Folkestone & District
Family History Society

2026

Starting in 2026 and initially for 1 year:
ZOOMS every 2 months on 3rd Thursday.

January 8th

HALL – (I week later than usual due to Bank Holiday) Your most notorious ancestor – Members

January 22nd

ZOOM – Canterbury Cathedral Archives: overview with special emphasis on Parish Collections – The Cathedral Archives and Library hold an impressive collection of manuscripts, historic records, photographs, maps, plans, seals and books dating back to the late 8th century. The records of the Dean and Chapter date back to the late 8th century; there are some 20 Anglo-Saxon charters which date from before the Norman Conquest. – Cressida Williams (Cressida Williams leads the staff team of the Cathedral Archives and Library)

February 5th

HALL – Farming Records: Estates, Tenants, Agricultural Occupations – Janet Adamson

March 5th

HALL – Parish Registers: Problems and Pitfalls – Peter Ewart

March 19th

ZOOM – Quarter Session Records: It would be unusual if your ancestor did not appear in Quarter Session records. Besides petty crime the Quarter Sessions administered many local government functions including licensing, local taxes, market and fairs. The records are perhaps the most comprehensive of any English Court and this talk examines their value to family historians and guides you through the content of the records. – Ian Waller

April 2nd

HALL – Who put Grimston into Grimston Gardens – Debbie Jones

May 7th

VISIT – Shorncliffe Trust tour at 10:15 AM for 10:30 AM with Chris Shaw. Price per person £10 payable on the day (no credit or bank cards). Booking required, please e-mail: publications@folkfhs.org.uk
  Meeting just outside Shorncliffe cemetery at 10:15. Tour will start at 10:30 with a short Health and Safety brief, followed by a talk on the history of Shorncliffe. We will then be taken to the Napoleonic Redoubt (which has been featured on Time Team) followed by a walk to the WWI trenches. The tour will end back at the cemetery.
  Sensible walking footwear is recommended as the distance travelled on the tour is approximately 1000m over ex-military ground, woodland and bridle path. On the walk there is an incline and a stile, so good mobility is required. There is car parking on site but no toilet facilities.
  Location details: Official address: Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Sandgate, Folkestone CT20 3WT. It is at the start of Sandy Lane, just off West Road (B2063) from Cheriton down to Sandgate. Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/r9y6RRLaLTNLkrT57

May 21st

ZOOM – Documents from overseas – Janet will talk about the documents which can be of use in finding out about relatives who were born, married or died outside the United Kingdom. Other documents discussed will include residence documents and driving licences. – Janet Defrémont

June 2nd (TUESDAY)

VISIT – Tour of Hawthorne WW1 trenches in Elham (the Hawthorne Trench Experience) – The tour starts at 10.30am (meet up in car park at 10.20am) and last approximately 2 – 2½ hours. Appropriate footwear and clothing to be worn as the event is outside and some surfaces are uneven.
A farmer and his son excavated around 150 tonnes of chalk and built a 200 metres network of British and German WW1 trenches. As you travel through these replica trenches you can explore many aspects of frontline life, including cook house and dressing station.
Address: Roundhill Farm, Cullens Hill, Elham N/r Canterbury CT4 6UJ
Coordinates: 51.152662, 1.099506
Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nmY3uuAqtrUYSbAG6
  Only 4 places left.
  Price per person £10 payable on the day (no credit or bank cards).
  Booking required, please e-mail: publications@folkfhs.org.uk
You can find a short video on Kent Online: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/farm-recreates-wartime-experince-190595/
Or on Facebook: Hawthorne Trench: https://www.facebook.com/hawthornetrench

July 2nd

VISIT – Recording local commemorative benches project –

July 16th

ZOOM – What Happened to Lucy? – Before 1927 and legal adoption what happened to the unwanted child? Even after 1927 children were exploited, although supposedly cared for by institutions and well caring organisations. This talk looks at the plight of adoptees, foundlings, orphans and the Empire children (Child Migrants), essentially through the 19th & 20th centuries. – Ian Waller

August 6th

HALL – Kentish Clerical Errors: We look to the clergy as exemplars of Christian behaviour, but historically this has not always been the case. Ed Adams will guide you through local stories of ministerial misbehaviour and priestly peccadilloes from the Victorian and Edwardian eras with a talk that promises to be amusing, shocking and thought-provoking. – Ed Adams

September 3rd

HALL – The life and autograph album of Ernie Horton (1894–1987) – Hilary Tolputt

September 17th

ZOOM – TBC – Conveyancing – Jeremy Wilkes

October 1st

HALL – AGM followed by short talk: Local Scandals –

November 5th

HALL – Presenting Local commemorative benches results. –

November 19th

ZOOM – Zoom Quiz activity: 2 or 3 questions prepared by each one of us –

December 3rd

HALL – Christmas Dinner + Liz’s deceptively easy Christmas Quiz –