Annual Report for the Year Ended 31st December 1987

ANNUAL REPORT liii ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1987 Council presents its one hundred and twenty-ninth Report and Statement of Accounts for 1986. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting was held at Maidstone on Saturday 16th May, 1987, when Council's Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for 1986 were accepted. Messrs. Robson, Rhodes were reappointed as Auditors of the Society. OFFICERS The following were elected as Officers of the Society: The President The Hon. Editor The Hon. Treasurer The Hon. General Secretary The Hon. Membership Secretary The Hon. Excursions Secretary The Hon. Curator The Hon. Librarian Mr L.R.A. Grove, B.A., F.S.A., F.M.A. Dr A.P. Detsicas, B.A., M.A., D.Litt., F.S.A., F.S.A.Scot. Mr A.G. Webster, F.C.A. Mr A.C. Harrison, B.A., F.S.A. Mrs. M. Lawrence Mr M.A. Crane, B.A. Mr D.B. Kelly, B.A., F.S.A., A.M.A. Dr P.H.G. Draper, B.Sc., Ph.D. COUNC[L The following were elected members of Council after a ballot: Mrs. N.V. Caiger*, Mr A.J. Daniels, Mr R.F. Le Gear, A.A.LS., Mr A. Miles, Dr Joan Thirsk M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., F.B.A., F.R.Hist.S., Mrs. P. Winzar*. • Retiring member of Council liv ANNUAL REPORT PUBLICATIONS Volume CIII of Archaeologia Cantiana was published in 1987. The volume maintains its high standard under the editorship of Dr A.P. Detsicas, B.A., M.A., D.Litt., F.S.A., F.S.A.Scot., and its contents cover a wide field of Archaeology and History. Volume III of the Society's Monograph Series, The Roman Villa at Lullingstone, Kent, II: The Wall Paintings and Finds, by Lt.-Col. G.W. Meates, F.S.A., was also published in 1987. Volume VIII of The Archaeology of Canterbury series, Canterbury Excavations: Intra- and Extra-Mural Sites 1949-55 and 1980-84, by S.S. Frere, C.B.E., M.A., Litt.D., D.Litt., Litt.D., F.B.A., F.S.A., P. Bennett, B.A., M.I.F.A., J. Rady and S. Stow, M.A., was published in 1987. Volume IV of the Society's Monograph series, St. Augustine's Abbey: Report on Excavations, 1960-78, by D. Sherlock, B.A., F.S.A., and H. Woods, B.A., and Volume V, The Roman Pottery of Kent, by R.J. Pollard, B.A., Ph.D., M.I.F.A., will be published in 1988. It is also hope􀁴 that Sevenoaks Wills and Inventories in the Reign of Charles II, by F. Lansberry, M.A., Ph.D., will also be published in late 1988 as Volume XXV of the Society's Kent Records series. FINANCE Due to the very hard work of the Hon. Membership Secretary most arrears of subscriptions have now been collected and banker's orders changed to pay the current subscriptions. Members can help the Society at no cost to themselves by entering into a covenant to pay their subscriptions. Forms may be obtained from the Hon. Membership Secretary. EXCURSIONS 19-87 was a difficult year to assess with regard to the success of excursions. Those planned within England were abandoned due to lack of support. In planning across country pick-ups, time is required to arrange the eventual route of the pick-up coach and with only six enquiries for Winchester and Tenterden before the final booking date (but another 10-15 received after the closing date) these two visits were cancelled. I am, however, including them in the 1988 excursions since there were requests for me to organise them again later in the year. The Continental excursion was a different matter. In the end, I had to engage a larger coach to take the 44 members to Normandy to join the celebrations connected with the 900th anniversary of the Iv ANNUAL REPORT death of the Conqueror. We (including our President) all enjoyed good weather, fine hotels and some exciting tours around Honfleur and its salt warehouses (most impressive lofty timber halls), Bayeux and no queueing for the tapestry this year, Crevecoeur with its open-air domestic medieval buildings, and majestic Mont. St. Michel. I need add nothing to the question of enjoyment and value for money for 34 of the party have applied to come on the 1988 tour of Old Belgium including Waterloo. MEMBBRSH1P In spite of the increase in the subscription rates from January 1st, 1987, the membership of the Society is only 20 less than the previous year standing at December 31st, 1987, at 1,521. There was a loss of 77 members being accounted for by 28 resignations and the decease of 9 members, with the greater loss of 40 members being removed from the membership list on account of unpaid subscriptions of two years standing. The election of 57 new members did not balance the losses. There was great increase in the number of covenants, which gained £1,196 extra income for the Society. Details of how to help the Society in this way can be obtained from the Hon. Membership Secretary. RECORDS COMMITTEE A.J. Willis's Index of General Licences 1661-1714, which was considered by the Publications Committee, was found to be in too rough a form for submission to a printer, while Lady Goldsmith's Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Kent, although greatly admired, was reluctantly turned down as not being really appropriate for publication by an archaeological society. However Dr Lansberry's volume of transcriptions of Sevenoaks Wills has been accepted and will appear in due course as a record volume. It had been hoped to procure the early nineteenth-century diary of a Hollingbourne Lady before the end of the year. Unfortunately, it has not yet turned up, although it will do so eventually. The Committee feels that it is particularly important that the editing and publication of the Kent Feet of Fines should be resumed. They concern the transfer and settlement of land, ranging from small parcels to considerable estates, and are extremely interesting. It is over 30 years since the first and only volume was issued and, although it contains the record of over 1200 transactions, they are all before 1272. The volume was based on summaries of the original records made by the late Ralph Griffin, F.S.A., who abstracted the series up lvi - ANNUAL REPORT to the end of the reign of Henry V, 1422. Unfortunately, his notes of the immediate continuation from 1272 seem to have strayed and the Committee is now trying to trace them. Thereafter the problem will be to find an editor and, if any member of the Society can help in this matter, it will be extremely welcome. CHURCHES COMMITTEE The medieval bell frame from Godmersham is being cleaned and repaired by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust and it is hoped that it will be repositioned at the back of the church to exhibit the principles of its construction and to demonstrate the way in which bells and bell wheels function. The Committee was worried for the future of the important medieval screen at Bearsted, which may be removed in connection with a scheme of re-ordering. Concern was also expressed about repositioning the free-standing table tomb of John Sprot, Rector of Crundale (d. 1466), but this matter was resolved satisfactorily. The Committee is in the process of establishing a loan fund to encourage the publication of church guides, which it feels every church should have available for visitors. The Committee was pleased that planning permission had been refused for an inappropriate extension to St. Alphege, Seasalter. Financial assistance is being offered by the Committee jointly with the Council for the Care of Churches to Bishopsbourne for the conservation of the medieval glass depicting the Virgin Mary and St. Barbara. The same Council has also offered grants towards the repair of bindings in both the Crundale Rectorical Library, now kept at Wye College, and the Doddington Parochial Library kept at the Heritage Centre in Faversham. LfBRARY AND MUNIMENTS COMMITTEE 1987 was a year of substantial progress for the Library. A rotating book-case has been loaned by Maidstone Museum and a double-sided spur book-case, constructed by our member Mr Tom Church, has substantially increased shelf space. Although this has enabled some of the excellent European journals to be easily accessible, the need to store earlier volumes of most county journals still remains necessary. A further major responsibility, which has come the Committee's way, is the storage and sale of our in-print publications and back numbers of Archaeologia Cantiana. Agreements in this respect have been concluded with Meresborough Books of Rainham and Wealden Books of Maidstone. lvii ANNUAL REPORT Material from nl,lmerous sources is now stored centrally and under our direct control. This operation, involving thousands of volumes and much hard physical work could not have been completed without the help of the Hon. General Secretary, Mr L.A.E. Buckingham, Mr A.J. Daniels, Mr L.E. Illott and Mr R. Weekes. The rebinding programme continues albeit slowly. Another matter under active consideration is the institution of a programme of conservation, etc., for the collection of Twisden family portraits bequeathed to the Society in 1938. This will be preceded by a re-examination of the attributions given in Arch. Cant., lviii (1946), 43. For the future, the Committee intends to increase the collections of material on all aspects of conservation, field techniques and reference material, especially on ceramics and coins. Suggestions for additions to this and other fields are always welcome. Some 132 gifts and 24 purchases have been made. Thanks for donations are due to the late Mr A.F. Allen (120 volumes), Mr J.T. Buckle, Mr E.R. Green, Dr A.P. Detsicas, the late Mr H.R.C. Leadbetter (set of Arch. Cant.), Rt. Hon. J. Stanley, M.P., Mr A.D. Stoyel and the Sevenoaks Architectural History Group, and the University of Texas. A bequest of £125 from our late member 􀁩 Mr Frederick Roy Alexander Scott is also gratefully acknowledged. Members' publications acquired include: the late A.F. Allen (Shorne), the late G.M. Arnold (Denton, Dode, Gravesend), the late R.C.M. Arnold (Strood, Whiston Matter), J.T. Buckle (Chalk Turnpike), the late S.R. Harker (Gravesham), W.F. Bergess, J. Whyman et. al. (Kent Newspapers), E.R. Green (Pubs, Gravesend), B. Keith-Lucas (Kent Parish Affairs), P.E. Knowlden et. al. (W. Wickham), A.D. Stoyel (Chevening Architecture), K.M. Roome (St. Mary's, Bexley), J. Whyman et. al. (Kent and Canterbury Hospital). Mrs. J.R. Crisp, A.LA., Maidstone Museum and the County Library Service continue to give us their generous support. FIELDWORK COMMITTEE The Committee met twice during 1987 when recommendations were made for grants to member societies, and consideration given to future fieldwork policy. An interesting guided tour of prehistoric sites in the vicinity of Wye was led by Jim Bradshaw. The Society sponsored the continued excavation of a Roman Villa at Sedgebrook, Plaxtol, under the direction of Roger Cockett, which was commenced in 1986 as a rescue project. It has yielded a number of interesting features including two beehive chimneys. Society lviii ANNUAL REPORT members formed the majority of volunteers working on the site, which also enjoyed the support of local people, and the very successful autumn 'Archaeology at Work' conference held at Plaxtol was coupled with guided tours of the Sedgebrook excavation. MEMBERSHIP AND PUBLICITY COMMITTEE The awesome task of reorganising the membership records has been completed by Mrs. Margaret Lawrence, Hon. Membership Secretary, in conjunction with the promotion of covenanted subscriptions which are of considerable financial benefit to the Society. The continental spring tour, this year to Belgium, organised by Maurice Crane, Hon. Excursions Secretary, again proved highly successful. Following the A.G.M., an excellent lecture was given by Paul Bennett, Director of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, despite problems with slide projector and heating arrangements. The annual 'Archaeology at Work' was held at Plaxtol in October when local affiliated groups joined the Kent Archives Office in presenting varied displays, and members were afforded the opportunity to inspect the Society's excavation of the Sedgebrook Roman Villa. KENT DEFENCE RESEARCH GROUP In the Dover area the main event in 1987 has been Dover District Council's periodic opening of the Drop· Redoubt to visitors. This welcome development follows campaigning over many years by the late Douglas Crellin, a founder member of the group, and in recent years by John Guy, the Group's secretary. The group has submitted to the Council a paper of suggested de􀁩iderata for a programme of restoration and interpretation. It is hoped that the periodic opening of the Redoubt will soon lead to an active programme of restoration, and there are some signs that this will be the case. The group hopes for continued involvement with the R.edoubt project. John Guy has also been discussing with English Heritage the Group's wish to mount a pictorial display in Dover Castle on the Dover defences. Following the National Trust's intimation that it may not proceed with the restoration and interpretation of the important Second World War observation posts at Great Farthingloe, the Group intends to publish its own guide to these interesting structures. A first draft text has been prepared. 'The Dover Turrett' by David Burridge, a member of the Group, was published by North Kent Books in 1987. lix ANNUAL REPORT Generally, there has been an upturn in interest in the Dover defences, in fair measure because of the work of this Group which intends to play a full part in this development. With the considerable assistance of Ronald Crowdy, the Group, together with the Fortress Study Group, has opposed the proposed obliteration of important defences at the eastern end of the Royal Military Canal, which will result in the event of approval being given to a new marina development. Within the Thames area, restoration of New Tavern and Coalhouse forts has continued, with further guns being mounted and display areas under development of these two projects are being drafted. Victor Smith has again become chairman of the Group, in succession to Colonel B.E. Arnold who has been elected as president. The Group is very grateful for Colonel Arnold's valued support over the years. Victor Smith has also become a committee member and the conservation officer of the international Fortress Study Group. This allows the Kent Defence Research Group to contribute to the giving of information and advice to a growing list of managers of fort restoration projects at home and abroad. It has also been suggested that research and publication of the later defences of the Firth of Forth by a member of the Group has led to a greater interest in this facet of Scotland's heritage by the Scottish Development Agency. The interraction of the Group with activities outside Kent has resulted in a strengthening of its contribution to the research, preservation and restoration of post-medieval artillery defences. The Group is in the process of writing a history and guide to the whole of the county's later defences and this wiU involve several members co-operating together in this venture. KENT UNDERGROUND RESEARCH GROUP REPORT At the 1987 A.G.M. held at Dartford in July, the matter of the Group's publications was discussed in some detail and it was decided that we should promote our research to the general public. There is still an unfortunate ignorance amongst many people about the nature and extent of the various underground workings in the county, and the K.U.R.G. is perhaps unique amongst mining historians in that our academic research is a valuable contribution to public safety. The true extent of deneholes and chalk workings is not appreciated by councils and builders who constantly express surprise when subsidences occur. The Group has now adopted a three-tier system for our publications. The newsletter will not be produced quarterly on a regular Ix ANNUAL REPORT basis. It will be primarily intended for internal use with items of news, meetings, etc. The Research Report will be an annual publication issued in December and will include articles of an academic nature varying in size and content. Its structure will be such that it can be promoted as a publication in its own right. Where the Group has articles on specific sites or topics which are large enough to form a separate publication we will produce a Research Report on that subject. These will be in addition to the annual ones and will be issued as and when available. Both types of Research Reports will be consecutively numbered. Our two previous publications will be retrospectively numbered, i.e. R.R.1: 'Deneholes in the Gravesend Area'; R.R.2: 'The R.A.C.S. Chalk Mine and the Building of the Borstal Estate'. Research Report 3: 'Chalk Mining and associated Industries of Frindsbury' was published in October 1987. The first of the annual reports (R.R.4) was produced in December, with other occasional reports in preparation. A small publicity leaflet has been produced and will be circulated to councils, libraries, etc. Group members have investigated several subsidences over the year, the most spectacular being a subsidence near the front door of a house in World's End Lane, Green St. Green, Orpington. On 10th May, 1987, a hole appeared in some paving revealing a large void. Upon investigation by two field officers of the Group, it was found that the roof of a denehole chamber had failed many years ago and the collapse had worked its way toward the surface until the above subsidence occurred. The original cause of the failure was root penetration of the soft chalk roof of a fairly shallow working. The original entrance shaft could be seen, completely filled with rubbish, under the lounge of the house. The hole has now been filled with concrete and made safe. On 25th November, 1987, an informal 'slide evening' was held in the Dartford and District Archaeological Group's centre at Dartford. A number of members showed slides of various sites and types of underground sites. It is hoped to hoJa similar informal meetings .in the coming year, including a seminar on deneholes and similar excavations to be held in Maidstone on Saturday, 20th February. BUILDING RECORDERS Eleven K.A.S. members braved the roads after the great storm to attend the twenty-fourth annual Conference of Building Recorders held on Saturday, October 17th, at the Village Hall at Charing, which was without electricity and therefore light and heat. Using a blacklxi ·, ANNUAL REPORT board, Mr Peter Gray described the Castle Inn at Chiddingstone, which he interpreted as a building with two halls 'in line', a rare but not unique arrangement. He was followed by Mr Kenneth Gravett, who described the 'Architectural Implications of Shopping', using his key slides circulated in a hand viewer, kindly lent by Mr G. Winzar. A lively discussion ensued, curtailed only by the coldness of the hall and the desire to get home before it got too dark. The twenty-fifth meeting will be held on Saturday October 15th, 1988, at Charing at 2.15pm. 1st January, 1988 lxii By Order of the Council A.C. HARRISON Hon. General Secretary ..