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A Talk given on 31 January 2007 by Monty Parkin Members, friends and guests sat enthralled on the evening of 31st January, as A. M. ‘Monty’ Parkin presented a fascinating illustrated talk on the evolution of the Kentish village of Kemsing. The speaker explained that he had not intended to give lectures (he currently offers them on ten subjects!). He had set out to write books based on the recorded life-stories of local people. The audience was the beneficiary of Monty’s decision to go ‘up front’. He traced the story of Kemsing from its Victorian existence as a small, isolated, village nestling in chalk downland, to the sprawling housing estates of today. He used wonderful old photographs to illustrate how the terraced hovels of the people who worked the land had been ‘done up’ to become choice single residences of wealthy commuters. There were images of the village craftsmen, such as the blacksmiths, father and son, with their forearms pocked by the sparks from the forge. And group pictures of seasonal hop- and fruit pickers from London. One chap was gardener, builder, poet, self-taught lawyer – and cutter of hair in his spare time! Monty used ‘then and now’ photographs to great effect to illustrate the impact of ever-advancing development, including the imposition of the M26 motorway across the previously tranquil landscape. He spoke of the tremendous differences between the old times and now, as told to him by the village elders: then most inhabitants were tied to the land, mostly working on large estates. Families were large, but death in infancy was commonplace. One woman, when asked what she did for medical aid in such a remote place, replied that ‘we don’t have much call for doctors – we mostly die natural deaths around here’. Living conditions could be primitive, with three families sharing a single cold tap. The impacts of the young men going off to fight in the Great War, and of the Land Girls in WWII, were richly illustrated. The talk was enhanced by the speaker’s easy presentation style, and skilfully smooth linking of one slide to the next. There was a lively question and answer session at the end, to round off a thoroughly absorbing evening. Bob Baxter Note: There was an interest expressed in Monty’s forthcoming talk on ‘Pioneers of Flight in West Kent’. He tells me this will take place for the Shoreham Historical Society, at 8pm on Friday May 11th at Shoreham (Kent) Village Hall. |