KEMSING HERITAGE CENTRE
Registered Charity No.1099289
Tel.01732 761772

Kemsing village from the south
Kemsing is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the foot of the North Downs in the County of Kent. There are footpaths to the Kemsing Nature Reserve and the North Downs Way, with far reaching panoramic views.

A winter view from the top of Green Hill looking westwards
The village centres round a well, dedicated to St. Edith the daughter of King Edgar. She was born in Kemsing AD961. The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin has Saxon origins and there are many listed buildings in the village.
NEW!!
We are pleased to announce the publication of Monty Parkin's book A Village Remembered. Click here for details of this and other publications.
NEW ARCHIVE CENTRE
Building of the new archive centre has now started and we hope it will be completed by April this year. Thanks to the generosity of the many people who have contributed to the building fund by donations and fundraising events, we managed to raise the money required in record time. However, we are still fundraising to equip the store with appropriate archive storage.
Archive
The Heritage Centre has an extensive archive of material relating to the history of Kemsing and its inhabitants, a large proportion of which was donated by the late Vic Bowden, a local historian and author of The Story of Kemsing in Kent. This material is the result of many years work and a valuable resource that can be used for family history research. It is stored in various locations at the moment but once we have the new archive centre it can be viewed by appointment. We are happy to answer queries but these may take a little time as we are all volunteers and time is limited!
We also have a large photographic archive which has been digitised with the help of a team of volunteers and a grant from Awards for All. The photographic archive can be viewed in the Library and a very small selection of images can be seen in the Gallery.
During 2010 there will be a series of displays at Kemsing Library, Dippers Close, Kemsing TN15 6QD
We will be holding two Archive days this year at the Library.
17th April 10am - 1pm
6th November 10am - 1pm
Programme of Events 2010
AGM 20th February St Edith Hall 2.30pm
The Heritage Centre will be presenting a number of talks and events during 2010 at St Edith Hall.
Talks: 8.00pm Members Free - Non Members £2.50 unless specified
| 29th Jan | Surviving by Magic. The story of Fergus Anckhorn Japanese POW | Monty Parkin | |
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5th March |
Romance of School in the 1950s
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Ian White | |
| 4th June | Ely Cathedral. Saxon Times - Victorian Times | Michael White |
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| 3rd Sept | Pioneer of Flight. 100 years since the flight of J B Moisant and his crash at Kemsing | Monty Parkin |
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| 1st Oct | Spirit of Invicta | Bob Ogley | |
| 29th Oct | Family History. The story behind a Canadian WWI grave in the Churchyard | Jane Bowden | |
| 3rd Dec | Social Evening |
Family Walks
| 21st Feb | Snowdrop Walk | 2pm | £2 | |
| 18th Apr | Spring Flowers on the Downs | 2 pm | £2 | |
| 16th May | Listed Buildings | 2pm | £2 | |
| 6th June | Reptiles | 2 pm | £2 | |
| 22nd Aug | Barbecue and Walk | 12 noon | Ticket only | |
| 17th Oct | Autumn Colours | 2 pm | £2 |
Walks start from the village car park behind the Wheatsheaf Pub.
For further information about the walks please contact Brian Buttifant.
Tel 01732 761440
War Memorial: details of the names on the memorial.
Kemsing Strays 1881: people born in Kemsing but living elsewhere at the time of the 1881 Census.
V.A.D. Hospital 1914-18 Patients Staff
For further information please Contact us.
© Kemsing Heritage Centre Association 2010
This site is maintained for Kemsing Heritage Centre by Jane Bowden