Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
Tales from the riverbank
Volunteers pool knowledge to create a picture of life by the Medway
RiveR, Docks anD URban Life
sanDRa DUnsteR
Enthusiasts put in hundreds of hours of their own time to help create this comprehensive history of the Medway Towns. The book was commissioned as part of Heritage Lottery Fund project England’s Past for Everyone, which saw volunteers throughout the nation helping authors with research for a series of paperbacks aimed at offering an accessible guide to an aspect of each county’s history. The project in Kent was led by the University of Greenwich, resulting in two books, the first published in 2010 titled The Medway Valley: a Kent Landscape Transformed. It focused on eight parishes straddling the River Medway close to Rochester: Aylesford, Snodland, Cuxton, Halling, Wouldham, Burham, Strood and Frindsbury. River, Docks and Urban Life is the second title, and looks at the development and changes in Rochester, Strood, Chatham and Gillingham from 1550 to 1900, tracing the transformation of the four separate communities into the urban conurbation now known as the Medway Towns. Dr Sandra Dunster, senior lecturer in history at the University of Greenwich, was hired to oversee the project and turn the findings into a book, which has just been officially launched Mum-of-one Sandra, who lives in Whitstable, said: “I was delighted to be asked to get involved with the project, as my grandparents lived in Gillingham so I spent a lot of my childhood visiting them in Medway, and have a real interest in the area.” Sandra and her team began by contacting local history societies and advertising in libraries and museums for volunteers to help with the project, and were delighted by the response. She said: “I had 30 volunteers working with me for over three years, and it was a fantastic experience. “Everyone involved had an interest in the history of their area, and were able to draw upon their own knowledge, making it a really collaborative project.” She added: “It is my first book and I am thrilled that it is about an area which is special to me.” River, Docks and Urban Life is available now, priced £18.99. The Medway Valley: a Kent Landscape Transformed costs £14.99.