Annual Report and Accounts

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1939. %hz ttteolagkal Jlorietji REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DEOEMBEE, 1939. IN presenting their eighty-first Report, together with the Accounts for 1939, the Council would remind members of the notice that was issued shortly after the outbreak of hostilities. They repeat here the last paragraph of that notice : " The Council wish to make a particular appeal to members to continue their support of the Society, which cannot function without the financial backing given by their contributions, but if funds can be conserved, the more important work can be carried on for the time being, and when the war ends full activities quickly resumed." It will be apparent from the paragraphs which follow that the effects of war have been felt in various directions. MEMBERSHIP. The following figures show the position as regards membership : December, December, Honorary Members Affiliated Societies Other Societies and Institutions Life Members Ordinary Members Total Members Societies in Union 1938. 4 9 72 66 829 980 37 1939 4 9 72 65 793 943 37 Thirty-nine new members were admitted during the year and there were 76 deaths and resignations. Since the outbreak of hostilities applications for membership have almost ceased and xxxvi REPORT, 1939. the attainment of the goal of 1,000 members cannot be looked for in present circumstances. CHANGES. In their eightieth Report the Council referred to the death, early in 1939, of the President of the Society, Sir Reginald Tower. At the Annual General Meeting Major M. Teiehman Derville, O.B.E., M.A., F.S.A., E.R.G.S., was unanimously elected to the Presidential chair in succession to Sir Reginald Tower. The Council note with regret the death of Lord Brabourne, a Vice-President of the Society, and of Dr. Charles Cotton and Mr. H. W. Plumptre, elected members of the Council. Dr. A. G. Little did not seek re-election to the Council on the expiration of his term of office, and the election of Major Teiehman Derville to the Presidentship created another vacancy on that body. Three vacancies have been filled by the election of Messrs. J. Herbert Bolton and C. R. Councer, and Miss Anne Roper. Major T. M. Usborne having retired from office as Hon. Excursion Secretary for East Kent, the vacancy was filled by Lieut-.Col. S. H. Page, C.M.G. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. The Annual General Meeting was held on 18th April, in Maidstone Museum, by the courtesy of the Museum Committee. Dr. P. WiUiam Cock took the chair and presided over a morning attendance of about sixty members. After the confirmation of the minutes Dr. Cock referred to the loss sustained by the Society by the death of Sir Reginald Tower, and the widespread feeling of regret and of sympathy for his relatives. He also spoke in similar terms of the death of Surgeon-Captain Kenneth Jones, whose kmdliness and readiness to help the Society had been especially shown in his much appreciated addresses at excursion meetings. Dr. Cock next proposed from the chair the election as President of the Society of Major M. Teiehman Derville, the High Sheriff of Kent, whose position in the county and whose interest in archaeology combined to qualify him for the office. Canon Potts seconded the nomination and Major Teiehman Derville was thereupon unanimously elected. The Hon. Treasurer briefly reviewed the Accounts for the year 1938, which he said presented no special features but were generally satisfactory. He referred to the reduced content of REPORT, 1939. xxxvii the current volume of Archteologia Cantiana, due to increased printing charges, but pointed out that members would receive for 1939 not only the normal volume but also, if they so desired, the new General Index. The Report and Accounts were adopted. Dr. A. G. Little, one of the retiring members of the Council, did not seek re-election, and to fill the vacancy so arising Mr. J. Herbert Bolton was elected. The other retiring members, Mrs. T. G. Gardiner, Dr. Irene J. Churchill, Dr. T. Armstrong Bowes, Dr. P. W. Cock and Mr. E. P. B. Richardson were duly re-elected. The Hon. Auditors, Messrs. Allwork & Chittenden, were also re-elected with a cordial vote of thanks to them for their services. Seven new members of the Society were admitted. The question of the disposal or retention of the gold armillae belonging to the Society, which had been carried over from the previous general meeting, again provoked an animated discussion, the result of which was the reference of the matter to the Council for further consideration, after Dr. Gordon Ward had urged the need of obtaining funds for preparing a Schedule of Ancient Buildings and for cataloguing the great number of documents belonging to the Society. The proposals for the Summer and Autumn Excursions were outlined by the Hon. Excursion Secretaries, and on the announcement of the impending retirement of Major T. M. Usborne, who has for long organized the excursions in East Kent, a very hearty vote of thanks for his services was accorded to him. After lunch members brought their friends to hear two lectures. Mr. John E. Ray, P.R.Hist.S., delivered a much appreciated address on A Tour in Kent three hundred years ago, full of points of interest and touches of humour, and illustrated by a wealth of slides of rare old prints of the places visited. Mr. Chas. C. Elam followed with a lecture on the little-known subject of Medieval Masons' Marks, and held his audience through what Dr. Cock afterwards described as a veritable sermon in stones. Both lecturers received the hearty thanks of the meeting, as also did the Corporation of Maidstone for the use of their rooms and other facilities, and Mr. Richard Cooke for his hospitality in providing tea for the whole company. In the gallery outside the lecture room was an interesting exhibition of Bygones of the Hop Industry arranged by Dr. Gordon Ward. xxxviii REPORT, 1939. COUNCIL. Three ordinary meetings and one special meeting of the Council were held during the year for the transaction of current business. Amongst the matters dealt with were efforts to preserve several historic or archseologically interesting buildings from detriment or destruction, including Temple Manor, Strood, the collection for H.M. Office of Works of information as to the state of certain ancient monuments in Kent churchyards, and the modifications in normal procedure necessitated by the outbreak of war. OLDBURY EXCAVATION FUND. The balance of this fund, which stood at £23 14s. lOd. a year ago, has now been absorbed in the following manner : £ s. d. Contribution towards the cost of illustrating the Report on the Excavations .. .. .. 16 17 6 Offprints of Report, postage and stationery .. 6 17 4 £23 14 10 Members of the Kent Archseological Society will find a copy of Mr. Ward Perkins' report on the excavations in the current volume of Archozologia Cantiana. The offprints are being sent, primarily, to contributors to the fund who are not members of the Society, but a limited number of copies will be available for contributor-members who may wish to have them, and may be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary. LlBRAEY AND COLLECTION. Gifts to the Society, which the Council have received with much appreciation, include Court Rolls and other records of the Manor of Lamberhurst (Mr. W. Morland), documents formerly belonging to the Hon. Henry Hannen (the Hon. Mrs. Hannen), twenty volumes of sketches of Kent churches and notes thereon, by the late C. H. Drake (Miss Louisa V. Drake), particulars of wills, pedigrees, etc., of Kent families of the name of Hooper (Miss H. J. Hooper), C. Roach Smith's Collectanea Antigua, Vols. 3, 5, 6, 7 (Mr. Lewis Biggs), photographs of old buildings in Deal (Mr. W. P. D. Stebbing), a bequest of books and documents by the late C. H. Golding Bird, including the copyright of his book entitled The History of Meopham, together with many REPORT, 1939. xxxix copies of the second edition of that work; a transcript of the registers of Speldhurst, including Groombridge and Tunbridge WeUs Chapel (St. Charles the Martyr) (Colonel F. WaU) ; Surrey Quarter Sessions Becords, Vol. VIII, 1938 : Sessions Boll, 1663-6 (Surrey County CouncU) ; A Manor through four Centuries, by A. R. Cook, 1938 (The Author); Kent Local History Catalogue, 1939 (Kent County Library) ; Hops and Hop-pickers, by Rev. J. Y. Stratton, 1883 (Dr. Gordon Ward) ; The Stone Age in Africa, by L. S. B. Leakey, 1936 (Capt. H. Lewis) ; A Survey of the Pre-history of the Farnham District, 1939 (Surrey Archaeological Society), three Manuscript Note-books of Canon Scott Robertson containing notes on faroily histories, architectural features of Kent churches, etc. (Rev. Canon S. W. Wheatley). Books bought include Dartford, Further Historical Notes, by S. K. Keyes, 1938 ; The Family of Twysden and Twisden, by Sir John R. Twisden, Bart,, and C. H. Dudley Ward, 1939 ; and Ashford Wills, 1461-1558, by A. Hussey, 1938. ACCOUNTS. The Accounts show an excess of expenditure over income of £16 3s. 5d. and a credit balance at the bank of £862 8s. This latter sum will be heavfiy drawn upon in the near future for payment of the cost of the new General Index to Volumes XX to XLV of Archozologia Cantiana. The finances of the Society are in a satisfactory state, but a difficult year lies ahead. Arrears of subscriptions are very smaU. ABCHMOLOGIA CANTIANA. Members wUl notice a change in the colour of the cover of the new volume which has recently been issued. The CouncU are advised that the present cover, unlike its predecessor, is practicaEy fadeless, and it is for that reason that the new colour has been adopted. It is hoped that the contents of the volume wiU commend themselves to readers no less than those of earUer volumes. Donations to the Illustrations Fund, which this year include a substantial contribution towards the cost of Ulustrating the important Report on the Excavations at Oldbury HU1, totaUed £28 18s. lid., as compared with £7 9s. 3d. in 1938. Additional support from members for this useful fund would be welcomed. xl REPORT, 1939. RECORDS BRANCH. During the year the Records Branch have received about sixty documents for safe custody, including papers relating to the families of Savage of Cobham and Clerke of Rochester. The first part of Kent Feet of Fines (1182-1236) and the eighth part of the Begister of Bishop Hamo Hethe have been issued to subscribers to the Branch. PLAOE-NAMES. Mr. F. W. Jessup (Autumn Cottage, Ditton, Maidstone), writes as foUows : " The steady accumulation of material, which wiU one day form the basis of the English Place-name Society's volume on the place-names of Kent, stiU continues. The outbreak of war is bound to make stiU more distant the date when the Kent volume wiU appear, but meanwhUe there is no reason why the accumulation of material should not proceed. Any assistance that can be given in the survey of field-names referred to in previous reports wiU be particularly welcome." EXCURSIONS. The Summer Excursion, on 26th and 27th June, was held in the North-eastern corner of Kent, and began with a visit to Minster Church, where, in the absence of Dr. F. C. Eeles, F.S.A., owing to an accident, the Rev. Canon R. TJ. Potts, F.S.A., kindly gave an account of the buUding to a company of about 100 members and their friends. A drive of about six mUes foUowed —to Stonar, a deserted medieval occupation site not previously visited by the Society. Here Mr. W. P. D. Stebbing, F.S.A., explained the geological and topographical features of the district, with particular reference to the shingle bank on which the settlement once stood, and also exhibited specimens of the thirteenth and fourteenth century pottery found by Mr. B. W. Pearce, F.S.A., and himself in the course of excavations on the site. By the courtesy of the Rev. M. Visoher the church plate, including a Communion cup once belonging to Catherine of Aragon, was to be seen at St. Mary's Vicarage, Sandwioh. Lunoh was afterwards taken and Major F. W. Tomlinson gave an address on " Old Sandwioh " before the dining-room was left. The afternoon was devoted to Riohborough Castle, a Roman town site having so much to interest the archaeologist that it can REPORT, 1939. xii hardly be visited too often. After a preliminary talk by Mr. Stebbing, the party was taken round in two sections—Mr. Pearce and himself acting as guides and lecturers. Members who had been to Richborough before noted a good many new features, the discoveries of recent years. Canon Potts took charge again at Ash Church, pointing out the notable features of one of the most interesting of East Kent churches, and the company afterwards drove to Wingham for tea and then dispersed. There was a rather smaUer gathering on the second day of the excursion, when the first places to be visited were Northbourne Church and Court. At the church the Rector, the Rev. W. SeUers, welcomed the company and Canon Potts again undertook the duties of lecturer. Mr. Stebbing foUowed, with an account of the history of Northbourne Court dehVered in the old-world terraced gardens round which, by the courtesy of Lord Northbourne, the visitors were free to wander. After lunching in Deal, Walmer Castle was visited, by kind permission of the Marquess of Willingdon, and here again the facilities accorded to the party to see much of the Castle and the whole of the beautiful grounds were greatly appreciated and enjoyed. Mr. Stebbing read some notes on the Castle and exhibited eighteenth-century plans. Eastry Church and Court and Woodnesborough Church were the last two items of the day's programme, Lieut.-Colonel S. H. Page, C.M.G., delivering an interesting address at both places. I t was the last day of Major T. M. Usborne's term of office as Hon. Excursion Secretary and there was a widespread feeling of gratitude to him for his work in organizing so many successful excursions in East Kent. The general regret at his retirement was tempered by the recognition that in Lieut.-Colonel Page the Society have secured an efficient successor in office as well as a competent lecturer. The autumn excursion, which had been arranged to take place on 19th September, when places near Maidstone were to be visited, was abandoned. REPORTS OIT LOCAL SECRETARIES. Mr. EUiston Erwood reports the continuance for the second year of thefte-exoavation of Lesnes Abbey, Erith, by the London County CouncU, he himself acting in an advisory capacity as regards both excavation and the preservation of the excavated portion. The complete recovery of the remains of the buildings xlii REPORT, 1939. wUl take at least another two years, but work is now suspended. The laying out of the nave and aisles of the church, the refectory, western range and cloister is practicaUy completed. The Lady chapel is finished but the choir is stUl in process of excavation. The site of the high altar has been found and marked, but aU the remamder, including the north transept with its three chapels, the sacristy and chapter house, the dormitory and its associated buUdings and the infirmary are yet to be uncovered or repaired. Many interesting discoveries have been made especiaUy in parts not uncovered by the Woolwich Antiquarian Society in the excavations of 1909-13. Chief among them are a fine series of sepulchral slabs, including one with an incised effigy and another with an inscription to Roesia of Dover, granddaughter of the founder. What was probably the lady's heart was discovered near the slab (which had been moved) in a smaU lead canister deposited in a tUed recess. The lead pipe that conveyed the abbey water supply from its source on the hUl above to the domestic buUdings was discovered in situ, crossing the church in a N.—S. direction. Other detaUs wUl require shght modification of the plan already published,* but this and a more detaUed account of the finds mentioned must await the completion of the work. Another interesting preservation is that of one of the great sixteenth century timber barns—the so-caUed " tithe barns " of which at one time there were seven or eight in the borough of Woolwich. This one—the last of them—is on the Co-operative Estate, Abbey Wood, and has been acquired by the Borough CouncU. It was used at one time as a slaughter-house. Its future use has not yet been decided. Two parts of the New Records of Woolwich have been pubhshed by the Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society and a third part is in preparation. The Greenwich and Lewisham Antiquarian Society pubhshed during the summer Vol. IV, No. 2, of the Society's Transactions, containing papers on local church plate, the Manor of Lewisham, Wealden Dens, and Blackheath. Members of the Society have prepared typed copies of a further portion of the parish registers of St. Alfege, Greenwich, covering the period 1637-60. Most activities, however, have been temporarUy suspended. Mr. A. Cumberland reports for the Dartford distriot as follows: " The Electricity Power Station whioh has been built * Lesnes Abbey, by A. W, Olapliam, F.S.A. 1915. REPORT, 1939. xliii on Littlebrook Marshes, has covered the greater part of the Saxon ' tide-waUs ' recorded by F. C. J . SpurreU in his plan on p. 311, Archceologia Cantiana, XVIII. Many years of grazing and occasional flooding have so far obliterated the banks that their position has become somewhat conjectural. The original land surface of the Power Station site has been completely buried and the new level brought up to correspond with the height of the Thames waU ; chalk for this purpose has been excavated from a new section cut in TroUing-downs, between Green Street Road and Gore Lane. The foundations in Chapel Field, Farningham, mentioned in the last report, have been excavated and have revealed a rectangular bunding, 30 feet 6 inches by 17 feet 5 inches inside measurements, with waUs 3 feet thick. Flint rubble had been used as bunding material. Darenth Roman VUla site, which was excavated by this Society in 1894-5, has now become so overgrown with bushes as to be almost derelict. " Dr. Gordon Ward has reported the finding on the Bradbourne Estate, Sevenoaks, of a seal matrix consisting of a thin, circular plaque of lead, measuring one inch in diameter. In the centre is a crude floral design and around it the inscription S'. ION'E. FIL'. IVONI—the seal of Joan, daughter of Ivo. Nothing is known locaUy of this lady. The seal is probably of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Early in 1939 Miss V. Ehzabeth Buxton reported that in bunding a house (Spinners' Wood) on the edge of Fawke Common, Sevenoaks, an old ride was dug up and a made road of stones found below (6-inch sheet Kent, XL, N.W., 1-5 cm. from E. edge, 9-5 cm. above S. edge). Mr. Frank Godwin visited the site and saw a heap of rag-stones said to have been dug up two to three feet below the surface of the ride, which runs in a south-west direction towards Knole. Nothing more could be made of the find. Lieut.-Col. S. H. Page reports the finding by Dr. A. J. K. Drew, of Ramsgate, of human bones scuffled out by rabbits in burrowing at Crundale (6-inch sheet Kent 126, square A13, about I inch S.W. of the C of Crundale). The site may be that of a barrow and the matter is in the hands of Mr. R. F. Jessup for investigation, when practicable. Mr. 0. E. Fisher reports that during the digging of A.R.P. trenches at North Borough School, Peel Street, Maidstone, numerous pottery fragments were found at two sites, both about xliv REPORT, 1939. four feet below the present surface. From one of these the remains of a Belgic cordoned pedestal urn and sherds and rim fragments, etc., of other Belgic types have been recovered. The other site yielded sherds of large pots of medieval type. Mrs. G. E. Wood has reported that some very large stones have been dredged from the Medway about 200 yards north of Aylesford bridge, near the Friars. They may possibly have been stepping-stones at the ford, but the avaUable evidence is too slight to justify any definite conclusion. AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. The Dartford District Antiquarian Society carried through its usual extensive programme of winter lectures and summer excursions. The Transactions of the Society for the year 1938 include a valuable report on the excavation of the Saxon cemetery at Riseley, Horton Kirby, with a detaUed list of 115 burials and of the contents of each grave. The personal ornaments, glass, pottery vessels and weapons found at Riseley, together with ornaments from the Jutish cemetery at Howletts, near Canterbury (lent by the PoweU-Cotton Museum) were placed on view at a special exhibition of Anglo-Saxon antiquities from Kent, in the Prehistoric Room at the British Museum, in 1938. It is hoped to pubhsh a fuUer notice of the Riseley finds in the 1940 volume of Archmologia Cantiana. Mr. A. J. PhUip, Hon. General Secretary of the Gravesend and District Scientific and Archseological Society, reports the discovery of human and animal bones at a depth of four feet, at the Electricity Transformer Station, Pepper HU1. Some of the bones, together with a smaU earthenware vessel, have disappeared, but the remaining bones were examined by Dr. A. J . E. Cave, of the Royal CoUege of Surgeons, who states that the remains are those of a fuUy mature adult, probably weU past the fortieth year of age. The general robust build and size of the bones suggest the male. The cranium agrees in general characters with Anglo-Saxon specimens in the Museum of the Royal CoUege of Surgeons, but Dr. Cave points out that whfle the skeleton appears to be Saxon, it is only by archseological evidence that it could be surely dated. I t is hoped that examination of the animal bones and of some associated metal objects may afford material for more definite conclusions in due course. REPORT, 1939. xlv The Beckenham Society undertook a lengthy programme of excursions during the spring, summer, and autumn, a special feature having been a visit to Toots Wood, Beckenham, where Roman pottery is said to have been discovered in 1884, and also certam inverted conical pits, the object of which is not known, but which, it is suggested, are hkely to be of pre-Roman date. The attention of members is again invited to the notices printed on the back of the title-page of " Archseologia Cantiana ". They show when and to whom subscriptions should be paid and contain other information designed to facilitate business and promote the convenience of members. At the present time the prompt payment of subscriptions wUl be especially appreciated. By order of the CouncU, EDWARD HARRISON, Hon. Gen. Secretary. March, 1940. ADDENDUM. The CouncU have been asked to bring the foUowing announcement to the notice of members : SCHEME FOR RECORDING FOLK-LORE OF PREHISTORIC REMAINS. It has been decided, by the CouncU of the Folk-lore Society, to prepare and pubUsh a coUection of items relating to the folklore of prehistoric monuments and implements in England. The co-operation of members of the Kent Archseological Society is invited to help to make this coUection as fuU and accurate as possible. A more detaUed outline of the scheme appears in Folk-lore for December, 1939. I shaU be happy to supply intending helpers with a copy of this memorandum and shaU be glad to hear from anyone interested. L. V. GRLNSELL, c/o Royal Anthropological Institute, 21 Bedford Square, London, W.C.I.