Unless otherwise stated, our meetings are in the Church Hall of All Souls Church, Somerset
Road, Cheriton, Folkestone, CT19 4HA, on the first Thursday. Doors open at 7pm, the talk to
commence at 7.30.
All members and visitors welcome. A minimum donation of £2 is requested from visitors.
Visitors: if you are interested in taking part in a Zoom meeting please contact
webmaster@folkfhs.org.uk to receive a link (7.25 for 7.30 pm for a ZOOM meeting).
Folkestone Library (Grace Hill) has now been closed since 9 Nov 2022.
HOWEVER, since the 20 Nov 2023 the Local History material has been available again just
across the road at the Folkestone Library Heritage and Digital Access, 5 Grace Hill, on Mon,
Tue, Thu & Fri: 9:30am–1pm & 2pm–4:30pm — Wed: closed — Sat: 9:30am–1pm
OPENING HOURS at the Cheriton Library: Mon: 9am–5pm (closed 1pm–2pm) — Tue: now open 9am–5pm
(closed 1pm–2pm) — Wed: 9am–1pm — Thu: 9am–5pm (closed 1pm–2pm) — Fri: 10am–5pm (closed
1pm–2pm) — Sat: 10am–4pm (open an extra two hours). Most Kent Libraries are open, check on
line or by ringing 03000 413131.
The microfiche etc. are still in our cupboard in the Cheriton Library.
Consultation about the future of Folkestone Grace Hill Library:
Full details of KCC’s proposals at:
www.kent.gov.uk/folkestonelibrary
where their proposed ‘best option’ is to permanently close Grace Hill building and relocate
all present Library Services (including birth/death registration and local history) to FOLCA
(previously Debenhams)... but not to include the Sassoon Gallery space.
Folkestone DC (who own Folca) are not in agreement and would prefer community services
provided by KCC Libraries to remain at Grace Hill (see Folk DC website). Apparently there
was levelling up funding for a health centre there...
Consultation is open until 11th September 2024.
Details can be obtained from their website, or by collecting a document from any of the
Folkestone District Libraries (i.e. Hythe, New Romney, Lydd, Sandgate, Wood Avenue,
Cheriton, Lyminge or the temporary Local Studies Centre at 5 Grace Hill).
Questionnaires can be answered on line, or by filling in a paper copy, posting back or
handing in at any of the Folkestone District Libraries.
2025
January 2nd
ZOOM – Interactive discussion
– Around an Ancestor you would like to have met and why
– Group activity
February 6th
HALL
– From Bobby & Co. to Folca
– The name Bobby & Co was familiar in Folkestone for seven decades and the story of 'Bobbys'
starts with the takeover of a 19th century shop. The store relocated to the well-known
Sandgate Road location in 1931. Owned by the Debenham Group, the name was eventually changed
in the 1970s to Debenhams, under which the shop ran until 2021. Following closure, it was
purchased by Folkestone & Hythe District Council, renamed Folca and was used as a
vaccination centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.
– Vince Williams
March 6th
ZOOM
– A grandmother’s legacy: the 170 year old recipe book
– A large leather bound book, which was started off by my great great great grandmother,
Wilhelmina Hardy in 1844 containing her Portuguese / German / English family recipes was
then handed down to her daughter who did the same, and that book kept on getting handed down
from generation to generation (my talk centres on the recipes, the history of those recipes
and how that book evolves with each generation reflecting where the grandmothers were living
at that time (i.e. we come across an early version of the coroma curry which great great
grandma Maud wrote in 1900).
– Jenny Mallin
April 3rd
VISIT
– To Masonic Hall, Folkestone at 6.30 PM followed by tea & biscuits
– Over 300 years of Freemasonry in Folkestone – The part local Freemasons took in shaping
the town – Building: “Mid C19. 2 storeys and basement cement rendered. Pediment with
modillion cornice decorated with Masonic tools and the Latin motto
“Audi, Vide, Tace”. The 1st floor has 4 Roman Ionic half columns and 2 plain
pilasters. 5 round-headed windows. Stone balustrading between ground and lst floor.
Rusticated ground floor. Ground floor has cambered headed windows with keystones. Tuscan
porch. Balustrading to basement.” (https:
May 1st
ZOOM
– Unusual first names
– The talk focusses on the period, c1750 – c1950. It covers the main types of forename that
I have identified, including tribute names, commemorative names and localised names. It
looks at the inspiration for these names, their rise (and decline), what they may indicate
to a historian about social class or wider society, and the effect that an unusual forename
might have on the bearer.
– Denise Bates
June 5th
HALL
– How to use cemetery records for family history
– Rob & Carole Moody
July 3rd
ZOOM
– Charity Records and Pauper Ancestors
– Learn how records of local charities, combined with numerous other sources, can help
illuminate the lives of your pauper ancestors. The talk features a case study.
– Richard Holt
August 7th
HALL
– Interactive discussion
– The Story you will be leaving (about yourself) for future family historians to discover?
– Group activty
September 4th
ZOOM
– Old Romney
– Originally a port on the river Rother: with various maps showing the dramatic changes to
the coastline of Kent since the Roman occupation. Malaria (originally “ague”); the sheep
economy: shepherds, lookers; smuggling. The Dowle family line. William Waylett, the male
midwife
– David Burgess
September 18th – Heritage Open Days event
LIB
– Where to start researching your family history – an introduction to local and
online resources
– To be held at: Folkestone Library, Heritage & Digital Access, 5 Grace Hill, Folkestone
CT20 1HA. Sessions at 10 am, 11.30 am and 2.30 pm. As part of Heritage Open Days, the
Folkestone & District Family History Society will be giving free 1-hour introductory
sessions showing where to start researching your family history—both online and in local
archives such as Kent Libraries, where free access to research material is available.
Free
pre-booking required: book online at:
https:
October 2nd
HALL
– AGM followed by “A kentish Poorhouse”
– A former terrace of 3 cottages in Kennington Ashford have a fascinating history. The story
follows research done by Janet, with many coincidences emerging –
Janet Adamson
November 6th
ZOOM
– How Far Did Your Ancestor Travel?
– How far did our ancestors migrate within the UK before the advent of the railways and what type of people were they? You might be surprised just how far people were travelling and who they were!
– Celia Heritage
December 4th
HALL
– Christmas dinner followed by a Quiz
Owing to age restrictions on the insurance of drivers, we are no longer able to hire a
minibus for trips to Kew.
Occasionally members may drive to Kew and can offer lifts to other members, sharing
expenses.
If you are interested, please e-mail coaches@folkfhs.org.uk
Jenny Watson will arrange walks round Canterbury or London if we let her know where we would like to visit.