The next day we had our longest
drive to date – across to Birchington in Kent to meet up with a long lost
cousin, Trevor Brook. He and his partner Irene were very welcoming and had more
information about the family than I could take in in one go! They kindly supplied
me with my Great, great grandfather’s birth certificate which they’d acquired
from the Family Records Office for me and also that of his half sister, Lucy.
My family’s turning out to be quite interesting and there are some curious
details to try and fathom! They also put on Kentish Ale and Marlborough (NZ)
wine so it was a nice cultural exchange. We then headed towards Barming where
the Brook(s) family lived for many generations before moving away, and as far
as New Zealand (Great great grandfather William).
In summary we really enjoyed our
time in the Maidstone area. We found that there are no campsites nearby which
made for a stressful first day and added many more miles to Vinnie’s clock. We
ended up down by Biddenden the first night which wasn’t all bad as we could
visit the local wine/cidery the next day. Bought some really nice cider aged in
oak whisky casks! We were forced to do a bit of free camping in the area which
worked out fine. We even spent a night in the carpark next to the Barming church,
which was pretty neat. Lovely view!
I had the bright idea of attending a church service there on Sunday as
generations of Brook/s were baptised, married and/or buried there! It was
really enjoyable - a family service about incense and what I found was a
vibrant church community with a charasmatic rector. It was great to get a sense
of being in the church my ancestors (presumably) attended and reassuring to
know that the community is still very much alive although there are no Brook/s
there any more. (Only for the past 3 years has Trevor known that his family
originally hailed from there and he was raised not far away in Dartford. I’ve
always known as our family home (that Ma and Pa live in) is called Maidstone
and was built by the aforementioned William.
In the churchyard we found a headstone for a Benjamin Brook and made notes
about some Becket headstones (the first Brook we have records for, having
married a Becket). I also learned from a Parishioner a bit about the Becket
family and that there is still a house in the area, dating from the 1400's that
belonged to the Beckets. Not the most relevant of details but certainly
interesting. We also found hidden away (and no longer standing) the headstone
of Henry and Anne. By our calculations they were my 7x great grandparents so
that was pretty cool.
On Monday morning we approached some parishioners doing some maintenance work
and they were lovely. Offered us a cup of tea and a chat and I had a good look
through the Burials book. In it I found my 3x great grandfathers burial entry
which was nice but we already knew it was there.
We went for a few hobble/walks in
the area and one of the highlights was seeing real live Giant Hogweed! It’s
enormous and has really caustic sap so is too dangerous to handle. I’d heard of
it but it’s a restricted plant so never expected to see any. The other
highlight was splashing out on a pub lunch. We ate everything and the publican
was gobsmacked when he came to collect out plates!
We also wandered along North
Street where we know family lived for some time and went into a pub called the
Redstart. We spoke to locals about another graveyard in the area and eventually
worked out where it was (nothing of interest there as it turns out). One of the
guys we spoke to was involved with the Parish Church (mentioned above) and
encouraged us to talk to the Rector (described as ‘smashing’). He then rather
stunned me by saying that I was “clearly a Kentish girl” “really’ I said quite
taken aback. "Oh yes", he said while the other nodded enthusiastically,
"the colouring, the hair - I've a sister and she's the stamp of you!"
Then at church I saw young girls the 'stamp' of me when I was the same age.
That was a bit spooky and unexpected - but nice, even if it's just coincidence.
We also visited the Bull Inn which
has been there since the 1200s or so and it happened to be the last night
before the smoking in public places ban. They had a countdown board and
everything. It’s nice to know we can go into pubs here now without stinking
like ashtrays when we come out but I know some people won’t cope very well,
especially come winter.
After a couple of days we headed
up to nearby Aylesford where my great great grandparents married just prior to
emigrating. The parish church happened to be open which was a bonus and we had
a good nosy around the church and graveyard. Found a couple more Brooks but
have yet to determine their relevance. Had a swift half in an ancient and tiny
pub called The Wee Gem. Made me feel like a giant and Nick could only walk around
between the rafters!
We parked and the Friars and had a
look around. It’s a Carmelite establishment that welcomes visitors and it was a
hidden gem. Beautiful setting and lots of impressive contemporary religious art
pieces (this trip is turning into a pilgrimage through various religious
sites!).
I looked at loads of Microfilm in
Maidstone and found a few little bits and pieces here and there although Trevor
has already sourced a lot of it. It was great to see the (copies of the)
originals - including the really old records 1500’s and onwards and some of the
comments written about parishioners by the semi-famous Mark Noble, some of my
family included some very good others much less flattering!
Near Aylesford there’s a huge
castle called Allington Castle, although I’m pretty sure it can’t be connected
with Chris’s family as it’s not made out of concrete ;)
I misjudged an exit heading out of
Maidstone and caused us a 20 mile detour along the M25 before we could get back
the right way! It’s a school boy error, first time I’ve made it this trip and a
sign it was time for a rest. We visited Knoll castle, which has more paintings
than I’ve seen anywhere and the cutest deer frolicking in the grounds.
We then headed North and through
the Dartford tunnel and met Sam in a carpark in Harlow to get some festival
mail from him. Had a couple of Carl-blahs* in the van (driver excluded) and
then headed up to Cambridge.
* We’ve been bulk buying lager for
those non-ale moments and it’s either Carling or Carlsberg so I’ve coined the
generic Carlblah.
