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Catch up on all the latest history news from across Kent with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:00where we turn back time on all of kent's history from the mesolithic era to the industrial revolution
00:18and everything in between i'm finn mcdermott and join me on today's sorry roundup on this day in
00:241913 suffragette emily davison ran out in front of king george v's horse on the epson racecourse
00:32following this she sadly passed away although controversial her death marked a pivotal moment
00:38in the fight for women's suffrage some call her the first suffragette martyr and the wspu organized
00:45a funeral procession for davison around 5 000 women attended with banners reading fight on
00:53and god will give victory next on this day in 1940 the dunkirk evacuation ended after nine days the
01:03british forces completed the evacuation of over 300 000 troops from dunkirk in france following this
01:12to keep up british morale prime minister winston churchill delivered his famous we shall fight on
01:18the beaches speech to the house of commons and finally on the 4th of june 1977 scottish football
01:27fans took home some interesting souvenirs following the annual home international football match at
01:34wemberley stadium after scotland won 2-1 against england fans raced on the pitch to celebrate they
01:42took turf from three penalty spots and even snapped the crossbar in half that's all on this week's history roundup
01:55ironically for us here at kent chronicles time wasn't on our side there we gave you that a little
02:00quicker than we meant to so sorry about that but hope you enjoyed that history roundup anyways i'm finn
02:06mcdermid so thanks again for joining me we just wanted to get in a second thank you there anyways
02:11moving on now the final piece of a world war one memorial plaque has been recovered and returned to
02:17christ church luton in chatham now this follows the disappearance of the two military plaques on
02:23friday the 23rd of may when members of the church were left in tears at the discovery their beloved plaques
02:30was stolen eight men were arrested in connection to the theft and all have since been bailed but
02:36yesterday morning the priest in charge was reunited with that last piece that was found in a scrap yard
02:42now with all the pieces being returned despite the severe damage done the church is hopeful they can
02:47find experts who can restore the plaques to their original condition a very meaningful story there are
02:53150 names i believe born on that plaque so very glad that they managed to get it back
02:58now a shopping center in broadstairs is celebrating its 20th anniversary a bit of early history here
03:05uh sorry a bit of late history i meant to say westward cross which opened in june of 2005 was one of the
03:11uk's largest open-air shopping centers at the time the center was also built over an old world war ii
03:16hospital and a remnant of the hospital still stands today in the main car park being dubbed the memorial
03:21wall staff have pointed out how much has changed since their opening with more houses being built nearby
03:26and a community spirit which has been building over those two decades the center hopes to continue
03:31growing with some new additions expected later this year now saint andrew's arts center in gravesend
03:37has now been taken on by iron pair brewery located in the mission church which was built in 1871
03:44the center now holds various art projects and exhibits and acts as a space for local artists and creative
03:50businesses the brewery who have now taken over running the center were also named after the world's oldest
03:55surviving cast iron pier and welcome this new opportunity as the site is only a few yards away
04:01from the brewery's namesake opening times are yet to be confirmed but iron pier say they're thrilled
04:05to promote local art and culture and are excited about running a business right by the river
04:10now this week marks the anniversary of thomas beckett becoming the archbishop of canterbury
04:15he was most well known for being killed by knights of henry ii and after his death became a saint and a
04:20symbol of the church but apart from that how well does canterbury actually know arguably their most
04:26famous historical figure i went to the city to find out on the third of june in 1162 thomas beckett
04:33was nominated as archbishop of canterbury by a royal council of bishops and noblemen but his tenure didn't
04:39last long only eight years later he was killed in the cathedral at the command of king henry ii
04:46since then he's become a historic symbol of the church and a venerated saint but it has been 863
04:52years so how well does canterbury and its visitors know the city's most famous archbishop um not not
04:58a lot of them that it was very violent times that they lived in i know he was murdered in there in
05:03the canterbury cathedral and i've seen the spot where it allegedly he was murdered henry expected that
05:10obviously his good old drinking buddy thomas would would do what he needed to uh really get the
05:15church i think under the control of the state even more so he was quite a prominent figure within
05:22the the history of canterbury who will rid me of this turbulent priest those were the words of king
05:28henry ii and there's some debate in history whether that was a genuine call to action for his four
05:33knights to burst through these very doors or it was just a fit of rage expressing his frustration
05:39at the catholic church well whatever he meant one thing's for certain thomas beckett was killed in
05:45the very church where he worshipped the spot in the cathedral where beckett was stabbed is now
05:50marked with two swords and the shadows represent the four swordsmen who took his life after his death
05:56beckett was honored as a saint with the corona tower at the cathedral built to house his holy relic the top
06:02of his skull removed from his body but was this common were other archbishops and religious figures as
06:08revered as he was not in the way thomas was revered thomas's uh this the impact of thomas's murder
06:17was unlike anything at that time uh in the christian world it shocked uh people in canterbury
06:25in the surrounding area and pretty soon throughout the christian world so you had a a kind of pilgrimage
06:32to canterbury that was unprecedented and that was partly because of the violent nature of his death
06:38but also it was because of this intriguing story of somebody who had transformed from the supporter
06:45of the king to the defender of the church many historians say that beckett's life began as soon
06:51as it ended and that the story told throughout history is one of tragedy but despite this he was
06:56believed to perform healing miracles across his lifetime and so on the anniversary of his appointment as
07:01archbishop and with the canterbury cathedral holding tours of the corona tower built to honor him it
07:07might be worth finding out more about one of the city's most iconic figures as well as the man behind
07:12the martyr finn mcdermid for came tv in canterbury now in november of 1980 the death of sheppie born
07:20janet bishop ex-wife of evelyn de rothschild shocked the world at the time it seemed a tragic case of
07:26misadventure but 45 years later it looks like there are more questions and answers as the case has been
07:31formally reopened many of us now um grow up want with that same idea of i want to travel i want
07:41to conquer the world i want to be successful uh i want to do well for my family and i think most of
07:48us can relate to that but i think for a woman in the 1960s it was still a little bit revolutionary
07:54wasn't it that someone was going to break out from their family and forge a career or a life in the
08:02big city the big smoke i've been living in italy working as a journalist um for 18 years now gosh
08:08where do those years go and um i occasionally back up uh the correspondent on the london telegraph
08:17nick squires and i happened to be working on a sunday last november when this story emerged because
08:24the italian authorities have reopened the investigation and i didn't really know anything
08:30about it so for me it was a journey and i wrote the initial story and then the features editor in london
08:38asked me to go to the area so i was able to interview people that knew her and actually had come across
08:49the whole story were involved in some way in the story directly involved and so that was also a great
08:57privilege and just uh left me with the feeling that so much is still to be discovered just uncovered
09:07about this story and particularly because where she disappeared was many miles from where the
09:15bodies were ultimately found 14 months later the body of janet bishop may and her companion gabriella
09:23guarin and one of them was certainly wearing a skirt they were not dressed for this intense
09:30uh winter weather and the other thing is where they were found is a ravine which the locals have
09:39told me uh would have been frequented by scout groups and other people passing through there it's close
09:47to a cemetery so the idea that those bodies could have been there for months without being discovered
09:54seems implausible to me fascinating fascinating and just to clarify this snowstorm so when they
10:02when the car was said to have stopped the snow had started but hadn't laid to the point where they
10:09couldn't maneuver in and out would that be right from what i've read yeah that's the bizarre thing
10:14it's hard to describe isn't it when we don't necessarily we're not accustomed to a lot of snow i
10:20don't get a lot of snow in kent maybe last year you got a bit snow um they the experts said to me what
10:30was bizarre was they were when they found the car which was initially covered in snow they were able
10:36to start the car immediately there was no mechanical issue and where it was stationary it seemed that
10:45there was no snow trapped under the wheel so they could have really gone backwards at that point
10:52right so they were they probably stopped early evening but the full onslaught of the storm
11:00hadn't quite hit it was coming in but not quite now if you live in sheppie and might have known
11:08janet during your your life josephine has asked that you get in contact now let's take a look at our
11:14question trivia through time
11:22now this week why is kent actually called the garden of england
11:30well to get the answer to that you're going to have to wait just a few minutes as the clock has hit
11:34its halfway mark but there is still more history to be uncovered join us after this very short break see
11:41you soon
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18:02Stirling Moss made up the grid.
18:05From 1964 to 1986 the circuits share the privilege of hosting the British Grand Prix, seeing
18:10victories from such drivers as Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart.
18:14We visit quite a number of circuits around the UK and Europe and actually it's one of
18:18the few that is unchanged and I think when you bring cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s it's
18:23great for them to be on a circuit that is as it was and they appreciate that and it's
18:27great to see the Formula 1 cars racing around here on a circuit that they raced on at the
18:31same time and I think the drivers feel that as well, I think they're bringing their cars
18:34home in a way.
18:35But the historic series still has an eye on the future with sustainability being a key
18:40focus.
18:41For example, all of the cars run on sustainable Aramco fuel.
18:46With plenty of enthusiasm for the future of the Masters Historic, these cars are far from
18:50becoming mere museum pieces.
18:52Tim Fawcett at Brands Hatch for KMTV.
18:57Now 500 years ago, an uprising in the Kentish town of Lamberhurst saw over 100 men from surrounding
19:03Kentish and Sussex villages storm the Bayham Abbey in protest of its closure.
19:08Of the 100, 31 are known of as they were prosecuted by the Crown and now English Heritage is looking
19:13for their descendants as they commemorate one of the earliest moments of and response to
19:18religious reform in English history.
19:20Well, English heritage historian Michael Carter joins us now.
19:24Thank you so much for joining us, Michael.
19:27Real joy.
19:28Brilliant.
19:29Now, first of all, can you talk to us a bit about the actual events that led up to the
19:33Bayham Abbey uprising?
19:35Yeah, Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's chief minister, papal legate in England, decides to dissolve
19:4319 small monasteries to fund his educational establishments in Ipswich and Oxford.
19:50Now, this is an act of a Catholic prowler for explicitly Catholic pious purposes.
19:57Most of these events pass off with zero resistance, but things get out of hand at Bayham, leading
20:04to quite a major disturbance and the restoration of the community of premonstratensian cammons.
20:11There's a mouthful for you.
20:13Temporarily, it's a rare example of resistance to religious change.
20:18I see.
20:19And how important was the Bayham Abbey?
20:23Am I saying that right? Bayham?
20:23Bayham?
20:24You are indeed.
20:25Sorry, which one?
20:27Bayham or Bayham?
20:27Bayham.
20:28Bayham, thank you.
20:29How important was the Bayham Abbey to the local community that they felt they needed to
20:33revolt over it?
20:35Well, first of all, it's a very important community.
20:38Now, actually, if you're not from Kent or Sussex, you probably have never heard of Bayham,
20:43but it's performing important religious services for the locality.
20:47The bones of local people are resting there.
20:50The burial at the abbey, the prayers of the cannons are thought to provide a kind of express
20:54elevator out of the panes of purgatory up into heaven, but it's also a very important employer.
21:02There are about 12 cannons there in 1525.
21:06They would have been three times as many servants, and it's also a big presence in the local economy.
21:13Loads of people relying on Bayham for their income.
21:18And it also becomes involved in a bit of a spat between the two leading churchmen of early Tudor
21:25England.
21:25That's Cardinal Wall and Archbishop William Wareham of Canterbury.
21:31Now, in theory, Wareham is the superior because of his royal office, his cardinal's hat, and his
21:40papal legatine power, Wolsey, and is, well, he acts like he is a Wareham superior.
21:48And all these slights that Wareham suffers, and he may well encourage the uprising in 1525.
21:56I see.
21:57So we've got a little bit of audio issue.
21:59I think you're cutting out there slightly, but it's all good.
22:02Now, were rebellions like this common amongst other parts of England, not just here in the southeast?
22:07Well, what happens at Bayham prefigures a much, much bigger rebellion in England.
22:14You might better tell from my, or I hail from originally, 1536, when the disillusion really
22:20gets going.
22:22Thomas Cromwell involved in it.
22:23Crucially, he's involved.
22:24He's learning his trade at Bayham, and the events at Bayham really prefigure this great
22:29northern rebellion, which really comes within an ace of toppling Henry from his throne.
22:35I see.
22:37And we actually have some of these 31 names that you all mentioned that you want to get
22:43in contact with.
22:44So in just a moment, we'll have those up on the screen.
22:47But how can the ancestors contact heritage England, and what role are they going to play
22:52going forward?
22:53Why do you need these names?
22:55It's living history, isn't it?
22:57All of us have a deep ancestry.
22:59It's whether or not we can prove it.
23:02And all these, yeah, Alan, Bay, Bus, Coward, Gale, Gale was the Abba.
23:08Even he's in a good fellow, Grangeway, Lankin.
23:13That sounds like a very Kentish or Sussex name.
23:16Meepam, for example.
23:18Well, you know, you're descended from what is a very, very important event.
23:23Get in touch with English heritage.
23:24There are details on our website.
23:26If you think you're descended from one of these people, we really want to hear from you.
23:31And it's like this thing, what happens at Bay is incredibly performative.
23:36People paint their faces, attack the gatehouse.
23:39And I think the cannons will have put up resistance for, ooh, all of 30 seconds before admitting
23:44them they're being restored.
23:46And it's fueled by alcohol.
23:48Hey, it's a holiday weekend.
23:49We all know how too much drinking can go tragically wrong at bank holiday weekends.
23:55That's kind of what happens at 500 years ago.
23:58After a week, it just fizzles out.
24:01It's said that these conspirators, these rioters, are sore punished.
24:06We don't actually know what happens to any of them.
24:08There are some shackles that survive from Bayham that might give an idea of their fate.
24:14But there's no records of any executions like happened in northern England in 1536.
24:20In fact, the former abbot, Gale, goes on to live out his days at another monastery in
24:25Buckinghamshire, cast out in 1536 when the main disillusion comes along.
24:30I see.
24:31And I'm aware there's a sort of commemoration event to do with this 500 year anniversary.
24:35Could you tell us a bit about that?
24:36Yeah.
24:37Look at the English Heritage website.
24:38We'll be publicizing it.
24:39We're going to have artifacts from the abbey there later in the summer.
24:43But a real opportunity to get involved.
24:46I'd also add that Bayham Abbey is one of the English universities free.
24:50It's open any reasonable daylight hours.
24:53Get along.
24:54Visit the site.
24:55You can really get a sense of how this monastery developed over the 300 years of its occupation.
25:01It's later landscaping by Humphrey.
25:03I think it's one of the most beautiful monastic sites anywhere in England.
25:07But then I'm biased, aren't I?
25:09I don't blame you.
25:10It's an extremely interesting story.
25:12We haven't got much time left.
25:15So unless...
25:17No, I think that's all we have time for.
25:19Really sorry.
25:19But thank you so much for joining us, Michael.
25:21This has been extremely fascinating.
25:23Especially to have a history story from right here in Kent.
25:25I mean, it's very interesting to all of our viewers.
25:28And for anyone out there who thinks they might be related, they can get in contact.
25:31But again, thank you so much, Michael.
25:34Real joy.
25:35Well, it looks like that was certainly one for the history books.
25:41And as I said there, as we were talking to Michael, if you saw any names coming up on your screen that you think you could be related to, you know someone's related to them, then Heritage England want to get a hold of you.
25:52You can have rebellion in your blood.
25:54Well, you've been watching Kent Chronicles live here on KMTV.
25:58But don't forget, there's always history happening around us.
26:02And if you have a story that you think we should also be covering, then please don't hesitate to get in touch.
26:08And if you happen to be more interested in the present than the past, we also have our other special programmes.
26:14Invictus Sport, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate, Kent Film Club, and of course, the Kent Politics Show.
26:19You can watch those throughout the week or catch up with them on our website.
26:22But from me, for now, have a very good evening and please continue to read up on all your history and prepare for the next episode's trivia.
26:31That's my favourite part.
26:32See you very soon.
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