Romans and Saxons at Kingsnorth Primary School
We got off to a great start this summer with a visit to Year 4 at Kingsnorth Primary School, where we talked about Chilmington during Roman times (with Roman artefacts to handle). We also considered how the Roman period came to an end, and how the Saxon period began. Was it a gradual, peaceful migration of Saxon people, or something more sudden? Archaeologists still debate exactly how this happened. The children came up with some great ideas, and at the end of our session we re-enacted their favorite theory…both classes decided that it might not have been particularly peaceful after all!
Singleton Environment Centre Drop-In Day
Our drop-in at the Singleton Environment Centre was a huge success, attracting over 100 visitors! The volunteer team went all-out, showing off our work on Chilmington in Wartime, as well as the story so far for our Fields of the Stour Valley project, and our Ritual and Religion topic.
There were mini-lectures suitable for all ages, an artefact handling collection and art activities for our younger guests. Check out this beautifully decorated re-imagining of RAF Ashford’s ‘Boogie Woogie Coffee Shop’. We think the boys of the 406th Fighter Group would have approved!
Summer Festivals and VE Day
We were thrilled to show off the work of our volunteer research team at a variety of community events across the summer, including Chilmington in Wartime on VE Day itself at Ashford Gateway.
Then we were off to the fun-filled Salute to the 1940s at Newtown Green (in partnership with our friends at Ashford Museum). We put on a good display…
…but were slightly upstaged by a replica spitfire!
Next on the list was the Great Chart Big Lunch with a pop-up museum focusing on the history and archaeology of Chilmington during prehistoric, Roman and medieval times as part of our Fields of the Stour Valley theme.
Thanks to everyone who came to see us at these events, and to Arlo and Glenn for helping out at our Great Chart pop-up!
Chilmington in Wartime at Ashford Museum
In July, we launched our Chilmington in Wartime topic at Ashford Museum with a mini-lecture and a question-and-answer session that was open to the public. It was nice to see a few familiar faces in the audience that we met at our various fairs and pop-ups over the summer… we hope to see you again, when we roll out our autumn and winter events.
It’s not too late to catch our Ashford Museum pop-up before it relocates to the Chilmington Community Cabin towards the end of this month- do stop by, if you haven’t already!
Singleton Nursing Home: artefact handling and mini-lectures
Thanks so much to the amazing residents and staff at Singleton Nursing Home for welcoming us on Monday 18th August. We were thrilled to share the ‘story so far’ with you, and to show off some amazing archaeological finds from the area, including prehistoric, Roman and medieval artefacts. Community Archaeologist Becky particularly enjoyed the fantastic cake, and she would be very happy to come back soon for more!
