Latest winner of the KAS’s Hasted Prize
Dr Maureen Barcham Green of Loose, Maidstone, is the latest winner of the Society’s £3,000 Hasted Prize, for her 120,000 word thesis on how Hayle Mill, in the Loose Valley south of Maidstone, thrived in the 19th century despite continuing to use traditional papermaking techniques. The Prize is awarded in two parts: £1,000 goes directly to Dr Green; the remaining £2,000 will assist towards the cost of publishing her thesis.
The prize, named in honour of the celebrated 18th century Kent historian Edward Hasted, is awarded every two years for the best doctoral research thesis on any aspect of the county’s archaeology or history. It was established in 2007 to promote the publication of books that advance knowledge of the county’s past. (Submission guidelines for the Hasted Prize are at www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/grants/)
Hayle mill was built in the early 1800s and ceased
production in 1987. It was owned and operated for 150 years by five successive generations of the Green family - and finally by Dr Green’s husband, Simon.
‘Remarkably, Hayle Mill thrived and expanded despite basing its activity on an apparently technologically obsolete process,’ said Dr Green. ‘More remarkable was the fact that it continued making paper by hand in the traditional manner well into the twentieth century.’
Prior to the invention of the papermaking machine in the latter part of the eighteenth century, all paper was manufactured by hand using techniques originating in East Asia over 2,000 years ago. Significant developments included the replacement of human energy with mechanical means (such as water power), the mechanisation of some pulp preparation processes, improved mould making and water removal techniques, and the addition of steam heating to help dry the finished sheets.
Despite these early innovations the handmade industry remained based on the formation of a succession of fairly small sheets which were subjected to a number of labour intensive finishing processes before they were ready to be sold to customers. With the invention of the paper-making machine in 1798, as well as other key processes, by 1850 a significant amount of paper was machine-made. Instead of sheets, the paper emerged from the machine in continuous rolls many thousands of metres long.
With the addition of driers and calender rolls, fully finished rolls of paper could be made in mere hours whereas handmade paper processes took weeks or months to complete. This combination of new technologies led to the closure of hundreds of vat mills in the United Kingdom alone, and the loss of thousands of jobs, because many of the smaller hand operations found they could neither compete against larger machine enterprises nor afford the cost of mechanisation.
In 2009, Dr Toby Huitson was the winner of the Hasted Prize for his doctoral thesis on what went on in the upper storeys of our medieval churches and cathedrals. His curiosity led him up spiral staircases above towers, naves and chancels all over Kent and further afield and into mysterious lofts, galleries and passages that were used as, among other things, dovecotes, treasuries and libraries.
He has now published a book, ‘Stairway to Heaven’, in which he describes and illustrates his hundreds of discoveries. “I went on to carry out further research and develop the thesis into a full-length book, using most of the prize money to publish many of the 130 illustrations in colour. My book presents the evidence for over 35 different practical functions these hidden areas could have had.”
Among the unusual upper storeys Toby has found in Kent are the so-called ‘Indulgence Chamber’ at Rochester Cathedral (which may have been used as a muniment room for storing official documents); the ‘Old Bakery’ chamber (above) at Canterbury Cathedral, the so-called ‘Watching Tower’ at St Mary of Charity, Faversham, (used as a sexton’s room in the early 16th century); and a blocked staircase to the lost upper chapel of St Blaise at Canterbury Cathedral (probably used for storing candles or documents).
Published by Oxbow Books at £35 RRP. Signed copies can be ordered direct from Toby Huitson (huitsont@canterbury-cathedral.org) for £30 (cash payments, collection in person only).