Excavation of a Well in Kemsing

The Otford and District Archaeological Group have started the preliminary excavation into the filling of a well which was discovered in the late summer of 1994 in the front garden of a 15th-century cottage near St. Edith's Well, Kemsing, Kent.

The owners, worried by subsidence in the garden, called in a contractor who, upon investigation, discovered the 3 ft. diameter well-head. Mr. Cliff Ward, of the Otford Group, was then consulted and, together with other members and with the permission of the owners, the first two meters of the filling in the well were cleared out. This consisted of various specimens of Victorian pottery, china, and glass. Mr. Ward and the Group then decided to widen the scope of the dig and opened up a trench some 8 ft. x 4 ft. in an effort to discover more information on the date of the well.

Approximately 3 ft. away from the well-head, a suspicious-looking, corroded cone of metal was encountered, so excavation in that area was discontinued. Local police and also the Curator of the Aircraft and Aeronautical Museum, Mr. Geoff Nutkin, were called in for expert opinion on the object, and it was suggested that a Bomb Disposal Team should deal with the unwelcome artifact.

It was pronounced to be a 25 lb. World War I smoke bomb used for practice bombing, probably by the Royal Flying Corps for target practice over the North Downs.

It was pronounced 'rendered safe' and was then taken away from the site. The Otford archaeologists were hoping to resume work on the well-clearing in November 1994 and also investigate other places of archaeological interest in the immediate area. A few stray finds of medieval pottery sherds have been found close by, and it has recently been suggested that Kemsing may have had a small 'castle' somewhere within the bounds of the village.