Oyster farming, shipbuilding and smuggling: it’s all been part of life on the Kent coast for centuries and a new exhibition, Bawleys, Barbels and Owlers – Life along the Kent Coast, will explore stories of the county’s coastline, at the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone.

It includes the chance to see original Screen Archive South East film and documents from the county’s local history and archive collections.

There are also talks and events complementing the exhibition, featuring pirates, bronze age boats, naval defence and sea shanties, at the centre and in venues in Canterbury.

The next is on Wednesday, September 6, Those Sons of Plunder: Daniel Defoe and the Wreckers of Kent, when Cathryn Pearce of the University of Greenwich, uses Defoe’s verse essay The Storm as a window for viewing the world of the wreckers and salvagers of the coast in the 18th and 19th centuries.

On Thursday, September 21, between 4pm and 5pm, there is a free Word Buddy Club event for five to 10-year-olds with a pirate theme.

The exhibition runs until October 28, with the last related event on Wednesday, October 18.

The Kent History and Library Centre is in James Whatman Way. Talks cost £5. Book on 03000 416438 or email archives@kent.gov.uk