Report of Proceedings 1929

( 221 ) REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS THE Annual Summer Excursion in 1929 took place in Romney Marsh, on Thursday, 25th July, and Friday, 26th July. It was well attended, some two hundred, including visitors, taking part. The first place visited was Snave Church, which was described by Mr. V. J. B. Torr, who remarked that this was the first visit ever paid to the place by the Kent Archaeological Society. The building consists of west tower, nave, chancel and north chapel. The chancel is much out of line with the nave, and leading from the nave to the chapel there is a curiously-placed arch which may perhaps be the original chancel arch of the twelfth century building, re-used when both chancels were built in the fourteenth century. To the latter all the original windows, as well as the worn door-case of the tower, belong. One of the three bells was cast by Stephen Norton, in the reign of Edward I I I ; and two others in 1795. Hanoverian Royal Arms in tower ; nave has elegant king-post roof, rafters unhappily still ceiled in. The most interesting feature in the Church is the magnum sedile in chancel with its piscina and adjacent window sill, lowered for further seating. Mr. Torr ascribed these fourteenth century works to the Monks of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, the mediaeval impropriators of Snave; and he traced the work of the same architect in the contemporary sediha of theh other churches at Westbere, Chislet and Willesborough. Mr. Torr recently discovered the battered bowl of the original font turned upside down in the churchyard and doing duty as the support of a rain-water butt; and he requested the Rector (Rev. J. S. Gale, M.A.) to preserve it inside the building, which he has had done. The north chapel contains a piscina and two old chests. In the sides of the pulpit, which was erected in 1873, are incorporated two late-Gothic traceries from old screen-work 222 REPORT OE PROCEEDINGS. c. 1460, while two smaller traceries, apparently of the same date, are worked up into a modern reading-desk at the south-east corner of the nave. The next place visited was Ivychurch Church, which again Mr. Torr described. Arrived at New Romney, the visitors proceeded to the Town Hall where they were welcomed on behah of the Corporation by the Mayor, Major M. Teichman-Derville, M.A., J.P., himself a Member of the Council of K.A.S. After luncheon at the Assembly Rooms, kindly placed at their disposal by the Mayor and Corporation of New Romney, the visitors were invited to inspect an exhibition of Charters, Regalia, etc., at the Town HaU. The next item in the proceedings was New Romney Church, described by Mr. V. J. B. Torr. The party then motored to Newchurch Church where, in the absence of the Rector, Canon C. D. Lampen, the paper which he had kindly prepared was read for him. A visit to St. Mary-in-the-Marsh Church followed. Here a descriptive paper was read by Miss Anne Roper. The Rector, Rev. T. F. Cooke, then hospitably entertained the Members of the Society and their friends to tea in the Parish Hall, close by the Church. In the evening, at the Assembly Rooms, New Romney, Major M. Teichman-Derville, the Mayor, gave a lecture on New Romney and its Records, which will be found printed in another part of this volume. The proceedings of Friday, 26th, began on the road, close to Appledore Station. Here the party made a halt and listened to an open-ah address by Mr. Charles Stokes on the Marsh, with special reference to those parts which had been seen on the previous day, or were to be seen on that, the second day. Resuming, the visitors proceeded to Lydd Town HaU, where the Mayor welcomed the members on behalf of the Corporation of Lydd. Afterwards Lydd Church was visited, where the Charters, Regalia and other objects of civic interest were displayed at the west end, and the Rev. Canon G. M. Livett, F.S.A., with the aid of a REPORT OE PROCEEDINGS. 223 number of plans and diagrams, gave a learned account of the architectural development of the building. After lunching at the Town Hall, Lydd, the party motored to Brookland Church, where Mr. Torr described the building as a whole, and Mr. G. C. Druce, F.S.A., gave a particular account of the unique leaden font. After Brookland, the Church of Appledore and Home's Place, near Appledore, both described by Dr. W. Cock, F.S.A., were visited. NOTE.—DetaUed descriptions are unavoidably held over from the present volume of Arch. Cant, for the next one.—ED.