Archaeological work at Bredhurst 1964 and 2000

Introduction

In October 2000 the present writer acting on behalf of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust undertook a single archaeological 'watching brief' visit to St Peter's Church, Bredhurst whilst a soak-away was being excavated.

The archaeological background

In 1921 when the new cemetery for Bredhurst church was created flint and sarsen stone foundations and great quantities of tile were uncovered during clearance of woodland (Ocock 1965, p.272). The foundations of a building of 'substantial proportions' were apparently uncovered at that time but unfortunately no reference is given for this information. Excavations by the Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group under the direction of L. A. Griffith took place to the south-east of the church in 1964 (Wilson and Hurst 1965, p. 202; Ocock 1965, p. 272). The present writer attempted to trace further information regarding this project in 1996 and at that time learned (Miles pers.comm) that the project began due to the finding of a coin hoard, about which nothing more is (apparently) known. Foundations were revealed during ploughing in the late summer of 1964. A well also existed in this field which, at that time, had only recently been infilled (Hudson pers comm.). The team of archaeologists hoped that permission to re-excavate the well would be given by the landowner (Mr. Hidson), but as the well was probably quite deep permission for the excavation was wisely refused. The team were however, allowed to excavate in a small copse about 75m to the south-east of the church. Almost immediately the foundations of a building were exposed. The 18ft x 15ft tiled building (presumably referring to roofing tile debris) was situated at the end of a north to south aligned wall 45ft in length (Ocock 1965, p. 272). The pottery recovered was rather 'beaten up' and not easy to date although it is possible that Len Griffith found better examples later (Miles pers comm.). The pottery was datable to the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; earlier pottery of c. 1300 was found in a rubbish pit (Ocock 1965, p. 272). The excavation was then curtailed and unfortunately neither the site director nor the site records can now be traced. However, Mr. Hidson showed the present writer the location of the 1964 excavation undertaken on his land. The only available primary record of that project is a small-scale plan left with the landowner. The walls shown on the plan may relate to a manor house and mill recorded in c. 1300 and 1319 (Wilson and Hurst 1965, p. 202). A further plan, a tracing of the 1840 tithe map, was also left with Mr. Hidson. The figure used in this short article is an amalgam of these two plans and on-site observations.

The project

The soak-away was excavated on the west side of the entrance to the new cemetery and more or less opposite the gate leading to the church. It was approximately 2.50m square and 3.30m deep. Below 0.50m of fine brown crumbly top-soil was a deposit of light brown clay-with-flints as depicted on Geological Ordnance Survey map 272. On the same map 375m to the east, chalk is shown within the sides of a dry valley. In the event within the trench being excavated chalk bedrock was not reached and instead yellow brown sandy clay changing to red-brown sand was observed. This material is assumed to be part of the Thanet Beds that are known to exist over the Upper Chalk in other localities. No archaeological features, remains of structures or artifacts were observed.

The present writer was allowed access to Mr. Hidson's land to examine the copse in which the 1964 excavation was undertaken. The woodland immediately north and west of the churchyard was also examined.

A distinct ridge (c.2m wide) was observed to the west of the churchyard surviving for a length of about 38m but to a height of only 0.3m. A continuation of this ridge was suspected within the churchyard on Len Griffith's plan and in this area may, at one time, have delimited the cemetery area. At the east end of this ridge, and separated from it by the churchyard wall and a public footpath, a further ridge can be seen swinging around within the copse. In turn this feature joins with a ridge separating the copse from a ploughed field to the north; there is a substantial difference in height (over 1m) between the levels of field and copse. In the area of the excavation, other than the 'flinty ridge' noted on Len Griffith's plan, nothing is visible; all the archaeological trenches have been backfilled. No doubt the walls discovered and others survive below the ground surface and the flinty ridge could itself be a building platform or alternatively the debris from the digging of the foundation trenches for the medieval building.

Discussion

The presence of the ridges and that of a ditch nearly 2.50m wide and 0.60 to 1.20m deep on the south (Ocock 1965, p. 272) may indicate that the building observed and excavated in 1964 were within some form of enclosure. The apparent limited size of the banks and ditch suggests that they are not defensive in intent but they may well form a farmyard boundary. The area excavated in 1964 was relatively small and the present writer suspects it was very much a wall following exercise but there is no reason to doubt that the building uncovered is of medieval date. As late medieval pottery was recovered it is distinctly possible that occupation continued into the post-medieval period. However, although buildings are shown around the periphery of the area on both the plan prepared by Len Griffiths and the tithe map it is very noticeable that the latter refers to the site of the new cemetery and the area to the east as Little Church Wood. This of course implies that by the time the tithe map was drawn up (1840) the whole area on which structures were built was covered by woodland. No doubt a detailed documentary study would add considerably to our knowledge.

Needless to say local tradition believes that the original village of Bredhurst was situated around the church and was deserted due to the drastic population decline caused by the Black Death of 1348-50. In 1996 the present writer put forward the view that the church, known to date back to the Norman period (Newman 1969, p. 154) would originally have been the private chapel of the lord of the manor. It was further suggested that the village itself was always situated on the road from Rainham to Maidstone rather than being hidden away (Ward 1996) and therefore any structures near to the church would be those belonging to the lord rather than the villagers. The desertion of this structure may therefore have had nothing to do with the outbreak of plague in the mid-fourteenth century.

Conclusion

There is no reason to disbelieve that the remains of a building of medieval date were observed within the area of the new cemetery in 1921. Whether any of this structure has survived the rooting out of tree stumps and general site clearance is more problematical. Certainly no sign of debris was noticed in the (very small) area covered by the watching brief. Obviously, the most likely time to see such remains (if they still exist) is during the digging of graves.

In view of the known Norman date of the church and the possibility that it could have been the lord's private chapel the area is of considerable archaeological and historical interest.

Acknowledgments

Thanks are extended to the parochial Council for funding the archaeological watching brief. Thanks are also extended to their representative Dennis Johnson and the contractors, our long-standing colleagues, Baker's Build and Design. Without the detailed local knowledge of Mr. Hidson and Alex Miles, both of whom supplied much valuable information on previous archaeological work in the area this short report would be much poorer; their help is gratefully acknowledged.

References

Hudson. Mr. 2000 Personal verbal communications

Miles. A. 1997 Personal communication, letter dated 9th January 1997.

Newman. J. 1969 The Buildings of England: North-east and East Kent.

Ocock. M. 1965 Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group Regional Survey: Results for 1964-5, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. Ixxx. p. 272-274.

Ward. A 1996 Excavations at Bredhurst, Kent Archaeological Society Newsletter, No. 36.

Wilson. D. M. & Hurst. D. G. 1965 Medieval Britain in 1964, Medieval Archaeology, Vol.ix p. 170-220.

Alan Ward