KAS Newsletter, Issue 54, Autumn 2002

JJ 'THE BONE YARD' Issue number 54 Autumn 2002 S A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON EXCAVATIONS AT TEMPLE HILL, DARTFORD everal phases of excava­ tions have recently been completed by Hertford­ shire Archaeological Trust at St Edmund's ChUich, Temple Hill, Dartford. The area commands wide views over the town and sur­ rounding countryside and was extensively built up with subur­ ban housing in the post-war peri­ od. The church was constructed in 1955, and is now in the process of being rebuilt and redeveloped on a larger scale. According to local residents, the site has been known for some years as 'The Bone Yard', suggesting that scat­ tered archaeological remains were found during the initial development in the 1950s and during later, more recent building work nearby. An initial evaluation by Project Officer Wesley Keir revealed significant quantities of ceramics and human bone, and consequently an expanded investigation was undertaken by Project Officer Dan HounselJ to cover a wider area. Post-excavation analysis is still at an early stage, but several important observations can already be made. The key area of archaeological fea­ tures comprised a dense palimpsest of ditches and pits, though several lines of post-holes were also identified and may yet prove to be the remains of dwellings or timber structures. Most of the asso­ ciated ceramic evidence is of hand­ made coarsewares, which immediately creates difficulty in identification. Given the nature of the local clay, sepa­ rating Anglo-Saxon fabrics from earlier Iron Age types is still problematical, though analysis suggests that flint and shell-tempered fabrics are generally of prehistoric date and those with a quartz base of Saxon origin. Almost half the Above: Fig J • Accessory vessels (height oft/re largest 120111111 with a diameter of90mm) andjig 2· female burial cradling i11fa111. pouery derived from a single pit fea­ ture, where 847 sherds form the frag­ mented remains of approximately fif­ teen complete or semi-complete Iron Age vessels in excellent condition. Other finds from the period include a number of heavy clay loom weights, suggesting some minor industrial activity in the immediate vicinity. By contrast, Roman material was ephemeral and poorly represented. The small amount of pouery recov­ ered was abraded and apparently residual. These are, however invari- wwiv.llvrt 1.icket and ,·elwt brct'Chcs, a11J /\,\!t-sho.:s. The a/Jc,,'1' men arr wlwt a,r called N.ni9illors, anJ lu11l' hem emplayrJ 11y s1wr­ a/ 9mtle111en n1u11d this 11t:i9hbour/waJ. but lruvi11g thispi.ice in a di111des1i11e '''"JI ll't' the u11Jem911eJ 1huu9ht proper 10:,Jiw this public cau,i.•n to pm'elll others llll't'ti119 the same rreatment tl1at m· hawfrom tht'/11, as 1/uy left Bridge somethi119 considerably in our debt. RICH.CHALLCROFT. ,iauallt'I' J.MINTER. bUlcher We believe Richard Challcroft was a victualler in the early years of the nineteenth century. and that the The Hon. Editor, Terry Lawson. has added Internet publishing 10 his range of dmies. This fonn of publishing provides authors 1vi1h worldwide expo ure instead of Lhe limited exposure provided by con­ ventional publishing. II is also a much faster process with Lime from editorial approval 10 publication measured in weeks rather than momhs and years. Your publication must be related 10 the ancient county of Kent and of a standard set by I.he Society's paper based publication Archaeologia Cantiana. Contributors will be given their own page carrying their photograph and a brief biography. Please end requem for submission Introduction' page, a list of the individ­ ual articles from early volumes that we have put up so far. lf you have any sug­ gestions as 10 which articles you would like 10 see put up, please let us know. Work is continuing, with the help of members, on the task of 'O.C.R.ing' individual pages of the Index Volume 52-1940 and pulling them up on the Website. Over one hundred pages have been completed 10 date. L. L. Duncan M.l.'s A further thirty lists of gravestones from Kent Churches have been added 10 the Churchyards M.l.'s List bring the total on the Website 10 seventy-three. Visual Records Work al pulling up on the Website pictures from the Society's collection is progressing wcll, with over three hundred pictures up, 10 date. These are mostly of churches from the Petrie and 'Nd\igJtm' hJd probably hecn 1\or�mg on .i CdIJJJ project This amu ing tale also emerged· THE PARI H CLERK OF BIC' OR-CU \-HUCKING f'n'l?OUS lo 1867 H11cki119 \\US d clwp1>/ry atlacltt'd to H,,l/i11gboume. a11d ,mly had a StT· �ice a11,'t' <111wlllh. which 11us St,met1111es ,,mil­ led 011w9 10 the uwther bd119 wry i11d,·mm1, 11rfr.im other causes. This it 11'<1s that m.ib/eJ the clerk lo usc tlte pulpit as ,1 quirt place in which lo sit his nirkt!)l The nmlle tme 1111day had failed lo Ctl/11<', mvi119 11, the 111·a1her bei119 l'tl)' ,wt, .imi when h,• came a9ai11 the ncXI 1110111h it 11us again a 1wl Sumia.� a11d the COil· 9re9a1io11 11us l'tl)' sp.irse, which tht clerk us,:d ns all ar911111t'lll why he should 110/ pmzc/1: but the curate, homwr, 011i119 10 his absmce the pr�iollS 1110111h. pmisted in his de1m11i11<1tio11 to preach and the clerk had 10 confess that his turkey um silli119 ill the pulpit. Dr Frank Panton Hon.Librarian rom1s to Joy Sage, Adminisrra1or • ln1crne1 Publishing, Kent Archaeological Socie.111 Museum and Be.mlif An Gallery, SI. Faith' Street, Maidstone MEl-l lLH. A paper placed on the site will be con­ sidered for later publication in Ardmrologia Canliana if so requested. For those who intend to download papers ii is es en1ial 1ha1 you have the cur­ rent version or Adobe® Acrobat® Reader v.5.0.5on your machine in order to enjoy the 11�des1 range of facilities. The new site will have an on-line seard1 facility 10 access both the Library Catalogue and the Visual Records Catalogue. Other facilities will become available and will be announced in the New le11cr. Saunders collections. The Website is proving 10 be ve,y popular, with visits to the site up from 2.744 in April to 6,048 in July. The num­ ber of individual pages of the Website consulted has risen from 12,106 in April 10 28,446 in July. The present number or individual pages on the Website exceeds 1,800. Email addresses If you would like to be kept advised or updates 10 1he Website, or have changed your email address recently, please email the address 10 Ted ConneU. This important work is continuing and we would welcome any offers of help or constructive criticism. Pkase address them 10 Ted Connell at: 1ed.conne1l@b1in1ernc1.com, lei: 01474 872763, I 10, Manor Forstal. New Ash Green. Longfield, Kent DA3 8.JQ Lectures, Events, Conferences and Courses 'Ten Years with Time Team', a talk by Carenza Lewis, the popular member of Channel 4's 'Time Team', on Tuesday 15th October at 6.30pm, sponsored by the Friends of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. The venue is two lecture rooms of Christ Church University College in the Old Sessions House, next to Canterbury Prison in Longport. Tickets in the main room £7 each, those in the second room with an audio-visual link, £4 each. Apply to the Festival Box Office, Canterbury Bookings, Canterbury Information Centre, 12-13 Sun Street, Canterbury CTI 2HX tel: 01227 378188 email: box­ office@canterbury.gov.uk quoting ref. F9. Credit card bookings welcomed. The Curse of Relevance: S.R.Gardiner and changing approaches to the 17th century 1902-2002 by Professor Conrad Russell (The Earl Russell) of King's College, London on Friday 29th November at 8pm in the Aisher Hall, Sevenoaks School, Sevenoaks, sponsored by the Sevenoaks Historical Society. Admission free. Parking available in Sevenoaks School and also at public car parks within the town centre a short distance away. Further details from Professor David Kj][ingray, 72 Bradbourne Road, Sevenoaks TN13 3QA tel: O1732 453008 email: afraf@com­ puserve.com This is the first of what is planned as an annual lecture sponsored by the Society, bringing a distin­ guished historian to the town to talk on a subject of their choice. The lecture series is named after the great historian of 17th century England, S.R.Gardincr (1829-1902) who lived, and is buried in, Sevenoaks. ll is thus appropriate that the first lecture should be on 17th century Britain, although future lectures will deal with other periods and places. CANTERBURY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY LECTURES All on Saturdays, held in the Ramsay Lecture Hall (except *), Canterbury Christ Church College, starting at 6pm. 5th October - The Medieval Reredos in Adisham Church by Dr Charles Tracy, FSA and Paul Woodfield 2nd November - The Sterling Castle by Robert Peacock, Director of Operations, Sea Dive 7th November Recent Discoveries and Excavations on the Roman Shore Forts in Kent by Brian Philp, Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit 11th January Roman Temples, Crusader Castles and bullet holes: a glimpse of Lebanese Archaeology by Peter Clark, Canterbury Archaeological Trust 25th January - The Frank Jenkins Memorial Lecture. Annual Review of the work of Canterbury Archaeological Trust by Paul Bennett, Director. A joint lecture with the Friends of C.A.T. *Powell Lecture Hall 8th February - When Kent said No! to Napoleon by Mansell Jagger 8th March - Verulamium - the major Roman town near St Albans by Robin Densem, Compass Archaeology 22nd March - AGM at 3pm, *in the small lecture room opposite the Powell Lecture Theatre SNODLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY LECTURES All lectures are held on Wednesdays at 8pm at the Devonshire Rooms, Waghorn Road, Snodland. £ I entry for visitors. 6th November - The Story of Sevenoaks Market by A Monty Parkin 4th December - Slides of Old Snodland 29th January 2003 - A Trip down the River by Robert Ratcliffe 5th March 2003 - Airships by Brian Hussey 2nd April 2003 - Mysteries of St Michael's (East Peckham) by Philip Lawrence 7th May 2003 - To be arranged BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION MEETINGS Meetings are held at 5pm in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly WIV OHS. Non-mem­ bers are welcome but are asked to make themselves known to the Hon.Director on arrival and to sign the visitor's book. 6th November - Reading and Rereading Gervase of Canterbury by Dr Carol Davidson Cragoe 4th December - Regional Diversity in English Romanesque Architectural Sculpture by Dr Kathleen Lane 8th January 2003 - Monuments to Death. The danse macabre in England and on the Continent by Dr Sophie Oosterwijk 5th February 2003 - Women's Seal Matrices in the Middle Ages: stamps of authority or seals of approval? by James Robinson Changing Scenes - An exhibition of photographs depicting life in the parishes of Otham and Langley and reflecting the changes that have occurred during the twentieth cen­ tury. Willington, whose church was linked with Otham for some years, is included with some early photographs. There are many love­ ly images of Otham in the I 940's, 50's and 60's before the Downswood and Madginford estates were built. The exhibition takes one right up to the present, with illustrations of events and activities in both church and com­ munity. It is part of an on-going project to make a photographic record of the parish and also to col­ lect memories in written form. It has received a grant from the Allen Grove History Fund of the K.A.S. (details of this year's awards can be found on page 8). St Nicholas' Church, Otham on Saturday 5th October from I lam - 5pm and on Sunday 6th October from I 0.I 5am - 5pm. Admission free, light refreshments available. Donations in ajd of the Friends of Otham Church will be welcomed. Following the Dover Bronze Age Boat Conference (detaLls in July Newsletter or from Tours of the Realm tel: 01304 248304), the Dover Museum are holding a Bronze Age Day on Saturday 2nd November, open to the gen­ eral public. Demonstrations of: ancient wood­ working by Damian Goodburn & Rkhard Darrah (constructors of the boat replica), smelting and ea ling b} an a,em;il-.er. knapping 10 mal-.e mm axe and arrowheads. mal-.ing and firing po1 in a pi1. Also aclll'IIIC for children including mc1al dc1cc1ing for finds and mak­ ing po11ery. Fun.her details from Dover Museum, Market Square. Dover CTI 6 IPB 1el: 01304 201066. KAS Churches Commi11ee reminder! Visit to St George's church, Wrotham, followed by St Lawrences's church, Merewonh on Sa1urday Oc1ober 12th at 1.45pm. Details in las1 Newsleuer or tel. Philip Lawrence 01622 871945. Roman Temples and Religion in South-East England on Saturday 16th November in the Chichester Lec1ure Theatre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brigh1on. Organised by the University of Sussex in asso­ ciation with 1he Council for British Archaeology, South-East. Sessions: Temples & religion in South East England: the wider con1ext - Ernest Black (classicisl) The temples & shrines of Roman London - John Shepherd (Mus of Lon) May the force be wi1h you: insur­ ance policies for Roman Londoners - Jenny Hall (Mus of Lon) Uncovering new & revisi1ing old 1emples al Springhead. Kem - Philip Andrews (Wes ex Arch) Hayling Islands (Hamps): Iron Age shrine 10 Roman 1emple - Anthony King (King Alfred's Coll, Winches1er) Recenl excavaLions a1 Wanborough, Surrey - David Williams (freelance arch) The 1emples & shrines of Roman Sussex - David Rudling (UCL Field Arch Unil) £20 full fee. £18 CBA members, £12 students. For an applica1ion form please contact Centre for Continuing Education. Educa1ion Development Building. University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN I 9RG or tel. 01273 678040 (conference enquiries) or 01732 838698 (CBA SE). Sussex Archaeology Symposium 2003 on Saturday 15th March. Offers of papers should be made to David Rudling on 01273 845497 The Kent Archaeological Field School have many courses running from Oc1ober to December, including Me1al-detect­ ing & Field Walking. Anglo-Saxon Woodworking, Roman Pouery, a Field Trip to Roman Bath, Archaeological Drawing, Roman Mosaics at Fishbourne Roman Palace with BBC His1ory Magazine, The Romans in Kent & Prehis1oric Flints. More de1ails can be found a1 www.kafs.co.uk or con1ac1 KAFS. School Farm Oa 1. Graveney Road, Faversham ME13 SUP 1el: 0 I 795 532548 email: info@kafs.co.uk CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Pan-lime courses (close 10 1he Kent border) The Prehis1ory of Sou1hem Bri1ain held in East Grins1ead His1oric Buildings in Eastern Sussex held in Rye Pranical Archaeology held in Crawley & Hastings For further details please ring O1273 678040 for a copy of 1he CCE's Open Courses Guide and from THE CENTRE FOR REGIONAL LEARNING, UNIVERSITY OF KENT Pan-time courses on bo1h the archaeology and history of southern England, Britain and Europe, starting end of September al various venues around Kent, including courses leading 10 certificates, diplomas and degrees by flexible study. Interest and enthusiasm rather than formal qualifications required of potential students. For further details con1ac1 Centre for Regional Learning, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP, tel: 01227 823507, www.ukJ.ac.uk/url T he discipline of tracing the meaning of place name ha made enonnou progre s and provides useful pointers 10 early de\'elopments. The place name Riverhead would seem 10 be most appropriate, lying as it does dose 10 the source of the DarenL ln faa the name derives from O.E. hrither + hyth the meaning of which is neatly summed up as Cattlewharf.l That the place was of some imponance in early times is indi­ cated by the faa that it was the meet­ ing-place of Codsheath Hundred. That it was known in pre-historic times is evidenced by the name of the river, Darent, one of the few Celtic names to have survived in Kent. Canlewharf is an odd name to give a place - the purpose of these notes is to collea together such indications as exist that the name was factual. An unpublished manuscript writ­ ten by E.G. Box, a colleague of Dr. --r�- t/ I I �--- t/ �. N Adapted from Ordnance Survey Map I869. Centered NCR TQ 5230 5670 Riverhead lies to the west of this map: Gr�atness to the east. Approximate position ofproposed development O Gordon Ward. states 'On Bradboume Farm there is in the fields near the Darent a grass platform the origin or use of which has not yet been deter­ mined by archaeologists. It is a level grass platform raised about rwo feet above the marshes which edge the river, and is perhaps half a mile in length and in breadth about 50 feet. It stretches from the east of the footbridge over the river towards the Otford Road and the gas works. On the south side of it is a ditch and bank about four or five feet high and above the bank a field rising towards the Maidstone Road Mr. W. P. Banks of Longford says that black 2 and hard bog oak has been found in the marshes near Longford Bridge. '?remains of oak trees or of pile dwellings,' ln a letter to Ward dated 28.02.263 Box writes 'I want you to come with me to the "platform" on Bradbourne Farm ..........' and later enquires whether anybody has searched the Darent marshes for remains of lake dwellings. He was clearly puzzled by this structure. Ward seems never to have written about it, indicating that he could not decide what it was. On examining the Ordnance Survey map of 1869 it is found the parish boundary coincides with the description given of the situation of the 'platform'. Parish boundaries orten followed the line of early structures and it is consid­ ered to be a sign of their antiquity; this boundary was running across open fields, unless it followed the line of the 'platform'. An aerial photograph taken by those nosy Lurrwaffe c. I940 was obtained from America but showed nothing of interest. No others of the early date required have been traced. The area has been massively altered by quarrying for aggregates. and later flooding. creating the Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve. Mr. John Tyler, Warden of the Reserve. confirmed to me that he believes there had been a deep ditch in the situation described. although he had not actually seen it, which was infilled when Bradbourne School was built. Professor Alan Everitt states that the dedication 'St. John the Baptist' is often associated with hythes 4; this was the dedication of the ancient chapel at Greatness. If this was a quay it was quite large, and must have been of econom­ ic importance5 . Remains of quays have been found elsewhere in the county at situations where there is no longer a navigable river6, and it is recognised by historians that water levels have dropped in later centuries. This structure must have been pre­ sent during Anglo-Saxon times, as they named it. That the river was being used to export cargoes in the C13th. is indicated by the lnstructions or Henry 111 to the Sheriff of Kent in 1225 to supply paling timber to Dover from the lands of the Kings· sister, Eleanor Countess of Pembroke, who then owned Kemsing, and that this was to be transported by water.7 For this cargo to be loaded near Riverhead, taken down the Darent, Thames, Swale. Wantsum to Dover is quite fea­ sible; Dr. Paul Wilkinson tells me that from Dartford to Dover would have requlred few favourable tides. There does not seem to have been any alter­ native water-borne route. The Riverhead name associates it with cattle. There is some confusion amongst scholars as to the exact uans­ lation of the O.E. words (Gretaniarse 82JS; Greotan edesces fond 8229) naming the adjacent Greatness area. The fust element is agreed to mean gravelly, possibly of a stream, the second either 'enclosed pasture, park' or 'stubble/ploughed field'IO. Wallenberg opts for the first but remarks that they probably meant about the same thing11. An enclosed pasture area would be requlred to hold cattle. That other aninrnls were held in the area is indicated by the charter of 822 specifically stating that the dens it then granted to Seal were 'for the pas­ turing of swine and of sheep or goats in their places'1 2. A study in 1973 of the bartks and hedges around Otford 13 concluded that some hedges were at least 900 years old, and that the banks they were on could predate them. Later there were three well documented parks (Great, Little and New) at Otford; Ward argued that Great Park was the land granted in Saxon 1in1esl4 and these areas have the older banks on their peripheries. witl1 younger hedges subdividing them 15 - an indication of land being brought into cultivation as the water table dropped. A study of the area south of Kemsing traces the out­ line of a park16 there (recorded 1275), Seal had a park to its north in 1525, 17 Braybarn (sic= Bradbourne) in 12251s. Ightham19 and Wrotham20 also. These all lay within the Holmesdale valley. Early ( and, indeed, current) maps show these same areas to be markedly devoid or both settlement and wood­ land in contra-distinction to the peripheral areas. This suggests that the whole or this area was given over at an earl\ date for animal husbandry, for 11 hi h it wa panicularly uiled, and that Jl a later date it became split up imo �mailer park , within the ancient boundary bank . If it 11ere the job of those living at cat and Kemsing to maintain those boundaries, and care for the animals within them, the close and unusual association of these 1wo manors would be explained. They (and Bradboume) have walked hand in hand through centuries21. The name Wrotham has been translated as the name of a man nicknamed Snout, but maybe it was associated with pigs, which would accord 1vith its Domesday Book entry. All the manors named above had extensive dens penetrating deep into the Weald; those of Seal and Kemsing were closely associated, being placed alternately along the same drove­ way22. This fan alone indicates a large number of animals being held there and that it was not ca11le alone is indi­ cated by the Chaner of 822 referred to above. The place-name Chipstead meaning 'market-place'23 is another O.E. word of relevance - a market place is likely 10 have arisen near a quay. The dating of construction of a quay here is problematic, and could only be ascertained by archaeological evidence. There has never been such investigation in the immediate area. There is no ancient archival reference 10 it, but this is not unusual of early developments. Examining the general area and what evidence there is we have the fol­ lowing: I. The OE. place-name meaning Ca11lewharf, and others in the immedi­ ate area which are relevant. Well verified Romano-British sites just to the north, al Otford, clus­ tered mainly around the river. If there were a quay with extensive activity both there and on the Darent, the area would have required a constant pres­ ence. This area was largely marshland - Henry VI11 refused 10 live there on health grounds24, preferring well­ drained Knole, and it would have been drier in his Limes than earlier. The same arguments apply as in I. 10 the siting of an Archbishops resi­ dence. He owned most of the area and if it were of economic importance it would have been logical for him to have such there even if the majority of the site was not well drained. The string of Romano-British villa sites along the Darent valley. The regular dispostion of known R.B. sites to the north and south of Watling Street has led Dr. Paul Wilkinson to suggest that slate supervision of their development is implied. This is mir­ rored in the Daren! valley. Distinctive stamped tiles of the R.B. period have been found at Plaxtol 25, Oarenth26, and Broad Street, London27. This di tribution fol­ low one line uggested below in 5. Too complex 10 detail here, there is, following the criteria of Margary, evidence of an early Roman road running westwards from Amber Green (where Margary's Route 11 deviates northwards to Maids1one)1s, terminating at Riverhead. Route 11 commenced al Lymnpe. The Roman invasion of Britain in A.0.43 is believed 10 have followed two lines of penetration, westwards and along an eastern line north of the Thames. The line from Riverhead - Danford would give a supply line 10 both areas via the Thames westward, or along the nonheastem coastline. For the above reasons the suggest­ ed date of construction is the early Roman period. The writer is indebted to Roger Cocke11 of FAAG for suggesting that the presence of a quay and enclosure at Riverhead may have had a bearing on the events of IO16. The year was that of a battle between King Edmund Ironside and the invader Cnul, which Florence of Worcester, writing c.1120, places at 'near Otford'. Cnut and his men, following an unsuccessful siege of London, commenced looting in Mercia, north of the Thames, and then crossed the river into Kent, driving their living boory29. This is speculation, but if they headed for the known ca11lc facilities at Riverhead, Ironside (who had been searching for them), might have anticipated the move, got there first, and fallen on their rear. With men and mounts weary. they did not put up the usual good account of themselves, broke and fled towards the east. By Aylesford, many had been slaughtered; Cnul survived 10 relllm later. There is a planning application to build on an area adjacent to the 'quay line'. !f this succeeds, it would be pru­ dent to place an archaeological watch­ ing brief on the site, keeping 10 it alone. Should anything requiring more detailed investigation appear, the nec­ essary funds might be available from the aggregate companies who are offering financial support for archaeol­ ogy on sites which they are about to work, or have done in the pasi.30 I. Everitt. Prof. E. Continuity & Colonization. Leicester University Press. 1986. p.71 Box. E.G. 'Sevenoaks & Adjoining Areas'. Sevenoaks Library Local History. pp. 5 & 12 Dr. G. Ward File at KAS archives, Maidstone Museum. Everitt. Prof. A. Continuity & Colonization. pp. 209 & 253. Gelling. Dr. M. Place-Names in the Landscape. J.M. Dent. London. pp. 62 & 77. Everitt. Prof. A. Continuity & Colonization pp. 71/2 Ward. Sevenoaks Library Local History. Box 16 Bk. I.Close Roll 9 Henry 111. Mcmb. 14. Charter 821 BCS 367. Discussed in Wallenberg. Kentish Place-names. p. 140-1. Charter 822 BCS 370. Discussed in Wallenberg. Kentish Place- ames pp. 141/5. Ekwall. E. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. 4th. ed. pp.161/168 & 204 Walknberg. J. K. Kentish Place-names. p. 144. Editor: Whitelock. D. English Historical Documents. Vol. I. p. 474/5. Birchs Cartularium Saxonicun1 370. A.O. 822. Hewlett. G. 'ReconsLructing a Historical Landscape from Field & Documentary Evidence'. Agricultural History Revie1v, Vol. 21. 1973. pp. 94-110 Ward. The Making of the Great Park at Otford. Arch. Cant. Vol. XI..11. 1929. pp. 1-11 As 13. above. Bowden. M. The Medieval Park at Kemsing. Arch. Cant. Vol. CXV I. I 996. pp. 329- 332 Ward Files. Sevenoaks Library Local Studies. Box 6 Bk. I. Fines 20- 118-25. Ward. Sevenoaks Library Local Srudies. Box 16. Bk. I. Close Rolls. 9 Henry 111. Memb. 14. Harrison. Sir. E. Frontispiece Map of lghtham in reprint from Arch. Cant. Vol. XLVI11 of 'The Court Rolls and OLher Records of the Manor of Ightham. 1841 Wrotham Tithe Map Apportionments. Nos. 1525-75 & 960 at Park Farm. Knocker. H.W. The Valley of Holmesdale. Arch. Cant. XXXI. p. 174. Witney. The Jutish Forest. p. 228. Ekwall. E. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. 4th. ed. p.105. Clarke & Stoyel. 'Otford in Kent'. pp. 111/2. Arch. Cant. Vol. 11. 1859. CBA Report No. 48. Archaeology in Kent 10 A.O. 1500. Blagg. Roman Kent p. 58. Philp. B & E. 'Archaeological Excavations in the Darenth ValJey'. p. 7. Fausse11 tile. Victoria County History. Vol. 111. p. 123. N.B. The tile at Broad St. was recorded by Faussetl, a careful and competent investigator, in 1773. The Plaxtol villa site was unknown until 1857. Margary. Ivan D. 'Roman Ways in the Weald'. Map inside back cover, and pp. 210/43. Editor: Whitelock. D. English Historical Documents. Vol. I. Anglo­ Saxon Chronicle. pp. 226/7. British Archaeology. Issue 65. June 2002. p. 43. 'Sustainability Fund in England'. £1,200 was shared by five applicants this year. Tbey were all to help people enjoy local history in different ways. Three were to help with producing books, both research and production costs. One will be on the life and works of Thomas Dearn and another on the history of Bearstead and Roseacre School. These will enable both the authors and their readers 10 enjoy local history. The other of these, Millennium History of Ulcombe, wiJI also involve a group of people in researching aspects of the rustory of their locality. A similar grant, but for research and mounting an exhi­ bition on changes in church and community in Otham and Langley, will encourage similar involvement (the preliminary results of this grant appears under 'Events' on page 4). The fifth grant was to an individual for research on the history of Higham Priory. Application forms for grants can be obtained from the Hon.General Secretary (contact details opposite) and the appli­ cations must reach him by 31 st March next year. 5 Day Study Tour of Herefordshire and the Wye Valley ~ June 16th - 23rd I have recently written to the members who had not renewed their membership. I have been very pleased at the response - either in Following our very success­ ful first 5 day excursion thjs year to Derbyshire, we plan to spend 5 days in June 2003 vis­ iting Herefordshire and the Wye Valley. Based just outside the historic market town of Ross-on-Wye, we shalJ explore the castles, abbeys, churches and villages of the borderlands where Celt and Saxon faced each other. The Kentish con­ nection will be traced through As those members who wished to attend the Records Forum will by now appreciate, the date given in the July Newsletter was wrong. The Forum takes place on Saturday 19th October between 2-5pm at the Charing Barn, Charing and is admission free 10 any interested individual. We hope that this short notice will not preclude your attendance at this interesting programme, a reminder of whkh is below: Welcome and introduction by Paul Oldham, the Society's President. Terry Lawson, the Society's Honorary Editor, will the great Marcher fami.ly of De Clare who built Chepstow Castle, but who had founded their famjJy fortunes by the cre­ ation of the lowy of Tonbridge soon after the Conquest. Further details will appear in the January Newsletter or con­ tact Joy Saynor, Hon. Excursion Secretary at 'Friars', 28 High Street, Shoreham, Sevenoaks TN14 7TD tel: 01959 522713 for full details now. draw attention to recent publi­ cations. Mrs Tricia Rowsby, County Archivist from the Centre for Kentish Studies, will talk about archjve services and records developments, with some personal thoughts on what she would like to see pub­ lished, leading into: A general discussion concerning records publica­ tions, including the possibility of establisrung an independent subscription-finaneed Kent Records Society, this issue to be addressed by Dr Joan Thirsk, a member of the Publications Committee. renewing or giving me additional information allowing me to update my records. I have also contacted those of you who, according to my records, pay by standing order and are paying the incorrect amount or where banks have omjtted to pay at all this year. I am pleased to report a steady stream of new members and remind you that I have plenty of membership forms for you to dis­ tribute to helptokeep up thls trend! The address for aJI correspondence relating to membership is - Mrs Shiela Broomfield, KAS Membership, 8 Woodview Crescent, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TNll 9HD. Telephone 01732 838698. E-maj] - membership@kentar­ chaeology.org.uk or s.broom­ field@dial.pipex.com. Bags, ties and window stickers with the KAS logo are now on sale at half price. This brings the cost down to bags £2.50, ties £1.50 and stickers for only 20p! These eye­ catchlng items will of course be on sale at the Christmas Lunch, but can be obtained now from Joy Saynor tel: 0 I 959 522713. The contact addresses of the Hon.Membership Secretary and the Newsletter Editor appear within this publication. Other useful addresses include: Hon. General Secretary, Andrew Moffat, Three Elms, Woodlands Lane, Shorne, Gravesend DA12 3HH Email secretary@kentarchaeol­ ogy.org.uk Hon. Treasurer, Robin Thomas, I Abchurch Yard, Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BA Email treasurer@kentar­ chaeology.org.uk Communications Officer, John Hammond 01795 871199 or mob:07740 196940 Email jmhammond@btinternet.com At Whites Restaurant, The Hop Farm Country Park, Paddock Wood Price £ I9 per person - sherry & Tuesday, 12th November The Care and Preservation of Books, Documents and Visual lmages by Deborah Colarn 2.30 pm - admission £2 Thursday, 21st November Working with the Access® Database This is a day course on the con­ struction and use of databases in archaeological and historical research. Miranda Rix, an adult education lecturer, will give on-screen demonstrations with guests showing databases in action. I O am for I 0.15 am start, finish­ ing about 4 pm - admission £5 12.00 Traditional Christmas turkey lunch - alternative vegetarian or diabetic choice also available - There is a coffee shop on the premises. You may eat a packed lunch in the library or eat at any of the many restaurants close by. Lunch and coffee breaks not included in the course fee. Saturday, 11th January 2003 Publish and be ... Read! A guide to better layout and legibility for local history publications by Tom Sawyer 11 am - admission £2 To make y our reservation please telephone Denis Anstey on 01634 2400 I 5 or email to d@degian.demon.co.uk. Pay on the day. House, Southborough. See details on page 13. OR Members may spend the • wine pay on the day 11.00 Bar available. Bookstall, Gift stalls, Members publications r please ring Margaret Lawrence (tel.no. on form below) 10 order 1.30 The Thomas Clark Quire 2.15 Visit to the David Salomon afternoon at the Hop Farm with its museum and other facilities at no extra cost. I I ---------- I enclose a cheque for£ ................... for tickets for the Chrisnnas Lunch. I I Name ............................................................................................................................................ I Address ........................................................................................................................................ I ······· ·················· ······························•••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I ··························································•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I Postcode ............................................................. Tel ................................................................. I I need help with transport D (please tick) I ------------ I I I.. I would like to join the visit to the David Salomon House.£3.50 per person for the tour and tea & biscuits. I enclose£ ......................................... for tickets for the visit. Cheques to the Kent Archaeological Society together with SAE to: Mrs M Lawrence, Church Lane, East Peckham, Tonbridge, T H12 5JJ Tel: 01622 871945 I ..I 'IDEAS and IDEALS' Thi.\ i\ tire fo11rt/1 of a series of articles describing formative mv1•e111c11ts '""' idea\ in the history of t/1� church. These 11·ere tire crises of tl,01191,t and co11victio11 which bro11glrt m to where 1ve are. HENRY Vlll's REFORMATION T he previous article in this series examined the con­ stituency for a 'popular' Reformation stemming from a native heretical tradition - Lollardy. Here, we will explore the official, political or 'magisterial' Reformation instigat­ ed by Henry Vlll's break from Rome by 1534 and assess its impact upon the religious life of Kent in the early sixteenth century. That the Reformation brought about a dramatic cultural revolution in English hlstory cannot be overstat­ ed. For thls reason it is inappropri­ ate to depict religious develop­ ments under the Tudors as a mere side-show to the story of Herny Vlll's marital affairs. It is also mis­ leading to define the English Reformation as marking a theolog­ ical halfway house between Catholicism and Protestantism. Beginning under Henry, but more fundamentally continuing apace during the brief reign of his son Edward VI (1547-53), the English church was severed from its medieval devotional past, its for­ mularies and liturgy finally being remodelled after the Swiss Reformation of Huldrych Zwingli's Zurich and afterwards John Calvin's Geneva. By this it should not be taken to imply that religious change was inevitable or always welcomed when it arrived. The European Reformation commenced as a series of challenges to the ritual practices of the Western Church - 'a works based rel.igion' - sustained by the notion that remission of sin could be sought through the fulfil­ ment of pious actions. Reading the Bible, reformers viewed dependen­ cy upon works as impeding access to divine truth. Yet to speak of 'Henry VJIJ's Reformation' is some­ thing of a misnomer since the king, who hated the principal Continental reformer Martin Luther - the feeling was mutual - was never converted to the central Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone (solajideism ), the idea that all salvation was achieved by God's grace conveyed through the divine gift of faith in Christ, regard­ less of any human endeavour in good works. This held li11le appeal for Henry, a monarch assured of his role as Supreme Head of the Church, the guardian of his sub­ jects' spiritual well-being. However, whlle the king, once a pious son of the Catholic Church, made for an unlikely evangelical reformer, hls repudiation of the Papacy following his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, ensured that some restructuring of the royal out­ look would occur. One outcome of the King's Great Maller was a deep mistrust of the dergy's claims to act as an intercessory priesthood. Closely allied to Herny's emergent antidericalism lay an increasing detachment from a belief in purga­ tory, an intermediary place between heaven and hell where souls were purged with the help of prayers offered by the living. Purgatory formed the lynchpin of the Catholic devotional system. Herny's aban­ donment of it in the Ten Articles of 1536, his first statement of doc­ trine, as being 'uncertain by scrip­ ture', held grave implications for traditional practices in England. The first victims of the king's rejection of aspects of hls Catholic upbringing were the monasteries. These great conduits of the purga­ tory industry were primarily dis­ solved to furnish money for the defence of the realm, although as one religious reformer Hugh Latimer observed, 'the founding of monasteries argued purgatory to be, so the putting of them down argueth it not 10 be'. Possibly this motive was uppermost in the mind of Herny's vicar-general and ardent hatchet man Thomas Cromwell, responsible for the piecemeal liqui­ dation of all religious houses from 1535 until 1540. Kent was no exception, the county's 28 extant foundations - 22 monasteries and nunneries, along with 6 friaries - being coerced into surrendering by the encl of 1539, their lands and property being put up for sale, their former inmates being pensioned off. For Cromwell, ending the monastic life in England entailed denouncing the regular clergy as mischievous deceivers. An impor­ tant cause celebre for the vicar-gener­ al and his supporters was provided by Boxley Abbey with its miracu­ lous 'Rood of Grace' famed for responding to penitents by moving its eyes and lips. Exposed as a fraud in January 1538, the rood was held up to public ridicule in London. The Boxley incident also set a convenient precedent for Cromwell's injunctions of September I 538, whicl1 inveighed against the veneration of shrines and images and commanded every church to purchase 'one book of the whole Bible' in English, realis­ ing reformers' concerns that Scripture be made accessible to all. Across Kent these orders prompted action to remove images from churches. A famous casualty of thls spate of iconoclasm, a sure sign of Reformation on the move, was the shrine of St Thomas Becket, whlch as a lingering sym­ bol of ecclesiastical resistance to the crown bad to go. The sudden loss of the monas­ teries and major pilgrin1age sites caused irreparable damage to tradi­ tional Catholicism in Kent. On the other hand, the 1538 injunctions marked the hlgh-tide of Protestant reform in Henrician England, whlch receded after Cromwell's fall - ultimately for misjudging the king's tastes in women with wife number four, Anne of Cleves. Herny retreated into his instinctive conservatism for the rest of his reign as traditionalists and evan­ gelicals vied for royal attention. Faction fighting occurred in Kent, where despite the county's early exposure 10 Continental reformed ideas, the Reformation remained a hotly contested affair, impeded by a body of conservative clergy and gentry linked 10 Archbishop William Warham - the force behlnd the heresy trials of 1511-12 - and his protege John Fisher of Rochester. In the early 1530s, they had backed the self-proclaimed mystic and critic of the royal divorce, Elizabeth Barton, the 'Holy Maid of Kent'. In September 1543, remnants of lhls earlier group con­ spired to undermine the evangeli­ cal cause again by atlempting to discredit Warham's immediate suc­ cessor, Thomas Crann1er, the most prominent patron of reformers in Canterbury diocese. Cranmer is most fondly remembered as the compiler of the Book of Common Prayer. Less well known is his work as a local diocesan governor, the result of a meteoric rise 10 the primacy I\ hiLh O\\ ed much 10 hi .111,1 hmen1 - along with Thomas Cronl\,ell - 10 the circle of evangel­ icJI around Anne Boleyn. He remained Henry's faithful if not entirely uncritical servant there­ after. Becau e of this the king took again t the manoeuvres by leading traditionalists, including members of the Canterbury cathedral chap­ ter during the so-called 'Prebendaries Plot', to label the Archbishop a heretic. Royal reac­ tion against conservatives enabled evangelicals to seize the initiative at Henry's death in 1547, the con­ cept of a national church indepen­ dent or Rome became credible and concrete. Henrician ecclesiastical policy had the negative effect of sweeping away familiar markings on the Catholic landscape without laying the foundations for a new Protestant faith. This changed with the accession of his son, the boy king Edward VI. If Henry was content to draw parallels between himseU and King David, Edward, as the recipient of a forwardly evangelical education, came to be identified with the Old Testament figures of Josiah and Solomon, the scourge of idols and the builder of the Temple respectively. The fust Parliament of the new reign, con­ vened by the king's uncle Edward Seymour, Protector Somerset. finalised the assault on purgatory by abolishing chantries (39 in Kent) and religious fraternities. With the closure of these mutual­ aid societies for the afterlife, estab­ lished for the purpose of providing masses for the souls of past donors, the Edwardian regime then embarked on a wider programme to dismantle the mass itself. Reformers disliked the mass for several reasons. To begin with, the rites were conducted in Latin, which they argued communicants could not understand. They also maintained that the celebration was theologically unsound. In par­ ticular, 'transubstantiation', the idea that the bread and wine at the moment of consecration were transformed into the body and blood of Christ, was questioned on the grounds that the priest per­ formed a good work by making a sacrificial offering 10 the Father. Cranmer in consultation with Peter Martyr and Martin Bucer - Continental reformers installed as divinity professors at Oxford and Cambridge - rejected notions of a real or corporeal presence in the eucharist. Instead, he rapidly came to advance a memorial view of the sacrament whereby the commu­ nion service became a thanksgiv- ing, the bread and wine remaining as vi ible signs of the Lord's Supper and tokens of the believer's faith since in Cranmer's own words ·only the faithful consume the body of Christ ...with the heart, not with the teeth'. a position still held by the Church or England. Such thinking, more aligned to the Swiss than the German Lutheran Reformation, lay at the heart of the Archbishop's designs for an English liturgy published in 1549. Consequently, the first Prayer Book's more far-reaching successor or 1552, backed by Somerset's usurper John Dudley, Duke or Northumberland, omitted any reference to the consecration of the elements by the celebrant, who was to be regarded as a teaching pastor rather than a priest. In 1550, to reinforce the new liturgy, stone altars were replaced by wood­ en communion tables, the empha­ sis being placed upon 'supper' rather than 'sacrifice'. Within the space of a few years, the framework of a Protestant settlement was cod­ ified in the Forty 'Two Articles of 1553, which by including state­ ments of unconditional predestina­ tion • the idea that God had divid­ ed the world into the elect and reprobate • provided the touch­ stone for English Protestant ortho­ doxy down to the seventeenth cen­ tury. Following the brief interlude of Queen Mary's reign (1553-58), the Edwardian liturgy and formu­ laries were resurrected, albeit in a crystallised form, under Elizabeth. So far it remains to be seen how religious change was received by the people of Kent, a difficult issue to fathom since sources allowing for an accurate quantifica­ tion of religious opinion do not exist for the Tudor period. A strong body of conservative opinion in Kent has already been noted. On the other hand, it is possible to uncover tangible links between the county's Lollard legacy and the spread of reformed beliefs, reflect­ ed perhaps in the proportionally high number of 66 Kentish martyr­ doms under Mary, with only the capital witnessing more burnings. Whether all dissenters from the Marian church were convinced Edwardian Protestants or heretics in a more fundamental sense is not easy to determine. At the same time, the tight ecclesiastical control exercised locally by energetic Catholic officials such as Archdeacon Nicholas Harpsfield may explain much. However, a large proportion, 12 percent of the 2,443 pre-1558 reformers identified by John Fines, originated from Kent. Similar ly, the county's repu- tation as a hotbed for reformed ideas was assured when the Protestant and former Edwardian sheriff, Sir Thomas Wyatt or Allington, was able 10 muster around 3,000 Kentish followers for his abortive uprising to depose Mary in favour or her half-sister Elizabeth in 1554. Wyatt's rebellion was occa­ sioned by Mary's marriage 10 Philip of Spain. In pitching for support, Wyatt made a direct appeal to a sense of English patriotism against a perceived Spanish and Catholic threat, a sentiment with prescience for a key aspect of mainstream Protestantism as it developed in Elizabeth's reign. Yet hostility towards 'Papery' formed part of the process whereby the Tudor found­ ing fathers wrenched the EnglJsh church from its medieval moorings. By equipping the church with a reformed liturgy conveying a memorialist view of the eucharist and a formulary emphasising pre­ destinarian teaching, Edwardian reformers sought theological dis­ continuity from the past. Priests were to serve as pastors, preaching the Gospel and the divine law to society. Parish church interiors were purged of 'superstitious· sacred imagery along with other offending physical objects of tradi­ tional worship, most conspicuously the altar. The old devotional world was systematically swept away. For this reason. the Edwardian Reformation should be viewed as a religious revolution conducted without reference to a moderating spirit of 'Anglicanism', the later intellectual origins of which await treatment in future editions or this newsletter. Matthew Reynolds Suggestions for further reading, M. Aston. England's lconoclasrs. 1: Laws against Images (Oxford, 1988) D. Macculloch, Thomas Cranmer: a Life (New Haven, 1996) D. MacCulloch, Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation ( London, I999) A. E. McGrath, Reformation Thought: an 111/roduction, 3rd edn. (Oxford, I 999) N. Tyacke, Aspects of English Protesra111ism c. 1530-1700 (Manchester, 200 l ). eh. I. M. Zell (ed.), Early Modem Ke/111540- 1640 (Woodbridge, 2000), chs. 6 & 7. Aops of Canterbury's manor large area of the archbish­ The Field School located the some of which were glazed. 2h0o0usme eatrtesTetoynthemn,orstohmoef tehxecacvhauterdch,ov(esere tmheapE)awstaesr Archaehoololigdiacayl bFyienldumSecrhoouosl Ksetun­t fdoeunntsd.aKtioensishweraregstroenveawleadlls saungd­ gtieasltisntgontheastttrhucetruerwe aflsoaorseudbswtaitnh­ wI 3athlls cewnetruerypdlaecstoerraetdedwtiiltehs. liTmhe mreodr taanr,dwohchichre wpaigsmdenotranedd wiitnh­ adnodwsglawzeerdewcaitrhvesdtaiinnedCagelansss.toTnhe irnooftwwascocolovuerres,d yienlloclway apnedg trieleds, build ing three years ago with field A section of the surviving south foundation wall with the demolished building material filling the medieval cellar. ........ ..... . . Easter Excavation at Teynham . . . .' • 0 Excavation area some 200 metres north ofSt Mary's Church. vthiseitre onth1e3mthaJnuolryhinouthsee. pHreesedniecde boof ththe eBnitsohuorpagoefs. RocheInster 1a2n79d wDoaclkuimngenatanrdy egveiodpehnycseicfarol msu1rv3e7y6. gwaartdeernmilal,re vianlel yainrdcluadned sinaffrtohne AtorcQhubeisehnoEpleJaonhonr, Pweicfke.hoafmEdwwraortde ipnledxicaintecslutdheadt ttwheo bgurailndgineg bcaornms­, irteecmorisdesd aarcecoufrnotms. 1T1h8e5, eawrhli ent fI,utl hCahtahpeelhaatdT'ebyunihltaamvewryhibcehayuotui­ A cloister, great hall, squire's one f r barley, the other for corn. chamber, vine tenderer's house, Adercnhcbe.ishopInBal1d2w0i5n wAarcshibnisrheosip­ HfourbheisrtaWlmaoltestr,rwoyhaol ewsatasbrelinshomwennetd, pass this way'. will be pleased with when you Dr Paul Wilkinson T service of original and replica Object loans across cultures through time he Outreach Collectio is a loan KobejnetctCsouthnatyt Caoruencsiul ptoplsiechdooblys amnednotst.heArsepdaurctatoifonthael eAstnabs liasnhd­ pret •objectsshaoiwdshourthuenadbeirlsittayntdoiinngteor-f atebailcihtieerss. wCihtihldpruenpilws iothf aspwehcoialel lreaanrgneinogf the w•orld show that specialist know!- odbifjfeicctusltimesoraerceffoefctetinvelaybltehatno wreiltahte thtoe eodbjgeectsis not essential to learn from wwrhiettnenthweyoradreaanbdleilltuoshtraantdiolnestheespoebcjieacltlys LpilbiersaroierisginDaelpoarbtjmecetns,t htighhe qsuearvliitcye msuopd­­ uelrsaal nhdisrteoprylicaasncdovdeervineglotphmeehnisttobroy,thnaot­f tKioenst aanred uofsethdeewxtiednesrivweolyrldb.yTthe cwolhleocle­ objec•ts in thheelpclatessarcohoemrs to make use of curri•culummaankde onbojtecstisn1cpelyntrcallastsorotohme deco•rationsshow cross-curricular appli- tino rtehceoirgonwisne, tiidmene.tiDfy,evoeblsoeprvinegatnhde arebciloirtdy dareeveslopeedorustihneg vtihtael slokailnlss thcoaltleccatinonbse. Tofhkesneowsklieldlsgelincaknedrewaliltyhhdeilfpfecrehinldt rfeineldtos tehdeucUantiiovneraslitsypoefcttrhuem3rfdroAmge.Nursery lo dardThaenrde laarreget.wo tSytpaensdaorfdlolaona,nsstare­ toafifnerebdoxoens aohf aolfn-teermorlysbevaesirsalanodbjecoctns­. catioWnshaenredptoesascihbilnegthte ohbnjieqcutsesfrom the cuonndceerpstsnodf chmronreolocgleya, rclhyantghe, cdoinfftiicnuul­t OdiuetdrebaychchCilodlrlentiaondcsatnudbeentrsr.eeTlhyishaunse- ity, dTehveelOopumtreancth, pCrollreecstsioannids cmualtnuargee. d ostraonbdjecttshien cplarsessecnant, help pupils under- by Peter Divalclloasned ernecaolluyndteoreswoitfhferth'ea aLarerguesuloaallnys laoraenerodofmor suizpedtoseItOtiwngosrkaing etasnpceeciaollry ttehcehninollpoogry-. .,,� hreiastlotrhyinmga.'teTrhiael rparnovgiedeodf danayds.aTnhaeisre rianicdlusdheelateVr.ictAorlilanloaPnasrloaurer aItn caundaelrssotasntdiminuglaoter a "'U'TREACH bpyre-thhiestoCroyllecthtiroonugchovetros vdiecleiv. ered and collected as part of the ser­ otuthreesr itnimaesvearynddicruecl-t COLLECTION 2p0atrhticCuelanrtluyry iwnittehrestimnge an exFtoerntseiavcehrearnsgethoef csoulercetisonofs vperroifvicidae­ wtiohno,leinrafonrgme aotfiotonpiacns.dByinlsinpikriantigotnheocnola­ aimndporttaanngtibalsepewctayo.r uPseirnhgaposbjetchtes ims tohset Ralomhaisntomryateorbiajel cftrsominKcelundt.e Tbhiredsnaatunrd­ mstuodtievnattsio. nItitisinosnpeiretshiinng thtoe rpeuadpilsabaonudt dmeatamilms aolrs.thFoerorbujnechtserthinaftoarmreataivoanilaabnlde sleucptipoonrst wmiathtertihaelscusurrcihculausmthaonsde upsuinbg­ aencieentot hEagnydplte, igtoiosdqsupitreodauncoethdearnedxpueserid- PfoerteloraDnivpallelase contact: slihshoertdagbeyoEfnegxlcisithinHgetrhitinags tfhorerpeuapriels nlo lloeanns asnerdvidcoe auisnin1sgttoh: e loan objects. The tbhyoutshaendEygeyaprstiagos. themselves, three TKhCeCOAuntrse&acLhibCroalrleiecst,ioGnibson Drive, ColleTchtieon coabnjebcetsuseidn verytheeffeOctuivterelyacbhy Kenngts. MHiEll2,0W4eAstL MalTlienl:g 01622 605226 r Guidelines for Newsletter inclusions ble for this. This criteria obvious­ ly docs not apply to illus1ra1ions either produced, or commissioned by, the author. he Ncwslcuer aims have a ·current events' feel - to be a magazine that carries news from around the county (and elsewhere when appropriate) of interest to members, including events, conferences, lec­ tures, opportunities for study etc... Occasional articles should, if possible, be no longer than 1200 words with illustration/s, 1500 words without illustrations. If an author wishes to submit a longer artide, inclusion will be depen­ dent upon available space. Longer articles could be accommodated on an 'instalment' basis. Please contact me if you would like to arrange this. Articles of around 600-800 words with one or two illustrations fit well onto one page and are the preferred format. Submission of copy by email or disc would be much appreciat­ ed. If this is not possible, typed copy is preferable to handwritten, which can lead to errors of inter- r Christmas� Lunch� • November 30th at the Hop Farm Paddock Wood. he bar will be serving from I Iam and lunch will be served at 12. During this hour Members will have the opportunity 10 browse the bookstail and a.re also invited to bring their own publications along for purchase. Your new Communications Officer and Newsletrer Editor look forward to this opportunity to meet KAS members in festive spirit. The entertainmenL after the lunch will be a return visit of the ma.rvellous Thomas Clark Qui.re, performing a new selection of music sung in churches before the introduction of the church organ. This will be followed by a visit to the David Salomons House at Southborough. The house is not normally open to the public so the opportunity of a conducted tour is a privilege. The building itself is a pretation! All submissions of more than 200 words should state num­ ber of words if not submitted elec­ tronicaJJy. Illustrative material can be submiued in slide or print form, or sent electronicaily. Please note that some colou.r material does not convert to a B&W image well due to loss of contrast; supplying B&W originals is preferable unless the article is to appea.r on the 4 designated colour pages. The editor reserves the right to change/omit copy but will always inform the contributor in advance. Copyright for illustrations: The editor positively welcomes any illustrative material to accom­ pany articles; colour reproduction is available for front & back pages both inside & out, black & white elsewhere within the newsletter. However, the copyright to any illustration taken from previously published works must be addressed by the author of the anicle; the editor is not responsi- substantial country house but its delights are so numerous a brief outline wiJI have to suffice! They give an insight into aspects of local history not seen on any other site including electricity, photog­ raphy, motor mechanics and a pri­ vate Victorian theatre containing the last organ of its type in the Inserts: Inserts from outside bodies (non-KAS organisations) must be pre-printed. Charges for insertion will be £50 for commercial, £25 for non-commercial, for a standard single sheet of AS. Larger/heavier inserts will be cha.rged to reflect the greater cost of postage. These charges will be revised in January of each year. The option is also available of paying for advertising space within the Newsletter, cost of which wilJ be dependent on size and colour/B&W pages. Please contact me for further details. FinaLly, please note that the contributor/author of work is responsible for ensuring that there is nothing defamatory in the arti­ cle; the KAS do not have insur­ ance for libel and will not indem­ nify the author against libel pro­ ceedings. Please don't hesitate to con­ tact me if you have any further questions. Lyn Palmer Editor world. The Welte organ has been restored at a cost of £400,000 - and we are expecting to hear it played! Full historical details can be found on www.salomons.org.uk or can be sent with ticket if requested. Booking form for this event can be found on page 9. Dear Editor FYLFOT-CROSSES I have been studying aspects of the ecclesiastical symbolism as found in the Roman catacombs and later in Western Europe, and I am hoping that you may be able to help me with one specific enquiry. My current research is focussed on the Fylfot-Crosses found in the church of Great Canfield, near Great Dunmow in Essex. -r According to his­ - -------1 torians five of mto the porch � I!:Ji !:Ji !:Ji !:Ji� �hem were carved stonework in the early part of the 12th century, as illustrated in the diagram above. a This symbol was used in Denmark in variety of ways both ecclesiastical and secular, and according to one authority it appeared on a baptismal font in one of their churches, but sadly he gave no specif­ ic details. In conversation some time ago I was told that there was a similar example to be found in Kent, again without any specific location mentioned. I wondered if any of your members might know of its occurrence or know someone who would be able to confirm the matter. The Revd.Stephen Taylor Dear Editor As always, I am very much enjoying the variety of reports in the new volume of Archaeologia Cantiana. Andrew Pearson's analysis of the fabric of the Saxon Shore Fons makes a welcome contribution to our unders1anding of their construction, though I cannot understand why he states the Isle of Sheppey 10 be the nearest source of sep1aria/cemen1s1one 10 Reculver and Richborough. The six miles of London clay coastline from Bishopstone, through Herne Bay, Studd Hill, Swalediffe and Tankerton, most of it subject to rapid ero­ sion, yielded a plentiful supply of septaria nod­ ules until the cliffs were grad­ ed and the sea walls built. Even allowing for a larger Sheppey 2000 years ago, this soUlhem shore of the estuary was right on Rcculver's doorstep and easily accessible by sea. Much appreciated was the tribute to our Whitstable historian, the late Wallace Harvey. May I set the record straight on just a couple of points? Mention was made of his work as a Reader in the Canterbury Diocese: he was admiued to that office relatively late in his life (in June 1965, when Michael Ramsey was Archbishop), though he had already served for many years as a local preacher in the Methodist Church. Recognition was also given to his sterling work on the former Whitstable Urban District Council, but I should point out that he was Council Chairman only during the I950's period referred 10. He was no longer on the Council in the 1971-74 period, when Councillors Cicely Grundon, Hubert Skinner and Mick O'Callaghan each served a year as Chairman. Michael Whitley Dear Editor TWO ENTIRE KENTISH VILLAGES THREATENED WITH ANNIHILATION All those who care about our county's history should be concerned about the intention to annihilate two whole villages if the plan goes ahead to establish Britain's biggest airport (twice the capacity of Heathrow) on the Hoo peninsula. with be wiped off the map, along All Hallows and St Mary's Hoowould their age their mediaeval churches and all historic buildings. Severe dam­ would also be suffered by 6 neigh­ bouring parishes (Cliffe, Cooling, Grain, High Halstow, Hoo and Stoke) All the buildings concerned- those to be destroyed and those which would be blighted, including Cooling Castle - are listed in the Kent Historic Buildings Index for Medway compiled by the late Kenneth Gravett, copies of which are available from me price £3 including postage together with guid­ ance notes for those who wish to com­ ment on the plan. Michael H Peters Kent Histon"cal Buildings Committee 'lo CPRE Kent Coldharbour Farm, Amage Road, Wye, Ashford Kent TN25 5DB N Young Archaeologists in Kent � - - ----- proud that they put the presenters straight when asked about their subject, orth Downs YAC continues to be as popular as ever. Some recent meetings have included a day trip to Avebury, West Kennet long barrow and Stonehenge, the latter with privileged access granted by English Heritage to walk amongst the stones. We have carried out a gravestone survey around Thurnham d1urch, auended the 30th birthday party of YAC at the British Museum and visited Time Team at Greenwich, seardling for Henry VIIl's tilt yard. We have visited 'Military Odyssey' at Delling and are planning a joint Christmas meeting with the Canterbury branch of YAC 10 which Carenza Lewis is invited. On 2Ist July we celebrated National Archaeology Day with an Iron Age Family Activity Day at While Horse Wood, Thurnham, held in association with KCC Heritage. Activities included tasting Iron Age recipes, constructing Boudicca's chariot, making edible torcs, weaving and braiding, and using fabric paint with stencils to make Iron Age designs. Giles Guthrie, Acting Keeper of Human History from Maidstone Museum, brought along Iron Age arte­ facts including slave chains. He was most generous with his time and spent the day talking to fascinated children. We were fortunate to have the living his­ tory group Cantiaci as our special guests. They painted skin with woad and demonstrated facets of life in the Iron Age. For many dlildren the highlight though, was the dlance to get in a real mess spreading daub on waule walls! Four branch members recently rep­ resented YAC on the Children's BBC programme 'XChange', in an episode focussed on prehistoric life. We were emphasising that archaeology was the 8 a�ed in woodland adjacent 10 the Wildwood Discovery Park near Canterbury, the_ Wychhurst Project sees the reahsauon of a dream by Rcgia Anglorum, a re­ enactment group commi11ed 10 life in the centuries when the locals were building defensive burghs as pro­ tection against marauding Vikings. Following the granting of planning permission, 2 acres of land were pur­ chased in August 2000 and clearance enabled work 10 begin in earnest. A ditch and rampart were constructed around one acre, following the erection outside this of a small sunken-featured stantial oak-framed artisan's cottage with panelled walls and thatched roof - the 'Gebur's cottage' - built for Meridian TV's 'Time Tourists'. Construction is underway inside the defensive features of the largest struc­ ture, the Longhall. Historically these served as the home and headquarters of the Thegn of a Manorial Burgh, domi­ nating the landscape and the central focus of all local activity. The Wychurst longhouse will be 60 by 30 foot long and 30 feet high, with a design that meets modern building regulations, quite a feat considering that 23 tons of oak will be used, with timbers 10 inches thick Above: A11 idealtzed arttst's impressio11 of tire fi11islred i11terior of tire Longhall. Below: The 'Gebur·s cottage'. building - the Grubenhaus - and a sub- Riglr1. Aerial vrew of 1/re di/cir c111d rn111par1. Below: Rcgia A11glor11111 vol1111teers C011Slr11ct tire fra111e1vork for tire 111iglrty Lo119lral/. and 20 feet long in some cases! Each of t the main uprights weighs nearly a ton. Regia Anglorum will display exam­ ples of the crafts, agriculture and ani­ mal husbandry of the time, as well as battle displays . Educational opportu­ nities will play a leading role in the life of the Burgh and it is hoped that many schools and youth groups will explore life in the 11th cen­ tury! The Project, a huge undertaking for a private society, is self-financing and labour is voluntary. Work weekends take place regularly and Regia Anglorum would be delighted to hear from anyone with an interest in gelling involved; if construction doesn't appeal, your horticultural knowledge would be welcomed as a great deal of weeding and preparation of the herb gardens on site has to be done. They can be con­ tacted through Nigel Amos, Wychurst Co-ordinator, 5 Kingswood Road, Gillingham ME7 !DZ email: nigel_amos@yahoo.co.uk . study of man and not dinosaurs, as the Isle of Thanet branch of the YAC BBC researchers seemed 10 believe! has had an outdoor summer. On a warm Kate Kersey Left: Searclri11gfor carvi119s inside Stonelrenge. Abo11e, left to rrgltt: Privileged visitors at Sto11elrenge, appearing 011 CBBC's 'XClra11ge' n,rd daub spreadi119 at White Horse Wood. evening in May we enjoyed ourselves washing artimal bone from last year's dig on the Roman Villa at Minster. Members had fun trying to identify the various animals, proba­ bly not very successfully, as dinosaur was the preferred identification! Seven members with their parents took part in a history quiz around Broadstairs Harbour in June and in July we all visited the Shell Grotto in Margate. Thls is a very enigmat­ ic building which has puzzled everybody and defied even carbon­ dating. YAC members made their own suggestions for its raison d'e­ tre and have been collecting shells all summer ready to make their own version of a panel from the Grotto during the Autumn. Jose Gibbs ' - . AIIIIIIIIII 2002 15 J oan Th.irsk was elected a Patron of the KAS in Ma}', an accolade which honoured her lifetime as an eminent historian. I request• ed an interview to find out about a career which has specialised in the agrarian past - but so many other facets of her life presented themselves during our talk that my departing remark concerned the impossibility of condensing them within a page! Born in London, an interest in agriculture seemed unlikely for a city girl. Joan how­ ever, has rraced her roots back to 1780 to the Enfield area, posrulat• ing that the family name of Watkins originated through Welsh drovers who brought animals to Smithfield; perhaps farming is in the blood? Her interest in history was superseded by her decision to study modern languages, at Westfield College for women in London. But in 1942, one year into her course, an ultimatum was issued, requesting a promise 10 teach or do war work. Joan chose the !alter and went imo the ATS. Her language skills were needed • thus began three years at Bletchley. She hasn't seen the recent film 'Enigma' but did comment on the glamorisation of a role "which we all knew was important, but was a rou­ tine. Nobody had the 'big picture' for security's sake". Here she met her future husband, marrying in 1945. She was amused on a recent visit to the centre to see a photograph from those days of a party, peopled by those from huts 6 and 3, "can't remember the occasion, but Asa Briggs is there although I've been sliced off the side!" Married, and returning to Westfield after the war, a decision to switch subjects was history's gain. However, her linguistic studies have added a European dimension to her historical interpretation, an approach she feels missing in many historians today. A feminist stance has increased with age, fuelled by irritation at the way in which 'people-orientated' themes ( costume, food and personal lives) once the derided province of 19th century women historians, are now tackled in the media using male confiscation of royalist lands during the Civil War and sub equent Restoration. A move to Leice ter University to take up a Research Fellowship on the agrarian history of Lincolnshire saw the germination of a Joan outside her home a1 Hadloiv Castle. scheme devised for a grand survey of England and Wales. The first volume, wrillen by Joan, of the mighty 'Agrarian History', appeared in 1967 and was "sparkling, innovative". She eventually became the editor in 1975; the final volume (7) appeared in 2000. Her ground-breaking career path was accomplished whilst raising her children, born in 1954 and 1956 respectively. Commuting between London and Leicester meant that fam­ ily life stayed intact, although her subsequent move to Oxford ("a very masculine place!") to take up a Readership led to the purchase of a lit• tie house where family holidays could be spent. This was the first of a suc• cession of near-derelict houses ( from C S Lewis's in Oxford to southern Spain), which needed complete reno­ vation. Joan has mixed and laid con• crete, built and plastered walls and is a dab hand at the decorative finishing touches of paper and paint! Her cur­ rent home in Hadlow Castle was l'ing past on a dark. \tormy artcrnoon wi1h crows wheeling around iht· 1owcr. "we jml knew wt· had to live 1hcrc". A shell after partial demoli­ tion by a developer, it was made hab• itablc during work weekend� and is now a suitably clis1inc1ive residence for occupants of dis1inc1ion! Dr Joan Thirsk csE bought in 1954, lir�I \ccn when dri­ Following her husband's retirement, 1he family lived in Oxford for I O years. In 1983. finding the training and supervi­ sion of postgraduates dishearten­ ing due to the lack of their employment prospects, Joan also opted for retirement from University life. At this point Hadlow Castle became their per­ manent home rather than a weekend retreat. Throughout our conversation 'alternatives' were a recurring theme, from the alternative stance of women historians to alternative career options. In 1997 'Alternative Agriculture - From the Black Death to the Present Day' was published, deal­ ing with recurring crises in farm­ ing. "We're curremly in the fourth such experience, with farmers searching for alternatives; I can almost predict events". Joan is currently working on food history between 1500 and 1750 and has given eight seminars in America on the sub­ ject. She has also been asked to write an essay, as the only living member of its original executive committee, for the British Agricultural History Society describing its formation in 1953. The Society is soon to hold a celebration of her life and work. The 'superwoman· label applied to women during the last two decades - those who juggle home, family and career - applies equally to women like her during the earlier 20th century, pioneers in their fields. She was keen to stress though, that "my whole aca­ demic life has been tailored not to disturb my family - I would have been tempted by all sorts of wonder• ful posts otherwise". Joan was 80 this year. Her achievements are undisputed and her vitality undimin­ ished; the KAS are proud 10 have her as a Patron. The Editor 16 'X11i111111i 2002 presenters. Offered the CBE in 1994, Joan's mixed feelings about the hon• ours system were overcome by the feeling that, as one of few women so chosen, she should accept. She was not surprised to find herself the only woman recipient at the ceremony. Having gained a first at Westfield she was offered a graduate stu­ dentship, and with R. H.Tawney as her supervisor, produced a thesis on the Copy deadlinefor the next issue in Ja1111ary is Monday December 2nd. _ The editor wishes to dra w a//ention lo thefart tha1 neither she nor the Council of1he Warr answerable for opinions wh,ch contnbuton may express m their s�ntd articles; each author is alo11t rrsponsiblefor tht contmts and substancr of their IIWk. Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, The Museum, St Faith's Street. Maidstone. Kent. ME 14 t LH www.kentarchaeology.org.uk