KAS Newsletter, Issue 95, Winter 2012

Your Quarterly Newsletter www.kentarchaeology.org.uk INSIDE THIS ISSUE IRON AGE HELMET WINTER 2012 ISSUE NUMBER 95 4-5 KAS Anglo Saxon Collection + Allen Grove Grants 6-7 What’s On + Randall Manor 12-13 Notes from the Archive 16 New Website 2-4 Iron Age Helmet 8-10 You & Your Society + Committee Round Up 11 Historic Buildings Report 14 -15 Rolvenden Settlement Project + Letters Evidence of Caesar’s incursions? Turn to Page 2 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk In 1986 I attended a WEA class at the Roman Painted House in Dover, taught by Brian Philp. My first foray into the world of archaeology began with Brian describing Caesar’s expeditions to Kent of 55 and 54 BC. He told us that no direct archaeological evidence for either of those expeditions has ever been found, despite the fact that in 54BC Caesar was accompanied by four legions (about 20,000 men) and that he fought several engagements. I’ve always remembered that first lesson and have, like many colleagues, been sceptical of any suggestion that a particular site or find might be linked to Caesar in Britain. So in recent weeks I’ve been surprised to have found myself involved with a discovery that just might be such a find. In October I received a phone call from a metal detectorist, known from my time as Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) for Kent. This detectorist said he had made a ‘significant discovery’. In my line of work, both formerly as FLO and today at Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT), receiving such a call is not unusual. But the finder stated that he had found what he believed to be a ‘Celtic bronze helmet’. That did get my attention. I knew of no such helmets from Kent; the famous ‘Deal warrior’ excavated by Keith Parfitt had a bronze head-dress, but that was not a helmet as such. Even for Britain as a whole, I knew such a find would be incredibly rare. However, the finder was very specific, saying that it appeared to be a ‘Mannheim’ type helmet. I also knew him as an experienced detectorist, so I arranged to visit him first thing next morning. The following day I was astonished to see that he had indeed found a Late Iron Age helmet, made of copper alloy, along with a brooch in very good condition and a small spike made out of rolled copper alloy sheet. A fragment of burnt bone had been found together with the helmet and brooch; more bone had been observed but had not been removed. It therefore seemed probable that the finds were derived from a cremation burial. We agreed that it would be best to carry out excavation of the find spot as soon as possible to learn about the context of what was indeed a ‘significant find’. The finding of two prehistoric base metal objects together in the same place made them potential Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act (1996), so I reported the discovery to the Coroner, Kent’s FLO and the Treasure Registrar at the British Museum. Discussion with CAT colleagues and with the landowner, tenant, FLO, British Museum and others followed; all agreed that speedy excavation of the immediate find spot was needed. In late October, a team drawn from CAT and Dover Archaeological Group carried out the excavation, opening a 2m² square trench centered on the finder’s original excavation. This revealed no elaborate chiefly burial, but rather a small oval pit, cut into the natural chalk, which had just been missed by deep plough furrows to either side. Had the helmet not been found there can be little doubt that it would have suffered further plough damage, leading ultimately to its fragmentation, dispersion and effective destruction. Cutting into this oval pit the recovery pit could be readily identified as a roughly circular hole about 0.35m in diameter. Careful removal of its filling yielded a moderate quantity of cremated bone and a few small fragments of copper-alloy sheet derived from the corroded top of the helmet. At the base of the excavation, the lower half of the helmet’s oval outline was preserved as a near perfect cast in the surrounding undisturbed soil. In places, this outline was stained green from the Front page: Scan of the helmet undertaken by University of Kent Fig 1: Helmet with brooch and spike Fig 2: Recovery pit with helmet’s outline preserved. 1st century BC helmet found near Canterbury By Andrew Richardson Fig 1 www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012- KAS Newsletter 3 copper-alloy composition of the helmet, and a few further fragments of copper-alloy sheeting remained on the base. The overall form of the burial can be reconstructed with some confidence. A shallow circular pit had initially been cut into the natural chalk into which the inverted helmet had been placed. It was positioned in the eastern half of the pit, orientated NNE by SSW, with its projecting rear neck-guard at the NNE end. Either just before or just after the helmet had been put into the ground, a quantity of cremated human bone had been placed within it. The brooch recovered was contained within the upper part of the bone deposit. It is likely that the cremated bone had originally been held within some sort of cloth or leather bag/ container, closed at the top by the brooch. The whole had then been placed within the inverted helmet, in this case serving as an ‘urn’. The pit was then backfilled with relatively clean soil and chalk, with no surviving evidence to suggest that the spot had been permanently marked in any way. No evidence for any other internments was discovered; it would seem that the helmet burial was either an isolated one or formed part of a cemetery with widely spaced burials. The finds are now undergoing specialist study at the British Museum. In addition, the helmet has been carefully scanned by archaeologists at the University of Kent using state-of-the-art technology. Using a contactless scanner, with a resolution better than 0.08mm, the team has been able to see small hammer indentations in the helmet. The scanner also produces digital pictures, helping to reveal intricate details often hidden by colour variations on the surface. Problematic is the interpretation of this, for Britain, unique burial. The only British parallel in terms of the type of helmet is an example (albeit in much poorer condition) from a rich inhumation grave, c.50 BC, excavated in 2008 near Bognor Regis by Thames Valley Archaeological Services. As for cremation burials in a helmet, at the time of writing I am aware of a 1st century AD burial in a legionary helmet from Poland and am following up a lead on similar burial(s) from Belgium (Steve Willis pers. comm.). The Canterbury helmet itself does seem best paralleled by helmets of the ‘Coolus- Mannheim’ type, as the finder originally suggested. Such helmets have been found across Gaul, with others from Germany and Italy. They are generally regarded as being Republican Roman equipment, although it has been suggested to me that such helmets were also used by Caesar’s Gallic opponents (Julia Farley pers. comm.). The brooch found with the helmet dates to c. 90-50 BC and could have been in Britain or on the Continent. What can we say at this stage about the meaning of this remarkable find? It seems reasonable to set it in the context of the turbulent middle decades of the 1st century BC and Caesar’s Gallic war. But it is tempting to go further than this and see it as that much sought after evidence of Caesar’s expeditions to Kent. The helmet appears of the correct design and the findspot lies along the probable route of advance in 54 BC. But there are problems. Even if this was the helmet of one of Caesar’s soldiers, it could have arrived at its final resting place in various ways. The person (or persons?) whose remains are buried in it need not be its original owner. A warrior of the Cantiaci, returned from fighting in Gaul with a trophy, is one possibility; a Gallic refugee is another. Or the helmet could have been handed down and buried years later (although the brooch suggests burial is unlikely to date much later than 50BC). The brooch is not convincing as a piece of Roman military equipment, but since it was probably being used a fastener for a cloth bag, rather than as a dress fastener, its connection to the deceased is no clearer than that of the helmet. And was this an isolated burial, or part of a cemetery, perhaps attached to a nearby settlement? The different possibilities got me thinking again about my first class in archaeology. I was reminded why Caesar’s expeditions to Kent, major military undertakings though they were, have proven so elusive in archaeological terms. Even if we were to find such evidence, could we be sure of linking it to such specific events and times, given the uncertainties associated with most forms of archaeological evidence and given the imprecision of most dating methods? We will learn more about this find, but we may also have to face up to never knowing either way whether it really is evidence of Caesar’s expedition of 54 BC. Indeed, it has provided an object lesson in how difficult it can be to link archaeological evidence to historical events, no matter how tempting it may be to try! I’d welcome comments and debate about the helmet. Twitter - @AFRatCAT or our CAT Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/ CanterburyArchaeologicalTrust Fig 2 4 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk The Society’s Anglo Saxon Collection Re-examined Anglo Saxon iron objects from the cemeteries at Sarre and Bifrons discovered more than 140 years ago are being taken out of store and reexamined at the Sittingbourne-based Conservation Science Investigations (CSI) by a team led by Dana Goodburn- Brown. Gold and silver decorations have been revealed by x-ray and XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) spectrometry analysis on some objects and impressions of textiles and wood have also been discovered. The cemeteries were among the first and most important sites to be investigated by the Kent Archaeological Society, founded in 1857. The Cemetery at Sarre was excavated between 1863 -1865 by John Brent on land close to Sarre Mill with permission from Lord Conyngham. In total Brent excavated 272 early Anglo Saxon graves with a rich collection of grave goods. Two years later Brent and other KAS members, supervised by Godfrey Fausset, excavated The Bifrons cemetery on the land of Lord Conyngham in Patrixbourne. Most of the finds from Sarre and Bifrons –brooches, jewellery, crystal balls, beads and glass as well as iron artefacts- were placed in the KAS collection at Maidstone Museum. While permitting the KAS to conduct their excavation work Lord Conyngham had his gamekeeper opening graves on his own behalf for his private collection. In 1954 this collection of material joined the other Bifrons objects in the KAS Collection located at Maidstone Museum, together forming a rich and important collection of artefacts which have been studied extensively over the years by eminent scholars. The iron objects from this collection have never been studied as extensively as other parts of the collection. The reason for this is partly that the ironwork is less attractive to the eye than the jewellery, but also that at some point in the late 1800s the iron finds began to corrode and by 1892 when George Payne wrote a Catalogue to the Society’s Collection he reports: “As none of the specimens of iron were dressed with a preservative solution at the time of their discovery, a very large number went to pieces, and the labels on those which remained became obliterated by the oxidization of the iron, thus rendering it impossible to properly classify them.” The identifying labels had been stuck to the objects and as they became illegible so it was no longer possible to identify which cemetery or grave the object came from. It was only thanks to patient work by the eminent scholar, Sonia Chadwick Hawkes (1933-1999) that the vast majority of the objects were eventually assigned to either the Bifrons or the Sarre Cemetery. “The KAS has a fantastic collection, we ought to do more with it,” said the Hon. Curator, Dr Andrew Richardson. Jihyun Kwon (centre) of Conservation Science Investigations and volunt eers working on the gr ave goods. Four objects, with a pound coin for size comparison. www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 5 Grants from the Allen Grove Local History Fund Help to turn your project into reality with a grant from the Allen Grove Local History Fund. Awards are available for the purposes of research, preservation and enjoyment of local history and the trustees will consider applications for grants for any project with one or more of these purposes. Projects may be practical ones such as presentation, publication and education as well as research. Grants are not usually made from this fund for conservation work, fieldwork or subsistence expenses. Grants are usually around £200 to £500 and may be made to societies and groups as well as to individuals - they are not restricted to members of the Kent Archaeological Society. The trustees would consider a larger grant for a particularly imaginative or innovative project which might not be able to proceed without the grant. Applications must be submitted, on the official application form, by the 31st March 2013. Application forms and further information may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary: Peter Stutchbury, Lympne Hall, Lympne, Kent, CT21 4LQ, or by email to secretary@kentarchaeology.org.uk. A form can be downloaded from the web site www.kentarchaeology.org.uk. In 2012 an initiative was taken to bring these items out of store and see what new insights into the design and construction of the iron artefacts could be achieved with modern technology. The most exciting discovery made by the CSI team was the revelation of gold inlay on a buckle and four squares of gold criss-crossed inlaid wires running along the back of the blade of the knife. XRF analysis also showed that the white metal plating on a stud was silver, something which could not have been guessed from the appearance of these objects. This discovery came early on; the second batch of items sent for assessment at CSI Sittingbourne revealed more modest secrets in the shape of a great many impressions of textiles and wood, which have not previously been recorded. This is a welcome addition to our knowledge about the material. Traces of old lacquer put on the objects to stop them corroding in the past has also been examined and it is hoped that better knowledge of the post-excavation history of the objects will aid the safeguarding of the collection for the future. More Anglo Saxon ironwork is due to be examined in 2013 and it is hoped that more information will be revealed. The project is also an excellent opportunity for KAS members to see some of these objects from the KAS collection being worked on in the CSI Laboratory located in The Forum, Sittingbourne, before they return to storage in Maidstone. KAS.TEMP.202.145 is a ‘mystery object’, 202.147 the gold inlaid-knife, AS30 the silver-coated buckle. 6 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk WHAT’S ON KAS EVENTS LECTURES IN THE LIBRARY Morning: 10.15am -l 12.15 6 weeks from 22 April Kent and the River The River Thames has played a vital part in the history of Kent, in peace and war, in work and leisure. This class will look at aspects of the history of the river and its shipping, and the riverside communities. Afternoon: 2.00pm - 4.00pm 6 weeks from 22 April Emergence of a World Power: the United States of America, 1776-1914 This class will look at the history of the USA from the Declaration of Independence to the early 20th century. Topics will include the American Constitution, the ‘War Between the States’, the Way West and the growth of American economic and industrial power. Each course costs £35.00. For more information or to book contact Joy Sage KAS CHURCHES COMMITTEE VISIT Luddenham St Mary and Lynsted St Peter & St Paul Saturday 20 April Please meet at 1.45 for 2pm start at Luddenham St Mary (postcode ME13 0TH). OS Grid Reference: TQ 992 631. Luddenham is 2 miles north-west of Faversham; approach only by public road from the north east. We will then move on to Lynsted St Peter & St Paul (postcode ME9 0RH). OS Grid Reference: TQ9426460878. The cost of the visits is £5, to include tea and biscuits at Lynsted Parish Church. Please register by emailing or telephoning the Churches Visits Secretary, Jackie Davidson - Jacalyn. davidson@BTInternet.com or 01634 324004 Dates of all visits in 2013 will be available shortly and can be found in the diary at www. kentarchaeology.org.uk 2013 South Eastern Region Industrial Archaeology Conference Hosted by Kent Archaeological Society At Dartford Grammar School, West Hill, Dartford DA1 2HW. Saturday 27 April Programme: 9.00-9.45 Arrival and Registration. Tea and coffee available. 9.45-9.55 Opening proceedings. President KAS, Ian Coulson. 10.00-10.45 Gunpowder Industry of Kent by Professor Alan Crocker, President of the Surrey Industrial History Group, organiser of the first SERIAC meeting in1983 and founder of the National Gunpowder Mills Study Group. 10.45-10.55 Short break. 11.00-11.45 Ship Building in Kent by Richard Holdsworth, Preservation & Education Director at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham. The role of Kent’s Royal Dockyards in supporting the Royal Navy over a 400-year period. During the heyday of the age of sail Chatham Dockyard was Britain’s principal shipbuilding and repair yard. 11.50-12.35 Historic Aircraft Restoration by the Chair of Medway Aircraft Preservation Society Limited. Covering the history of aircraft preservation at Rochester Airport from 1977 to the present day, with 31 completed projects, including 14 whole aircraft. The company is unique of its kind in being allowed to restore aircraft from the collection of the RAF Museum. 12.40-1.55 Lunch. Pre ordered lunch available for £7.50. 2.00-2.45 Early years of J & E Hall of Dartford by Terry Young, Director/General Manager of J & E Hall Technology Centre. In 1785 John Hall started a blacksmiths shop in Lowfield Street. From this modest start an engineering business expanded uninterrupted over many years, providing opportunities to employ great innovators such as Richard Trevithick and Brian Donkin. 2.50-3.35 Cement Industry in Kent by Jim Preston, lecturer, author and IA consultant. Kent had the largest concentration of cement works in Britain, with over 60 in operation. By 2011 there were none, leaving little trace of this once important industry. The talk will outline developments within the industry and changing production methods employed. 3.35-3.50 Short break 3.55- 4.40 Kentish Motor Cycle Manufacturers by Nick Kelly, member of Kent Underground Research Group. Nick will outline the rise and demise of the Motorcycle Industry in Kent. 4.40 Closing remarks by the Chairman. Cost for pre-booked delegates £12. Cost on the day £15. Buffet lunch may be pre-booked £7.50. Further information and Booking Form available from Mike Clinch tel: 01322 526425, email: mike@mikeclinch.co.uk. EVENTS AROUND KENT COUNCIL FOR KENTISH ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE ROMAN CITIES AND PORTS: LONDINIUM AND OSTIA Saturday 20 April 2 – 5pm Sevenoaks Community Centre Speakers: »» Enclosing Londinium: The Landward and Riverside Walls by Harvey Sheldon »» The London Mithraeum by John Shepherd »» Ostia speakers to be confirmed. Tickets available from CKA, 7 Sandy Ridge, Borough Green TN15 8HP. Please enclose SAE. Further information on www.the-cka.fsnet.co.uk or from Ruth Plummer, tel: 0208 777787, email: davru58-arch@yahoo.co.uk or from Richard Ansell, tel: 01732 884059.Holmes Campus. KENT HISTORY AND LIBRARY CENTRE PROGRAMME OF TALKS Thursday evenings at 6.45pm. Tickets £3 from the Library: to book phone 08458 247200 or email historyandlibrarycentre@kent.gov.uk. »» 4 April: Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh (University of Huddersfield), ‘Placing women in the landscape: the works of Lady Anne Clifford’ »» 11 April: John Owen F.S.A. (Shepherd Neame Archives), ‘Shepherd Neame and the Brewing Industry in East Kent from the Middle Ages’ »» 18 April: Dr David Grummitt (University of Kent), ‘War, rebellion and revolution: discovering the end of the Middle Ages in Kent’s archives’ »» 25 April: Dr David Wright (Society of Genealogists), ‘Kent Probate Records’ »» 2 May: Ms Liz Finn (Kent Libraries, Registration and Archives), ‘The reading journal of Martha Winthrop (?1814-1855)’. »» 9 May: Alan Stockwell (Society for Theatre Research), ‘Kent Theatre in the Time of Jane Austen’ »» 16 May: Dr Barrie Cook (Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum), ‘Shopping in 17th-century Kent - the evidence of private tokens’ »» 23 May: Mr Christoph Bull (Kent Libraries, Registration and Archives), ‘The Good, Bad & Ugly: 160 amusing years of Kentish public libraries’ »» 30 May: Dr Malcolm Mercer (Royal Armouries), ‘Antiquarians and Anglo-Saxon sword finds in Kent in the mid-19th century’ »» 6 June: Mr Tony Fairman (Independent Researcher, Maidstone), ‘Letters written by the Lower Classes in England, 1750-1834’ www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 7 This autumn saw the completion of the 7th year of excavations. One of the longest running community archaeology excavation projects in the county, this medieval manor site continues to reveal its secrets. A new HLF Grant is supporting years 7 and 8, as part of the Shorne HubCAP Project. The KAS has also lent equipment to the Project and funded the conservation of one of the key finds from the site: a lead flask. Historical research now suggests Randall was a small manor by 1108. Henry II granted it with other lands to his supporter William de Quatermer in 1165 and his descendant subinfeudated the manor to Henry de Cobham in 1202. Henry’s grandson ‘Henry le Eine’probably rebuilt the house around 1260; after an active life in the king’s service as a justice, a soldier and as Keeper of the Channel Isles, he died in Kent in 1316 and his tomb is in the parish church at Shorne. The house sits on a platform that has been artificially raised along its northern edge. An aisled hall structure would have dominated the south west corner of the site. A stone cross wing was then added, built perpendicular to the hall. Newbury Farmhouse provides an interesting standing comparison. A further north-south orientated annex was built onto the cross wing, this annex was served by a first floor garderobe. Detached from the main structures was a multi-phase kitchen building, sitting on the edge of a series of medieval ponds. These ponds run along the northern edge of the site and may have served a number of uses from storing fish to light industry. During 2012, guided by LiDAR results (see previous Newsletter articles) we examined the area to the west of the main building. We recorded a series of thick gravel deposits, revetting walls and drainage channels, all attempts to channel water away from the site in the medieval period. We investigated a clay bank running east from the kitchen to our putative brew house in the north east corner of the site. Work in this area also revealed not only a new building, but two intercutting ditches. The earlier one lies under much of the platform levelling material, the later one runs parallel to the clay bank. This bank butts up to the kitchen building and seals the brew house off from the rest of the site. In July 2013 we will be spending a month excavating the Manor. Visitors and new volunteers are actively encouraged! Finds from the site can be seen upstairs in the visitor centre at Shorne Woods, at the Link to the Past Event on Thanet on Sunday the 10th of Feb 2013 and at the Spring Open Day at Shorne Woods on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of April 2013. For further information on the project, please contact Kent County Council’s Community Archaeologist, Andrew Mayfield andrew.mayfield@kent.gov.uk 07920 548906 www.facebook. com/archaeologyinkent Community Archaeology at Randall Manor Carved cross, found in two pieces, in 2007 and 2012 The team 2012 8 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Those of you who pay by cheque will have received a letter from me in December. Many thanks to those of you who have paid promptly – it helps me enormously and ensures that you continue to be a member. If you pay by banker’s order please check your bank statements to make sure that you are paying the correct amount only once annually! Remember to look at the splendid new KAS website (see back page of Newsletter) to keep updated on volunteering, events etc. 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 excellent Society. I am very pleased to welcome the following new members: Joint Members Mr & Mrs D Orme, Snodland Junior Member Mr P J Hasler, Coldred, Dover Indiv. Members Mr C Maucourant, Gillingham Dr P M Mayhew, Gillingham Mrs A H Pinder, Snodland Mr S G Rogers, Blean, Canterbury Mr D Worsell, Seaford, Sussex 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 PUBLICATIONS COMMIITTEE £3,000 Hasted Prize Kent Archaeological Society’s 2013 biennial Hasted Prize will be awarded to the author of what is judged to be the best master’s or doctoral thesis on any aspect of the archaeology or history of Kent (including those areas once within the county but now part of London). May 31 this year is the latest date by which entries can be accepted. A £3,000 prize is offered. £1,000 will go directly to the successful author; the other £2,000 will be held by the KAS and will be available to help cover the cost of publishing the thesis after any necessary revisions have been made. The KAS will help find a publisher for the winner and consider publishing an article based on the thesis in Archaeologia Cantiana. Applicants must have had their thesis successfully examined by an institute of higher education during the period May 2011 to May 2013. The first Hasted Prize was awarded in 2007 to Dr Celia Cordle for a Leicester PhD thesis on hop-growing and marketing in the Weald of Kent. This was published as ‘Out of the Hay and into the Hops’ (Hertfordshire University Press, 2010). The winner in 2009 was Dr Toby Huitson for his Kent PhD ‘Hidden spaces, obscure purposes: The medieval ecclesiastical Exercise your right to help shape the Kent Archaeological Society. You can nominate the members of the Council and the Society’s officers for election at the annual general meeting. This year there will be at least five vacancies for elected members and one vacancy for the position of Vice President. Members may submit nominations for any office and for membership of the Council. There will be nominations put forward by the Council for all officers. However the Council does not nominate members of the Council - that is left to members. Any five members can propose a candidate for election as a member of the Council or as an officer. Nominations have to be received in writing by the Hon. General Secretary by the 1st March at the latest and must be accompanied by the written consent of the candidate. If there are more candidates than vacancies there will be a postal ballot. The results of the elections will be announced at the A.G.M. which will be at Your rights: Call for nominations Maidstone on Saturday the 18th May. Full details will be in the next Newsletter. Further information and guidance can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary, Peter Stutchbury, Lympne Hall, Lympne, Kent, CT21 4LQ; email: secretary@ kentarchaeology.org.uk. The KAS Library, Maidstone Museum, St. Faith’s St. Maidstone. Wednesdays: 10 a.m. -12 a.m. Visual Records Group Thursdays: 11 a.m. -1 p.m. Study Morning Important note: KAS membership card must be shown at the Museum’s front desk in order to gain entry to the Library. Archaeologia Cantiana for Sale 1975 to 2008 (1978, 1980 and 1991 missing). 34 volumes in total. £2 per volume – all proceeds to be donated to Demelza Hospice. Can deliver locally (Sittingbourne) or buyer collects. Contact Mr D Rudd on 07929 397522. YOU & YOUR SOCIETY www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 9 CHURCHES COMMITTEE Visit to the Gurdwara, Sikh Temple, Gravesend by José Gibbs Once again the Churches Committee not only organised a fascinating and informative visit, but also arranged for the sun to shine on this late September Saturday! This meant that, as we drove through the gateway to the Gurdwara, the marble and granite building glinted in the sunlight and the beautifully kept flower borders added to the welcome. While we were gathered on the forecourt, David Carder introduced our guide, RajVinder Singh Gill, and we showed our appreciation of the forthcoming visit with a warm round of applause as clapping is not permitted inside the Temple. We had been sent guidelines regarding dress and behaviour prior to the visit and removed our shoes and donned head-scarves in the foyer. RajVinder assisted many of the men as they attempted to tie headscarves correctly. After washing our hands we moved into the Gurdwara. RajVinder showed us around, explaining as we moved from room to room the different functions of each one and the ethos and symbolism of Sikhism. The building can be entered through four doors, one on each side of the building, to show that you can enter from any direction. The Gurdwara is a building in which to meet other people and to be part of a vibrant community. The Sikh community arrived in Gravesend from East Africa in the 1950s and 1960s to work in the extensive docks and factories. Building of the temple was commenced in 2000 and the community moved into it in 2010. So far it has cost £14m and a further £1m is needed to complete the building. The site was originally wasteland. It is the biggest in Europe and is modelled on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Indian craftsmen were employed to carve the marble, granite and wood in panels. These were then shipped to England in ‘flat pack’ form and erected on site. The outside of the building is granite as Indian marble would not withstand British weather. The Sikh community of about 8-10,000 people is very much part of Gravesend and welcome all into their Gurdwara. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Sahib. Unlike Hinduism, there is no caste system as the Guru felt that humans should be judged by their deeds and not place of birth, hierarchy or gender. The Sikh religious text, Guru Granth Sahib, is considered to be a live person and consists of verses gathered together in the early days of Sikhism from around the known world. It is therefore written in several different languages. Sikhs meditate three times a day and in the Gurdwara music is very much part of staircase, gallery and upper chamber in East Kent’, currently in press. In 2011 Alison Klevnas’ won the prize for her Cambridge PhD on ‘Whodunnit? Grave robbery in early medieval northern and western Europe’. For further information and submission guidelines contact Professor David Killingray, Chairman, KAS Publications Committee, 72 Bradbourne Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3QA, tel: 01732 453008, email: dmkillingray@hotmail.com the meditation. There is no formal priesthood as no one person holds the truth, but scholars visit and stay in the Gurdwara for two weeks before moving on. RajVinder explained the meaning of the different symbols of their faith. We had covered our heads to hold ourselves in one place and removed our shoes in order to leave the hurts and problems of the world outside the building. Our visit ended with a meal, provided by the community every day for any who require food, reflecting the acts of charity performed since Sikhism was founded. This account really cannot cover everything that we were told, saw and experienced and I apologise if I have missed something of importance or misrepresented what we were told. There was a lot to take in and I’m sure that many of the group found, as I did, that it was an uplifting visit. Our sincere thanks go to RajVinder for his detailed explanations and to David Carder of the Churches Committee for suggesting and organising this visit to a place of worship so different to the usual locations. Besides looking at the fabric and history of the building, it also fulfilled another of the committee’s objectives: that of finding out about the community connected with the building. COMMITTEE ROUND UP Gurdwara, Sikh Temple 10 Winter 2012- KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk I recently attended an information day in a very cold church in London to hear about Heritage Lottery funding for places of worship. There is to be a new procedure which, if it works as outlined, should be simpler, quicker and less stressful than the present one operated by English Heritage (EH). From April 2013, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will be solely responsible for Grants for Places of Worship (replacing the old EH Repair Grants for Places of Worship) with EH now only providing expertise on request. The grants will cover not only repairs but will also contribute to additions (e.g. loos and lighting) and to ‘heritage’ (e.g. websites, information boards, guides). The emphasis will continue to be on urgent structural repair need and grants will be between £10,000 and £250,000. We were assured that the funders will be flexible and take such factors as geographical location into account. There are also grants available from other HLF sources for restoring bells and organs, conserving stained glass and wall paintings, as well as church trails and interpretation. There will be quarterly instead of annual deadlines so, if your church just misses a deadline, it does not have to wait 12 months for the next one. There is a two-round assessment and each round takes three months. First, you ask for funding to help you to develop you second round bid. (Again, flexibility and pragmatism were promised.) A project inquiry service to provide free feedback should be available on the HLF website from mid-December and the response target time is 10 days. New arrangements are currently being rolled out and further information will appear on www.hlf. org.uk in due course. The theme of the annual Historic Buildings Conference held on 20 October 2012 was Cinque Port Towns of Kent and Sussex. The event drew an audience of around 50 members and took place in Harrietsham Community Centre. Christopher Proudfoot, Chairman of the KAS Historic Buildings Committee, opened the Conference, taking the opportunity to mention the Committee’s work in 2012 on a survey of timber-framed buildings in Wateringbury. The project, still in its early stages, was initiated at the request, and with the cooperation of the Wateringbury Local History Society. David Carder, the Conference organiser, then spoke briefly on the Cinque Ports. He summarised the history of the Confederation from its establishment by Royal Charter when it comprised the five port towns of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich. David explained how the Confederation expanded to a membership of 42 towns at its height, and outlined the obligations and privileges of membership. The topic chosen by Andrew Linklater of Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT), was ‘The Early Medieval Development of Folkestone and New Romney’. Andrew first described the evolution of the town plan of medieval Folkestone, drawing on findings revealed during recent excavations. He explained with great clarity how the geology of the area and major coastal changes had affected the development of the town layout. Andrew next turned his attention to New Romney, where CAT and local organisations had taken advantage of major drainage works to carry out excavations in sites all over the town. One of the aims had been to look for evidence of an Heritage lottery fund’s new church grants procedure by Mary Berg, Chairman, KAS Churches Committee KAS HISTORIC BUILDINGS Conference 2012 by Angela Davies earlier town, which pre-dated the great storm of 1287, vestiges of which were thought to be somewhere under the present town. In the event, New Romney was found to be built directly on sand with no suggestion of earlier habitation beneath it. The investigations also established that the New Romney of today possesses most of its medieval street plan. Next Sarah Pearson, buildings historian, formerly working on the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments of England, and author of The Medieval Houses of Kent: An Historical Analysis, spoke on ‘Sandwich and its Buildings’. She drew on data from the book that she had co-authored following research undertaken for the Sandwich Project. Sarah concentrated on the period from the 11th century, before which there was little evidence of an urban settlement, until the early 16th century. Her fascinating presentation detailed the evolution of Sandwich, referring particularly to its topography and the silting up of the Wantsum Channel. She provided a wealth of information on the changes in the design and functions of buildings in the town through the centuries. The final presentation of the morning was given by David Martin of Archaeology South-East, whose topic was ‘Houses of the Sussex Cinque Ports’. He skilfully charted the fortunes of the towns of Hastings, Winchelsea and Rye. David, too, picked up on a theme of the morning: changes in the coastline, and explained the dramatic effects those changes in the landscape had wrought on each of the towns in turn, describing how the decline in the fortunes of one had benefitted another. Using documentary evidence and analysis of building design and construction, David began by talking about the Saxon town of Hastings. He set out the factors that had resulted in a population shift from Hastings to (old) Winchelsea, the demise of which led to the re-foundation of the port, with its grid-pattern street system, on COMMITTEE ROUND UP www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 11 The Kent Historic Environment Record (HER) is maintained by the Kent County Council Heritage Conservation Team. It is the database and mapping of all archaeological finds, sites, historic buildings and wrecks known in the county, with more than 62,000 such entries. It is primarily used as part of the planning system and to make available the findings of development related archaeological work carried out by commercial units. It is also used by researchers, students and members of the public. It is accessible via our website www.kent.gov.uk/her and can be searched by period, location, find type or via a map. Over the past five years volunteers have been working in the Maidstone office of the HER. Members of the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group, the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group and the Lenham Archaeology Society have each checked their respective areas, updating records on the HER and adding their own findings. Students and individual volunteers have also been working on the HER. They have undertaken a wide range of tasks, tackling everything from earliest prehistory right up to the present day. These volunteers checked every listed building on the HER, tidying up duplicated records, noting cases where the building was long gone (a variety of fires, motorways and railways being responsible for the losses), moving map points on to the right building and generally improving the national dataset to the extent that colleagues from English Heritage have recently described the Kent listed building data as probably the most accurate in the country (in terms of mapping accuracy at least). Volunteers have also added prehistoric trackways, Roman roads, canals and railways to the HER, making the transport networks clearly visible crossing the county. They have updated all of the Scheduled Monument records, added information on historic parks and gardens recorded by the Kent Gardens Trust and worked on Portable Antiquity Scheme records with the county Finds Liaison Officer. They have also worked to add historic pillar boxes (thanks to another site. David then explained the reasons for the migration from Winchelsea to Rye. He described some of the inventive ways in which Rye inhabitants made the most of the limited space in the town until its decline in the 17th century. The first talk after lunch was given by Brendan Chester-Kadwell of Oakakre Associates, entitled ‘Rolvenden Historic Settlement Survey: How the Community can Use the Past to Inform the Future’. He reported on a community research project recently carried out as a contribution to Rolvenden Parish Plan. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the evolution of the rural settlement, with a view to helping the community determine future development policy. Brendan was accompanied Sue Saggers of Rolvenden Farmers’ Line, who had managed the project and was available to answer questions. The results of this project appear on pages ? - ? of this Newsletter. Next, Peter Draper, member of the Historic Buildings Committee, spoke on ‘The Rise of Suburbia – The Interwar Years’. He focussed on a period of house building when, he commented, planning regulations had been negligible but building regulations strict. Peter drew on family memories and anecdotes to give a personal view of developments and innovations in construction through the inter-war decades. He concentrated particularly on house building in the Dartford/ North Kent area. Finally, Christopher Proudfoot rounded off the Conference by thanking the speakers for contributing to a day that was both enlightening and enjoyable, and he congratulated them too on exploding a few myths along the way. The audience joined Christopher in expressing thanks to David Carder for arranging the event. Volunteers and the Kent Historic Environment Record 12 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk data very kindly provided by the Letter Box Study group), milestones (thanks to data from the Milestone Society) and tackled the considerable number of cropmarks reported to the HER every year. Currently, they are working on rectifying all of the Tithe Maps for the county. This entails correctly locating each map image on modern computer mapping so that at the press of a button we can flick between modern and historic mapping that predates the 1st edition of the Ordnance Survey. The eventual aim is to create one new continuous map of the county as it appeared in c.1840. This will then be made available via our website, hopefully early in 2013. All of this has been made possible by the very generous and dedicated individuals who each regularly give up a day a week to help out. We are always looking for new recruits and have a number of new projects in the pipeline. If you would be interested in getting to grips with the HER and becoming part of the volunteer team please contact Ben Croxford on 01622 223528 or ben. croxford@kent.gov.uk. No previous experience is required and full training is provided. With your help, the Kent HER can continue to improve and expand. Map: Dover on the Kent HER - showing fortifications (Roman, medieval and more recent), listing buildings, roads, railways, non-listed buildings and the concentration of archaeological sites in the ancient heart of the town. For more information, including the key to the various symbols used, please see our website www.kent.gov.uk/her. NOTES FROM THE ARCHIVE by Pernille Richards Volunteers and the Kent Historic Environment Record continued www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 13 On the 4th of September, 2012, the papers of Miss Anne Roper were deposited with the KAS by her literary executor Peter Lambert and they are now available for consultation by appointment. Anne Roper is principally associated with the study of the Romney Marsh and Churches in the South East of England. Miss Roper came to Kent to convalesce after a hockey accident at University and she discovered the New Romney Archives and began to study there; so began a life-time’s dedication to the history of the Marsh and the South East of England and a very active involvement in numerous local history projects, lecturing and writing. She joined the KAS in 1929 and served on the Council for 40 years eventually becoming Vice President of the Society in 1979. In her Obituary in Archaeologia Cantiana, vol. 100 she is remembered as a woman in possession of immense knowledge about her subject and as someone with the facility for encouraging the study of others. The collection comprises 62 boxes arranged thematically according to topic. All Anne Roper’s major research interests are represented. As such there is a large amount of material on the Romney Marsh, its history, landscape, agriculture and churches. There is material on the Cinque Ports and locations in the South East, such as Ashford, Tenterden, Wye and Brook. The box on Eltham and the children’s author E. Nesbit caught my attention, but one topic stands out as likely to become very popular; this is her section on Inns and Brewing. Anne Roper compiled this material for the book she cowrote with H. R. Pratt Boorman, Kent Inns, A Distillation, published by the Kent Messenger in 1955. The box contains research notes on a number of Kent Inns as well as newspaper cuttings, magazines and ephemera. It also comprises photos of Inn signs. The majority of these are houses belonging to the Whitbread group, but others are also represented. Included here are two images not reproduced in Kent Inns; the sign for “The Huntsman” in Rochester, a Style & Winch Ltd. House, executed by Sir Garrad Tyrwhitt-Drake and, what was at that point the cutting edge of modernity, the sign of ‘The Canopus Inn’, Rochester, by Miss Kathleen M. Claxton, 1938. The Canopus Inn was a Whitbread pub overlooking the Medway and named after the famous flying boat produced at the nearby Short brothers’ works. According to an accompanying newspaper article special permission was granted for the Inn to carry the name by Sir John Reith, Chairman of Imperial Airways. Peter Lambert took over as executor of Anne Roper’s Literary Executor after the late Kenneth Gravett and he has compiled a short guide to the collection, which will be available on the Library page of the Website and in hard copy in the Library. It is hoped that her collection of research papers, cuttings, pamphlets and correspondence will be a source of inspiration and information for current researchers. “I am delighted to accept this collection into the KAS Archive as I think it represents a significant collection of material compiled by an important Local Historian, which may prove a valuable resource for future researchers,” says The Hon. Librarian, Dr Frank Panton. Please consult the online guide to the collection and contact Pernille Richards at Pernillerichards@gmail. com if you wish to view any of the papers. Access is usually on a Wednesday or a Thursday morning. The Papers of Miss Anne Roper (1903-1988) 14 Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter - www.kentarchaeology.org.uk Rolvenden’s Settlement Pattern and Sense of Place Rolvenden is historically a landscape of dispersed settlement of farmsteads set in their own fields and lone homesteads. Between the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries hamlets grew up, first at Rolvenden Street and subsequently at Rolvenden Layne. By the time of the tithe survey of 1839 the former had become a village. Little further development occurred in the parish until, following the Second World War, Rolvenden Street became a service centre, which has more than doubled in size over the intervening sixty years. Beyond the nucleated settlement the parish of Rolvenden retains its pattern of dispersed settlement. These areas of dispersed settlement are less well understood and the importance of the study is the light that it throws upon them. It records changes in settlement form over the last two hundred years, analysing development in the parish since 1945 and assessing its impact on the earlier settlement form and character. The survey highlights key issues contributing to Rolvenden’s local building design, important for understanding both settlement form and character, as a way of helping to ensure that future buildings maintain high design standards. A Community Effort Many parishioners were involved in the project, taking part in the original survey or lending their support in other ways. In May, the children of Rolvenden Primary School shared their researches into the history of the great houses of Rolvenden with the community. This was a great introduction to an early evening gathering when members of the parish came together to hear about some of the early ‘discoveries’ to come out of the survey. A key aim of the survey is to record the significance of Rolvenden’s historical environment for consideration in future development schemes. The study is providing significant support to the writing of the Neighbourhood Development Plan and in November a joint workshop was held in the parish about the study’s findings and how these might inform the development plan itself. Some Significant Findings An aim of the project was to measure what changes had occurred since the end of the Second World War in the areas of dispersed settlement. Although development has been considerably less in volume than in the village centres, relatively it has been high. Since 1945 development of all types (including new dwellings, major agricultural buildings, conversions of redundant farm buildings to dwellings and significant extensions to historical dwellings) accounts for over fifty per cent of the existing built environment. How this breaks down is illustrated in (Fig 1). This may seem surprising given the bias in planning policy against development outside areas of designated nuclear settlement. However, the total number of buildings in these areas is relatively small (approximately 250 were accounted for in the survey) and over a sixty-year period it only takes permission for the building, rebuilding or conversion of a few buildings a year to achieve this. The lesson is clear, that at this rate of development the pre-1945 stock of buildings (what might be commonly considered the historical buildings) will comprise an increasingly smaller element of the built environment. This is bound to have an effect on the form and character of the rural landscape in Rolvenden. The Rolvenden Historical Settlement Study By Dr Brendan Chester-Kadwell The Rolvenden Historical Settlement Study is a community-based project designed to record and explore the historical origins and subsequent development of contemporary settlement - presenting the findings in an understandable form that can help the community to influence future development. www.kentarchaeology.org.uk - Winter 2012 - KAS Newsletter 15 Dear Editor It has been interesting over the years to read about the hop pickers in Kent, but nobody has ever seemed to mention the Red Cross. When I was at school in London in the 50’s I belonged to the Red Cross, and every year a contingent of VADs as we were known (Voluntary Aid Detachment) came down to the hop fields to render first aid. I only came for two seasons when I was in the senior school, but several of our older members had been doing it for many years. The first year I was posted to Paddock Wood where we were accommodated in a large Nissan hut in a farmer’s field. The second year I came to Yalding, where we had camp beds in the village hall. It was very basic but great fun and as a Londoner - used to smog and lots of buildings - it gave me a love of the countryside and rural life which has never left me. Mary Knott Now living in Margate Dear Editor The Wolverton Anglo-Saxon Burial Display Case Kent Archaeological Society members may remember the unveiling of the unique Anglo- Saxon double-tiered weapons burial display case at the Astor College for the Arts at Dover (KAS Newsletter issue 90, Autumn 2011). Since that date, the case has been utilized by the college and its satellite primary schools as an educational tool for History, Art and English lessons. The case has now moved to a temporary display at the Discover Centre adjoining Dover Museum. Here the case and its story boards can be visited in normal opening hours. The case will eventually be moved into Dover museum when the Anglo-Saxon display area has been refurbished. Here the exhibit will be permanently used by over 12,000 school children visiting the museum’s education facilities each year. Vince Burrows The Alkham Valley Historical Research Group Whether this is an acceptable change will depend on the design of new buildings and how they are placed in the landscape. In practice the study found that new development tends to reinforce the older settlement pattern, with existing elements of dispersed settlement becoming more like mini hamlets. On the other hand, there was little consistency in terms of building design and the vernacular style has become diluted over the period. Additionally, dwellings in the dispersed areas have become larger, with less choice or opportunities for those on smaller incomes or needing smaller properties. There are still some working farmsteads, but these are quite likely to operate out of new yards associated with bungalows built under agricultural occupancy conditions rather than from historical farmstead sites: the latter are now frequently purely residential. Conclusions These are just some of the complex conclusions established during the course of the study. However, they are indicative of the changes occurring in what might, superficially, appear to be an area relatively untouched by the building boom of the post-war period. The study does not conclude that development in such areas is a bad thing – in fact quite the reverse. It is recognised that development is necessary to maintain (or reestablish) sustainable rural communities. The issues are about what development, where, how much, and whether traditional buildings styles are to be maintained. Simply, how development can be encouraged without radically changing the character of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As far as is known, this is the first study of its kind undertaken in a High Weald parish, and it has been made possible by a grant from the High Weald AONB Sustainability Fund. A local educational charity, Rolvenden Farmers’ Line, commissioned the study and worked in partnership with a professional landscape historian who has written up the final report. It is hoped to make this available on the Rolvenden Parish Council website early in the New Year. For further information, please email b.chester-kadwell@oldakre.org.uk Fig 1 Letters Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Gallery, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1LH. 16 Winter 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 March 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 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. New! Visit www.kentarchaeolo gy.org