KAS Newsletter, Issue 94, Autumn 2012

Your Quarterly Newsletter www.kentarchaeology.org.uk INSIDE THIS ISSUE Kent’s New Castle AUTUMN 2012 ISSUE NUMBER 94 4 MAAG Lead Scroll 5 KAS Study Mornings 6 Folkestone Project 7 What’s On 12-13 Kentish Ragstone 16 New Mesolithic Sites 2-3 Newnham Castle 8-9 You & Your Society + Committee Round Up 10 - 11 Notes From The Archive + Quex Coins 14 -15 Dutch Gables Part 2 Turn to Page 2 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk In June of this year the Wychling, Doddington and Newnham Historical Research Group uncovered a previously undocumented Norman Castle during their summer community dig. After gauging interest for local history within the three parishes, I set up the group in May 2010. In August 2011 we ran our second community dig, excavating a 24 x 2m section of Roman road. Within the hillwash and road construction material we found Bronze Age pottery. This pottery could only have come from the hill above the dig site, prompting us to take a look at that area in the autumn of 2011. The site is marked as a Motte and Bailey on the O.S. map, though historically this is not supported by any documentary or archaeological evidence. George Payne tells us in his Collectanea Cantiana that he visited the site with Charles Roach Smith in 1880 to inspect the earthworks. Rather than giving his own account of his findings, he instead relates George Bedo’s account of the site c.1860. Bedo noted a mound surrounded by a ditch. It was the opinion of Bedo and latterly Payne and Roach Smith that the mound was of early ‘British origin’, however, our investigations and discoveries this year suggest otherwise. The group undertook resistivity of the mound and over part of the ditch, plus an area that had shown up as a rectangular crop mark to the north of the mound. After processing the results, we noted an unusually dense material in the ditch fill, possibly explained by the mound material having been levelled into it over many years. The northern crop mark showed nothing tangible, but, by contrast, upon the mound we had a square feature with an open centre. The resistivity indicated a feature around 9m square with a 4.5m internal space. This meant that the ‘walls’, if that’s what we had, were a massive 2m thick. We dug a few test pits which revealed, for the most part, chalk and soil rubble, with some oyster shell and the occasional sherd of medieval pottery. One test pit was put in directly over an area of dense oyster shell which proved to also contain a large quantity of the same medieval pottery. Fieldwalking the site also produced a few worked flints and sherds of Bronze Age pottery. Based on these initial results we arranged to conduct our ‘Summer Dig’ at the site, to explore the square feature and also the ditch. At the beginning of June we opened a 5m square trench over the north east corner of our square feature, eventually confirming that we did indeed have 2m-thick walls. The walls were constructed from nodular flint laid in courses with a rough sandy lime mortar. In the centre we had demolition material of flint, mortar, limewashed plaster, burnt clay and some dressed ashlar blocks of Reigate stone. We also had some pottery with a provisional date of mid-12th century, and a Roman brooch, currently being researched. Front page: Members of WDNHRG outlining the rounded corners of the structure Ditch profile Newnham Castle By Paula Jardine-Rose www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012- KAS Newsletter 3 The outside of the structure became more curious, as the corner we had uncovered was rounded, and the east wall exhibited a semicircular projection. In order to resolve these curiosities we decided to uncover the whole structure to get the complete ground plan. With this done, we found that we had two further rounded corners and a square projection to the northwest. The second excavation concerned the ditch to the south west of the structure. We took out an 11m trench across the ditch. The first 2m depth was excavated and we were still in various ‘modern’ mound levelling events. After augering to the bottom of the ditch, which is cut into natural chalk and flint, we concluded that we had a further 1.8m to go. At this stage we took stock of events, deciding in the end to hire a large mechanical digger to scoop out the ditch in stages, with soil samples being taken directly from the bucket. With the skill of the driver, we were able to follow the ditch profile exactly, eventually reaching the bottom after 4.5m. At the top of the ditch, mound side, we also uncovered three large post holes which may have formed a revetment to hold back the mound material. With the structural evidence, together with the pottery, ditch profile and stratified 12th century pottery within the ditch, we are now confident that we have discovered a Norman Castle. Its ground plan is unusual for a mid-12th century date, there being only one parallel that we are aware of, in Pembrokeshire. In the report for this Welsh castle, it is considered to be ‘unique’ in having rounded corners. The castle was built directly on the natural clay soil that caps the chalk. Excavation revealed that the ‘castle builders’ were camped out during the construction period, with bone, oyster shell, pottery and burning, evident upon the clay surface to the outside of the Castle. Once built, the ditch was then dug out and the material thrown up against the castle walls, resulting in the ground floor room becoming buried within the heart of the mound. Further investigations are due to take place over the autumn in readiness for the 2013 season of excavation, and an interim excavation report will be published in due course. Plan of the ‘keep’ Mid-12th century (provisional) Shelly Ware vessel Massive ditc h, over 4.5m deep 4 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Fig 1: Measured Drawing by Dr Tomlin Fig 2: Lead scroll as found Fig 3: Lead Scroll Unrolled MAAG Lead Scroll by Richard Weekes The Maidstone Area Archaeological Group’s investigation of a number of Roman buildings overlooking the River Medway off Lower Road, East Farleigh has now come to an end. Initially reported in newsletter no. 76 and subsequently in nos. 79, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90 and 93, a final update will be published in the next newsletter. However, the find of a lead curse scroll from the site during the 2009 season has recently hit the news locally, and nationally, with items on BBC Southeast and BBC Oxford News and articles in the local press and in the Daily Mail Online. This has happened primarily due to a grant from the Kent Archaeological Society to fund the investigation and conservation of the scroll. The lead scroll, measuring about 6 cm long and 1cm wide, was found in the 3rd/4th century AD building demolition layer, next to the wall at the west side of the NW corner of Building 5. This building ended life as a kitchen or bakery. However, it may have started life in the mid-third century as something grander such as a temple. The scroll was then handed over to Dana Goodburn-Brown of Conservation Science Investigations (CSI), based in Sittingbourne. An attempt was made to read the fragile scroll without unrolling it by using a technique called neutron computed tomography imaging at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. The resolution, however, was not sufficient to discern any writing on it. It was therefore necessary to unroll the scroll and it was then possible to enlarge some of the letters under a scanning electron microscope. In June 2012, Dr Roger Tomlin, Lecturer in Late Roman History at Wolfson College, Oxford, and an authority on Roman inscriptions, spent four days examining the scroll. He was able to decipher the text and prepare a measured drawing of the inscription. The scroll is believed to date from the 3rd (or possibly 4th) Century AD and is probably a defixio or ‘curse tablet’. The text consists of personal names written in capitals in two columns. The scribe has used some encipherment by writing a few of the names backwards or upside down, possibly to invoke ‘sympathetic magic’ to make life especially difficult or perverse for those individuals. There are seven names in each column - Latin names SACRATUS, CONSTITUT[US], C O N S T A N [ . . . ] a n d MEMORIA[NUS], Celtic names [ATR]ECTUS and ATIDENUS (written ATINED[US]), and eight others which are incomplete. It is reasonable to assume that the names listed were of people who lived at the site and, since the Romans were the first inhabitants of England who could read and write, they represent the earliest inhabitants of East Farleigh that we may ever be able to put a name to. From the end of August 2012, Dana Goodburn-Brown will carry out further conservation work on the scroll. It is hoped that this will result in more letters becoming visible. Visitors to CSI should be able to see work in progress during occasional open days between September and December. After further examination by Dr. Tomlin, it may be possible to put the scroll on public display at the end of the year. The last time a Roman lead scroll was found in Kent was more than 40 years ago, in 1970, at the site of a Roman villa at Eccles (see Arch.Cant. (1985) Volume 102 pages 19-25). Fig 2 Fig 3 Fig 1 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 5 Now autumn is here, your mind may be turning from the garden to your research interest. We would like to remind you that the KAS library in Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery contains an extensive collection of material to aid your research as well as being a pleasant location for pursuing your studies. Wednesday mornings is the best time to visit if you require access to the Visual Records or the books in the locked cabinets. On a Wednesday morning a lot of activities are taking place and you can be sure to find someone to talk with and perhaps help you with your enquiries. However, their success has meant that the library is getting increasingly busy so we are grateful to our new volunteers, Ann and Helen, for enabling us to initiate an additional study morning on Thursdays, starting from September. Ann is working on the Visual Records and Helen is helping us establish order in our book collection. One of them will be present in the library on most Thursday mornings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and they will be pleased to see you. We hope the new Thursday morning study group will cater for those who enjoy pursuing their individual studies in a friendly and sociable but fairly quiet atmosphere. The Book and Visual Records catalogues are available online to assist you in planning your visit. The library is open every day in line with the opening hours of Maidstone Museum. You can visit at your convenience, with the reservations that during term time the Library is used for our popular Adult Learning series on Mondays and occasionally Committees meet in there. To avoid disappointment we advise checking the online diary on the website before you set out. We also ask you to please remember your KAS membership card and sign in at the front desk and again in our visitors’ book in the Library. For details of all of the above see the website:http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk If you intend to spend the day studying in Maidstone then we would recommend using the Maidstone Park and Ride facilities as there is a stop close to the Museum. If you come by rail, the Museum is very close to Maidstone East Railway Station. Limited parking is available in Fremlin Walk and in the streets around the Museum. Lunch, tea, coffee and snacks are available downstairs at The Barge Kentish café-Deli, which comes highly recommended. If you require more information please contact Pernille at Pernillerichards@ gmail.com. We hope to see you in the Library soon. Study Mornings in the KAS Library 6 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Much time and effort goes into planning and executing a major project like ‘A Town Unearthed, Folkestone before 1500’ and feedback from ATU volunteers and audiences shows that many people are benefitting from its activities. The project is now in its final year and come the end of the project, what will be the ‘legacy’ of ATU? Long term benefits are likely to be the growth of interests and friendships through the experience of people working together (a number of volunteers have even set up a local archaeology and research group) and of course there will be the dissemination of significant new knowledge, particularly about Late Iron Age activity in the south-east, resulting from recent excavations at East Cliff. A publication will tell the story of the area’s early development and in due course finds will be available for exhibition in Folkestone. Interestingly, new students to Pent Valley Technology College this year will practice design skills by planning a new community space for Folkestone. ATU volunteers will be playing a part in this so I’m pretty sure local archaeology/history/ heritage would be on the wish list if the ‘space’ became a reality! One tangible result of the ATU project is its new set of Archaeological Resource Kits, just completed. Based on the original CAT KIT of resource materials, the ARKs have Late Iron Age and Roman finds from East Cliff and other Folkestone sites, a CD of East Cliff discoveries from the 1920s, 1980s and 2010-11 and an enhanced Teacher Guide. The ARK Guide can be downloaded at http://www.canterburytrust.co. uk/learning/resources/ark_teacher_ pack/ With the start of the new term, we will be working with St Mary’s CE Primary School on a mini project involving children exploring a series of test pits in their school field and using the ARK in the classroom. The test pitting is being organised by Annie Partridge (CBA Community Archaeology placement with CAT) and will be supervised by Annie, ATU volunteers and school staff. St Mary’s is a five minute walk from East Cliff and all the children have the advantage of having seen the recent excavations, so there is a chance they’ll be able to put the school pits into some kind of context. Teachers are pretty excited about all this and it should be a good opportunity to learn from each other over the coming weeks, with useful experience for Annie. Following on from this, we will be promoting the ARKs to other Folkestone schools. The A Town Unearthed project is largely supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The schools activities are further supported through the Society’s grant to the Canterbury Archaeological Trust Education Service. Marion is Education Officer for CAT and Hon.Sec. KAS Education Committee A Town Unearthed: the story continues Image: Teacher Guide from the new Archaeological Resource Kit by Marion Green www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 7 WHAT’S ON KAS EVENTS KAS PLACE-NAMES COMMITTEE DAY CONFERENCE ON PLACE-NAMES Saturday 3 November, 10.30 – 4.30 At the Visitor Information Centre, 95 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX. Speakers: Locative surnames on the move: when Kentish names leave Kent, and when newcomers arrive, by Paul Cullen (Bristol Centre for Linguistics, University of the West of England) The Case of Northminster and other Thanet mythologies, by Richard Jones (Centre for English Local History, University of Leicester) The Canterbury Cartae Antiquae Project: a major source of names, by Liz Finn (Kent History and Library Centre) Place-names and boundaries, from Goudhurst to North Woolwich, by Paul Cullen (as above) Tickets £12 each. Please download booking form from Events section on KAS website or contact Hon. Sec. Place-Names Committee, Val Barrand Davies, email: rattersnap@aol.com tel: 07947 583327. EVENTS AROUND KENT FRIENDS OF CANTERBURY ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST Wednesday 7 November at 7.00pm Popular protest in Elizabethan and early Stuart Kent by Dr Stephen Hipkin (Reader in Social History and Acting Head of Department for History and American Studies, Canterbury Christ Church University). Friends Meeting House, 6 The Friars, Canterbury CB1 2AS. Saturday 26 January 2013 at 6.30pm Frank Jenkins Memorial Lecture - annual review of the past year’s work of the Archaeological Trust by Dr. Paul Bennett (Director, Canterbury Archaeological Trust) Lecture Theatre, Old Sessions House, Canterbury Christ Church University, Longport, Canterbury February 2013 An update on Medieval Canterbury. A symposium with speakers from Canterbury Archaeological Trust For all these events, FCAT requests a donation of £2 from their members, £3 for non-members, and £1 for students, to cover costs and to help support the activities of CAT. LOOSE AREA HISTORY SOCIETY 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 are held at Loose Infant School Hall, Loose Road, Maidstone. Further information from our website www.looseareahistorysociety.webeden. co.uk or phone 01622 741198. COUNCIL FOR KENTISH ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE RECENT RESEARCH ON ANGLO-SAXON KENT Saturday 20 October 2 - 5.30pm The Old Sessions Lecture Theatre, Canterbury Christchurch University, North Holmes Campus. Monastic foundation and the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon Kent: A Review of recent excavation at Lyminge, by Alexandra Knox, Reading University Kentish Anglo-Saxon acquisitions from the British Museum, by Sue Brunning, British Museum Discovery of a Major Anglo-Saxon Settlement at Eynsford, by Brian Philp Tickets £5.00 available from C.K.A. 7, Sandy Ridge, Borough Green, Kent TN15 8HP. (S.A.E. please). Website www.the-cka.fsnet.co.uk This information is correct at the time of publication. MAIDSTONE AREA ARCHAEOLOGICAL GROUP MEETINGS 19 October Elizabethan Maidstone by Paul Oldham 16 November Members’ Evening 14 December Christmas Social 18 January 2013 Recent Work by Wessex Archaeology by Mark Williams 15 February Underground Kent by Mike Clinch 15 March A Can of Worms - or Charles Darwin’s Contribution to Archaeology by Richard Weeks Meetings start 7.30pm at Kent Police College, Maidstone (off Sutton Road A274) ME15 9DW. Non-members £1. For further details contact Mrs Linda Weeks (Hon. Sec.) on 01622 762422 or maag.info@virginmedia. com. 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. 8 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk I hope that you enjoyed the small window of summery weather. It will soon be time for the renewal of your subscriptions. Those of you who pay by cheque will receive a letter from me in December. If you pay by banker’s order please check that you pay only once as there are still a few who pay more often. The renewal date is January and it does make my life somewhat easier if you make sure that this is when your account in debited. I look forward to receiving your renewals! Remember to look at the KAS website to see opportunities to volunteer or join outings etc. It is undergoing a remake at the moment but should still be accessible. The website address is www. kentarchaeology.org.uk. Items are added quite frequently so keep up to date with what is going on around our county. If you have any problems please get in touch. 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: Individual Members: Mr C Drew, Borough Geen Mr L G Feist, Strood Mr D M C Green, Cliffe Mrs A Neve, Benenden 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. Shiela Broomfield, 8 Woodview Crescent, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD telephone: 01732 838698, email as above. MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Nominations are now invited for election to the Council of the Kent Archaeological Society (KAS) to take office from the close of the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) in May 2013. Nominations are invited from Members of the KAS to fill vacancies on the Council. If nominations exceed the number of vacancies, a ballot will be carried out before the AGM in which Members are able to vote for candidates. There are currently three vacancies for elected members and one vacancy for the position of Vice President. Members of the Council are Trustees of the Kent Archaeological Society and are responsible for the overall governance of the KAS and its affairs subject to the provisions of its Rules. The closing date for receipt of nominations is 5.00 pm on Friday 1st March 2013. ‘To promote the study and publication of archaeology and history in all their branches, especially within the ancient county of Kent’. Recognise the quote? It is the founding principle of the KAS, and is as relevant now as ever, involving work with archaeologists and historians through a structure of well-established committees. In recent years, however, a new phenomenon has blossomed, labelled Community Calling all Community Archaeologists INVITATION FOR NOMINATIONS FROM CANDIDATES FOR THE COUNCIL Further information and nomination forms can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary, Peter Stutchbury; email secret ar y@kentarchaeology.or g.uk or telephone 01303 266966. Archaeology. The KAS is in the process of developing new strategies and activities to support this sector and the starting point is you. Whatever the KAS offers to Community Archaeologists must be based on real grassroots need. At the heart of Community Archaeology lies the notion of ‘by the people for the people’ - a community archaeologist is a volunteer doing archaeological and/or historical research for the love of it and sharing his/her findings with the community. I can see many of you shaking your heads, saying that’s what we’ve always done, but major changes have impacted on the context of voluntary archaeology in recent years. Indeed, in the 1990s, it was predicted that the new contracting units would wipe out the voluntary sector. Factors, however, such as the incredible ease of communication through the internet, visionary TV programmes and the great increase in number of well-educated, confident retirees have turned that on its head. This is what we are doing: »» Over the autumn of 2012 we will be listing all Kent voluntary groups involved in archaeological and/or historical research »» On December 8th 2012 there will be a conference on Community Archaeology at Shorne Woods - part of the day will involve a consultative session where we collect and discuss your support needs. »» The outcome of this will be turned into a simple survey which will be circulated in the New Year, asking you as a group or individual to put the main expressed needs in order of personal priority. »» Results and subsequent action will be reported in this newsletter By autumn 2013 the programme of support should be ready to roll - but don’t forget, it’s up to you. If you want to know more, email on commarch@kentarchaeology.org.uk or write via the Newsletter. Pat Reid KAS Fieldwork Committee YOU & YOUR SOCIETY www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 9 GRANTS FOR KENT LOCAL HISTORY PROJECTS A total of £3,100 has been granted to Kent local history projects by the trustees of Kent Archaeological Society’s Allen Grove Local History Fund. The grants are awarded annually to encourage interest in Kent’s local history. Sums of up to £500 (or more for ‘exceptional projects’) are available to help cover the cost of research, publications, exhibitions and other projects. This year’s recipients are: »» Dr Melanie Caiazza of Harbledown, Canterbury £500 towards the publication of a video and paper on the 16th century Hales funerary monument in Canterbury Cathedral which is unlike any in England and depicts Sir James Hales’s burial at sea. »» Chatham Historical Society a contribution of £300 towards the publication of its journal ‘The Medway Chronicle’. »» Hoo Village Events Committee £500 to help pay for the production of a film documentary about life in the area today, which will be shown to the local community at a film festival. »» Sevenoaks Historical Society £1,000 towards publishing ‘The Sevenoaks Book’, an illustrated historical encyclopaedia of the town with entries on people, places, organisations and themes. »» Smarden Local History Society £ 250 to help update and reprint the ‘Smarden Heritage Trail’ booklet previously supported by Allen Grove Fund in 2006. »» Alan Stockwell £300 towards the cost of publishing ‘Finding Sampson Penley,’ a book recording the Jonas and Penley company of actors which had a circuit of theatres in Kent and Sussex in 1798- 1840. »» Wrotham Historical Society £250 towards the research and publication of a booklet entitled ‘Fragments of Wrotham History’ about the lives of famous people who have lived in Wrotham. Allen Grove was Curator of Maidstone Museum from 1948 to 1975, Hon. Curator of the KAS for 26 years (and its President in 1987/88) and Chairman of the Kent History Federation for eight years. When he died in 1990 he KAS Churches Committee Visit to Hinxhill and Wye: June 30 By Paul Lee The committee’s June visit brought a group of 35 people together to see the churches in Hinxhill and Wye, a united parish near Ashford. The afternoon was organised and led by KAS president Ian Coulson with input on the day from Dr Paul Burnham, formerly a lecturer at Wye College, who is an expert in the local history, architecture, soils and geology, and agriculture (past and present). At both churches, beginning at Hinxhill, our guides walked us around the outside of the churches in order to set them in the context of the local topography, agricultural land use and settlement history. Ian Coulson additionally instructed us in the use of our digital architectural church guides (you need to have been there to know what these are!), helping us to date the buildings by observing the walls, windows and arches. Hinxhill is a tiny, left £26,000 from the proceeds of the sale of his house to the KAS, with instructions that the society should invest the legacy and distribute the interest in ways that would promote the enjoyment of Kent’s local history. The first grants were made in 1994. Since then more than £28,000 has been awarded, mainly to support the publication of books and booklets but also for displays in heritage centres, oral history projects, and establishing archives and research centres. The deadline for applications for next year’s grants is March 31, 2013. Details from www.kentarchaeology.org.uk or from KAS General Secretary, Peter Stutchbury: email secretary@kentarchaeology.org.uk, tel: 01303 266966. isolated settlement set on a fertile island above surrounding boggy areas. There are reputed to have been connections with Hengist, the Jutish warrior king, in the fifth century. The church is a small 13th century building with 14th century additions, and consists of a tower with massive buttresses and broach spire, nave with north aisle, a chancel and north chantry chapel. There are possible indications in the chancel, identified on the day by Churches Committee chair Mary Berg, of the original smaller Anglo-Saxon manorial chapel. Wye Parish Church is a much grander building, reflecting the importance of the medieval landowners, principally Battle Abbey, and the richness of the local agriculture. The present church was built in the late 13th century, and was extensively remodelled by Archbishop John Kempe, a local boy, between 1432- 1447, during which time he also founded and built the neighbouring college of secular priests. This lofty church was originally even larger than it is now but its original chancel and transepts were destroyed by the collapse of the central tower in 1686. The Earl of Winchelsea paid for the present smaller chancel to be built, in classical style, in 1706, and the churchwardens had the massive new tower built in its unusual position to the south of this chancel. The afternoon concluded with refreshments kindly provided by the Wye Historical Society in the ‘Latin School’, a 15th century building attached to Wye College which has been developed as a village heritage room. Mary Berg thanked Ian Coulson and Dr Paul Burnham on behalf of everybody present for what had been a fascinating, educational and extremely enjoyable afternoon. COMMITTEE ROUND UP 10 Autumn 2012- KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk “I noticed in the Times that St. Albans Court Nonington is being sold and is to be used by the English Gymnastic Society. It is sad to think that, after such a long tenure, it passes out of the Hammond family but I suppose these changes are inevitable” wrote E.P. Boys Richardson (treasurer of the KAS) to Dr F.W. Hardman on the 22nd of November 1937. Indeed the Hammond family were in possession of St. Alban’s Court near Dover for almost 400 years, starting out as tenants in the 1520s and later becoming owners. The family is probably best known as the founders of the Hammond and Company banking firm in Canterbury, now part of Lloyds. The long association with St. Albans Court came to an end when the widow of Captain Egerton Hammond, Mrs Ina Hammond, put the property up for sale in the 1930s. She had for some years lived in Old Court house rather than in the handsome 19th Century main building by the architect George Devey and the estate had been rented out. Her only son, Second Lieutenant Douglas William Hammond had died serving with the East Kent Regiment in 1915. Dr Hardman was interested in the Nonington area and the history of the estate. He gathered a collection of transcriptions of deeds relating to the estate for the years 1548- 1846. Copies of these are in the KAS archive. Hardman also collected newspaper articles relating to the change from family estate to College. St Albans Court estate was advertised and featured in the magazine Country Life. After fundraising efforts it was acquired by the founder of the English Gymnastic Society, Gladys Wright, as its headquarters and training centre for women interested in becoming gymnastics teachers. It was opened on the 23rd of July by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Lang of Lambeth, who remained Fig 1: ‘Poise and Balance on Bars’, from Country Life Magazine, August 27th 1938, showing displays during the English Scandinavian Summer School of Physical Education where more than a hundred students from fourteen countries took part. Fig 2: Displays with the College in the background interested in the College. Miss Wright had trained in Denmark and Sweden, and taught a modernised version of the form of gymnastics originating in the work of Per Henrik Ling, who had studied and applied anatomical and physiological principles in the development of the exercises and opened the way for using exercise therapeutically. Most of us probably recognise this type of gymnastics by its distinctive choreographed look. Students would be taught in lines and perform movements in unison often accompanied by music. Miss Gladys Wright was the founding Principal and led the school with vision and vigour from its opening in 1938 to 1951. Her Vice Principal was the Swedish born Stina Kreuger and the links with Scandinavia were maintained though the English and Scandinavian Summer School of Physical Education. The school was evacuated to Bromsgrove, Worcestershire during the war, but Miss Wright’s visits to Sweden, Notes from the Archive By Pernille Richards From Seat of the Hammond family to College of Physical Education Fig 1 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 11 Rediscovery of the Quex Park Potin Coin Hoard In 2010, the existence of hundreds of unrecorded coins came to the attention of David Holman, a local amateur archaeologist and Iron Age numismatist. These had come to light during cataloguing of the Quex Park collections by members of the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society and the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. The 509 coins are a major part of a Flat Linear potin hoard found in 1853 at Quex Park – the largest ever hoard of its type – originally supposed to be of around 600 coins. The hoard ‘surfaced’ at various times during the mid to late 19th century in the writings of various antiquaries and numismatists, such as Sir John Evans. Major Percy Powell-Cotton’s diaries make numerous references to the ‘tin money’ in his possession. By 1960, twenty years after his death, the hoard was thought to have been largely dispersed, although numismatist Derek Allen noted that the hoard had still been intact some 30 years earlier. In 1961 Sheppard Frere established the Celtic Coin Index and visited Quex, where he was shown 44 coins by the curator, Mr Barton, who told him that this was all that survived. Professor Frere expressed the hope that the remaining coins would one day reappear and, after a wait of nearly 50 years, he was pleased to be informed that they still existed! It is intended that the hoard will now finally be fully recorded and published. A selection of 24 coins is on public display. Denmark and Finland resumed after the war. An unusual and now listed Swedish Gymnasium building (later Dance Theatre) was built during Miss Wright’s headship. In 1952, after Miss Wright’s retirement, the College came under the administration of KCC’s Education Department. The College modernised and continued to deliver successful teacher training courses, which from 1966 onwards became open to male trainees. During the stewardship of the next two Principals, Winnifred Whiting and Ellinor Hinks, KCC invested heavily in the School providing it with excellent sport and performing arts facilities. In 1959 a new gymnasium, incorporating new and creative equipment designed by Ellinor Hinks, was opened and in the 1970s a Sports Hall, Performing Arts Centre, kitchen and new residential accommodation were added. Unfortunately, changes in Government Policy on Teacher Training in 1977 meant that teacher training ceased at the College and it came under increasing threat of closure. Innovative and determined efforts by Nonington’s last Principal, Stanley Beaumont, and his dedicated staff kept the College going through diversification into a wide range of non-teaching qualifications and services to the local community. After another round of government cuts the College finally closed in 1986 ending the tradition of teacher training and physical education. The wheel of change spun again in 1995 when St Albans Court became the home of the Christian Bruderhof community. It is now known as Beech Grove. Sales Advert from Country Life magazine. Fig 2 12 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Earlier this year, Gallagher Aggregates Ltd invited KAS representatives to visit Hermitage Quarry near Maidstone - the only Kentish Ragstone quarry including building stone amongst its current products. Gallagher also supported Maidstone Area Archaeological Group recently regarding excavations at East Farleigh, where Roman buildings constructed of Kentish Ragstone were discovered (see articles by A.J. Daniels in KAS Newsletters 2008- 2012, and Kent Archaeological Review, 2012, Nos. 187 & 188). Interestingly, the Tithe Map of 1842 and accompanying apportionment suggest former quarrying to the north and northwest of the site of these Roman buildings. Parcels of land described as Quarry Bank, Upper Quarry, Quarry Meadow, and Lower Quarry (numbered 352, 353, 354 and 357 respectively) were used in the 1840s for arable, coppice, and pasture. Recent excavations lie within lands shown on the Tithe Map: No. 351, ‘Coombs’ (hops); No. 408, The Further Orchard (hops/fruit); and No. 409, Further Hop Ground (hops). Tithe documents similarly provide evidence of contemporary and earlier quarrying in other areas of East Farleigh, near Dean Street and Workhouse Lane. The underlying geology - Hythe Beds of the Lower Greensand – suggests Kentish Ragstone quarrying. The geological memoir which accompanies the Maidstone geological map (Sheet 288) mentions numerous former quarries in the Maidstone area, many still in use in the mid-twentieth century (Worssam, 1963). Archaeological discoveries are recorded as being made during the nineteenth century at local quarry sites, such as the unusual Romano-British burial found in 1847 in a stone quarry at Allington (KCC’s KHER Monument No. TQ 75 NW 2). Living in a partially Ragstonebuilt medieval house in Little Buckland (lying to the north-west of Maidstone), the writer is interested in evidence of local quarries. The report of an archaeological watching brief suggests that the steep bank between the two adjacent roads called Buckland Lane, lying at different levels, represents a quarry face (Ward 2003). Whether medieval (or even earlier) it can only be said that any quarry in this location would have pre-dated a timberframed medieval house on the south side of the lower Buckland Lane, Little Buckland Cottage, probably built c. 1500. Medieval quarries were sometimes small, possibly intended to provide building stone solely for individual building projects. Amongst fourteenth- to sixteenth-century examples documented are quarries with dimensions of 20 by 40 feet, and 20, 24, 40 and 100 feet square (Knoop and Jones, 1938). Besides evidence provided by the nineteenth-century Tithe and Ordnance Survey maps, other documents have revealed earlier quarry sites. The Earl of Aylesford’s estate reports for 1805 and 1825 with accompanying maps (CKS U234 E 21) and 1786 (U234 E20) - maps missing - include farms at Buckland. These contain much information about quarrying, especially by the local Bensted family, and show the location of a wharf on the west bank of the Medway (near the lower end of the present Buckland Hill) possibly serving local quarries (see KHER Monument Records). In a title deed dated 1629 relating to Sir John Astley’s property, a pasture of just over two acres at Little Buckland is named ‘The Quarry’ (Goodsall, 1958, 11). Documentary references to a medieval Ragstone quarry at Buckland, Maidstone, have also been found in deeds dating to between 1471 and 1534 at The National Archives (TNA) (Goacher, 2009, 396-97). Their online catalogue lists details of that dated 30 July, 15 Henry VII (1500): “Release by Thomas Wells of Maidestone, and Robert Welles of KENTISH RAGSTONE FROM THE MAIDSTONE AREA by Deborah Goacher An impression t aken from the 1567 seal of Maidstone, held in Maidstone Museum. www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 13 REFERENCES “Fabric Roll of Rochester Castle” (by “L.B.L”) in Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 2, 1859, 111-132 HKW: Brown, R.A., Colvin, H.M., Taylor, A.J., 1963, The History of the King’s Works, Vols. 1 & 2 Goacher, D.J., 2009, “A Documentary Study Relating to Buckland in the Medieval Borgh of Westree in Maidstone” in Arch. Cant. Vol. 129, 394-98 Goodsall, R.H., 1958, “The Astleys of Maidstone” in Arch. Cant. Vol. 72, 1-17; 9-16; original deed CKS U2035 T32 KCC’s Kent Historic Environment Record (KHER): http://www.kent.gov.uk/ExploringKentsPast/ Knoop, D., & Jones G.P., 1938, “The English Medieval Quarry” in Economic History Review, (Nov. 1938) 17-37 LeGear, R., 2007, “Underground Ragstone Quarries in Kent: a brief Overview” in Arch. Cant. Vol. 127, 407-419 Salzman, L.F., 1952, Building in England Down to 1540 TNA: PRO E 326: Exchequer: Augmentation Office: Ancient Deeds, Series B Ward, A., October 2003, An Archaeological Watching Brief at 5 Hyde Road, Allington (CAT) Worssam, B.C., 1963, Geology of the Country Around Maidstone Ayssheforde, the sons and heirs of Richard Welles late of Maidestone, deceased, to William Lylly the elder of the same, of their right to a quarry, with ‘le voydynge’ at Bokelande in the parish of Maidestone” (TNA: PRO E 326/2553). An earlier deed (dated 1449- 1450) survives relating to a quarry (plus messuage and garden) in Maydenstone in the ‘burgh’ (or medieval borgh) of Stone: “Grant by John Chapelle of Maydenstone and Thomas Garolde of East Farleghe, to John Sutton and John Maynelle of Maydenstone” (E 326/2565). An account relating to several of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s medieval Kentish manors, dating to 1496-1497, refers to sales of stone, called ‘Ragge’, apparently from a quarry at the ‘Mote’ which appears to have been associated with the manor of Maidstone (CKS U386 M17). These documents are interesting in the context both of open-cast Ragstone quarries and underground workings near Mote Park in Maidstone, where no dating evidence has been found (LeGear 2007, 413-419; Worssam, 1963). References to Maidstone’s medieval masons (as well as quarries) appear in fourteenth- and fifteenthcentury deeds and account rolls (Goacher, 2009, 397; Salzman, 1952; HKW, 1963). A masoncontractor, Maurice Young, prominent in the latter part of the reign of Edward III (1327-1377), seems, with the addition of ‘and company of Maidstone’, to have been a quarry owner (HKW, –209, 959). Documents record supply of stone from Boughton Monchelsea, and Aylesford, as well as Maidstone for medieval royal building projects. Exchequer accounts detail transport of stone from Maidstone (for the Tower of London) between 1338 and 1363, and, even earlier, ‘grey stone of Aylesford’, or Ragstone, in 1278 and 1317. Boughton stone was still being supplied to Westminster as late as 1532 (HKW, 281, 999; Salzman, 121, 128-9). Besides the River Medway for barge and ship transport, the Len and the Loose, as tributary rivers, would potentially have provided local quarries with additional linking waterways. A published medieval account, the “Fabric Roll of Rochester Castle”, lists named types of worked stones supplied for specific building applications. Although fragments (possibly medieval) of finished stonework were found in 1859 on re-opening a quarry in Dean Street, East Farleigh, the ‘Farlegh’ stone in the account was considered to relate to Fairlight in Sussex. This account (dating from 1368-69) records carriage of 2289.5 tons of “Bocton and Maydestane stone from Maydestayne to the said Castle, at 5d. per ton” (Arch. Cant. Vol . 2, 111-4, 121; HKW, 811). Finally, it is interesting to note that the place-name ‘Maidstone’ appears to contain an Old English element in its ‘stane’ ending; also that stone contributes an element of the image on the 1567 seal of Maidstone (Maidstone Museum). A young lady stands on a stone, holding a stone in one hand - an obvious visual pun, or rebus, incorporating the two parts of the name, ‘maid’ and ‘stone’. Layers of stone in the Ragstone-yielding Hythe Beds, with boreholes from the blast visible, and large blocks of stone in the foreground. Gallagher Hermitage Quarry, recording the weekly blast of stone, timed to coincide with the KAS visit. 14 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk From the start of my study, note was taken of aspect, brickwork and other features, such as dormer windows (which are common), to try to identify common themes. Mostly there are none. Dormer windows were often later insertions to compensate for small gable windows blocked up as a result of the Window Tax of 1696. In Holland, the most common curvilinear gable is known as ‘halsgevel’, literally ‘neck façade or gable’, i.e. stretched or elongated often with scrolls at the base and a variable pediment. The whole was more flamboyant than anything in England – that is until the revival in Queen Victoria’s reign. The Dutch also have a bell gable, but the only example I know of is a pub by the Tower of London - again Victorian. English gables could be described as a blend of the two types but are different partly due to the materials used, bricks in England, whereas the façades in Holland can be wood or plaster giving more freedom of form. The side curves in England consist primarily of concave, convex or the two combined as an ogee curve, the curves often separated by a small step. The variety of combinations with just these three shapes is astounding – the house that started this study has two ogee curves, one of only two I know of in Kent and East Anglia. The most common combination is probably a concave curve over an ogee or a single convex curve. But again, the possible combinations are numerous, one having three convex curves in a row (Beccles, Suffolk). A Dutch gable only has a true pediment according to some authoritive architectural dictionaries, but I would refute this as on the approximately 180 Dutch gables in Kent* only thirteen have a true pediment, (in Norfolk and Suffolk it is six out of the 56 viewed). Three have an open pediment over a broken pediment (Littlebourne area). The remainder are mostly round or segmental with the exception of the unique ‘Thanet Top’ found in Thanet and the adjoining mainland only (24 in total) which could be described as an open pediment reversed. Seventeen have the chimney atop the apex; others have a small flat top. South west of Ashford there are fourteen+ identical shaped gables – a clover leaf, plus ten just with porches. I distinguish and class these as a separate group in the study as these were built by the long standing Toke and Derring families, similar to the Derring round headed windows. A true pediment at Goodnestone, and colossal chimneys THE DUTCH AND FLEMISH GABLES OF KENT PART 2 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter 15 1. The Cape House. 2. Pers. Comm. Nick Dermott, Conservation Officer, Thanet District Council. At the start of the study, I imagined that Flemish Bond would figure large in the brickwork. But English Bond is as common and many have no discernible bond or a mixture. Fashion again comes in here I feel, as some have the more attractive Flemish Bond on the front, but not elsewhere as in St Peter’s Farm and Grove House, Birchington. Minster Bond is mentioned in two KCC reports and appears in two cases. Flemish Bond is known as Polish Bond in Germany (Polnischer Verband) which gives an indication of where the style came from before Holland, having travelled up to the Baltic ports from Italy in the 15th or 16th century. The last coverage of Dutch gables in Arch. Cant. was in 1878 and only covered Thanet, so an up-to-date review was due. The 1878 article mentioned ‘several’ in Minster and ‘a number’ in Reading Street, both in Thanet – frustratingly vague. Both villages now only have two. I have tracked down photos, mentions and drawings of demolished examples in Reading Street and elsewhere in the county. I can now confidently say that there must have been at least 200 at one time. A drawing of the ‘Ship Inn’ in Ramsgate appeared in a book on the Dutch gables in South Africa!1 The inn was demolished in the 1960’s for a John Poulson scheme that never materialised.2 Flint (with brick features) is the main building material in thirteen cases in Thanet, seven have a mixture of brick and flint and two are brick on flint foundations (presumably of earlier buildings in both cases), but elsewhere in Kent, bricks are the norm. Dates (where verifiable) range from 1587 Restoration House, Rochester (additions), to Street Farmhouse, Woodnesborough 1746; but the majority were built between 1660 and 1720, echoed in East Anglia. The style returned between 1850 and 1905 (from Westerham thro’ Charing to Broadstairs), with an isolated case into the 21st century as at London Road, Ramsgate. N.B. If you are wondering what distinguishes Dutch from Flemish and Huguenot - a fuller report has been submitted to Archaeologia Cantiana. * This excludes properties with only a shaped porch (15) and some (mainly Deal) where the tops are ruined and thus incapable of being analysed; also the Ashford examples. Similarly, properties such as Drapers Homes, Margate, counted as one even though there are many varying gables. A Thanet pediment of 1702 at Uphousden near Ash. Worth Farm, east Kent, attributed to the Huguenots, helpfully giving a date of 1675 in a recessed panel. Westerham - the pointed top more akin to Essex, with vitrified headers a mid-19th century ext ension t o an 18th centur y house with straight gables - fashion again. KENT By Gordon Taylor Part One appeared in the Summer 2012 Newsletter and gave background to this subject. This second part deals in detail with Pediments, Gables, Dates and Brick Bonds. Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Gallery, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1LH. 16 Autumn 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk If undelivered, please return to S. Broomfield, 8 Woodview Crescent, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD Copy deadline for the next issue is 1st Dec 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 Two flint implements from Ranscombe; Fig 1, an axe and Fig 2, a tranchet adze. Photos courtesy of Ruiha Smalley. Mesolithic sites in Kent are less well understood and less studied than sites from other prehistoric periods. Where Mesolithic flints are found, they are often only surface scatters. Very few Mesolithic features or insitu knapping sites are known. This is partly due to Kent’s geographic position at the time; connected with the continent and part of the Doggerland landmass, Kent was a hinterland. To the author’s knowledge there are no ongoing research excavations of Mesolithic sites in the county. Three Mesolithic sites with features have recently been published in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link volume ‘On Track, The Archaeology of High Speed 1 Section 1 in Kent’. For these reasons, evidence of two new substantial Mesolithic sites is important for our understanding of this period in Kent. The first is located in Shorne Woods Country Park, where two Lottery-funded archaeology projects have been investigating a number of Mesolithic flint scatters for the past six years. Although none of the material can yet be viewed as being in situ, we now have over 3,000 struck flint pieces, a number of microliths and a large number of cores. Over the coming winter, volunteers from the current Lottery-funded Shorne HubCAP project will be hard at work digging further test pits. At Ranscombe Farm, on the Plantlife nature reserve, we have a second Mesolithic site. This site was discovered by Dave May, a Plantlife volunteer, amateur archaeologist and local resident. He asked Kent County Council’s Community Archaeologist and volunteers from the Shorne HubCAP project to assist him in the investigation of this site. The quantity and quality of the finds recovered are potentially of national importance. Over 5,000 struck flints have been recorded, including a number of microliths, axes and adzes. Dave has been able to piece a number of these struck flints back together. This could indicate we are close to where they were originally knapped. Once the current phase of work has been fully reported, part of this scatter may be investigated further. In keeping with the community archaeology sentiments voiced elsewhere in this newsletter, Dave has been displaying some of the key finds at Open Days at both Shorne and Ranscombe. We also have a page for each site on the Archaeology in Kent facebook page www. facebook.com/archaeologyinkent. If you are interested in finding out more about these sites, please contact Andrew Mayfield at andrew. mayfield@kent.gov.uk or 07920 548906. Fig 1 Fig 2 Two important new Mesolithi c sites for North West Kent