00:16Hello and welcome to Kent Chronicles live here on KMTV where we turn back time on all of Kent's
00:23history from the Mesolithic era to the Industrial Revolution and everything in between. I'm Lucy
00:29Keane and join me as we turn back time and discuss all things history. First of all for this week's
00:35long-standing landmark we take a look at the Rekulva Towers and the history behind them
00:40from its beginnings as a part of a Roman settlement to one of the biggest churches in Kent.
00:46Earlier I spoke to our reporter Nathan Hardy to find out more.
00:57Can you tell us a bit about the history of Rekulva?
00:59Of course. So the earliest version of Rekulva we know about is the Roman settlement built in either
01:04the first or second century. Later it was abandoned in the fifth century and we're not entirely sure
01:09why and not much of it is left either because of coastal erosion. Then in 669 the Anglo-Saxons took
01:16over and built a monastic house and a church there. It functioned as both but toward the 10th century
01:22it was a church exclusively and in the 12th century the iconic towers were erected and then in the 19th
01:28part of it was demolished but then it was reconstructed.
01:32I see and what can you tell us about its design and functions during the Anglo-Saxon period?
01:37During the Anglo-Saxon period it typically resembled the traditional Basilican style. So we're talking
01:43about long central naves, large narrow curves and tall windows. A lot of it is hard to envisage
01:50because of the erosion and the demolition but one thing that does remain is the Rekulva cross
01:55which was a traditional sort of stone cross that was placed near the end of the church
01:59that people typically worshipped.
02:01Interesting. And what can this site tell us about Anglo-Saxons specifically?
02:06Well specifically we can see a sort of continuity between the Romans and then the Anglo-Saxons.
02:11It's not a clear sort of break. Also it's very likely that it can show us a lot about the
02:17evolution
02:17of Christianity and religion in general and how it sort of evolved over the years in the medieval period.
02:23I see. Thank you so much for your time Nathan.
02:25My pleasure.
02:33Next, we spoke to Andy Ward from the Kent Archaeological Society to learn all about the history of the brooches
02:40worn by the ladies of the 6th century Anglo-Saxon High Society. Here is this week's Alluring Artifacts.
02:52So this is an Anglo-Saxon great square-headed brooch. It's a piece of Anglo-Saxon dress jewellery
03:02dating between 500 and 570 AD. It's got Kentish style of decoration with these garnets, these little red
03:14gems that are in kind of these corner bits, but it's very heavily inspired by Scandinavian artwork.
03:20So it's kind of coming across with these early migrants into Britain and then being inspired by
03:28the jewellery that was already here. All these great square-headed broochers, they all come in a
03:34variety of different styles. They have their kind of common features. So they all have these great square
03:41heads. They then have the bow, which is kind of an ancestry from these Roman style brooches. Kent
03:49will have these large discs mounted on top of the bow and sometimes integral to them. And then they
03:55have these kind of cruciform feet, which have kind of been inspired by earlier types of early medieval
04:01brooches. And it would have been worn primarily by high status women. And they would have worn it as a
04:08kind of single dress piece and holding like a cloak or something together right at the front. We don't
04:14know necessarily what role they actually played in Anglo-Saxon society, but they definitely held some
04:22form of importance and power.
04:31Now, staying in Maidstone, it's time for this week's Tea Time Trivia with Tia Chalice.
04:39We went down to Maidstone to see how well they know they're Saxons.
04:45Our question was, when was the Kingdom of Kent founded?
04:551200. 1712. 18th century, it's got like 1809. Maybe in the 1500s. That goes way back to Anglo-Saxon
05:06times around about 480, 490 AD. The answer was 449 AD.
05:18And we even did a little bonus question on who founded the Kingdom of Kent.
05:24I wouldn't know where to start, I apologise.
05:26It's not sort of a Jew or a king. I wouldn't say Hengis, but it's not.
05:31The answer was in fact Hengis, one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon kings of British legend who
05:36landed in Kent in 449 AD. And that's it for this week's Trivia. See you next time.
05:45And if you're still hungry for Hengis, our reporter Eleanor Gonsalves headed down to Broadstairs
05:51to find out more about Viking Bay and its Anglo-Saxon origins. Here is this week's A Town Through Time.
06:00For this week's A Town Through Time, I'm here in Viking Bay and Broadstairs to explore how the
06:05bay got its name and the town's own links to Anglo-Saxon history in Kent.
06:11Previously known as Main Bay, Viking Bay received its new name in 1949,
06:16when a replica ship, the Huygin, was brought over from Denmark to Broadstairs
06:21to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of Anglo-Saxon Chieftain's Hengist and Horsa landing in Thanet.
06:27The boat has since been moved to Ramsgate, where it is now a permanent installation.
06:31And to learn a bit more about this Anglo-Saxon arrival in Broadstairs,
06:35I spoke to senior lecturer Dr Robert Gallagher from the University of Kent to find out more.
06:39So Hengist and Horsa are the named two leaders of the three groups of Anglo-Saxons and Jutes that
06:46supposedly migrated to Britain in the 5th century from northern continental Europe.
06:53We don't know a huge amount about these individuals. The earliest named reference
06:58to them comes in a source written by someone called Bede, who was a monk writing in the early
07:048th century. So that is to say that he was writing 300 years after the events that he's describing.
07:11But certainly by the 8th century, these are named figures that are recognised and are being remembered
07:17as the leaders of these Anglo-Saxon migrants. Dr Gallagher also gave us an insight into the
07:23Chieftain's names and their wider influence in Kent. Their old English names Hengist means stallion,
07:29and Horsa means horse. And if you think about the white horse of Kent, there is the legend of that
07:38is
07:39connected with Hengist and Horsa. What we are also told by Bede is that Horsa is killed, but Hengist continues
07:46and it's his ancestors, I'm sorry, his successors who become the kings of Kent.
07:53Elena Gonsalves for KMTV.
07:58And finally, our reporter Crystal McPherson has been travelling around the county to learn more about
08:04King Ethelbert of Kent, the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity, and who was responsible
08:11for the spread of the Christian faith across Britain. Here is this week's Periodic Profile.
08:27I'm here in Rochester, home to the second oldest cathedral in England, where I spoke to the
08:31Reverend Ken, Dr Gordon Giles. He gave me a little bit more insight into King Ethelbert of Kent, who
08:36founded Canterbury Cathedral, Rochester Cathedral, and Christianity here in Britain.
08:40King Ethelbert was the king of Kent. He was born in around 560. He was not a Christian,
08:47but his wife, Queen Bertha, was a Christian, and largely due to her influence, we think,
08:53she persuaded him to invite Pope Gregory to send Augustine to Kent. But Canterbury and Rochester were
09:02both quite important economic centres, so much so that Ethelbert had the mint coins in both places,
09:10in fact, and so this was a place where money was made, literally. Rochester Cathedral has a fresco
09:16painted near its entrance, showing the baptism of Jesus. However, it is also thought to represent
09:20Ethelbert's baptism. After a little while, it became clear that there was this place called London,
09:26and so he said you can build a church in Rochester via the Medway, you can cross the Roman Bridge
09:32that
09:32was already there, and you can go to London. The other thing Ethelbert is sort of renowned for
09:38is the book of law, which we call the Textus Refensis. This is a copy of it, and it is
09:45the oldest book of law
09:47in the world. It is a UNESCO object of cultural significance in its own right, and quite a lot
09:53of it is written in Anglo-Saxon, which is what some people call Old English, which we thank Ethelbert for.
10:00Next, we went to Canterbury to talk to local historian Brian McHenry.
10:04By the time he emerges into records, he is the most important king in Southern,
10:11if not in the whole of England, known as the Bretwalder. Ethelbert was a believer in the old
10:17Norse gods, Woden and the others. However, things changed enormously in the late 590s,
10:25because the pope in Rome was determined to spread again Christianity into England. Ethelbert was
10:33willing to receive the pope's missionaries from Rome, and they came. He was very nervous. In fact,
10:40he actually wanted Augustine to stay on the other side of the water so that he, Ethelbert, would not be
10:47contaminated. It is theorized that Ethelbert was baptized in Canterbury at the ancient Roman amphitheater,
10:52the ruins of which now sit under the Hampton by Hilton Hotel.
10:55Now, behind us is an amazing statue put here in 2006 by the Canterbury Commemoration Society,
11:03and it's depicting King Ethelbert telling his queen, Bertha, that the Augustanese monks have arrived.
11:10Thanks to Ethelbert, Ethelbert, the most significant individual in the history of Kent, of England,
11:16and of the church worldwide. Crystal McPherson for KMTV.
11:26Well, it looks like that was one for the history books. You've been watching Kent Chronicles live on KMTV.
11:32Don't forget though, there's always history happening around us. And from me,
11:36could have a great good evening and see you soon. Goodbye.
11:40Bye.
11:41Bye.
11:41Bye.
11:51Bye.
Comments