Tales of Forgotten Kent

A collection of twenty-two essays about the people and events that have largely been neglected by historians but are part of Kent’s rich tapestry featuring the eccentric, bizarre and outrageous people who have lived and passed through the garden of England. This book concentrates on the strange tales surrounding these extraordinary people.

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Tales of Forgotten Kent is a collection of twenty-two essays about the people and events that have largely been neglected by historians, but remain an integral part of Kent’s rich tapestry, featuring the eccentric, unusual and often overlooked tales buried within the garden of England.

Who would have thought that the cradle of British aviation was the unfashionable Isle of Sheppey, home to Britain’s first licensed pilots and the world’s first aircraft manufacturers; or that the greatest technological change in printing – computer typesetting – occurred in the small town of Westerham; and that the poet who wrote the first sonnet was not actually Shakespeare but Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington Castle, lover of Anne Boleyn; or that Britain’s oldest school is The King’s School, Canterbury, whose alumni includes the controversial playwright Christopher Marlowe, and still plays host to ghostly legends.

Read on to unearth more of Kent’s best kept secrets and keep its forgotten tales alive.