Top Ten of 2025

Well, 2025 has been an interesting year, especially the move from CKHH to KCHH and the new website beautifully designed by Ben Cornwell – many thanks Ben. However, because of these changing circumstances for the round-up of my top ten I will draw on posts from both domains.

Thus, my Number Ten is what I see as a successful transition from Humanities at CCCU (very many thanks to all those from outside academia as well as inside who came to my leaving do at CCCU, especially to Dr Diane Heath who was a star, including designing my leaving card) to MEMS at the University of Kent. This has meant that the blog’s centre of gravity has, in a sense, moved ‘up the hill’. Even though I had been teaching at Kent anyway since 1999, for the last decade or so as a Specialist Associate Lecturer, this was a new chapter in the lives of six of my PhD students, five of whom decided to transfer to Kent MEMS and the 6^th decided to wait and then start at Kent MEMS this autumn. Not that these were the only different circumstances, and I’ll be mentioning CAMEMS far more than in the past because it is integral to certain matters involving KCHH, but more on that later. For now, I thought the best way to illustrate this transition is to provide the links to the 2 blogs either side of 31 July. The ‘before’ blog is at: kchh.org/the-nightingale-the-chough-and-the-phoenix-flying-together-in-canterbury-and-kent/ and was echoed a couple of weeks later with this one: kchh.org/the-nightingale-chough-and-phoenix-are-back/ .

Moving to Number Nine, that’s our involvement in a range of academic conferences home and away. The ‘home’ conferences being Kent MEMSFest, comprising a panel of Peter Joyce, Kieron Hoyle and Jason Mazzocchi: kchh.org/from-medway-to-dover-exploring-history-and-heritage-in-kent/ who, respectively, are studying Elizabethan Medway, Tudor Dover and early modern northern Kent coastal maritime communities. Additionally, Gender and Medieval Studies at CCCU primarily organised by Diane Heath with some help from me. As the theme was charity, I was able to discuss sisters in Kent’s medieval hospitals with special reference to St John’s hospital at Sandwich: kchh.org/the-nightingale-the-chough-and-the-phoenix-flying-together-in-canterbury-and-kent/ . This was an excellent conference and many of the contributors are currently expanding their papers with the intention of publishing an edited collection.

Of the ‘away’ conferences, these were at such diverse places as Bristol, Hull and Winchester, for both Kieron Hoyle and Dr Claire Bartram gave presentations at the Society of Renaissance Studies conference at the University of Bristol in July, while Kieron had previously also spoken on Tudor Dover at the Maritime History conference at Hull. Jason Mazzocchi had similarly given in paper at this conference: kchh.org/from-kent-to-hull-showcasing-maritime-history/ where he had presented his findings on the Faversham oyster maps. Then in the autumn, I gave a paper at the Southern History Society conference at Winchester: kchh.org/medway-history-showcase-plus-forthcoming-events/ the conference theme being ‘The Poor and the Parish’ with the intention that these papers will be published in the 2026 journal as a themed edition.

My Number Eight keeps with the theme of presenting research findings, focusing on the Kent History Postgraduates group, which until July was based at CCCU but has now been reformed to operate at Kent MEMS, with some from CCCU to offer continuity and community. This year these presentations took place in most months and covered a very broad range of topics from prehistoric communities to the history of emotions in early modern times. Rather than provide links to all the relevant blogs, these are the two bookends: kchh.org/wealden-case-studies-from-iron-to-emigration/ and kchh.org/kent-history-postgraduates-plus-gloucester/ but if you want to find others, please have a look at other blogs from 2025.  

Number Seven is celebrating the degree successes of members of the Kent History Postgraduates. Among those who have had successful vivas and who are finishing off corrections are Maureen Mcleod and Grace Conium, while Abi Kingsnorth submitted her thesis this autumn. Others are finishing writing up, such as Lizzie Burton and Jane Richardson, while Kieron Hoyle, one of those who moved to Kent MEMS, is in her writing up year. Moreover, the blog featured those from the KHP who graduated from CCCU this autumn, these being Tracey Dessoy, Alison Norton, Kaye Sowden and Victoria Stevens: kchh.org/conserving-heritage-in-kent-and-canterbury/

Thinking about Number Six, I believe it is similarly good to celebrate the many and varied Outreach and Knowledge Exchange activities that we undertook in 2025. Among these were ‘Dover at Night’: kchh.org/featuring-dover-at-night-and-canterbury-pilgrimage/ , as well as working with Kent Archives: kchh.org/celebrating-postgraduate-research-on-late-medieval-and-early-modern-kent/ , Cherwell School from Oxfordshire: kchh.org/tudors-and-stuarts-2025-end-of-an-era/ , ‘Open Faversham’: kchh.org/from-medway-to-dover-exploring-history-and-heritage-in-kent/ and celebrating the re-opening of the Dover Maison Dieu: kchh.org/history-postgraduates-in-dover-celebrating-success/ and kchh.org/history-postgraduates-in-dover-celebrating-success/ the latter also showcasing Dr Anne Le Baigue, a Kent MEMS post-doc who successfully became a Canterbury Blue Badge Guide.

At Number Five, it is important to highlight the successful completion of the funded ‘Kent’s Maritime Communities’ project that involved Professor Craig Lambert as the PI, Dr Robert Blackmore as the RA, and me as the CI. Both Craig and Rob are based at the University of Southampton, as is the first RA Dr Gary Baker. The project has several outcomes, including the project’s freely available website and searchable database, which was launched at a study day in Dover: kchh.org/history-postgraduates-in-dover-celebrating-success/ and a book, published by Boydell in October: kchh.org/medway-history-showcase-plus-forthcoming-events/ where I contributed the first chapter.

For Number Four, we have three annual lectures: the Becket Lecture held at CCCU was given by Professor Rachel Koopmans, who will be back in Canterbury in 2026: kchh.org/rachel-koopmans-and-becket-and-benedict/ and was an absolute tour-de-force. The Nightingale Lecture at the University of Kent, which is now a joint event between Brook Rural Museum and CAMEMS, in conjunction with Kent MEMS: kchh.org/conserving-heritage-in-kent-and-canterbury/ provided a fascinating presentation by Victoria Stevens, a conservation specialist and instructor at West Dean College. Moving beyond the two universities, the Canterbury Historical Association holds the Lyle Lecture annually to commemorate Lawrence Lyle, who did so much for history and archaeology in the city. In 2025, I gave it where I explored economic migration in 15^th-century Kent, with special reference to the lives of those who crossed the Channel to live, work and settle in Canterbury: kchh.org/immigration-and-innovation-what-history-has-to-offer/ .

This leads nicely onto Number Three which is collaboration, something that first CKHH and now KCHH does and has done for many years. Of course, now being in some senses part of Kent MEMS that is important and an example (although it didn’t feature in the 2025 blogs) is the previous contributions to MEMSLib by Diane Heath and me, and this month the work by Jason Mazzocchi. If you haven’t seen it, please do explore all these great resources on the webpages at: MEMSLib | Home and now I want to look beyond the university.

My first stop is the Medway History Showcase because Peter, who transferred from CCCU to Kent this autumn, and Jane Joyce have been organising this excellent event in collaboration with the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, for several years. The blog features the 2^nd day of the event in 2025: kchh.org/medway-history-showcase-plus-forthcoming-events/ showing the involvement of members of the KHP and Kent MEMS. Another form of collaboration is the volunteer wills group who are working on late medieval/early modern probate materials for the parishes of the Rother Levels. The group includes people who have a range of backgrounds, knowledge and interests, as well as several KHPs and me. It is spawning several associated projects, including one on the Tenterden Custumal and another on emigration from the area in the 17^th century to the United States: kchh.org/wealden-case-studies-from-iron-to-emigration/ .

A different type of collaboration again is working with Dr Adam Chapman (VCH), trustees from The Oldham Trust, and Dr Jack Newman (Kent MEMS post-doc), the manager of the funded Making of Maidstone project, that involves several volunteers. Moreover, this has the potential to expand into a further collaboration in the next year or so, but more on that in 2026. Another area of long-standing collaboration is with Jon Iveson and Martin Crowther at Dover concerning the Maison Dieu and Dover Museum, and there have been plenty of examples of this relationship again this year. Also to a degree with Eastbridge Hospital and Canterbury Cathedral, through Torin Brown the pilgrimage officer, and I am hoping both of these will grow considerably next year. Finally for collaboration, Kieron and I are trustees of CAMEMS, a link that will grow through events such as the Canterbury Medieval Weekend 2026, so do check out the CAMEMS website: CAMEMS, Canterbury and watch this space.

In every other year my number one has been the History Weekend but in 2025 the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend is more appropriately at Number Two. In part due to what has pipped it to the top spot, but also because by the time we got to the History Weekend I had been told I was being made redundant. Nevertheless, the undergraduate and postgraduate Welcome Team members did a sterling job, Craig’s Bookstall was magnificent, the café staff and AV staff were great, the many speakers were absolutely fantastic and the audiences were as usual very enthusiastic: kchh.org/tudors-and-stuarts-2025-end-of-an-era/ .

So to Number One and I’m just going to let the blog from last May do all the talking: kchh.org/the-ckhh-at-the-palace-yes-buckingham-palace/ and many thanks to the Lord Lieutenant of Kent for putting my name forward.

This brings the curtain down on 2025 and I want to end by thanking the Kent History Postgraduates, and Diane, who is now at the Science Museum in London, the very many people outside the two Canterbury universities who have been exceedingly supportive of CKHH and now KCHH, as well as certain people at both CCCU and Kent MEMS. Starting with the former, it was great working with Dr Claire Bartram for several years as the other director of CKHH, and special thanks to Drs David Budgen, Mitch Goodram, Katy Mortimer, Maria Diemling, Astrid Stilma and John Bulaitis, as well as Professor Carolyn Oulton. Looking beyond the academic team, Michelle Crowther in the Library, Craig Dadds with Jake and Andrew at the Bookshop, Laurence Ranger, Seun Adesanya, Terry Davey and Toby Charlton-Taylor in AV, Ben Cornwell in web design and Julian Faber in IT, Matt and his fellow gardeners, Louise Mallon’s Hospitality team, as well as Dr Harriet Kersey, and on behalf of my PhD students, Paige Stitson. Turning to Kent, Jenny Humphries and her colleagues have been brilliant concerning the transfer of the PhD students, Karen Brayshaw in Special Collections has very supportive and Kent MEMS as a whole has been extremely welcoming, with particular thanks to Drs Suzanna Ivanic, Ryan Perry and Sarah Dustagheer. Absolutely finally, many thanks to readers of the blog, please do continue to follow it at: Kent and Canterbury History and Heritage as we go into another year, and all best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

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