KAS Newsletter, Issue 92, Spring 2012

Your Quarterly Newsletter www.kentarchaeology.org.uk INSIDE THIS ISSUE Rocky Road to the IRon age at Folkestone VIlla SPRING 2012 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ISSUE NUMBER 92 4-5 Notes from the Archive 6-7 What’s On 8-9 You & Your Society + Committee Round Up 13 - 15 Luddenham 2-4 Rocky Road 10-11 Later Medieval Kent + New Books 12 - 13 Lower Medway 50 years 16 Bronze Age Hoard Turn to Page 2 STOP PRESS Your AGM agenda and papers are included in this Newsletter. We hope to see you there. 2 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk !e second season of excavation at the East Wear Bay Roman villa, Folkestone ran between May and November 2011. !ings got o" to a #ying start with a visit by Dr Alice Roberts and the Digging for Britain TV $lm crew in June. !is was followed by an open weekend with Roman re-enactors drawing the crowds in early July. !e investigations form a major component of a three year Heritage Lottery-funded community archaeological and historical project entitled ‘A Town Unearthed: Folkestone Before 1500’ (ATU). !e work is being undertaken by volunteers led by Canterbury Archaeological Trust, in association with Canterbury Christ Church University and the Folkestone People’s History Centre. Additional funding has come from the KAS and the local Roger De Haan Charitable Trust. The 2011 excavations were positioned across part of the undisturbed courtyard area in front of the main villa house, which is the portion of the site most imminently threatened with collapse into the sea. !ick archaeological deposits were preserved here, many relating to occupation that occurred before the construction of the Roman villa complex. At the base of the sequence, the surface of the natural Gault was sealed by a succession of clays producing signi$cant amounts of struck flint, flint-tempered prehistoric pottery, animal bone and marine shell, although there were only two small associated features. !e uppermost clay layer was cut across by a sunken, metalled Front cover - Hare brooch, Small Find 330 Front cover inset - Cleaning tiles near the cliff edge Facing inland, wor k in progress The Rocky Road, c.100 BC the Rocky Road to the Iron age: excavations at Folkestone Roman villa, 2011 􀁅􀁜􀀃􀀮􀁈􀁌􀁗􀁋􀀃􀀳􀁄􀁕􀃀􀁗􀁗 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012- KAS Newsletter 3 trackway (christened !e Rocky Road), associated with pottery provisionally dated to around 100 BC. An infant burial had been casually deposited by the side of this track at some stage. A short distance further to the north-east was a substantial oven pit. These discoveries, together with a scatter of post-holes, appeared to represent the earliest features of a settlement continuously occupied throughout the late Iron Age and into the Roman period. Eventually, the trackway went out of use and the hollow became $lled with soil and rubbish. At one point a pit had been cut into these accumulated soils to allow the insertion of a burial urn containing cremated bone. Subsequently, the levelled area became occupied by hearths and chalk #oors relating to two separate timber buildings, each one rebuilt several times. Traces of a possible four-post structure, perhaps a raised granary, were also recorded close by. All these structures would seem to date from the late $rst century BC. After the timber buildings had gone out of use the area was cut across by a succession of ditches. !ese probably served to delimit $elds and enclosures. Some of the ditches were of substantial proportions; the latest ones were early Roman in date. !e $nal ditch in the sequence had been deliberately back$lled sometime during the later $rst century AD, to make way for the construction of the villa. Once the ditches were levelled, the area was covered by more soil and clay before rough, patchy metalling was laid down as a courtyard in front of the Roman villa. No evidence of any associated garden or ornamental features was discovered and the whole arrangement appeared lacking in much re$nement. !e metalling did, however, yield one important find – an engraved gemstone (intaglio), found near the main entrance. On the north-east side, during the earlier part of the fourth century, the yard surface became covered with soil and rubbish and quite clearly this part of the courtyard was now out of use. Subsequently, a section of the villa roof collapsed onto the courtyard, followed by masonry from the walls. It would seem that at least part of the villa was by now ruinous and unoccupied. Later, however, the roof-fall, collapsed walling, and soil layers over the courtyard were all sealed by a laid rubble surface which seemed to constitute a new (upper) courtyard. Along the south-western side, closest to the main entrance into the villa, this new rubble layer occurred at two distinct levels. Nearest the building it existed as a clear platform. A sloping rubble bank separated this raised area from the remaining spread. As well as pottery and animal bone, soil mixed with the stones produced eight coins. !eir dates indicate that the rubble cannot have been laid before the mid–late fourth century AD. !e heyday of the Roman villa had certainly passed by now and the new courtyard may have been laid down as a work area after the main house was abandoned. A thin layer of dark soil subsequently accumulated over the rubble surface. !is contained much domestic rubbish and a Intaglio, found near the main entrance 4 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org. further nine coins, all of which are fourth century in date, one perhaps being as late as c.AD 390. Activity on this part of the site, however, does not seem to have continued much into the $fth century. After the villa was $nally given up, the site seems to have remained largely unoccupied until the present-day. A signi$cant quantity of $nds was recovered from the 2011 excavation. !e bulk of the material consists of pottery, animal bone, marine shell, roo$ng tile and prehistoric #intwork. There are also more than 800 registered small $nds, including coins, brooches, glass, iron implements and quernstone fragments. Of special interest were the engraved gemstone, four pieces of a small Mother Goddess $gurine, a complete iron writing stylus, a decorated Iron Age bead, and an important collection of 36 Iron Age coins. The two seasons’ work at Folkestone have now yielded some remarkable results and show that a great deal of new information is still to be recovered from this longknown site. It is clear that the excavated Roman villa complex occupies the site of a much older settlement. Intact strati$cation, untouched by previous excavation, appears to survive across much of the area but the entire site is ultimately threatened by coastal erosion. Without doubt, much more work is warranted here. THE ROCKY ROAD TO THE IRON AGE - Continued Fig 1: ‘Horn book (AN1887.2561) Courtesy of Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Fig 2: Image of Village School found among Stebbing’s papers, possibly from the 1835 edition of Longfellow’s Prose Works ‘!e English at School’ was the name of an exhibition arranged by Arnold Muirhead on behalf of the National Book League between April and May 1949. It aimed to show English School Life in its various guises; private schools, charity schools and the eventual establishment of state schools. Kenneth Lindsay, Chairman of the National Book league, appealed for old school reports and similar documents to be lent to the exhibition and a variety of textbooks and documents were exhibited, along with a selection of disciplinary equipment. An article in !e Times on the 8th of April reported it as an ‘exhibition of progress’ in education. !e story of education always fascinates, but no doubt interest in the subject matter was heightened by the recent 1944 Education Act. !e Times article of the 12th of April, announcing the exhibition and appealing for material, is found among the papers of W.P.D. Stebbing, along with other items on education collected in the years between 1947 and 1949. W.P.D. Stebbing’s papers reveal a keen interest in education; he attended many Education Committees as a councillor between 1941 and 1955 and he was a frequent speaker for Educational Societies including the Deal Men’s Society. !e collection on educational matters is more eclectic than his archaeological notes. It consists of a mix of articles selected from !e Times and more academic items such as the address ‘On Education’ to the British Association for the NOTES FROM THE ARCHIVE The English at School From the Papers of W.P.D.Stebbing by Pernille Richards Fig 1 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter 5 !e Society has limited funds available to award a grant to individuals researching any aspect of the history and archaeology of Canterbury and its surrounds. It is envisaged that a grant would not normally exceed £500. Preference would be given to work resulting in publication in any media. Please apply in writing to the Hon. Sec. of the Grants Committee as soon as possible, and not later than 30 June 2012. Your letter should mention: » 􀀼􀁒􀁘􀁕􀀃􀁔􀁘􀁄􀁏􀁌􀃀􀁆􀁄􀁗􀁌􀁒􀁑􀁖 » The nature and length of your research » The stage you have reached in your research » The amount you are applying for » Any additional funding anticipated from other sources » Your proposals for publication » Your anticipated timetable You may be asked to name a referee whom the Grants Committee may consult. If successful, you would be expected to account for the money spent and give a copy of any article, pamphlet etc to the Society’s library. A summary of your research might be published on the Society’s website. For further details, please contact Mrs C M Short, 3 Little Meadow, Upper Harbledown, Canterbury CT2 9BD. Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society Grants Advancement of Science by Lynda Grier (1880-1967). He also assembled lists of old school textbooks, literary references and images. Most items are research notes for a talk on education before 1870. !ere is also a short talk on Deal Charity School, 1792 to 1814, where Stebbing recounts its establishment and early history. Stebbing quotes as his source a vellum bound ledger with a red label in the centre with the title ‘Deal Charity School 1792’; this volume was in use until 1814. It included the school’s regulations, a list of subscribers, and the back of the ledger contains the minutes for sixteen meetings up until, and including, the year 1813. Stebbing also transcribed minutes taken at Charity School meetings by the Rev. P. Brandon and others from 1802 to 1813. These minutes are described as “Extracts from the small exercise book, inlaid with blotting paper, recording the minutes of the Deal Charity School from 1802.” We learn about the rules and routine running of the school. !ere were sixteen clauses in all, mostly to do with management, subscriptions and meetings, but some were concerned with the day-to-day running of the school as it impacted on the children and their parents such as uniform, admittance requirements, and the curriculum. !e curriculum consisted of the three Rs, religious instruction and, for girls, knitting and plain work. Head lice and attendance problems appear to be constants in the world of education and one regulation states: “!e Parents shall not neglect to wash and comb their children every morning and take them punctually to school.” !e $rst location of the school is uncertain, later it moved to Broad Street and in 1813 it moved again to Middle Street, where it changed its name to the National School in 1842. Stebbing gives the impression of an excellent source for the study of a local Charity School and the changes in education over time. Unfortunately, he has not included information on where he accessed his sources and neither has Stephen Pritchard in his 1864 book, nor John Laker in his 1917 book on the History of Deal. All three appear to have used the same sources in their accounts of education in Deal. !ere are two interesting catalogue entries, the most likely looking one is in the East Kent Archives Centre, the other at Canterbury Cathedral Archive, but as both are currently closed, in preparation for the move to the Kent History Centre and building works respectively, it has not been possible to investigate further. You don’t realise the value of archives until they are not accessible! It will be exciting to investigate further when these archive centres reopen. Fig 2 6 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk WHAT’S ON KAS EVENTS KAS Churches Committee Visit St Mary, Hinxhill & St Gregory and St Martin, Wye Saturday 30 June Guides will be Ian Coulson and Paul Burnham. Please meet at 1.45 for 2pm start at Hinxhill (postcode TN25 5NR; grid reference TR048 426 (TR0442). We will then move on to Wye (postcode TN25 5AL; grid reference TR054 469 (TR0546). Cost of the visits is £5, to include tea and biscuits at Wye Heritage Centre, the Latin School in Upper Bridge Street. Please register by emailing or telephoning the Church Visits Secretary, Jackie Davidson - jacalyn.davidson@btinternet. com or 01634 324004. Please notify Jackie if you need a lift from Wye station, pick up time 1.30pm. On Saturday 22 September we will be visiting the Sikh Temple in Gravesend. Full details in the next Newsletter. KAS Place-Names Committee 2012 Place-Names Study Day Saturday 3 November Following the hugely successful 2010 Study Day, another will take place this year in November at the Visitor Centre, Rochester. Speakers will be Dr Richard Jones, Ms Liz Finn and Dr Paul Cullen. Further details of times, titles of the talks and ticket price will follow in the July Newsletter. Contact will be Hon. Sec. Place-Names Committee, Val Barrand Davies, email: rattersnap@aol.com tel: 07947 583327. EVENTS AROUND KENT The Wye Rural Museum Trust & Wye Historical Society Second Nightingale Memorial Lecture ‘Why Medieval Peasants were Important’ by Professor Christopher Dyer (University of Leicester) Friday 11 May at 7.30 pm Lady Joanna Thornhill (Endowed) Primary School, Bridge Street, Wye TN25 5EA Admission is free, by notifying in advance Dr Tom Hill, Whittington, Selling Road, Old Wives Lees, Canterbury CT4 8BH; email: ta.hill@tiscali.co.uk. Loose Area History Society Monday 14 May ‘Dode Church - a deserted church in the middle of nowhere!’ by Douglas Chapman Monday 8 October ‘The Vestry Meeting’ by Dr Jean Stirk Monday 12 November ‘Glenn Miller Lives On’ by John and Sue Pearce Monday 10 December ‘A Country House Christmas’ by Pat Mortlock Meetings start at 7.30pm and will be held at Loose Infant School Hall, Loose Road, Maidstone. Further information from our website www.looseareahistorysociety.webeden.co.uk or phone 01622 741198. Orpington and District Archaeological Society (ODAS) annual Open Weekend of Scadbury Manor Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September 2.00 – 4.30pm (last entry). Admission free. Visitors can follow a self-guided trail around the moated manor site, see ODAS’ excavations, and explore the foundations of the Tudor kitchens and Great Hall to see how they would have been used when the house was owned by the Walsingham family. It’s also possible to see the World War II defences, and a restored shepherd’s or gamekeeper’s hut which belonged to the estate in the 19th century. Refreshments, bookstall and exhibition about the history of Scadbury. WC on site. Access is from the public footpath around the estate. The entrance to the site is where the footpath passes the moated site. The nearest access from the road is along the footpath at 14 St Paul’s Wood Hill; turn left along the circular footpath, 5 mins walk. From Old Perry Street car park, the entrance is around 30 mins walk along the footpath. There is some limited parking at the site for elderly/disabled visitors: apply with SAE to ODAS, 28 Church Avenue, Sidcup, DA14 6BU. For more information about ODAS and Scadbury see www.odas.org.uk. Canterbury Christ Church University Short course at Salomons, near Tunbridge Wells www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter 7 WHAT’S ON Local History: Starting and Moving On Starts Tuesday 24 April, 10.30 to 12.30 􀀳􀁕􀁌􀁆􀁈􀀃􀂅􀀗􀀕􀀃􀁉􀁒􀁕􀀃􀃀􀁙􀁈􀀃􀁖􀁈􀁖􀁖􀁌􀁒􀁑􀁖􀀑􀀃 More details from Dr Gill Draper, on 01732 452575 or g.m.draper@Kent.ac.uk or www.canterbury.ac.uk/communityarts- education. The Romney Marsh Research Trust Study Day ‘Agricultural Transformations and the Marsh’ led by Dr Hadrian Cook, Kingston University Saturday 12 May Provisional programme includes three lectures in the morning and visits to two farms in the afternoon by coach. Based at Udimore St Mary’s Community Hall (Udimore, Rye TN31 6BB) from 10:15am (doors open 9:45am for tea/coffee). Lunch can be taken in a local pub or ‘bring your own’. Booking form and tickets, which will cost no more than £20, to include all lectures, transport and tea/coffee but not lunch, will be available from the RMRT Treasurer, David Williams on treasurer@rmrt.org.uk. Society for Clay Pipe Research Conference Vine Baptist Church Hall, Park Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3UP 15-16 September The Saturday programme of lectures will focus on the Kent clay tobacco pipe industry and will be complemented by displays. In the evening there will be the optional conference dinner at a local restaurant. A visit to a local historical attraction is to follow on the Sunday morning. Non-members of the Society will be very welcome to attend. Further information is available on the Society website (http://scpr.co) or from Brian Boyden (email: brian.boyden@ dsl.pipex.com) or Chris Jarrett (email: cjarrett@pre-construct. com). Crofton Roman Villa Open from 1st April - 2nd November every Wednesday, Friday, Bank Holiday Monday and 􀃀􀁕􀁖􀁗􀀃􀀶􀁘􀁑􀁇􀁄􀁜􀀃􀁒􀁉􀀃􀁈􀁙􀁈􀁕􀁜􀀃􀁐􀁒􀁑􀁗􀁋􀀃􀁉􀁕􀁒􀁐􀀃􀀔􀀓􀁄􀁐􀀃􀀐􀀃􀀘􀁓􀁐􀀃 (last admission 4.30pm) Easter Holiday Events – The Ancient Olympic Games - Wednesdays 4th and 11th April Explore the history of the ancient Olympic Games. Make your own Olympic board game and victory wreath, and win your Olympic purple ribbon. Sessions at 10.30pm and 2.00pm, approx 2 hours long. For 5-12 year olds - BOOKING REQUIRED! Telephone 020 8460 1442 or email crofton.roman.villa@gmail.com. Children MUST be accompanied, accompanying adult free. Entry £4 per child. July event - Family Roman Villa Fun Wednesday 25 and Friday 27 July Guided talk of the villa house for adults, while children have an activity session with Roman artefacts and dressing up as Romans. Do the villa quiz and win special villa badges and 􀁄􀀃􀁍􀁒􀁌􀁑􀁗􀀃􀁆􀁈􀁕􀁗􀁌􀃀􀁆􀁄􀁗􀁈􀀑􀀃 For all the family, children to be accompanied - sessions at 10.30am and 2.00pm. Sessions approx 1½ hours. No booking required - just turn up. Normal entry prices. EVENTS ELSEWHERE Council for British Archaeology South East Conference - Marking Past Landscapes Dorking Christian Centre, Dorking Saturday 13 October AGM 12.15 – 12.45. Conference 2-5pm. Programme and prices to follow. Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, is conducting research into galleting - the practice of inserting small pieces of stone or oyster shells into mortar joints. This has been a traditional form of construction for many centuries, especially in the south east of England. The practice is quite common in Kent, so the KAS Historic Buildings Committee has offered to assist by recording Kentish examples. Have you seen a building with pieces of stone, brick, oyster shell or similar incorporated into the masonry joints? Could you supply general and close-up photographs of galleted buildings with details of age (date or century) and original purpose when built? Could you offer location details for galleted buildings, stating the material and its construction? If you are willing to help with this recording, please contact Colin Arnott (colin.arnott@student.anglia.ac.uk) requesting the ‘galleting questionnaire’. Can you help with research into ‘galleting’? 8 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Most of the subscriptions have now been paid but there are a few still outstanding – reminder letters have been sent, so if you have received 􀁒􀁑􀁈􀀃􀁓􀁏􀁈􀁄􀁖􀁈􀀃􀃀􀁑􀁇􀀃􀁌􀁗􀀃􀁄􀁑􀁇􀀃􀁖􀁈􀁑􀁇􀀃􀁜􀁒􀁘􀁕􀀃 cheque to me as soon as possible. Please remember to send any changes of addresses etc. to me either by post or email: membership@kentarchaeology.org.uk I look forward to your continued support of our splendid Society. I am very pleased to welcome the following new members: Dr G & Mrs Bradley, Brook, Ashford Mrs M A Brown, Sevenoaks Mrs S M Burt, Tonbridge Miss J Clarke, Tunbridge Wells* Mr M Crittenden, Gillingham Mr I Davidson, Chartham, Canterbury Mr J Osbourne, Hythe Ms M Saunderson, Hythe Miss H-M Razzak, Burnham* Mr D Townsend, Canterbury Mr & Mrs N Wilkinson, Faversham * Student members The majority of new members have joined by downloading the application form from the website but it is equally important that blue application forms are available in other locations and taken to conferences etc. Please contact me if you would like a bundle. 􀀶􀁋􀁌􀁈􀁏􀁄􀀃􀀥􀁕􀁒􀁒􀁐􀃀􀁈􀁏􀁇􀀏􀀃􀀛􀀃􀀺􀁒􀁒􀁇􀁙􀁌􀁈􀁚􀀃 Crescent, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD telephone: 01732 838698, email as above. MEMBERSHIP MATTERS EVERy FOUR yEARS THE COUNCIL MEETS TO REVIEW THE WORK OF THE KAS COMMITTEES AT A SPECIAL MEETING. !is year the meeting in January created one new committee and changed the remit of the Membership Committee to be replaced as the Communications Committee. !e Communications Committee has a broader brief, to coordinate membership matters, websites, social networking, newsletters, public relations, publicity and any other appropriate REVISION OF THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE subjects, including branding. One of the $rst tasks will be to review the Society website and create some new front pages. !e website has been very successful, but all those involved, both Officers and volunteers, agree that it is time to redesign it and exploit more fully the potential of the Internet. It was also agreed by Council that a new committee should be established to focus on Community History and Archaeology, the largest growth area in British archaeology over the last decade. This Community Committee will meet in late summer to begin the work of encouraging more participation in ‘doing history and archaeology’. President Ian Coulson has stressed the importance of encouraging participation at all levels and the Committee will look at how this can best be done across the county. The Council is also very supportive of a new strategy to develop expert groups of members. !e intention is to o"er training in specialist areas such as surveying and $nds work so that members can contribute to projects in the county. !is initiative is in its early stages but the work by the Hon. Curator in Sittingbourne and Folkestone has shown that trained volunteers can make an enormous contribution to archaeology on site and in post excavation work. ARCHAEOLOGIA CANTIANA FOR SALE Set of Arch Cant from 1930 to 2011, with the exception of 1998 (including indexes, in total 86 books). All in good condition, although the six earliest have faded covers. They are offered to any KAS member who would like them, but need to be collected from Dover. There is no charge, but a donation to the Pilgrims Hospice would be much appreciated. Please contact James R White on 07702 155333 (best contact number) or on 01304 216146. YOU & YOUR SOCIETY www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter 9 The 2012 Autumn Historic Buildings Conference is to be held on Saturday, 20 October in Harrietsham Village Hall. !is year’s theme is ‘Urban Buildings’. More details will be published in the next issue of the Newsletter. !e chance to visit areas of Knole not normally open to the public was announced in the last issue of the Newsletter. !is visit, on 1 May, proved to be popular, and has been over-subscribed. Mike Clinch has therefore allocated places to those members who put in their applications $rst. Following very positive feedback on the Workshop Day on Building Interpretation and Recording held at the Agricultural Museum in Brook last September, the Committee is investigating the possibility of organising a similar event with the Wye Rural Museum Trust. By Angela Davis. KAS HISTORIC BUILDINGS COMMITTEE KAS INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY COMMITTEE HAVE yOU JUST JOINED THE SOCIETy? Do you wish you could collect all the back issues of Archaeologia Cantiana? Now you can have 125 volumes of Archaeologia Cantiana at the amazingly low cost of £31 for individual members and £76 for institutional members on the KAS Sesquicentennial DVD. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––--------------------------------------------------------------------------- To order your copy, send a cheque payable to Kent Archaeological Society to Peter Tann, 42 Archery Square, Walmer, Deal CT14 7HP. !e 2013 South Eastern Industrial Archaeology Conference will be held at Dartford Grammar School on 27 April 2013. At the moment we are still $nalising the speakers but topics to be covered will include the following:- !e Gunpowder Industry in Kent, !e Kentish Motorcycle Industry, Cement Manufacture in the County, J & E Hall Dartford and Aircraft Restoration. Further details will be available on the Society’s website as the programme becomes $nalised. If you are interested in joining the Committee or have suggestions for the Conference please contact Mike Clinch either by email mike@mikeclinch.co.uk or phone 01322 526425. !e Committee continue to seek and approve primary sources to be placed on the Society’s website, having currently agreed to include the 1523 Lay Subsidy for Kent. A major purpose of the biennial Hasted Prize continues to be realised: Celia Cordle’s book Out of the Hay and Into the Hops (2007 Prize) was published by the University of Hertfordshire Press in hardback and paperback; Toby Huitson’s (2009 Prize) study of church architecture is in press; and the 2011 Prize was awarded to Dr Alison Klevnäs for her Cambridge PhD on grave robbery in east Kent. A number of grants from the Allen Grove and the Kent History Fund have helped assist research and publication of local history studies. KAS PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ROUND UP Report on the Later Medieval Kent Conference by Diane Heath, University of Kent 10 Spring 2012- KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk The ‘Later Medieval Kent’ conference, held in December 2011 at the University of Kent, Canterbury, was a suitable ornament for the eponymous book, edited by Sheila Sweetinburgh, for its audience numbered over a hundred, a telling indication of the subject’s popularity. In the first panel Dr David Grummitt, under the title: ‘The Kentish Aristocracy in the Later Middle Ages: a County Community?’ discussed whether there was a sense of ‘county community’ among knights, esquires and ‘parish gentry’ of Kent during this late medieval period. Could a county community be said to exist when there are three distinctly negative factors present: the wide disparity in the circumstances of Kent gentry; the sheer size of the county and thirdly; its varied topography? Having taken his audience through these three themes he maintained that, although less hierarchical and elite by the beginning of the sixteenth century, ties of kinship were still important in engendering a sense of county community. !e second paper in this panel was given by Richard Eales on ‘Castles and Politics in Late Medieval Kent’ in which he explored castles and castle historiography. Debate has raged in the new discipline of castle studies over the meaning and purpose of castles. For, as Richard pointed out, the real interest in castles lies in how much they embody medieval life and how much they are, as he phrased it, ‘intimately bound up with change’; that is, not only social and military changes over time but also alterations in political status and the king’s power. Certain themes run through the history of Kent and its castles and it is this rich mixture which makes Kent so fascinating to study. Even though this was a swift tour of the castles of Kent, it was accompanied by a thoughtful bibliography. !e $rst on the Economy was given by Dr Gillian Draper entitled: ‘Tinker, Tailor, Merchant, Sailor: Trades and Occupations in a Maritime County’, where she examined the evidence for the geographical spread of trades based on local records. For example, carpenters in the New Romney area could be land-based or ship-based. !e wide variety of sources also reveals the use of by-names which, before the thirteenth century, generally accurately related to occupations, and thereafter sources such as the Lay Subsidy records are very useful. To sum up, Dr Draper’s expertise in examining local medieval records is clearly immense from the many examples she provided, but her lightness of touch ensured her paper was a delight to hear. Next Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh considered ‘Agricultural Practices in the Medieval Kentish Marshlands’, beginning with the factors that have influenced farming including topography, the position of market towns, the proximity to London, patterns of seigneurial ownership and the vital role of the peasantry. She then turned to two case studies, $rstly the Kentish marshlands from 1250 and secondly, $fteenth century Monkton, before concluding that much work has been done on Kent gentry but there is a lot more to be gleaned from documentary and archaeological evidence to form a clearer picture of Kent peasants and their agricultural practices. After lunch the session on the Church began with a paper by Dr Elizabeth Edwards on ‘The Smaller Monastic Houses of Late Medieval Kent’. In the period 1220 to 1540, Kentish monasteries varied not only in terms of a dozen di"erent orders but in terms of the size of these establishments, and were spread fairly evenly throughout Kent. However, there was some natural concentration in and around Canterbury, and it must be noted that elsewhere too, the foundations of smaller houses were possibly due to the in#uence of larger ones nearby, including cells granted independence, such as the Cluniac establishment at Monks Horton. !is paper served as an excellent foil and background to its partner, for Dr Rob Lutton concentrated not on the monastic but on parish faith. Dr Lutton spoke on ‘The Dissemination of the Jesus Mass in Kent, c.1460-c.1540’. Devotion to the Holy Name of Christ became an important cult from the $fteenth century onwards in England. Proselytized by prelates, and Richard Rolle, its intense focus on Christ is clearly something that commented upon Lollardy. It involved contemplation and repetition of Jesus’s name and votive masses, and grew via the foundation of fraternities for lights, altars and masses in parish churches and the provisioning of these items in parishioners’ wills. !us the growth of the cult may be ascertained by church records and testamentary evidence. Having provided a brief overview of the geographical spread of the cult in England, he explored several Kentish case studies and $nished with some tentative conclusions. Sheila Sweetinburgh opened the $nal session on the Town under the heading ‘!e Use and Abuse of Urban Spaces in Late Medieval Kent’, adopting a microhistory approach to investigate an event. On 24th August, 1532 the curate of a chantry and three churchwardens were arrested, according www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Sping 2012 - KAS Newsletter 11 to the Old Red Book of Sandwich. Not a ‘hold the front-page’ event perhaps, but in Sheila’s excellent paper this ‘small nugget’ of a report allowed; an examination of the use and abuse of urban space; a reflection on the repercussions of transgression and; a broadening out of the analysis to discuss the negotiation of the political in late medieval northern European society. !e $nal paper was gven by Sarah Pearson on ‘Townhouses: Layout and Usage in Late Medieval Kent’ which discussed the physical ambience of life in Kent towns, where there are su&cient medieval survivals, which meant she focused on Canterbury, Sandwich and Faversham. In the late medieval period there was not an especially Kentish form of housing, so the buildings are fairly standard. However, they di"ered according to size, the status of the town and the necessities of the work undertaken by townspeople. Nevertheless the audience was provided with a fascinating overview of the subject and afterwards questioning focused on heating open halls and shops. A longer, full report on the conference can be found on www.kentarchaeology.org NEW BOOKS !e British Association for Local History has two new Guides available. Individual copies are £4.99 but a special o"er is being given for local and county societies, record o&ces, museums, etc, of ten copies for £40 including P&P. Go to www.balh.co.uk to access this o"er. Living The Poor Life - A Guide to the Poor Law Union Correspondence, c.1834 to 1871, held at The National Archives By Paul Carter & Natalie Whistance Internet Sites for Local Historians New revised edition Compiled by Jacquelene Fillmore, edited by Alan G Crosby The Discovery and Excavation of the Roman Shore-Fort at Dover By Brian Philp !is new publication deals with the discovery of the long-lost shore-fort of Dubris, listed in the Roman Notitia Dignitatum. Published as No.11 in the Kent Monograph Series, it covers the discovery of over 200 metres of the forti$ed walls of the massive fort, seven of its large bastions, the great defensive ditch, the rampart bank and much of the internal area. !e latter contained the military bath-house, originally constructed by the Classis Britannica, and the East Building, an extension of the Roman Painted House. Nearby was a deep terrace containing a unique collection of huts, or pens. Finds from the site include two important Roman altars, a statue, two stone heads and a collection of rare gemstones, the $nest of which shows a gladiatorial scene. Over 500 Roman coins are listed and analysed. !e volume is in a rigid case-bound A4 format, with 180 pages and over 40 coloured plates. Price £24, plus £5 P&P (or can be collected from order address). Cheques payable to Kent Arch. Rescue Unit, sent to: Roman Painted House, New Street, Dover CT17 9AJ. 12 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk It is $fty years since the Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group held its AGM at the end of a very successful $rst year, during which members compiled a comprehensive sites and monuments record for the area and began a programme of local $eld surveys. !e Group was founded by four local amateur archaeologists, all of whom had worked on the excavation of the Cobham Roman villa under Peter Tester. !e four original members were Ron Foord of Chatham, a skilled photographer of #ora and fauna and long-time member of the Society, [Obituary, Arch. Cant. CXXII (2002)], a retired shipwright, a City worker and amateur musician, and the writer. !e Group concentrated on $eldwork and documentary research, looking out for unexpected $nds on building sites in sensitive areas and giving assistance with emergency rescue excavations wherever possible. An early success for the $eld survey project was the discovery of the Eccles Roman villa through aerial photography, which resulted in an article in the Times and several local newspapers. !e aerial surveys, complemented by a programme of $eld walking and documentary research, produced results within a few months. Areas of interest were identi$ed by plotting recorded $nds and observations made throughout the lower Medway Valley, the Hoo peninsula, the Medway Towns and parts of the North Kent marshes. !e Eccles site was located in July 1961 [Arch. Cant. LXXVI (1961)]. Later that summer trial trenches revealed the villa’s considerable size which made the case for further exploration, especially since the villa was vulnerable to nearby industrial development, the building of which, in 1966, uncovered a substantial Roman kiln for the bulk manufacture and export of roo$ng and other tiles. !e photograph shows the Eccles villa as seen from the air in 1962 and is one of the second series of aerial photographs of the site. It can be seen that a portion of the $eld has been given over to that year’s programme of excavations by the Group. !e project was subsequently taken over by the late Alec Detsicas’s Eccles Excavation Committee and continued until 1976. Despite the size and status of the building, and the site’s potential interest to late Roman studies, a full and $nal report could prove to be una"ordable. !e Group grew from strength to strength throughout its early years, undertaking and reporting on $eld surveys in a number of localities including the Hundred of Hoo and Bredhurst [Arch. Cant. LXXX (1965)]. Local activities and publicity ensured a rising membership taking an active part in archaeological work. In the 1960s there were few professional resources to hand, and local groups, of which Kent was fortunate to have the largest number in Britain, carried a considerable burden, voluntarily undertaking watching-briefs on construction sites and pressing forward with their e"orts to catalogue local sites and chance $nds. !rough fostering close relationships with landowners and keeping members’ contacts informed as what to out look for, several sites were prevented from being buried or destroyed without record. In 1963 the Group was instrumental in bringing experts from the Natural History Museum to Cuxton to investigate following the chance $nd Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group – the early years by Michael Ocock Eccles villa - aerial photo of 1962 whilst excavations were underway www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter 13 of a handaxe, which had revealed the existence of an important and largely undisturbed Palaeolithic site [Arch Cant. LXXX (1965)]. At Broomhey Farm, Cooling, the landowner’s investigations of a pottery kiln, begun in the 1930s, were $nally taken forward through extensive excavations by Alec Miles and Mike Syddell and reported in full in Arch Cant. CXXIV (2004). Rescue excavations were not ruled out entirely and the Group carried out the $rst extensive excavations of the Roman villa on the site of a demolished gas works at Snodland at the instigation of the South Eastern Gas Board. [Arch. Cant. LXXXII (1967)] The Group, working alongside similar societies throughout the county, made a valuable contribution to Kentish archaeology at a time when the idea of a County Archaeologist’s Department working with commercial archaeological units had not occurred to anyone, funding for ‘rescue’ excavations was virtually non-existent, and amateur groups were consequently encouraged to be active and independent. Fortunately many volunteers participated enthusiastically in $eldwork and other branches of archaeological research, thus enabling organisations like the Lower Medway Group and other active local groups to conduct the majority of archaeological activity in Kent throughout the 1960s. For enquiries about membership of LMARG please contact their Hon Sec, Len Feist, tel. 01634 717135. In 2011 the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group (FSARG) were invited to $nd the remains of the north tower of Luddenham Church, near Faversham. !is tower was a substantial structure with a double cap and three bells and stood half way along the north side of the church. It collapsed in 1806, damaging the nave and chancel. Repairs were swiftly carried out but the north tower was not restored. Instead, a battlemented brick tower was built onto the south west corner of the nave. We had $ve days access to the churchyard, so this was a ‘Time Teamtype’ exercise and we had to be highly organised. Two days during the Easter season were spent carrying out surveying, including detailed building materials recording, mapping of the churchyard and graves, inspecting debris from rabbit holes and dumps and geo-resistivity surveying along the north wall. !is last gave such a clear result that we knew solid foundations had survived. Nor th Side of Luddenham Church in 1803 (kind permssion of KAS) INSERT : Same view of Luddenham Chur ch today The Lost Tower of Luddenham Dr Pat Reid, Community Archaeologist for the Faversham Society, Director FSARG The Lost Tower of Luddenham - continued 14 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk 􀀬􀁑􀁖􀁈􀁕􀁗􀀃􀀝􀀃􀀤􀀃􀁉􀁕􀁄􀁊􀁐􀁈􀁑􀁗􀀃􀁒􀁉􀀃􀀵􀁒􀁐􀁄􀁑􀀃􀁕􀁒􀁏􀁏􀁈􀁕􀁖􀁗􀁄􀁐􀁓􀁈􀁇􀀃􀃁􀁘􀁈􀀃􀁗􀁌􀁏􀁈􀀏􀀃􀁉􀁒􀁘􀁑􀁇􀀃􀁌􀁑􀀃􀁗􀁋􀁈􀀃􀁗􀁒􀁚􀁈􀁕􀀃􀃀􀁏􀁏 Sure enough, when we returned in June, the walls proved to be no more than 10cm down. Working rapidly, much of the wall was exposed. !e walls were around 0.9 m thick and survived to a maximum height of 0.6 m. !ey were mainly constructed of large, shaped #int nodules and blocks of ragstone and greensand, but the internal $ll included many hefty pieces of Roman tile. Indeed, the west wall seemed to be founded upon a layer of Roman brick and tile and the $ll between the walls contained pieces of roller stamped (type14) and combed box #ue tiles and a very large #oor tile, probably a sesquipedalis, along with tegulae and imbrices. !e top layer of $ll had a high proportion of peg tile fragments. Other signi$cant $nds in the $ll were a number of yellow or green glazed Flemish tiles, late medieval/early postmedieval in date. It has been suggested that Luddenham church, remote and with a small congregation, might have had earthen #oors in the medieval period but this was plainly not so for at least some areas. Some pieces of earlier medieval tile were also found. At the lowest foundation level of the tower, a complex multi-context layer emerged, interpreted as an artisans’ ‘working #oor’. Beneath the lowest level of demolition $ll was a patchy layer of charcoal, running in places over a hard white layer of chalky-mortar like material. !ere were also lenses of greenish clay. !ree small post holes in a row penetrated the charcoal/white layers, and a larger one lay a short distance away. In one part of this ‘surface’ a circular impression seemed to have been impressed into the white layer. Immediately beneath this mixture of deposits was the natural soil, a clayey-brickearth. !e white layer contained a lot of lead came fragments - cames are the $ne lead strips which run between glass segments in stained glass windows. !e di&culty with the ‘working #oor’ was dating it. Was it an original surface, dating back to when the tower was being built? !e post holes could be sca"olding and the cames from window construction and trimming. Or was it a post-collapse #oor - in which case, the tower site must have been completely cleared of rubble, right down to the natural soil? !e cames could then be attributed to smashed windows - the 1803 print shows some small windows. Careful inspection, however, suggested that the burnt layer did not run under the foundations and that the very lowest stone showed some Roman brick used in the north and south west corners of the chur ch www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter 15 sign of scorching, which gives the dating as post-collapse. !e Roman material was easy to explain - a known but uninvestigated high status Roman villa lies nearby. More puzzling, however, were two blocks of chamfered stone at the corners of the buttress in the north east corner of the tower. !ese are far more $nely worked than other stone in the church but were used in an obscure place. Is this another case of recycling, this time of medieval material? !ese blocks are identical to chamfered blocks used in the pillars of nearby Davington Church. Davington Church was formerly a priory and much was demolished at the Reformation - and Davington, from time to time, seems to have shared a priest with Luddenham. On the middle day of our June excavation, Luddenham Church, which is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, had its annual open day. We put up a small exhibition and display of $nds - all very enjoyable for both us and the visitors. I would strongly recommend a visit to this charming and peaceful little church, huddled in amongst farm buildings. Meanwhile, if you want to know more about the investigation itself, go to the FSARG website (now revised) on www. community-archeology.org.uk. Great thanks go to Tim and Caroline Stevens of Luddenham Court and the Churches Conservation Trust for granting access to this very special site. The opened up area at the end of excavation Dressed stones at the corner of the buttress 􀀷􀁋􀁈􀀃􀁄􀁕 􀁗􀁌􀁖􀁄􀁑􀀃􀂶􀁚􀁒􀁕􀁎􀁌􀁑􀁊􀀃􀃁􀁒􀁒􀁕􀂷􀀃􀁌􀁑􀁖􀁌􀁇􀁈􀀃􀁗􀁋􀁈􀀃􀁗􀁒􀁚􀁈􀁕 Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Gallery, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1LH. 16 Spring 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk If undelivered, please return to 􀀶􀀑􀀃􀀥􀁕􀁒􀁒􀁐􀃀􀁈􀁏􀁇􀀏􀀃􀀛􀀃􀀺􀁒􀁒􀁇􀁙􀁌􀁈􀁚􀀃􀀦􀁕􀁈􀁖􀁆􀁈􀁑􀁗􀀏􀀃 Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD Copy deadline for the next issue is 1st June 2012 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. EDITOR: LYN PALMER 55 Stone Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2QU Telephone: 01892 533661 Email: newsletter@kentarchaeology.org.uk More than 350 Late Bronze Age objects, found in a $eld in the Boughton Malherbe area near Maidstone, have been o&cially named as Treasure. !e collection of tools, weapons, ornaments and ingots, found by two metal detector enthusiasts, are thought to be from 875-800BC. !e hoard is particularly unusual because the objects are thought to have originated in northwest and northern France, but then been brought to England and later buried in Kent. !e $nds were reported to KCC’s Heritage Conservation Team and taken to the British Museum in London, where they were studied by a team of researchers who prepared a report for the coroner. Maidstone Museum would like to have the $nds for its collections, so the market value of the items will have to be determined by the independent Treasure Valuation Committee. !e museum will then have to raise this sum to acquire the hoard. Collections Manager from Maidstone Museum Giles Guthrie said: “!ere are a number of hoards of this period known about from south-east England and northwestern France, but this discovery helps to highlight the massive resources that were at the disposal of these people 3,000 years ago. It would represent a signi$cant addition to our collection and make an excellent tool to illustrate the activities of Kentish folk in the Bronze Age.” Dr. Ben Roberts, Curator of European Bronze Age, British Museum said “!is is a spectacular $nd of a vast Bronze Age hoard. What is perhaps most interesting is that these objects are far more common in northern France than south-east England. Several have never even been found in England before.” Country’s fourth largest Bronze age hoard found in the County By Jennifer JaCkson, finds liaison offiCer for kent