Annual Report of the Council for 2002

KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR 2002 The Council of the Society presents its one hundred and forty-fourth report and statement of accounts for the year ending the 31 st December 2002. The Society is established to promote the study and publication of archaeology and history in all their branches, especially within the ancient county of Kent. The Society's activities are carried out throughout the ancient county of Kent. It has no staff and its officers are only paid out-of-pocket expenses. It co-operates with its affiliated societies and the organizations to which it is affiliated or of which it is a member. In particular it co-operates with the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in promotion of education and the Kent Historic Buildings Committee in the protection of historic buildings. Its activities are carried out by the Council, committees and officers. REVIEW OF THE YEAR Annual General Meeting: The Society's annual general meeting was held at Maidstone on Saturday 18 May 2002 when the Council's annual report and the accounts for 2001 were accepted and Messrs. Reeves and Neylan were re-appointed auditors. The officers and members of the Council were elected; details are set out below under Legal and Administrative Information. Dr Paul Ash bee, M.A., D.Litt., F.S.A. and Dr Joan Thirsk, C.B.E., B.A., Ph.D. were elected as Patrons of the Society in recognition of their services to the history of the County. Changes were made to rules 4 and 35 of the Society's rules. These changes allow the Council to delegate the admission of new members and make provision for the appointment of trustees to hold property on behalf of the Society. 443 ANNUAL REPORT Fieldwork: Excavation of the Roman villa site at Abbey Farm, Minster-in-Thanet continued under the direction of Keith Parfitt. Thirty members attended plus members of the Thanet Archaeological Society and the Dover Archaeological Group. The course of the boundary wall was revealed and two new buildings found. Work continued on the reports on the work in previous seasons. Two local groups and one individual were awarded grants for excavations and work on artefacts. Members of the committee have led projects for Young Archaeologists Clubs. The refusal by the Heritage Lottery Fund of a grant to write up unpublished excavations was a severe disappointment and other ways of preparing and publishing these reports are being considered. Publications: Volume CXXII (2002) of Archaeologia Cantiana was published as were parts 7, 8 and 9 (volume 3) in the New Records Series. Further substantial progress was made in preparing An Historical Atlas of Kent. A records forum, to discuss the publication of records, held in October was well attended. Seven grants totalling £2,150 were made from the Kent History Fund. Under the editorship of Lyn Palmer the Newsletter was re-designed with some pages in colour and the number of issues was increased from three to four a year and the average number of pages from 12 to 16. Churches: There was a well attended series of visits to churches, a Friends meeting house and a synagogue. Work on compiling a database of Kent churches continued slowly and more help would be welcomed. The committee procured the services of an Hon. Architectural Advisor who has already helped four churches. The series in the Newsletter on major movements and crises in the history of the English Church continued. Library and collections: A new web site was established to provide on-line access to the Society's books and visual records catalogues. It will also publish articles on Kent history and archaeology, regulated for academic standard by the Hon. Editor. Volunteers continued work on cataloguing the Gordon Ward collection of papers on Kent towns and villages and the collection of visual records. New acquisitions included books and pamphlets on Kentish places from the library of the late Kenneth Gravett, bought with money from the bequest from Kitty Roome, and a set of the Journal of the Agricultural History Society donated by a member. The recently conserved Anglo-Saxon buckets were prepared for display in Maidstone Museum and further information added to the database of the Society's collection there. 444 ANNUAL REPORT Education: The Education Committee continued to support the work of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust's Education Service whose work included the visits programme at The Big Dig at Whitefriars, Canterbury, participating in a science day event at Medway and supporting the new archaeology course at the Thanet Day Opportunities Centre. Financial support has been given to work on a proposed new web site which will draw on the architectural records of some 500 churches in the Canterbury and Rochester dioceses and a laptop computer was bought for use in a new museum at a Maidstone secondary school. Place-Names: The Place-Names Committee continued to assist with preparation for The Place Names of Kent to be published by the English Place Names Society under the editorship of Dr Paul Cullen who is academic advisor to the committee. Forms for collection of information were designed and tested. The information would include the origins of a name, its elements and ties to the landscape and the language of the first settlers up to the end of the nineteenth century. A grant was made to the Institute for Name Studies at the University of Nottingham to help establish the Kentish part of the web site The Key to English Place Names. Membership: The Society welcomed 150 new members during 2002 (a record for recent years) and ended the year with a membership of 1,652, a net increase of 40. Following a change in the rules last year, new members are being admitted by the Hon. Membership Secretary. This saves applicants having to wait until their applications are considered at a quarterly Council meeting. Activities for members: A spring social evening at Lullingstone Castle attended by 75 members included a tour conducted by its owner Mr Harte Dyke. The traditional Christmas social lunch at the Hop Farm Country Park was attended by 60 members who were entertained by the Thomas Clarke Quire with West Gallery church music; that was folowed by a visit to the David Salomon House at Southborough. The excursion to Derbyshire was the first one of five days and was attended by 33 members. There were half-day visits to Chevening House, Restoration House, Rochester and Gads Hill Place. The winter series of lectures was supplemented by the lectures and workshops in the Society's library. The successful day conferences in conjunction with Canterbury Christ Church College were continued with one in June on Women in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Society. 445 ANNUAL REPORT Relations with other bodies: The Society appoints members or representatives to a number of other organisations. In particular, it appoints half the members of the Kent Historic Buildings Committee and receives reports from it. Regular reports have also been received from CBA South-East and the Standing Conference on London Archaeology. There was a further meeting of representatives of the county archaeological societies in southern England which provides a useful forum to discuss matters of common interest and learn about what other societies are doing. The Society has regularly been represented at meetings of the Kent History Federation. REVIEW OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AND AFFAIRS The accompanying financial statements show the current state of the Society's finances which its Council considers to be sound. They comply with the Council's understanding of the current statutory requirements and the requirements of the Society's rules. Investments: The trustees seek, in the management of their investments, a balance between income and capital growth. The Finance Committee oversees the management of the Society's investments. The portfolio, managed by Laing and Cruickshank Investment Management Ltd, decreased by 16.7% to £880,998 and currently yields 4.6%. The C.O.I.F. investments, which currently yield 4.2% per cent, fell in value from £73,164 to £57,898. Reserves: The Council budgets each year to spend a sum considerably in excess of current income and tries to maintain reserves appropriate to allow this to continue. The Society relies on its officers and other members giving their time freely to organise its activities. Without those contributions it would have to spend a substantial sum on salaries. Allen Grove Local History Fund: The Society administers this Fund which was given in the will of the late Allen Grove. Its objects are to promote research, preservation and enjoyment of local history. These objects are consistent with those of the Society. It is a restricted fund and is invested separately from the Society's other investments. In accordance with the terms of the legacy, decisions on how the fund is to be spent are taken by the Society's officers. During the year eight grants totalling £1,200 were made towards the costs of producing publications on local history and displays at exhibitions. 446 ANNUAL REPORT LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION The Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission under number 223382. It is an unincorporated association governed by its rules (published in this volume) and copies of which can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary. It is also registered as a charity with the Inland Revenue which has made a direction under section 201 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 which permits certain members (generally those whose employment is related to the Society's activities) to obtain income tax relief on their subscriptions to the Society; further details can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary. The principal address of the Society is The Museum, St Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 lLH. However, correspondence should be addressed to the relevant officer. The governing body of the Society is the Council whose members are its charity trustees and are elected by the members of the Society at its annual general meeting in May each year. During the period covered by this report they were: P.E. Oldham President A.I. Moffat Hon. General Secretary R.G. Thomas Hon. Treasurer S. Broomfield Hon. Membership Secretary F.H. Panton Hon. Librarian T.G. Lawson Hon. Editor •J. Saynor Hon. Excursions Secretary M.C.W. Still Hon. Curator C.W. Chalklin Vice President L.D. Lyle Vice President E. Melling Vice President J. Whyman Vice President D.G. Anstey D. Bacchus E. Boast** D.A.H. Cleggett* E.P. Connell B.T. Cousins P. Cullen *** J.M. Hammond** P.A. Harlow R. Higgs* L. E. Ilott *** D. Killingray M.T. Lawrence** R. F. LeGear A. Miles M. A. Ocock *** K. Parfitt R.N. Rolinson R.J. Spain A.L. Thompson A. F. Ward C. P. Ward * Denotes re-elected at the annual general meeting on the 18 May 2002; ** elected at the A.G.M. on 18 May 2002; ***Retired at the A.G.M. on 18 May 2002. The officers (other than the Vice Presidents) hold office for one year, the Vice Presidents for seven years and the other members for four years. 447 ANNUAL REPORT The Society's main agents and advisers are: Bankers: National Westminster Bank plc, 3 High Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 IXU. Auditors: Reeves & Neylan, 37 St Margaret's Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT l 2TU. Stockbrokers: Laing & Cruickshank Investment Management Ltd, 5 Appold Street, London, WC2A 2DA. Stockbrokers' nominee company holding the Society's investments: Productive Nominees Ltd, 5 Appold Street, London, WC2A 2DA. The Society's activities are restricted by the terms of its objects set out elsewhere in this report. In particular its area of benefit is mainly (but not exclusively) the ancient county of Kent which is considered to be the administrative County of Kent, Medway Council and the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and part of Lewisham. The Society's investment powers are those given by the general law; its rules do not give it any special investment powers. The Council has delegated some of its investment powers to Laing & Cruickshank Investment Management Ltd in accordance with a scheme made by the Charity Commissioners on the 18th April 1994. A. I. Moffat, Hon. General Secretary on behalf of the Council 22 February 2003 448 ANNUAL REPORT ABRIDGED FINANCIAL INFORMATION Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 Dec ember 2002 Unrestricted Designated Restricted funds Cund funds Total 2001 £ £ £ £ £ Income resources Subscriptions 30,111 30,111 28,908 Ufe subscriptions 1,160 (1,160) Archaeologia Ca11tia11a income 850 850 Grants 682 682 Investment income 6,952 39,570 1,550 48,072 49,754 Application of designated fund investment income 39,204 (39,204) Other income 18,719 18,719 27,670 Total incoming resources 97,678 (794) 1,550 98,434 106,332 = =-= -===-- Resources e1