New Books
New Books
The Isle of Thanet from Prehistory to the Norman Conquest by Gerald Moody
Release date: November 17th.
Review by Jan O'Hare - Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society:
This book is a 'must read' for any thinking person who lives in or knows the Isle of Thanet. The story it tells of the Island's past, geologically and geographically, as well as archaeologically and historically, shows real depth and coherence despite inevitable gaps in current knowledge. Research drawn on is as 'up to the minute' as possible, while reflections on the data show the author's exceptionally comprehensive knowledge of both past, recent and ongoing archaeological work and theories. Illustrations are plentiful and helpful, and frequent use of relevant and original maps tie the archaeological evidence closely to the ground. After reading the book, a drive around the island is filled with new insights into the lives of our forebears and fargreater understanding of how we came to be here, travelling the roads and living in the places we do today.
Although the book is intensely local and saturated with Thanet's earliest history, the story built up in its pages has a much wider relevance. This is both to the pivotal role Thanet has played in the history of Britain, and to the way in which the interpretation of the wealth of information from Thanet can influence or change the way we understand finds from elsewhere in Britain. So this intelligent book is more than just a 'must read' for locals - it is fascinating reading for anyone interested in our nation's history.
While the book embraces the latest digital techniques to analyse and illustrate Thanet's landscape and finds, no book can be entirely comprehensive in this fast moving age. A parallel website for the volume will be available on www.thanetarch.co.uk, where, as well as hosting a forum for the discussion of the themes in each chapter, updates and new information will be added.
Discounted Purchase
The Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society has arranged for copies of Thanet from Prehistory to the Norman Conquest to be available at the special price of £13.50 (plus £2.75 P&P). Orders (cheque payable to the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society), from The Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society, Crampton Tower Yard, High Street, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 2AB. Limited stocks are available at the discounted price, so orders should be made as soon as possible.
Discovering Ancient Lenham
Lenham Archaeological Society has just produced their next Journal issue of Discovering Ancient Lenham. It is available at many shops in Lenham, including the Library. Price is £3.50, good value considering many pictures are in colour and the issue contains newly-discovered archaeology for the Maidstone area (although most is within the parish of Lenham). The Journal is also available from 2 Old School Close, Lenham ME17 2HD for £4.75, which includes P&P. Cheques payable to Lenham Archaeological Society please. If you did not purchase the first issue, both issues are on sale in the village for the combined price of £5.00.
Loose and Linton - A Pictorial History
Loose Area History Society has published a limited edition of 250 copies of Loose and Linton - A Pictorial History, first published in 2004. This 206 page book features more than 500 photographs of people, places and events associated with the history and heritage of Loose and Linton over a period of more than one hundred years. Subjects covered include mills, farms and hop-gardens; 'upstairs, downstairs' at Linton Park; chapels, churches and schools; trains, buses and industrial archaeology; and the villages' clubs, societies and associations. Price: £16.
The 9th issue of the society's journal Loose Threads is also now available, at £3.50. Contents include articles on the Turnpike Road from Maidstone to Linton; recent archaeological discoveries at All Saints' Church, Loose; the 'Swallow Holes' of the Loose Valley; John Questad, Surveyor and Mapmaker; and much more.
Hinxhill - A Historical Guide
Published by the Wye Historical Society, this 36 page, full colour booklet is the latest in a series funded by the Local Heritage Initiative. It concerns Hinxhill, a very small village now linked with Wye administratively and ecclesiastically, but with a distinct history. Originating in early Saxon times as a settlement on an island of first class arable land no more than 150 hectares in extent and surrounded by forest and boggy sloughs, Hinxhill's past is traced through the Manor's owners, its listed buildings and its church.
The booklet is available from Dr C P Burnham, 24 Chequers Park, Wye TN25 5BB. Price is £6 (post-free). Cheques payable to Wye Historical Society please.
Faversham Hundred Rentals by Duncan Harrington and Patricia Hyde
Volume 5. (2008) ISBN 978-09524563-1-5
This publication on a CD offers, in some cases for the very first time, a transcript of certain rentals in the hundred of Faversham. The parishes covered by this study include Badlesmere, Buckland, Davington, Eastling, Faversham, Goodnestone next Faversham, Harty, Leaveland, Luddenham, Newnham, Norton, Oare, Ospringe, Preston next Faversham, Sheldwich, Stalisfield, Stone next Faversham, and Throwley. Included are two maps showing the hundred of Faversham. The records start with a brief descent of the manor of Faversham, followed by a list of the available rentals and court books. Those that have been transcribed are marked in bold and cover the following years 1515, 1532, temp. Elizabeth I, 1604, 1621, 1631, 1638, 1653, 1672 and 1815. The rentals for 1515 and 1532 also include an introduction.
The CD also contains a catalogue of records for the Hundred of Faversham. The catalogue covers 5692 original documents deposited in the Centre for Kentish Studies, The National Archives, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Lambeth Palace Library. This provides the most comprehensive index of the twenty parishes (that is the 18 parishes listed earlier together with Boughton under Blean and Graveney) and involved the monumental labour of searching every page of the unofficial catalogues in the Centre for Kentish Studies. The introduction provides details of the scope of this project and the records that are not included.
Also on the CD is the name and place index to The Faversham Bibliography of Primary Sources. It is hoped that this will not only highlight the existence of these very useful Faversham Papers but may also provide additional detail of items found or not to be found in the Catalogue of Faversham Hundred records. The CD together with postage and packing in the UK and surface mail overseas will be £17.50. The CD is dispatched in a DVD case and padded envelope. Available from Duncan Harrington (to whom cheque payable), L.H.G, F.S.A., F.G.S. Ashton Lodge, Church Road, Lyminge, Folkestone, Kent CT18 8JA. Website: www.historyresearch.co.uk.
Library Notes
KAS Library Accessions March - July 2008.
Revue Historique de Dunkerque et Littoral no 41.
English Place Names Society Journal Vol. 39 (2007).
Post Medieval Archaeology Vol. 41 p.1.
Records of Buckinghamshire Vol. 47 p.2 Vol. 48 (2008).
The Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 167 (2007).
Norfolk Archaeology Vol.xlv p.2 (2007).
Surrey Archaeological Collections Vol. 93 (2007).
Bygone Kent Vol. 29 nos. 2, 3, 4.
Hampshire Studies Vol. 62.
Historical Assessment and Survey of Old Buildings. R.A.C. Cockett. (KAS Historic Buildings Committee).
Archaeologia Aeliana. Fifth Series. Vol. Xxxv (2008).
Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire Transactions. Vol. 150.
Jahresschrift Sachsen Anhalt Bd 39 (2006).
Archaeometry Vol. 50 p.2, p.3, p.4.
Archaeologische Kronik von Sud-est Vlaanderen Vol. Xiii (2007).
Before and After the Hurricane in and around Canterbury. Paul Crampton.
Early Medieval Glass Vessels found in Kent. Winifred Stephens.
Thurnham Parish Plan; Community, Continuity, and Change.
Derbyshire Archaeological Journal Vol.128.
Women in Kent. Alison Cresswell. (CKS, KCC).
Woolhope Naturalist Club, Herefordshire. Transactions. Vol. 54 (2006).
Highstead (near Chislet Kent): Excavations 1975-1977. Paul Bennett, Peter Couldrey and Nigel Macpherson-Grant.
Seal; the history of a Parish.
Dictionary of Lake District Place Names. Diana Whaley.
Southern History. Vol.29, (2007).
Commodity of Good Names; Essays in Honour of Margaret Die'Sling.
Names on Terra Sigillata. Vols 1 and 2. U. of London.
Houses and Cottages of Britain. R.W. Brunskill.
Traditional Buildings of Britain. R.W. Brunskill.
Timber Buildings in Britain. R.W. Brunskill.
Period House Fixtures and Fittings. Linda Hall.
Traditional Farm Buildings of Britain. R.W. Brunskill.
The Early Town Books of Faversham c.1251 to 1581. Duncan Harrington and Patricia Hyde.
The Archaeology of Kent to AD800. Ed. John H. Williams.