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Books > Kent A Century Ago Photographic Memories
Ashford, High Street 1901 (ref. 47521) | The broad High Street, once the site of the market established under a charter from Edward I, was, at the turn of
the last century, still very much a rendezvous for the cattle and sheep farmers of the Weald and Romney Marsh.
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Ashford, High Street 1901 (ref. 47522) | Several 18th-century stone facades are apparent in these pictures, and some of the other old houses are disguised
by contemporary shop fronts. On the extreme left in this photograph the pinnacles of the church's 120-foot
Perpendicular central tower can be seen rising above the buildings.
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Aylesford, Preston Hall and Fountain 1898 (ref. 41554) | Preston Hall and the Fountain 1898.
Preston Hall was built for the
businessman and entrepreneur Edward
Ladd Betts by the architect John Thomas
in the Jacobean style in 1850. The
fountain, also by Thomas, was added the
following year. The mansion was
described by Pevsner as one which
'could hardly be drearier'. Within fifty
years of this photograph it had become
a chest hospital.
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Barham, Bridge and River 1903 (ref. 51061) | The flint and stone cottage, with its neatly clipped box hedge and the workshop of C Knight, the local builder and
contractor, attached to its side, stands beside the footbridge and ford across the upper reaches of the River Stour.
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Barham, the Village and Church 1903 (ref. 51062) | Many of the sturdy, timber-framed cottages in the centre of this lovely village have been reinforced and decorated
with brickwork during the 18th century. The late 13th-century church of St John the Baptist, which forms the focal
point of the settlement, had its distinctive green copper spire added during the 19th century, as the result of a gift
by a member of the Oxenden family.
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Bearsted, Church 1898 (ref. 41566) | The Church 1898.
The 15th-century Perpendicular west
tower of the Church of the Holy Cross is
remarkable for the three sculptures of
heraldic lions, which crouch at the
corners of the battlements. They are
replacements for those which were
originally in place; the exposed position
caused weathering, which was already
very noticeable during the lifetime of
the 17th-century Kentish historian
Edward Hasted.
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Benenden, Village 1901 (ref. 46447) | A pony and trap stand on the main road which passes by the foot of the green on the left, around which are the
tile-hung yeomens' cottages and the village pub. Within two decades, this section of the village was to be
augmented by the addition of the large bronze war memorial with its statue depicting Motherhood.
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Benenden, Church 1901 (ref. 46449) | Seen here from the south, across the bank of the small stream which flows through the village, the pale sandstone
outline of St George's Church stands proudly in its churchyard. Struck by lightning in 1672, it was restored in 1862
by the architect David Brandon. The battlemented tower with its small pinnacle once sported a quaint timber
belfry, which rose to a height of 130 feet.
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Benenden, Church and Green 1901 (ref. 46448) | Here we see a Maytime scene of the long, tongue-shaped village green, with the church of St George in the
background, and the chestnut trees in full blossom. The green occupies a small place in the annals of cricketing
history: it was during a match here that a ball was alleged to have passed between the stumps without removing
the bails.
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Bidborough, Church 1896 (ref. 37903) | The church of St Lawrence is superbly positioned on the brow of a narrow spur offering splendid views to the north
of the Greensand Hills. Built of sandstone and dating back to Saxon times, although with a Norman nave and
chancel, it still has a number of small pews for children installed in 1790 at the beginning of the Sunday
School movement.
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Biddenden, the Village 1901 (ref. 46457) | The village is still celebrated on Easter Monday as the home of the Maids of Biddenden, Eliza and Mary
Chulkhurst, two Tudor Siamese twins joined at the shoulders and hips, who lived for thirty-four years. When one
died, the other declined to be separated, and herself died six hours later.
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Biddenden, the Village 1901 (ref. 46456) | This is one of the numerous 'dens', or forest clearings, in this part of Kent. The old houses along this main street,
some half-timbered, others of brick, or board or tile fronted, were mostly constructed during the 15th century
when the village prospered in the profitable cloth trade centred at Cranbrook.
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Bilsington, the Village 1909 (ref. 61578) | The Village 1903
Just off the road between Lyminge and
Hythe, this jettied timber-frame cottage
stands at the approach to the 13th-
century church. The church has a
distinctive wooden belfry topped by a
flattened cupola of lead, all supported
from within by a remarkable structure of
curious timbers. In 1201, the Lord of
Folkestone and the Earl of Guisnes
fought for ownership of the village in a
trial by battle. The Earl won, and
Newington was granted to the Abbey of
Guisnes in Flanders.
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Bishopsbourne, 1903 (ref. 49416) | This village comprises little more than this cluster of charming cottages just off Watling Street, but it has
associations with two noted authors. The Elizabethan theologian Richard Hooker wrote his monumental 'Laws of
Ecclesiastical Polity' during the five years that he was rector here. He is buried in the local church. In 1919, the
former Polish merchant seaman Teodor Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski settled here for the last five years of his life. As
Joseph Conrad, he was renowned as a master of the English novel, and is buried at Canterbury.
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Broadstairs, the Beach 1907 (ref. 58325) | The wheeled bathing machines of earlier pictures have been replaced by this array of circular tents, allowing
Edwardians to divest themselves in privacy. Although changes in fashion meant that clothing was no longer as
restrictive and cumbersome as that of the previous century, changing for a swim must still have been a prolonged
and intricate affair. The line of new hotels along the cliff-top, including the white stuccoed Albion Hotel, and the
crowded beach, are a clear indication of the resort's appeal to holidaymakers.
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Broadstairs, the Harbour 1897 (ref. 39591) | Rows of bathing machines along the shoreline and in front of the low white cliffs demonstrate the popularity, and
prevailing prudery, of immersion in sea-water among the Victorian visitors. The shallow-draught Thames sailing
barge aground on the sands dominates this photograph, taken from the foot of the Elizabethan stone jetty. The
cumbersome leeboards, which helped the vessel to maintain a course, are clearly visible amidships.
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Broadstairs, York Gate 1887 (ref. 19726) | Leading from the old village to the harbour beyond, this 16th-century arch, originally fitted with a portcullis and
gates, was built to protect the settlement against pirates and smugglers. It narrowly escaped demolition in the early
part of the 19th century.
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Broadstairs, the Harbour 1887 (ref. 19707) | The 'rare good sands', as Charles Dickens described them, still form the focal point of this 'old-fashioned watering
place' where 'Nicholas Nickleby', 'David Copperfield', 'The Old Curiosity Shop', and 'Barnaby Rudge' were all
written by him in houses overlooking this same view. A fishing hamlet in 1837 when he first visited, it quickly
expanded into the quiet family resort it remains today.
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Brompton, the Gordon Memorial and R E Institute 1894 (ref. 34043) | This 1890 bronze statue of General Gordon of Khartoum on camel-back was the work of E Onslow Ford, and
commemorates his illustrious career. It was erected five years after the general's death. He had been in command
of the Royal Engineers at Gravesend from 1865-71, and was responsible for the construction of the protective forts
along the Thames. The adjacent Royal Engineers Museum contains many Gordon relics, including the folding
chair he used at Khartoum, and a yellow jacket given to him by the Emperor of China.
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Canterbury, St John's Hospital Gateway 1898 (ref. 40848) | Here we see the half-timbered gatehouse of the Hospital of St John, founded by Archbishop Lanfranc in 1084 and
the second oldest medieval almshouse in England, which stands in Northgate Street, outside the original city walls
close to the River Stour.
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