Obituaries
OBITUARIES
ian coulson, b.a. (hons), p.g.c.e., f.s.a.
Council members were shocked to learn at their June 2015 meeting that Ian Coulson, President of the Society since 2011, had just been diagnosed with a brain tumour and would be stepping down immediately. He died in December at the age of 60.
Ian was born and brought up in Sunderland and attended the Bede School there. He read history at University College, Cardiff, at the time also displaying a deep interest in, and love of, archaeology. He taught in state secondary schools in Kent for ten years before becoming Adviser for History in the County in 1987 and then History Adviser and Inspector from 1994. He remained with Kent County Council until retirement in 2010. He made a really significant contribution to the teaching and learning of history in both primary and secondary schools, utilising his particular talent for inspiring students of all ages with his infectious enthusiasm for the past, wherever possible making history a hands-on experience. His ground-breaking work in education included major roles in projects to open up the then mysterious contents of the National Archives and in developing the Schools History Project. Working with local and national organisations, he wrote, contributed to and edited a wide range of textbooks and other historical resources for schools and wider audiences, ranging from The Roman Empire, through Medicine and Health and The Armada to Britain and the Great War. He was a pioneer in developing and promoting educational websites.
At various times he was a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on National Records and Archives and was actively involved with organisations such as the then Public Records Office, the Council for British Archaeology and the Victoria County History.
From the early 1990s Ian involved himself in the educational work of the Canter-bury Archaeological Trust, helping them to build an educational website and pro-vide the immensely popular CAT Kits and CAT Boxes, hands-on classroom teach-ing aids, containing archaeological artefacts and other materials. He also assisted with the educational initiatives for the Interreg-funded BOAT 1550 project that saw the CAT Kit model rolled-out in Belgium and north France.
Although not the originator, he became the driving force behind the 10-volume series of the Kent History Project. He was assistant editor of, and contributed to Kent in the Twentieth Century (2001), subsequently taking over the general editorship of the series. The final volume, Early Medieval Kent, is scheduled to be published in June 2016. He involved himself with the project on the early history of Folkestone, acting as co-chair and editing A Town Unearthed: Folkestone to 1500 that is one of its key legacies.
Ian devoted considerable time and energy to the Kent Archaeological Society, a life member from 1982. He was a founder member of the KAS Education committee (set up in 1991) and became its Chairman in 2004. He was elected President of the Society in 2011 and pursued a modernising agenda with his customary great enthusiasm. He sought to involve more members in Society activities and championed all aspects of archaeology. Particular concerns were the reform of the Society’s committee structure and improving and bringing up to date the style of its publications. Ian carried out his onerous duties extremely conscientiously, attending nearly every committee meeting as well as chairing Council with great insight.
Ian was a charismatic figure in Wye, his local community, frequently being asked to host large meetings of the village and taking on various roles over the years. He was chairman of the Wye Village Design Group (2001-2010) and of the Parish Plan Group (2006-2008).
A celebration of Ian’s life and work was held before a packed assembly in Wye Church on 22 December where former colleagues and friends paid tribute to his many achievements. It was appropriate that, following this, his final journey was in a side-car hearse powered by a Triumph Adventurer, reflecting his love of his own motorcycle, used both for daily travel and for exploring many far-flung parts of Europe.
His sad loss at an all too young age, after an illness borne with immensely moving courage and dignity, affects all who knew him.
john williams and terence lawson
peter stutchbury, m.a., m.sc., ph.d.
Peter Stutchbury died in September, aged 71. He had been Honorary General Sec-retary of the Society from 2010 until stepping down in May 2015.
Peter was born in Ruckinge and grew up in the Kent countryside which he always loved. His father ran a coal business from their home at Oakhurst. He attended Ashford Grammar School and in 1962 he went up to Nottingham University to read mathematics. It was towards the end of his University career that his life took a tragic turn with both his parents passing away leaving Peter and his brother to run the coal business. He worked hard to build up the business which flourished. In his spare time he studied for an m.b.a. and an m.a. in Marketing at Kingston University and finally achieved his doctorate in Marketing.
In September 1983 he and his wife Rosemary moved to Lympne Hall. This old fifteenth-century house became the centre of their happy family life for the next 32 years. Peter even decided to add to his earlier academic achievements and study at Bournemouth University (under the aegis of the Weald and Downland Museum) for an m.sc in timber-framed buildings. This so that he could forecast exactly which bits of timber at the Hall might collapse next! He joined the KAS in 1985.
Stutchbury Fuels continued to prosper, with an oil and gas distribution business added as well. Peter served as an Ashford Borough Councillor and was an active member of Ashford Rotary. In 1991 he sold up the business and joined Brake Brothers.
In 2005 at the age of 61, he decided to retire. He founded both SHAL (Studying History and Archaeology in Lympne) and also the Ragstones cycling group, finding the time to compete in the Cape Argus cycle race (Cape Town, South Africa) nine years running.
As Hon. Gen. Secretary he was a pivotal member of the team which steered the Society into the 21st century, a process which required considerable care and tact. He was great supporter of its educational activities and extremely helpful when it came to arranging conferences, study-days and workshops.
Sadly, in 2013 Peter was diagnosed with cancer but it was no surprise that he battled through his illness while continuing to attend with his usual thoroughness to Society business.
terence lawson and rosemary stutchbury
peter draper, b.sc., ph.d., d.i.c., f.r.s.c., m.inst.p., c.phys.
Peter Henry George Draper passed away on 14th February 2015 and was buried at St Mary’s, Stansted. He was born in 1933 in Dartford, the son of a local house builder. He attended Dartford Grammar School and went on to study for his first degree at Imperial College, London, in Chemistry, as was his ph.d., based on the Royal School of Mines. However, he left his first discipline to qualify in dentistry and medicine becoming a lecturer and researcher in Dentistry at the University of London.
Peter maintained a close connection with Dartford living at the family home until he moved to Stansted in the 1980s. He served as a councillor on Dartford Borough Council and later on the Kent County Council. He was an active member of the Dartford Historical and Antiquarian Society being chairman from 1987 to 2006, then president from 2006.
Without doubt Peter’s greatest interest was antiquarian books on Kent and he built up a collection of over 16,000 books, pamphlets and prints (the vast majority of which have been donated to Leicester University for their local history collection).
Peter joined the KAS in 1964 and, not surprisingly, took a keen interest in the Society’s Library. He was elected Honorary Librarian in 1975 and served until 1999. In 2000 he became a Patron of the Society.
In June 1977 a serious fire in Maidstone Museum penetrated into the KAS Library. Prompt action by the Museum staff and the Fire Brigade cut the losses to about ten per cent of the value of the books and furniture, and speedy action was taken to remove some rare and valuable volumes – Peter was alerted and soon arrived on the scene to supervise. Many of the items lost were replaceable, which Peter organised. Fortunately, very few of the rare and early volumes were affected, although some frail bindings had suffered. Using his immense knowledge of book conservation, Peter had these items rebound.
Pending reconstruction of the Library, Peter arranged for its contents to be removed to the attic of Gad’s Hill, the former home of Charles Dickens. Peter worked closely with the architect and supervised the reconstruction of the KAS Library in ‘Queen Anne’ style. The layout of the interior and the restitution, carting, cleaning, sorting, shelving and indexing of the collections was supervised by Peter, assisted by a dedicated volunteer group of members whose meticulous efforts enabled the substantial heritage of the Library to be largely restored and recreated. The Library opened for business again in Autumn 1979.
Peter was no stranger to controversy and he will always be remembered for the purchase of a £1,000 Turkish carpet and £250 chandelier for the Library (which raised eyebrows). He will also be particularly remembered for the enormous amount of work he did sourcing interesting and suitable books and materials to enhance the Library’s collections.
In the late 1980s Peter and the late Dan Jones initiated a scheme to enter the cat-alogue of books on to a computer. After purchasing the Society’s first computer and with the aid of many volunteers, the Society’s extensive collection of photographs, prints and watercolour paintings also began to be catalogued. The work they began is being continued by the latest Library team.
ted connell
patricia hyde, b.a., m.litt.
Born in 1930 Patricia was sent to board at Ashford School for Girls at the age of nine. She studied Modern History at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, entering the college in 1948. She stayed up to write a thesis comparing the Bishop of Win-chester’s manors in Witney and Adderbury (Oxon.), 1215-1485. As a result, she was delighted to be able to help archaeologists date the foundation of the bishop’s palace at Witney. In 1953 Patricia married John Bean Hyde (1927-1985).
Patricia joined a group under Professor Bindoff studying the Tudor section of the History of Parliament at the Institute of Historical Research. In the 1970s Patricia became interested in a Leicester University project on the development of small towns in the early modern period. It was on the advice of Rosemary Weinstein that she became involved in delving into the history of Faversham. She thought it sounded an interesting place and had endless records. Patricia joined the Faversham Historians group when they first met up under the chairmanship of Professor Theo Barker in 1980.
Her first publication on Faversham was an article that appeared in 1985 in Archaeologia Cantiana, cii (1985) on ‘Henry Hatch and the Battle over his Will’, the controversy that did so much to shape the modern town of Faversham. It was about this time that Patricia teamed up with Duncan Harrington whilst they were both working at Canterbury Cathedral Archives, a collaboration that continued until her death. In 1993, the Faversham Society published her work on Primary and Secondary Sources for the town A Faversham and District Bibliography. Then followed a Faversham paper (no. 45) on Faversham Ships and Seamen in the sixteenth Century. An epic tome on Thomas Arden; the man behind the myth (1996) was next.
Patricia’s next joint publication with Harrington was the Faversham Hundred Records Vol. 1. These microfiches provide a catalogue of thousands of records. They have now been superseded by a CD version. Vol. 2: Hearth Tax returns for Faversham Hundred 1662-1674: with supporting documents (1998) was followed by Vol. 3: Faversham Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls (2000); Vol. 4: Faversham Oyster Fishery: Through Eleven Centuries (2002); Vol. 5: Faversham Hundred Rentals on CD (2008). The Early Town Books of Faversham c.1251 to 1581 (2008) was one of the more ambitious projects.
Finally, November 2014 saw the last joint publication with Duncan Harrington of Faversham Abbey, Collections towards a History. She died in her sleep on the 27 July 2015 leaving a daughter Susannah, a son-in-law and five granddaughters.
duncan harrington
OBITUARIES
OBITUARIES
OBITUARIES
NOTES ON THE CONTRIBUTORS
Emma Boast: has worked as an archaeologist for nearly 20 years. After completing a degree in Archaeology at the University of York she worked as a field archaeologist in North Yorkshire. She joined the Trust for Thanet Archaeology in 1999 and became Director in 2003. She was a site supervisor on the KAS Abbey Farm training excavation for seven seasons from 1997 and is a member of the Fieldwork Committee.
Margaret Bolton: is a freelance researcher specialising in early modern demographics and epidemiology. She is currently working on a history of St Laurence church.
Helen Clarke, b.a., ph.d., hon.d.phil., f.s.a.: Hons degree in Ancient History and Arch-aeology, University of Birmingham. Continued studies for ph.d. at University of Lund, Sweden, where she participated in excavations on waterlogged sites in the medieval city centre. Returning to England she became Director of King’s Lynn Archaeological Survey then Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at University College London (now Institute of Archaeology). On retirement she came to live in Tunbridge Wells and to involve herself in the archaeology of Kent, becoming a committee member, then Chair, of the Romney Marsh Research Trust and a council member of CBA Southeast. General academic research interests have centred on the archaeology of medieval towns in the British Isles and North-west Europe, with publications ranging from The Archaeology of Medieval England to Towns in the Viking Age and, most recently, Sandwich, ‘the completest medieval town in England’. She is currently collaborating with Keith Parfitt on publishing excavations at Sandwich Whitefriars, the town’s Carmelite friary.
Joe Connor, ph.d., d.sc.: was a scholar in Modern Languages at Christ’s College Cam-bridge, which explains his thorough grounding in Latin from school days. He graduated in Natural Sciences (Chemistry) and, after further studies, taught chemistry at Manchester University, before being appointed professor at Kent University in 1981. He is currently preparing an edition of British Library Manuscript Arundel 68, which contains further information concerning Canterbury Cathedral and Priory in the late medieval period.
Lee Cunningham: obtained a b.a. in Classical and Archaeological Studies and an m.a. in The Archaeology of the Transmanche at the University of Kent. Particular interests included small finds and early medieval landscape archaeology. After graduation he worked for a short time as a field archaeologist. Although no longer employed within archaeology, he still maintains an interest in archaeology and early medieval history.
Duncan Harrington: is both a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Society of Genealogists and President of the Kent Family History Society. He is a freelance historian and compiles the Kent Records New Series for the KAS. With the late Patricia Hyde he produced two important books on the history of Faversham, Faversham Oyster Fishery and The Early Town Books of Faversham. He has recently published on CD Collections for the History of Faversham Abbey which includes a transcript and translation of the Faversham Abbey Leiger Book.
Paul Johnson: is a Project Manager for Trent and Peak Archaeology in Nottingham and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham. He received his ph.d. from Southampton in 2007 and has held post-doctoral positions at the British School at Rome and University of Évora (Portugal). He has expertise in landscape and settlement archaeology and has collaborated with the Canterbury Hinterland Project since 2011.
Ross Lane: is a professional archaeologist. Raised in Canterbury, he studied archaeology at the University of Southampton before returning to Kent in 2005 where he began his archaeo-logical career at the CAT. He is particularly interested in the study of later prehistoric Kent and he is currently engaged in the post-excavation analysis of the large early Iron Age settlement uncovered during the development of Turing College at the University of Kent in 2013.
Rod LeGear, m.c.i.f.a.: is a retired engineer who has been an active member of the Society since 1963. His main interests are mining history and archaeology and he has spent over 50 years recording underground sites in the county. He is a Vice-President of KAS and has served on the Council since 1983. He is also a member of the Industrial Archaeology Committee and a long standing member of the Fieldwork Committee.
Andrew Mayfield, m.a.: having studied archaeology at University College London, worked for a number of archaeological units on projects in Kent and beyond, including Brisley Farm, Canterbury Whitefriars, Springhead, Cliffs End and Heathrow Terminal 5. Since joining Kent County Council in 2004, he has worked as a Historic Environment Record Officer and Community Archaeologist. Much of his community archaeological work has focused on the archaeology of Shorne Woods, near Gravesend, including seven years as site director of the excavations at Randall Manor.
Alex Mullen: is Assistant Professor in Classical Studies at the University of Nottingham. She received her ph.d. from the University of Cambridge in 2009 and has held post-doctoral positions at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and All Souls College, Oxford. She has been the Co-director of the Canterbury Hinterland Project since 2013.
Philip L.A. Newill, m.chem., ph.d., amrsc: is a native of Kent, educated at The Norton Knatchbull School, Ashford. After completing his m.chem. degree (2004) and ph.d. in bio-organic chemistry (2011), his career in chemistry is dormant. His scientific interests include natural products, organonitrogen chemistry, and antibiotics. His antiquarian interest began in heraldry and has extended to include the documentary study of historic buildings. He is currently a volunteer guide at Godinton House.
Nicholas Orme: is Emeritus Professor of History at Exeter University, and has written widely on the history of education, religion, society, and culture in medieval and Tudor England.
Keith Parfitt, b.a., f.s.a., m.i.f.a.: has been excavating in Kent for over 40 years. Hons degree in British Archaeology at University College, Cardiff, 1978. Employed with Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit between 1978 and 1990, working on a variety of excavations across Kent and S.E. London. Moved to the CAT in 1990 and worked on the Dover A20 project which culminated in discovery of the Bronze Age Boat in 1992. Running parallel with full-time career, also Director of Excavations for amateur Dover Archaeological Group since 1978. Has served on KAS Fieldwork Committee since 1992 and acted as Director for KAS excavations at Minster, 2002-2004. Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2000. Co-directed a joint project with the British Museum excavating the complex Bronze Age barrow site at Ringlemere, 2002-2006. Supervised ATU excavations at Folkestone Roman villa, 2010-2011. Presently directing major excavations in Dover town centre.
Jon Rady: is one of the longest serving members of staff at the CAT. After many years spent in the field supervising minor and major projects, most notably the extensive fieldwork undertaken prior to the construction of the Channel Tunnel terminal, he was appointed Senior Field Officer (Operations Manager) in 1990. Between 1992 and 1997 he was involved in many road improvement schemes including the Ash by-pass (A257), extension of the A20 between Folkestone and Dover, A253 Dualling (Monkton to Mount Pleasant), the Whitfield-Eastry by-pass (A256) and the Wainscott Northern by-pass (A289). More recently (2007-2012) he managed the large scale (49ha.) open-area excavations at the Thanet Earth greenhouse development, Monkton. His own fieldwork has been published in the Archaeology of Canterbury monograph series, CAT Occasional Papers, local and national journals (including Archaeologia Cantiana) and Canterbury’s Archaeology.
Victor Smith, b.a., f.s.a.: read history at King’s College of the University of London where he specialised in War Studies. He is an independent historian and investigator of British historic defences on the mainland and in the Caribbean. He coordinated the KCC’s twentieth-century Defence of Kent Project for the districts reported on to date in Archaeologia Cantiana, and was Director of Thames Defence Heritage from 1975-2011. He has 40 years’ experience researching, restoring and interpreting historic defence sites, having worked in Southern England, Scotland, Gibraltar, Bermuda and the Caribbean. In 1989 he was General Manager of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park in St Kitts. His work in Kent has included, in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council, the restoration and re-armament of New Tavern Fort and the interpretation of a Cold War bunker, both at Gravesend. Current projects are advising on the restoration of Slough Fort at Allhallows, updated research on the sixteenth- to twentieth-century defences of the Greater Thames, publication of Reigate Fort in Surrey and studies of the twentieth-century defences of Swale and Thanet districts as well as of the coastal forts of St Kitts and St Lucia. He is Chairman of the Society’s Historic Defences Committee.
Margaret Sparks, m.a., hon. d.litt., f.s.a.: has been Consultant Historian to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury since 1995. She works out of the Library and Archives Department.
Sheila Sweetinburgh, ph.d.: is a Senior Research Fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University and an Associate Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent. She also works as a freelance documentary historian, primarily for the CAT. Her research focus on relationships and the ways individuals, and formal and informal groups used to negotiate religious, political and social relations. Her work employs a case study approach and makes use of Kent’s rich archival sources. Her current project is an in-depth examination of urban households as centres of production and consumption using the records for 15th-century Hythe.
Diane Thomas, m.a.: has been a professional genealogist for over 20 years and is particularly interested in mass migration movements. In 2012 she completed an m.a. in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent, for which she produced a fuller study of the Hercules passengers during the ‘Great Migration’. She enjoys palaeography and is currently involved in the transcription of a series of early modern manuscripts for the Templeman Library.
Lieven Verdonck: is a post-doctoral researcher in archaeological geophysics at Ghent University (Belgium). He received an m.phil from the University of Bradford in 2008, and a ph.d. from Ghent University in 2012. He specializes in ground-penetrating radar, and has carried out surveys in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and the UK, investigating mostly Roman sites. Within the Canterbury Hinterland Project, he has surveyed (parts of) the sites at Bourne Park, Patrixbourne, Petham and Ickham.
Lacey Wallace: is a post-doctoral Research Associate in Roman Archaeology in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge, conducting research on settlement and landscape archaeology in Yorkshire and Kent. She received her ph.d. from Cambridge in 2011 and began the survey of Bourne Park in that year. As the Director of the Canterbury Hinterland Project, she has organized the geophysical surveys of the archaeological landscapes in Bourne Park, Ickham/Wingham, Patrixbourne, and Petham.
Gill Wyatt, m.phil., m.a., b.a.(hons): is a retired librarian, who has been researching the social networks of the Isle of Thanet, and is currently working on the Churchwardens’ Accounts and assessments for St John the Baptist in Thanet.
contributors
CONTRIBUTORS
contributors