; Saturday 10 May 2003 i KENT HISTORY FEDERATION CONFEREN AT CRANBROOK The Kent History Federation annual conference will take place at Cranbrook this year. We want to encourage more members to attend this event and full details will be sent to you in the March newsletter. The format of the conference will be various topics of discussion in the morning followed by visits to places of interest in the afternoon. We urge you to join in this sociable event in the capital of the Weald of Kent A weekday in May 2003 A VISIT TO BOURNE HOUSE,_BRIDGpE p Lady Tadgell of Bourne House has very kindly agreed to arrange another tour of Bourne House, but at the time of going to press a firm date has not been agreed. It will however be a weekday sometime in May. Those who were not on the last tour over four years ago will be given priority. As we will be limited to 30 we are restricting this strictly to members. There is no chargefor this tour but we will be asking for a donation of £3.00 per person which will be given to a charity of Lady Tadgellk choice. 3. 00 pm Bourne House. jb Saturday 21 June2003 A SUMMER EVENING IN DEAL We will start with a tour of the Deal Maritime and Lifeboat museum, this will be followed by a tea on the Strand in Walmer. After tea we will walk along the seafront to Deal to join David Collyer for a guided tour of the historic lanes and streets of Deal finishing up at the Pier at approximately 7.30 pm. The visit will be in member's own cars 4.00pm Bridge Recreation Ground Car Park Members £ 7. 50 n0n—meml7ers £9.00 including tea and guided tour: dg Tuesday 24 September ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The first meeting of the year will be preceded by a short Annual General Meeting, to review last years programme and to hear the Treasurer's report. this will also be an opportunity for you to have a say in what you would like the Society to do for you. 7.30pm Bridge Village Hall Bridge & District History Society was formed in 1995 to promote interest in aspects of local history in and around the villages of Barham, Bekesbourne, Bishopsbourne, Bridge. Kingston and Patrixbourne. County—wide Aspects are served through the Society's membership of the Kent History Federation. The evening meetings are informal and sociable. Transport and or escorts can usually be arranged with other members living nearby. On trips by members cars, those without transport can usually be accommodated in the spare seats. Please contact the organiser of each event for arrangements. Please contact any Society officer or committee member if you need any help. Membership is annual commencing in September. Rates are £6.00 single, £10.00 double and £4.00 for each additional person residing at the same address. Newsletters with a record of previous meetings and advance notice of the next events will be sent out in September, November, January, March and May. Chairman John Bishop Tel. 832596 Secretary Jenny Vye Tel. 830983 Treasurer Maurice Raraty Tel. 830508 Committee Janet Bishop I Tel. 832596 Meriel Conner * Tel. 830487 David Gilmour Tel. 832450 David Millyard Tel. 830256 Published by David Gilmour 01072002 Produced by the University of Kent Printing Unit 97055 8/02 PROGRAMME 2002-2003 8! DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY Tuesday 24 September 2002 BRIDGE — THE FIRST j 2.000 YEARS Bridge has been inhabited since before Roman times. In this talk Maurice Raraty, with the aid of material from the village archive, will trace a brief history of the village, using people, places and events as illustrations. It may surprise you to know how much of the past has survived, though much has vanished. 7.30pm Bridge Village Hall Members £2.00, non-members £3.00 including refreshments . Saturday 192 October 2002 A A VISIT TOWYE AND WYE COLLEGE A visit in members’ own cars to Wye for a guided walk, conducted by Meriel Conner, around the centre of Wye with it’s older houses and cottages clustering around the Church of SS Gregory and Martin. We will also visit the medieval Wye college, for a tour and tea. I .3 0pm Bridge Recreation Ground Car Park Members £10.00, n0n—members £12.50 including tea Tuesday 12 November 2002 JOHN TOM OF A BOSSINGTON WOOD A talk by Douglas Chapman on a little—known, but fascinating aspect of Kent’s history. John Tom also known as Mad Torn rode around Kent on a white horse pretending to be a Messiah, gathered l00 disciples and shot a policeman who came to arrest him. The subsequent riot in which John Tom was killed is known as the battle of Bossington Wood. 7.30pm Bridge Village Hall Members £2.00, non—mernbers £3. 00 including refreshments jv Saturday 14 December 2002 I A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS LUNCH In a departure from our usual tradition, this year we will be having a formal lunch in Victorian style. Based on an 1887 Golden Jubilee menu we will be closely following the Victorian tradition of Christmas. There will be a prize for the lady with the best Victorian style bonnet and for the gentlemen with the best Victorian hat. 12.30pmfor 1.00pm White Horse Hotel, Bridge Members £18.50. n0n—members £20.00 dg Tuesday 14 January 2003 A CANTERBURY TALE THE FILM A talk by Paul Tritton on the film set in 1944 Canterbury will show extracts from this very odd but evocative film made by Bekesbourne born Michael Powell. The film, known now as a classic and his finest film, was shot locally and shows many aspects of wartime Canterbury and district. 7.30pm Bridge I/zllage Hall [Members £2. 00, n0n—members £3. 00 including refreshments jv Tuesday 11 February 2003 PASSPORTS, ASSASSINS, TRAITORS AND SPIES A talk by the always entertaining Martin Lloyd following on his talk the year before last on passports. This time Martin will give details of scoundrels and worse who have passed through our county and our ports. The talk will be at the White Horse in Bridge and the cost will include hot refreshments. 7.30pm White Horse Hotel, Bridge. Members £6.00, non—members £8.00 including refreshments Tuesday 11 March 2003 THE STARHILL DIG I I . BRIDGE In May 2002 Dr Paul Wilkinson of the Kent Archaeological Field School conducted a dig on Star Hill above Bourne House, with the aid of 20 enthusiastic volunteers. His talk will tell us about what he found there, and in other digs he has conducted in East Kent, and what they add to our knowledge of the district. 7.30 pm Bridge Village Hall Members £2.00 , non—n1embers £3.00 1nr M Saturday 22 March 2003 I ANTIQUES VALUATION A AFTERNOON An exclusive opportunity for Society members to have their treasures valued in the village. A Valuer will pass his opinions on yours and others antiques, this will be combined with an antiques quiz. This is restricted to members only and to 2 items per person maximum. 2.00 pm Bridge Village Hall Members only £2.00 including refreshments. dg Saturday 26 April 2003 FIREPOWER EXHIBITION AT WOOLWICH ARSENAL A visit by coach to the fascinating museum at Woolwich, showing the development of weapons and in particular artillery, from the earliest times. Woolwich has been the home of the Royal Artillery since l7l6, although guns were first based there in 1667 and now houses the Firepower Exhibition. 9.3 0 am Bridge Post Oflice Members £18.00, non-members £20.00 jb