Melanie Gibson-Barton’s talk, with maps and photographs, about Elizabeth Barton of Aldington, Kent (1506 -34) attracted a large audience of 52 members and guests.
Melanie’s talk explores the story of the servant girl born in Aldington in 1506 during the reign of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. During the reign of his son, Henry VIII and his wife Katherine of Aragon the young woman’s visions and prophesies caught the attention of the Archbishop of Canterbury who provided a dowry for her to become a nun at a convent in Canterbury. Melanie’s illustrated talk highlighted the many local Kent connections which caused Elizabeth Barton’s number of supporters to grow as she sought to support the Catholic church at a time when Protestant views were gaining strength.
In Henry’s desperate need to secure his throne with a son and heir through a marriage to Ann Boleyn Melanie showed that the prophesies of Holy Maid of Kent became more political, bringing her national and international attention. Her influence beyond Kent made her so dangerous to Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon and Ann Boleyn that Elizabeth Barton had to be put to death. Melanie’s talk enabled the audience to take the Holy Maid’s journey by illustrating what can be seen today at the key sites that led to Elizabeth Barton’s execution at just age 28 in 1534.
Melanie’s talk also featured photographs of the work of Kent artist Lauren McMahan and her recent exhibition in Dover that focussed on Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Maid of Kent.
After the talk Melanie took questions. One question posed, as you may expect from a group of family historians, was were Melanie and Elizabeth related since they shared a surname? Melanie's reply was that the subject of the talk had been originally commissioned by the Aldington Society and she was not aware of any relationship with Elizabeth.
About the Speaker: Melanie Gibson-Barton BSc (Hons) has been giving talks for several years to history groups, church groups, Women’s Institutes, and retirement social groups such as CSMA and PROBUS and tells us she has the privilege of meeting new audiences to entertain and inform every day. Her range of currently seventeen talks can be viewed at www.toonstelling.com.