Preserving and sharing history

Heritage stories are often preserved not just in physical artefacts, buildings, and architecture, but also in written documents like old letters, minutes, press cuttings, and tickets. These documents can offer unique insights into people and events that shaped history, providing depth and color to our understanding of heritage. However, displaying and sharing these paper records can be challenging, as they are more delicate and harder to handle compared to tangible objects. While some items can be showcased in glass cabinets or frames, larger collections often require more sophisticated methods of preservation and display.

Camden Place, now home to Chislehurst Golf Club, was once the residence of Napoleon III, France's first elected president and last emperor. Recently, there has been growing interest in the time the French Imperial family spent in exile there, driven by newly discovered materials, including documents from the Club's archives, a private collector, and an attic.