Reviews

REVIEWS The Encircling Hop: A History of Hops and Brewing. By Margaret Lawrence. 15 x 21 cm. Author's Preface + 100 Pp., 36 illustrations. Sawd Publications, Sittingbourne, 1990 (£7.95 paperback). While 'hoppers have passed into folk lore', oasts survive in Kent as a 'prominent enduring monument to the hop industry', having become 'with their white cowls .. . typical of the Kentish landscape' (p. 69). The history of hop farming and picking within the county is a well-trodden path, particularly with respect to the period before 1914. Mrs. Margaret Lawrence, well-known to the readers of Archaeologia Cantiana for her historical publications on East Peckham, and also as the Society's hard-working Honorary Membership Secretary, traces, too, the background history of brewing, hop farming and hoppers' social conditions. Indeed, on p. 26 she poses an important question: 'how did the county cope with more than eighty thousand people pouring into Kent for several weeks each autumn?' To dwell, however, on the general is to miss the essential essence of this book, namely a concentration on Beltring Farm, Paddock Wood, well-known for its impressive oast houses built before 1894 (see illustration facing p. 35) and famous since the 1920s as Whitbread's Hop Farm, with over half the book being devoted to the post-1920 period. It is the author's contention in her Preface that by homing in on the 'life and work [ of] one living example communicates more than a mass of collated statistics'; yet, statistics are not lacking in this book, such as 24 buildings and 46 tents for the pickers of 140 acres of hops in 1907 (p. 31), a 1939 farm survey identifying nine areas from where 908 hop-picking families had come from (pp. 44-5), or the 261 tons of coke and coal needed to fuel 25 oast-house heaters in 1936, working out at 52 tons per oast at 26 days drying (p. 76). Beltring Farm takes us back to the expansive days of Elizabethan hop farming; indeed, to the country's first county historian, William Lambarde (1536-1601), who purchased it and four other Wealden farms in 1574 (p. 71), the very same year which saw the publication of one of the most famous treatises on hop farming, namely Reynolde 421 REVIEWS Scot's A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden [etc.]. A year later Lambarde entrusted Beltring Farm to the Drapers' Company in the city of London, its rental income benefiting the Queen Elizabeth Almhouses in Greenwich, which he had founded (p. 41). Two great names have been associated with the farm's history. By 1919, Edward Albert White (1844-1922), 'a legend', had been farming Beltring for about fifty years, having converted the enterprise into a limited company in 1894, and having experimented with new hops (White's Goldings) and with hop and fruit tree washes, the latter to such an extent that in the company's balance sheets 'the wash business far outstripped the farm business' between 1908 and 1918, his pioneering work in insecticides being 'remembered with great respect' (pp. 35-8). When he retired Whitbread's Brewery faced a problem, having for many years taken Beltring hops, relying particularly on the flavour of the White Golding. Whitbread approached the Drapers' Company to purchase Beltring Farm itself, subject to the consent of the Charity Commissioners. By a conveyance signed on 11 August, 1920, Messrs. Whitbread and Co. Ltd. acquired Beltring Farm for £8,000, 'the first time it had changed hands for 345 years' (p. 41). Its running had passed into the capable hands of John Herbert Waghorn (1883-1956), 'as much a legend as his master before him', so that overall 'the gentleman's son with the public school education', Edward Albert White having been educated at Marlborough College, and 'the labourer's son with the village school education found harmony in the hop garden', John Herbert Waghorn having been baptised at Paddock Wood church, in 1883, the son of a labourer, thereafter attending Paddock Wood village school (pp. 35, 41-2). This scholarly, well-researched and attractively presented history deserves a wider readership than from among only those with Kentish interests in mind. There is much here to interest the agricultural historian, including the particulars of fifty permanent staff at Beltring, as regards their names, addresses, work and wages per week for January 1939, followed by a report by Mr Waghorn on the farmworkers' numerous talks during the hop-farming years, October 1937 to October 1938 (pp. 52-60). For this book Mrs. Lawrence has researched previously unpublished sources of the Whitbread Hop Farm, such as the farm manager's monthly farm reports, 1920-1945, and farm correspondence, as well as papers of the Drapers' Company and of E.A. White and Company in the Public Record Office. Apart from being strong on original sources, this study is also strong on illustrations, totalling over thirty, ranging from 'Hoppers cooking in the open air before cook houses were provided', to 'Mr. J .H. Waghorn, "The High Priest of the English Hop Garden"', to 'Children in [a] trench watching the Battle of Britain overhead'. 422 REVIEWS How Beltring functioned during the Second World War is one of the many fascinating themes of this book (pp. 61-4). Other major themes incorporate tradition, scientific progress, business history and philanthropy. Hop farming has long possessed a fascination of its own, the Whitbread Hop Farm attracting visitors arriving by motor transport as early as 1929 (pp. 43-4). Hop farming has changed out of all recognition, accompanied by the demise of the independent local brewer. Although another story in its own right, this, too, is not ignored in this interesting study. Thus, compared to 120 breweries brewing in 55 towns and villages in Kent in 1875, the one proud survivor today is Shepherd Neame of Faversham (pp. 81, 83, 88). JOHN WHYMAN Cave Art. By Andrew J. Lawson. 21 x 15 cm. Pp. 64, 48 illustrations and 3 tables. Shire Archaeology, Princes Risborough, 1991 (£3.95, paperback). How to do justice to a subject, more usually dealt with in large-scale, full-colour art publications, within the constraints of the Shire format? This seems a tall order, but Andrew Lawson's skill at painting pictures with words compensates for the visual limitations of the book itself. This is a stimulating introduction to a fascinating subject, written with an assured lightness of touch. Having been tempted into the book by the mysteriously glowing reproduction of some of the Altamir bisons on the front cover, the reader is taken to visit the French Pyrenean sites, Niaux and Fontanet. Here the book takes on the quality of a good travel-guide. We are given the real flavour of the sites, their geographical setting and the physical difficulties the visitor/explorer encounters. At one point, 'a narrow corridor requires the visitor to progress by squatting and crawling ... but, inside, nothing has been disturbed since the last visit of the Palaeolithic inhabitants.' Against the vivid sense of place that Lawson creates, it is easy to appreciate the fragility of the surviving art, how vulnerable it is to slight changes in the very environment that has preserved it for millennia. We are shown how every new discovery brings with it the responsibility to conserve and record, and presents dilemmas about the potential destructiveness of visitor access. After this appetiser, Lawson begins to tackle his subject in more depth, describing life in the Pleistocene and discussing broadly the widespread practice of 'painting, engraving and sculpting living rock', which is found world-wide. He charts the discovery and geographical 423 REVIEWS spread of known sites in Europe, pointing out challengingly that there is no reason why cave art should not be discovered one day in Britain as well. The story of the discovery of prehistoric cave art and its gradual acceptance as authentic is outlined in Chapter 2, which also discusses the methods of dating the sites. This necessitates an overlycondensed section on contemporary flint industries, and then a broad summary of the stylistic development of cave art, as defined by Leroi-Gourhan. This section inevitably becomes something of a catalogue of sites, although the text is clearly cross-referenced with the illustrations and Lawsons's own style is graphic: 'Execution displays a mastery of the stylistic conventions based on the flowing dorsal line but greater exaggeration gives power to the image' (p. 33). The reader needs to become immersed in images before these verbal descriptions become meaningful. Many illustrations are provided, in the form of line diagrams and black and white photographs. But, because the subject matter itself is often extremely difficult to photograph, the resulting images must be reproduced to the highest quality, if anything of the original is to be conveyed. Unfortunately, here the book fails, with grainy images that are often difficult to decipher. No indication of the scale of the images is provided, making comparisons difficult - for example, pages 30-31 offer five photographs, of carved limestone blocks and figurines carved in ivory, all apparently the same size. In a book about art, the illustrations are, or should be, just as informative and expressive as the text: to gain the full benefit of the author's skill as a communicator, one would need to read this book alongside a large-format book of high quality colour reproductions. And reference to the bibliography in Chapter 6 would enable readers to do just that, if they had not already booked their journey to visit the French and Spanish sites listed in Chapter 5. Chapter 3 is devoted to a thorough account of the species and other images represented, relating this to the wider ecological context. This is followed by a description of the tools and techniques by these prehistoric artists. Wisely, only the last five pages are devoted to the vexed question of interpretation, with a balanced, and brief, discussion of the various explanations and theories that have been advanced. The last paragraph sums up the approach of the author and explains why the book will have a wide appeal: ' ... nothing brings [ the student] closer to the mind and spirit of Palaeolithic man than his carefully and lovingly executed cave art. We can admire its beauty and skill, although we may never know its meaning' (p. 60). R.C. SHAW 424 REVIEWS Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. Edited by Paul Bahn. 19.5 x 13 cm. Pp. 654, 39 maps and numerous line drawings. HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow, 1992 (£8.99, paperback). This dictionary is the latest addition to the publishers' series of dictionaries on geology, sociology, biology, and environmental science. It is edited by Dr Paul Bahn, of Hull University, and contains contributions by sixteen other scholars in their specialist fields. 'Intended to be a new, up to date dictionary of use to anyone [ my italics] involved or interested in Archaeology', this extremely useful compilation is packed, from A (abacus) to Z (Zwole6), with the sort of information that it sets out to make available, i.e. 'a collection of short but useful definitions of terms and names.' The maps, clearly drawn by the same hand, are uniformly informative, if somewhat sketchy. On the other hand, the line drawings in the text seem to me to be copies from original publications, if the copyright acknowledgements are pointers, and lack naturally the uniformity of the maps. There is also included a useful list of works which may be consulted. This is a book that ought to be on every archaeologist's shelves - a real mine of information to put Pandora's box in the shade. A.P. DETSICAS Roman Baths in Britain. By Tony Rook. 21 X 15 cm. Pp. 64, 73 illustrations. Shire Archaeology, Princes Risborough, 1992 (£3.95, paperback). This volume is a recent addition to the informative series of booklets published over the years by Shire Archaeology. It is largely based on Tony Rook's degree thesis on Roman baths as well as his excavation of the bath-house at Dicket Mead, Herts. As the author says, his purpose is 'to explain how Roman baths came to be built, how they were constructed, and how they worked.' After a brief introduction, Rook proceeds to expand his theme in two chapters on architectural development and the structure of the baths; he also includes a gazetteer of sites of Roman baths that can be visited, as well as a few suggestions for further reading. The gazetteer of sites (pp. 39-61) occupies a large proportion of this booklet and rightly so because this is essentially a pocket book for visitors to Roman Britain and does not pretend to discuss baths at depth. To mention this is not to belittle the value of this publication; for it also 425 REVIEWS contains, in a handy assembly, much technical information, which is no doubt of great help to the non-specialist in the understanding and function of such buildings. That it lacks depth is the result of the constricted format and length of the series, which limits discussion and touches mainly only on sites that are open to the visitor. However, as an introductory booklet, it will serve well. It is abundantly illustrated by excellent and informative drawings and monochrome plates of somewhat uneven tones. Though Rook suggests a number of recent publications for readers who may wish to continue beyond his scope, it would have been helpful, without too great an increase in length, if the baths sites included in the gazetteer had at least one published reference. A.P. DETSICAS Discovering Parish Boundaries. By Angus Winchester. 17.6 x 11.3 cm. Pp. 88. 10 plates and 26 figures. Shire Archaeology, Princes Risborough, 1990 (£2.50, paperback). In many ways the title of this booklet underplays the subject matter. The booklet is not just about parish boundaries, but considers the network of territorial boundaries which cover England (Scotland and Wales are summarily dealt with in six and a half pages) and the territories themselves. Thus civil and ecclesiastical parishes, tithings and townships, hundreds and counties, dioceses and archdeaconries are discussed, as well as more local units such as rapes, lathes and wards. While it can be argued that some boundaries can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon, Roman and perhaps earlier times, the overall system of local administration has been fashioned and modified through time. Dr Winchester shows how maps, charters and other documentary evidence, place-names and surviving topographical detail can all be used to disentangle a complex yet fascinating aspect of history. While Kentish readers may be disappointed that many of the examples used to illustrate his arguments are derived from his research in Shropshire and the North-West and Kent does not figure prominently, against this must be set the fact that this is a wideranging and stimulating introduction, which should prompt us all to look at the location and meaning of boundaries afresh. Dr Winchester is well qualified for the task in hand as an historical geographer with a particular interest in the development of settlement patterns. This well-written booklet is to be recommended. JOHN WILLIAMS 426 REVIEWS Hit/forts of England and Wales. By James Dyer. 21 x 15 cm. Pp. 64, 38 illustrations. Shire Archaeology, Princes Risborough, 1992 (£3.95, paperback). This is a revised edition of the author's earlier booklet (no. 16 in the Shire Archaeology series) published in 1981. It is of greater depth in discussion than Roman Baths in Britain of what, quite rightly, Dyer describes as misleadingly called hillforts in that 'not all of them are on hill tops nor can they be identified as forts.' After an introduction dealing with various types of such sites, Dyer discusses defences and entrances, and their variety, the interiors of these sites, usually neglected because it is more economical, if possibly less informative, to section the defences at selected points, the function and chronology of their occupation. He concludes this very useful introductory survey with a brief examination of two hillforts Dyer has examined himself, Burrough Hill (Leics.) and Conderton Camp (Worcs.). There is also a list of some sites that can be visited and a useful bibliography. The illustrations are uniformly first-class. A.P. DETSICAS 427