Bromley Borough Local History Society

11:38am Wednesday 25th June 2008

AT THE June meeting, an almost secret part of Kent was revealed to a fascinated audience.

Dave Perry, who worked at Fort Halstead for many years, told the story of this product of Victorian paranoia situated high on the North Downs, built in 1895 as part of a chain of defences around London.

The original defensive mounds and the officers' and troops' accommodation are still to be seen.

Since the site was taken over in both World Wars for ammunition storage and armaments research, a great deal of expansion and change has occurred.

Surprisingly, the site also has 3,000 trees and a wide variety of wildlife within its six-mile perimeter.

The slowly changing face of an agricultural community was the theme of a fascinating talk by Monty Parkin at the previous meeting.

Mr Parkin showed how it was only after 1950 that life in the village of Kemsing, like hundreds of other small Kent villages, finally started to lose its strong links to the agricultural seasons and country based activities.

Even with the railways in the 1870s, villagers remained relatively isolated and self-sufficient, with the arrival of hop pickers being perhaps the most exciting event of the year.

Contrasting photographs of Kemsing today and in past times demonstrated all too clearly the beginnings of urban sprawl after the First World War, as large estates were broken up, and how further building occurred in the latter part of the century.

The society was founded in 1974 so those with an interest in the history of any part of the borough could meet to exchange information and learn more.

In conjunction with the local history library, museums and other relevant organisations, the society aims to make sure at least some of this history is preserved for future generations.

Non-members are very welcome to come along to the society's meetings.

To find out more information, visit the society's website at bromleyblhs.mysite.orange.co.uk

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