Merry Christmas to all of our readers from the Kent Archives and Local History Service team! Above is an example of one of the many Victorian and Edwardian Christmas cards contained within U1007/Z28; the cards were collected by the Polhill-Drabble family of Sevenoaks and demonstrate how these festive greetings used to be treasured by their recipients.

In this edition of our newsletter we have an update on the progress of the Kent Manorial Documents Register Project for Kent; an insight into what the study of names in parish registers can reveal about trends in social history; news about our recent Archives’ searchroom survey; and details of the newly catalogued Kent Cyclist Battalion collection, which continues our celebration of the centenary of the end of World War 1.

Issue Twelve, Winter 2018

Document in detail: Architect's specifications and plans, with accompanying letters, for repair of bomb damage, Maidstone [Md/HP/AW2]

Jonathan Barker, Archive Collections Officer This interesting file contains specifications, plans and photographs of the repair to various residential properties in Maidstone damaged by enemy action between the years 1940-1945. This is the story behind one of them:

In the dark days of 1940, the Battle of Britain was being waged in the skies above Kent. Each time an aircraft was destroyed or irreparably damaged it invariably had to come down in the towns, villages and fields of Kent. 'White 6' was one such aircraft. Flown by 20-year-old Unteroffizier (Corporal) Fritz Hotzelmann, it was a Messerschmitt fighter based at Champagne Les Guines in the Pas de Calais. The unit badge, painted on the side of all aircraft in his squadron, was a chimney sweep carrying a ladder – quite a coincidence considering where this aircraft would end up!

On September 5, Fritz Hotzelmann took off with his squadron to fly a diversionary fighter sweep. Over Biggin Hill the aircraft became engaged in a dogfight with defending RAF Spitfires. His aircraft damaged, Hotzelmann was forced out of the combat and pursued by Pilot Officer Haines at low level back towards the coast. On reaching Maidstone the aircraft's engine, trailing black smoke, finally gave up. Pulling the aircraft's nose up Hotzelmann baled out at 800 feet, the parachute barely opening enough to break his fall. Landing heavily onto the roof of number 3 John Street, he broke both of his legs, but survived.

The abandoned aircraft smashed into the rear of number 6 Hardy Street, the wing cutting through the slate tiled roof, and disintegrated in the garden. Mrs Gladys Hattersley, her three month old son Derrick, her sister-in-law and her son were sheltering in the cellar when the aircraft crashed. Mrs Hattersley did not normally shelter in the cellar; indeed, between raids she had often allowed Derrick to sleep in his pram on the lawn. The family had certainly had a lucky escape.

Part of the specification paperwork and photographs for the repairs to be

undertaken to 6 Hardy Street, Maidstone, from Md/HP/AW2.

https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_Md_H_P_A_W_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_Md_H_P_A_W_2

Document in detail: Architect's specifications and plans, with accompany-ing letters, for repair of bomb damage, Maidstone [Md/HP/AW2]

Jonathan Barker, Archive Collections Officer

Left: An image from the cover of Anthony Webb's book Battle Over Kent shows the dramatic scene at number 6 Hardy Street soon

after the aircraft crashed through the house and disintegrated in the back garden. Notice the bedroom fire place, exposed to the

elements by the Messerschmitt carrying a chimney sweep badge! Right: The photograph taken by William H. Poole to accompany

his specification of works for the repairs [Md/HP/AW2]. The damaged roof has been covered with a tarpaulin, the debris swept

from the bedroom, and the cast iron fireplace moved to the side.

A Kent Messenger photographer was soon on the scene to capture the smouldering remains. Mrs Hattersley, and those sheltering in the cellar, were rescued through the front cellar window. At 16.07 hours the Maid-stone Borough ARP control received a situation report:

With reference to the incident which occurred at 10.15 hrs., premises made safe, machine burnt out, roof and back roof of No. 6 Hardy Street demolished, telephone lines down and garage at rear dam-aged. [C/Ad1/3]

Mrs Hattersley temporarily moved to Square Hill while her house was made habitable.

As part of his survey and specification of works, registered architect William H. Poole F.R.I.B.A, of 33 Earl Street Maidstone (now grade II listed Broughton House) noted the necessary repairs, amongst which were instructions to:

Take down dangerous brickwork in back bedroom, about 4 ft 6” wide and re-instate, providing any necessary strutting or shoring.

Back wall of this wing is already down. Re-build complete with new window and fireplace and flue complete as before. [Md/HP/AW2]

Many years later the back garden was excavated by the Kent Battle of Britain Museum and various parts of the aircraft were dug up. A complete propeller blade, used as a bird table stand, was donated to the museum by a local resident. These items can be seen today at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawking.

Anyone interested to learn more can read Anthony Webb’s Battle Over Kent [K942.54 WEB], copies of which are held at the Kent History and Library Centre and other local libraries, and Nigel Parker and Simon Parry, eds., Luftwaffe Crash Archive, vol. 3: 30th August 1940 to 9th September 1940, held at Ashford library.

https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_Md_H_P_A_W_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_Md_H_P_A_W_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_C_A_d_1_3https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_Md_H_P_A_W_2https://kent.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/OPAC/BIBENQ/49033373/70013539,4https://kent.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/OPAC/BIBENQ?BRN=3583143

Observations on Parish Records: All in the Name

Alison Linklater, Archive Collections Assistant (Digitisation)

Whilst scanning the parish registers as part of our digitisation project with Findmypast Centre we have be-come very familiar with their contents, and above all have encountered numerous names. Every page rec-ords the identity of individuals at crucial points in their lives, as well as the names of the officiating ministers, and random strangers who happened to be passing through each parish. In this article I will talk about these people’s names and how they change, evolve, can be quirky or poignant. When it comes to popular names there are obviously the perennials, such as Mary, John, William, Elizabeth, Ann, George and James, that were handed down from parent to child, and if that child didn’t survive, then often to the next child too. But changing times also generated new names like Adolphus, Philadelphia, and Fortunatus that were influenced by current events and fashions. Around the early 1830s I like to think that the abolition of slavery introduced the names Liberty and Allfree (witnessed in baptisms at Ulcombe and Tunbridge Wells, amongst others). Similarly, ‘Horatio’ had it’s turn at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and incidentally in 1848 a Horatio Nelson appears in the baptism register from Holy Trinity parish, Sheerness [P254B/1/B/3]. Other famous namesakes include Napoleon Lou-is Bonaparte Farmer, the son of a shopkeeper, who was baptised in Sutton Valence on 4 July 1841 [P360/1/B/2], and Claudius Cesar Bourne, who was baptised in Orlestone on 15 February 1847 [P276/1/B/1]. In 1887 there was a small and brief flourish of the name ‘Jubilee’, obviously in time for Queen Victoria’s gold-en jubilee: Victor Herbert Jubilee appears in the Trottiscliffe baptism register [P373/1/B/2], and Victoria Jubi-lee was baptised in Rodmersham [P307/1/B/1]. The coronation of King George V aroused similar patriotism, with ‘Queenie’ and ‘Queenie Mary’ becoming notable names. The Boer War introduced names like ‘Pretoria’ and ‘Mafeking’, and the First World War generated ‘Verdun’ and ‘Armistice’ (as seen in the Horsmonden burial register, P192/1/E/3). Around this time American names such as Frank, Donald, Terence, Ray, Betty, Jean and Joan were also favoured. The early nineteenth century saw aspirational and virtuous names such as Constance, Patience, Friend, Pleasance, Obedience and Virtue soar in popularity, although poor little fatherless ‘Repentance’ from Wrotham would have been perpetually burdened by his parents’ mistake [P406/1/B/1]. In contrast, the late nineteenth century saw a flush of floral names for girls, such as Rose, Iris, Lily, Ivy, and even Geranium and Begonia. The latter two were the children of Horsmonden hop pickers, and I do wonder whether the itinerant workers, wayfarers and hop pickers, possibly bringing new-fangled ideas from the cities, were the most in-ventive with names – other notable examples being Portabella, Godolia, Goliath, Tiny, Giant, Ocean and St Helena!

Baptism entry for Claudius Cesar Bourne from the baptism register from St Mary’s parish, Orlestone [P276/1/B/1].

https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P254B_1_B_3https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P360_1_B_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P360_1_B_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P276_1_B_1https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P373_1_B_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P307_1_B_1https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P192_1_E_3https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P406_1_B_1https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P276_1_B_1

Observations on Parish Records: All in the Name

Alison Linklater, Archive Collections Assistant (Digitisation)

When I came across the name ‘Mahershalalhashbaz’ (recorded at baptisms in both Sevenoaks P330/1/B/1 and Tudeley P374/1/A/4), I at first wondered if the parents had gone to the baptism drunk and made up the name on the spot! Drunken behaviour is occasionally commented on in the registers, sometimes even in re-spect to the minister, or the godparents, as in this incident recorded at Milton (P253/1/A/3):

a Striking Instance of the Immorality of the Times, the sponsors of [the child]...behaved them-selves at the Font, in a most shameful manner, by drinking of liquor and handing about the same in the Face of a large Congregation, for which offence they were presented.

‘Mahershalalhashbaz’ is in fact a biblical name, the longest in the bible. Variant spellings of names could also arise from the parents’ illiteracy, although one minister at St Nicholas parish, Sevenoaks, also struggled with possible dyslexia, recording names such as Margreat, Peeter, Stephn, Robard, and Dority. An insert at the back of the Tudeley baptism register P374/1/B/1 (1813-1835) likewise records such delightful spellings as: Elliner, Gorge, Allfred, Fridwick, Hanner, Horis, Harrioutt, Daved, Abbegal, Whalter, Barberia, Agusta Roada, Cristefor, Harrot and Febe. Poignant amongst the registers are also those individuals with no names. An infant found abandoned in Paul Street, Milton next Sittingbourne was baptised under the name ‘Paul Street’ in lieu of any family identity on 5 December 1871 [P253/1/B/3]. Even less fortunate were the many infants who were buried before they were baptised and are simply listed as ‘the son’ or ‘daughter’ of named parents. Likewise, some strangers to the parish who died before they were able to communicate their names are listed as ‘a stranger, name unknown’. Some of the coastal parishes, particularly Lydd, frequently had bodies washed ashore from shipwrecks, some only identifiable by markings in their clothing. It is disturbing to know that the families of these ‘strangers’ never knew the whereabouts or circumstances of their loved one’s death, and their names would never be recorded on a headstone. One particularly gruesome incident is recorded in the All Saints parish, Woodchurch burial register in 1888 [P400/1/E/2] regarding ‘A Stranger (Male) name unknown’ who was: Subsequently ascertained to be Staff Sergeant John Fenn R.A. [Royal Artillery] from papers and articles found on his person – and specified in a letter from Woolwich by his wife - who after wards herself identified the body, which was exhumed for her inspection.

Drunken behaviour by the sponsors (godparents) present at Joseph George’s baptism in Milton was condemned by the vicar, as

this additional note in the baptism register records [P253/1/A/3].

https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P374_1_A_4https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P253_1_A_3https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P374_1_B_1https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P253_1_B_3https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P400_1_E_2https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_P253_1_A_3

Catalogue Transfer Project Sixth update on newly transferred catalogues The following catalogues have recently been added and will be available on our online catalogue soon:

Sevenoaks Library Collections U1000/1: Farnaby-Austen manuscripts U1000/2: Lambarde manuscripts U1000/3: Middleton (Willoughby) manuscripts U1000/4: Stanhope manuscripts U1000/5: Hyde Turner collection U1000/6: BRS and BRA [British Records Society and British Records Association] collection U1000/8: Amherst manuscripts U1000/9: Cohen manuscripts U1000/10: Dr Gordon Ward collection U1000/11: Voter’s list for Seal: A. G. Anderson, 1941 U1000/12: Title deeds (Sevenoaks): Major Clarke, 1946 U1000/13: Title deeds (Penshurst): H. Durtnall, 1959 U1000/14: Sheriff’s quietus for W. H. Morland: Hugh D. Knight, 1934 U1000/15: Title deeds (Seal): Miss Sawyer, 1933 U1000/16: Title deeds (Cowden, Sevenoaks, Otford, Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, Maresfield, Staplehurst): F. W. Tyler, 1930 U1000/17: Martin of Chipstead manuscripts U1000/19: Source unknown, possibly H. W. Knocker U1000/20: Various records of provenance unknown U1000/21: H. W. Knocker collection U1000/22: Mrs William Pett manuscripts U1000/23: Sevenoaks School and Almshouse records U1000/24: Lambarde manuscripts U1000/25: Bessels Green Baptist Church records (now Sevenoaks Unitarian Church) U1000/27: Sevenoaks Amicable Society records U1000/29: Martin and Dolton manuscripts U1000/30: Royal Crown Hotel, Sevenoaks records U1000/31: N. How and Sons records U1000/32: Sevenoaks Literary and Scientific Association records U1000/33: F. D. Ibbett and Company records U1000/34: Joseph Stevenson manuscripts U1000/35: Holmesdale Medical Provident Club records U1000/36: Beechy Lees Estate manuscripts U1000/37: Sevenoaks Lay Association/ District Nursing Association records U1000/38: Sevenoaks Primrose League records U1000/39: Sevenoaks Master Bakers’ Association records U1000/40: Sevenoaks United Relief Committee records U1000/41: Sevenoaks Poetry Society records U1000/42: Sevenoaks and District Chamber of Trade records U1000/43: Otford Smallholders Ltd. Records U1000/45: Red Cross and YMCA Gift Sale records U1000/47: S. Young records U1000/48: Sevenoaks Ratepayers Association records U1327: Title deeds for Boughton Monchelsea, Loose, East Farleigh, Maidstone, East Peckham, Hadlow and Tudeley, 1742-1900 U1379: Title deeds and estate papers, various parishes, and brewery company papers, 1617-1926 U1401: The Yeandle collection relating to Bearsted, 1767-1964 U1666: Deeds, 1699-1903 U1922: Apothecary’s prescription books of J. H. Bishop Ltd., 14 Mount Pleasant, Tunbridge Wells, 1868-1975 U1926: Sale particulars for property in east Kent, 1927-1973 U1974: Papers of the Moore family, 1805-1975 U2039: Scrapbooks, photographs and miscellaneous papers, 1914-1968 U2174: Miscellaneous deeds, 1593-1720

Newly Catalogued: Kent Cyclist Battalion [Ch139]

Jonathan Shepherd, Archives Service Officer

As early as 1888 the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the East Kent Regiment had formed a Cyclist Section, but it

was the usefulness of military cyclists in the Boer War that led to the formation of cyclist battalions. The

Kent Cyclist Battalion was formed in 1908 as part of the new territorial army, designed to defend Britain

against invasion when the regular army was deployed overseas. The main role of the battalion was to patrol

the British coastline. In 1916 the battalion was sent to fight in India. After nine months of training in Southern

India around Bangalore the battalion was deployed to the North-West Frontier region (modern day

Pakistan). From there it travelled right across the Punjab for a period of rest at the hill station at Dalhousie,

before returning to active service on the North-West Frontier. In April 1919, just when the battalion were

looking forward to returning home, civil unrest broke out in the Punjab and they were required to help

contain this. Following this, the battalion took part in the Third Afghan War in the summer of 1919 around

Peshawar and the Khyber Pass. The battalion was effectively disbanded early in 1920.

Such was the spirit of comradeship developed during their time in India that the ex-members of the battalion

formed their own Old Comrades Association in 1929. The aims of the Association were to perpetuate the

memory of the Kent Cyclist Battalions and their work before and during the War, and to help any member,

or widow of a member, needing assistance. Branches of the Old Comrades Association were formed at

Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Ashford, Bromley, Canterbury, Folkestone, Isle of Thanet and

London.

The collection contains correspondence, publications, diaries, files and even artefacts such as a bullet case

[Ch139/Z4/4]. The collection is particularly rich in photographs and contains several hundred images and

four photo albums. Amongst the subjects of the images are individual soldiers, buildings (both interior and

exterior views), landscapes, group shots, railways and fascinating scenes of army and native life. Most

significantly, many of the photographs contain a title/description which is invaluable in aiding understanding

of this item for research purposes.

With this year being the centenary of the end of the First World War, this collection forms a wonderful

resource for anyone wishing to discover more about the lives of the many people who fought and died in

this significant conflict.

Indian Photograph Album from the Kent Cyclists Battalion collection [Ch139/Ph1/1 ]

Kent Archives’ Searchroom Survey

Sheila Malloch, Customer Services Officer—Archives and Local History

If you have visited the Kent Archives’ searchroom

in the last couple of months you will have been

asked to complete a survey on our services. This

was a national survey organised by the Archives

and Records Association (UK and Ireland), to

assess and compare the services offered by

different archives. We are very grateful to

everyone who completed a survey and although

we cannot answer any comments on a personal

level because the surveys were submitted

anonymously, we can respond to some of the

common points that were raised.

Naturally, we were especially pleased to receive

praise for the staff and the service given. It gives

us a real boost when we know that we have

helped someone find the information that they

require.

We also received a few comments regarding

aspects of our service that were not up to the

standard expected. Firstly, there were several

comments regarding the toilets. Unfortunately at

the time of the survey several of the toilets were

out of order, and although these were repaired as

quickly as possible, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We will continue to work with our library

colleagues to ensure the toilets meet the high standards that our customers deserve.

Another of your concerns was the lack of onsite parking. There are disabled bays outside the building which

can be used for the whole of your visit, and metered parking alongside the adjacent football ground. If you

are unsure where to park, then please contact the Archives staff in advance or enquire during your next

visit; they will be able to recommend local carparks that they use or advise on public transport from various

directions.

There were a few negative comments about the decision to close the Archives to the public on Mondays.

The changes to our opening hours were approved following public consultation, and our decision to close

on a Monday was determined after this was shown to be our quietest day in terms of visitor numbers.

Closing to the public for one day a week enables us to undertake backroom jobs to ensure the long-term

preservation of the records and make them more accessible. Staff are also working to ensure that more of

our paper catalogues are made available online to help with your research, and you can learn more about

this in our Catalogue Transfer Project updates.

If you interested to find out more about staff roles beyond the searchroom, we offer a free tour on every first

Wednesday in the month at 2.00pm. This lasts about an hour and gives you the opportunity to see the

Reprographics Studio, one of the strongrooms, how we retrieve your requested documents, the archivists’

workroom, and the conservation studio. Places are limited to 10 people per tour and can be booked by

calling 03000 420673.

If you have any questions when you come to use the Archives, please ask the staff on the enquiry desk in

the searchroom. You can also request specialist advice about the records from the Archivist on duty.

Once again, thank you to all who undertook the survey and when we have the results we will be able to see

which aspects of the service we are doing well and where we need to improve.

Kent History and Library Centre, James Whatman Way, Maidstone, ME14 1LQ

Telephone: 03000 413131

If you have any comments regarding this newsletter please contact:

archives@kent.gov.uk

Manorial Documents Register Project Update

Liz Finn, Manorial Documents Register Project Officer for Kent

I’ve spent most of October and part of Novem-ber working at the British Library (BL) and the National Archives (TNA). I’d visited TNA a cou-ple of times before and even been a reader at the old Public Record Office Reading Rooms at Chancery Lane, but I’d never used the BL be-fore. The last few weeks have been a very steep learning curve for me, but they’ve also been an interesting and rewarding experience.

Both repositories use electronic ordering and limit the number of documents which can be consulted in one day, something I haven’t yet fully mastered! However, not all the catalogues were online and, to my delight, I found myself using some splendid manuscript catalogues da-ting from the 1830s at the BL. The BL collections were much more varied than any others I’ve worked on and sometimes the material was so diverse I felt as if I was taking part in an archival lucky dip!

Once I got used to it, I really enjoyed working in the BL’s Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the documents were stunning. The first one I

looked at was Add MS 6159, a Canterbury Cathedral manuscript of, probably, the 1290s, containing details of the rents and services of the Cathedral’s manors, embellished with scarlet and blue initials and contain-ing notes by William Somner. At the bottom of folio 288v there was a drawing of ‘Meyster Asketin’ shooting an arrow at a dragon, which, for those who weren’t sure, had helpfully been labelled ‘draco’. (You couldn’t really mistake it for anything else: it’s a very fine dragon!)

Probably the most fruitful source for the MDR was the Streatfeild Collection, consisting of notes and tran-scriptions by the antiquarian Thomas Streatfeild (1777-1848), one of the Chiddingstone Streatfeilds. For example, Add MS 33899 contains many extracts from court rolls which were in private hands when Streat-feild saw them in the 1830s and which no longer survive. From this one manuscript alone, I was able to add records for eleven manors which had not previously been included in the MDR.

At TNA I focused on the court rolls in the SC 2 series. SC was formerly known as ‘Special Collections’, and comprises documents brought together from various sources in the late 19th century; unfortunately, this loss of archival context sometimes made it hard to identify the manors. Additionally, some documents were in poor condition or partly illegible because of the conditions in which they’d been stored before they were transferred to the Public Record Office, or due to the chemicals used to bring up faded writing in the 19th century. Others, however, such as the 13th century rolls for Lewisham and Greenwich, looked so fresh they could almost have been written yesterday.

The SC2 court rolls for Kent date from the late 13th to the late 17th centuries and many relate to manors which had belonged to religious houses, such as Battle Abbey, Boxley Abbey, Lewisham Priory and the Abbey of St Mary Graces by the Tower of London. There are good runs of court rolls for Boxley, Green-wich, Lewisham and the Battle Abbey manors of Dengemarsh and, in particular, Wye. The rolls for Denge-marsh contain several memoranda from the 1320s concerning the lords’ ownership of items washed ashore from shipwrecks, known as the right of wreck. The memoranda list goods taken from wrecks by the lords’ tenants, including iron and cloth, and also mention a fishing boat from Hythe, the whole crew of which drowned.

So far I have added more than 700 records for the BL to the MDR database and over 200 for TNA. I shall shortly be returning to TNA to work on other SC series containing rentals, surveys and accounts.

Draft court rolls for the manors of Chiddingstone Burgherst and

Rendeslegh, 1485-1543 [U908/M3], from the Streatfeild family col-

lection held at Kent Archives, which is linked to the manorial rec-

ords held at the British Library.

mailto:archives@kent.gov.uk?subject=Heritage%20Services%20Newslettermailto:archives@kent.gov.uk?subject=Heritage%20Services%20Newsletterhttps://www.kentarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB51_U908_1_1_3