KAS Newsletter, Issue 69, Summer 2006

nneewwss ll ee tt tt ee rr K E N T A RC H A E O LO G I C A L S O C I E T Y Issue number 69 Summer 2006 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Inside 2-3 Grange Farm 4-5 KAS Library Courses John Dunkin 6-7 What’s On 8-9 Notice Board 10-11 England’s Past 12-13 Manuscript Treasure Report Phillimore Writers Friends of Medway Archives 14-15 Baby Barrow 16 Wristguards ROMAN MAUSOLEUM REVEALS TEENAGE GIRL LAID TO REST WITH HER FINERY G I L L I N G H A M J E W E L S An archaeological excavation was u n d e rtaken by Pre - C o n s t ru c t Archaeology Limited at Grange Farm outside Gillingham, ending in April 2006. Six months of extensive work revealed an unexpected depth of archaeology, producing a wealth of finds and information, predominately from the Roman period. The investigation was undertaken on behalf of Taylor Woodrow and Persimmon (South East) Homes with the assistance of Duncan Hawkins, CgMs Consulting, and was supervised by Guy Seddon. An initial evaluation of 51 trenches across the site found G R A N G E FA R M E X C AVAT I O N Summer 2006 2 10 ditches and a few pits dating to the Late Iron Age through to the end of Roman Britain. This suggested a small agricultural settlement, possibly centered on the site of the medieval Grench Manor, which lies at early Romano-British rectilinear enclosures d e m a rcated by large boundary ditches. These are thought to have been filled in around the 3rd century, being replaced with masonry walls, running along the same alignments. Around the same time there seems to have been a major phase of rebuilding on the site with barn-like timber framed buildings with stone post pads and cobbled floors being erected to the east of the roadway. The roadway itself was also slightly diverted as its old course had to be revetted. It swung to the east around the revetment, through the new building complex and back west onto its original course. To the west of the roadway, in a commanding position, lay a 3rd century mausoleum containing a teenage girl in a lead coffin. Two gold necklaces were found overlying the grave but no further goods were found with the skeleton. The masonry walls had been extensively robbed out and the presence of further human remains in the backfill suggest the building may once have contained more than one burial. After the abandonment of the road and buildings a considerable thickness of a Roman ‘dark earth’ built up over the remains of these features and survived the later ploughing. This soil produced large quantities of pottery, building materials and domestic rubbish, together with a particular wealth of coins, tools, small finds, ornaments and weapons, with the help of local metal detectorists working in cooperation. Whether this concentration of finds is due to the intensity of occupation in the immediate area or because it was protected by the revetting/terracing is as yet unclear. While over most of the site the natural brickearth lay circa 40cm below the surface, the depth of archaeology in this built up commercial area was up to 2m! The building complex was delineated on its southern and western sides by impressive flint walls, the foundations of which survived within the lee of the hillside slope. That these walls must have been visually grand could be imagined when one of the corners was found to have collapsed, preserving the pattern of the tiled quoin, corner decoration. The Roman structures were systematically later robbed of building materials, evident in the almost total removal of the mausoleum foundations and the re-use of Roman building materials within the fabric of the surviving medieval elements of Grench Manor. Peter Moore Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited the heart of the area of excavation. However, as the excavations expanded beyond the area of the original evaluation onto additional land, it was discovered that despite the severe ploughing, the site had concentrations of unusually well preserved archaeology surviving in discrete locations. One of the earliest features was a northsouth aligned Roman road crossing the entirety of the site, probably linking the nearby Watling Street with the Medway coast. In places the lower layers of the road and its side ditches survived intact, but in other places it had been entirely ploughed away. Towards the north of the site the road seemed to be lined with quarry pits, presumably for easy transport of the local brickearth. To the west of the road were a series of 3 Summer 2006 COVER : The mausoleum, looking east across the area of concentrated structures and road before their excavation. Inset is one of the necklaces. OPPOSITEABOVE : Roman stud and belt mount, from the dark earth. OPPOSITEBELOW : Necklace from the mausoleum. BELOW : Bull’s head finial with phallus horn decoration, from a ditch with domestic rubbish. Summer 2006 4 ENGLAND 1914-1951: WAR, DEPRESSION AND SOCIAL CHANGE led by Dr J Bower . Monday mornings from 18 September between 10.15am and 12.15pm. The course takes place over 20 weeks, in two 10-week terms. The cost is £80.00. RESEARCHING LOCAL HISTOR Y led by Dr J Bower . 4 modules of 5 weeks each. Each module will include the historical background, with suggestions for further reading; introduction to sources; practical exercises using photocopied documents from collections at the Centre for Kentish Studies; suggestions for research projects and advice on how to set about them. Each module will be complete in itself, but there may be some overlap of content between modules. Monday afternoons between 2 and 4pm. The cost is £80.00 (£20.00 for each module). Module 1 from 18 September – The Victorian Community. How to use trade directories, census returns and a range of other sources to research towns and villages in Victorian Kent. Module 2 from 30 October – Reconstructing the Community. Using parish registers and other sources to reconstruct the population of a parish from the 16th to the 19th century. Module 3 from 8 January 2007 – Parish Affairs. Sources for local government in the 18th and early 19th century, especially the relief of the poor. Module 4 from 19 February 2007 – Life in Elizabethan and Stuart Kent. Using probate records and other sources to research work and living standards in the late 16th and 17th century, plus guidance on reading old handwriting.. TOWARDS A HISTORY OF MUSIC IN KENT Five lectures by Andrew Ashbee. From September 19 2-4pm. The cost is £20.00. Titles are ‘Early period to Elizabeth I’; ‘Elizabethan/Jacobean’; ‘Elizabethan to 17th century’; ‘18th and 19th century’; ‘20th century’. Booking forms for all 3 courses are included in this Newsletter K A S C O U R S E S I N T H E L I B R A RY * “Some Reminiscences of John Dunkin”, by E.R. Massey, Oxfordshire Archaeological Society Reports for the year 1901, pps 20-24. The author refers to two MSS in his possession, both in Dunkin’s handwriting, which he had purchased the year before from a London bookseller. 5 Summer 2006 Or rather, does any KAS member know when or why this splendid woodcut of our early nineteenth century historian John Dunkin was published? The print, on high quality paper and measuring 10ins. by 13 ins., is held in the collections of O x f o rd s h i re Studies in Oxford ’s Central Library. Photographic Collections Officer Stephen Rench would like to hear from you if you can identify the source of the print, or have any information that might throw light on its origins. Stephen can be contacted at the Central Library, telephone 01865 815749, or email Stephen.Rench@oxfordshire. gov.uk. If you can help in any way I should also like to hear from you at m.ocock@consp.co.uk or telephone 01869 323672. Having moved from Kent to Bicester five years ago, I find myself living close to Merton, the home of Dunkin’s family. Kent antiquarians, especially those with interests in D a rt f o rd and Bro m l e y, are well aware of the debt owed to Dunkin and, similarly, no Oxfordshire historian can ignore his contribution to the subject. His histories of Bicester and the Hundreds of Ploughley and Bullingdon, published in 1816 and 1823 respect i v e l y, are substantial works, which make essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the history of this part of Oxfordshire. A c c o rding to Dunkin’s diary, extracts of which are given in an article by E.R. Massey*, Dunkin was married to Ann Chapman, December 11th, 1809, at St. Mary’s, Islington and afterwards took up printing, setting up for himself at the age of 30 as a bookseller and printer at Bromley. His last published work was the History of Dartford in 1846. He died in Bromley in December 1846 and is buried in Dartford. Michael Ocock, Bicester DOESANYONERECOGNISETHISMAN? Summer 2006 6 celebration of these two iconic symbols of Bronze Age life. The symposium will bring together a wide range of scholars from many different specialisms to explore the economic, social and symbolic nature of cultural contact along the NW European seaboard in prehistory and the practical means by which cross-channel relations could be maintained. More details can be found at http://www.canterburytrust. co.uk/conference.htm. For booking, contact Denise Ryeland, DBABT Conference Co-ordinator, Tours of the Realm, Hammond House, Limekiln Street, Dover CT17 9EE; telephone 01304 240374; email bronzeageboat@btopenworld.com. Accommodation booking is available, with special conference accommodation rates, through the Dover Visitor Information Centre, telephone 01304 245400. CBA South East The Archaeology of the Weald: Bridge or Barrier? Saturday November 4, 10am-5.30pm at Gatton Hall, Gatton Park, Reigate, Sur rey Once a great forest stretching some 100 miles east-west and 30 miles n o rth-south across the counties of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire, the Weald is still one of the most heavily wooded areas of England. Traditionally seen as a barrier across south-eastern England, it was penetrable only with great difficulty for much of its history. To explore the truth, or otherwise, of this theme, CBA SE has brought together a number of leading specialists in the archaeology and history of the Weald. Papers and speakers include: Human presence in the Weald in the Mesolithic Richard Carter, University of Sussex and Chris Butler, Mid Sussex Field Archaeology Team The Roman period David Bird, former County Archaeologist, Surrey Late Iron Age and Roman-British ironworking; some fresh perspec - tives Jeremy Hodgkinson, Wealden Iron Research Group Who gave whom the right to settle where? Early Medieval Wealden Settlement Judie English, University of Sussex The Surrey Weald in Mid-Saxon times Dennis Tu rn e r, Surre y Archaeological Society Saxon Landscapes in the Western Weald Diana Chatwin, Wealden Buildings Study Group The transfer of vernacular building techniques across the Surrey Weald Martin Higgins, Historic Buildings Officer, Surrey County Council Gatton Hall is a Palladian-style mansion located close to junctions 7(M23) and 8 of the M25. There are no easily accessible catering facilities in the area, so CBA SE has arranged a two course lunch (choice of hot/cold/vegetarian) and coffee/tea to be included in the ticket price of £15 for CBA members and £17.50 for non-members.Tickets available by returning the flyer enclosed with this Newsletter. Council for Kentish Archaeology The Battle Against the Sea – The impact of the sea over 2000 years on the coastal settlements of south-east England. Saturday 4 November from 2 – 5.30pm C a n t e r b u ry Christ Church University, North Holmes Campus, Canterbury. KAS EVENTS KAS Charing One-day Conference Historic Buildings of Kent 14 October in Charing Church Barn, 10.30am – 4.30pm We will be looking at historic buildings within the county. Speakers will include Geoffrey Harvey, David Carder and Mike Cockett. Cost is £5.00, to include coffee and tea. A booking form for this conference was enclosed in the Spring newsletter; if you do not have this please contact Joy Saynor, email Saynor@shorehamkent.wanadoo.co.uk. OTHER EVENTS AROUND KENT CONFERENCES Archaeology and History of the Thames Estuary: Work over the last two years in Essex – Kent – London. 10.30am, Saturday 30 September Lecture Theatre, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square, London Provisional programme: Recent work in the Lower Medway Valley Martin Bates Modelling the Lower Lea Valley for the Olympics and beyond Graham Spurr, MoLAS Marvellous marshland: the historic environment of Essex grazing marshes Adrian Gascoyne Coastal zone surveys in Essex Ellen Heppel North Kent Coastal Survey Brian Hession, Wessex Archaeology Elizabethan shipwreck from the Thames Estuary Deanna Groom, Wessex Archaeology England’s Past for Everyone: Kent – People and work in the Lower Medway Valley 1750-1900 Andrew Hann The industrialisation of the Thames riverside in historical Essex David Morgans, ERIH Project East of England New Providence Wharf, Blackwall AOC TE2100: Mapping the sensitivity of the historic environment to flooding Capita Symonds Reviewing the Research Framework – what have we learnt? What do we need to know? Tickets £3.00 from Jane Sidell, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, email: j.sidell@ucl.ac.uk. Please make cheques payable to UCL. The Dover Bronze Age Boat T rust: Second Conference B r onze Age Connections: Cultural Contact in Pr e h i s t o r i c Europe Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October at the Dover Harbour Board Cruise Terminal, Dover . To mark the occasion of the Ringlemere gold cup being placed on display alongside the Dover Bronze Age Boat in Dover Museum, a twoday conference will take place in Dover in October. The theme is ‘Bronze Age Connections: Cultural Contact in Prehistoric Europe’, in W H AT ’ S ON > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> weekend will include a concert in Pugin’s nearby St Augustine’s church and an architectural mystery tour of the area on Sunday. Further information from Professor Juliet Twigg, 9 Nunnery Road, Canterbury CT1 3LS, email: j.m.twigg@ukc.ac.uk, tel: 01227 766879. Non members of the Pugin Society are welcome. The Red House, Bexley Paid for by William Morris and designed by Philip Webb in 1859, the Red House is a recent acquisition by the National Trust. It is now open to visitors between March and December, Wednesday to Sunday, although admission is by pre-booking only. To book tel: 01494 755588 between 10am & 2pm, Monday – Friday. National Archaeology Week 15 – 23 July An annual nationwide event organized by the Council for British Archaeology and the Young Archaeologists’ Club. A full national events guide can be found at www.britarch.ac.uk/naw. Finds Day at the Local History Museum, Sheppey . Saturday 22 July, 10.30am - 4.30pm Sheppey Local history Society members and Kent’s Finds Liaison Officer, Andrew Richardson, will be at the museum to identify and record objects which members of the public have found and would like more information about. Admission to the museum display is free on this day. More information from the museum on 01795 872303 or from the Society’s secretary on 01795 661119. Shorne Woods Country Park, off the A2 between Rochester and Gravesend. Excavation of the medieval site of Randall Manor during the whole week. Saturday 22 July – Open Day 10.30am – 4pm The medieval theme continues; guided tours to the excavation and to the archaeology within the grounds of nearby Cobham Hall, craftworkers, musicians, dancers; an exhibition of local history and archaeology groups; lots of hands-on creative activities for all the family – all free! More information from lyn.palmer@kent.gov.uk, on 01622 696934, or from Shorne Country Park on 01474 823800. Richborough Roman Fort, Sandwich Roman Festival Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July, 10am-5pm Taste Roman recipes, watch foot combat and cavalry displays and an authentic racing chariot in action. Adult £6.90, child £3.50, family £17.30, concessions £5.20. More information on 0870 333 1183 or customers@english-heritage.org.uk. Heritage Open Days in England 7 – 10 September Many buildings not normally open to the public will open their doors to visitors. Further information from www.heritageopendays.org or 0870 240 5251. Organized by the Civic Trust, Essex Hall, 1-6 Essex Street, London WC2R 3HU. 7 Summer 2006 How past sea-level changes have affected the coast from Suffolk to Sussex Basil Cracknell (author of Outrageous Waves) From settlement to abandonment: the drowned Bronze Age landscape of Shirewater Park, Eastbourne, East Sussex Chris Greatorex (Lecturer on Prehistory) The lost coastline of Kent Brian Philp (Chair of CKA) and David Plummer (University Senior Lecturer) Dover Harbour Bill Fawcus (General Manager, Special Projects, Dover Harbour Board) Tickets £4 available from CKA (cheque payable to CKA), 7 Sandy Ridge, Borough Green TN15 8HP. Please enclose SAE. Further information on www.the-cka@fsnet.co.uk or from Ruth Plummer tel: 02087 777872, email: davru58-conorgcka@yahoo.co.uk. TALKS & LECTURES Friends of Medway Archives & Local Studies 25 July at 7.30pm in The Study Centre, Strood. The Victoria County History Project Dr Andrew Hann Tickets available from Cindy O’Halloran on 01634 332238. Loose Area History Society 9 October History of the Victoria Cross Lt.Col.Mike Martin 13 November The Caged Lady Lee Ault 11 December Shakespeare’s International Globe Anne Carter All meetings are held at Loose Infant School and start at 7.30pm. All welcome. Admission £1.50, pay at the door. For more details tel: 01622 741198. Sevenoaks Historical Society: Gardiner Lectur e ‘Faith and history: the place of religion in the record of the past’ Professor David Bebbington. Friday 17 November at 8 pm in the Undercroft of St Nicholas Parish Church, Sevenoaks. The Sevenoaks Historical Society annual lecture, named after S R Gardiner, the distinguished historian of 17th century England, who died in Sevenoaks in 1902. Professor Bebbington, University of Stirling, has written major books on nonconformity, the mind of Gladstone, and historiography, and is p resident-elect of the Ecclesiastical History Society for 2006-7. Admission is free and all are welcome. OTHER EVENTS The Pugin Society; Grand Celebratory Weekend in Ramsgate Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September O rganized by the Pugin Society around the official opening of Augustus Pugin’s house at The Grange by the Landmark Trust. The > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Keith Parfitt and Barry Corke, will be on site most of the time (except on Saturdays). This means that there is a continuing opportunity for volunteers to assist in the Due to some additional funding being made available, the excavations at R i n g l e m e re are likely to carry on into September. The professionals in charge, final season of investigation at this internationally important site. Indeed, help by volunteers seems likely to be essential if the excavation is to reach a satisfactory conclusion by September. If you would like to participate for the odd day, or over a longer period, all you need to do is contact Barry Corke by ringing 07968 573415 (daytime) or 01304 330190 (evenings) to make sure that the site will be open. MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Here is my usual plea to you to let me know of any changes to your details, including email addresses etc. Also, there are still some banks paying monthly instead of annually, so please check your bank statements. If you do spot such an error let me know so that I can arrange for a refund for you – unless you wish to give any overpayment as a donation! If you have mislaid your membership card, send me a stamped addressed envelope for a replacement – you need it to be able to use the KAS library. We are pleased to welcome the following new members: ORDINARY MEMBERS Booth, Mrs S 109 Highview, Vigo, Meopham, Kent, DA13 0TQ Cordrey, Mr T J 12 Partridge Close, Caistor, Lincolnshire, LN7 6SN Dawson, Mrs J M 6 Tinkler Side, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1LE Everett, Miss D 8 Mossy Glade, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8LQ Hill-King, Mr P 1 Wattle Cottages, Romsey Road, King’s Somborne, Hampshire, SO2 6PP Hitchings, Mrs S 133 St Williams Way, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2PG Hofmann, Mrs S Darenth House, Shacklands Road, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 7TU Mittell, Mr C J 3 York Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk, IP11 7H Pidgeon, Miss L J 42 Osborne Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 1DA Richardson, Mr J 41 Heathview Crescent, Dartford, Kent, DA1 2P Samuel, Dr M W 15 Grove Road, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 7S Whitbread, Mr J 4 Shelley Close, Orpington, Kent, BR6 9QX Wyatt, Miss G M 33 Buckingham Road, Margate, Kent, CT9 5SR For all correspondence relating to membership contact Mrs Shiela Broomfield, KAS Membership, 8 Woodview Crescent, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD. Tel: 01732 838698, email: membership@kentarchaeology.org.uk or s.broomfield@dial.pipex.com. Y O U A N D Y O U R SOCIETY RINGLEMERE Summer 2006 8 COPY DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT ARCHAEOLOGIA CANTIANA FOR SALE A run of Archaeologia Cantiana from Vol I to Vol 94 (1858 – 1978). No missing volumes. All in excellent condition. Price £900 (ono). Please contact ianbl@molas.org.uk or ianblair07@btinternet.com, or tel: 020 8509 1859 (home) or 020 7410 2242 (work). CHURCHES COMMITTEE The first of the committee’s church visits in 2006 were to the parish churches of Tenterden and Rolvenden on April 1. Mr Tunstall Bates, President of the Tenterden Historical Society welcomed us to St Mildred’s Church, Tenterden. It is a large church with a splendid late 15th century tower. The tower is sometimes open in the summer and offers wonderful views of Kent on clear day. The interior was thoroughly restored 1864-6. In the Lady Chapel there is a monument to Herbert Whitfield (d. 1622) with large figures kneeling at a prayer desk. In contrast, St Mary the Virgin at Rolvenden is largely unrestored and, at first sight, looks to be a straightforward medieval church. We were welcomed by the Rev. Jacques Desrosiers who read a most informative and thought-provoking paper by Gerald Davey, a member of the KAS Churches Committee. Sadly, ill health prevented Mr Davey from being present himself but his knowledge and obvious love of the building were greatly appreciated by the party. The earliest surviving work is from the 13th century. There are remains of lancet windows in the chancel and those seem to have been influenced by work at Canterbury Cathedral. The south door also seems to date from that time but not necessarily exactly where it is now. The later work seems to have been interrupted – perhaps by the Black Death in 1348 – and work was not finished when the building was consecrated in 1349. Among many interesting features is the stillused 1825 west gallery family pew above the Guldeforde chapel. It has a good view of the altar, but not the pulpit! Mr Davey’s recent research has led him to re-think some of the architectural history of the church and the questions posed towards the end of his paper sent us scurrying after the evidence. A new edition of the excellent guide published in May 1997 is eagerly awaited. Mary Berg FIELDWORK COMMITTEE The early part of 2006 has been relatively quiet for the Fieldwork Committee, but many of the affiliated groups have been busy with their own excavations. The Ringlemere excavation is undergoing its Fieldwork Committee-sponsored two week dig, with an extension of work at the site to September. The East Farleigh Roman villa excavation is under the guidance of Albert Daniels and the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group. They are wall chasing, to try and locate the ends of the corridor and tie in the bottom part of the building. This site was visited by a party of Dutch Rotary Club members who were on an exchange visit arranged by the sites owner. Albert intends to hold an open day on the August Bank Holiday Monday, set to coincide with the 150-year anniversary of the railway that runs along the valley near the site, so do please go and visit. He is also working at the villa most Sundays. Investigations at the site of the medieval manor by the Lenham Archaeological Group have included ground penetrating radar that did not perform as expected (due to a broken wire) on the day I visited the site. A week later however, when I could not attend, all performed as requested and supplied much information to give the excavators plenty of work for the future. Michael Howard (Sec) PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE The following matters were agreed: Future publications would be handled by Heritage Marketing and Publications Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk, the first volume being the Hadlow Manorial Survey. The bi-annual prize for a thesis on the archaeology or history of the County would be known as the ‘Hasted Prize’. The first award would be in 2007 for studies submitted in the calendar years 2005- 2006. Closer relations would be forged with colleagues and societies in the Nord Pas de Calais. It was re p o rted that the digitisation of A rchaeologia Cantiana, 1857-2000, had been successfully completed, and that this would soon be made available to members at a small charge. Archaeologia Cantiana: annual bibliography Beginning with the sesquicentennial volume of the Society’s journal in 2007, each issue will contain an annual bibliography of publications relating to the archaeology and history of the County. The journal for 2007 will include all books, articles, re p o rts, pamphlets, and theses, published or presented in the calendar year 2006. A team of contributors has been appointed, but to help make COMMITTEE ROUND-UP 9 Summer 2006 the bibliography as comprehensive as possible, it would be most helpful if members could pass details, especially of local publications and journal l i t e r a t u re, to the co-ordinating editor: deborah.saunders@kent.gov.uk The following detail is required: author/editor, full title, publisher, place of publication, and date of publication if other than 2006; please use: ‘n.d.’ for date of publication unknown; and ‘privately printed’ where appropriate. It would be helpful also to list books and articles that draw substantially on Kentish material, with an appropriate brief annotation. The following examples show the house style to be closely followed: Books: Anthony Wilson, ed., Tonbridge’s industri - al heritage: a guide and gazetteer ( To n b r i d g e Historical Society). Barry Reay, Rural Englands: labouring lives in the nineteenth century (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). [Frequent references to east Kent sources and situations]. Chapters in books: N. Ta n n e r, ‘Penances imposed on Kentish Lollards by Arc h b i s h o p Wareham, 1511-12’, in M. Aston and C. Richmond, eds, Lollardy and the gentry in the late middle ages (Stroud: Sutton, 1997), 233-55. Ian Mortimer, ‘The triumph of the doctors: medical assistance to the dying, c.1570-1720’, in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Sixth series. XV (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 97-116. [Draws on Canterbury probate accounts]. Articles: Anthony G. Brown, ‘The Nore mutiny – sedition or ships’ biscuits?, The Mariner’s Mirror 92, 1, 66-74. David Fletcher, ‘The parish boundary: a social phenomenon in Hanoverian England’, Rural History 14, 2 (2003), 177-96. [Examples from several west Kent parishes]. T h e s e s : M. Dutt, ‘The agricultural laboure r s ’ revolt of 1830 in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.’ PhD, University of London, 1966. R.M. Clifford, ‘The General Baptists 1640-1660.’ MLitt, University of Oxford, 1991. [Partly focussed on Kent]. The next volume of Archaeologia Cantiana will be delivered to members in early July, and the Hadlow Manorial Survey edited by Joan Thirsk will be published later this year. At the moment this is available online. ISSUE IS FRIDAY 1st SEPTEMBER ‘ E N G L A N D ’ S PA S T F O R Summer 2006 10 Survey work forms an important part of the England’s Past for Everyone project, both nationally and in Kent. Architectural studies have always featured heavily in the traditional red VCH volumes, and this emphasis on the built environment is something that the Editorial Board is keen to continue in the new accessible EPE paperback series. Not only do studies of old buildings help bring the past to life through architectural drawings and building photography, they also provide a direct link between archives and the real world. Surveyors use both archival materials such as maps, title deeds and architects drawings, and practical fieldwork when drafting their reports. In Kent there are two distinct survey projects. The first of these is a study of three contrasting villages – Snodland, Ay l e s f o rd and Eccles. Snodland was a large village even in the nineteenth century due to the employment offered by the local paper mill, and had acquired the status of a town by 1900. Its development was significantly influenced by the expansion of the paper mill, and by the Hook family that owned this business from the mid-nineteenth century. Both Eccles and Aylesford lay in the same parish, but had very different origins and social makeup. Eccles was erected by speculative builders from the 1850s to house the employees of the nearby brick and cement works established by Thomas Cubitt. The housing consists mainly of terraces of workers’ cottages, arranged according to a grid pattern. Local resident Thomas Buss described the place as ‘a backwood village in a little commonwealth, with no aristocrats to interfere with them’. Aylesford, in contrast, can trace its origins back to the Dark Ages, as an important crossing point over the Medway. From medieval times it had the first bridge south of Rochester, and was home to an important Carmelite priory, later the Friary, seat of the Earl of Aylesford. The streets here are narrow and irregular, built on the side of a steep slope leading down to the river. Buildings come in a variety of styles – many are timber-framed, some of them refaced with brick. There are, however, also rows of nineteenth-century cottages as in Snodland and Eccles, reflecting the expansion of the village in response to industrialisation. In each village a team of volunteers, led by an architectural consultant, will record details of all properties built before 1900 using a standard survey form. Recording will focus on the exterior of the properties, noting the type of structure, the building materials used, stylistic features and any evidence of modification or change of function. For instance, in some cases a former shop may have been converted into a house. Photographs will also be taken of selected buildings to provide a visual record. Some of these may later be mounted on the website with the permission of the householders. In some cases where a house has been re-fronted it BELOW ANDRIGHT: Substantial remains hidden in undergrowth at the site of Burham Cement Works. R E V E RY O N E ’ I N K E N T 11 Summer 2006 may be necessary to conduct an internal survey to determine its true origin and form of construction – this is particularly likely in Aylesford where many medieval timber-framed buildings are concealed behind later Georgian or Victorian façades. Survey work of this nature is a labourintensive process, but should reveal lots of interesting information about the form and development of these settlements. We will, for instance, gain a clearer picture of the chronology of building, and possibly be able to identify houses erected by the same firm of builders based on stylistic features. One of the main outputs of the survey work will be a series of plans of the three villages, colour-coded to identify different phases of development. These plans will be mounted on the website, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software, so that they are fully interactive. It should be possible to click on individual properties on the plan and link to photographs or information about who lived there in the past taken from the census or trade directories. We hope that these village plans will prove a valuable resource for local people and for historians studying these places in the future. Complementing the three village studies will be a detailed survey of a cement works. The manufacture of lime and cement was the dominant industry in the valley from the mid-nineteenth century, and has left an indelible mark on the landscape of the area to this day. In the heyday of the industry there were around twenty works strung out along the banks of the Medway between Ay l e s f o rd and Frindsbury. Today only one remains, the Rugby plant at Halling, but reminders of the industry are everywhere: in the chalk pits, tramway tracks and vestiges of the works themselves. We shall be concentrating our efforts on the site of the Burham Brick, Lime and Cement works on the border of Burham and Aylesford, as this has some of the most extensive surviving remains and is closely associated with two of the survey villages. The main aim of the survey is to reconstruct a detailed three-dimensional plan of the works at various points in their history. This will help illustrate what the site looked like in the past, as there are few surviving photographs, and will also help us to understand how the plant operated. Most of this work will be conducted by an architectural consultant, although there will be opportunities for volunteers to participate in the fieldwork too. Again the plans will be mounted on the website as an interactive three-dimensional model of the works, with diff e rent layers re p resenting diff e rent periods in the plant’s development. There will, for instance, be links to both archival photographs, and more modern images showing the site as it appears today. This again will provide a useful source of information on an aspect of life in the valley which is fast disappearing from living memory, and a feature of the historic landscape soon to disappear under the bricks and mortar of redevelopment. Andrew Hann between the Christian traditions of southern and northern England, including the timing of Easter and attitudes to Europe. Professor Brown described the Lindisfarne Gospels as a book to be seen rather than used as a lectionary in a monastic context. The work is particularly interesting because it is the work of one scribe, who was also the artist who made the illustrations. It was, however, not finished. Was this because he died and it was felt that no-one else should finish it? We will never know! Luckily, the Gospels were nearing completion when work stopped and Professor Brown was able to show us some marvellous slides to demonstrate its glory. Thanks to widespread publicity many non- KAS members attended the conference and were i m p ressed by the high quality of the event. Fortunately, Margaret Lawrence had the foresight to bring along membership leaflets. A good day, enjoyed by all – including the speakers. Mary Berg Summer 2006 12 MANUSCRIPT TREASURES OF LINDISFARNE AND CANTERBURY C h u rches Committee Report Some 150 people attended a full-day conference in the International Study Centre at Canterbury Cathedral on April 29 to hear P rofessor Michelle Brown and Dr Richard Gameson talking about manuscripts fro m Lindisfarne and Canterbury in their early medieval context. Both proved to be lively, witty speakers with excellent visual aids who held their audience captive and the linked exhibition in the Cathedral library was interesting and well-displayed. Dr Gameson, currently at the University of Kent but soon to be a Professor at Durham, started appropriately enough with the arrival of St Augustine in Canterbury. First, he talked about the 6th century Canterbury Gospels now in Cambridge but still at the enthronement of archbishops. The Gospels are currently insured for £65m, despite their having relatively few illustrations and not being of the very highest quality of book production. If the Gospels were not brought by St Augustine when he arrived in 597, Dr Gameson said that they were certainly in England shortly after that and were among the books Bede said were here in 601. The second part of Dr Gameson’s lecture dealt with early English book culture in Kent. He told us that books were produced in Kent in the 8th century. There were three major book production centres in Kent: Canterbury Christ Church Priory, St Augustine’s Abbey and Minster-in-Thanet (a ‘double’ house for both monks and nuns). The Codex Aureus (now in Stockholm) was one of the largest and grandest produced at this time. Anglo-Saxon manuscripts were written on much better quality vellum than those in southern Europe because the animal skins were of higher quality. Furthermore, there was a thriving culture of visual and decorative art in England. Professor Brown started by linking her subject with Canterbury before setting before us a feast of information about the northern English books of the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries. First, she listed the various contenders for the producer of the Lindisfarne Gospels. It was very helpful to see Lindisfarne in its geographical context on a number of main routes in the medieval period and not as the isolated island that it is often thought to be. Professor Brown also supplied some useful background by explaining the role of the northern church at this time. She discussed the differences Phillimore History Books require authors Phillimore have published a number of illustrated town histories that seek to tell the story of a community from earliest times to the present day. Each book typically contains around 30,000 words and 150 illustrations. Phillimore would now like to add Greenwich, Woolwich, Lewisham, Orpington, Gravesend, Sittingbourne, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone to the series, and they are looking for possible authors. Anyone interested in tackling one of these town histories should contact Simon Thraves, Commissioning Editor, Phillimore & Co. Ltd., Shopwyke Manor Barn, C h i c h e s t e r, West Sussex PO20 2BG, tel: 01243 787636, email: Simon.thraves@phillimore.co.uk, for further details. KAS PLACE NAMES CONFERENCE Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, the above event has had to be cancelled. Membership. So many of the KAS Newsletter readers are aware of the history of our towns and can get involved, for instance, with helping us to identify old photographs. We need the support of the people who have lived or worked in these places, or who are just interested in their local history.” If anyone is interested in becoming a member please contact Cindy O’Halloran, Medway Archives & Local Studies, Clocktower Building, Civic Centre, Strood ME2 4AU, tel: 01634 332238 or email: cindy.ohalloran@medway.gov.uk. 13 Summer 2006 This new society has been formed to help with the conservation and pre s e rvation of the re c o rds and other materials of historical interest held at the Medway Archives & Local Studies Centre and elsewhere. Members also want to promote public access to the records and material, and intend to publish material, give lectures and exhibitions and arrange visits relating to local history. Yolande Dunn, Press Officer for the Friends, says “We would like to encourage membership, by way of Individual, Family or Corporate F R I E N D S O F M E D WAY A R C H I V E S & L O C A L S T U D I E S In addition to the finds described on pages 2 and 3, the brooch on the right of the picture below was also found at Grange Farm, by metal detectorists during the excavation. Further investigation failed in Canterbury Museum, which was originally a 19th century find without provenance. The Canterbury brooch is also likely to come from burial, as indicated by the traces of textile remains on the reverse. There is considerable debate about the nature of these brooches. Up until the d i s c o v e ry of the new example, the Canterbury brooch had received little serious attention, but was regarded by most scholars as a Scandinavian import in Nydam Style, dating from c. ?440-480 AD. Marit Gaimster of PCA, however, is not convinced of their Scandinavian origin, favouring instead manufacture in England. They are certainly very similar to b rooches from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but the only brooch which has clearly come from the same workshop as the Grange Farm example is that now in Canterbury. The importance of both these brooches is that they demonstrate either high-status Scandinavian brooch imports or manufacture in a Scandinavian style in east Kent from the mid-5th century, rather earlier than the better knownearly squareheaded brooches of the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Further research on both brooches will aim to clarify their origin and dating. Andrew Richardson Finds Liaison Officer, Kent to locate a grave cut; however, the high quality and relatively complete state of the brooch suggest it originally came from a burial. It has only one close parallel in Britain, the brooch shown on the left, now G R A N G E B R O O C H Archaeological Trust in 2003 during evaluation work. The 2006 barrow is therefore part of a monumental prehistoric cemetery situated on the east face of a promontory commanding the Thanet coast, later re-used by the Saxons. The barrow’s massive chalk-cut ditch measured some 4.5m in width, up to 1.8m deep and with an internal diameter of around 23m. The ditch was penannular, with a narrow causeway on its western side. The dimensions of the ditch place the barrow amongst the largest found in Kent. Indeed, the monumentality of the barrow was brought home to the archaeologists with the backbre a k i n g task of digging the ring ditch. With modern equipment, excavating the relatively soft fill of this ditch was difficult enough, but even the most seasoned diggers would think twice before trying to dig out bedrock chalk armed only with antler picks and ox-scapula shovels! Twelve pits and postholes were clustered in the south-eastern quadrant of the barrow. None produced any finds and their function remains unknown, although analysis of environmental samples may help to explain them. A rectangular pit had also been dug by the builders in the exact centre of the barrow. The f e a t u re was empty, although the mixed nature of its fill suggests that it may have been a grave robbed out in antiquity. The absence of any direct evidence for burial within this impressive barrow came as a slight disappointment to those archaeologists who toiled over its excavation. The discovery, however, of a much smaller companion barrow only a few metres north produced much, much more, for at least five Bronze Age interments were found within it. The ring Summer 2006 14 During May and June of 2006 A rchaeology South-East excavated a l a rge Bronze Age round barrow at Bradstow School in Broadstairs, following evaluation of the site by the Trust for Thanet Archaeology the preceding January. Bradstow School has before produced significant archaeological remains. Hurd ’s excavations of 1910-11 found one round barrow containing nine crouched Bronze Age inhumations as well as 30 Anglo-Saxon graves. Further work was carried out between 1970 and 1974 by the British Museum, finding a further 60 Anglo-Saxon burials, as well as the ring ditches of additional round barrows. Two further Saxon graves were also u n c o v e red at the school by Canterbury BABIES IN A ‘BABY BARROW’ EXCAVATIONS AT BRADSTOW ditch of this humble little barrow measured only 1m in width, with an internal diameter of just 4m. Yet almost every square inch of space within the ring ditch was used for burial. Three adult inhumations had been placed crouched on their right-hand sides, along with two juvenile or neonatal skeletons. No grave goods were found but it is hoped that analysis of environmental samples from these graves may determine whether any organic items were placed with the bodies. Aside from the barrow, at least three four-post structures could be discerned during the excavation. Dating for these structures is uncertain; preliminary estimates put an Iron Age date to their construction but full analysis of the pottery is still awaited and a Saxon date cannot yet be ruled out. An east-west oriented grave at the edge of the site contained little other than a few disarticulated fragments of human bone and it is probable that this feature was robbed out in antiquity. Its clearly Christian character, however, (ie its orientation) suggests that it formed part of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery described above. Dating of an interrupted boundary ditch that was found just to the south of this grave is also fraught with difficulty, but it is tempting to view the ditch as delineating and affording access to the wider Saxon cemetery to the north and east. At this early stage in post-excavation analysis, the excavation results raise more questions than they answer; hopefully many of the uncertainties surrounding this fascinating site can be reconciled as detailed analysis continues. Diccon Hart Senior Archaeologist Archaeology South-East Bibliography The Trust for Thanet Archaeology. 2006. P roposed Development of Residential Accommodation at Bradstow School, Dumpton Park, Broadstairs. Kent. Archaeological Evaluation Report. Broadstairs and St. Peter’s Archaeological Society. 1973. A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Discoveries in Broadstairs and St. Peter’s up to 1972. 15 Summer 2006 OPPOSITE: Plan of the site. BELOW: The long barrow looking south-eastwards. STOW SCHOOL, BROADSTAIRS Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Gallery, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME 14 1LH www.kentarchaeology.org.uk EDITOR: LYN PALMER 55 Stone Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2QU Telephone: 01892 533661 Mobile: 07810 340831 Email evelyn.palmer@virgin.net or newsletter@kentarchaeology.org.uk Copy deadline for the next issue in October is Friday September 1st. The editor wishes to draw attention to the fact that neither she nor the Council of the KAS are answerable for opinions which contributors may express in their signed articles; each author is alone responsible for the contents and substance of their work. ABOVE: Amesbury Archer. Painting by Jayne Brayne, reproduced with kind permission for the KAS Newsletter. ABOVE RIGHT: The guard from St Peter’s, Broadstairs. ABOVE CENTRE: The guard from Offham. Summer 2006 16 With the recent find of an archer’s wristguard or ‘bracer’ in Offham ( fig 1) there are now at least five from Kent: a substantial increase in the county database. There may be others lurking in local museums or buried in excavation reports. Not only is this the first one in Kent, but also the first one in the country, to be reported under the Portable Antiquities Scheme. A guard was used to protect the archer’s forearm from the rebound of the bow. Their significance is their appearance in the ‘classic’ or ‘primary’ package of grave goods found in earlier Beaker graves, especially the earliest ones now dated to about 2500-2250 BC, like the Amesbury Archer’s (drawing below). The broken bracer from Offham was found in a ploughed field by someone with an eagle eye*. It may have been damaged by ploughing and moved some distance from where it was originally buried, or dropped. Three of the others from Kent were discovered in situ. The Cliffe (near Gravesend) one was found with a beaker pot and a barbedand- tanged arro whead but with no physical evidence of a burial. The guard f rom St Peter’s , B roadstairs (fig 2), also came with a beaker, and accompanied a skeleton cut by a later barrow ditch. The earliest example fro m Sittingbourne, found in 1883 while digging for chalk, was with a pro b a b l e flexed skeleton, a tanged copper dagger and a bone belt-ring, but no beaker. No details about the fifth, found only with a beaker pot in a Sturry gravel pit, seem to have been recorded. If complete, the Offham guard would presumably have had six drilled holes, three at each end. The others only have one at each end. Unfortunately there’s no national database of these relatively rare objects, other than an unpublished one compiled some 40 years ago. Judging by that, the 6 holers (and we’re not talking mini-golf courses here), have been found in Aberdeenshire, Berkshire, Lincolnshire and Wiltshire – and could be later in date - while the Cliffe example was unusually far south, its nearest neighbour coming from Cambridge. What may be striking about the Kent bracers is the type of stone used compared with others in Britain. The Offham one is described as slate or shale; the Cliffe one is shale; St Peter’s is ‘mudstone’ and Sittingbourne is ‘grey slate’. According to the British Museum the Cliff e guard was the only known shale one. Apart from a possible amber bracer they are usually of schist or slate and their specialist questioned the practicality of any wrist-guard fashioned from ‘fragile’ shale. It would be interesting to know whether the Offham one is slate or shale. It is suggested that straps would have been threaded through the holes of the Offham guard to attach it to the wrist. That’s possible, and there could well have been more than one way of attaching them. However there is evidence that some of them at least were attached to a leather backing by metal rivets - in two cases in Yorkshire and Scotland with gold caps. A ‘bronze’ buckle ‘for fastening the entire guard’, was also reported in the nineteenth century as being found with the Yorkshire one. And the Stourhead collection has one with ‘traces of corroded copper’ in its holes. Despite the published picture of how the Amesbury Archer may have looked, Andrew Fitzpatrick of Wessex Archaeology is now convinced that his guard would have been attached to a leather cuff. Hopefully their specialists are doing some serious homework on these artefacts. It is certainly needed. John Smythe * Found and recognised by Nigel Betts and John Darvill of the Mid-Kent Metal Detecting Club and subsequently donated to Maidstone Museum. AN EARLY BRONZE AGE WRISTGUARD FROM KENT 1 2