Reviews

REVIEWS °"Ye in the Eighteenth Century. By Bryan Keith Lucas. 15 x 21 cm. 72 pp, 3 maps or plans. Geerings of Ashford Ltd., 1995 (£12.95 paperback) This is not a history of eighteenth-century Wye but rather a study of how the parish was governed at that time. Fortunately, a considerable number of surviving parochial records have been deposited in Wye College Library, including Churchwardens' Accounts (1663-1819), Overseers' Accounts (1663-1819), Vestry Minutes (1724-1851) and books and bundles of documents touching on the affairs of Wye during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An amazing amount and range of detail drawn from these records is presented over 47 pages of text, following a short Introduction (pp. 9-13), which sets the scene on eighteenth-century Wye and the local administration of the day. What is presented as an essay concludes with a Bibliography (pp. 67-8), a list of relevant Acts of Parliament (p. 69), a full list of Wye Parish Records in Wye College Library (p. 70) and an Index (pp. 71-2). The publication opens with a Plan of Wye Town in 17 46. The Introduction reveals immediately how this study came to be undertaken. In 1951, Professor Bryan Keith-Lucas's uncle, Ernest Hubbard, published The Old Book of Wye, based on a volume of Churchwardens' Accounts spanning the years 1515 to 1663, which had been discovered after having been lost over many years. ¾ye in the Eighteenth Century stands as a sequel to Ernest Hubbard's earlier work. Professor Keith-Lucas has long been respected as a renowned authority on the history of English local government and his expertise in this field is fully revealed in this study, not least of all on general points which are of value to parish historians generally, as for instance on pp. 11, 12-13, 15, 19, 41, 59 or 65. The author's approach is thematic, moving from The Overseers of the Poor (pp. 15-30) to The Vestry (pp. 31-6), The Workhouse (pp. 37-42), Sickness (pp. 43-5), Churchwardens (pp. 47-50), Wye Charities, eleven being highlighted (pp. 51-8), ending up with The Highways (pp. 59-6 4). All these aspects of local administration are carefully explored and there is much in the assembled detail of general interest to the Kentish historian, such 479 REVIEWS as 'the law of settlement [being] of Byzantine complexity', giving rise to instances of 'trouble and expense' (pp. 19-21); entries referring to the burial of parishioners, 'often including the cost of beer for the men who dug the grave and carried the coffin' (p. 24), or severe outbreaks of smallpox in 1760 and 1761 causing the vestry to decide on establishing a permanent isolation hospital or 'pest house' (pp. 43-4). Historians contemplating other studies of eighteenth-century parochial administration would do well to heed this carefully researched and argued publication. JOHN WHYMAN The Medieval Houses of Kent. An Historical Analysis. By Sarah Pearson. 27.5 x 22 cm. Pp. X + 106, 158 pls. and figs.; The House Within. Interpreting Medieval Houses in Kent. By P.S. Barnwell, illustrations by A.T. Adams. 27.5 x 22 cm. Pp. xii+ 163, 166 pls. and figs.; A Gazetteer of Medieval Houses in Kent. By Sarah Pearson, P.S. Barnwell, A.T. Adams. 27.5 x 22 cm. Pp. xii + 145, 184 figs. Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1994 (Limp, £19.95; £12.95; £14.95). Many if not most of the members of this Society must be familiar with the experience of driving in the awkward Kentish lanes, rounding a corner and seeing yet another timber-framed house, often standing by itself with only a barn beside it. Even if clad in brick and tile-hanging, the outline of its steep roof and inserted chimney reveals its origin. It was customary to think that there were more timber-framed houses in Kent than in other counties (a view not shared in these volumes). As a result of their great number, it has often been said that no Royal Commission Inventory would ever be made for Kentish houses. In a sense that remains true. However, a change of policy at the Royal Commission, in favour of the study of particular classes of building, made possible the setting up of a project in 1986 aimed at 'a strategy of systematic but selective sampling' from which an account could be written of 'the regional and chronological development of medieval housing in the county'. T he project continued until 1992. Certain decisions had to be taken for the process of sampling: the houses were to be timber-framed, rural, and in most cases of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Some earlier and later houses were added to trace origins and show development. T hough larger towns such as Maidstone, Canterbury and Sandwich were avoided, Charing, Chilham, Elham, Smarden and Wrotham were included, and yet these might be regarded as Kentish 'towns'. Sampling was carried out in 60 480 REVIEWS parishes spread across the map from north-east to south-west, or north to south, with few groups running across the map, except on the Downs eastward from Wye. 380 houses were surveyed in the sample parishes, and 70 others which were known to be important. Evidence was also used for about 50 houses outside the sample parishes, 'known from the work of other investigators', so that in the end about 500 houses were studied. The resulting work is published not as one book but as three. They have limp covers, are not in a slip case as three volumes, but sold separately, only united by the ingenious motif of a drawing of Walnut Tree Cottage, East Sutton, on the spine of each, which is completed by setting the volumes in a row. The first is The Medieval Houses of Kent. An Historical Analysis, an account of the conclusions of the project and the evidence for them. It ought more truly to be entitled 'Medieval Houses of the Kent Countryside' like the 1975 volume of Houses of the Welsh Countryside, since houses in the towns are excluded. Volume II is The House Within. Interpreting Medieval Houses in Kent. This is advertised as of use to 'archaeologists, architects, surveyors, planners and students as well as owners'. It is illustrated with photographs, plans, drawings and diagrams and will be for many people the most approachable of the three volumes. In spite of its title, it concerns all aspects of the houses, not simply their internal decoration and use. Chapters on plan, structure, structural details, windows and doors, are followed by those on decoration and (most usefully) 'smoke dispersal'. These chapters can be read as an introduction to timber-framed houses, but the book's special use will be as an invaluable work of reference. Since few of the houses seen by an investigator are of one build, the diagrams will greatly assist their explanation. The section on disguised houses is particularly illuminating. A similar handbook for later sixteenth- and seventeenth-century houses is much to be desired. The third volume, A Gazetteer of Medieval Houses in Kent, is linked specifically to volume I, since it is the selective gazetteer of the houses in the sample. It is less useful standing on its own, though its plans and sections might well be of value for comparison with other houses (outside the sample) in process of investigation. One special feature of this project was the use of dendrochronology or tree-ring dating. Instead of the customary 'c. 1450' or 'first quarter of the sixteenth century', some dates read '1456' or '1517'. These are the results of the tree-ring dating: other houses are dated within 30 or 40 years on the basis of the tree-ring dated examples, e.g. '1460-1500'. 74 houses were tested for dating and 53 examples obtained. The usual methods of dating using structural forms and details (such as scarfjoints) and decorative features (mouldings and crown-posts) are regarded by the authors as not very reliable, though they admit that 481 REVIEWS some investigators working over a long period in a small area can date houses with 'a fair degree of accuracy'. However, the tree-ring dating depends on a 'master chronology'. There was some difficulty in achieving a 'master chronology' for Kent, and it may be that further experience in dendrochronology will require some revision of the dates. (The Canterbury samples from the former Bull Inn in Buttermarket suggested dates between 1425-1445, whereas the documentary date of construction is 1467.) A more surprising emphasis in the project's work is on social and economic history - the interaction between the houses and the 'social and economic circumstances of the people for whom they were built'. There is a sense in which the writing of volume I is dominated by the lost houses of the peasants, which were mostly too small and too dark, though not too fragile, to endure. Much is said about the 'status' of the houses, and the need to distinguish houses by size and type as well as by region. Discussion of these matters is very difficult for Kent, in view of the lack of suitable boundaries between 'gentry, yeomen and those engaged in trade or the professions', as well as the usual anonymity of the peasants. Although there have been studies of social and economic affairs in the Kent countryside over the last 30 years, they are hard to assess and in some cases remain unpublished. As Sarah Pearson writes in her Introduction to volume I, 'It is extremely difficult to handle unfamiliar evidence in a constructive way, and this difficulty besets both social and economic historians and architectural historians alike'. Perhaps, as in other books of this type, the term 'evolution' for changes in the style of houses, first used in the last century, is unfortunate. A house was built by the potential owner and his craftsmen. They would built according to means and ability, and the constraints of the site. No doubt they would be influenced by local fashion (both for and against). They were not in the grip of some external force which required them to build a cross-wing, Wealden or end-jetty house, nor, necessarily, a suitable house for the owner's 'status'. A welcome aspect of all the volumes is their awareness of alterations, of 'lost' parts of a house destroyed in the search for better standards of living. The chapter in volume I on 'the demise of the open hall' shows very clearly the problems which investigators find in looking at the houses in their local area. In fact the results of the project should be welcomed by all interested in Kentish timber-framed houses, as an encouragement for debate, comment and much further work. The true historical analysis of the medieval houses of Kent (including those of towns) can only be achieved at some time in the future when a great deal of further investigation has been done outside the 60 sampled 482 REVIEWS parishes; and perhaps when some general study of medieval social and economic affairs in the county may make the interaction of houses and people more easily understood. MARGARET SPARKS Roman Britain. By Martin Millett. 24.5 x 18.5 cm. Pp. 144, with 86 illustrations, 12 colour plates and colour dust-jacket. B.T. Batsford/English Heritage, London, 1995 (£25.00, cased). The English Heritage series of introductory books, published by Batsford, is accurately described on the jacket of this volume as 'a remarkable enterprise' for the breadth alone of the topics already published and others forthcoming, and Professor Millett's Roman Britain does great credit to this series. After an introduction, in six main chapters Millett ranges over the peoples of Roman Britain, natives and the Roman system, Roman authority and its demands, art, the gods and the end of Roman rule, concluding with a retrospect. The book also incorporates a glossary, places to visit, suggestions for further reading and an index. Millett's original canvas, as he admits in the introduction (p. 9) was broader, and this volume has been condensed from a larger work, with the expected drawbacks of such scaling down. Nevertheless, this is a most readable book, uncluttered by footnotes and references. Though there are precedents for this, a few, well-chosen references would have allowed readers to follow Millett back to the evidence for his synthesis and enabled them to judge for themselves, if not pause for breath. This volume is much more than an introduction to Roman Britain in that it does not only survey the present state of our knowledge; it also interprets it and does not hesitate to draw conclusions: it is tantalising to ponder on what the 'more extensive work' might have offered. A very useful feature of this work is the set of chronological tables and maps at its beginning, even though it may be thought that they occupy a disproportionate amount of space within the usual extent of the series. There are a few printer's errors (e.g. on p. 48), apparent inconsistencies (e.g. the vallum south of Hadrian's Wall is described both as 'designed to protect the wall from the south' [p. 41], which is unorthodox, if not debatable, and 'to define the military zone behind it' [p. 138], the infelicity of 'less objects' (p. 124), and the co-author of The Brigantes being given as 'Fitz' - but these are, of course, minor blemishes. On the other hand, I wonder what evidence is there for Millett's assertion of 'the Roman roadside settlement of Ospringe' (p. 119)? That such a settlement must have existed in the vicinity of the 483 REVIEWS cemetery is obvious, but its location is still elusive. How can one speak of fossilisation when the Cantii (fig. 16), for which term there is little incontrovertible evidence, become the well-attested Cantiaci later on (fig. 38)? Surely, chi-rho are not 'the first and last letters of the name of Christ' (p. 136) and Richborough fort was built of flint (pl. 53) and rags tone. Condensation is more apparent in this book in the treatment of the towns and the settlement of the countryside where more illustrations of towns and rural buildings would have been helpful. Millett describes the large towns of Roman Britain as 'public towns', which is a clumsy conjunction of words, in preference to civitas capitals, which was not the case with all major Romano-British towns (e.g. London and Verulamium), but why not 'urban centres', which Millett himself uses at least on two occasions. This book is well supported by the choice of illustrations, though Millett has not been well served by the printer in this respect. In most cases, the monochrome plates are overprinted, which often makes for the loss of the detail referred to and in the line drawings the lettering, lines and symbols often merge ('Anxiliary' on map 7 should have been spotted.) I have no hesitation in warmly recommending this volume to our members, for it should not only enthuse them about Roman Britain, but also invite them to further reading on the subject, if not more active exploration. A.P. DETSICAS Wye College and its world: A centenary history. By Stewart Richards. 19 x 24 cm. Pp. 336, Foreword by H.R.H. The Princess Royal as Chancellor of the University of London, heavily illustrated, Preface, 10 Chapters, 2 Appendices, Notes to chapters, Sources and acknowledgements for illustrations, Bibliography, Index. Available from Wye College Press, Wye College, University of London, Wye, Ashford, Kent. TN25 5AH post free, 1994 (£25 soft cover or £45 hard cover). Princess Anne introduces this substantial history by noting that 'agriculture is among the most ancient of the arts and sciences', with Wye College, deriving 'from a medieval foundation', celebrating its centenary in 1994 'as a centre for higher education in agriculture, horticulture and the environment' (p. 5). In 1948, her grandfather, King George VI, awarded 'an outstanding honour' to the College by granting it a Royal Charter of Incorporation (pp. 174-5). 484 REVIEWS At an important international conference hosted by the College in 1955, which attracted leading world authorities from Britain, Europe and America, Professor Louis Wain, well known for a 'long and distinguished association with the College' (pp. 166, 202-3, 233), asked 'perhaps the most remarkable of all the College "characters", ... the versatile and "virtually venerable" "B-B", namely, the Reverend Dr. [Canon] S. Graham Brade-Birks, primarily a zoologist, but also part geologist, . . . archaeologist and antiquary, the dedicated and hyperactive vicar of nearby Godmersham' (pp. 111-3), if he felt that it was the most distinguished gathering to ever visit the College. 'What?', replied B-B, 'when the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London and of Bath and Wells - and many other notable dignitaries were all at Wye College - in 1447!' (p. 299). He was referring to the opening in 1447 of the College of St. Gregory and St. Martin (p. 30), the quincentenary of which was commemorated on 13th June, 1947, 'in the presence of a unusually distinguished gathering', including the then Archbishop of Canterbury, the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London and members of the Senate, the Minister of Agriculture, the President of the National Farmers' Union, and 'many others prominent in the science and practice of agriculture, in particular, from the counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex' (pp. 172-3). Lying at the foot of the North Downs 'in the placid valley of the Great Stour' the old town of Wye offers 'a delightful setting which triumphantly retains a rural character' (p. 219), where 'to this day there remains a decidedly idyllic element to life [in] England's smallest "university" town with fine buildings and a profound sense of history' (p. 222). Its history and educational contribution long precede the foundation of the South-Eastern Agricultural College in 1894. The locality has revealed Roman remains, while in Saxon times Wye functioned as a royal ville, having a Court of Justice exercising jurisdiction over one-fifth of Kent. As a Royal Manor, dating from 762, Wye belonged to Edward the Confessor, passing to William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest (pp. 26, 219). It was Cardinal John Kempe (1380?-1454), who founded the College of St. Gregory and St. Martin, thankful 'for the great and wonderful mercies of God in leading him to such riches and honour in Church and State' (p. 32). His successful career was 'a classic example of the later medieval political prelate': Archdeacon of Durham from 1417, Bishop of Rochester from 1419, and subsequently of Chichester and London, before being elected fiftieth Archbishop of York in 1426, when he became Lord Chancellor of England, 1426-32, re-appointed in 1450, thereafter attaining the highest preferment when he was enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury in December 1452 (pp. 27-9). Prior to its opening Cardinal Kempe 485 REVIEWS settled property on his College 'to ensure its sufficient maintenance', much of which comprises the present agricultural estate, with some of the original field names being still current (p. 31). For almost 450 years this medieval foundation functioned as a centre for elementary education. Among the original establishment was 'a Grammar Master', two boy choristers and scholars, the Grammar Master being required to teach 'all those that would come to his teaching' (p. 32). Just two years short of its centenary, it was dissolved as a religious house on 19th January, 1545, but Henry VIII guaranteed 'its survival as a humble centre of learning' by stipulating that its private owner should maintain a master 'sufficiently erudite in knowledge of grammar to teach boys and youths at Wye' (p. 32). Despite a paucity of records, Robert Plot (1640-96), Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, the first keeper of its Ashmolean Museum and author of the Natural History of Staffordshire (1686) can be rated its most distinguished pupil (pp. 32-3). Subsequently, the wills of Lady Joanna Thornhill, whose husband owned Olantigh, the former residence of the Kempe family, and her nephew, Sir George Wheler, prebendary of Durham, who died 15th January, 1724, having been an old boy of the Wye Grammar School, ensured the reinstatement of the College as two separate teaching establishments: the grammar school in its original building and a charity school for the poor of the town, the mid-nineteenth century revealing 130 children in the charity school and about 40 boarders plus day scholars at the grammar school. Financial difficulties experienced by the latter forced its closure in 1889 (p. 35). Although the noted agricultural writer, William Marshall, had advocated a college for agricultural education as early as 1777, with an ideal location close to London and to the two ancient universities (pp. 38-9), and although Britain's first chair of agriculture was established at Edinburgh in 1790 (p. 9), advanced agricultural education came late to this country and Britain lagged well behind other countries in the 1890s, measured both by provision and public expenditure (pp. 38, 40). A proposal in 1839 for a Kent Agricultural College came to nothing (pp. 39-40); not so during the 1890s, beginning in 1892 with the recently-created County Councils of Kent and Surrey purchasing the land and buildings of Wye College of £1,000. Freshly reincarnated Wye's ancient buildings opened their doors on 29th November, 1894, to students of the South-Eastern Agricultural College (p. 35). Centenaries are important occasions; in this instance important to Wye College, to Wye and to the county as a whole: 'the College, in its new incarnation, has emerged as a major focus for the complex problems of the present world, for rural economy and applied science 486 REVIEWS on the widest international scale' (p. 13), or 'for a hundred years Wye College has served the interests of agriculture both at home and abroad' (p. 273). However, despite many achievements and innovations, all has not been plain sailing. Its foundation and opening occurred against a background of agricultural depression, free trade and laissez-faire. Justifying its utility to practical farmers as well as to academics has been a constant problem, less so now than initially. 'It has been the penance of higher agricultural education in this country never to have freed itself altogether from the ... irreverent images of dirty-booted "professors" discoursing solemnly on mangel-wurzels and manure.T he subject was uniquely fitted to feed the preconceptions and prejudices of academics and farmers alike, the former finding its details contemptuous and embarrassing, while the latter were mortified to find that the timeless arts of husbandry had crossed the threshold of an ivory tower. .. . Throughout the period we repeatedly encounter such contentious issues as: Is agriculture a fit subject for study at a university? What, indeed, is agriculture in educational terms? [etc.'] (p. 72). What was a pre-First World War controversy over the role and identity of the College rumbled on into the inter-war years (p. 99). In 1894, despite the Royal Agricultural Society's motto of 'practice with science', 'the idea of "higher" education in agriculture generally meant a solid grounding in natural scientific theory and very little application' (p. 9). From the outset the primary Wye objective was 'to provide a thorough education in Agriculture and the Sciences applied to it, together with practical training upon the College Farm' (pp. 62-3) and initially a two-year Diploma was awarded. The original College Farm occupied about 250 acres, of which 130 were arable and, being 'easily accessible from the College, ... for both staff and students dayto- day contact with practical operations was simple and cost-effective' (p. 61). Within four years of opening the College became one of the first institutions of the new federal London University, under the 1898 University of London Act, Wye being then the only institution outside London to be incorporated or affiliated to the University (pp. 66, 69). From 1902, the College offered a London University B.Sc. (Agric.) degree as a four-year course (pp. 78-9), and 154 individuals qualified up to 1914, fifteen by degree (p. 81). Already the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye, was taking its message to the farming community by exhibiting at County Shows, as illustrated on p. 87, and of 157 students in 1912-13, about half came from Kent and Surrey, contributing as they did £3,000 and £2,000 per annum respectively (p. 95). The First World War disrupted the College and its farm (pp. 97-9), to be followed by inter-war depression in agriculture which fostered 'the idea of deliverance at the hands of research and education', including 487 REVIEWS 'the emergence of agricultural economics as a formal discipline' (p. 104-9). Another notable inter-war development was 'the systematic organization of an agricultural advisory and research service', for the three counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex (pp. 109-11), not forgetting 'countless lectures delivered at towns and villages across the counties on all aspects of farming practice, on fruit growing, farriery, poultry and bee keeping, and numerous veterinary topics' (p. 111). On the outbreak of the Second World War 'all courses for male students were suspended so that the College could be turned over to the training of 180 members of the Women's Land Army, [including] typists and shop girls from the cities, entirely unfamiliar with the rigours of rural life, .. . frequently wet to the skin while forking muck or digging potatoes, ... not only ... working with relish, but also often with song!' (p. 136). This 'feminine interlude' attracted much publicity, before final closure on 6th July, 1940, and the College's requisition by the military authorities (pp. 136-7). From 1945, the College had to be recreated from the ashes of the Second World War (p. 166). Over the next twenty years it was 'to be transformed from an essentially local institution that happened to enjoy a network of informal contacts overseas, to a fully integrated national and international centre of excellence whose reputation was widely acknowledged as second to none' (p. 142). Post-war it successfully integrated the practical and the academic, hence the illustration on p. 143 , headed 'Gum boots and gowns'. 'The old-fashioned and limiting "agricultural college" milieu' was discarded (p. 226). Expansion characterized the post-war years, involving the purchase of Withersdane Hall for £10,000 in September 1945 and the completion of extensions by June 1951, as 'the first new post-war university hall of residence in the country' (p. 170, 182). This period also saw the first major land purchase since 1929, namely Court Lodge Farm of 194 acres in the nearby village of Brook for £20,500 in 1956, 'an acquisition of great historical and architectural interest', which included a splendid but neglected Kentish yeoman's 'hall house', a magnificent fourteenthcentury tithe barn with crown-post roof and an old oast house. Since 1973 the restored house has served as the Principal' s residence, with the barn being converted into the well-known Agricultural Museum, formally opened by Lord Northbourne in May 1959 (pp. 185-6). The two decades following the Second World War have been described as 'probably the most exciting time ever to [have been] a member of the College' (p. 208). Since then there have been further developments and new degrees have been introduced, but also periods of financial retrenchment and cuts in public expenditure have 488 REVIEWS produced results all too familiar throughout the university sector: unfilled vacancies, departmental expenditure monitored and reduced, reductions in maintenance work, non-academic activities ruthlessly pruned and a general streamlining of administration (pp. 223-4, 247-8).W hen during 1982-83 the University of London responded to a contradiction of income by amalgamating colleges into larger and stronger units, 'the miniscule institution at Wye remained untouched, ... its status was unique, ... the expertise at Wye College overlapped significantly with no other institution and could not be merged' (p. 248). At the end of the day Wye College, as we know it, 'like many an Oxbridge college ... combines medieval architecture with the latest twentieth century facilities', serving some 800 students from sixty countries (p.2 0). 'The history of the College is one of resilience in adversity. Neither two World Wars, nor economic depression, nor even the hostility of farmers, could prevent its upward, outward, forward surge' (p. 274). In no way does this reviewer apologize for the length of this review, well deserved for a most scholarly and substantial history of an important segment of Kent's heritage. The author having studied history at the University of Kent is to be congratulated in all respects. In so far as this is an institutional history, as claimed on p. 10, there is inevitably a wealth of detail on syllabuses, examinations, teaching, research, student activities and needs and on former principals and members of staff, never forgetting the Skilbeck legacy of 1945 to 1968, when Dunstan Skilbeck was the College's fourth Principal. This history goes beyond the purely institutional, and succeeds in placing the development of the College 'in context' , most notably in Chapters 3 and 7. Throughout there are background references to national and international developments in farming and agricultural education and research. This book merits a wide readership and wide sales. It is to be hoped that the Wye Historical Society, founded jointly between the town and the College in 1949 (p. 189) approves of his history in the way that I do. Finally it is of interest to members of the Kent Archaeological Society and the Kent History Federation to note the Wye College Archaeological Society as being affiliated in 1948 to the Kent Archaeological Society and the Kent History Committee (p. 212). JOHN WHYMAN 489 REVIEWS A History of Kent. By F.W. Jessup. 24.5 x 18 cm. Pp. 176, with 150 illustrations and 16 colour plates. Phillimore and Co. Ltd., Chichester, 1995 (£14.95, cased). First published in 1974 and reprinted in 1978, A History of Kent by our late President Frank Jessup, who is incorrectly described on the flap of the dust-jacket as Vice-President, is a recently issued and revised edition, based on his own notes. Though in extent a few pages longer than the original edition, the use of different paper has made for a slimmer volume, within a new dustjacket attractively printed in full colour. The book is illustrated by a large number of line drawings, maps and plates, and I am glad to note the retention of the vignettes in the page margins. However, it is the addition of the colour plate section that has made this edition much more visually appealing than its predecessors, and this is nowhere more obvious than in the colour plate of the Europa mosaic from the Lullingstone villa when compared with its monochrome version of the 197 4 edition. This latest edition appears to be much revised in the matter of the chosen illustrations which have been extensively recast, with many that did not appear in the original book (it is a pity, however, that the opportunity was missed to re-draw and update the map of Roman Kent and at least show Watling Street starting at Richborough). How much is the text revised, apart from re-casting the pagination, is very difficult to be sure of, short of thoroughly comparing the 197 4 and 1995 editions; however, some sampling points to quite a number of alterations. This is a very worthwhile re-issue of a first-class survey, at a very modest price, splendidly illustrated, printed and bound. Members would find much to interest them in this book, and I thoroughly recommend it. A.P. DETSICAS Iron Age burials from Mill Hill, Deal. By Keith Parfitt and other contributors. 27.5 x 21.5 cm. Pp. 215, 72 figs. and 22 pls. The British Museum Press, London, 1995 (£60.00, cased) This volume is essentially the publication of the excavations in 1984-89 of the large round barrow, a warrior burial and three cemeteries from Mill Hill, and also includes earlier discoveries and excavations on the site. Apart from the description of the recent excavations (pp. 15-29), the 490 REVIEWS main part of this book (128 pp. out of a total of 215) consists of the full publication of the finds: the pottery, by Valery Rigby; the metalwork, by I.M. Stead; the coin, by D. Holman; the human skeletons, by T. Anderson; the cremated bones, by Sheelagh Stead; a horse burial and other grave offerings, by A.J. Legge. It also includes the radio-carbon results, by Janet Ambers, a discussion, an inventory of graves and grave goods, a gazetteer of Gaulish imports in burials and cemeteries, and a full bibliography. The main value of this volume lies in the extensive publication of the pottery, the metalwork and the skeletal remains. It is well illustrated by excellent line figures and plates. However, the price of this book appears exorbitant in comparison with other cloth-bound publications of much greater extent and will put it beyond the reach of the average purse. Economies could have been effected by the use of less expensive paper and some editorial pruning. For instance, it is both unnecessary and extravagant to incorporate in the lists of figures and plates the full captions printed below such illustrations. Nevertheless, as a record of what can be achieved by the dedicated work of local 'amateurs', this report compares well with more prestigious excavations and will remain a treasure trove for specialists, if they can afford it. A.P. DETSICAS Also received: Churches in the Faversham area, Part 1. By H.A. James. 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. 63 + several plates. About Faversham no. 41. The Faversham Society, 1994, £1.95 (by post, £2.95) (limp). This addition to the Faversham papers deals with the churches at Preston, Stone, Oare and the Brents, and is well illustrated by a number of plans and drawings, though it must be said that the method of reproduction does little justice to the rubbings of the monumental brasses. Gunpowder manufacture at Faversham. By E.M. Patterson, 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. 23 + 2 plans. About Faversham no. 42. The Faversham Society, 1995. £1.95 (£2.45 by post) (limp). A further addition to the literature on the production of gunpowder at Faversham. Childhood memories of Abbey Street and Faversham in the 1930s & 1940s. By Peter Stevens. 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. xiv+ 50 + 7 plates. About Faversham no. 44. The Faversham Society, 1995. (limp, n.p.) 491 REVIEWS Faversham miscellany no. 3. 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. 32 + 1 plan. About Faversham no. 46. The Faversham Society, 1995. £1.95 (£2.95 by post) (limp). With papers on Faversham occupations, by E. Elliott and C. Meaden; A splash from Faversham, by A. Salmon; and The Hop Case, by P. Tann. Churches in the Faversham area, Part 3. By H.A. James, 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. xvi + 46, with several illustrations. About Faversham no. 47. The Faversham Society, 1995. £1.95 (£2.95 by post) (limp). Dealing with the churches at Sheldwich, Badlesmere and Buckland. Alexander Miller Hallett of Goddington and the presentation of the new organ to Chelsfield Church in 1893. By G. Copus. Tunbridge Wells, 1995 (limp, n.p.) Excavations at the Romano-British b ath-house, Poverest Road, Orpington, 1993. By D. and A. Tyler. 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. 39 + 6 figs. Orpington and District Archaeological Society, Archives, 17 (1995). (limp, n.p.) A record of the excavations carried out in 1993 on the site explored in 1971-80. The bibliography mentioned in the contents page was not included in this interesting publication. The Faversham Porter Club, 1793-1885. By Stuart J. Cornfoot. 29.5 x 21 cm. Pp. xiv + 31, with 5 plates. About Faversham no. 48. The Faversham Society, 1995. £1.95 (£2.95 by post) (limp). A chronicle of a social club, with wider membership than the Farmers' Club, founded in 1727, though the Porter Club's membership itself was limited to 16. A Particular Glory. By Katharine Moore. 21.5 x 13.5 cm. Pp. 102 + 4 pls. The Darenth Press, Shoreham, 1994 (£5.99, paperback). Some chronicles of the Perronet family in eighteenth-century Shoreham. 492