KAS Committee Round-Up
FIELDWORK COMMITTEE
KAS Wins Grant for Minster Plaster – and your help is wanted
As we reported in Newsletter no 63, the KAS were runners-up in the Pitt Rivers Award last year, for the excavations at the Abbey Farm villa at Minster-in-Thanet. With the award came the opportunity to apply for a grant, to further study some aspect of the villa.
We are delighted that a substantial grant has now been given by the Robert Kiln Trust, to support work on detailed recording and interpretation of the fragments of decorated wall plaster recovered during the eight years of excavation. The collection of fragments has been examined by a wall plaster expert and assessed as “an important collection,” both because of the high quality of some of the decoration and because of the sheer size of the collection; there are several thousand pieces in all.
The grant will cover the cost of supervision, by one or more professional archaeologists, of the sorting and recording process, which can be carried out by members of the Society. This process will take place during evening and/or Saturday morning sessions, at the Broadstairs base of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. Sessions will be no more than once a week and will probably spread out over as much as a year. We are now putting together a team of volunteers to do the work and all KAS members are cordially invited to join the team. You do not have to commit to regular attendance - any help at all will be welcome. Whilst we hope that members who took part in the excavations will join in, you do not have to have any previous experience or expertise. There won’t even be any physical hard work!
If you can spare the odd evening or Saturday morning and would like to join in, please call Mrs Pip Ross on 01227 273792, leaving your name, address and phone number, so that you can be sent further details in due course.
Chris Pout
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Outing to Chilham Castle
A day later described by a tired but happy member as 'idyllic', began in the shade by Chilham Mill Stream, where Michael Peters welcomed fifty KAS members. In the area of Julliberrie’s Grave, a Neolithic long barrow, he set Chilham in its time context. After a coffee break members regrouped in the church to learn about the families who had lived at Chilham and influenced both its development and conservation. This was in preparation for the much-anticipated visit to Chilham Castle, the Jacobean mansion in private ownership. A walk around the exterior brought the party close to the Norman castle normally hidden from view. Constantly accompanied by Michael’s expert commentary on the exterior of the house, the party also enjoyed the extensive, magnificent but almost reluctantly they entered the house! Tessa Wheeler, who had given her permission, allowed them to see not only the ground floor, but also the bedrooms, the ballroom, the period swimming pool and finally the original 1609 kitchen, where she had provided a delicious English tea of homemade cakes and biscuits. She was warmly thanked, as was Michael Peters, for their contribution to what was truly a wonderful June day.
Margaret Lawrence
CHURCHES COMMITTEE
The midsummer evening visit was to the churches of West and East Peckham. At the ancient church of St Dunstan at West Peckham we were welcomed by Mr Coffee, who has been a churchwarden 'on and off' since he was 20, and whose father was also immersed in village life. Mr Coffee did not claim to have any special knowledge of the art history of the church but had a fund of interesting stories relating to the families associated with it in the post-Reformation years. The building itself seems likely to have pre-Conquest origins as there are indications that the very substantial low tower at the west end may have been all, or part of, an early building. The nave was probably added in the 12th century, the chancel in the 13th and the north aisle in the next century. The outstanding feature of the church is the 'Geary Pew.' This was originally a chantry chapel founded by Sir John Colepeper in 1409. In the mid-17th century a vault was built in the ground floor and a large, comfortable pew with seating for 10 people was erected on top of it. The Geary family retained the pew for many generations until 1944. The rood screen and pews are evidence of a thorough restoration and regeneration in the 19th century.
The party then wandered across country to St Michael’s Church, East Peckham. Here we had the advantage of an expert introduction by Margaret Lawrence, who has written a book on the church and its parish. There is some evidence of Norman work in the present chancel, although the major building programme was carried out between 1287 and 1309 with further work around 1500. Again, there were major restorations in 1853 and 1863. This isolated church is now redundant, but cared for by Church Conservation. There are a number of interesting memorials, of which the Twysden Memorial in the Twysden Chapel is of particular interest. The chapel also contains the tomb of a knight whose armour indicates a date of about 1420. Margaret was kept busy answering questions and joining in discussion of a number of points for some time while others enjoyed the tea and biscuits that had been provided. A delightful and informative evening!
Mary Berg
* For All the Saints. St Michael's Church East Peckham Parish and People, available from Margaret Lawrence on 01622 871945 or margaret.society@virgin.net.