180 years of Herne Bay at Beach House

From 26th June until 3rd July, the Historical Records Society have an exhibition at Beach House (corner of Beach Street and King’s Road, opposite the William Street car park) to mark the town’s 180th anniversary.

This takes the form of a timeline of 180 years of interesting pictures and artefacts celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of Herne Bay as a town.

Beach House is open 10am-4pm daily, and entrance is free, so do pop in when you’re nearby.

Inspirational Herne Bay

Marcel Duchamp having a bit of a think

How Herne Bay reinvigorated a famous French artist

When influential French artist Marcel Duchamp arrived in Herne Bay, he was considering giving up art, but after four weeks in the town he returned to Europe full of new ideas.

His time in Herne Bay will be celebrated with a three-week festival starting at the end of July, featuring exhibitions, talks, and a schools programme in which Bay youngsters produce their own works of art to display. Organiser Sue Austen said:

"Marcel Duchamp has been voted the most influential artist of the 21st century but when he arrived in Herne Bay at the beginning of August 1913 he was just 26 and deeply depressed by the reception his last major painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, had received at the Armory Show in New York.

He was here to chaperone his sister Yvonne who was studying English at Lynton College. He contemplated giving up art forever, but after four short weeks Duchamp returned to Europe, refreshed and intellectually invigorated. Later that year he produced the first kinetic sculpture, Bicycle Wheel, published his ideas on objets trouvés and created the totally unique Three Standard Stoppages.

The art world reeled from his new ideas – our town often has this effect on people."

Sue, who together with Jason Hollingsworth make up the BayGuide team behind the festival, said the aim was to show that Herne Bay was still a special place.

An exhibition of work by invited local artists will be curated by David Cross and staged at Beach House, the Bay Art Gallery and the King's Hall, along with outdoor exhibitions and pop-up galleries.

There will also be a talk by Mike Bundock of Herne Bay Historical Records Society on what the town was like at the time, a sculpture trail curated by Karen Simpson and a symposium at the King's Hall curated by Duchamp expert Francis M Naumann.

For more information visit iamnotdead.co.uk or their Facebook site. The team will also tweet from @Duchamp_HB

Marvellous Movie of Vintage Views

The opening of the film, which pensioner Mary Harris found among her mother's belongingsPensioner Mary Harris’s find of a 90-year-old film showing the Herne Bay festival has aroused a lot of interest, and now bosses at the Little Theatre in Bullers Avenue are planning to show the clip, which vividly brings back to life the town as it was in 1922.

Historian and curator of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society Mike Bundock will be giving a talk before the screening. He said:

"I'm planning to give a  talk about the town from 1899 - when the third pier was built — to the early 1920 and finish with the film, which I have yet to see and am eagerly awaiting a look at."

Mike Bundock’s talk is titled Herne Bay - The Edwardian Era To The 1920s and will take place at the Herne Bay Little Theatre, Bullers Avenue, Herne Bay, on Saturday, March 3, at 7.30pm.

Admission for the event is £3 and booking is recommended via the box office on 01227 366004.

Historical Records Society: new season

HBHRS Programme 2011/2012

OCT 6	A.G.M. followed by:	Images of Herne Bay from the Air: from the Collection, and refreshments
OCT 20	Frank Turner	Harold Gough Memorial Lecture: The Dambuster Trials at Reculver and Lady Stardust
NOV 3	Bob & Neil Lawrence	Antiques in your Garden Shed
NOV 17	James Brazier	Women At War 1914-1918
DEC 1	Helen Allinson	Life in England 1900-1918
FEB 2	Mike Bundock	80th Anniversary Founder's Lecture: Herne Bay's Public Buildings
FEB 16	John Fishpool	Raiders & Invaders: The Defence of Kent from Iron Age to Cold War
MAR 1	Derek Butler	Sturry & Broad Oak
MAR 15	Peter Meiklejohn	Dickens in Kent
APR 5	David Birch	Lead Kindly Light - The South Foreland Lighthouse
APR 28		HBHRS Wine & Wisdom evening, at Christ Church, entry by ticket. Details TBA.
TBA		Walks Back in Time

HBHRS Wine & Wisdom 26th March

HBHRS Wine & Wisdom Evening at Christ Church: Entry by ticket, details TBA.

HBHRS Lecture 17th March

Mr. Ian Tittley: "History of the Natural History of North Kent"

The Herne Bay Historical Records Society Lecture meetings are held in the Lower Hall, Herne Bay United Church, High Street, Herne Bay (click here for a picture). Doors open from 6.30pm, the lectures start at 7:00pm. Meetings are open to members and guests.

The meetings are free to Members on production of their Membership cards (if requested). Visitors may attend if there is room, when a charge of £2.00 per meeting will be made. The Annual Subscription for 2010/2011 is £10.00 per member, falling due on October 1st.

Programme 2010/2011

Here's this season's programme at the Herne Bay Historical Records Society:

2010

7th October: A.G.M. Followed by some more: "Images from the archives"

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21st October: Peter Ewart: "The Swing Riots"

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4th November: HAROLD GOUGH MEMORIAL LECTURE: Brian Philp: "Excavations of the Roman Fort at Reculver"

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18th November: Richard Filmer: "Hops and Hop Picking"

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2nd December: John Fishpool: "Raiders & Invaders - The Defence of Kent from Iron Age to Cold War"

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2011

3rd February: Anthea Bryant: "Canterbury, the Hidden City - Saints and Pilgrims"

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17th February: Mike Bundock: "Beltinge and the East Cliff"

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3rd March: Dr. Rebecca Oakes: "Kent Medieval Church Leaders"

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17th March: Mr. lan Tittley: "History of the Natural History of North Kent"

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26th March: HBHRS Wine & Wisdom Evening at Christ Church: Entry by ticket, details TBA.

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7th April: End of Season Social 

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Dates TBA: Walks Back in Time

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Teas and Coffees are available after the lecture meetings

Excursion July 2010

The Lee Valley Olympic Tour

New City & Village Tour.
Tuesday 13th July 2010
Leave from William Street Car Park at 9 a.m.
Cost £33.00

We meet our guide at 10.30 a.m. for morning coffee at Excel Exhibition Centre in London's Royal Docks. We visit venues for many Olympic events including Boxing, Judo and Table Tennis. We then drive through the Lower Lea Valley to view the Olympic Park with a really good view of the 80,000 Seat Stadium. See progress on the Velodrome, Aquatic Centre and the Olympic Village. This huge project is totally transforming the Lower Lee Valley.

We stop at Waltham Abbey for lunch after scenic drive. More Olympic views from Broxbourne through the Lee Valley Park (canoe and kayak events included). Afternoon 90-minute cruise from Broxbourne. Cream Tea is included in the tour fee which will be served before we return to the wharf to head home at approx. 4.45 p.m.

City & Village Tours require a minimum of 35 people. Bookings and payments for these excursions to be made at United Church Hall on Thursday 22nd April at l0.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. Enquiries to Moyra Holness, 9 Clarendon Street, Herne Bay (368460). No refunds on unused tickets. The Committee reserved the right to cancel any outing if necessary.

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DON'T FORGET: END OF SEASON SOCIAL: Thursday 15th April at 7 p.m., £1.00 as usual.

Excursion May 2010

Hidden London and the Regents Canal

A City & Village Tour.
Wednesday 19th May 2010
Leave from William Street Car Park at 8.30 a.m.
Cost £29.00

After meeting our guide for morning coffee at 10.30 a.m. at St. Pauls Cathedral, we walk through a maze of narrow streets and alleyways seeing stately Charterhouse and the homes of Hercule Poirot and Sir John Betjeman. We also visit Smithfield Victorian Meat Market - now skilfully restored and still working.

For lunch we transfer by coach to the Barbican Arts Centre where hot or cold lunches are available. Or you can take your own packed lunch.

The afternoon is spent on a narrow boat cruise of approx. 50 minutes exploration of London's Regent Canal. We see elegant London town houses on this hidden waterway going through the cobbled and flagged courtyard of Camden Lock, through leafy Regents Park, terraces of London Zoo to Little Venice. Stop for tea at the Royal Festival Hall.

City & Village Tours require a minimum of 35 people. Bookings and payments for these excursions to be made at United Church Hall on Thursday 22nd April at 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. Enquiries to Moyra Holness, 9 Clarendon Street, Herne Bay (368460). No refunds on unused tickets. The Committee reserved the right to cancel any outing if necessary.

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DON'T FORGET: END OF SEASON SOCIAL: Thursday 15th April at 7 p.m., £1.00 as usual.

Herne Bay Historical Records Society

The Society was formed as the Herne Bay Records Society in 1932, and various archaeological specimens and other records relating to Herne Bay and district were either donated or loaned to the Society. The late Dr. T. Armstrong Bowes MA, MD, FSA was President from the inception until 1951. The Society's Museum and its archives were originally accommodated in a hall in Mortimer Street before moving to the Public Library in the High Street in 1939 and subsequently in 1996 to its current home in the Herne Bay Museum at No. 12 William Street. The Society's name was changed to Herne Bay Historical Records Society in 1988.

Lecture meetings are held in the Lower Hall, Herne Bay United Church, High Street, Herne Bay (click here for a picture). Doors open from 6.30pm, the lectures start at 7:00pm. Meetings are open to members and guests. The meetings are free to Members on production of their Membership cards (if requested). Visitors may attend if there is room, when a charge of £2.00 per meeting will be made. The Annual Subscription for 2010/2011 is £10.00 per member, falling due on October 1st.

Anyone interested in the activities or publications of the Society is invited to get in touch with a member of the Committee.

Programme 2009/2010

Here's the 2009/2010 programme, to give you an idea of the range of topics covered:

2009

1st October: A.G.M. Followed by: "Images from the archives"

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5th November: J & S Wagner: "Phantasmagoria" Magic Lantern Slides

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19th November: Mrs. Ann Winter: "People & Lives of the Railway"

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3rd December: Miss Jennie Burgess: "Smuggling in & around Birchington"

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2010

7th January: Mr. Ian Tittley: "History of the Natural History of North Kent"

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21st January: Lt. Col. M. Martin: "Britain on the Home Front in WW2"

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4th February: Mr. Mike Bundock: "Herne Bay fires floods & freezes"

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18th February: Mrs. Margaret Burns: "The History of Studd Hill"

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4th March: HAROLD GOUGH MEMORIAL LECTURE: Mr. Frank Turner: "The Maunsell Sea Forts of the Thames Estuary"

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18th March: Mrs. Irene Pellett: "Tiles & the Time Team"

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15th April: End of Season Social

To end the season, about 50 members enjoyed a social evening of fun, food and fellowship. John Fishpool and Valerie Millo arranged some quizzes to test our knowledge of history in general and Herne Bay in particular. For example, did you know that the Bun Penny was once the Royal Hotel, and the Herne Bay Windmill was situated on the sea front from 1825-1878 on the site of Sea View Square?

The buffet meal was enjoyed by all, and a vote of thanks was given to all who prepared it or helped in any way to make it a happy occasion. The society's latest publications were on sale: Herne Bay's Hotels and Public Houses and Mills and Milling in the Herne Bay Area. These can be bought at Herne Bay Museum.

Members now look forward to two coach outings during the summer.

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Teas and Coffees are available after the lecture meetings