Jane Austen's gossipy secrets exposed close to Tonbridge!

By RachelMurphy | Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 11:10

Gossipy letters from Jane Austen, Lord Nelson’s letter to his mistress and an anonymous note warning parliament of the gunpowder plot are just some of the national treasures that will be available for viewing in a major new history centre.

Building work is now underway for the new Kent History Centre and library, which will be purpose built to protect and display these and many other documents, photographs, images, maps and records in carefully controlled conditions to make sure they survive for future generations.

The letters from Jane Austen are to her niece Fanny Knight and talk of Fanny’s suitors, about Jane’s novels and about Jane’s declining health in the year of her death in 1817.

Lord Nelson’s letter to his mistress dates from 1804 and was written on his flagship The Victory a year before the Battle of Trafalgar. The letter alerting Lord Mounteagle to the gunpowder plot urges him to find ’some excuse to shift of youer attendance at parleament’ but the author of the letter remains a mystery and has been a subject of great debate.

The new centre in Maidstone will be well worth the short trip from Tonbridge. It will house around 14 kilometres of historic material relating to Kent and dating back to 699 AD. There will also be a community history area, archive search room, digital studio and a large space for displays and events.

Other gems that will be stored in the new building include what is believed to be the oldest document in any local record office - a grant of immunity from public taxation from Wihtred, King of Kent - and the Journals of Sir Jeffrey Amherst 1759 that include the battle plan to win the Anglo/ French war over Canada.

Historian David Starkey is looking forward to the new project. “Everyone in Kent should be proud of our county, its rich heritage and the important role it has played in the development of this country... and of course it has a matchless collection of local records," he said.

“I am delighted that Kent will at long last have a new centre where its history can be celebrated and its unique archive collections can be cared for and made accessible to more people”

Visitors to the centre will be able to enjoy improved library and IT services, Wifi access and there will be well-equipped meeting rooms.

Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Community Services Mike Hill said: "There will be opportunities for everyone to visit to trace their family history, enjoy an improved range of books and IT services, take part in events and enjoy the shop and refreshments area, all within a major new building, which brings together the County Archives, County Central Library and Maidstone Town Library."

As part of this scheme, Bouygues Development will also build residential properties on behalf of housing and care provider, Housing 21 and West Kent Housing Association. The whole site will be landscaped and will include a reading garden to hold local events and give visitors a relaxing place to enjoy a good book or just meet and chat. Work is expected to be completed in Spring 2012.

While the building work takes place, Tonbridge People can enjoy a Jane Austen Literary Walk and learn more of her heritage closer to home. Here's how:

Visit Tonbridge Library to hire a MP3 player loaded with the audio guide of the literary walk, narrated by Louise Jameson. Hire charge £1 (customers may either provide their own earphones or buy a set from the library for £1.25)

Download the audio guided walk FREE from www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries or pick up a FREE printed walk guide from Tonbridge Library or download a copy from www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries

Tonbridge People are also invited to visit the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul to discover the fascinating connections Jane Austen and her family had with Tonbridge.

You can be guided around the memorials by an audio-tour read by local actress Louise Jameson or buy the detailed booklet and walk around in your own time.

There is also a display of historical items which give a unique insight into the Austens' time in Tonbridge and the Tonbridge people Jane knew.

Church Opening hours: 10am-12pm (weekdays) and 10am-4pm on Saturdays. Parties at other times by arrangement. For more info telephone: 01732 770962.

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Comments

This is good news.

However I hope they include some old film clips. I would really like to see some old film clips of the local area not just images. The British Film Institute has loads of Victorian clips and it would be great to watch films on West Kent, how it used to be.

By moochin003 at 21:53 on 16/05/10
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Kent History and Library Centre - Work begins! News from KCC:

Building work for the new Kent History and Library Centre has begun, and so have preparations to move our wealth of historical documents when the building is complete in 2012.
The Kent History and Library Centre will make more of our collections available under one roof, giving local people state-of-the-art facilities and better access to Kent's rich culture and heritage. Whilst the builders are busy on site our staff and a team of volunteers are working hard to prepare and repackage the collections for the move.

Temporary Closures
To make sure that the work on our documents can be finished in time, there will be a series of short term closures at the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone and the East Kent Archive Centre in Dover.
The first closure will be for two weeks from Monday 31 May to Friday 11 June at both archive centres.
We will also restrict the number of new items that we take into our collections.
To find out more about how this might affect your research and the dates of future short- term closures, please talk to one of our staff on 01622 694363.
Watch the Kent TV programme about the Kent Library and History Centre.

By lucyloop1 at 20:01 on 16/05/10
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