Annual Report and Accounts for the Year 1945

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1945. ( XXXV Cijtltc J.ent 􀀔rrhrenlngiral jnri.etn REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 3lsT DECEMBER, 1945. The Council present their eighty-seventh Report, with the Accounts for 1945. They note with satisfaction that the membership, which dropped heavily during the wa.r, from 980 in 1938 to 751 in 1943, and rose slightly, to 763, in 1944, has now reached 780, a modest increase yet one with promise· for the future. They a.re confident that in a county having the area. and population of Kent a membership of 1,000 and upwards should be reached, and now that the resumption of archreological work is practicable, they invite all members of the Society to be active in enlisting new members. at least until the pre-war numbers are passed. The Society needs continuous recruitment to ensure financial stability, the production of an adequate volume of Transactions, a.nd the carrying out of excavations and other activities tha.t may often call for attention. The losses due to deaths during the year include those of Captain H. W. Knocker, for many years a member of the Council, whose knowledge of manorial customs and whose labours in the work of preserving Kent records from destruction a.re widely known, and Dr. A. G. Little, an eminent scholar and writer whose advice was also at the service of the Council for many years. The General Meeting, held at Maidstone on 23rd May, with the President in the Chair, was attended by a. fair number of members. Among the subjects discussed was the question of increasing the membership subscription in order to strengthen the finances of the Society in a time of high costs. A motion for such an increase was lost but a.n alternative means of providing a larger income is suggested below. In the afternoon the Rev. Canon A. O. Standen lectured on Aspects of Medieval Jewry in England--with special reference to Kent-and Mr. John H. Evans followed with a paper on Probl,ems of the Jutish Settlement. Stimulating discussions bore witness to the interest shown􀄒 these lectures. Additions to the Library and Collection during the year include the following gifts for which the thanks of the Council, on behalf of the Society have already been expressed to the respective donors. Pl,an of Ooldrum, made by E.W. Filkins, Esq., A.R.I.B.A., 1910 and 1922, and presented by him. xxxvi REPORT, 194:5. 107 Sepia Drawings of Kent Churches, executed by William F. Saunders, F.L.S., between 1850 and 1870. Presented by Miss Catherine Saunders. 25 Survey Pl,ans on parchment of l,and in Kent, mainly by J. Bowra (1713- 1780) and T. Budgeon. 18th Century. Presented by J. C. Knocker, Esq. A Walle in and about the City of Canterbury, by William Gostling, 1825. Presented by Sir Thomas C. Colyer-Fergusson, Bart., F.S.A. Delineations Historical and Topographical of the Isle of Thanet and the Cinque Ports, by E. W. Brayley, 1818. Presented by Mrs. J. M. Browne. 4 Survey Plans on parchment of land in Kent (3 framed, 1 unframed), by JohnBowra., 1749, 1752 and 1765. Presented by O. A. V. Bow:ra, Esq. Free Pardon to William Com·tenay (Mad Thom.) dated 3rd October, 1837. Signed by Queen Victoria. Presented by J. W. Bridge, Esq. The Wool Trade in English Medieval History, by Eileen Power, 1941. Presented by Miss L. Yarde Bunyard. Four Pencil Drawings of Bredhurst Church. Artist unlmown. Presented by Francis H. Day, Esq. Original Notebooks, Plans, and Diagrams of excavations at Oldbury, 1938. Presented by Professor J. B. Ward Perkins, F.S.A. Numerous applications were received for one or other of the duplicate books from the library of the late Mr. G. S. Elgood. These applications have been considered by a small sub-committee and the allocations proposed approved by the Council for notification to successful applicants. The appended accounts show that the finances of the Society are in a sound condition after six years of war. This satisfactory position is attributable almost entirely to enforced economy due to restrictions on the use of paper, which have necessitated a marked reduction in the content of recent volumes of Archceologia Cantiana, with a consequent saving in outlay. The general rise in prices since 1939 has raised the cost of book production to a level that precludes a return to the pre-war size of the volume, even when additional paper is forthcoming, unless increased funds are available. To meet this difficulty and to allow for expansion of the Society's work in other directions without increasing the annual subscription, the Council now propose the adoption of the following course. In a: circular to be issued shortly members will be invited to covenant with the Society to continue their subscriptions for a period of seven years, unless they should die in the meantime. Where Members respond, the Society (a recognized Charity for Income Tax purposes) will be able 􀄬o recover from the Inland Revenue, year by year; the tax on a gross awn corresponding to the net amount of the subscription. For instance, with a ten shilling Income Tax, the ten shilling subscription corresponds with a gross amount of £1 less a deduction of 10s. tax, and the Society would claim repayment of the ta.x so deducted, thus in effect, doubling the amount received from covenanting members. In this way the needed increase in the· Society's income might be achieved, the only burden cast on members REPORT, 1945. xxxvii being the undertaking to continue their membership for seven years. In these circumstances the Council hope for a wide-spread response to the circular which members will receive before long. The year 1945 saw the publication of the long awaited Records Branch volume, the Register of Daniel Rough. Rough was Common Clerk of New Romney in the middle of the fourteenth century, and in his Register he noted down such of the town's and townspeople's affairs as seemed to him worth recording. The volume has been edited by Miss K. M:. Elisabeth Murray, who has contributed a valuable introduction. Rough's Register is undoubtedly one of the most important of the Records Branch publications, and has more than local significance. Record preservation work has continued unabated and will certainly derive added importance during the coming year from the compilation of the projected National Register of Archives, in which work the Master of the Rolls has appealed for the aid of learned societies, as well as of public authorities. The Society was represented by the President, the Hon. Secretary and other members at the re-instatement, after the war, of the quintain on Offha.m Green, on 11th August, 1945. The ceremony was performed by the Lord Lieutenant of the County, Lord Cornwallis, himself one of our Vice-Presidents, who afterwards made the first tilt, and-to quote from a newspaper report--" was well away before the cross-bar swung round". He was followeu by youthful members of the West Kent Pony Club, who proved that proficiency in an ancient sport had not been lost in these later days. With the concurrence of the Council the Hon. Excursion Secretary for West Kent tried to arrange for an Excursion Meeting in September, 1945, but transport, catering and other difficulties led to the abandonment of the effort. It is hoped that easier conditions may enable attractive Summer and Autumn excursions in West and East Kent, respectively, to be held in 1946. The Congress of Archreological Societies wish to obtain information respecting ancient sites, such as barrows, which were destroyed without adequate record during the making of airfields and other military works. As such information can be obtained only locally, members of this Society are asked to give details of any such destruction that may be known to them, based upon inspection by a reliable informant. Such details should include the precise location of a site by reference to a. map or publication, the amount of destruction and the present condition of the site. Reports should be sent to B. H. St. J. O'Neil, Esq., F.S.A., Congress of Archreological Societies, at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W.1. The Canterbury Archreological Society has been able to· carry out a reduced! programme of lectures and excursions throughout the war and is xxxviii REPORT, 1945. now returning to fuller activity. There is much interest in the Roman excavations (reported in the current volwne of Arch<:£-Ologia Oantiana). The Roman excavations at Dover are also dealt with in the current volume. Mr. A. Eldridge reports the finding of pottery and charcoal at St. Mary Cray, at a depth of about 4 feet 6 inches, during excavations in April, 1944. Miss M. E. Eates of the London Museum visited the site and believes the pottery to date from the early 2nd Century. Mr. W. P. D. Stabbing writes that he continues to watch developments on the site of the medieval town of Stonar. Immediately after the close of the year Saxon burials came to light under a fifteenth century house at The Square, Lanham, owned by M:r. R. H. Goodsall, a life member of the Society. The finds consisted of three skeletons, with shield bosses, a sword, spear· head, knife and buckle, and were uncovered by Messrs. V. J. Newbury and R. F. Jessup, F.S.A., with the ready help of Mr. Goodaall. A full report is expected to be available later. Mr. Edward Pyddoke reports the finding in the garden of Longlodge Cottage, Otford, of a copper coin of Constantine II, minted c. 324 A.D. Mr. J. Herbert Bolton states that while no restoration work has been attempted during the past year at Temple Manor, Strood, the City Corporation have taken steps to prevent further depredation. The Council have learned with satisfaction of the formation of a new antiquarian society in the County-the Orpington and District Historical Record Society. This Society has already become one of the Societies affiliated to the Kent Archooological Society. The Council again invite all members to pay their subscriptions promptly. Subscriptions should be sent, not to the Hon. General Secretary, but to the Collector, Mr. A. H. Taylor, 27 Nunnery Road, Canterbury. Members remitting from addresses other than those appearing in the printed list are asked to state whether such addresses are now permanent. 19th March, 1946. By Order of the Council, EDWARD HARRISON, Hon. General Secretary.