There is a veritable feast of books about Kent, its history, its people, and its cultural heritage – and more are being published all the time. Below are reviews of just some that we have found particularly interesting, but please let us know if there is a book that you think we should review.
The old adage is ‘that a picture is worth a 1000 words’ and this 160 page book contains a myriad of delightful and educational pictures. Moreover, I found the narrative account that accompanies the pictures informative and readable.
The book is divided into 12 chapters, looking at the village, the manor, Meres Court, East...
![[title]](http://bygonekent.org.uk/sites/default/files/imagecache/book-listing/issue-images/A%20Kentish%20Tale%20of%20Men%20and%20Manors.jpg)
This book tells the tale of the Kentish Downs and Wye Gap (an area continuously inhabited since prehistoric times) through the prism of the ancient manor of Eggardon in the parish of Godmersham.
The author tells the story of the ancient ridgeways which carried traffic to the sacred sites in the Stonehenge area, the barrows and burial...
Alfred Hambrook and his brother, Percy, set up a commercial operation supplying postcards of the Mid Kent district from a shop in Snodland in 1904 and continued until the 1940s, although most were printed between 1904 and 1907.
Andrew Ashbee has put together a fascinating collection of these cards and endeavoured to contrast the ‘...
This attractive and impressive large-format book has been compiled by two well-known Deal residents. The artist, Tom Burnham, is also a sportsman and fisherman, and Gregory Holyoake is an actor and teacher as well as a prolific local historian. They have selected 16 historic locations in Deal and Walmer, devoting a double page spread to each: a...
The author gives a brief introduction to Dover’s history to set the scene for the pictures and maps that follow. Some of the most thought-provoking pictures are those that show the devastation caused by enemy action in the Second World War, and the not-always happy rebuilding afterwards. There are also some fine pictures of ships: one of...
This is a scholarly work with many references and appendices. The earliest resident of the Palace was Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, in 1295, and it became a royal palace when gifted to Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward II), remaining in royal use for the next 400 years. It was as important as Windsor Castle and the Tower of London, with...
If someone asked you to describe Faversham, I'm sure the words 'history' and 'tradition' would be uppermost in your thoughts. With the famous Shepherd Neame brewery and the once-busy creek, the town is embedded with those words just about everywhere. Now, Peter Kennett has condensed this history into a selection of more than 200 photographs...
The Battle of Britain 1940 – some 179 aircrew of RAF Fighter Command lost their lives and were listed as ‘missing’. The author has taken this list and tried to solve some of the mysteries, and in doing so records the lives of a dozen of these pilots who remained missing for decades.
For example, Pilot Officer George...
The Port of Dover is constantly in the news – its possible future as a privatised or community owned port, as well as ambitious expansion plans, are discussed in the local media on an almost daily basis. It is timely to take an historical look at the port, which remains vital to the East Kent, and national, economy.
Anthony Lane...
A survey was bought by the Centre for Kentish Studies, containing an unusual amount of detail about the farms, fields, their occupiers and acreage. A medieval historian transcribed and translated it and four residents of Hadlow have built up a Unique picture of life there between 1460 and 1600.
The book discusses the landholdings,...