Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh is a lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent. She is co-director of the Centre for Kent History and Heritage, for which she writes an acclaimed weekly blog and organises the annual History Weekends. She has contributed to numerous local history publications including editing two volumes in the Kent History Project: Early Medieval Kent, 800-1220 (2016) and Later Medieval Kent, 1220-1540 (2010) and Maritime Kent through the Ages (2020).

Currently, migration remains high on the political agenda but this is not a new phenomenon and the 15th century witnessed considerable movements of people, goods and ideas. Trade was a significant factor concerning who crossed the seas to Canterbury, and Kent more broadly, but it was not the only factor. Consequently, we’ll meet a range of artisans and traders who came to late medieval Canterbury, setting the arrival of such aliens in a regional context.