarden community event. Instead we are now working on a Mini-Dig in September and expect to have more details very soon.

　

FAMILY HISTORY AT THE HERITAGE CENTRE

The resources available in the Heritage Centre for people wishing to trace their family history continue to expand. Recently we have added Mills’ draft History of Smarden, which has an index of many hundreds of Smarden residents from the 15th Century onwards, extensive Baptist archives, plus School records dating from the mid-Victorian era.

Recent geneological enquiries where the Centre has been able to assist include the names Munk, Goodwin, Roots and White, whilst Pope House, Burnt House Farm and Haffenden Cottages have featured in house searches.

The Heritage Centre is open at The Charter Hall every Friday morning from 9:30am to 1:30 pm. and can be contacted by email at smardenheritagecentre@googlemail.com

　

 

 

SMARDEN LOCAL HISTORY

SOCIETY

2009 PROGRAMME

 

January 15th

Colonel Stephens &

the K&ES Railway

 

February 19th

Iron, Pots & Cricket

 

March 19th

Beginning Your Family History

 

April 30th

Traditional Kentish

 Building Materials and Styles

 

May 21st

Evening Visit to Finchcocks

 

June 18th

Ellen Terry

Darling of the Gods

 

July

Summer outing to Ellen Terry's

House

 

September 17th

We Bought us an Oast

 

October 10th

Exhibition

 

November 5th

AGM & Smarden WWII Memorial

 

December 17th

Christmas Party

 

 

 

 

EXHIBITION

 

A display of work and activities undertaken during the past year by

SMARDEN LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
THE HERITAGE CENTRE
THE TIME TEAM (The Children’s Branch of SLHS)
 

Some of the displays in the Exhibition