Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1981 Council presents its one hundred and twenty-third Report and Statement of Accounts for 1980. OBITIJARY Council records with regret the death of Dr. W. G. Urry, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S., Vice-President, member since 1938 and member of Council since 1948, of whom a fuller obituary notice appears later in this volume. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meetin& was held at Gravesend on Saturday, 16th May when Council's Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for 1980 were accepted. Mr. K. A. Pollock was re-elected Auditor, with a unanimous vote of thanks for his services to the Society. OFFICERS The President, Vice-Presidents, Hon. Editor, Hon. General Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Membership Secretary, Hon. Excursions Secretary, and Hon. Curator were re-elected unopposed and the Hon. Librarian after a ballot. In recognition of his great services to the Society and to historical studies in Kent the Reverend Canon Derek Ingram Hill, M.A., F.S.A., was unanimously elected a Vice-President on the proposal of the President and the Bishop of Southampton. COUNCIL The following retiring members of Council were re-elected after a ballot: Mr. E. P. Connell, Mr. P. E. Leach, F.R.I.B.A., Mr. R. J. Spain, C.Eng., M.I.Mech.E., Mr. T. W. T. Tatton-Brown, B.A., Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A., Mr. W. N. Yates, M.A., F.R.Hist.S. In addition, Mrs. P. M. Winzar was elected for a period of two years to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mrs. M. C. Lebon, M.A. CALENDAR Material for the Calendar should reach the Hon. General Secretary by March 1st and September 1st for inclusion in each issue. MEMBERSHIP Membership of the Society in January 1981 stood at 1392, which shows a slight increase over last year's total. In a large majority of cases new members were recruited by contact with existing members, and Council appeals to all members to take every opportunity to expand the Society's numbers and so increase its influence in the County. FINANCE The income from the Margary Bequest has been used to subsidise the cost of administration and of Archaeologia Cantiana, to support the work of the Society's committees, especially the Library, to make special grants amounting to nearly £4000 and to strengthen reserves. Council recommended that the 1982 A.G.M. in May approve the following subscription rates as from 1st January, 1983: Institutional Members £10.00 Individual Members and Affiliated Societies £ 7.00 Joint Members £ 9.00 Junior Members £ 3.00 It would greatly ease the work of the Hon. Membership Secretary if members who pay by Banker's Order would amend their instructions to their banks at once. PUBLICATIONS Volume XCVI was published in 1981. The volume, much larger than in previous years, maintains its high standard under the editorship of Mr. A. P. Detsicas, B.A., M.A., F.S.A., F.S.A.Scot., and its contents cover a wide field of Archaeology and History. Collectanea Historica, a large volume of Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold, edited by the Hon. Editor, was published in December 1981. Excavations at Canterbury Castle, by P. Bennett, Professor S. S. Frere and S. Stow, which is the first volume of The Archaeology of Canterbury series, was published in January 1982 by the Society for the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. The second volume in this series, Excavations on The Roman and medieval Defences of Canterbury, will also be shortly published. LIBRARY AND MUNIMENTS COMMITTEE Work has continued on the task of cleaning and reorganising the Ii Society's collections. The journal, book, block, photograph and manuscript materials have now all been reaccessioned and recatalogued. The maps and prints await similar attention. Many of the early wood blocks are superb examples of achievement in themselves; should sufficient members express interest, they could form the basis of a Society Christmas Card. A large collection of auction particulars, etc., has been catalogued by Mr. R. J. Spain and added to the Society's collections deposited with the County Archives Office. Six chairs owned by the Society and six loaned by the Museum have been refurbished, a wall clock purchased and a pair of library steps generously donated. A programme of rebinding has been initiated. Many of the leather bindings date from the nineteenth century when the method of tanning used has been subsequently shown to lead to a. gradual disintegration. As a consequence, this work is likely to be lengthy and expensive. The arrangements for the repurchase and resale of Arch. Cant. have continued to be popular with members and societies. The travelling bookstall has maintained its popularity under the supervision of Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Connell and Mr. P. E. Oldham. The Hon. Librarian wishes to record his gratitude to the members and others who have so faithfully continued to tackle this very considerable task. Amongst others these are Mrs. W. F. Bergess, Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Connell, Mr. C.R. Councer, Mrs. A. Daniels, Mr. A. C. Harrison, Mr. D. B. Kelly, Mr. C. P. Ward and Mr. A. G. Webster. We are also obliged to Maidstone Corporation and their Curator, Mr. G. Hunter, and other staff of the Museum and of the County Library for their support in numerous ,ways. The state of reorganisation of the Library is now such that the facilities can be made available provided (a) that admission is at the discretion of the Hon. Librarian or Hon. Curator of the Society or of the Curator of Maidstone Musuem. (b) admission is solely during the normal opening hours of the Museum (currently Monday to Saturday, 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Membership cards must be shown on demand and the admissions book signed at the Museum desk on arrival and departure. In future all acquisitions will be listed in the newsletter. Gifts are gratefully acknowledged from the following: The Association of Archaeological Officers, Mr. A. P. Detsicas, Dr. P. H. G. Draper, Mr. K. W. E. Gravett, The Institute of Archaeology, Kent County Council, Mr. J. H. Money, Mr. B. J. Philp, Mr. D. G. Scurrell, and Mr. N. E. Tomaszewski. Iii EXCURSIONS 1981 Two excursions were arranged to the fo11owing sites: May 9th - Broadlands and Romsey Abbey A party of 29 members and friends left Maidstone for Guildford at 10.00 a.m. A break was made at the Cathedral refectory and there was ample time to tour the church. There were large crowds when we arrived at Broadlands at 1.30 p.m. due to the visit earlier in the day of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. This resulted in a long queue to gain admission to the house. Once inside it was possible, without too much difficulty, to appreciate what is an architectural masterpiece of Lancelot (Capability) Brown. The collection in the house is notable both for pictures and objets d'art. Unfortunately, the queueing resulted in not a few members being unable to tour a special Mountbatten exhibit. At 4 o'clock we moved on to Romsey Abbey where one of the guides spoke at length on the beauties and peculiarities of this fine church. Afterwards the lecture was in large part repeated as members were conducted round the building. The day was concluded with high tea at Maxwells Restaurant with a11 agreeing it was extremely good value served in well appointed surroundings. As so often happens the clouds, which had been around all day, broke up as the party left for home. July 9th - Vale of the White Horse - Oxon. After a twenty minute delay occasioned by last minute repairs to the coach twenty-six members set out for Childrey at 10.20 a.m. It seemed that the delay was due to a fault with the coach door and it continued to be troublesome for the whole day. Heavy traffic in both Leatherhead and Guildford and the late start did not allow us to arrive at Childrey Church until 1.45 p.m. Our member, Mr. D. A. H. Cleggett, gave members a very brief outline of the architectural points of this very interesting Perpendicular church. After this members armed with a leaflet were able to inspect the fine collection of brasses at leisure. Mr. Nigel Hammond, a local historian and schoolmaster, was our guide at the next two sites visited. From the church we moved to the remains of Childrey brickworks, by kind permission of the owner of the site, Mr. E. J. Matthews, where Mr. Hammond spoke on the history of brickmaking in the area in general and on the site in particular which had operated from the mid-nineteenth century to liii about 1940. From the brickworks it was up to White Horse Hill itself where as well as visiting the Iron Age Fort and its associated horse we were told of the more recent ceremonies connected with it. As we were due to visit Kingston Lisle House we did not have time to visit Wayland's Smithy, a long barrow from the fourth century B.C. nearby. Kingston Lisle House proved a real delight both in its eccentric architecture and its particularly individual contents. We were shown round by the owners, Capt. and Mrs. Leopold Lonsdale, and afterwards took tea on the terrace. Members were then able to wander around the gardens and visit the kitchen garden where produce was on sale. Our visit was rounded off with a visit to the adjacent village church. It proved to be a real treat with an almost intact Jacobean interior. FIELDWORK COMMITTEE Emergency excavation at Bigberry by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust was supported by a K.A.S. grant of £500. Dr. C. J. Arnold's investigations at Eastry, involving students of Leeds University, received £250. At a meeting of the Committee held in November 1981, consideration was given to various proposals for excavations sponsored by the Society but no definite commitments in this respect have yet been made. In accordance with Rule 29 of the Society it was agreed to co-opt Mr. J. Bradshaw and Mr. R. J. Cruse on to the Committee. Some major investigations in the County, hitherto supported financially by the Department of the Environment, are experiencing difficulty due to present financial stringency, and this will most regrettably threaten curtailment of these important activities. The K.A.S. is prepared to give whatever help it can, but it must be appreciated that the Society's resources are limited and it will not be possible to meet in full the large sums requested from some quarters to offset reduction of funds from Government and other sources. It is a condition of granting financial help to fieldwork undertakings that a summary, at least, of the results should be submitted for publication in Arch. Cant., and there are cases where this has not been fulfilled by recipients in recent years. Applications for grants for work to be undertaken in 1983 should be made on the appropriate form to the Hon. General Secretary by 1st November, 1982. A meeting of the newly-formed Kent Underground Research Group was held at Maidstone under the auspices of the K.A.S. on liv 21st November, 1981. A small but interested audience heard talks by Messrs. J. Bradshaw, R. LeGear and H. Pearman, the speakers being introduced by Mrs. N. Caiger in her capacity of chairman. KENT HISTORIC BUILDINGS COMMI1TEE Membership. Mr. C. R. Councer has vacated the Chair which he had occupied with enthusiasm since the inception of the Committee in 1961. H e continues as a member and his place as Chairman has been taken by Mr. R. H. Hiscock. Due to increased commitments Mr. I. W. C. Bouskill has resigned. Planning Applications. The number of applications to demolish listed buildings in whole or in part and requiring a report from members shows no decline. To some of these it has been necessary to object and where they have gone to appeal written representations have been made. However, the Committee is frequently able to offer suggestions to enable an application to be acceptable. On occasion an application is withdrawn following the Committee's comments. Buildings not the subject of applications have also engaged the members' attention particularly Otford Palace, Milton Manor Chapel, Thanington, 1 Middle Row, Ashford, and Holly Place, Shoreham. H. M. Naval Dockyard, Chatham. Committee members were conducted on a tour of the historic buildings of the dockya'.rd by Mr. J. G. Coad of the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate, D.o.E., who, having been involved in the preparation of the Report on H. M. Dockyards, was able to point out the principal features and draw attention to present and future problems. The Committee is anxious to become involved with other organisations in conservation plans and prevention of the deterioration of the buildings of this important Georgian complex during the run-down period and the loss of machinery and equipment which would greatly impair exhibition prospects. Farm Buildings Survey. At a well-attended Building Recorders' Conference, a county-wide survey of farm buildings was initiated following the successful pilot scheme in the Plaxtol parish. Volunteers at the meeting and subsequently show that surveys in at least twelve parishes are in operation and others are under consideration. A booklet and forms prepared by Mr. K. W. E. Gravett are provided and the scheme is organised by Mr. G. J. W. Winzar from 15 Manor Road, Folkestone. 'Historic Buildings of Kent' Plaques. The number of applications being lower this year, only four have been awarded. lv CHURCHES COMMITrEE The Committee continued with its policy of encouraging the conservation of outstanding sculptural memorials in Kentish churches. It commissioned Mr. Maurice Keevil to restore the Pahner monument by Nicholas Stone in the north chapel of Wingham Church. The Committee is grateful to its local member, the Hon. Henry Maude, for help in this connection. The gift by Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. of a strip of land adjoining Murston Old Church was completed. The strip contains a row of fine poplars and other trees and makes an important landscaping contribution to the setting of the medieval church now held in trust for the Society. The Committee has continued to be concerned with the problems of other redundant or threatened churches, notably Holy Trinity and St. Peter's, Maidstone, and with repairs at Molash. Towards the end of 1981 the Committee was active in encouraging the formation of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust which hopes to tackle some of the immense problems facing churches on the marsh. MEMBERSHIP AND PUBLICITY COMMITIEE The committee was formed to consider ways of improving the Society and attracting new memers. In addition to a questionnaire to all members, the results of which were analysed and summarised in the Calendar, plans have been drawn up to encourage members to participate in local history projects. The eighty-first birthday of Lt.-Col. Meates was marked by the unveiling by him of a photographic portrait and commemorative plaque at Lullingstone Vilf a. The presentation was made by the President on behalf of the K.A.S. and the Royal Photographic Society. The K.A.S. bookstall, run by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Connell, has been displayed at fifteen functions where goods valued in excess of £500 have been sold. A major revision of the K.A.S. leaflet has been undertaken and will be published in the near future. A distinctive poster blank, designed by Mr. R. Spain, will be available during 1982 for use in promoting K.A.S. activities. KENT UNDERGROUND RESEARCH GROUP The Kent Underground Research Group has been formed as a subject branch of the Kent Archaeological Society to promote the study of the origins, history and uses of all types of underground sites within the county. lvi Kent has a large variety of below surface structures ranging from ice wells dug to store meat, etc., to extensive subterranean quarries from which thousands of tons of material have been excavated. Many sites exist only in documentary sources or folk memory as the entrances have been filled and the exact location lost. A comprehensive record of all periods and types of sites and associated surface features will be maintained by the group including documentary references to 'lost' sites. Such records will be of value to both present and future researchers and also to local councils and planning authorities. The first meeting of the K.U.R.G. was held at a K.A.S. Field Archaeology Meeting in November 1981 at Maidstone. The meeting was chaired by the K.U.R.G. chairman, Mrs. N. V. Caiger. Mr. H. Pearman, a founder member of the Chelsea Speleological Society, gave the opening talk of the afternoon which showed the variety of sites in the county. The talk was illustrated with several slides including some of a large chalk mine recently investigated at Shepherds Lane, Dartford. The second speaker was Mr. J. Bradshaw, a field archaeologist of considerable experience, who outlined the methods that should be adopted when conducting parish surveys to locate sites. The last speaker was Mr. R. LeGear, the K.U.R.G. secretary and an experienced underground surveyor, who showed some simple surveying techniques that could be used to record such excavations as deneholes, small chalk-mines, etc. The meeting provided a useful interchange between surface and underground archaeologists, and the display of photographs and drawings generated much interest. The K.U.R.G. would like to thank Mr. E. P. Connell for organising the meeting and for bringing along the ever-popular K.A.S. bookstall. KENT DEFENCE RESEARCH GROUP In 1981, the Policy and Promotion Committee of the Group planned and published the first issue of a four-monthly magazine Rave/in. Associated with this are Rave/in Specials, monographs on defence subjects, intended for annual publication. In collaboration with the membership, the Committee is planning a revised and enlarged edition of the Handbook of Kent's Defences, originally published in 1977. The new edition is envisaged as a cumulative publication, to be issued in separate sections over the next few years. Much of the Committee's activity - as in the previous year - has focussed on the ever-present question of conservation. Liaison with lvii local authorities and organisations such as the National Trust has been maintained and strengthened. As a consequence the Group is steadily gaining recognition as an authority on defensive works in the county. Negotiations are continuing with Thurrock Borough Council for the lease of Coalhouse Fort to the Group. There have been fruitful discussions with the National Trust over the preservation of World War II remains along the coast between Folkestone and Dover. Liaison continues with the Kent County Council concerning military sites and the authority's "eyesore clearance" programme. The Thames Branch has continued with its restoration work at New Tavern Fort and a 6-in. breech-loading gun (1914) has been obtained to represent the last period of the fort's development. The branch has also held discussions with the Southern Water Authority which it is thought will lead to the preservation of part of Hope Point Battery, an early twentieth-century work threatened by demolition. Representations have also been made to Gravesham Borough Council which it is hoped will result in recognition for planning purposes of the historical value of three World War II antiaircraft gun battery sites and other twentieth-century defensive works within the area of the borough. A survey of the Brennan Torpedo Station at Cliffe Fort is in progress and surveys of works elsewhere in the Hoo Peninsula have been undertaken, with others planned. A book on the history of the Thames forts has been written and publication is planned for the first half of 1982. The Medway Military Research Group, an independant organisation which operates in place of a Medway Branch of the K.D.R.G., has continued with its valuable research and field survey work. It mounted another fine display of its work at the Royal Engineers' Open Day at Chatham. Negotiations for a restoration/ interpretation project at Fort Clarence, Rochester, have continued, but there seems to be no immediate prospect of M.M.R.G. being able to take over this important Napoleonic defence work. However, that group, together with the K.D.R.G., has a part in setting up a trust to save the mid-eighteenth century Napoleonic Fort Amherst at Chatham. It is proposed to restore the fort and open it up to the public as a park and picnic area, with an eventual museum development in the original garrison buildings and tunnel complex. The Dover Branch has in progress studies into the Henry VTII period defences in Kent and Sussex and into the Martello towers in the same areas. The branch has carried out recording of certain features of the nineteenth-century Western Heights defences at Dover and the layout and fonn of Dover's First World War field !viii defences are gradually being revealed through research and field surveys. The branch has also given assistance to a group of scouts which is researching and mapping the route of the Second World War "Pipeline Under the Ocean" (PLUTO) through Kent. The branch has received the records of the Second World War crossChannel guns near Dover, and it is hoped that the information they contain will contribute towards the contents of a book on this subject. Individual members have written and had published various articles on Kent's defences and a paper on U.K. fortress doctrine, 1860-1918, was delivered to a fortification conference at Dover in September 1981. K.A.S. LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY BRANCH During 1980 and 1981 the Vernacular Architecture Survey Team led by Ian Bouskill has continued to work on a wide variety of buildings, both within and, when requested, outside the borough. Within the borough boundaries further recording has taken place on the stable complex at Old House Farm, Milking Lane, Leaves Green, Biggio Hill, N.G.R. TQ 416616. In addition a preliminary survey has been made of the small double-aisled barn with queen strut roof adjacent to the complex. A minor 3-bay single-aisled barn with hipped roof was recorded at Fairtrough Farm, Pratt's Bottom, N.G.R. TQ 469614, prior to its demolition, and preliminary surveys were made of a 6-bay singleaisled barn and a timber-framed granary raised on 20-brick pile staddles at the same farm. Just outside the borough preliminary surveys have been made of three barns (one double-aisled, one single-aisled and one aisle-less) at Middle Farm, Cray Road, Crockenhill, N.G.R. TQ 501671. Analysis has also been started on the farmhouse itself- a U-shaped complex, part of which was originally an open-hall house with a small cross-wing, the unit now being merged with another structure at right angles which displays late-sixteenth/early seventeenthcentury chamfer stops and stands above a flint-lined cellar. Preliminary surveys have also been made at 111/ 113 High Street, Bexley, two timber-framed buildings at right angles to each other now incorporated as one refaced building, retaining elements of the two original roof structures up to the collars within the new roof structure. WeH outside the borough, the opportunity has been taken to record and analyse timber-framed buildings in Normandy utilising either upper base cruck trusses or king-posts. In view of the gradual lix emergence of early examples of king-posts now being discovered in Kent, this can be looked on as a logical extension of the survey. A request has been made for the team to examine a building in Hiidenborough which should take place in 1982. Lectures have been given on basic vernacular architecture to K.A.S. affiliated societies and assistance rendered to the Kent Historic Buildings Committee o n the Appraisal Reports for Bickley and Orpington prepared by the Bromley Borough Council. BUILDING RECORDERS The eighteenth annual Conference of Building Recorders was held on Saturday, November 7th, 1981, and the subject was Farm Buildings. Most appropriately, it was held in the Church Hall at Charing, a re-erected, late seventeenth-century barn. There was a record attendance of over one hundred members of the K.A.S. and local history societies. The chair was taken by Mr. L. R. A. Grove, chairman of the County Local History Committee. First Mr. K. W. E. Gravett spoke on 'Farm Buildings, their Construction and Use' and discussed the very wide variety remaining within the County, for crops, animals and machinery. They ranged, in size, from the large medieval barns of the great ecclesiastical estates to bee houses and, in date, from the medieval up to the modern milking parlour. Some time ago, the Historic Buildings Committee called for volunteers for a pilot survey of the farm buildings in a parish and that for Plaxtol had just been completed by Mrs. M. Lewis and Mrs. J. Semple. Both ladies were present at the meeting and Mrs. Semple spoke of their discoveries and experiences. She gave a great deal of practical advice on the organisation of such a project. Mr. Gravett called for the recording scheme to be extended to the whole County, since so much was in danger of disappearing. He had prepared a small booklet of notes and a copy of this was given to everyone present. He emphasized that this work was for historical research purposes and was in no way connected with the planning authorities. Mr. G. J. W. Winzar had volunteered to act as secretary for the scheme and all queries should be addressed to him. The chairman, Mr. L. R. A. Grove, thanked the speakers, Mr. P. Lambert for providing and operating the projector and Mr. and Mrs. G. J. W. Winzar for their help with the arrangements. 1st January, 1982. Ix By order of the Council A. C. HARRISON, Hon. General Secretary