Literary Legends & Lost Books: The Arts Society at Goodnestone Park Mansion
Members of The Arts Society Sandwich and The Arts Society Dover, Deal & Sandwich have been enjoying a rare opportunity to volunteer at the historic Goodnestone Park Mansion, a beautiful Kent estate with fascinating links to Jane Austen.
The house forms part of a rich literary and social history. The daughter of the 3rd Baronet married Jane Austen’s brother, Edward Austen, and Jane herself was a frequent visitor to Goodnestone. Today, the estate is owned by the 22nd Baron FitzWalter, Julian Plumptre, who gives his full support to this important cataloguing project.
To ensure the work meets professional conservation standards, volunteers attended a training day led by Caroline Bendix, a highly respected and accredited library conservator and Arts Society lecturer. Her guidance has equipped the team with the meticulous skills needed to handle and document historic volumes with due care.
Goodnestone Park Mansion contains an extensive library. Sets of books that have been separated over time are being reunited. Within the collection are a number of antiquarian books, alongside hundreds of additional volumes that are gradually being cleaned, catalogued and carefully returned to their rightful places on the shelves. The project will create a complete inventory and location system for the collection, preserving an important part of the house’s heritage for future generations.
A wonderful opportunity for our enthusiastic volunteers to gain hands-on experience in the preservation of a historic collection at one of Kent’s most beautiful heritage houses, safeguarding a remarkable library and an important piece of Goodnestone’s story.
Images:
- Volunteers, Charlotte Thompson and Cally Vaile, inspect a volume
- Volunteers Charlotte Thompson and Shelley Morris get to grips with the detailed excel catalogue
- Goodnestone Park Mansion
- Still life with books in a niche (1442-1444) Barthélémy d’Eyke (Dutch 1420-1470) courtesy of Artvee.com
13/12/25 ALL PLACES ARE NOW FILLED UPDATES SOON
We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers who are members of The Arts Society Sandwich (TASS) or the Arts Society Dover, Deal and Sandwich to take part in a fascinating heritage project — cataloguing the book collection at Goodnestone Park Mansion.
While the library holds 37 rare books, there are hundreds more volumes awaiting gentle cleaning, cataloguing, and careful reordering on the shelves. This is a wonderful opportunity to get hands-on experience preserving a historic collection and to contribute to the care of one of Kent’s most beautiful heritage sites.
What’s Involved:
- Cleaning, cataloguing, and reordering books in the mansion’s library
- Recording details in an Excel-based inventory system
- Helping to create a detailed room plan showing book locations
- Identifying and reuniting sets of books split across shelves
- Applying a shelfmarking system (room, bay, shelf, and position)
Training Day:
Tuesday, 11th November | 10:00–16:00 | Goodnestone Park Mansion
Expert conservator Caroline Bendix, who has trained Arts Society groups for over 30 years, will lead the session.
Those unable to attend will receive full guidance and materials from the training day.
Your involvement will be deeply appreciated by the team at Goodnestone Park, and you’ll be part of a dedicated group preserving our shared literary and cultural heritage.
Interested in volunteering?
Cally Vaile, TASS committee member, is co-ordinating this project. Contact youngarts.artssocsandwich@gmail.com to register your interest or find out more.
