Reviews

REVIEWS The Kent and Canterbury Hospital, 1790-1987. By F. Marcus Hall, Richard S. Stevens and John Whyman. 21 x 14.7 cm. Pp. xi + 229, and 100 illustrations. The Kent Postgraduate Medical Centre at Canterbury, 1987. (£5.00, paperback). A writer in the Kentish Gazette in October 1790, while attempting to encourage support for a county hospital, applauds such institutions since they 'afford signal relief to the sick poor, [ and] serve at the same · time as schools of physic and surgery, [being] eminently useful to mankind.' This is the essence of the story of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. The authors of this history make it clear in the preface that the imminent bicentennial of the hospital will be a more suitable occasion for a detailed study, and the broader context of the history of health care and hospital services in Kent as a whole may then be forthcoming. This volume offers a useful preliminary chronological summary of the development of the hospital, concentrating on the changes in buildings, staffing and administration, illustrated with extracts from the hospital archives and a wide range of photographs. The opening of the hospital on its Nackington Road site in 1937 inspired one nurse to describe her new environment as a 'Palace of Healing' and the loyalty and pride of all who have been associated with Kent's first voluntary hospital is a continuous thread running through the story of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. Another recurring theme is the persistent anxiety about funding the many programmes of enlargement and renovation and the efforts made to boost the hospital's income from subscriptions, donations, investments and appeals. The first part of book, up to 1913, quotes heavily from the hospital's annual reports to highlight the building works carried out and their cost, the concern about declining subscriptions and the changes in the hospital rules regarding admissions and the privilege of recommending patients for treatment. The second half begins with the impetus to build a new hospital and follows the gradual expansion of facilities during the last fifty years, together with the impact of the wars and the National Health Service. There is understandable nostalgia for the days of independence and individuality, which were lost after 1948. This volume will be popular with 321 REVIEWS those people who have affection for the old Kent and Canterbury Hospital and will be a useful digest for those interested in the evolution of one of the county's most renowned institutions. KATHLEEN TOPPING The Roman Pottery of Kent. By R.J. Pollard. 28 x 22 cm. Pp. xxxviii + 247, 69 figs. Monograph Series of the Kent Archaeological Society, V, Maidstone 1988 (£30, cased). This handsome, excellently produced volume is in effect an abridged version of the author's doctoral thesis successfully submitted to the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading. After an introductory section on objectives, problems and methods, the pottery is considered chronologically. Then follows an account of pottery production in the County and Appendices on fabrics, etc. In 'The Aims of the Study', it becomes clear that the author is following the modern trend towards the only satisfactory use of pottery for the study of 'economics and commerce'. This is a rejection of the old-fashioned view, embodied in the life-work of John Gillam, that pottery could be used as a tool for dating horizons, deposits and features. This rejection is based on the lack of supportive epigraphic evidence in the non-military areas and also the creation of 'a rigorously quantified date basis' (p. 3) has been customary on most excavations. This reviewer is sufficiently old-fashioned to believe that the study of pottery assemblages, from securely stratified deposits, still has a validity if it is carried out with the benefit of evidence of other artefacts, especially coins and, of course, decorated samian. But this also demands assemblages in a stratified sequence for comparison of type and forms of decoration. There is a serious danger of transposing pottery studies into columns of tabulated, mechanically contrived data, instead of spending this time in searching for joins to provide maximum profiles for the study of vessels in sequential groups. Thus, we are warned at the outset that this book will not provide him with the dates of pottery found in Kent. This should not, however, prevent the reader from persevering with it since there is much of value to be found. There is severe and rightful criticism on the strange misuse of the terms - fine and coarse wares (pp. 20-2). The only satisfactory divisions are into table, kitchen and pantry wares, with perhaps, the inclusion of the drinking vessels, which are occasionally highly decorated and may have religious connections. The problems of late Iron Age pottery are discussed (Chap. 3) without any firm conclusions being reached. One is surprised at the 322 REVIEWS limited distribution in Kent of the imported wares at the Conquest period (Fig. 17). This may be due to the lack of military sites or to the lack of investigation of sites away from the Richborough-London highway. Were the rural areas so poor or thinly populated to have received virtually no impact? But when one studies the other distribution maps of the later periods, it becomes clear that the large area of the Weald was virtually unoccupied throughout the Roman period. This surely must indicate the serious lack of field work. The most important section of the book is the description of the pottery itself in its form and fabrics, with a strong emphasis on the latter. This offers a large collection of 217 complete vessels, well presented and described. There are few surprises, the flange-necked flagons nos. 167 and 169 (Fig. 44) _evidently appear in Kent in the late second-early third centuries, much earlier than in other parts of the country; in ·the Midlands for example, they would be colour-coated and belong to the late fourth century. Another vessel dated much later elsewhere is the indented beaker with rim wider than the body (no. 192). The interesting later grog-tempered ware (Fig. 53) seems peculiar to. the south-east where shelly wares nos. 212 and 213 are universal and normally late fourth-century elsewhere. A striking feature is the distribution map of Much Hadham ware (Fig. 34), which shows a considerable amount in Kent. (The precise meaning of the symbols used, incidentally, is not clear from Table 1 (p. 11), although Fig. 10 helps.) But not a single vessel appears to be illustrated, although a mention appears in the text (p. 119), not even the remarkable indented figured beaker, supposedly from this factory, from Rich borough is included (Richborough III, 1932, Pl. XLIII and p. 185), nor another piece of a similar ware from Aylesford ip the Maidstone Museum. The final chapter deals with pottery production in the County. The most productive factories were the many kilns in the Upchurch Marshes (and which were extensively plundered by collectors); they have received little attention until recently. Of the pottery which has survived from these estuarine margins, it is difficult to be sure of the types produced here, as distinct from usage in the coastal settlements, which have also suffered inundation. The wares were mainly kitchen vessels and included BB2, also found on the northern frontier. The other factories were local to the larger settlements such as Canterbury and probably Rochester. The most important results from this valuable study are the clear demonstration of the quantity and distribution areas of the wares from factories beyond the County. The volume is packed with an immense amount of detail, not always easy to trace as the text is rather dense and requires effort to assimilate. But in the end one is 323 REVIEWS obliged to agree that Dr Pollard has made a case for the validity of 'a regional study of the whole network of pottery production, importation and distribution' (p. 201). G. WEBSTER The South-east to AD 1000. By P. Drewett, D. Rudling and M. Gardiner. 23 X 15 cm. Pp. 384, 43 pls., 71 figs. A Regional History of England, Longman, London, 1988. (£13.00, limp). A Regional History of England is a new and, to quote the publishers' advertising matter, 'ambitious' series of volumes intended to cover the whole of England divided into ten regions. Two volumes will be devoted to each of these regions, the first 'relying heavily on archaeological data' and dealing with the period up to A.D. 1000, the second with the subsequent centuries. The volume under review is written by three authors connected with the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London, who have divided between them the eight chapters it contains according to each author's particular fields of interest. This, inevitably, makes for a certain unevenness in emphasis, and the work suggests, perhaps unfairly, that Sussex was nearer to the authors' heart than the other two counties covered by this survey. Chapter 1 deals with the geology of the area and its settlement by the first hunting communities. Chapters 2 and 3 consider the earliest farmers and farming communities to 1400 B.C., farmers and craftsmen to 600 B.C. are discussed in Chapter 4 whilst the Iron Age is covered in Chapter 5. The concluding three chapters deal with the Romano-British (Chapter 6) and Anglo-Saxon periods (Chapters 7 and 8). A list of abbreviations, in which Arch. Cant. has defied proof-reading, suggestions for further reading, a comprehensive bibliography and index complete this book, which is profusely illustrated by good photographs and excellent line drawings, many of which result from very recent field work. The overall impression, after a first reading, is that this survey will repay closer attention and stimulate much further thought, even if not always in total agreement, on the many topics it covers. As with all works of synthesis, this book brings together the evidence scattered in a myriad of other publications and this alone should ensure -repeated reference to its contents, certainly in the case of periods not familiar to this reviewer. The volume is certainly well produced, easy to the eye and recommended to members as a good survey of the period it covers. A.P. DETSICAS 324 REVIEWS The New Church - Holy Trinity, East Peckham. By Margaret Lawrence. Pp. 72, 22 x 15 cm., 1988. East Peckham is one of those villages where a shift in population has left the medieval church in lonely isolation. The movement started centuries ago at East Peckham and St. Michael's on the hill is now abandoned, though looked after by the Redundant Churches Fund. By 1840 there had been sufficient increase in population of the valley settlement to require a new church, and our Honorary Membership Secretary, Mrs. Lawrence, has told the story of how it came to be built and she has followed the account by describing some of the outstanding events in the parish down to present times. In a refreshing departure from ·the customary format of parish histories, she has presented the story as a drama in seven Acts, some being divided into separate scenes. As in her earlier publications, on the old church and the village school, there is emphasis on the human element and the social changes that have taken place during the past 140 years. Fortunately, there are sufficient original sources upon which to draw and good use is made of these to create the atmosphere of the events described. Those who lament the empty pews in our churches at the present time will note with interest the complaint of the vicar who in 1898 expressed regret at the 'deficiency in the congregation', which nevertheless amounted to 250 on a Sunday morning with 360 in the evening and 120 children. Then there is the sad record of the 50 men of the parish of 2,165 who were killed in the 1914-18 War, and whose names occur on the village memorial in the form of a Celtic cross. Until recent years, an invasion of roughly 80,000 hop-pickers descended on East Peckham each autumn, creating problems of welfare to challenge the resources of such institutions as the Salvation Army and the local churches of all denominations. The book contains numerous well chosen illustrations, including delightful sketches by Ruth Reid, and a map of the parish. Copies may be obtained from Barnfield Church Lane, East Peckham, Tonbridge, price £3.95 plus 30p. postage. All proceeds go to Holy Trinity Church. P.J. TESTER 325