Treasure from medieval fayres to eBay

Shelves of archived Surrey Comets fights for space with maps, photographs and street directories, with cabinets bursting with documents charting the borough’s past.

I am at Kingston Museum’s local history room, a rich archive of everything to do with the borough, and I’m here to rummage around the treasures as Kingston’s festival history goes on show in a fascinating exhibition.

Festival celebrates 800 years of Kingston’s fetes, fayres and festivities from the earliest Kyngham games in medieval times to Kingston’s multicultural carnival of today.

Museum curator Peta Cook is on hand to show me around.

“We’ve tried as much as possible to link how people celebrated in the past to how celebrations continue today in Kingston so we can show what is very often shared links, “ she says.

The museum has consulted with local faith groups such as Kingston Liberal Synagogue and St Raphael’s Church to see how their festivals are celebrated in Kingston and they have donated costumes and ornaments to add to the collection.

There is an outfit worn by the imam of Kingston Mosque, one lady’s favourite Diwali outfit and colourful props used to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The archives have been lovingly built up over the years through donations and careful archiving. But technology also plays a part, as Emma Rummins, a local history officer, explains.

Museum staff regularly surf the web and browse eBay looking for their next acquisition and the latest buy was a postcard of Hazelwood School in Surbiton which was open in the 1930s.

The exhibition took four months of “solid work” by the museum team and involved scouring through thousands of images and documents to create the six themes.

These themes include pageants and processions, royal visits and civic ceremonies.

Kingston’s original 1208 charter, signed by King John, will also be on display.

Ms Cook said: “Kingston also has many charters giving the town the right to hold certain fayre days, so we felt that was an important theme.

“We will also have a section documenting civic days so, for example, we have photos of the Guildhall and power station opening which caused terrible excitement in the town.”

Browsing through the images was a history lesson in itself and it is clear Kingston has always been a town that likes to party.

There are images of Tiffin schoolboys waving flags for the Queen Victoria jubilee and, showing how times have changed, an image of a man dressed as a minstrel to celebrate the Edward the Elder millenary procession in 1902.

The local history room is open to everyone and is a warren of periodicals, newsletters, Kingston history books and genealogy records, including census records and electoral information.

As archivist Jill Lamb explains, more than 80 per cent of the records held relate to Kingston Council.

The other 20 per cent is made up from donations from societies, businesses, families and individuals.

“The earliest piece we have is the historic 1208 charter,” Ms Lamb says. “We have 32 charters in all and the most recent dates from 1965 when Kingston became a London borough.”

The records are immaculate and, while the ornate script on one of Kingston’s famous charter is starting to remind me of an optical illusion, Ms Lamb is well-versed in ploughing through these medieval texts.

“Your eyes get used to it but there will be transcriptions available at the exhibition, don’t worry,” she says.

Some gems will be on display for the duration of the exhibition, including a charter from Charles II in 1662 which allowed Kingston to hold a market every Wednesday and a special charter given in thanks from Queen Mary Tudor and her husband King Philip in 1554.

This was given as a reward after townspeople deliberately damaged Kingston Bridge so that a rebel faction led by Thomas Wyatt could not cross. The charter allowed Kingston to hold two extra fair days each July.

The archive also holds precious deeds from the 1300s, legal records from the 1400s and council minutes which start from 1608.

Tragically, Ms Lamb says, many donations come through after people with a link to the borough die. Only last week she received an addition to the collection from France.

“A gentleman sent in some papers which documented his father’s time as an air raid warden in New Malden,” she says. “It’s great to be able to put a human face on the history of the war in the borough.”

The archives are stored at the North Kingston Centre in Richmond Road, plus the space given to the museum at the Guildhall.

And, as Ms Cook states, the management of reams of information is a daunting task.

“If someone sends in a dress, for example, we always try to link it to a photograph or newspaper article so we have connected archives and can create history webs,” she says.

Despite the cavernous archives, museum staff say they still need to maintain links with the community.

Ms Cook says: “We rely on local people. We don’t want this to be a museum that teaches people – we want to learn as much from people as hopefully they do from us.

“It is important to keep talking to people about their lives or we won’t have a history to tell in Kingston Museum in 100 years.

“It’s not just about showcasing the past but trying to preserve the present for the future.”

Festival runs until October 18 at the Wheatfield Way site.

For more information, visit kingston.gov.uk/museum or call 020 8547 6460.