Annual Report and Accounts for the Year 1929

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1929. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST DECEMBER, 1929. THE Council herewith presents its Seventy-first Report and Statement of Accounts for 1929. The membership continues to show expansion ; the names on the list at 31st December, after all deductions due to deaths, resignations, and amovals, amount to 931, consisting of seven Affiliated Societies, four Honorary, 105 Life, and 815 Ordinary members. In addition twenty-one members were elected during the year whose entrance fees and first subscriptions will be credited in 1930. The number of new members elected during the year was large, totalling ninety-one, but losses were also heavy, the number of deaths notified being no less than twentyeight, and resignations forty-four. The latter figure is probably abnormal, and is to be connected with the large amount of unpaid subscriptions at 31st December, 1928. These have been dealt with, and arrears now amount to quite a small sum. Resignations are variously due to removal from the County, inability to attend meetings, and motives of economy ; meetings and excursions appear to be popular, and it is a question whether the number of these should not be increased beyond the three usually held, if organisers can be found. Among the names removed through death are those of Mr. Guy Ewing and Mr. Arthur Finn, F.S.A., both of whom were members of the Counoil of the Society, and also well-known for their public services to the County. Mr. Finn acted as Local Secretary for Romney and Lydd. Others are Lady Northboume, widow of Lord Northboume, late President of the Society ; Mr. Charles E. Keyser, F.S.A., well-known in archaeological circles and a member for forty-nine years, and Mr. W. J. King, Local Secretary xliv REPORT, 1929 for Gravesend. The Council has elected Major M. Teichman- Derville, O.B. E., to take Mr. Finn's place, both on the Council and as Local Secretary for Romney and Lydd, and Mr. R. F. Jessup to succeed Mr. King at Gravesend. The name of the Sevenoaks Society has been added to the list of Affiliated Societies. The Annual General Meeting was held in the Museum, Maidstone, by kind permission of the Library Committee, on April 11th, at noon, the President, Sir Martin Conway, being in the chair. About forty members were present, the day being very cold and wet. The chairman in moving the adoption of the Report and Accounts referred to the satisfactory increase in the membership, and urged members to interest their friends in the archseology of the County and get them to join the Society. He also referred to the necessity of preserving all ancient and historical Kentish documents, which was being strongly pressed at the present time, and to the good work being done in the Society's Library by Mr. Walter Ruck, Librarian. It was to be hoped that more members would make use of the Library for the purpose of study. The Hon. Treasurer, Mr. Stokes, then dealt with the year's accounts, which, he said, contained certain non-recurring items of expenditure, and that therefore the financial prospects for 1929 were favourable. The motion for the adoption of the Report and Accounts was seconded by Sir Thos. Colyer-Fergusson and carried unanimously. The following six retiring members of Council were re-elected : Sir Hugh Jackson, Bart., Mr. Ralph Griffin, Capt. H. W. Knocker, Major Powell-Cotton, Mr. H. W. Plumptre,andMajorM. Teichman- Derville. Mr. F. C. Allwork, F.C.A., and Mr. Mark Green, the Hon. Auditors, were re-elected, and five new members were elected to the Society. In the absence of Mr. EUiston Erwood, Hon. Excursions Secretary, the Hon. Secretary gave particulars of the Summer Excursion, which was to take place on July 25th and 26th in Romney Marsh, the headquarters being at New Romney. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the Officers. In the afternoon members reassembled to the number of about one hundred, the President again occupying the chair. REPORT, 1929. xlv Dr. F. W. Cock, F.S.A., took the opportunity of asking support towards a small fund being raised for a memorial to Edward Hasted, the historian of Kent, to be erected in Corsham Church, Wiltshire, where he was Master of Hungerford's School. This, a bronze plate with inscription and embossed coat-of-arms, has been placed on the North Wall of the Church. Leotures were then delivered by Mr. Bertram W. Pearce on " The Otford Roman Site," illustrated by lantern slides, and by Mr. William Whiting, F.S.A., on the recent excavations at Snodland and Finglesham, towards which the Society had made grants. At Finglesham, where there was a Jutish Cemetery, he attributed much importance to the finds as helping to fill a gap between Early and Medieval periods. Mr. W. P. B. Stebbing, F.S.A., added some remarks on objects found. The Chairman, in thanking the lecturers, gave a brief review of the travels from East to West of certain designs in brooches and their persistence. Mr. Whiting then showed a series of slides of Cloisters in various Cathedrals in this country, favouring those at Canterbury with their wonderful collection of heraldic and other bosses. All the lecturers were heartily thanked. The Summer Excursion was held in Romney Marsh on July 25th and 26th, in fine weather, and was attended by about 220 members and friends. The programme was carried out as planned, and much credit is due to Mr. EUiston Erwood for the arrangements made. As the Council has decided that in future particulars of places visited and addresses given should be incorporated in Archceologia Cantiana, no account of these appears in this Report. The same applies to the Autumn Excursion, which was held on September 10th in the neighbourhood of Ohilham in fine weather and was attended by more than two hundred members and friends. Excellent arrangements were made by Major Usborne, the new Excursion Secretary for East Kent, to whom the thanks of the party were conveyed at Chilham Castle. The Records Branch has during the year published Part III. of Volume IV. of the Register of Hamo Hethe, Bishop of Rochester, and will shortly be issuing a volume on the Kentish Possessions of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, by Dr. Cotton. A small Sub-committee has been formed to assist the Committee on House of Commons Records in collecting additional and more accurate information regarding the personnel of past Parliaments. xlvi REPORT, 1929. The Records Branch deals fully with its work in its own Report. It is very desirable that further financial support should be given to this Branch, as it would materially assist in increasing its output. Mr. Elliston Erwood, F.S.A., Hon. Secretary of the Excavations Branch, contributes the following : This Branch which was inaugurated in 1928, to carry out archaeological excavations in Kent, has so far not been a complete success. This may be due to the policy adopted (and which has been criticised) of not attempting any excavation till there was a sufficient sum of money in hand to ensure that any excavation commenced could be brought to a successful conclusion without financial worry. Against this has been brought the argument that an excavation once inaugurated would from its nature attract interest and funds. This is not the general experience of those who have carried out archaeological exploration of a purely local character, however much it might be true of work of a wider appeal and it is open to doubt whether even these latter have such a freedom from financial troubles as some may imagine. The object of the Branch therefore should be to build up a fund to enable it to be ready and able if and when the need arises, to carry out any excavation in any part of the County. There is in the Bank about £43 and the Hon. Secretary holds for emergencies approximately £10. The expenses to date have been very small, amounting to less than £3 for postage and secretarial expenses. The total contributions from all sources to date amount to £55 7s., some of which is definitely earmarked for the establishment of a capital fund. Of this sum, too, more than half has been contributed by non-members of the Society. In fact the contributions from the members of the parent Society have been singularly small. The Earthworks at Mangravet Wood, near Maidstone, have been examined by the Branch, but with funds supplied by Alexander Keiller, Esq., F.S.A., and a brief report of this work will shortly be available. The balance of the money granted for this purpose really formed the nucleus of the Excavation Branch funds. The Hon. Secretary has also been consulted and has attended excavations at Stanstead, Ightham, Hartley and other places, and is available if sufficient notice is given. In conclusion it is hoped that members of the Kent ArchaeoREPORT, 1929. xlvii logical Society and others interested will see their way to support this Branch and its objects either by donations or subscriptions, or both, which will be gratefully received by the Hon. Treasurer, C. Stokes, Esq., New Hall, Dymchurch, Kent, or the Hon. Secretary at Jesmond Dene, Foxcroft Road, Shooters Hill, S.E.18. As regards Place-Name work, from the last report of the English Place-Name Society it seems probable that the volume (or volumes) on Kent will not appear for several years. The recently issued volume on Sussex contains some Kentish material and discusses Andred and the Weald, the Medway, the Rother and Kent Ditch. The collection and arrangement of the abundant Kentish material is proceeding steadily and when the time of publication is reached it will be seen that the place-names of Kent have features of unique interest. " Alike in land law and in social structure," say the editors of the series, " Kent stands apart . . . from every other part of England." The capable and energetic Secretary of this Society's Place- Name Sub-committee, Mr. E. C. Matthews, has been occupying himself during the year in identifying places named in the Saxon charters and in elucidating the boundaries appended to some of the charters. This work is full of difficulty and supplements and corrects the results of Hasted and other Kentish historians. It will be of value when the editors of the series turn their attention to our County. In his report on the Library Mr. Walter Ruck again comments on the few visits paid by members, although there are indications of increase. He has been engaged in compiling an Index to the papers appearing in volumes XX. to XL., under author and subject; also detailed lists of the various places and buildings visited by the Society since 1857. A few books have been purchased, and a plan of Hawkenbury Farm in 1624 has been presented. Despite the efforts of the Hon. Editor, Vol. XLI. of Archceologia Cantiana, which is issued to members in respect of their subscription for 1929, could not be despatched before the turn of the year. The greatest credit is due to Mr. Vallance for the preparation of such an excellent book. It is therefore with all the more regret that the Council has to announce that at the meeting in December Mr. Vallance tendered his resignation as Hon. Editor. He has conducted the Society's journal for fourteen years with conspicuous xlviii REPORT, 1929. success. Being possessed of a rare combination of literary gifts with an extensive knowledge of medieval architecture and archaeology, he was specially fitted to act as editor of a journal such as Archceologia Cantiana, and his place will be hard to fill. The Council in accepting his resignation unanimously elected him a Vice-President. As Mr. Vallance is leaving Kent and intends to reside in London, this entails his abandonment of Stoneacre, his beautiful house at Otham, which the Society visited in 1928. A small Sub-committee has been appointed to consider the election of a new Editor. Reports have been sent in by Local Secretaries and others respecting finds and other matters. Mr. R. F. Jessup (Gravesend) says that, at the invitation of Mr. F. Mugeridge, he, accompanied by Mr. N. C. Cook, visited a site on Broomy or Bromhey Farm, Cooling, between the farm and Whalebone Marshes. Here were found in a mound of loose friable soil irregular patches of burnt material, a quantity of the poor pottery known as briquetage, and occasional fragments of more substantial fabric. The burnt material proved to be bits of the stem-fruit and leaves of a species of rush (Juncus). Among the pottery fragments were burnished black sherds of soft fine clay ornamented in the La Tene fashion with cordons, and pieces of a rough gritted red ware which may be perhaps referred to the culture of Hallstatt. It seems likely that the site is of the same nature as the Red Hills of Essex, which are thought to be works for the extraction of salt from brine, and that the burnt rushes resulted from the clearing of the ground to construct a salt-pan. Such sites are not unknown in Kent, two at Dymchurch and in the Medway Marshes having been noted by Mr. Reginald Smith of the British Museum. Mr. Mugeridge has obtained much Roman material from the immediate neighbourhood, his most interesting finds being a pipe-clay figurine of Venus and the rim of a mortarium stamped MATXTGENTTS. Mr. Jessup adds that in view of the scarcity of Neolithic flint implements near Gravesend, it is well to record the recovery of an axe of polished flint from the allotments south of the Mid-Kent Golf Course. It is grey flint, 4.9 inches long, with a thin rounded butt end and slightly curved cutting edge. It is now in the collection of Mr. F. W. Shilling, of Borough Green. Mr. E. G. Box (Sevenoaks) reports the discovery in the grounds of the fever hospital at Otford, on the Pilgrims Road REPORT, 1929. xllX west of the village, of layers of pottery and charcoal at the depth of a foot below the surface. The area has not been fully explored but covers at least eighteen to twenty square feet. The finds include two bronze fibulae and one iron ; a curved iron knife of Celtic pattern, and many pieces of Samian ware, some with potter's marks which have been dated by the British Museum as circa A.D. 100. No signs of buildings have been found. Mr. Box has also been carefully watching the various proposals and plans for new roads in the neighbourhood. Advice has been received from Mr. J. H. Mowll (Dover) and Mr. E. G. J. Amos, that the number of Roman CL. BR. tiles recovered by the latter from the excavations at the Plaza Cinema which has been built opposite St. Mary's Church now amounts to fifteen. Mr. Amos has sent an excellent photograph of the tiles. Excavation is proceeding steadily at the Castle under the Office of Works on the South side of the Church and Pharos, but nothing special has been reported. Mr. F. H. Duffield (Bromley) reports that in the course of alterations being carried out at St. Paul's Cray Parish Church the former fourteenth century North Arcade is being revealed. Hitherto the arches alone have been visible in the North wall, which was blocked ; but it is proposed now to uncover and restore the whole arcade to its original condition. The Church is fully described by Major Heales in Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. XVIII., p. 279. Mr. Duffield also draws attention to the threatened destruction of two old cottages in the High Street, Orpington, dated 1635. They are illustrated in Old Cottages and Farm Houses in Kent and Sussex, by W. G. Davie and E. Guy Dawber. Local efforts are being made to save them, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has been in communication with the owners. The matter has only recently been brought to the notice of this Society, and in the interim part of the property has been sold for rebuilding or conversion into a shop. The purchasers have been appealed to to preserve the old features. Mr. F. C. EUiston Erwood (Blackheath) notifies the acquisition by the Borough Council of Woolwich of "Well Hall," an Elizabethan (or earlier) house, the ancient home of the Ropers. Its fate is undecided, but it is likely to be preserved and adapted to some useful purpose. Likewise the London County Council with the assistance of other local bodies in Kent and London 1 REPORT, 1929. has secured the site of Lesnes Abbey. It is not yet known what will be done with it, but Mr. Erwood is keeping an eye on the matter. Mr. E. F. Cobb (Rochester) sends the following note on the Cathedral. For many years past the lower portions of the western face of the ruined Norman Chapter House and the eastern walk of the Cloisters have been buried to the depth of about four feet. During the past year, 1929, the accumulated earth and rubbish have been removed and a new footpath laid at approximately the level of the old walk. Some of the most necessary repairs and protective works have been carried out but no general treatment of the decaying Caen stone. The Rev. R. U. Potts (Canterbury) draws attention to the recently issued Report on the Excavations in the Cloisters of St. Austin's Abbey, in which are recorded discoveries of foundations of two Cloisters older than the medieval one, two interesting kilns or furnaces, and sundry Saxon implements and late Roman coins. Mr. Potts appeals for subscriptions to enable the work of excavation to be continued. The Society has lent such assistance as it could to prevent the threatened removal of the tower, the only remaining portion, of the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Canterbury. The Tower is in great need of repair, the cost being estimated at £200, and the Rev. R. G. Cooper, Bailey House, Canterbury, will be grateful for any donations which members of the Society can contribute. Similarly, the Rev. G. H. Green, Vicar of Lympne, is seeking aid for the preservation of the little ruined church of West Hythe. These ruins are fully described in Vol. XXX. of Archceologia Cantiana, and Dr. Randall Davis, Local Secretary for Hythe, has sent a report on their present condition. He says evidence of another South doorway has been discovered in the later western addition to the nave, that the west wall has been made safe, and the place fenced in. Reference was made in the previous report to the restoration of the Abbey Gatehouse at Minster (Sheppey). The Rev. E. A. Miller writes that good progress has been made with the repair of the building itself, and it is now perfectly safe and weatherproof. The Committee has been disappointed at the lack of outside support. About £300 has been raised and spent on the scheme, and when that part of the work now being carried out is completed another £200 will be needed for the contractors. REPORT, 1929. Ii On October 19th a meeting in aid of the movement for the preservation of Rural Kent, organised by the Kent Rural Community Council, was held at Canterbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury being in the chair. The Kent Archaeological Society was represented by Sir Reginald Tower, who seconded the resolution. The Hon. Secretary attended the Annual Congress of Archaeological Societies which was held in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, on November 19th. Apart from the formal business the proceedings chiefly related to the preservation of ancient documents, on which Mr. E. A. B. Barnard made a further report. An excellent account of the meeting will be found in The Times of November 20th, 1929. The Society has been asked by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to assist it in obtaining particulars of old windmills in the County. The Hon. Secretary has been able to collect a certain amount of information and photographs and will be pleased if members of the Society and others will send to him particulars of mills in their neighbourhood. The kind of information wanted is as follows : Description of mill, whether post, smock or tower ; number of sweeps ; number of pairs of stones ; whether the mill is working or not; and if possible the name of the owner. The Society's'finances are now in a sound condition. The Income has increased, and the arrears of subscriptions stand at a small figure. The Council desires to remind members that the Annual Subscription of 10s. becomes due on the 1st January each year, and, if not paid by Bankers' Order, should be forwarded to the Collector, Mr. A. J. Lancaster, 13, Oaten Hill, Canterbury, early in the year, as by so doing labour is saved and the finances of the Society assisted. Bankers' Order forms may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, Flishinghurst, Cranbrook. On behalf of the Council, GEORGE C. DRTJOE, Hon. Secretary. 13th March, 1930.