The Amelia Scott has been awarded a £157,458 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for Paddock Wood in Living Memory, a community-led heritage project that will record, safeguard and share the stories of Paddock Wood’s rural working-class past.
The project will celebrate the memories, experiences and traditions that have shaped Paddock Wood and its connections with the wider rural area, including nearby communities such as Capel, through stories of hop and fruit picking, farm and railway work, local shops, pubs and everyday social life.
Thanks to National Lottery players, this important local heritage will be captured while it remains within living memory and preserved for future generations.
Paddock Wood’s heritage is closely connected to Kent’s hop gardens, orchards, farms and railway. From the late nineteenth century through much of the twentieth century, seasonal rural labour shaped the town’s landscape, economy and community life. Families travelled by train from London and elsewhere to work in the hop and fruit harvests, forming lasting connections between urban and rural communities.
Much of this heritage survives through memory, songs, photographs, objects and the landscape itself. As the town changes and those with first-hand experience grow older, there is an urgent need to record and share these stories before they are lost.
What the project will do
From September 2026 to July 2029, Paddock Wood in Living Memory will deliver a focused programme of oral history recording, community heritage activity, schools engagement and collections work exploring how rural life in and around Paddock Wood has changed over the last 60 years.
The Amelia Scott will work closely with borough councillors, Paddock Wood Town Council, Heritage Paddock Wood, the Hop Pickers Line Heritage Group and Kent Community Rail Partnership, recognising and building on the knowledge, collections and community connections that already exist locally, as well as experience gained through previous heritage projects in Hawkhurst and Sandhurst.
Justine Rutland, Cabinet Member for Economic Development & Deputy Leader at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, said;
“I am delighted that Paddock Wood in Living Memory has received this generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project will help residents of all ages to share, discover and celebrate the stories that have shaped Paddock Wood, Capel and the surrounding rural areas, from hop-growing and fruit-picking to railway life, local shops, the resilience and community spirit shown during wartime, and everyday community memories. Thanks to National Lottery players, these vital voices and experiences will be recorded and preserved so they can inspire pride in place for generations to come.”
Selected photographs, documents, objects and recordings will be preserved in The Amelia Scott’s permanent museum and archive collections, strengthening the borough’s cultural record and ensuring long-term public access.
Creative workshops, learning resources, heritage walks and public displays will share the stories collected through the project. The funding will also support practical training for local volunteers and heritage groups, complementing the work of existing heritage societies and helping strengthen shared approaches to oral history recording, digital archiving, object care and community engagement.
The Amelia Scott is inviting volunteers with an interest local history to get involved alongside local heritage groups and community partners. Volunteers will be supported to help record memories, research local stories, care for heritage material and share the town’s past with future generations. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Linda Redden at The Amelia Scott on info@theamelia.co.uk.
Public activity will include open days, talks, heritage walks, and creative workshops, giving residents, schools and visitors opportunities to discover, contribute to and celebrate the area’s heritage.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why, as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund is dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in its strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. The Heritage Fund believes in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and build pride in place and connection to the past.
By 2033, The National Lottery Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
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