Annual Report of the Council for 2004
KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR 2004
The Council of the Society presents its one hundred and forty-sixth report and statement of accounts for the year ending
31 December 2004.
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 the promotion of education. 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 Canterbury on Saturday 15 May 2004 when the Council’s annual report and the accounts for 2003 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 Peter Draper was elected a Patron of the Society. Following the business meeting Dr Robert Spain, assisted by Dr Frank Panton and Mr Denis Anstey, gave a presentation on the work of the Library Committee which was well received. In the afternoon Mrs Jill Eddison gave a lecture Romney Marsh: Survival on a Frontier.
Fieldwork: Excavation of the Roman villa site at Abbey Farm, Minster-in-Thanet continued under the direction of Mr Keith Parfitt and was attended by 40 members. A feature found in 2003 was identified as a sizeable building enclosing a double-chambered drying oven or malting kiln. The excavation was runner up in the Pitt Rivers Award for archaeology and an article on it was published in Current Archaeology. A new TR/CIA resistivity meter was bought and used on several sites. Work started on preparing a list of people to advise metal detectorists about their sites which will be supervised by Mr Andrew Richardson, Finds Liaison Officer for Kent.
Publications: Volume cxxiv (2004) of Archaeologia Cantiana was published and maintained its usual high standard and good range of papers and book reviews. An Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Mr Terry Lawson and Prof. David Killingray and sponsored by the Society, was published by Phillimore and a free copy sent to every member of the Society. A policy was adopted that most publications will be produced on CD or put on the Society’s web site which should result in a wider circulation at significantly reduced cost. It is recognised that not everyone would want these ‘electronic publications’ so it will be possible to place advance orders for printed copies produced by ‘print on demand’ methods. Archaeologia Cantiana will continue to be printed in its traditional form. Several grants were made from the Kent History Fund for local history publications.
Churches: The half-day visits to churches continued to be popular with three well attended visits to pairs of churches. The Ideas and Ideals series in the Newsletter was concluded. A new venture was an essay competition on an unusual feature in a church; it was won by Mr Alan Moss of Rochester and his entry published in the Newsletter. Several people were given guidance in their studies of churches.
Library and collections: Computers in the Library were connected by broadband to the Society’s websites on the internet. Development of these sites continued with the addition of articles on history and archaeology, completion of the Gordon Ward archive index, additions to the index to the Hussey files of genealogical material, papers from past volumes of Archaeologia Cantiana, material on Kent churchyards and medieval and Tudor wills and the start of a project to add, in conjunction with local societies, Kent tithe award schedules. Donations of books and visual records were received and a selection of publications from the Society’s stock was offered to help Ramsgate Library recover from a disastrous fire. The Hon. Curator, in conjunction with Maidstone Museum and the Museum of London, made a preliminary estimate of work needed to conserve the Society’s collections of artefacts and work will start in 2005.
Education: The Society’s support for Young Archaeologists Clubs was continued with a grant to the North Downs club. The Society continued its support for the work of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust’s Education Service by contributing a little over thirty per cent of its running costs. This Service had a programme of school visits and support for teachers throughout the year. It obtained a Heritage Lottery grant to make 60 kits of archaeological finds and materials for schools and it hopes to obtain more funds to extend the project. It participated in the Dakini Project which produces GIS (digital) teaching materials promoting historic and cultural sites for schools in Kent, Sussex and northern France.
Place-names: A study day was held at Staplehurst in which Dr Paul Cullen and Dr David Parsons from Nottingham University took part. It was a great success and was attended by 90 people. The Place-names Committee continued to monitor work on research and publications on place-names.
Membership: Despite 81 new members joining during the year the number of those leaving was slightly greater so the year ended with a membership of 1,164, a net reduction of one on the previous year.
Activities for members: A new venture was the History and Archaeology Show which was held in Maidstone Museum and Bentif Art Gallery in June. Over 500 members of the public were admitted free and could see exhibits by the Society’s committees and local groups and organisations from around the County. There was a successful five-day excursion to Dorset and a conference on New Perspectives on Four Kent Towns in place of the usual day excursions. The traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Wye College was well attended. Four issues of the Newsletter contained the usual interesting mix of news about events and discoveries.
Relations with other bodies: The Society appoints members or representatives to a number of other organisations. Regular reports have also been received from the CBA South East and the Standing Conference on London Archaeology. The Society has regularly been represented at meetings of the Kent History Federation.
review of financial activities and affairs
The accompanying financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2004 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 USB Laing and Cruickshank Ltd, increased by 8.6 per cent and now stands at £1,014,645. They currently yield 3.8 per cent. The COIF investments, which currently yield 3.5 per cent, increased in value from £64,326 to £68,624.
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 the Allen Grove Local History 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 four grants totalling £950 were made towards the costs of producing publications on local history, oral history and preserving local records.
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 which are published in Archaeologia Cantiana from time to time 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 1LH. 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 ***
J. M. Hammond ****
P. A. Harlow *
R. Higgs
D. Killingray **
M. T. Lawrence
R. F. Le Gear
K. Parfitt
C. R. Pout
R. J. Spain *
A. L. Thompson **
A. F. Ward
C. P. Ward
* re-elected at the annual general meeting on the 15 May 2004;
** Retired at the AGM on 15 May 2004;
*** Resigned 2 May 2004;
**** Resigned 6 June 2004.
The officers (other than the Vice Presidents) hold office for one year, the Vice Presidents hold office for seven years and the other members for four years.
The Society’s main agents and advisers are:
Bankers: National Westminster Bank plc, 3 High Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XU
Auditors: Reeves & Neylan, 37 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2TU
Stockbrokers: USB Laing & Cruickshank Ltd, 5 Appold Street, London, WC2A 2DA
Stockbrokers’ nominee company holding the Society’s invest-ments: 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 USB Laing & Cruickshank 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
26 February 2005
