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13th October 2004
Thirty-two valiant members and supporters turned out on a wet and stormy night to attend the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society's first AGM, held at the Belle Friday Centre on 13th October. The Chairman, Bob Baxter, was able to report on a successful first year of activities that had seemed to appeal to the membership, whose number now topped sixty. A well designed and regularly updated website was already attracting well over 800 'hits' a week. Treasurer John Jackson demonstrated that the Society was comfortably 'in the black'. The chairman thanked the committee for all their hard work. A new committee was elected, the main changes being the election of Kevin Barrett to the new post of Membership Secretary, and Amanda Strevens to that of Secretary. There would be no change to the membership fees for the coming year.
After the AGM, the stage was set for an illustrated talk,
'Understanding Local Historic Buildings' given by Peter Bell. Swale Borough Council's Conservation Officer. Peter took us through architectural time, starting with a brief reference to the Roman and Saxon style of building. He explained the development of the timber-framed construction that lasted for hundreds of years, and still persists (although often very altered) in buildings all around us in our area. Much of his fascinating treatment centred on windows as critical indicators for dating a building - the unglazed 'wind-eyes' of the mediaeval period, followed by diamond-paned metal casements and then the sash windows of Georgian, Regency and Victorian times, each with their own peculiarities. He also explained, in easily understandable terms, how the introduction of brick-built chimney-stacks had a major impact on house design, and how the symmetry and balance of the classical revival had revolutionised architecture in the eighteenth century.
But his real aim, in which he succeeded magnificently, was to coax us all towards 'reading' the buildings in our own parish, looking for clues to dating, such as the "jetties' and steep roofs that indicate a timber frame structure within, or the 'scrape-marks' of a long-gone dangling window-stay that told of a former eighteenth century casement window. Peter closed by challenging the audience to offer a date of construction for a set of 'surprise" images. Members responded to this unexpected test by getting some of the answers almost right!
It was an absorbing, well illustrated, and thoroughly instructive presentation: many members of the audience went away resolving to look much more carefully at their built surroundings — and even their own homes - so as to savour more of the rich heritage that awaits interpretation.
The evening was finished off with a celebratory glass of wine.
Bob Baxter.
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