Sevenoaks: A Remarkable Town
We have available on DVD a colour film made by Sevenoaks Society in 1964, "Look, Love and Preserve". It provides a fascinating glimpse of life and buildings in the town at the time and is on sale, priced £12. The DVD also contains archive footage of a fete held in the grounds of Broughton House, Dunton Green, in 1926. The total running time is approximately 50 minutes. To buy a copy please contact us at .
Look, Love, and Preserve
Sevenoaks in the Sixties – A film by The Sevenoaks Society including 1920s footage of the Broughton House open day.
"Look, Love and Preserve" is a colour film made by The Sevenoaks Society in 1964, and now made available once more in digital format. It provides a fascinating glimpse of life and buildings in the town at the time.
This colour cine film was originally commissioned, researched and produced in 1964 by The Sevenoaks Preservation Society (the forerunner of the Sevenoaks Society) and shows the town and its surroundings half a century ago. It combines footage of some of our remarkable streets and buildings – St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks School, Bradbourne Lakes, The Vine, The Shambles – and of course Knole – with a plea for the preservation of the town's rich heritage. It is dedicated to the memory of local historian Dr Gordon Ward.
Some landmarks remain; others, such as The White House, have sadly made way for modern "developments". So sit back and reminisce; or simply enjoy seeing our splendid town as it was all those years ago.
Broughton House
Also included is an 11-minute vintage black and white silent 35mm film, originally donated to the Society by Gordon Anckorn. This records a 1926 fete held in the grounds of Broughton House, an 1830 listed building in Dunton Green, and attended by over 3000. The film shows participants enjoying all the fun of the fete – including fancy dress, Scottish dancing and a pipe band. Total running time: approx. 50 minutes.
Book: Sevenoaks Forgotten Past: Lodges and Coach Houses, by Geraldine Tucker and Elizabeth Purves.
The book is available at the Society meetings at St Luke's hall, Eardley Road, Sevenoaks. The book is available from Sevenoaks Bookshop at £12.00. Members may buy it at our monthly meetings in St Luke's Hall, Eardley Road at the special price of £10.
Volumes 1 to 7 at £4 each or any 4 direct from the Society for £10
Country Walks Around Sevenoaks
Volume 7 of the Sevenoaks Society walking guides has now been completed. This is the last volume that I will produce, not because I am hanging up my boots, but because I have run out of footpaths. As with the previous volumes there are eleven walks; they are numbered from 67 to 77. They cover a wide area from Hodsoll Street in the north to Hartfield in the south. They are between four and seven miles long and pass through some wonderful countryside. Although I did the legwork and drafted the directions, the artwork and design was down to Victoria Granville Baxter. The concept of producing separate cards for each walk and putting them in a folder followed the system devised by Rowland Oakeley nearly fifty years ago, but Victoria and our printers have brought the concept into the 21st Century and produced what I believe (I may be somewhat biased) are the greatest set of walking guides ever.
Nick White May 2019
Copies are available from Sevenoaks Bookshop, Up & Running, Ide Hill Community Shop or directly from Sevenoaks Society
Read more: Books and Guides
Postcards of old Sevenoaks
These fascinating black and white reproductions of old photographs of Sevenoaks show the town from around 1860 to 1920. There are 17 cards in all. Please telephone Keith Wade on 01732 451223