Edward Hasted's `History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent' is generally thought to be the most important of the histories of Kent. Although it is a fairly demanding read being both very detailed and the product of the eighteenth century, it is known for its accuracy and the quality and depth of the research that Hasted put into it.

Educated at Eton and Lincoln's Inn. He was a magistrate and deputy lieutenant of the county. He started collecting the documents and books for his history in his 20s and was 75 when the second revised edition was published. The whole work is 12 volumes that is 24 times the size of this book. Within its scope it superseded all of the previous histories and has never subsequently been replaced.

This book is a copy of my second edition of 1800 about half of volume 10 is devoted to The Island of Thanet reprinted here. I have illustrated it with pictures of around 1800 or before. When I first put the book together like the original the only picture was of the tomb of Edila de Thorne, so I hope the purists among you will forgive me adding the pictures.

There were some difficulties in copying it as the text from the other side of the page shows through the paper in the original book. The scanner picks this up a small amount. I can only say that it looks very like the original,1800 edition. Described at the time as well got up for a locally printed book.

There was a reprint of volume 10 made by Kent County Library with E.P. Publishing Limited in 1972 at £8 then when an average price for a hardback book of the same size was about £2 a Penguin paperback was about 30p and a Mars bar 3p. My main reason for reprinting is that it's always been too expensive to be easily accessible, a secondhand copy of the reprint will cost you about £50 if you can find a copy it's surprisingly scarce.

Anyway what you have here is the first cheap edition so that anyone with an interest in Thanet's history, who wants to read Hasted, can buy for about the price of a paperback novel.

To those of you who have like me, become addicted to reading the old history books about this area I can recommend Hasted I hope that you will read this with as much pleasure as I have.

A note about the Hundred of Ringslow, after the piracy and lawlessness of the Saxon period in Kent, Alfred the Great C 1070 AD restored order to the county. For purposes of government and taxation the population was split into tithings (ten families) and hundreds (one hundred families). The Hundred of Ringslow has come to mean that part to Thanet not under the auspices of the Cinque Ports.