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About the Project

‘Exploring Kent’s Past’ is a project that aims to help people become involved in, learn more about and enjoy Kent’s rich heritage.  The project, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, began in August 2004 and ended in 2009.

 

Kent County Council maintains a range of publicly accessible information resources on the County’s heritage, in particular the Historic Environment Record (HER). The HER contains information on over 40,000 archaeological discoveries and listed buildings. The collection also includes more than 4,000 archaeological reports and numerous photographs and maps.

 

The Exploring Kent’s Past project seeks to make these resources as widely available as possible. Previously, the only way to see this information was to make an appointment at County Hall in Maidstone.  Now you can access the Historic Environment Record from the comfort of your own home. 

 

The HER database is available online. You can explore the archaeological history of your town or village,  research a particular period or theme or learn more about a site that you already know.

 

An important part of the project is to encourage the use of heritage information within education. To help this we created three educational packs for use by school children as part of the national curriculum. We also created an extensive programme of outreach by holding workshops, giving talks and working with volunteers. The educational packs are no longer appropriate to the national curriculum but are still useful for teachers wishing to develop ways to engage children using local heritage. Please contact us at the address below if you would like copies.

 

To find out more about the project and ways to get more involved then visit our website or contact the Kent Historic Environment Record.

 

Historic Environment Record

Heritage Conservation
Environment & Waste
Kent County Council
Invicta House
County Hall
Maidstone
Kent ME14 1XX
Tel: 03000 413358