The Centre for Kent History and Heritage was launched in 2014 by Jackie Eales and Stephen Hipkin with a public exhibition and series of talks at Folkestone Town Hall on ‘Aspects of Kent History’. Magna Carta was centre stage in 2015, with a travelling exhibition and conference organised by Louise Wilkinson, a former Co-Director.
The first annual History Weekend in 2016 featured David Carpenter, Helen Castor and Ian Mortimer among its 20 speakers. This flagship festival of history continues to draw an international audience and raises funds for the Ian Coulson Memorial Postgraduate Award fund to support the postgraduate study of Kent’s rich heritage.
As well as the History Weekends, the Centre hosts major conferences and public lectures including the annual Nightingale lecture. Staff also offer outreach and enrichment workshops to schools and work on projects with a wide range of local and regional organisations. We have provided student work experience placements at both BA and MA level offering opportunities to develop pop-up exhibition or teaching materials. These form part of a wide selection of online publications and research guides. Recent books published under the auspices of the CKHH include Maritime Kent Through the Ages: Gateway to the Sea (Boydell, 2021).
