Review: Fordwich and Round About
Fordwich and Round About. Compiled by Christina Bouldin, K. H. McIntosh and Heather Stennett, 128 pp., 160 illustrations. Published by The Society of Sturry Villages, 2024. Paperback. No ISBN.
This local history volume is a collection of fifty short pieces of research (each between one and six pages) from twenty-one contributors. The authors’ laudable aim is to ‘capture and record such events, incidents even, in danger of being lost’ for the tiny town of Fordwich and ‘Round About’, the latter most notably the neighbouring villages of Westbere and Sturry. It complements earlier published [pg383]work on Fordwich, including books detailed in a list of ‘Village Publications’ at the end. Contributions from those no longer with us, including Kinn McIntosh and Betty Todd, emphasise the impact of the loss of those with a lifetime of research and memories and therefore the value of books such as this in capturing deep local knowledge. Each piece offers something different and presents in varying form: short research articles, oral histories, newspaper-based extracts, photographic evidence and even a little poetry inspired by Fordwich’s West Field.
The book’s text is supported throughout by illustrations. These include photographs of many local houses – some now lost – and extracts from maps of different eras, although the inclusion of a single, overall location map would perhaps have been advantageous. The illustrations include three valuable collations. First, a page presenting twenty images of the weathered stone faces adorning fourteenth-century window headstops from the three churches of Fordwich, Sturry and Westbere. Perhaps rarely seen as a ‘crowd’, this gathering allows for easy reflection on the obvious individuality of each carved face. Similarly, a collection of images of skull carvings on headstones from the three churchyards (1700-1750) and another of carved memorial angel fashions (1750-1800) are useful photographic records of material objects at risk of future decay.
The book is largely, though not explicitly chronological. It opens with archaeological evidence of the important collection of Palaeolithic hand tools recovered from within the sand and gravel terraces of the river Stour and signs of an Iron Age settlement in local gravel pits at Fordwich. Subsequent topics are wide-ranging, including, for example, the history of The Moat house, the 1622 bells of Fordwich church preserved but no longer rung, local tile-making, and aspects of river navigation. The late eighteenth-century establishment of Watergate House as a soap factory producing ‘Fordwich Crown Soap’ underlines how Britain’s industrial development extended into even the smallest communities. However, the town and villages are not considered in isolation. Where relevant, authors highlight wider connections such as with Canterbury’s medieval institutions of St Augustine’s Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral and Priory. Further articles contribute to the area’s civic, social, sporting and industrial history and several newspaper-based extracts give a flavour of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century life in the town and villages. Amongst articles providing information about previous residents of all ages and social status, one evidences the Fordwich and Sturry ancestors of C. Eveleigh Woodruff who was closely associated with the Kent Archaeological Society and onetime editor of Archaeologia Cantiana.
The book is not only concerned with the past. Authors acknowledge the relevance of the concerns of the modern world: the history of Chequers Wood concludes with notes on its ecology and continued preservation. The penultimate article also inserts something of Fordwich’s most recent history. It provides a detailed description of the production of two decorative, quilted curtains to hang in the Town Hall, inspired by a Japanese quilt designer and featuring panels of ‘things that meant Fordwich’ to the needlewomen. This is a reminder of how even small towns and villages are now located within a global context. The book’s concluding contribution presents evidence from the modern practice of metal detecting which has revealed long-buried Roman and other artefacts in the area. This generates a neat circular connection from today’s world back to the very early history of Fordwich and ‘Round About’.
[pg384]In summary, this is a worthwhile collection of items of local history, often with broader historical relevance. Some simple extras, such as the occasional addition of explanatory dates, would have benefitted the reader, however, it is rich with the telling of stories which provide life to historical times and events. The book may not be widely available, but two copies have been deposited in the Kent County Library collection (Canterbury and Sturry).