Bygone Kent Magazine

Vol 44 No 1 – Artist to the Queen, Playgirl’s Tragic Life, Escape from Nazis
This issue opens with the enchanting story of Anne Pratt, the Strood-born artist whose botanical illustrations captivated Queen Victoria and helped bring botany into the mainstream. Dive into the extraordinary life of Cynthia Elliot—a glamorous aristocrat-turned-WWII prisoner whose life spanned war, espionage, and a mysterious murder in the Caribbean. Plus, discover how Jewish refugee children found sanctuary and success at a Kent boarding school after fleeing Hitler’s regime. Add in a dash of archaeological intrigue and a dazzling restoration at Canterbury Cathedral—this issue is packed with drama, beauty, and Kentish pride.

Vol 44 No 2 – Custard King’s Empire Wobbled, Parson’s Mission to Poor Pickers, Where Were Our Viking Invaders?
Volume 44 No 2 takes a deep dive into unexpected tales. Learn how a custard magnate’s vast dessert empire was shaken by ambition and rivalry. Follow the inspiring mission of a determined parson who championed the rights of seasonal fruit pickers living in desperate conditions. And question everything you thought you knew about the Viking conquest as historians ask: why did they skip Kent? This issue blends the culinary, the compassionate, and the curious for a truly flavourful read.

Vol 44 No 3 – Brennan’s Amazing Inventions, Wartime Pilgrimage to Holy City
Engineering meets faith in this edition. Be amazed by the forgotten genius of Louis Brennan, the Irish-Australian inventor who brought his wild visions—like the gyroscopic monorail—to life right here in Kent. Then step back into the spiritual resilience of WWII as we trace a pilgrimage from the battlefield to Canterbury, undertaken by those seeking solace in a holy city battered by bombs. A mix of mechanical marvels and spiritual journeys that celebrate ingenuity and endurance.

Vol 44 No 4 – An Artist at Home with Nature and Industry, The Silent Spring of a Poisoned Village
This issue paints Kent in both light and shadow. Celebrate a local artist’s romantic but unsentimental portrayals of Kent’s industrial scenes, where nature and man’s handiwork intersect. Then, feel the haunting chill of a forgotten environmental disaster as a village is silenced by chemical poisoning—an eerie echo of Silent Spring. This issue is thoughtful, visually rich, and unflinching in its storytelling.

Vol 44 No 5 – Centuries of Maritime History Ends, Hoteliers in Battle on Sea Front, Sad Tale of Kidnapped Princess
The tides of time crash ashore in this edition. Explore how one Kentish port saw the end of its centuries-old maritime industry, leaving legacy and livelihoods adrift. Walk the line of conflict between seaside hoteliers and council ambitions in a heated preservation battle. And uncover the poignant and rarely told story of a royal kidnapping that shocked the nation. High-stakes heritage, local resistance, and royal drama make this a gripping issue.

Vol 44 No 6 – Surf’s Up for Regency Resort, Christmas Tragedy in Fairyland, Churchill’s Secret Base Revealed
Rounding off the year with flair, this issue celebrates the glamour and mystery of Kent’s coastal past. Step into the breezy elegance of a once-fashionable Regency resort that attracted Britain’s elite. Revisit a heart-breaking Christmas disaster at a children’s theme park, and go behind the wire to reveal Churchill’s clandestine wartime command centre hidden in Kent’s countryside. This edition mixes sun, sorrow, and secrets for a truly captivating read.

Vol 43 No 1 – The Girl from Kent Who Wrote the Book on London, Dickens’s Tragic Love, and Secrets of a Seaside Temple
This issue opens with the inspirational story of Elizabeth Ogborne, a Kentish woman who overcame scandal, illness, and social snubs to co-author one of the most ambitious histories of London ever published. Explore the heartache behind Charles Dickens’s early romance with a local woman, said to have shaped his fiction forever. Then step inside Margate’s Shell Grotto, whose mysterious purpose—sacred site or eccentric folly?—still baffles historians today. Add to that hidden Roman roads and wartime secrets buried beneath Kent’s quiet fields, and you’ve got an irresistible invitation to the past.

Vol 43 No 2 – Kent’s ‘Wonder Woman’, Secret WWII Arms Smugglers, and Lost Georgian Gardens
This issue brings bold women and buried landscapes to light. Meet ‘Madge’ Addy, the daring Maidstone nurse turned secret agent who parachuted into France and helped arm the Resistance. Discover the vanished splendour of Georgian pleasure gardens that once dazzled the elite but now lie beneath modern developments. There's also the story of how a Kent town’s fairgrounds once rivalled Brighton, and a peek at the intriguing life of a cross-dressing female soldier who fooled them all. A rich and rebellious collection of Kent’s lesser-known legends.

Vol 43 No 3 – Press Baron vs the Kaiser, A Forgotten Artistic Legacy, and Shakespeare Cleaned Up
War, art, and morality collide in this dramatic edition. Was the co-founder of the Daily Mail really on the Kaiser’s assassination list? A tale of paranoia, propaganda, and a seaside bombardment unfolds. Meanwhile, the legacy of Thomas Sidney Cooper—the painter who gave Canterbury its art college—is under threat. And if you’ve ever wondered who tried to "clean up" Shakespeare, look no further than the Bowdler family of Kent, whose edits shocked literary purists. This issue blends war drama, artistic justice, and quirky British reformism.

Vol 43 No 4 – Snodland’s Film Studio Dream, Healing by the Sea, and the World’s First Female Photographer
Expect the unexpected in this eclectic edition. A Chinese acrobat once hailed by Hitler tried to build a film studio in Snodland—yes, really! You’ll also read the touching story of Margate’s Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, a sanctuary for children suffering from tuberculosis, offering sea air as medicine. And meet Anna Atkins, the pioneering Kent-born scientist who may have been the first female photographer in the world. With wartime tragedy, Victorian oddities, and Kent’s place in cinematic dreams, this issue is a must-read for lovers of the unusual.

Vol 43 No 5 – The Woman Who Knew Too Much, Victorian Crime Scenes, and Britain’s First Black Footballer
This issue features the harrowing tale of Edith Thompson, whose tragic fate in a sensational 1920s murder trial still stirs debate—was she executed for her thoughts rather than her actions? Revisit a brutal Victorian stabbing that shocked Gravesend, and celebrate the life of Walter Tull, a trailblazing mixed-race footballer and WWI officer raised in Folkestone. Plus, discover how fire brigades kept peace in the brewing industry, and why Buster Keaton's only British film has a Kent connection. Riveting, moving, and brimming with underdog heroes.

Vol 43 No 6 – The Christmas That Changed Everything, Tragedy on the Tracks, and a Royal Farewell
Ending the year on a poignant note, this edition revisits the devastating 1951 rail crash near Gillingham that cost 57 lives just before Christmas. Explore the solemn story of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s final journey through Kent, and the enormous crowds that gathered to bid her farewell. Add to that the tale of a Southborough factory that made hats for kings, and an explosive dispute over bomb-making during WWI in Faversham, and you’ve got a winter issue filled with drama, dignity, and deep local history.