Our November talk

Huguenots – so much more that we expected

Our President, Heather, writes:

"Tessa Murdoch, the Acting Chair of the Huguenot Museum in Rochester entertained and enlightened us about another part of the rich history of our area. Whilst most of us may be familiar with the Huguenots of Spitalfields, their presence in well-known areas such as Princelet Street, and their reputation as skilled weavers, Tessa illustrated the breadth of their contribution to our society through examples of some of the wonderful gold and silverware, clocks, furniture and artefacts which they created; the community support groups; friendly societies; the educational and training structures they embedded in the community, and alerted us to familiar but remarkable architecture of some grand buildings which we owe to them. Perhaps surprising are the names, such as Courtauld, David Garrick, Lawrence Olivier, Wallace (the Collection), Mountbatten, which all have their connections with these skilled and creative arrivals, and some of our group may be curious to explore their ancestry as a result! We were also reminded that they settled in many different places, including Rochester, so we can be on the lookout for their contributions to society and culture as we travel about.

We now know that Rochester is only a short train ride away so I feel we might well be making a trip for a walk and museum trip in the spring."

Pictures of the evening by Diana; historical pictures from Tessa's presentation.

Our November coffee morning: Friday 24th November

Join us for a playful cuppa at the Young V&A museum, meet between 10.30am and 11am, Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA.