Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1970 ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1970 Council presents its One Hundred and Twelfth Report, and the Statement of Accounts for 1969. 0BITUA.ltY Council records with regret the death on 8th April, 1970, of Colonel Francis Walter Chamberlain, C.B.E., D.L., at the age of 77. He served in the office of High Sheriff 1949-50, was Chairman of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men 1961-62, and was a member of the Society from 1949. His interest in the history and topography of Kent will long be remembered. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting was held in the Museum, Maidstone, on 16th May, 1970, when Council's Annual Report and the Statement of Accounts for 1969 were received and adopted. Mr. K. A. Pollock, F.C.A., was elected Auditor to the Society. The following amendments to the Rules were adopted, to take effect from 1st January, 1971: Rule 18. Insert {d)-No proposition affecting policy shall be considered at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof shall have been given in writing to the General Secretary not Jess than seven days before such Annual General Meeting. Rule 2!1. Re-draf􀁴{a) All the affairs of the Society not reserved for a General Meeting shall be conducted and managed by the Council. (b) The Council shall refer to a General Meeting any proposition involving the disposal of all or part of the Collections of the Society. Rule 31. Membership Secretary. The Membership Secretary shall be nominated by the Council and annually elected at the Annual General Meeting. He shall be responsible for all matters concern• ing the membership of the Society, including the collections of all subscriptions. Rule 36. Re-draf􀁴{a) Life Compositions shall be invested in Trustee Securities and, together with the income derived therefrom, shall constitute the Life Composition Fund. {b) The Council may each year transfer from the Life Composition Fund to the General Fund for each Life Member of the Society, a sum not exceeding the current Annual Subscription. After the luncheon interval, an excellently illustrated lecture was given to over one hundred members and their friends by Professor D. E. Strong, M.A., D.Phil., F.S.A., on 'Some Aspects of Roman Sculpture'. The lecture was warmly received, and the thanks of the Society were accorded to the lecturer by the Chairman of Council, Mr. C. R. Councer, F.S.A. MEMBERSHIP During 1970, one hundred and two new members were elected, and allowing for resignations and deaths, and the removal from membership under Rule IO(a) of twelve members, the total membership stands at 1,238, xlvi REPOR'.1.', 1970 a nett increase of fifty-four during the year. This is very satisfactory, but new members a.re welcomed; the Society's Information Leaflet, giving details of the Society, may be obtained on application to the General Secretary. COUNOII, At the Annual General Meeting the following were re-elected to Council: Brigadier E. V. Bowra, Lt.-Col. R. F. H. Drake-Brockman, Mr. F. Higenbottam, Major H. R. Pratt-Boorman, Dr. E. V. Piercy Fox, and Mr. A. B. Webster. Mr. N. C. Cook having resigned, and Mr. A. C. Harrison having assumed the office of Honorary Treasurer, Mrs. M. C. Lebon a.nd Mr. J. Bradshaw have been elected members of Council under Rule 26. Mr. C. R. Councer continues as Chairman. FINANOE The Accounts for 1969, adopted at the .Annual General Meeting, are published with this Report. To allow the Society to maintain its high standards, especially with regard to the publication of its Proceedings and of successive volumes of Kent Records, Council appeals for: (1) New members. (2) Donations to Archceologia Oantiana and Kent Records Funds. (3) Members to enter into Seven-Year Covenants to enable the Society to recover Income Tax on their subscriptions at no extra cost to themselves. Forms of Undertaking may be obtained from the General Secretary. Note: Members are urged to pay their subscripflions by Banke1·'s Order For1n, which may be obtained from the General ,Secretary. All subscriptions,. which are due on lstJanuary, should be sent DIRECT to the General Secretary. EXOu:RSIONS 'l'hree excursions were arranged, two in Kent and one in Suffolk. All were well attended by members and their friends. The sites visited are listed below: Saturday, 6th June Saturday, 4th July Saturday, 1st August The Essex-Suffollc Borde1· Castle Hedingham Mr. W. L. Fox and Miss Fox Rev. R. Bird Long Melford Church Lavenham Church Chatham and Faversham Distiict R.E. Museum, Chatham Lt.-Col. Francis Doddington Church Mr. H. Balls and Rev. H. C. H. Veazey Sha.rated Court Mr. Wade, Jun. Belmont Thanet and Sandwich St. Nicholas Court Sandwich Draper's Mill lxvii Lord and Lady Harris M.r. K. W. E. Gravett and Mr. E. Smith Mr. E. Parkin M.r. R. M. Towes and Members of the Draper's Mill Trust REPORT, 1970 The Society is grateful to all the ladies and gentlemen mentioned above who kindly acted as guides and did so much to make the visits more interesting. Grateful thanks are also due to Lord and Lady Harris, Canon E. Wade, Col. A. Tapp and the owner of the King's House, Sandwich, for their kind permission to visit their homes. The Honorary Excursion Secretary woul,d be grateful to hear from members about places of interest that couU be included in future excursions. AltoltlEOLOGIA. CANTIANA Volume lxxxiv was published early in 1970. The volume maintains the very high standard, under the editorship of!.fr. A. P. Detsioa.s, M.A., F.S.A., expected of the Society. Its contents are designed to interest all members of the Society; its format and binding continues the long range of previous volumes; its dissemination is world-wide, especially in the United States of America. By its means, the archmology and history of Kent is widespread, LIBRARY A.ND CoLLECTXONS The following books and pamphlets have been purchased or given to the Library: Oanterbury Marriage Licences, 1751-1780 and 1781-1809, compiled by A. J. Willis; Rochester Oastle, by R. A. Brown; The Bells of Benenden, by J. R. N. Lebon; The BuiUings of England: Kent (2 vols.), by J. Newman; South-East England, by R. F. Jessup; Our Village Ohurch: St. Peter's, lghtha,m, by E. V. Bowra; The Ruined Ohurch of Stone-nextFaversham, by Sir Eric Fletcher and G. W. Meates. H. B. Thomas, Esq., ofBexhill, has kindly given the Society a collection of books of Kentish interest, seventeen Turnpilte Acts, 1724-1816, and contemporary editions of some of the works of Thomas Becon, a sixteenthcentury canon of Canterbury, with the Parker Society's complete edition of Bacon's works. Mr. Thomas is the author of the article ThorntUJ Becon, Oanon of Oanterbury, in Arch. Oant., lxix (1955), 157-70. The Society has taken out subscriptions to the journals of Post-Medieval Archreology and Oamt,i,wm and has obtained the back numbers of both. RECORDS Pu:BLICATION COMMITTEE The principal development has been the acceptance of an offer from Messrs. Phillimore, of Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, -to act as publishing agents for the Society in this respect. The advantages are primarily that, provided suitable texts a.re ready for printing, it should be possible to publish much more regularly than at present and that Phillimore's will deal with all sales and sales promotion. This means that Phillimore &: Oo. now hold the stoclc of back WU!mbers of the Kent Records series and all appUcations for copies shouU be made to them. Since in future prices will tend to be lower to Members than to the general public, it is important that Membership is stated in GJn1.J such application. The first book issued under the new arrangement will be a quarto volume of 120 prints from the Streatfeild Collection illustrating many aapects of smaller timber-framed buildings in Kent, together with an Introduction by Mr. K. W. E. Gravett. The volume is in an advanced stage and should appear by mid-1971. It is a first essential for the continued publication of these volumes that xlviii REPORT, 1970 they are supported by the Membership. It must also be stressed that we need more suggestions of suitable texts and that people who have the time and expertise to prepare such texts should offer their services. PLAOE NAMES COMMI'1'TEE Members of this Committee met with the representative of the English .Place Names Society in order to discuss the future Kent volumes and the part which the Society could play in their preparation. It is clear that apart from collecting information from known sources under guidance from the E.P.N.S. there is little direct action which the Society can take, though it was indicated that if a large part of the basic material was so collected it might result in some reduction of the very long-term delay involved in this programme. There still seems, however, much that can be done at a purely local level and the collection of names on a parochial basis is commended, provided correct and adequate indication of source is given. The great danger is duplication of effort, but work done at this local level would result in a series of more or less comprehensive lists which should be of great value in advance of a definitive publication and might assist in its final compilation. If Members are anxious to oar1'y out such resea1'oh they are ad,vised to contact the Secretary of the Oommittee, Oano-n B. Wigan, Kingsdoi,,.n, SomerfU$7,d Road,, Maidstone. C.P.R.K./K.A.S. PRESERVATION OF ANomNT Burr.DINGS CoMMITTEE 1969-1970 (1) Work started in December, 1960, by an expert team from the Ministry of Public Building and Works on the ancient Commandery of the Hospitallers of St. John at Swingfield. The work will take several years to complete as money becomes available, but already this interesting building is showing signs of loving care being bestowed on it. (2) In spite of the fact that the Minister has refused listed building consent to demolish the Priory Outbuildings, Orpington, Bromley B.C. appear to be determined to spend no money on them. The Inspector, in his report on the public inquiry, wisely recommended that, as refusal of listed building consent might well be followed by a further period of inaction, the Borough Council should now be asked to submit firm proposals for the preservation of the buildings, in consultation with the G.L.C., and one wonders how this confrontation between Bromley B.C. and the Minister will develop. (3) The interesting ancient building at Otham, which has the unusual name of Ma.dam Taylor's Cottages, has been causing concern to the joint committee for some two years, the trustees of the property being reluctant to spend money on its restoration. Plans have now been submitted by the agents for its restoration into one dwelling, and notification in the press asked for comments on the plans. The joint committee wrote in saying that, while welcoming the foot that at last the trustees appear to be prepared to move in the matter, it considered that the plans are quite unsuitable. (4) The most attractive half-timbered building in Well Street, East Malling, !mown as The Barracks, described in the Ministry List, where it is placed in Grade II, as formed out of an Elizabethan farmhouse, is believed to be basically a hall-house of considerably earlier date, and is now being most carefully restored as one building, after having been converted many years ago to three cottages. The owner is, however, unfortunately running xlix 4 REPORT, 1970 short of money. Three separate Closing Orders had been placed on the building, and until the owner can get these removed he finds himself unable to obtain mortgages, and the Closing Orders render his title to the property incomplete. M. of H. & L.G. Circular 61/68 clearly lays down that a comprehensive approach is required to ensure that all forms of action are made available for preservation, and that local authorities should be specially vigilant for preservation. This would appear to be just such a case. Kent County Council has offered a small grant which will only be available after completion of the work. The Historic Buildings Council, when approached, replied that 'Grants may only be given for buildings of outstanding historic or architectural interest, that is to say, for buildings which are of outstanding interest in the national context. Unfortunately, The Barracks do not quite come up to that high standard'. Meanwhile, restoration work has stopped. (5) Milton Chantry, construction in the fourteenth century, and, it is believed, the oldest building in Gravesend, may be restored if the Borough Council are prepared to accept the offer of the Ministry of Public Building and Works to make a grant of 50 per cent towards their estimate of £15,500 for preserving it and putting it to a further practical use, on condition tha.t the B.C. raise the be.lance with the assistance, maybe, of Kent County Council. The building is a scheduled Ancient Monument, though not in Guardianship, and the joint-committee appealed to the M.P. for Gravesend, who made a direct approach to the Minister, and it is hoped that the building w i ll now be saved. (6) Some members of the joint-committee attended a site meeting at Netherhale Farm, St. Nicholas-at-Wade, called by the owners, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, to consider the fate of the ancient farmhouse building. Situated as it is in the centre of the farm buildings, which can only be reached by the one private approach road, one can readily understand the reluctance of the owners and in particular the present farmer, to have a private individual occupying the former farmhouse. Representatives of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, who also were present at the meeting, have stated that they would undertake t,o re-erect the parlour and solar wing at their West Dean site, and this would appear to be the only solution, other than complete demolition. (7) The Kent Building Preservation Trust, is now registered as a Charity, and pnblicity is being arranged, through the distribution of a poster, in order to bring in more money. Acquisition of a suitable building, as a first project, is being sought, and several possible buildings have been considered. One such was in many, but not all, ways considered suitable,· but the owner would not sell for restoration in situ, though he was willing to provide land for it to be taken down and re-erected. Apart from the question of expense, the Trust considered that it was not established for this purpose, and another building is being sought. It is fully realized that acquisition of its :first building is a, mattery of urgency, and until this has been achieved, it is not possible to persuade the public to subscribe more readily through a general appeal for funds. Report on the Seventh Oonference of Building Recordera , held in the Mu aeum, Ma,i,d,stone, on Saturda,y, 10th October, 1970. This conference was again held on behalf of the C.P .R.K./ILA.S. Study Group on recording historic buildings, but for the :first time members of the Kent Building Preservation Trust were also invited. The Chairman, 1 REPORT, 1970 Mr. C. R. Councer, welcomed them and commended the Trust to the audience of over thirty people. The first speaker, Mr. E.W. Parkin, described the almost intact, early thirteenth-century, aisled hall at Cogan House, Canterbury, together with the remains of an early stone house on the street front and the later fifteenth-century and Elizabethan work of the highest quality. He also showed slides of the recent discovery of a hearth and cooking pots, in siflu, in a floor at the Manor House, Hythe. Dr. P. H. G. Draper followed with a talk on the recording of Sutton Place, Sutton-at-Hone. This building, apparently Georgian and Victorian, contained fragments of Tudor date. Dr. Draper showed slides of plans, old prints, old deeds and photographs of the demolition and also illustrated his talk with stonework and ironwork from Tudor windows, brickwork with guilloche patterns, and sections of moulded timbers from the early house. The history of the ownership was related to the building evidence in a contribution of outstanding interest. Finally, Mr. K. W. E. Gravett showed slides of false fronts on older buildings including pargetting, tile-hanging and mathematical tiles. Thanks were returned to the speakers and to Mr. L. R. A. Grove for providing a venue for the conference. The next confere;nce, which is open to all, interested in old buildings, 'UJill be held at 2.30 p.m., 16th October, 1971, at the Museum, llfaulstone. EXCAVATIONS Co:M:MITTEE This Committee has been in existence since 1957, and at a recent meeting it was agreed to draw up and publish a summarized account of the Society's activities relating to excavation during the last thirteen years. It is hoped thereby to bring to the attention of members some of the contributions which the K.A.S. makes to this branch of archreological investigation. Our Society has furthered such work mainly in four ways: (i) Commissioning and financing excavations undertaken with the object of solving specific archreological problems. (ii) Grants of money to individuals or bodies engaged in excavation in the county. (iii) A training scheme sponsored and financially aided in connection with the Eccles villa excavations. (iv) Publication of excavation reports in Archreologia Oantwna. Sponsored Excavations. In 1957 it was decided to embark on a programme of selective excavation on several Early Iron Age hill-forts about. which information was seriously lacking. This was in continuation of work privately initiated at Holwood (Keaton) and was extended to include research at Squerryes Court (Westerham) and Boughton Monchelsea. At Cobham Park the disputed age of the 'oppidum' was finally settled, and in the course of the excavation a small Roman villa. was discovered. The destruction of the last standing remains of Higham Priory offered a challenging opportunity to establish the definite location of trus Benedictine nunnery, long the subject of uncertainty. In 1966 the K.A.S. sponsored an excavation which uncovered the main lines of the monastic layout. With the present exception of the latest phase of the E.I.A. project, the evidence afforded by all these undertakings ha.'!! been fully recorded in Arch. Oant. Survey equipment, purchased in connection with somfl of t,bese excavali REPORT, 1970 tions is retained at Maidstone Museum and is available for use by the Society's members engaged i n field-work. Grants. In the period under review the accounts of the Society show that over £1,200 has been voted in grants to aid excavations, including those at the following localities: Bigberry, Boughton l\fonchelsea, Castle Hill (Tonbridge), Ouxton, Eccles, Faversham, Fawk.ham, Higham, High Rocks, Leigh, Reculver, Springhead, Squerryes Court, Strood and Tonge. Training. Commencing in 1968, an annual Training Course has been sponsored by the Society in connection with the Eccles villa excavations. This has been well supported and the number of applications for admission bas been in excess of the accommodation available. In connection with this field coW'Se instructional lectures have been given and visits made to places of archreological interest. Publicati<:m. In the last dozen volumes of Arch. Oant. forty-four excavation reports have been included in the material published, not counting a much larger number of other notes and short accounts of arcbreological discoveries. It can hardly be over-emphasized that by providing this means for publication the K.A.S. renders an invaluable service to excavators. No other comparable body has the resources to publish an annual volume on the scale of Arch. Oant. and, without this, most of the digging in our county would necessarily go unpublished and therefore be virtually useless as a contribution to scientific knowledge. Even if the K.A.S. made no grants to excavations, nor sponsored any digging on its own account, it would still justify its existence to field archreologists by its ready acceptance of long and often elaborately illustrated reports for publication, involving considerable expense to the Society. Fuflure Programmes. As 0, result of recent deliberation the Exco.vations Committee recommend that our Society's policy with regard to Grants, Training and Publication should be continued on tho same general lines as previously. Sponsored research might well take the form of selective excavation on certain monastic sites about which little is at present known. Boxley Abbey has been named as a. suitable subject for investigation and the posaibility of work being undertaken there in the near future is being considered. Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A., has been appointed Convener of the Committee in place of Lt.-Col. G. W. Meo.tea, resigned. Research Grants. Applications for financial aid should be made to the General Secretary by 31st October in the year preceding that for which the Grant is required. Application forms may be obtained from the General Secretary. Excavations in the O<>Unfly. Details of these will be found under 'Investigations and Excavations during the year' (pp. 175-194). Loo.AL S:mon.ETmms All areas are filled, except Malling, which still requires a Local Secretary. By Order of the Council, G. W. Moates, Lieut.-Colonel, 1st January, 1971. General Seoref4ry/ lii