Artefacts – General

The KHC archives include a substantial collection of Kemsing related artefacts and memorabilia which have been donated over a period of many years and are available to view. 

Some of our collection of Kemsing related artefacts include: –

  • Two porcelain medallions to commemorate the millennium.
  • South Eastern & Chatham Railway engine drivers or fireman’s cap with company badge. This item is at least 100 years old and was purchased by the Heritage Centre trustees in June, 2021.
  • Vets (veterans) Captain car parking sign from Woodlands Manor Golf Club which closed in 2019.
  • The WW2 medal set and army insignia of Mr Percy Ashdown (1920-1988), who was born at Bookers Cottage, Noah’s Ark, Kemsing.
  • Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry cap badge from the WW1 period. Originally the property of the Kerrison family from Kemsing.
  • Kemsing sign from an older style “flapper board”, formerly in use at a London railway station in the middle of the twentieth century. The older style flapper boards (so named because of the flapping sound they made as they were operated) were replaced by the electronic systems seen today.
  • Searchlight believed to be from a Horsa Glider. Dontated by a member of the Oliver family whose father worked on Gliders whilst serving with the RAF in WW2.
  • A Heaverham Farm accounts book from the immediate post WW2 period which includes details of a revised pay scale for members of the Women’s Land Army.
  • Kemsing United FC Sportsmanship Cup from season 1927/8.
  • Place mat and matchbox from the now closed Rising Sun Public House in Cotman’s Ash, Kemsing
  • Two medals awarded to H Wren by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes. This was a philanthropic organization which started in the early part of the 19th century in London’s theatre land.
  • Lead bullets dating from c1850 and found in Knole Park using a metal detector with the Landowner’s permission. The two bullets which each have three grooves may be Minie bullets which were adopted by the British Army and used in the Crimean War. They may have been left in the Park by the local militia possibly following military manoeuvers.