- Thursday 26 February 2026
Charles Dickens and Kent
Charles Dickens lived as a child in Sheerness and Chatham, honeymooned near Gravesend and often spent the summer in Broadstairs. He lived his last days in Rochester. Kent features in many of his novels, including Great Expectations, David Copperfield and The Pickwick Papers.
After his death in 1870, Dickens’ connection with Kent captured the public imagination. Visitors travelled to the county looking for the sites associated with Pip, Magwitch, David Copperfield and Esther Summerson. Enthusiastic guide writers were on hand to help them. Today, tourists still flock to Rochester and Broadstairs for the Dickens Festivals.
Our guest speaker, Carolyn Oulton will explain what Dickens said about the seaside resorts and towns he helped to popularise. And, she asks, should we believe him?
Carolyn Oulton is Professor of Victorian Literature at Canterbury Christ Church University. She has lectured to the Dickens Fellowship and has a close relationship with the Dickens House Museum in Broadstairs. She is director of the ‘Let’s do the time walk again!’, a National Lottery funded project that explores what it meant to live near the Kent coast at a time when the railways and literary celebrity were transforming the holiday experience.
Thursday 26th February, Shepherdswell Village Hall @ 7.30pm
- Thursday 26 March: Annual General Meeting (followed by a look at documents in the society’s archives)
Sometimes, Annual General Meetings can be tedious affairs. We promise to make ours interesting, informative and useful.
After looking back on our achievements in 2025, we will decide the Society’s priorities for the coming year. The meeting will also re-elect our Committee – and there is always room for more people to join in the work of the Society. After the AGM, Keith Roberts will introduce a selection of historic photos, documents and maps from the Society’s archives.
- Thursday 30 April
The shocking story of John Any Bird Bell – the boy murderer, publicly executed in 1831.
Guest speaker: Mark Bateson
John Any Bird Bell was put to death outside Maidstone Gaol on 1 August 1831. Aged 14, he was the youngest person to be hanged in this country during the nineteenth century.
John was found guilty of murder of another boy, Richard Taylor, aged 13, during a robbery for 9 shillings. The principal witness against him was his accomplice and brother, James Bell, aged 11, who was reprieved.
The court case and execution received huge publicity, much of it sensationalised.
Several songs and ballads were written. John’s execution was witnessed by a crowd of 5000 people. The hangman, William Calcraft, used the newly manufactured ‘drop’ scaffold.
The story of John Any Bird Bell shines a light on nineteenth-century attitudes to crime and punishments, as well as towards young people and those considered ‘outsiders’ by respectable society.
Mark Bateson has been interested in the story of John Any Bird Bell for several decades and written a semi-dramatised version of the trial.
Mark is Archive Engagement Officer at the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone. He is also Chair of Kent Archaeological Society’s Place Names Research Group.
- Thursday 29 May
The beginnings of Shepherdswell Recreation Ground, 1937-1950
On 7 January 1937, a packed meeting in St Andrews Hall – the village hall at the time – heard the exciting news that Henry Edward Harcourt Rice had donated a ‘large plot’ of his land to the village.
It was to be a gift to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Rice stipulated that the land was to be used as ‘a Recreation Ground controlled by the Parish Council’.
Much work needed to be done to put the land in use – and plans were soon interrupted by the Second World War.
But eventually, sufficient funds were raised and the ground was levelled to create the Recreation Ground we know today.
Tonight’s meeting will examine documents and press cutting and piece together the early history of the Recreation Ground.
- Thursday 25 June:
A ‘Walk through Time’ with Keith Roberts.
This year’s Walk Through Time explores Eythorne Road. Keith will tell the story of its people, buildings and events.
The walk starts at the side of the Co-op. We meet at 7.15 for a prompt 7.30 start. There will be an illustrated booklet on sale.
Note: In the event of bad weather, the walk will be postponed until the following Thursday. Look out for notices on social media and email communications.
- Thursday 30 July
Miners in Shepherdswell in 1921
During the early 1920s, Shepherdswell was increasingly viewed as a ‘mining village’, housing miners working in three pits:
Snowdon, Tilmanstone and – before it was abandoned – the Guildford colliery (near Coldred).
But how many miners lived in Shepherdswell and who were they? Stuart Elgar and a small team have been examining the 1921 census to find out. This meeting will hear a progress report and decide how to complete and publicise the research.
- Saturday 5 September
Big History Day
This Year’s Theme: Local Archaeology
11.30 – 2.30, Shepherdswell Village Hall: admission £2
This year, Big History Day is working with local archaeologists to present displays, short talks and information about the wealth of local archaeological finds.
As well as finds from digs in Shepherdswell (Reed Meadow and St Andrews Gardens), the day will feature displays and talks about the treasures found at Golgotha, the burial at Haynes Farm and the significance of Three Barrows Down.
There will be an opportunity to bring your garden finds for examination by trained archaeologists.
Alongside the exhibits, talks, heritage stalls, there will be activities for children.
As usual, there will be fantastic food and refreshments, including an opportunity to indulge in a ploughman’s lunch and home- made cake.
It promises to be a special day. Look out for more details nearer the date!
- Thursday 24 September
The Norman Conquest of Kent with Paul Dalton
This year is the 960th anniversary of 1066. It is also the year that the famous Bayeux Tapestry returns to Britain to be displayed at the British Museum. Everyone knows that 1066 was the year William the Conqueror invaded England and defeated the English king, Harold at the Battle of Hastings. But far less known are the details of what happened next.
In this talk, Paul Dalton explores William’s military campaign through south- east England, particularly Kent. He explains the way in which the Normans redistributed Kentish land and power and outlines the links between Kent and the Bayeux Tapestry. He will also consider the place of Shepherdswell and Coldred in this history.
Paul Dalton’s visits to the History Society have always been well received. An expert in medieval history, Paul has written widely about the Norman Conquest and its aftermath. He is currently writing a book about the Domesday Book.
- Thursday 29 October:
Beating the Bounds with Steven Durbridge
In the days before maps and written title deeds, a knowledge of the physical boundaries of property was very important.
So the custom grew of walking the boundaries of a Parish, stopping at intervals to strike boundary stones to ‘mark’ the bounds. In this talk, Steven will trace the history of ‘Beating the Bounds’ with special reference to Shepherdswell.
He will recreate the route taken by villagers when the practice was resurrected during the early 1920s.
- Thursday 26 November
The Cartoons of David Low: Drawing the ‘Silly Asses’ with Karen Brayshaw
Winston Churchill described David Low as ‘the greatest of our modern cartoonists, the Charlie Chaplin of caricature’. Born in New Zealand in 1891 and moving to London in 1919, Low’s cartoons began to dominate the British press.
His creations included the pompous Colonel Blimp, satirising an establishment, and Joan Bull, to show his support for votes for women.
By the end of the 1930s, Low’s main target was Europe’s fascist dictators – ‘Hit and Muss’ (Hitler and Mussolini).
His cartoons during the Second World War have become iconic. They regularly feature in books and documentaries about the conflict.
Few cartoonists managed to capture the mood of the times more effectively. out-of-touch military
An archive of David Low’s work is conserved at the British Cartoon Archive at the University of Kent.
Karen Brayshaw is the manager of the collection. In this talk, she traces the life and career of Daivd Low and introduces some of the most influential cartoons from the archive.