Annual Report and Accounts for the Year 1930

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1930. — . * » — REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST DEC, 1930. THE Council presents its seventy-second Report and Statement of Accounts for 1930. The Council regards with satisfaction the continued expansion of the membership which has been in progress for the last five years, and is pleased to report that a total of one thousand, at which figure the Council has been aiming as a minimum for the adequate prosecution of the Society's objects, seems on the point of being attained. The names on the list at 31st December, after all deductions due to resignations, etc., amount to 974, a net increase of forty-three on the year. They comprise six Affiliated Societies and four Honorary, 104 Life and 860 Ordinary Members. At the Council Meeting held in December, twenty-six others were elected whose Entrance Fees and first subscriptions will be credited to 1931. The effect of this increase, coupled with the careful management of the Society's finances by the Hon. Treasurer, is shown in the accounts, the credit balance, after making provision for the whole cost of Volume XLII of Archceologia Cantiana, amounting to a substantial sum. It should be borne in mind that a volume is now being issued annually. Among the members whose deaths were reported during 1930 may be mentioned the late Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Davidson of Lambeth, who was a Vice-President and member for eighteen years ; and the Rev. W. Gardner-Waterman of Loose, one of the oldest members of the Society, having joined in 1876. Mr. Gardner-Waterman played an important part in the administration of the Society's affairs for a long period, having acted as Hon. Financial Secretary and Excursion Organiser. He xliv REPORT, 1930. possessed an intimate knowledge of Kentish ecclesiastical architecture and other matters, which he was always ready to place at the service of members. An obituary notice appears in Vol. XLII of Archceologia Cantiana. Other losses by death include the names of Mr. Daniel Tyssen-Amherst, D.C.L., a member for fifty years ; and of Rev. W. Woodruff of Iwade, who acted as the Society's Local Secretary for Sheppey. The Council has elected Rev. 0. H. Brasier of Minster-in-Sheppey as his successor. The Annual General Meeting was held in the Museum, Maidstone, by kind permission of the Library Committee, on April 3rd, at noon, and was attended by about fifty-five members, the day being very wet. The chair was occupied by Rev. C. Eveleigh Woodruff, M.A., Vice-President. Before the minutes were read the Chairman said that a letter had been received from Sir Martin Conway, intimating his resignation as President, as he was unwell and over-worked. The Chairman felt sure that this news would be received with great regret by the meeting, and said that as it was not possible to deal with the matter at that meeting, it must be left over to a subsequent General Meeting, when any resolution could be passed. The Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting were then read by the Hon. Secretary and signed. The Chairman moved the adoption of the Report and Accounts for 1929 and referred to the satisfactory increase in membership in spite of the apparently large number of resignations, and said that the Society had had a favourable financial year. He alluded to the loss the Society had sustained by the death of Mr. Arthur Finn, an old and valued member. The Hon. Treasurer then gave a brief survey of the Accounts for the year, and pointed out that 1929 had benefited to some extent by the ingathering of arrears and that the latter were now very small. The motion was seconded by Dr. Cock, F.S.A., and carried unanimously. The following six retiring members of Council were re-elected : Rev. A. H. Collins, M.A., Sir Thos. Colyer-Fergusson, Bart., Mr. F. C. EUiston Erwood, F.S.A., Hon. Henry Hannen, Dr. F. W. Hardman, F.S.A., and Sir Reginald Tower, K.O.M.G. The Honorary Auditors, Mr. F. 0. Allwork, F.C.A. and Mr. Mark Green, were also re-elected and thanked for their labours. Eleven new members were elected to the Society. The Chairman then referred to the resignation of Mr. Aymer Vallance, F.S.A. as Honorary Editor of Archceologia Cantiana, and REPORT, 1930. xlv testified to the very able manner in which the Journal had been conducted by him for fourteen years. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to him and he. was elected a Vice-President of the Society. The Chairman then said that the Sub-Committee which was appointed to deal with the matter recommended that Mr. Alec Macdonald, M.A., of the King's School, Canterbury, be elected Editor, as he was willing to undertake the duties, and asked the members to give him all support. The motion, proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Dr. Cock, was agreed unanimously. A proposal by Canon G. M. Livett, F.S.A., that the old Illustrations Fund should be revived, with a view of meeting the high cost of blocks for Archceologia Cantiana, was adopted. Mr. EUiston Erwood, Hon. Excursion Secretary, gave particulars of the programme of the Summer Excursion on July 24th and 25th at Gravesend; and Major Usborne expressed his willingness to organise an excursion in September in the neighbourhood of Sandwich. A loan to the Burlington Fine Arts Club of certam objects in the Society's collections was sanctioned for the purpose of their Summer Exhibition in London. As there was no other business, the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the Officers. In the afternoon a General Meeting of members and friends, to the number of about 130, was held to hear Mr. Ralph Griffin, F.S.A. lecture on " The Heraldry of Kent and its Sources," illustrated by lantern slides ; and for an address by Dr. Gordon Ward on " The Old Potteries at High Halden" which was illustrated by specimens of the pottery. Hearty votes of thanks were returned to both lecturers, and it is hoped that these addresses will appear in the pages of Archceologia Cantiana. With regard to the announcement by the Chairman at the Annual General Meeting of the impending retirement of Sir Martin Conway as President, the Council is pleased to be able to report that, before any decision could be come to as to a successor, Sir Martin's health was so improved that, in response to a unanimous request of the Council, he has consented to continue as President, with the proviso that the duties should be as light as possible. The Council much regrets that Vol. XLII of Archceologia Cantiana could not be issued before the end of the year. The decision that all descriptive matter connected with the Society's meetings should be incorporated in the volumes in future under xlvi REPORT, 1930 the heading of " Reports of Proceedings " led to delay in consequence of the difficulty of getting in reports from the members who acted as guides at the excursions. The change of Editor, too, may have been in some measure a factor, although the new Editor, Mr. Alec Macdonald, has addressed himself vigorously to his duties. He is to be congratulated on the success of his first volume, which has since been issued. It contains much valuable and interesting matter on difierent branches of Kentish archseology. The Summer Excursion was held on July 24th and 25th in the neighbourhood of Gravesend, and was organised by Mr. EUiston Erwood, Hon. Excursion Secretary, who made excellent arrangements, the only criticism heard being that there was too much in the programme for the time available. The Autumn Meeting was held on September 16th at Richborough, Sandwich and Minster, Major Usborne being in charge. Both these meetings were very largely attended by members and friends, and an account of the proceedings and places visited will appear in due course in Archceologia Cantiana. The Records Branch of the Society issued to subscribers, before the close of the year, Dr. Chas. Cotton's Kentish Cartulary of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. In the present year it is hoped to bring out a volume on Kent Chantries on which Mr. Arthur Hussey has been working for some years past. The Sub-Committee dealing with the House of Commons Records has coUected a considerable amount of biographical information relating to former members for the County, which has been passed on to the authorities. The Records Branch has volunteered to take over, sort and list aU the Kent documents given into the custody of the Kent Archaeological Society by the British Record Society and others. Arrangements are being made for these documents to be accessible to the pubhc as soon as circumstances permit and without fee to subscribers to the Records Branch. A smaU sub-committee has been formed for dealing with the matter, and a share in a room at 57/58 Chancery Lane, London, has been obtained for the reception of the documents and for the work of sorting and fisting. This important extension of the work of the Records Branch involves additional expenditure, but it is hoped that the increased scope of its activities wiU result in many additional names to the Ust of subscribers. REPORT, 1930. xlvii The CouncU desires to record its satisfaction with this action of the Records Branch. The proposal has come at an opportune moment and provides at least for a time, the solution of a difficulty which has beset K.A.S. for a considerable time. While the Council has been anxious to assist in the preservation of ancient Kentish documents, it has at Maidstone neither the necessary space for storage nor anyone at hand with expert luiowledge to deal with the documents. It is, therefore, altogether appropriate that the work should be undertaken by expert members of the Records Branch. The Library Committee at the Maidstone Museum has kindly made provision for the temporary storage of documents, which can be received there pending being passed on to Chancery Lane. The operations of the Excavation Branch have not shown any expansion, and Mr. EUiston Erwood, Hon. Secretary, advises, in view of the meagre financial support hitherto accorded, that it be discontinued as a separate branch of the Society, and that the balance of the funds be amalgamated with those in the Research Fund and be controlled directly by the Council. Grants could then be made to such excavation work as the CouncU may decide. Experience tends to show that financial support for local digs or investigations is often forthcoming and they are carried through with good results, whereas a general appeal to the members of the Society for a particular operation may faU. The CouncU therefore recommends that Mr. Erwood's suggestion be adopted, and as far as the funds at its disposal aUow wiU assist in future local efforts when it is satisfied that they are conducted on proper lines and in accord with the advice of the Research Committee of the Congress of Archaeological Societies. Apart from the balances of the K.A.S. Research and Excavation Funds, the improved position of the Society's finances should facilitate the carrying out of this pohcy. As bearing on the above, the Hon. Secretary attended the Annual Congress of Archseological Societies on November 18th on behalf of K.A.S. The principal matter discussed was the Report of the Special Research Sub-Committee which was established to draw up a practical scheme for supplying expert advice and guidance to those engaged in local excavations and for instructing them in the procedure to be foUowed. This is a matter of importance to K.A.S. in common with other Archseological Societies, and to others who conduct excavations in the county. xlviii REPORT, 1930. Mr. E. C. Matthews, Secretary of the Place-Name Sub-Committee, has continued his work upon the Saxon Charters. He had planned their inclusion in Archceologia Cantiana as a series, say three or four annuaUy, but in view of the intimation by Dr. Grundy that the whole may be pubfished before long by a friend of his at Upsala, Mr. Matthews thinks it wiU be best to wait a whUe. He reports that there is no immediate prospect of a volume of Kent Place-Names being undertaken by the Enghsh Place- Name Society. The material which Mr. Matthews holds has enabled him to be of some assistance to the Editor of the Victoria County History, Vol. 3, in the elucidation of queries connected with the place-names contained within the Domesday Monachorum. A fuU report on the Library, with an exceUent photograph, both by Mr. Walter Ruck, wUl be found on page 247 of the recently issued volume XLII of Archceologia Cantiana. Mr. Ruck's invitation to members to make more use of the Library is repeated, and it is hoped wUl be responded to. A Hst of recent additions is appended. Reports have been sent in by Local Secretaries on finds and excavation work, of which brief notes can only be included here. FuUer accounts of some of them may appear in Archceologia Cantiana at a later date. Mr. F. Godwin (Sevenoaks) sends the foUowing as supplementing the report by Mr. Box in 1929 on the Roman Site near Otford. This has been further explored during the past year by Dr. Gordon Ward, Mr. M. Hovenden and himself. The site is \ mile E. of the hamlet of Twitton and about \\ miles W. by N. from the viUa excavated in 1927 and 1928 (the vUlage of Otford and the River Darent intervening) and, like the vUla, it Ues on rising ground close to the PUgrims' Way. On or about the site is said to have been fought the battle between Offa of Mercia and Aldric of Kent, A.D. 773, and some mounds near the Darent may be earthworks or burial places. A field of some 30 acres with the adjoining hospital ground yields quantities of Samian and coarser ware, either swept about the surface by the plough or found close below the ground level. Rough pavements of flints occur in numerous places at from 12 to 30 inches below the surface, but no waU or definite buUding outline has yet been discovered. The very large quantity of debris and burnt material seems to point to the existence of buUdings somewhere on the site, and the REPORT, 1930. xlix Sevenoaks members mterested would welcome an expert opinion in the coming year. An aerial survey would possibly yield good results, a suggestion which also apphes to the 100-acre field in which the viUa was found, and which, according to local tradition, contains other Roman buUdings close below the surface. The principal finds on the Twitton site in 1930 were a part of a steelyard, a smaU jar of Castor ware with hare and hound decoration (vide Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. XLII) and a cooking pot of coarse black ware (? A.D. 100). The jar and pot were reconstructed practicaUy entire and are now lodged in the museum at the Public Library, Sevenoaks. Mr. A. H. A. Hogg writes that, during the spring of 1930, he was invited by the Rev. H. F. Lord, Vicar of BapchUd, to supervise some trial excavations on the site of Tonge Castle, near Sittingbourne, of which he encloses a plan. A deep ditch on the N.E. and N.W., and a wide mill-pond on the S.E. and S.W., enclose a roughly rectangular area about 250 feet by 200 feet. The interior is much disturbed. The excavations were confined to the S.E. corner of the enclosure. They revealed two sides of a rectangular building approximately 15 feet by 11 feet, with waUs 14 inches thick of flint covered with plaster. The long axis of the buUding Ues N.W. and S.E. At the E. end was a blocked door nearly 4 feet wide, with jambs of squared stone. About 20 feet to the E. was found a waU of simUar construction, 2 feet thick, with remains of &• rubble floor on the S. and a ditch 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep on the N. The relation of this waU to the rectangular buUding was not determined. The pottery found represented about forty vessels, mostly sagging-based cooking pots. Almost aU can be paraUeled by ware found at Raleigh Castle, Essex (see Trans. Essex Arch. Soc, Vol. XII, p. 171) and dating between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. A fragment of the base of a smaU cup or bowl of La Te*ne I I I date was also found, but it is unlikely that this had any connection with the existmg earthworks. Mr. R. F. Jessup (Gravesend) reports on the remains found on the Luddesdown Court Estate in November, 1930. At the bottom of a circular pit about 3 feet below the surface of the chalk, workmen engaged in digging foundations for the new electricity supply pylons came upon a coUection of human bones which Sir Arthur Keith beUeves to be remains of a Neofithic 1 REPORT, 1930. woman. The bones do not form a complete skeleton ; they are those of an elderly person afflicted with rheumatism and with carious teeth. The pit in which they were found is thought to have been a hut site; it had sloping sides and was 12 feet in diameter. The find has obtained considerable publicity, and may not prove to be of such importance as has been supposed. A note on this discovery has also been sent by Mr. John H. Evans. Mr. Jessup also reports the discovery of a Roman burial group in King's Drive, King's Farm Estate, Gravesend, of which particulars wiU be contributed later, and he has, through the courtesy of Mr. H. Coulter, been able to examine several Roman potsherds and one complete urn (evidently part of a grave group) found in the gravel pit of the Stone Court BaUast Company at Horns Cross, Greenhithe. The complete urn, which contained imperfectly calcined bones and charcoal fragments, was of a type which had a long Ufe, but probably this example must be dated in the early part of the second century ; it is now in Maidstone Museum. Other discoveries of a similar nature have been made from time to time in the neighbourhood, for which see Arch. Cant., Vol. XXVII, Ixxix. Mr. Amos reports (December 17th) what may be an important find in the course of sinking a shaft at the new Priory Station, Dover. At a depth of 15 feet a skeleton was found. The shaft passes through clay or brick earth and then into flints in buffcoloured river-drift. The bones were found lying N. and S. at the junction of the two beds. The shaft is now over 20 feet deep and stiU in drift, and another shaft of 37 feet has not found the chaUc. The skuU is stained brown, is rather flat-topped and heavUy boned, with round eye sockets. There is a smaU hole a Uttle way back and to left of the centre of the cranium ; top teeth are smaU and perfect. Mr. Amos thinks that the depth and position just between the clay and drift, a position in which he has seen elsewhere in the Dover VaUey traces of primitive man, makes the find worthy of attention. The site is outside the Priory area. Further notes may appear in the next volume of Archceologia Cantiana. Mr. Amos also sends notes on the progress of the works at Dover Castle. Certain of the Affihated Societies have been active. Reference has already been made to operations by members of the Sevenoaks Society. A museum has been estabfished at the PubUc Library REPORT, 1930. li which is now cared for by a Sub-committee of the Sevenoaks Urban District CouncU, and several local members of the Kent Archseological Society, including Dr. Gordon Ward, have been co-opted to this committee with exceUent results. The Dartford District Antiquarian Society has issued an exceUent report of Proceedings. Many meetings have been held during the year, both by way of expeditions and for lectures. Allusion has been made to the improvement in the Society's financial position during the last few years. The Council is of opinion that the membership should be maintained at 1,000 at the least, if a volume of adequate size is to be issued annuaUy and assistance given by way of grants for excavations and other objects. Members are reminded that their subscriptions are due on January 1st and should be paid promptly, either by Bankers' Order or to Mr. A. J. Lancaster, the CoUector, 13 Oaten HUl, Canterbury, as by so doing labour and money are saved to the Society.