Plaxtol House History 2026
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Throughout 2026, Plaxtol Local History Group will be running Plaxtol House History Year, a community project which aims to inspire residents to research the history of their houses. Our project statement aims to increase engagement and active participation with the History Group.
Have you ever wondered who lived in your house before you? About their lives, their work and their family? About who built your house, and why? About what they loved, or did not love, about the house?
In Plaxtol, we have houses which are less than five years old and some which are 500 years old or more. They all have a history: not just a history of the building, but also of the people who have lived there, and the history of the land on which it was built.
‘Discover the Secrets Behind Your Front Door’. Throughout 2026 a programme of talks and events linked to the theme of house histories will include practical guidance as well as inspirational talks from historians. We will also be running help sessions on a number of Saturday mornings where members of the group can book a slot to discuss their research in progress and to gain help and suggestions for taking it further.
Why not find out yours?
We have defined four key aims of the project as follows:
• To increase community involvement in the History Group
• To inspire a new generation of historians
• To substantially add to our already impressive village archive
• To build a model for other communities to mount a similar project
We have produced a Research Pack which includes a detailed guide on ‘How to Research the History of Your Home’ (written by our committee member Haydn Puleston Jones) and a new Heritage Walk around Plaxtol Village, highlighting some of the interesting properties of all types in the village (written by committee member Gordon Wright). The generous financial support of the Allen Grove Local History Fund of The Kent Archaeological Society, and The William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust, has made it possible for the research pack to be available free of charge to those registering their interest in researching their house history. It can also be downloaded free of charge from our website, While the research pack and some of the talks and events focus particularly on Plaxtol houses and families, they will also be of general interest to anyone wishing to research their house history.
The project was launched on December 9th, 2025, with a talk by house historian Melanie Backe-Hansen called
We are delighted to be collaborating with our local school, Plaxtol Primary School, and with The National Trust at nearby Ightham Mote. Pupils at the school will have the opportunity to visit Ightham Mote in the summer term and to take part in a series of activities exploring how the Mote has evolved as a home over the past five centuries. We will be including pupils’ work in an exhibition in the village in December 2026, when we will showcase new research inspired by House History Year.
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Plaxtol Local History Group are extremely grateful for the generous support of The Allen Grove Local History Fund, The William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust and Plaxtol Parish Council for making the project possible and enabling us to provide most of the materials free of charge to participants.
All images courtesy of Plaxtol Local History Group, and with permissions obtained, 2025
Up to date details of all activities will be available throughout the year on our website:
www.plaxtollocalhistory.wordpress.com
Tuesday 13 January (20:00) Via Zoom
HOW TO RESEARCH THE HISTORY OF YOUR PLAXTOL HOUSE, a talk by Dr Lydia Goodson and Haydn Puleston Jones.
They will explain, step by step, how to research (mainly via the internet and at little or no cost) the history of your Plaxtol house and the resources available to help you do so, using the example of a 1950s Plaxtol bungalow with a history found to stretch back almost 200 years.
email at:
plaxtolhistory@gmail.com for details.
All images courtesy of Plaxtol Local History Group, permissions obtained, 2025.