MEETINGS: 2024-2025

Meetings are held upstairs in the Moyeuvre-Grande room at the Devonshire Rooms. Stairs and a lift are available.
2 October 2024. AGM. Following the business part
of the meeting, Jeremy Hayes and Andrew Ashbee
will talk about the Snodland Charities. Jerry is
currently chairman of the Godden Charity, founded
in 1662 and still extant today. Andrew will survey
the eight other charities, many of which also
survive.in some form.

6 November 2024. Andrew Ashbee. “Industry
Transforms Snodland: 1841-1881.”.

4 December 2024. The usual Christmas meeting with
refreshments and any new pictures.

5 February 2025 David Carder. ‘Traditional Kentish
Papermaking.’ Following on from Chris Howick’s
talk on Snodland Paper Mill last year, David will
explore other local mills, in particular the Len valley,
Loose valley and Dartford. He writes: I go though the
history back to papyrus (the origin of the word
“paper”) … I have a lot of early illustrations of
machines and processes which should be of interest.
One of my favourite walks is along the Loose Stream
from Loose to Tovil looking at the old mills, of
which quite a lot survives.

5 March 2025 Helen Worthy: A few Rochester
Women. Helen is the Manager of Medway Archives
Centre and recently wrote a book published by the
City of Rochester Society: Hidden Histories—The
Stories of 100 Medway Women (£15). She will select
only about three of them, one of whom is Waghorn’s
sister Mary Jane, who lived in Rochester.

2 April 2025. (Hopefully), Jeremy Clarke

7 May 2025. I am very pleased to welcome Deborah
Collins, who will speak on the Malling Union
Workhouse, formerly at West Malling. Her website
at kentworkhouses.uk gives much information on all
of them, but our interest is naturally particularly
concerned with the local parishes.

Visitors are welcome at £2 each