Thinking of Going to America?

If you are thinking of making a long-term trip to America, especially New England, then eminent historian and CHAS speaker, Dr Doreen Rosman, can tell you what to pack. Well she could if you were travelling in about 1630. In a well attended lecture at St Paul’s Church on 13th March, Doreen explained the background … Read more

History of the St Lawrence Cricket Ground

Cricket has been played at the St Lawrence Cricket Ground (image 1) for over 170 years and, in a well-attended and entertaining talk, the Director of the Kent Cricket Heritage Trust, Jonathan Rice, explained why there is a historical connection (of sorts) to more than one kind of primate (images 2 and 3). The talk … Read more

Smuggling in Romney Marsh

In a very entertaining talk to CHAS members, Blue Badge Guide, Sue Duckworth, explained how smuggling in Romney Marsh can be dated back to the early 13th Century when King John imposed export taxes on wools, and how the Romney Marsh sheep were highly valued for the quality of their fleece. With successive governments imposing … Read more

Reawakening the Maison Dieu – Martin Crowther

The Maison Dieu in Dover will surely be high on the list of attractions for CHAS members to visit when it reopens to the public in early 2024. In a fascinating talk, Martin Crowther (Engagement officer for the Maison Dieu) described its foundation (circa 1203) as a pilgrim hospital by William de Burgh (image 1) … Read more

Medieval Medicine – Toni Mount

In our first zoom talk of the 2023 autumn term, Toni Mount (who obtained her MA from the University of Kent via a dissertation focused on ‘A Physician’s Handbook‘ from 1450) brought medieval medicine back to life.  She started by reminding us that in the medieval period illness was thought to be a punishment from God, … Read more

David Lewis, CHAS Website Founder

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the recent death of David Lewis, former chair of CHAS, and the originator of the CHAS website. The CHAS website was originally launched by David Lewis in 2009, and he has been the main contributor of pages, articles and photographs ever since. We know that many … Read more

Musical History at St Paul’s Church

CHAS held its first face to face talk since the pandemic at St Paul’s Church on September 13th (image 1 below). CHAS Chairman, Bob Collins wore a special musical tie for the occasion, but it took our speaker, Dr Stephen Foster, Senior Lay Clerk at Canterbury Cathedral, less than a second to identify the fragment … Read more

Prehistoric Hand Axe Found in Nackington

CHAS Website visitor, Howard Farmer, has sent us some pictures of a hand axe he found lying on the surface of a field in Nackington. Howard actually made this find approximately 24 years ago, but was inspired to take a fresh look at it following the recent reporting of a similar find on a National … Read more

Underground Activity

This pile of material on part of the St Augustine’s Abbey site (English Heritage) has been getting bigger throughout this week. Why? Professor Ken Dark is directing a limited archaeological investigation on the north side of the Church of Sts Peter and Paul, which was built in the early years of the 7th century. The … Read more

King’s School Walk July 14th 2023

On Friday July 14th Peter Henderson (King’s School Archivist and former King’s School master) gave a guided walk around the grounds of the King’s School buildings, which occupy parts of the former site of the Benedictine Monastery at Christ Church Cathedral. Peter was a tremendous fount of knowledge and greatly entertained and educated an enthusiastic … Read more