Richard Wingett and Peter Hazelwood visited the branch from the Freemasons' Museum and Library in Canterbury to report on the current status of their institution. Both were keen to dispel the image Freemasonry has in some of our minds. Richard became Chair of the Trustees of the Library and Museum about eighteen months ago, determined to make the collection of books and artefacts available to a far wider audience, much of the collection having been held behind closed doors for more than ninety years.
They brought along a few examples of the books held in their library to share with us, which demonstrated the range of the collection. The Archive contains a huge range of books related not only to Freemasonry, but also the history and genealogy of Kent, Suffolk, Surrey and London, with pedigrees of families ranging even further, geographically. The collection has been catalogued (although material is continually being donated by former Freemasons and their families) and by the time you read this report their new website should be up and running, allowing you to see for yourself the range of material they hold.
Richard recounted conversations he has had with other local “heritage holders” (my term). The museum in the Westgate Towers for example, have references to copies of Geneva Bibles (produced in 1588) being part of the cargo on board the Mayflower. The Museum has an original copy, along with an original 1611 King James Bible; it is incredibly rare for an archive to possess both. The library contains publications relating to marriages and wills for Canterbury dating back to the 1400s; one example is a book containing inscriptions of Holy Cross church, one of only fifty produced.
Even reasonably obscure titles can give information not to be found elsewhere: a book on the Church Bells of Kent lists the few bell foundries in operation and adds details, so we know what happened to the 4 bells of Reculver when the church was deconsecrated. The museum has many other artifacts, such as a pair of doors saved from Hales Place following its demolition (which in turn was built with brickwork and materials salvaged from St Augustine's Abbey), a thirteenth-century Crusader sword, and an Ancient Egyptian maul (or mallet) used in construction which dates back to approximately 3500 BCE! Opening up the Archive for research, will, he thinks, allow us to throw more light on the history of our locality.
Peter Hazelwood has taken on the development and marketing of this unique collection. He described the overwhelming sense of responsibility felt by the Trustees for its continued protection, conservation and the understanding of what it contains.
It is impossible not to get caught up in the enthusiasm and passion both Richard and Peter have for this collection and Canterbury members are looking forward to visiting the Museum and Library very soon.
I was promoting KFHS at an Open Day at the Museum and Library in July, with Heather Bethell, when Heather found a tiny book on one of the shelves. It was handwritten, from the 1600’s, and appeared to be a list of tenants on an estate. Volunteers from the Canterbury branch hope to help the Archive identify specific items which have a relevance to family history, and our Archivist, Anne Ashdown, has been invited to attend a meeting of trustees to gain approval for the digitisation of some of the material.
Report by Viv Carter