Maidstone Museum are gearing up to tell the story of the town through the use of it's historic items.

KentOnline / KMTV

'The Oldham Gallery: Exploring Maidstone's past and present', it's set to feature new objects, many of which have never been on public display, including a mysterious seal that depicts a woman standing on a rock, that could have links to the name Maidstone's origins.

Transcript

00:00Well, we're bringing the museum up to date. There are 600,000 years of history to tell

00:05in Maidstone Museum. The previous Lives in Our Landscape launch has been hugely successful.

00:13That brought us to Tudor Times, so we're now looking forward to opening the Oldham Gallery,

00:20exploring Maidstone's past and present. That will bring us from Tudor Times through lots

00:25of very busy human history in Maidstone up to the present day, and we're looking to bring

00:32a modern feel to things.

00:34I want to talk a little bit about the Lives of Our Landscape exhibition, because it was

00:39very successful. What have you kind of learnt from that that you'll be bringing into the

00:43Oldham Gallery? Because you've no doubtably heard a lot from the visitors who saw that

00:48one.

00:49They walk in the door and they say wow. They say wow as they walk round, and the compliments

00:57are sincere and heartfelt as they then move off into the rest of the museum. It's clear

01:03that the museum's team has absolutely landed the messaging for the deep history of Maidstone

01:11in its part in Kent back into prehistory. So the lighting, the soundscapes, the overall

01:21feel of the building, which still manages to give a nod to its architectural heritage, has

01:29really pressed people's buttons I think. So we're absolutely looking to continue those

01:34themes.

01:35One of the most interesting items for me, of what I've been looking at so far, is this

01:38Maid on the Stone. It's a seal used to put wax on official documents. Now, I understand

01:44there could be some belief that this image could be linked to Maidstone's name?

01:48Yes, Bartholomew, indeed. Those that went to school in yesteryear were taught their etymology.

01:57You take words apart and you try and work out what it is that they mean, and sometimes

02:01those guesses are accurate and sometimes they're not. I understand there's a variety of dabs

02:07at working out where Maidstone's name come from. It's hard to know which the right answer

02:11is. Here we've got a piece of evidence of a picture of a lady on a stone, and it is easy

02:17to draw the connection from that. Do you know, it might even be true.

02:20Fantastic stuff. I think there's something so special about, you know, thinking about

02:24the place in which you live or where you might have grown up or where family may have come

02:28from and to learn a bit more about the history. It's like a personal connection, isn't it?

02:33Well, it is. And that really is the point that we're making in the name, the Oldham Gallery,

02:42points us to Paul Oldham, a past borough councillor and mayor of Maidstone over many decades.

02:47He made the history of the town part of his wider contribution. It was a personal interest

02:56and a hobby, and he brought it into the council chamber. He brought it into council life.

03:00And as you say, those personal stories are things that shape the way that we see the place

03:05in which we live.

03:06And speaking of families, very fascinating sort of task you've set yourselves is to find

03:11Maidstone's oldest family. Talk to us a bit about that.

03:14Well, again, Bartholomew, it's a case of go with the evidence as it's found. There could

03:21be some folk out there who should be credited as Maidstone's oldest family and haven't told

03:25us who they are. Maybe they don't even know. But we're aware that there are many folk who've

03:31been on genealogy sites looking into their ancestry. We're very keen to bring those personal family

03:38stories into the museum. It will be recognised as a plaque and certificate of some sort. And

03:47I have to say, I'm looking forward to somebody stumbling in through the door just after we

03:50put it up to say, oh, perhaps it's us instead. And we'll have a good chuckle about that, I'm

03:55sure. There are a wide range of families who can point to a rich past in Maidstone. And

04:03I'm sure this exercise will give us some really, really good insights into what the deeper history

04:10of folk in Maidstone has been.

04:12It's a brilliant way to get people through the door, of course. Now, I do wonder about

04:16sort of visitor numbers, you know, those sort of tourists who might be coming to Maidstone.

04:19What are the levels you're seeing from those who are not from the area coming in and being

04:24interested about the history?

04:25Well, Bartholomew, I asked this question and I have to say I was blown away when I

04:30found out just how rich and wide the visitor numbers from Maidstone and further afield are.

04:39Sometimes I hear doubts expressed to me as a counsellor as to whether or not the museum

04:42is really relevant to people in this day and age. The visitor book, the visitor book, the

04:49visitor numbers tell a very clear story. We have people coming from far and wide. I've

04:54met folk here in the museum who've come down from London for the day to see Maidstone's

04:58museum. I think that's a great testament to the success of this museum and its team in

05:05making it relevant and fresh and telling new stories that people want to come from far and

05:11wide to see what our collections are. We've got 30% new exhibits coming out in the Olden

05:17Gallery, things that people haven't seen before and there will be many more stories to tell

05:21in the future. So the future for Maidstone's museum is very rich.

05:26Well, of course, Maidstone is the county town. It's so important to keep hold of this history

05:31and to keep telling those stories. So next question, what could we see if this one is as a success

05:37as it was last year? What's the plans for the future?

05:40Well, Bartholomew, that's a really leading question. My personal view is that I would

05:49like to change the secret of Maidstone's Courage Museum into a very badly kept secret and indeed

05:56not a secret at all. I've discovered that in my duties as cabinet member for healthy, stronger

06:03communities in Maidstone over the last year now, that Maidstone's Courage Museum is the

06:10world's second leading collection of carriages. Hardly anybody knows that. I would certainly

06:18like to see our team here in Maidstone change that story. We have a partnership with a world

06:23leading expert who's been leading tours for a number of years around the Courage Museum and

06:30there is a regular programme at weekends where folk can go and see what's going on in the

06:34Courage Museum. And we look forward to seeing how Maidstone Museum facilitates the engagement

06:40of our locals and our visitors with the rich heritage in Maidstone that has been hidden,

06:48somewhat forgotten, but we want to bring it back to public attention.

06:51Well, Councillor Stephen Thompson, thank you very much for speaking with us today. We'll definitely

06:55be keeping our eyes peeled for what's next for the Maidstone Museum.

06:57It's been a pleasure. Thank you very much.

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