Notes from the Archive: The Life and Career of the Revd. James Douglas In the Papers of Ronald F. Jessup F.S.A. (1906-1991)
The Life and Career of the Revd. James Douglas In the Papers of Ronald F. Jessup F.S.A. (1906-1991) by Pernille Richards
Jessup drawing at Nash Court
In February 1934 after my Admission as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London the late Reginald Smith, then Director of the Society, showed me an untidy bundle of papers which included letters from James Douglas to Henry Godfrey Faussett and suggested that they were worth more attention than I had hitherto given Douglas as an antiquary and excavator of barrows. (Jessup, R. 1975, Foreword, p. 1)
At the suggestion of Reginald Smith, Ronald F. Jessup embarked on a study of this bundle of papers of uncertain provenance, which in due course were mounted and bound to form MS. 723 at the Society of Antiquaries’ Library. R. F. Jessup exhibited this in January 1953 and he published the result of his research in a book entitled A Man of Many Talents, an informal Biography of James Douglas 1753-1819, Phillimore, 1975. The book is a lively investigation into Douglas’ life and career and includes transcriptions of correspondence from James Douglas to Henry Godfrey Faussett, Sir Richard Colt Hoare and others found among the material, which came to light at the Society of Antiquaries. James Douglas was an antiquary with a varied and colourful career. He is probably best known for his excavations on the Chatham Lines and the publication of the Nenia Britannica (London, 1786-93 in parts). The KAS has two boxes of research material, PMP 30 and PMP 31, assembled by Jessup for the writing of the biography of James Douglas. The boxes include the correspondence R. Jessup engaged in during his research, a collation of biographical information, photocopies of parts of MS.723 and other original manuscripts held by the British Library. In addition there is a black and white photograph of the Portrait of Douglas held by the Ashmolean Museum and other images reproduced in the published book.
As well as being active in the KAS, Ronald Jessup spent his working life in banking, retiring in 1967 as the manager of the Midland Bank in Maidstone. He served on the Council of the Kent Archaeological Society for many years, was President of the Society 1967-70, and was made an Honorary Vice-President in 1974. Jessup was awarded the Society’s Kent History Medal in 1979. In addition, he was a member of the Council for British Archaeology and the British Records Association. He died in 1991, leaving his research papers to the KAS. They are an invaluable source of information for anyone studying the history of archaeology and antiquarian studies in Kent.
The box contains a list of his publications as well as some lovely photographs of him at work at Nash Court, Boughton, where he investigated two barrows thought to be Roman prior to their demolition to make way for farm land. As the resulting publication, in Arch. Cant. vol. LXIV, 1951 showed, this turned out not to be the case, but he and Norman Cook did find the real thing at Holborough, Snodland in 1954, when during an excavation encouraged by the Cement Works they found a Roman lead coffin containing the remains of a child and a folding chair. The excavation was published in Arch. Cant. Vol. 68 and the finds deposited at Maidstone Museum. This find received much publicity at the time and perhaps remains what his name is chiefly connected with.
R. Jessup’s enthusiasm and ability to communicate is also demonstrated by an educational booklet aimed at children called Saxon England, published by the Daily Mail in 1947 or 1948 and found among the papers. It was included and mentioned by his widow, Muriel, as something which was new and exciting at the time. The publication made extensive use of images and had an accessible magazine layout and style. R.E. Jessup was also a ‘Man of Many Talents’ as this small selection of his papers illustrate.
Correction: Please note that the Obituary of Miss Anne Roper mentioned in the Winter 2012/13 Newsletter ‘Notes from the Archive’ is in Volume 104 of Archaeologia Cantiana, not vol. 100. My apologies for the error.
Young Britain, Saxon England, published by the Daily Mail, 1947 or 1948. Copyright Daily Mail
Jessup with TG Redsell and his son, examining finds