	Historian Speaker Guide		Landline 01474 320156 Mobile 0770 228 7147 christoph.bull@talktalk.net Email Me
Christoph Bull is a tour guide and Speaker who has entertained many local groups with his illustrated talks and walks. He is also Municipal Mace Bearer for Gravesham Borough Council, Official Cobham Hall House & Garden guide, and historical advisor to Swanscombe & Greenhithe Town Council. ZOOM talks as well as personal appearances. Talks & Walks by Christoph Bull, BA (Hons), MCLIP, ALA
Illustrated Talks * Chalk Parish- Marshes, midges and medicine * Amazing Swanscombe * Shorne Parish - saints, sinners & scenery. * Northfleet's Secret History * The forgotten parish Denton, near Gravesend. * Folklore of Chalk Parish: things that go bump in the parish * Neumünster - Gravesham's twin town in Germany: historical twins * A Kentishman in Transylvania (about Romania) * "The good, the bad & the ugly":The amusing story of Kentish public libraries * Gravesend: Gateway to the Thames * Dirty Dartford… * Dickens in Kent * Gravesham Round & About - a virtual historical tour. * From Grot to Great: Gravesend Library’s transformation * Our Thames from Dartford to Grain * Some Real Kentish Ghost stories (not illustrated) * Pocahontas – the non-Disney story * The Kaiser’s War?? – a different perspective on the First World War * Cobham Parish - A Kentish Gem. * Stone near Dartford – the tale of the incredible shrinking parish. * Greenhithe to Grayhithe and back again (a talk about Greenhithe’s history) * Amazing Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Neumünster – Kent and Germany during World War One * Grim Gravesend – a guided walk or an illustrated talk about the sad, mad and bad of the town- tales of poverty disease and crime. * Who’s who in Hoo – a journey through the Hoo peninsula” * “The only one that got away” – the story of a German POW escape from Kent in 1915 and the amazing adventure which took him from China via America to Gravesend. * Some Gravesham Characters – well known and unknown people who have shaped the borough’s story (illustrated talk) New Talks Gravesend the day before yesterday (the town’s transformation over the last 70 years) Northfleet the day before yesterday (the town’s transformation over the last 70 years) Dartford the day before yesterday (the town’s transformation over the last 70 years) The Griffin, horse & harp – the Earls of Darnley at Cobham Hall & their Irish connection. Myths & Legends of Gravesham & Dartford Dartford Rural Rides: Darent valley delights Dartford Rural Rides: West Kingsdown to Southfleet		Guided Walks *Chalk Village* Chalk Parish Footpaths Chalk Church *( including the tower)* St. Helen’s Church, Cliffe S.S. Peter & Paul’s Church, Swanscombe Dartford Central Library (Historical tour of the magnificent Carnegie building inside & out) Gravesend Central Library (Historical tour) Gravesend town centre: walking the historical spine of a Kentish riverside town Swanley town: a blooming Kentish railway town. Guided walk of East Chalk & the churchyard Swanscombe Town: Kentish industrial revolution revealed Shorne Village Greenhithe Village Delightful Dartford – from the workhouse to the grave. Gravesend – riverside guided tour Gravesend Old Town Hall Gravesend County Court and King Street. School Trips around NW Kent parishes and towns – contact me on 01474 320156 – e.g. Victorian Gravesend, Industrial Revolution in Swanscombe or Dartford etc. Grim Gravesend – disease, poverty, crime and marine disasters in old Gravesend. Cobham Village. Guided Walk Northfleet – historical tour and eye opening experience. Say NO to Option C Take part in the consultation It’s important! www.lower-thames-crossing.co.uk
2022 Thursday 11^th August 2022 10.30am Guided riverside tour of Gravesend with visit to Tilbury Port (performance by Time Will Tell Theatre of “Ten Pound Poms” play) The tour will cover some of the many interesting stories of Gravesend’s riverside, followed by: A promenade piece of performance around the sites of the Tilbury Port, exploring stories of the Ten Pound Poms against a wider background of people throughout history dreaming of travel, of far-off places, of success and happiness, excitement, and fulfilment. Guide: Christoph Bull Meet: 10.30am at General Gordon statue, Gordon Memorial Park (opposite Chantry School in Ordnance Road and near Promenade Café) Catch 12 noon ferry to Tilbury-the performance is in the Port Building close to the ferry landing stage. Performance at 1pm-to finish by 2pm. Cost: Free-including the ferry crossing and performance-any donations welcome. No need to book, just turn up. Information: Christoph Bull 07702287147 Come and find out about Gravesend’s great maritime history and enjoy a performance afterwards at Tilbury. Event is part of Essex Cultural Diversity Project working in partnership with Christoph Bull (Local Historian). Friday 2^nd September 2022 7.15pm Dartford Creek-past, present & future (illustrated talk) Speaker: David Leal Begins: 7.15pm At: Swanscombe Church Centre, Swanscombe Street, Swanscombe Cost: £5 to non Swanscombe & Greenhithe History Group members-pay on the door-no need to book, just turn up. Includes light refreshments. All welcomed. Saturday 17^th September 2022 2pm Come in-a guided tour of St George’s Church, Gravesend-Pocahontas and much, much more Guide: Christoph Bull Meet: 2pm at St George’s church, Church Street, Gravesend Cost: £10-includes refreshments afterwards. Booking essential: Rev Jim Fletcher 01474 532505 A rare chance to see the interior-and hear some great local history stories. Sunday 18^th September 2022 9.30am Northfleet Day – Civic service with Mayor of Gravesham followed by guided tour of St Botolph’s Church and churchyard. At: St Botolph’s church, The Hill, Northfleet Begins: 9.30am for Northfleet Civic Service-the Mayor of Gravesham, Councillor Peter Scollard, will be wearing the Northfleet chain, followed by a guided tour with Christoph Bull (Local Historian), followed by a buffet lunch. The event is free—but lunches are £5 - donations are also welcome Booking advised for catering purposes 07732 653358 Come and explore, enjoy and celebrate the great historic town of Northfleet whose identity is being celebrated and promoted. Some Gravesham forgotten figures of the past (illustrated talk) Wednesday 28^th September 2022 6.15 pm (Gravesend Library’s birthday) Some of Gravesend’s forgotten figures– an illustrated talk to celebrate 90 years of he Gravesend Pudden Club Speaker: Christoph Bull (Local Historian-former Gravesend Librarian) At: Gravesend Library, Windmill Street DA12 1BE Meet: 6.15pm-parking is free in Gravesend Council car parks after 6pm. Cost: £5 to non-members of the Pudden Club - the event is open to all. Booking essential: pay at Gravesend Library or by debit/credit card over the phone 03000 41 31 31 (ask for Gravesend Library) Come and find out about some of Gravesham’s lesser known figures-all of whom were important in their times. An event celebrating 90 years of Gravesend Pudden Club (1932) and 100 years of Kent County Library service (1921-22). Friday 7^th October 2022 7.15 pm Swanscombe’s “War” of Independence (illustrated talk) Speaker: Christoph Bull Meet: 7.15pm at Church Centre, Swanscombe Street opposite St Peter and Paul’s church. Cost: £5-includes light refreshments No need to book, just turn up-pay on the door What is the story of how Swanscombe (with Greenhithe) won and lost their independence as a separate council? It is a tale of paper battles fought and arguments given, that show how Swanscombe and Greenhithe viewed themselves in the past – and indeed today-as something special from their neighbours. Saturday 31^st December 2022 10.30am Guided historical walk of the Swanscombe Peninsula & Northfleet Border (Winter Warmer Walk) Guide: Christoph Bull - 07702287147 Meet: 10.30am outside former George & Dragon public house, Galley Hill, Swanscombe DA10 0LF The event is free-but donations welcome-no need to book, just turn up. Parking in The Grove car park, Swanscombe. Gravesend Historical Society Footpaths walk in association with Swanscombe & Greenhithe Local History Group. It is open to everybody-sensible footwear needed, the walk will last about 2.5 hours. All the events below at Reliance begin at 6pm for a fish and chip supper (drinks not included), followed by the illustrated talk. Monday 17th October 2022 6pm Great women of Gravesham- some local female personalities from all walks of life. Prepare to be astonished at the stories of these women and how they affected Gravesham-and the world. Monday 7^th November 2022 6pm Royal visits to Gravesham from many countries. A collection of stories about various emperors, kings, queens and a maharaja who visited Gravesham. Monday 5^th December 2022 6pm Myths & legends of Gravesham & Dartford: a talk for Christmas. All the events begin at 6pm for a fish and chip supper (drinks not included), followed by the illustrated talk. Booking Essential – Reliance Restaurant on 01474 533593. Only £18 for a stimulating and tasty evening. All the above are subject to the vagaries of Covid- if there are severe restrictions imposed by the government, then events cannot happen. This website was updated 30th July 2022 Say NO to Option C Take part in the consultation It’s important! www.lower-thames-crossing.co.uk
Comments Dear Christoph, It was lovely to meet you again after so long. Thank you so much for coming to talk to us on Saturday. You must have realised how much everyone enjoyed your presentation from the applause; I certainly did and other members have contacted me since to say that they have been inspired to stop and explore the villages which they usually just drive past. Perhaps next year you can give us Part Two of your Rural Rides , if I can guarantee a more prompt start for you. Christine of NW Kent Family History Society, Dartford. July 2022. Hi Christoph, Thank you for the talk on Thursday evening. It was very well received by a much larger audience than we have been getting recently. You both educated and entertained us in your usual unique style and we learned lots of new facts about Dartford. I don’t know how you managed A to Z, you certainly used your lockdown time well! Also, thanks for helping us out and standing in at the last minute, it was much appreciated. Best wishes, David, SLHG Secretary. Dear Christoph, Thank you so much for your talk “Gravesend the day before yesterday” which you gave to the group last Thursday. It was very well received and as usual you both entertained and educated us in equal measure. I was at school in Gravesend in the 1950s and can recall something of what it was like then. As your talk demonstrated many of the changes have not been for the better! Anyway, thank you once again for an enjoyable and provocative evening, and as Secretary I hope we can rely on you to return with another talk next year. David Johnson Shorne Local History Group. November 2021 Dear Christoph, Once again, it is my pleasure on behalf of the members and committee of SouthAra to thank you for your talk at last Thursday meeting (On Libraries in Kent). Your presentation was not only interesting in its content, but as always was delivered with enthusiasm and humour which made an enjoyable afternoon for all present. Geoff Till, SouthAra (Southfleet Active Retirement Association) November 2021 I think that your reputation as a speaker proceeded you and I’m sure that helped us to get our largest audience to date. I’ve also heard members saying how much they enjoyed your talk with your enthusiastic, humorous delivery and of course that array of different voices/accents!Gravesend & Northfleet U3A.via Zoom, March 2021 Dear Christoph I have been meaning to write and thank you for your talk on 14 December 2020 and apologise for being so late in fulfilling the intention. It was very informative and entertaining. In the circumstances, you went above and beyond. (Miriam from Dorking Local History Society referring to a Zoom talk) We certainly have enjoyed all the talks we have heard and the guided walks around Gravesend, there is always something new to learn about the area and we particularly like the way you mix facts with humour. Excellent evenings. Mrs E Norris, Cobham, May 2020. Dear Christoph, Thank you for coming to share with us at The Friendship Club a couple of weeks ago. We thoroughly enjoyed your visit to our group. My colleague, Penny, delivered a quiz based on your talk last week which they enjoyed. Dartford YMCA Jan 2020 Thank you very for last night's presentation. Again, a fascinating and enthusiastic talk that (I'm sure you could tell) was very much enjoyed by the gathered mob. Mike – Oddfellows West Kent-Otford. January 2020 "Thanking you for the wonderful talk on Pocahontas which the members thoroughly enjoyed”. Rainham Historical Society, Dec 2019 “Thank you for visiting us on 27^th November 2019 to talk about Gravesend & important buildings. Thank you for your time in answering all of our questions and we hope you will come back in the near future”. Ifield School 6^th Form students, North Kent College, Chalk, Dec 2019. Thanks and Frohe Weihnachten – Craciun Fericit – Happy Christmas. "Soon we arrived in Gravesend to be met by Christoph Bull, our guide. His knowledge is astounding, and he gave us a comprehensive background to the various sites we visited, all without notes, and corrected any misconceptions we had on the origin of the name Gravesend." Alison Cresswell, Paddock Wood U3A August 2019. "Thank you so much for your brilliant talk last evening (on Stone the shrinking parish), you brought back so many memories for me, some I have to admit I’d forgotten about!! " Barbara Cannell, Hextable Heritage Association. June 2019 "Thank you so much Christoph for another enjoyable and informative presentation and your jokes too! So sorry the microphone was playing up .......just as well you do not need it!! We always know we can rely on you to make our meetings go well Many thanks Christina" On behalf of our committee and members. Swanley Local History Group, May 2019 We've had some lovely feedback about your talk. Our ladies found it very interesting. We'll definitely be in touch again. Hoo WI, January 2019 “Christoph Bull gave an excellent, highly amusing, well-illustrated and well-prepared talk on ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, to a packed meeting of members of the Tonbridge Civic Society, on Tuesday 16^th October 2018. Many members later said how much they had enjoyed the talk.” Peter Charlton Vice-Chairman, Tonbridge Civic Society “Another interesting and informative evening delivered with the usual enthusiasm and humour that always accompany these talks”. Paul Gay, Sept 2018 commenting on a talk about Northfleet. We hired Christoph’s services for the evening, to present and give a guided tour around Gravesend’s historic town centre. Being a locally renowned estate agents, it provided a different approach to our community and charity activities. 60 or so guests booked into the walk and it proved to be extremely successful. Christoph’s grasp of local history is second to none. It gave both clients and staff a real insight into the history that lies about us that often we dismiss on a daily basis. Christoph is funny, authoritative and very engaging. For a taster I would recommend that anyone joins his walking tours and talks and in the future – because of the fantastic feedback we got from the event we ran – we will be holding further history walks in the future under Christoph’s excellent leadership. Michael Alan Sears, Managing Director, Sealeys Estate Agents Ltd On behalf of our committee and members, thank you so much for your absorbing presentation, so entertainingly delivered, last Tuesday evening. There certainly was something for everyone and I personally want to go out and explore some of the places you mentioned - some very close to Swanley but not really widely known. Our great attendance was I am sure because of your fame as an excellent speaker! (Swanley History Group, March 2018) On behalf of the committee and members of SouthAra, I wish to express our thanks to you for yet another excellent presentation at yesterday meeting. As always, your talk contained interesting and in many cases not so obvious factual information on the principle Churches in and around the area we live; all of which was relayed with a sprinkling of humour for the enjoyment of the audience. Geoff Till, Feb 2018 “We all really enjoyed your very spirited and informative Gravesend lecture”. Biddenden Local History Society, Feb 2018. Talk Title: Our Thames: Dartford to the Grain Saturday, 6 January 2018 Thank you for a thoroughly good talk enjoyed by all our members. So much information brought to life the Thames side locally, and with your good humour! We are looking forward to your next talk. Personally I have a much loved copy of "Liquid History - The Thames Through Time" by Stephen Croad so I enjoyed your talk even more. Thank you once again for a very entertaining talk. Best wishes Raymer North West Kent Family History Society Dartford Branch Programme Secretary Hello Christoph Glad to meet you all but briefly yesterday, The feedback from the members was very good , regarding both the enjoyment of your delivery and content matter on Gravesend & its clock tower. It is fascinating to learn about the former lives of places and buildings that barely catch our attention now in familiar streets. However we can start to look more closely and wonder about the social and historical periods that they have been part of. We can certainly recommend you to others, and look forward to the next time we see you. Kind regards Rosie Griggs Lanbara Speaker Diary Sec. November 2017 Hi Christoph - As I mentioned to you at the time, I got some very good comments from members as they left, and I hope you enjoyed talking to George and Margaret (our Africa correspondents) afterwards as much as they enjoyed chatting to you. Thank you again for an entertaining and informative evening on the amusing stories from Kent’s public libraries. Kind regards Mike Hyde, programme organiser of Oddfellows, Tunbridge Wells District. 9 November 2017. We so much appreciated your coming to talk to us today. All you had to say about the Kaiser's War was fascinating and it sounded as though it was a subject close to your heart [and your family] Comments from some of the audience afterwards showed that it caused many of us to think about the War from a different angle which I am sure is what you were hoping for. Thank you once again. Regards. Julia Hawkins Wed, 8 Mar 2017 Subject: Talk to Medway U3A Dear Christoph, Thank you for coming to talk to Leytara on’ Dirty Dartford’ last week, everyone I have spoken to said how much they had enjoyed the subject and the way it was delivered. I have had several requests for an encore. November 2015 "We so much enjoyed your talk about Pocahontas. As I am sure you realised we found it entertaining and thought-provoking especially as it exploded so many of the myths that have grown up around her. Thank you very much for coming and I hope that some of us will be making our way to Gravesend to join one of your tours. Medway U3A Sept 2015 "Hi Christoph, thank you so much for the talk you gave yesterday. It was really interesting and entertaining. Our audience really seemed to enjoy it and everyone that I have spoken to was very complimentary". Dartford U3a, June 2015 "Hi Christoph I am sorry I should have been in touch before. I would like to thank you for your presentation that although we rushed, you came over in a very professional way on the 31^st March 2015. We had a committee meeting yesterday and went through the feedback sheets. Everyone had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed your presentation". Dot Marshall Gravesham 50+ Forum “I am writing to thank you for a most interesting and informative talk at Loose last evening when many of us would have learned things we never knew before (about Germany in World War One). Your research is obviously extensive and your enthusiasm for the subject was clearly evident.” David Priestley, Chairman of Loose Area History Society Nov 2014. "Thank you for a wonderful presentation today, thoroughly enjoyed it. Can’t wait for the next one". Gravesham 50Plus Forum. "Thank you so much for coming along to our AGM and doing your history presentation on Northfleet. You were brilliant with loads of great feedback from the audience". Council for Voluntary Services – North West Kent. "Many thanks for a great tour of Gravesend. The children and us adults enjoyed it very much, and everyone liked you very much". BH Education, Harmer Street, Gravesend. Hi Chris. Just been to Strood Library to hear you give your talk on libraries. We both thought you presented your subject with superb wit and knowledge. You made the afternoon so interesting and we would like to be made aware of any future talks on any different subjects that you may offer. Thank you and hope to see you at Chalk Church sometime . Roy and Margaret Davis. Hi Chris, Thanks for your excellent talk at Strood last Saturday. It was very well received, and about as entertaining as the best comedian in the land! Norma Crowe, Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre, Strood. Had a brilliant morning with Sue’s English group and Derek and Lisa Baldwin and Andrea Dodd at the Mayor's parlour . Thanks to mayor and mayoress Derek and Pam Sales for tea and description of duties of the job. Extra special thanks to the entertaining and excellent Mace carrier Christoph Bull he made all the history fun to listen to. Eileen Baldwin, Gravesend
C. R. Bull Tel: 01474 320156. Mobile: 0770 228 7147
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