A Memorial to the Battle of the Medway in AD 43
As one of the Society's Vice Presidents, I recently submitted to the Council a proposal to erect on the banks of the Medway, between Maidstone and Rochester, an inscribed stone commemorating the crossing of the river by Vespasian, the future Roman Emperor.
The Council decided by a large majority to support this project in principle, since the battle was one of the most decisive ever fought on British soil, and there is nothing to commemorate it on the ground. There was some debate on how the battle developed, and less than unanimity on where the memorial should be sited.
The evidence is literary, archaeological and topographical. The main literary source is Dio Cassius's History (written in Greek, some 170 years after the event), where he tells us that in the late summer of AD 43 an army of four legions, plus auxiliaries, under the command of Aulus Plautius, landed in Britain, probably at Richborough, where they formed a temporary camp. They then advanced along the North Downs towards 'a river', which is generally agreed to be the Medway.
Dio says that the British levies under Caratacus were drawn up on the far bank, 'rather carelessly', because they thought that the Romans would find it impossible to cross the river without a bridge. Plautius surprised them by two methods. First he sent his German auxiliaries to swim across, perhaps in the area of the present M2 bridge, and immobilise the British chariots by hamstringing their horses. Secondly, he ordered Vespasian to lead his legion, the Legio II Augusta, to find a crossing higher up, and take the enemy by surprise on their other flank. There he was joined by at least one other legion, and together they defeated Caratacus in a two-day battle, forcing his withdrawal beyond the Thames. The Emperor Claudius was then sent for (with elephants!) to capture Camulodunum (Colchester), the British capital. This was a token victory. The decisive battle had already been won on the Medway.
My proposal is to site a simple monument on the east bank of the river opposite Snodland church. Soundings have shown that in the 1st century AD the tide reached no further than this point, and most scholars agree that there was a ford here until quite recent times, probably the crossing place of the ancient trackway which we now know as the Pilgrims' Way. Downstream, a crossing by a large body of men would have been virtually impossible owing to the deep silt deposited by the tide below each bank. It seems very likely that Vespasian was directed by natives towards this ford, and found it unguarded, because it was remote from the heights near Cuxton, where the British levies would have been massed. Dr Detsicas has excavated a military ditch of mid-1st-century date at Eccles, only half-a-mile away, which might have been part of a temporary camp located close to the nearest ford.
The evidence seems to me definitive enough to justify the siting of a memorial on the river bank between Snodland and Burham churches (see sketch-map), where it would be approached by an existing footpath. The inscription would start, 'Near this place .. .', not 'At this place', to allow for the doubts that have been expressed.
As a suitable block of Kentish ragstone has been presented by the quarry-owner, Pat Gallagher, the cost would not be great. The K.A.S. has offered to subscribe £200, should it be needed. Individual contributors are invited to send donations to Miss Alison Eames, Maidstone Museum, St Faith's Street, Maidstone, ME14 lLH, making out their cheques to 'Maidstone Borough Council (Vespasian)'. The Museum is co-sponsor of the project.
Nigel Nicolson FSA
Initial Experiences with a G.P.S.
GPS stands for global positioning system and a GPS is a small radio receiver designed to listen to signals from navigational satellites. The United States Government maintains 22 of these orbiting around the world and the success of the Gulf War was greatly aided by the precise measurement of position made possible by receiving and comparing the signals from them. For commercial use the signals are degraded (and in the event of war are liable to further degradation). The accuracy claimed is within 15 meters (i.e. it will tell you its position to within 15m, wherever you are in the world). It is possible to improve this to 5m by comparing the signal with that at a base station in a fixed position and a computer program is available to do this.
Such systems are particularly useful to yachtsmen and they include a computer which tells you how to navigate to a position fed into the device (e.g. the next port). Since they are mainly used for navigation they give position in latitude and longitude to the nearest second of arc and height to the nearest foot. More expensive versions have the same accuracy, but have extra navigational information and may be more sensitive, finding the satellites more quickly. They will not work indoors, but an external aerial is available to mount on a car.
These devices have been slowly coming down in price and I felt that one ought to be useful in archaeological work. I had hoped to be able to use one in the preparation of the Kent Historic Buildings Index, hoping to stand at the front door of a house, press the button and read off the National Grid Reference. It will not do this as the frequencies in use demand 'line of sight' to the satellites and to work properly it must be able to receive signals from four satellites. A few years ago I had a demonstration from a yacht chandlers off Piccadilly and it was not possible to use it nearer than the centre of Green Park. It is basically for use in the open and the instruction book warns yachtsmen that it will not work too close to a line of cliffs. In spite of this, I fell for one when I saw that the price had fallen below £200. I bought it in Brighton. It would not work in the grounds of the Royal Pavilion, but did so along the Marine Parade. To start it one has to set it to the latitude and longitude of the nearest town in a world table in the instruction book - in my case LONDON. This is so that it goes straight to the appropriate satellites. If you don't do this it will try all 22 in sequence, taking over half an hour to do so. It works best when held at arm's length above the head, but still takes five minutes to read. If it can only find three satellites it reads latitude and longitude, but not height. You know that it is working when it tells the time (in hours, minutes and seconds), in the same way as a radio-controlled clock. Most models bought in this country provide the option (coded OSGB) of the National Grid, although this is in the form of two letters and six figures (i.e. to 100m.), the latitude and longitude being more precise. It gives good readings in open country and usually works on station overbridges. I lent it to a friend who is a keen hill walker and he said that it was very good and tried some of the navigation programs, which he found useful. Another friend used one effectively while excavating in the Middle East, where a layer of sand obliterated the site each morning and he was able to relocate it.
However, we hope that Kent may be chosen for one of the pilot recording schemes for portable antiquities under the new legislation and the County Archaeologist, John Williams, has asked that finds should be located to 10m, requiring 2 letters and 8 figures. To do this with my equipment would require the ability to translate from latitude and longitude (just possible, but difficult on a 1:25000 Pathfinder Map), and really requiring the base station.
Hence the GPS available doesn't quite do the job we require, but the technology should be watched as improvements are being made and it is so nearly there.
Kenneth Gravett
Bicentenary of the 1797 Naval Mutinies
This year marks the bicentenary of a series of momentous naval mutinies that brought temporary paralysis to what was then the world's largest maritime power. In various fleet anchorages, the crews of a hundred or more ships refused to sail. Through careful organization and a well-developed system of communication, more than 40,000 sailors gave their support to the cause. Nothing like it had ever before been witnessed and nothing like it has been seen since.
The county of Kent was very much at the epicenter of events. Ships lying in the River Medway, off Gravesend and in the Downs were among those that mutinied. But it was the important naval anchorage of the Nore that attracted most attention. Here, just over twenty ships hoisted the red flag, these soon to be joined by a squadron of ships from Yarmouth Roads. They were the battleships of the North Sea Fleet. Instead of reinforcing Admiral Duncan's blockade of Texel, the crews of these ships had chosen to join the cause.
For the government of the day, it was an unenviable situation. The war in Europe was going badly, with both the Dutch and French intent upon invasion. In such a situation, the Royal Navy was normally the first line of defense. Should the French sail from Brest, or the Dutch from Texel, enemy troops might soon be on British soil.
The demands of those seamen at the Nore were clear and uncompromising. Consisting of eight neatly written articles, they included the right to shore leave when a ship was in harbor, payment of arrears of wages, an advance of pay for those newly impressed into the service, fairer distribution of prize money, and the introduction of a reformed system of punishment. None of these requests was particularly unreasonable, and each was eventually introduced during the next century. After all, was it right to expect a man to work and not be paid for three years? Was it right that someone unwillingly forced into naval service should be trapped on board a wooden prison for a possible three years or more? Was it right that those who took the greatest risk in battle (the ordinary seaman) should receive a pittance of any prize money (money for captured ships)? Was it right that an Admiral not even present at the scene of conflict should receive an entire one-eighth of the value of any prize? This was half as much as that received by all of the seamen combined!
Despite the reasonableness of these demands, the government proved itself intransigent. Although a few improvements had been introduced, following a similar mutiny at Spithead, Prime Minister William Pitt angrily informed the Admiralty that no further concessions were to be made. Instead, preparations were undertaken to crush the mutiny by force. Off Gravesend, the newly launched and Deptford-built 98-gun Neptune was prepared for battle. On board, she gathered together those few seamen who remained loyal to the government. The combination of rapidly diminishing victuals and the increasing realization that no concessions would be granted led to each and every crew lowering the red flag and replacing it with either a blue or white flag or occasionally that of the Union.
Despite this peaceful surrender, a government witch hunt began. Many of the leaders of the mutiny were court-martialed and hanged. A good number of lesser activists were also punished in a variety of ways. Among those executed was Richard Parker, the elected president of what had been termed 'the Floating Republic'.
To commemorate these unique and important events, a special conference is to be held at the Chatham Historic Dockyard on 5 July 1997. Guest speakers will explore a range of topics associated with the mutiny. My own chosen subject will examine how contemporary county newspapers of Kent informed their readers of the passing events. In addition, Brian Lavery, a much-published writer on maritime affairs, will be looking at lower deck life; Jonathan Neale will explore the topic of naval discipline, and Ann Coats will summarize events that took place at the earlier Spithead mutiny. A number of other papers will also be given. Tickets for the conference are available at £12 (£7 unwaged) from the 1797 Committee (44 Lindley Avenue, Southsea, PO4 9NU).
As a member of the Kent Archaeological Society and one of the organizers of the Nore conference, I would like to indicate my gratitude to the Society for the special research grant that I was given. This has allowed me to photocopy an extensive number of original documents held at both the Public Records Office and British Library. Eventually, this material, both indexed and transcribed, will be deposited in the KAS library at Maidstone.
Members of the KAS may also be interested to know that two publications will be available at the Chatham conference in July. They are a collection of documents relating to the Nore mutiny (price £5) and a reprint of John Gale Jones's Sketch of a Political Tour Through Rochester, Chatham &c., first published in 1795. John Gale Jones was a member of the radical London Corresponding Society, and an introduction to the book draws several links between Jones's visit to North Kent and the subsequent naval mutinies. Both books may be purchased from the 1797 Committee, with the John Gale Jones book also available from the publisher, Baggins Bookshop of Rochester High Street.
Philip MacDougall
New From the Library: An appeal
Most members will know that we have recently purchased a high-quality computer. This has all the usual facilities plus a special program devised by our member Dan Jones. It is being used to catalogue details of the thousands of visual images such as engravings and old glass negatives which we hold. Work is now progressing to include an actual image with every entry. Already an inquiry to produce every reference for say, fonts; and then those of medieval or earlier origin can be answered in a fraction of a second thanks to the work of Mike Perring and others.
Our next plan is to acquire the knowledge and equipment needed to speed the actual image input and to improve the quality of the stored images. We also intend to put the Library book catalogue onto the computer. One day this could also have a direct link to the records of the County Local Studies collections.
The possibilities are great, for example, to include comprehensive lists of Kent churches, historic buildings, genealogies, and membership. It could also provide facilities for desktop publishing. The potential is already there to associate facts and ideas and to cut costs with a minimum of training.
To further these aims, we seek your suggestions and possible participation in a Computer Group. If you are interested please write, giving brief details to me at The Museum, St. Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LH
Peter Draper Hon. Librarian
Notes from the County Archaeologist
Introduction
I think it is true to say that Kent is probably presently the busiest county in England archaeologically as a result of development activity in connection with Rail Link and Thames Gateway, as well as other projects elsewhere in the County. Certainly there is no prospect currently of archaeological boredom setting in. The intention of this short piece is to bring members up to date with some recent happenings and initiatives - more perhaps in subsequent issues of the Newsletter.
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link
By the time that this Newsletter is published archaeological field-evaluation for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link should be well underway. In addition to a separate contract for work in the Ebbsfleet Valley, one of the most sensitive parts of the route archaeologically, four other contracts for trial excavation are covering a further 35 potential archaeological 'sites'. The archaeological project, with intensive fieldwork over the next two years covering a route-length of 108 kilometres, will probably be the largest such venture ever undertaken in this country.
Preliminary studies have been going on for several years involving desk-top studies, fieldwalking, geophysical survey and some trial trenching. A comprehensive archaeological study by the Oxford Archaeological Unit formed part of the Environmental Statement. Access for detailed field Investigations was, however, limited prior to the Royal Assent for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act in December of last year. Union Railways and London and Continental Engineering, working within the provisions of the Act, are now embarking on a major programme of archaeological fieldwork, firstly evaluation and then more intensive excavation of selected areas. The work will involve a number of archaeological contractors; English Heritage and my own team, working closely with the District Councils affected by the route, will be monitoring the work and seeking to ensure that the opportunity is seized to make a major contribution to the understanding of the archaeology of Kent.
A Digest of PPG 16 Archaeological Work
Since the introduction of PPG 16 in 1990 a considerable amount of archaeological work has been generated through the planning process, not all of which has yet been published or indeed will be published. We are presently working on a digest of this and other similar work, summarising what has been found and indicating where to go to get further information. When complete the digest will be submitted to Archaeologia Cantiana. It is our intention then to provide regular updates.
Anglo-Saxon Dispersed Rural Settlement in Kent
While Anglo-Saxon Kent is well known for its rich Pagan Saxon cemeteries, settlement evidence has been rather sparse outside Canterbury. The last year, however, has produced evidence of two dispersed settlements in east Kent. Firstly work ahead of the Whitfield-Eastry bypass by Canterbury Archaeological Trust for KCC Highways has uncovered the remains of two small timber halls and five sunken featured buildings dating to the sixth century.
Secondly work by Wessex Archaeology on a Tesco's supermarket site near Ramsgate has uncovered a further group of five sunken-featured buildings (as well as a late bronze age rectangular post-built structure). The work has demonstrated that there are surely other such sites waiting to be found in Kent, but that they will be difficult to find: in retrospect the sites could so easily have been missed in spite of systematic archaeological evaluation and indeed in both cases the decision to strip fairly large areas was critical.
John Williams
Head of Heritage Conservation KCC Planning
A Twelfth-century Pottery Kiln at Pound Lane, Canterbury: Evidence for an Immigrant Potter in the Late Norman Period
(Canterbury Archaeological Trust Occasional Paper No. 1)
In 1986 a medieval pottery kiln was excavated at Pound Lane, Canterbury. It is the only medieval kiln to have been found in the city and remarkably it appears to have been worked by a continental potter, perhaps a Norman, at some date around the middle of the twelfth century. Though made from local materials, the wheel-thrown, sometimes glazed and roulettedecorated ware produced signals a major break with local Kentish ceramic traditions and indeed the degree of continental influence exhibited by Pound Lane ware is practically unique among contemporary English pottery industries.
The report contains a short account of the site and excavation, followed by a more detailed account of the kiln itself, its plan and parallels. An extensive typology of the kiln products is presented together with observations on manufacture and statistical frequency. The local, English and European contexts of the Pound Lane industry are each treated in detail and an attempt is made to define the likely homeland of the immigrant potter. This section is copiously illustrated with parallels taken from a wide range of continental reports as well as previously unpublished material.
Later sections of the report examine Canterbury's particularly rich documentary sources for evidence of potters, immigrant communities and the possibility of Church patronage. The duration of the kiln and interaction with the local (Tyler Hill) potting community are also considered.
This is considerably broader in scope than most medieval pottery reports. The continental connections involved raise some thought-provoking questions on the extent to which immigrant potters may have influenced the development of English pottery in the Norman period and to what extent this was a new phenomenon or just the continuation of a much older one. Probably the main implication of the report however is that the consequences of Norman occupation may have had more far-reaching effects on native English pottery industries than has hitherto been supposed.
Paperback. A4, 124 pages, 69 figures. ISBN 1 870545 07 9 To be published 31st March 1997. Available from Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 92a Broad Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2LU at £9.95 (plus £1.00 p&p). Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust and KAS members: £7.50 (plus £1.00 p&p). Special price for orders received before 1st May 1997: £7.50 (plus £1.30 p&p).
John Cotter
Maison Dieu, Dover
The rare opportunity to excavate within a standing medieval building has produced significant new information concerning its history.
FAU was commissioned to hand excavate the well of a proposed lift shaft within the early 14th-century stone tower that forms part of the present Town Hall of Dover. The tower and the adjoining late 13th-century hall, together known as Maison Dieu, represent later additions to a hospital of that name first established on the site in 1203.
After the removal of 19th-century brickwork and rubble infill, a substantial north-south wall was revealed, constructed of flint with a chalk block core. A second smaller abutting wall of similar construction ran east-west. The western side of the larger wall was faced with shaped flint blocks and appeared to have been an external surface designed to have been viewed, while the eastern face contained some chalk and tile and showed traces of rendering, suggesting perhaps that it had been internal. The western edge of this wall aligned exactly with the sides of two 14th-century masonry piers, while it was evident that three vaulted arches had been blocked subsequent to the original construction of the tower. It is therefore possible that the wall was constructed to externalize an arcaded area to the west and form a room on its eastern side. This covered area was perhaps intended to provide shelter for those awaiting admittance to the hall. If this were the case, the proposed room to the east of the wall may have served as an antechamber opening onto the medieval hall through a surviving archway between the central northern masonry pier of the tower and the west wall of the stair turret.
At its northern end, the wall was keyed into a section of the southern wall of the 13th-century hall, and it was apparent that the ground floor of the tower had originally been built as an outshot to the hall.
Reprinted with permission from UCL Field Archaeology Unit News.
Help Wanted: Collier Street Particular Baptist Chapel
I am trying to find out something of the history of the chapel that stood for about 40 years on what is now the B2162 just north of Collier Street at the hamlet of Mockbeggar. When I visited the site last summer, there were traces of bricks and tiles on an otherwise derelict patch of ground opposite the Village Hall. A subsequent visit has revealed a solitary tombstone. The 1908 OS map shows the site as a burial ground, but the 1858 map marks a Baptist Chapel there.
A license was issued for a meeting house of Particular Baptists at Collier Street in 1844, and the chapel is referred to in the 1855 Kelly's Directory for Yalding. It is mentioned in subsequent Directories to 1882, but is not in the 1889 edition.
I have found no other documentary evidence at the Centre for Kentish Studies. No church records appear to have survived.
If any members know anything of this chapel or its members, or can suggest possible further lines of enquiry, I would be grateful if they would let me know.
Ken Jackson
Little Buckland, Maidstone
Having lived in the stone and timber-framed hall house at Little Buckland for the last two years, I have been unable to resist the lure of its history and archaeology. We were fortunate to have Kenneth Gravett and Peter Lambert undertake a survey. They suggested a date of c. 1400 for its construction.
During my research, I have located references to Buckland in Hasted; Philipott's Villare Cantianum; Beale Paste's History of the College of All Saints, Maidstone; Du Boulay's Lordship of Canterbury and the Earl of Aylesford's Estate Reports at the Centre for Kentish Studies. I am currently following up index references in Arch. Cantiana.
I am keen to receive any information concerning The Cottage at Little Buckland Farm; the estate of Buckland; any of the de Boclandes; or Little Buckland Farm to help me trace the origin and history of the house.
Mrs. Deborah Goacher
Back numbers of Archaeologia Cantiana
The Society has a stock of many of the more recent volumes of Archaeologia Cantiana. These may be bought by members for their own use. The volumes currently available and their prices are: CXV (1995) - £15 CXIII and CXIV (1994), each - £13 CXI and CXII (1993), each - £11 CX (1992) - £9 CXIX (1991) - £7 CII (1976) to CVIII (1990), each - £5 LXXXII (1967) to XC (1975), each - £5 Volume XC is the general index to volumes LXV - LXXXIX and XCI to CIX.
The index to entries covering the Stone Age to Anglo-Saxon periods in volumes I to LXXXIII, compiled by J. H. Evans, is also available, price £1.
£3 per volume for the cost of postage and packing should be added to the above prices for all volumes except the Evans Index which is £1. This offer is subject to availability of volumes.
Copies may be ordered from the Hon. General Secretary.
The Christmas Buffet Lunch was held at Leavers Manor Hotel, Hadlow, attended by seventy members. After lunch, Mr. O. Austen of Wye, president of the Jane Austen Society, entertained most charmingly with stories of the Austen family. The lunch was followed by a visit to the new chapel at Tonbridge School.
KAS Hon. Editor's Announcement
The Hon. Editors welcome all letters, articles and communications and would particularly like to receive more from members and others, especially requests for research, funds, books and related topics. The Editors wish to draw readers' attention to the fact that neither the Council of the KAS, nor the Editors are answerable for opinions which contributors may express in the course of their signed articles. Each author is alone responsible for the contents and substance of their letters, items or papers. Material for the next Newsletter should be sent by 1st October 1997 to Hon. Editors, Mr & Mrs L. E. Ilott.
The Castles of Kent No. 1.
This is the first in a series of short articles to be submitted to the KAS Newsletter on the castles of Kent. A castle can be constructed in earth and timber or stone, or any combination, and can take many forms (e.g. motte and bailey, ringwork, keep, courtyard, concentric). Although specialists have been arguing amongst themselves for many decades as to how to define a castle, a consensus does seem to have been reached. A castle is a residential fortress for a lord, belonging within the medieval period or, more correctly, a feudal society (Allen Brown 1985, p.5). For this country feudal society, whereby land is held in return for military services, can be regarded as the medieval and, probably, the late Anglo-Saxon periods. The dates for both 'periods' are open to debate, but for the sake of argument let us say 850 to 1066 for the late Anglo-Saxon period and 1066 to 1530 for the medieval, although by the latter date it would be incorrect to call England a feudal state. Structures such as Deal Castle or Mereworth Castle can therefore definitely be excluded, the former being a military installation (a fort), housing a garrison to defend the state and the latter a palatial house. However, as with all definitions there are grey areas. For example Dover Castle was perhaps not only the defended residence of a lord (in this case the king), but also held a garrison to help defend the state. On the other hand Bodiam Castle (Sussex), constructed in the late fourteenth century is, from a military viewpoint, a disaster area, it was built as an impressive residence not as a fortification designed to offer serious resistance.
Stockbury Castle.
Overlooking the Stockbury Valley, between Sittingbourne and Maidstone, stand the grassed over ramparts and ditches of Stockbury Castle (TQ 8460 6162). The castle is situated on the west side of the valley and at 115 metres O.D. is some 50 metres higher than the valley floor. The medieval parish church is situated 30 metres to the north-east and, in its present form, partially blocks any view from the castle down the valley towards Watling Street, the modern A2, some two miles northward.
The first reference to the manor of Stockbury is in Domesday Book (1086) which tells us the land was held by Ansgot a tenant of Odo Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent. Prior to the Norman Conquest an individual called Aelfeva held it directly from King Edward (1042-66). A church and mill are mentioned but no castle. However, as Domesday Book was primarily an economic document the failure to specifically mention a castle at Stockbury does not mean there wasn't one there. Many, probably most, castles known to be in existence by 1086 were not mentioned within its pages and those that were, usually, have only a passing reference.
The church was presumably the forerunner of that still standing and it is possible that the plan of an earlier building, consisting of nave and rectangular chancel, can be recognized within the framework of the largely thirteenth and nineteenth century structure (See plan in A.C.Vol.xxv 1902, facing p.244).
At a date in the late eleventh century the mill has to be water driven for windmills only appear in the mid to late twelfth century, perhaps due to ideas spread by the Crusades.
Importantly this evidence for a mill is telling us that a thousand years ago there was water in the now dry, Stockbury Valley. This of course carries implications for all other North Down valleys which are dry today; all the dip slope villages would originally have acquired their water from permanent streams rather than wells. It is to be hoped that the recent observations undertaken by archaeological contractors during the course of road widening along the A249 just to the north of Stockbury will be able to confirm this important piece of environmental evidence.
Although described as a matte (mound) and bailey (courtyard) on modem maps it is perhaps more likely that Stockbury was a ringwork (an unsatisfactory definition) with a crescent shaped outer bailey. A ringwork castle consists basically of an earthen bank presumably with a timber palisade or hedge on top, fronted by a ditch. In other words a defended enclosure. In some instances a stone wall was added at a later date on top, or in front, of the earthwork.
An eighteenth century and later farm occupies much of the site and has resulted in at least a third of the ramparts being totally destroyed. It seems excessive to go to the trouble to level a motte to build a post-medieval farmhouse, when the latter could easily be built elsewhere within the enclosure. If complete the ramparts of the suggested ringwork would be more or less elliptical in shape.
Geophysical surveys and excavation were proposed in the 1960's (Ford 1965, p.271) but were almost certainly never undertaken (Dunmore 1983, pers.comrn.).Earthen ramparts and ditches are visible from the adjacent churchyard, but apparently one scrap of masonry also survives and more has been encountered in cottage gardens (Guy 1980, p 219.). The masonry could however be quite late. The present writer has unfortunately never been able to identify the supposed outer bailey around the church (ibid. p.218). Although there are many primary documents relating to the manor surviving within the County Archive Office, nothing of the history of the castle seems to survive, even Hasted fails us (1798 Vol.5, p.572- 85). It seems likely that only large scale systematic excavation will really enhance our knowledge further. However, all of you place name specialists may have a part to play.
Although there is no direct reference to the existence of a castle within Domesday Book it is possible that it is mentioned indirectly, for one of the meanings of the Old English bury is 'fortified place'. Unfortunately of course it is not that simple, there can be other meanings and the non-place name speaalist has to be wary. The major works on Kentish place names, with all their faults, are still those of J. K. Wallenberg (Kentzsh Place Names 1931 and The Place Names of Kent 1934). Wallenberg gives us a list of spellings for Stockbury (1934, p.230):
Stochingeberge 1086 Stockebir 1233
Stocabere 1100 Stokin(ge)beri 1242-3
Stocingabere 1100 Stokebyry 1243
Stocinb'ia 1170-80 Stokinbyr' 1247
Stokingebir 1208 Stoke 1253-4
Stokingbir' 1226 Stokyngbery 1253-4
Stokingeb'y 1232 Stoke Ingeberi 1253-4
With Stockbery and Stockbury appearing in the seventeenth century.
Wallenberg states that the forms of spelling after Domesday Book go against the derivation of the second element being beorg meaning hill or barrow. He suggests it is more likely to derive from boer(e) = pasture or burh, byrig = fortified place. It is less likely to be byre meaning a shed. The first element he prefers as being an ' ... ing(a) derivative of O.E. sloe = place, house, dwelling, ... ' rather than being derived from stocc = stock sump (a hole left after the uprooting of trees), or in Middle English ' ... stocking = the uprooting of trees or land reclaimed from the woods.'
In her book Place Names of Kent (1976, p.180), Judith Glover prefers to regard the bury element as meaning pasture. Stockbury being' .... the swine pasture of the Stoke people ... .'; she then connects Stockbury with Stoke eight miles to the north. As far as the present writer is aware, other than this hint in Domesday Book, there is no other documentary evidence for this connection.
Importantly both writers appear to be unaware that an earthwork fortification exists. To the present writer the presence of the defensive earthwork seems to provide more or less conclusive evidence that the bury element in this instance does mean fortified place. If that line of reasoning can be accepted then Domesday Book is telling us that the fortification was there in 1086. However, of far more importance it also tells us that Stockbury was called Stockbury not only in 1086 but, also in the time of Edward the Confessor in 1066. In other words an Anglo-Saxon 'castle' existed adjacent to the church, a situation comparable to Earls Barton (Northants), Sulgrave (Northants) and Goltho (Lines) all regarded as Anglo-Saxon private fortifications.
It seems possible that Stockbury is one of those very rare sites, along with Eynsford Castle near Farningham (Horsman 1988, p.53-57), where we can say, with a good degree of certainty that there was an Anglo-Saxon forerunner to the medieval castle. Of course the earthworks visible today may not be of Anglo-Saxon date, for any earlier defences could have been buried or even destroyed later in the medieval period. On the other hand the visible earthworks could be prehistoric with an appended Anglo-Saxon place name. However, the presence of the adjacent church, presumably on the site of that mentioned in 1086, implies the nearby presence of the lord's dwelling. That further implies the presence of an enclosure, whether prehistoric earthworks (important enough in themselves ) were reinstated being largely irrelevant.
If it can be accepted that Stockbury was an Anglo-Saxon private fortification this then has implications for other b11ry place names mentioned in Domesday Book or earlier documents where fortifications, although not visible today (e.g.Wateringbury and Frindsbury), may at one time have existed.
Whether or not Stockbury is an Anglo-Saxon 'castle' only excavation can (possibly) show, but comments from all you place name specialists will be welcome.
References/Bibliography
Allen Brown R., 1985, Castles.
Dunmore S., 1983, Personal communication, letter dated 8.9.83 stating there is no reference on file at Fortress House of work being commissioned by the then Ministry of Works.
Editor. 1902 Notes and Queries: XIXth. Century Restorations at Stockbury Church in Archaeologia Cantiana Vol.xxv, p.244-50.
Ford D. 1965 Researches and Discoveries: Sittingbourne and Swale in Archaeologia Cantiana Vol.Ixxx, p.271.
Glover J., 1976, Place Names of Kent.
Guy J., 1980, Kent Castles.
Hasted E., 1798, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Vol.5, p.572-85.
Horsman V., 1988, Eynsford Castle: A Reinterpretation of its early History in the Light of recent Excavations in Archaeologia Cantiana Vol.cv, p.39-58.
Morgan P. (Ed)., 1983, Domesday Book: Kent.
Wallenberg J.K., 1934, The Place Names of Kent.
Ward A., 1985, The Three Castles of the Stockbury Valley (unpublished B.A.Hons. dissertation).
NOTE: The earthworks at Stockbury are on private land and there is NO public access, they can be quite adequately viewed from the adjacent churchyard and public road.
Alan Ward. Sept.1996 c/o. History Department, Christ Church
College, Canterbury, Kent.
Stockbury Castle: 'Buyer Beware'
The writer of the article on Stockbury Castle is an avid collector of postcards having an archaeological theme. Recently at a postcard fair thirteen photographs of what purported to be the Ixviii, 1953 excavation of the Holborough Barrow (A.C. 1954, Vol. p. 1-61 and 1956, Vol. Ixx, p. 84-141) were being sold for the very reasonable sum of £3.50. Another set had been sold to someone else a little earlier, The photographs were of good quality and showed the whole process of the excavation, so they must have been taken by someone on the site for the duration of the project. However, when comparing the photographs with the illustrations in the two articles mentioned above it was realised that the barrow was not that at Holborough, for there was no sign of a chalk quarry cutting into the mound. One of the advantages of being a member of the KAS is that you learn that there are people within the Society who have vast amounts of knowledge. The excavation was in fact that of a post medieval garden feature within the grounds of Nash Court, Boughton undertaken c:1948 (A.C. 1951, Vol. lxiv, p. 35-8). Indeed one of the Photographs published in that article was identical to one of those purchased. They were almost certainly taken b )'. the site director Ron Jessup. (My thanks to Arthur Hamson and Michael Ofock for providing much needed help). Copies of the photographs purchased will be deposited in the Society archive.
We now come to the 'buyer beware' element of this note. At another postcard fair four photographs of what was suppose�ly Stockbury Castle were on sale. They were most certainly NOT of that earthwork structure for they showed a brick built building partly surrounded by a moat. The building may have been one of the sixteenth century 'palaces' situated within the county, but they were not of a medieval castle. This was a case of the prospective buyer knowing what he was looking at. As the price of the cards was on the high side for a full-time archaeologist they were not purchased. They are probably still in circulation on the card market.
Alan Ward, February 1997
Events, Outings, Lectures
K A. S. Events BARBEQUE - This summer's barbecue will be held in the garden of Yaldham Manor, Wrotham on Saturday, 31st May 1997. Admission by ticket only, available from Margaret Lawrence. It will be preceded by 'Roaming round Wrotham'.
SUMMER VISITS The three summer visits for 1997 will be as follows: The Old Palace, Croydon. 2 pm. Saturday, 26th July 1997. Malling Abbey. Afternoon of Saturday, 9th August 1997. Nurstead Court. 2.30 pm. Saturday, 13th September 1997. Guided tour with tea will cost £5.50 per person. For full details please send a SAE to the Excursions Secretary, Joy Saynor.
K. A. S. LECTURE PROGRAMME, 1996-97. May 10th, Graham Keevill of the Oxford Archaeological Unit will give a lecture on Recent findings at the Tower of London.
TRAINING EXCAVATION, 1997. The K. A. S., in conjunction with Trust for Thanet Archaeology will be holding an excavation at Minster-in-Thanet on a Roman villa site. This second season of excavation which will be directed by David Perkins M.Sc, M.I.F.A., will run from 2nd - 15th August. Practical instruction will be provided on site as well as evening lectures. For enrollment details please contact David Bacchus.
ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY and the conversion of England, this conference to be held at Rutherford College, University of Kent, Canterbury on 11th-13th September 1997 will explore the life and legacy of St Augustine in a broad cultural and geographical context. The papers are intended to provide new insight into key themes such as the conversion of England, her relations with the Continent in the early Middle Ages, and the spiritual and cultural implications of Christianity for the Anglo-Saxon race. Further details from 'Augustine Conference', School of History, Rutherford College, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NX.
EXCAVATIONS AT SCADBURY on the weekend of 13th-14th September 1997 from 2-4.30 pm. each day, Orpington & District Archaeological Society will open this moated manor site at Chislehurst to the public. Admission is free. Limited car parking is available nearby by ticket only, available from Mr M. Meekum. Please send SAE, stating which day is required.
COUNCIL FOR KENTISH ARCHAEOLOGY Saturday, 8th November 1997. 2-5 pm. at Christ Church College. 'St. Augustine: A.D. 597 and all that!' Speakers include Martin I Taylor (Local historian), Tim Tatton-Brown (Architectural historian and archaeologist) and Judith Roebuck (English Heritage). Tickets £2 (SAE please) from C. K. A., 5 Harvest Bank Road, West Wickham, Kent BR4 9DL.
KENT HISTORY SEMINARS. Courses for the second half of this year are 16th August 1997. David Fowdrey and Dr Shirley Black will speak on Kent and its neighbor - France.
20th September 1997 Dr Mark Bateman and Meriol Connor will speak on Canterbury Cathedral in the Middle Ages. 25th October 1997 Dr Shirley Black and Margaret Lawrence will speak on 'Unwillingly to School'? 22nd November 1997 Anne Reeves and Gillian Draper will speak on Romney Marsh: Landscape and society.
COUNCIL FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTH EAST. Autumn Conference. 4th October 1997. Archaeology above the ground at Hotel Antoinette, 26 Beaufort Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. Tickets £6 members, £7.50 non-members.
K. A. S. ONE DAY CONFERENCE ON MEDIEVAL KENT. The conference entitled 'Aspects of Medieval Life in Kent' will take place on Saturday, 18th October 1997 at the Medway Hall, Angel Centre, Tonbridge, 10.30 am. to 5 pm. Subjects discussed: Iron Making in the Medieval Weald; Faversham & Kent Medieval Houses; Medieval Dover; Gate Houses in Kent. Tickets: £4 to K.A.S. members. Non-members (or at the door) £5. Tickets & program may be obtained from Dunelm House, Main Road, Icklesham, Winchelsea, East Sussex TN36 4AR. SAE please.
STUDY TOUR ROMANS ON THE RHINE. Sunday, 3rd - Sunday, 10th August 1997. A coach trip organized by Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sussex. Tutors Colin Baddeley and David Rudling. The tour is based on the four-star Dorint Hotel in Cologne. Pick up available in Dover. Fees £575 to include half-board, transport and entrance fees. Single room supplement £110. Further information and booking form available from Rosemary Millen on 01273 678924.
BUILDING RECORDERS CONFERENCE at The Barn, Charing 11th October 1997. This year's subject is 'Timber Framing'.
