Annual Report

· ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1966 ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 3 l sT DECEMBER, 1966 Council presents its One Huncfred and Eighth Report, and the Statement of Accounts for 1965. OBITUARY It is with the greatest regret that Council records the death of Mrs. Nancy Piercy Fox, which occurred on 30th March, 1966. She had been a valued member of the Society since 1936, and a member of Council since 1953. She occupied a foremost place in the field of excavation and, from 1955 to her death, conducted on behalf of the Society a full investigation into the problem of the Iron Age in Kent, a most valuable addition to lmowledge by which she will be especially remembered. A Fund has been established by the Society to her memory, by the gift of £2,000 from the Keston Field Club and Dr. E. V. Piercy Fox, for the publication of archreo• logical research, an object in which she took a very close personal interest. A full obituary appears in this volume. AmmAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting was held in the Museum, Maidstone, on 14th May, 1966, the President in the Chair. Council's Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for 1965 were received and adopted. After the luncheon interval, an audience of eighty members and their friends heard a most interesting lecture by Mr. C. R. Councer, F.S.A., embodying the results of his recent researches on the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Kent. The lecture was enthusiastically received, and the President expressed the warm thanks of the Meeting to the lecturer. VIOE·PRESIDENT At the Annual General Meeting Mr. F. C. Elliston-Erwood, F.S.A., was elected a Vice-President of the Society, in recognition of his long and distinguished service to the Society in the promotion of Archreology in the County. MElliIBERSHIP During the period from 1st January, 1966, to 31st December, 1966, · eighty-two new members were elected, and allowing for resignations and deaths, the total membership stands at 1,149. This is a satisfactory result over the year, showing a continued increase. An acceleration in membership, however, is needed, and Council renews its appeal for new members. The Society's ,Information Leaflet is ava.ilable to all on application to Local Secretaries, Maidstone Museum, or the General Secretary. COUNCIL At the Annual General Meeting the following were re-elected to Council: Professor F. R. H. Du Boulay, Wing-Commander W. V. Dumbreck, Major H. M. Rand, Mr. S. E. Rigold, and Dr. W. G. Urry, together xlii REPORT, 1966 with Mr. A. P. Detsicas, nominated by Council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mrs. Piercy Fox. The following have also been nominated to Council during the year: Brigadier E. V. Bowra, Mr. F. Higenbottam, and Dr. E. V. Piercy Fox, the latter to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Professor F. R. H. Du Boulay. Mr. C.R. Councer has been elected Chairman of Council, and Council membership is now complete. FINANCE The Accounts for 1965 are published with this Report. A marked increase in membership is essential if the Society is to maintain the high standard of its publications and widen its activities. Council therefore appeals for: (1) New members. (2) Donations to the ArcMeologia Gantiana Fund, and to the Records Publications Fund. (3) Members to enter into seven-year Covenants, to enable the Society to recover Income Tax on their subscriptions at no extra cost to members. Forms of Undertaking may be obtained on application to the General Secretary. Note. Members who do not pay their subscriptions by Banker's Order are requested to send them DIRECT to the General Secretary. EXCURSIONS Three Excursions were arranged and all were well supported by members and their friends. The individual places visited are listed below, and the gentlemen who kindly acted as guides are indicated. The Society is most grateful for their services. Saturday, 21st May Saturday, 9th July EastS utton and Hea dcorn Maidstone Museum-Mr. L. R. A. Grove, F.S.A., and Mr. D. B. Kelly. East Sutton Church-1.fr. H. A. James. East Sutton Place Headcorn Manor l Mr. S. E. Rigold, Shakespeare House, Headcorn F.S.A. Church Cottage, Headcorn The Society is grateful to Miss A. R. Mitchell, Governor of H.M. Borstal, East Sutton Place; to Mr. and Mrs. R. Kinsey of Headcorn Manor; to Mr. and Mrs. 0. Evans of Shakespeare House, Headcorn; and to Mrs. M. Haines of Church Cottage; for their kindne£S and co-operation. The MedwGAJ River andSheppe;y Shurland Castle } M. Ir R M D Id Minster Abbey Church 1 • ..... • ac ona · Eastchurch Church-Rev. L. Wilkinson. Queenborough Town Hall-The Town Sergeant. Notes were provided for the River trip. The Society is grateful to the Sheerness Harbour Cc.; to Messrs. A. and J. Sillars of Shu.rland Castle; and to the Mayor and Corporation of Queenborough, for their help and co-operation. xliii Saturday, 3rd September REPORT, 1966 The Battle of Hastings Pevensey Castle-Mr. C. T. Chevallier and Lt.-Col. G. W. Mea.tes, F.S.A. Battle Abbey and Battlefield-Mr. C. T. Chevallier. Bodiam Castle-Lt.-Col. G. W. Meates, F .S.A. The Society is grateful to Miss Jacoby of Battle Abbey School; to members of the Battle Historical Society; and to the Custodian of Bodiam Castle; for generous help. A.RCR..!EOLOGIA CANTI.A.NA ·volume Ixxx wa.s published early in 1966. It is the largest volume for many years, and includes a coloured frontispiece, all in spite of the increase of printing costs. It is very well balanced in the various papers which it contains, and members will appreciate that in ArchreoT,ogi,a, Gantiana they receive an outstanding publication. LIBRARY AND COLLECTIONS Six books, fifty-five pamphlets, and manuscript material from the late W. P. D. Stebbing and the late V. J. Torr have been given to the Library. Transcripts of the Ightham Parish Records, 1669-1915, made by the late Sir Edward Harrison, have been deposited on loan by Ightham Parochial Church Council. The Society has ta.ken out subscriptions for the Journal of Roman Studies, the Proceedings of the Prehist,orio Society, and the Journal of lndustri,a,l Archreology. An exchange of publications bas been arranged with the Hampshi.J:e Field Club, and the exchange with the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society for Oxoniensia has been renewed. When using the Library, members a.re requested to show their Membership Cards to the Museum attendant, and members who may not hold cards are invited to apply for them to the General Secretary. RECORDS PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE It is deeply regretted that volume 19, Calendcvr of the White and Slack Books of the Cinque Ports, has b(')en so long delayed. These delays have been entirely outside the control of the Society, although pa.rt of the trouble undoubtedly is connected with the size of the volume. The publication of Archbishop Warham's Visitations, edited by Dr. Wood-Legh, will be completed as soon as possible after the receipt of volume 19, but cannot be expected before 1968. PLAOE NAMES COMMITTEE The work of the Place Names Committee has been very seriously affected by the unfortunate loss of its Secretary, Mrs. Piercy Fox. Arrange• ments a.re in hand for a meeting with a representative of the English Place Na.mes Society, but there seems no immediate likelihood of a volume on Kent, though such a volume would undoubtedly arouse considerable interest. xliv REPORT, 1966 C.P.R.K./K.A.S. PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT BUII.,DINGS COMMITTEE, 1965/66 ( l) The fate of the thirteenth-century Commandery of the Hospitallers of St. John at Swinfield hangs in the balance, as Kent County Council had decided not to approve the money required for its compulsory acquisition and restoration. As the Ministry of Public Building and Wod,s had agreed to provide a substantial sum towards the cost of acquisition and restoration, with a view to ta.king it subsequently into guardia.nship, since they considered the building to be worthy of preservation, a site meeting has been arranged between an official of the Ministry and all County Members, and the fate of the building depends upon the outcome of the meeting. (2) The Joint Committee made strong representations to save from demolition Ivy House, New Romney, an attractive early Georgian house in a somewhat unique situation facing up the High Street, from which so many ancient buildings have already been demolished, thereby completely changing the character of this pleasant small town. When a letter from the Hon. Secretary was read at a meeting of the Borough Council the Joint Committee was referred to as 'self-appointed busy bodies', and this was widely reported in the press. Far from being annoyed by this appellation, the Joint Committee took it as a compliment, as clearly it is only by the action of such busy bodies, be they self-appointed or not, that much of this country's ancient heritage is being preserved. Unfortunately and, in the Joint Committee's view, quite unnecessarily, Kent County Council decided not to oppose the demolition, so as to make it easier for the Ministry of Transport to widen the road at this point. (3) The tiny medieval St. Edmund's Chapel, Dover, which for several centuries has been in private ownership and not used for religious purposes, 􀄼nd had fallen into disrepair, has been acquired by the Roman Catholic Church and is to be restored. Mr. Anthony Swaine, the well-known Canterbury architect, an expert in such work, who is a member of the Joint Committee, is in charge of the restoration, in the course of which many very interesting features have already come to light, which would lead one to believe that the chapel is a reconstruction of an even earlier building. The Joint Committee has good reason to derive considerable satisfaction from the outcome, as it had strived for several years to save this chapel, which has historical connections with St. Richard of Chichester. ( 4) After much thought had been given to the matter, and with the help of the Maidstone College of Art, a plaque has been constructed showing the white horse of Kent and the words 'Historic Building of Kent' on a dark red background, for :fixing to suitable houses in the county, approved by the Joint Committee. A specimen in cardboard was on view, fixed to Lullingstone Castle, at the 1965 A.G.M., also in the Committee exhibit at the 1965 County Show. A number have now been sold, and when :fixed in a suitable position on a. building look very handsome. Several other applications for plaques have been received but have not been approved, as the Joint Committee did not consider that the buildings in question were of sufficient merit. (5) The memorandum which the Joint Committee drew up in 19.66 on defects in the Town and Country Planning Acts 1947 and 1962 relating to the preservation of buildings of architectural or historic interest caused considerable interest, and led to questions being asked in the House of Commons. As a result of a short article appearing in Town and Country Planning, the monthly journal of the Town and Country Planning Associaxlv REPORT, 1966 tion, requests for copies of the memorandum have been received from as far afield as Yorkshire and Somerset. A copy has also been sent to Mr. Duncan Sandys, as it was thought that it might be of interest to him in the drafting of his Private Member's Bill dealing with the countryside, and a letter of acknowledgement has been received from him. . (6) The Joint Committee has been represented at a number of site meetings called by Kent County Council, or public inquiries appointed by the Minister in connection with ancient buildings, notably at Waldershare Park, the seat of the Earl of Guilford, Townley House, Ramsgate, Nos. 11 and 12 West Street, Faversham, Ivy House, New Romney, and St. John's, Swingfield. It is highly gratifying that the Committee for the Preservation of Rural Kent, or the Joint Committee, as the case may be, is so frequently invited by Kent County Council to send a representative to the many site meetings concerning matters known to interest them. Report on the Third Conference of Building Recorders, held in the Mu.seum, Maidstone, on Saturday, 8th October, 1966. This Conference was held on behalf of the C.P.R.K./K.A.S. StudyGroup on Recording Historic Buildings. The Chair was taken by Mr. C. R. Councer, F.S.A. The first speaker, Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A., traced the development of Saxon Churches in Kent, commencing with the important series of early churches at Canterbury, associated with St. Augustine. The Saxon sundial, discovered a few years ago at Orpington, was also discussed. Mr. E.W. Parkin then spoke of his discoveries in Sandwich, which he revealed as perhaps the finest medieval town of its size in England. Due to coastline changes, the Quay had been moved northwards, leaving a row of buildings of Norman origin behind the present Strand Street. Later houses erected in front of these include several with three stories and overhanging fronts, with a high-hall behind. Next, Mr. C. A. Hewett introduced his basic work on Medieval Timber Joints. By careful study of timber construction in his native Essex, he not only proposed a new method of dating timber buildings, but additionally explained the order in which the timbers were assembled for each of several types of houses and barns. His talk was accompanied by an excellent series of drawings, clearly showing the joints used for periods from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. Finally, Mr. H. A. James explained the construction of the dovecote and illustrated and traced the chronology of all the examples he knew in Kent. The standard of all these talks was very high, and the work put into them by the speakers was much appreciated by the audience of about forty people. Thanks must also be recorded to Mr. L. R. A. Grove, F.S.A., for his kindness in providing a venue for the Conference. EXCAVATIONS O0MMITTElll Mr. A. P. Detsicas, M.A., F.S.A., has been elected to the Committee. Council for British Archceology, Group 1 lA The Group has had a successful first year of existence, and membel'ship, which includes Historical Societies, Museums, and Local Authorities, now stands at 28, not including the County Societies, an increase of 6 during xlvi REPORT, 1966 the year. The A.G.M., which was held on 1st October, 1966, at Tunbridge Wells, was honoured by the presence of Miss K. M. Kenyon, C.B.E., D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A., who took the Chair. An interesting talk on 'Early Iron-working in the ·weald' was given by Mr. J. H. Money, M.A., F.S.A. The Group also held a Conference on 'Science and Archreology' at the Institute of Archreology on 26th November, 1966. The meeting was extremely well attended, and the five speakers presented a varied and interesting programme which was much appreciated. Excavations in the County The standard of excavation in the County remains high and in accordance with modern requirements. Work is widespread and, as will be seen from details recorded in the Appendices, covers many different periods in the history of Kent. Appendix I contains Reports on excavations directly supported by the Society, and Appendix II contains Reports from Local Secretaries and Groups. LOCAL SECRET.A.RIES AND LOCAL ACTIVITIES The following ladies and gentlemen have assumed the duties of Local Secretary for the following areas: Bromley Faversham Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells Dr. E. V. Piercy Fox Mr.Ja.mes Doak Mr. A. P. Detsicas, M.A., F.S.A. Mrs. M. Davies, B.A., Joint Local Secretary with Mrs. V. M. F. Desborough. The Society records its gratitude to the above for assuming these duties, and expresses its thanks to all Local Secretaries for their work during the yeru-. Reports from Local Secretaries on local activities will be found at Appendix II. By Order of the Council, 1st January, 1967. APPENDIX I G: W. Meates, Lieut.-Colonel, General Secret,ary. Reports on Excavations supported and aided by the Society. Interim Report by Mr. D. B. Kelly, on the Excavations at Quarry Wood Oamvp, Loose: The Society's newly acquired resistivity meter was used in September to trace the bank and ditch on the south side of the earthwork which was levelled in the early part of the nineteenth century and which is no longer visible. A trench dug to test the result obtained revealed the buried remains of the rampart and the ditch to its south, filled with material from the demolished rampart. It is hoped to complete this section of the bank and ditch this year and next year to test another section on the south side and continue the work on the west bank begun in an earlier season. Sincere thanks are due to Miss A. Salter, Mr. A. Miles and l\'Ir. T. Ithell for their help in the excavation. This will complete the Society's study of the E.arly Iron Age in Kent, initiated by the late Mrs. E. V. Piercy Fox. xlvii REPORT, 1966 Interim Report b7J Mr. P. J. Tester, F.S.A., on the Society's Research Programvme at the site of the Benedictine Priory at Hi,gham: Exploratory digging was undertaken at Abbey Farm, Higham (National Grid Ref. TQ71757421), on behalf of the Society in April, July and August 1966, the object being to test the truth of the tradition that this is the site of the Benedictine Priory dissolved in 1522. The probability was heightened by observations made by our member and Local Secretary, Mr. A. F. Allen, and Mr. D. Spittle, during the demolition of some cottages in 1959, a detailed account being published in Arch. Gant., lxxx (1965). It was there suggested that the destroyed cottages, which adjoined the existing brick house, were part of the west claustral range, and attention was drawn to an isolated piece of standing flint wall which might also have been a medieval survival. :Mr. Allen pointed out this feature to me on a visit to the site in January 1965, and also brought to my notice the pronounced scatter of tiles and other building material on the surface of a ploughed field some distance to the south. The K.A.S. Excavations Committee having agreed that the site was a suitable subject for research, and permission having been granted by the landowners and tenant, a preliminary resistivity survey was carried out by Mr. K. W. E. Gravett with encouraging results. Mr. J.E. L. Caiger made a careful survey of the area and produced a large-scale plan on which the features uncovered by excavation could be accurately plotted. Trenching was carried out by a small party of diggers from 12th to 23rd April, and for two short periods in the summer. The immediate result was the uncovering of rubble foundations which confirm in general the theories of :M:r. Allen and Mr. Spittle. Although a full-scale excavation of the area has not been practicable, enough has been done to enable the relative positions of the monastic church, chapter house, warming room, reredorter and refectory to be planned. Parts of the foundations were found to have been robbed long ago, but even here it was possible to trace the general direction of the walls. The width of the north, east, and west cloister alleys was established and here graves were discovered, one containing a stone coffin with decorated cover. These objects have been removed to Maidstone Museum where they are now on exhibition. Apparently the nuns' church was on the north side of the cloister and the piece of flint wall noted by Mr. Allen now appears to have formed part of the south wall of the nave. Unfortunately the site of the church is covered by a farm trackway in constant use, and our opportunities for recovering the plan of the church have been very limited. In the outer (east) wall of the warming room, situated under the dormitory in the east range, the medieval fireplace was uncovered with evidence of successive hearths. The reredorter projected eastward from the south end of the dormitory range, and as this lay in part of an open field it could be investigated more fully. A stone and tile drain from the latrine was traced for some distance eastward, and the sanitary arrangements of the nunnery could be ascertained in some detail. Our investigations show that the existing building which is attached to the brick house, and formerly adjoined the cottages destroyed in 1959, does not represent in itself part of the medieval establishment, although it is obviously constructed of stone taken from the destroyed nunnery. This stone outhouse and the inhabited brick house to which it is attached are now seen to overlie the south-west corner ·of the claustral buildings at the junction of the refectory and the west range. xlviii REPORT, 1966 The successful outcome of this investigation is due to the hard work and loyal support of a small team of diggers. Thanks are due particularly to Mr. A. C. Harrison and l\'lr. T. Ithell, and very valuable support was also given by Messrs. I. Bissett, A. P. Detsioas, G. Dockrell, D. B. Kelly, A. Miles and Mr. and Mrs. D. Jones. Help came also from some boys of Gravesend Technical School and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester. Mr. R.H. Lawrence plotted the excavated features on the site plan. The back-filling was most kindly undertaken by the farmer without whose friendly co-operation the undertaking would not have been possible. It is hoped to continue the work next year to discover further details of the monastic layout. When all is completed the plan will be published with a full description of the evidence. Int,erim Report by Mr. A. P. Detsicas, 11!£.A., F.S.A., on the Excavations at the Eccles Roman Villa: Excavations were continued this year, on behalf of the Eccles Excavation Committee, every weekend from the end of March until the end of October and for a continuous fortnight in August, at two sites: (a) the Romano-British villa at Eccles, Aylesford, and (b) the tilery supplying building materials for the villa. The work was supported by the Kent Archreological Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Craven Fund and the Haverfield Trust of the University of Oxford. The results of this fifth season's work may be summarized as follows: (a) Further work was carried out in the area occupied, to north and north-east of the baths compound, by the workshops of the villa in use during the third and fourth periods of occupation of the site (c. A.D. 65- 180); these workshops provide ample evidence of continuous use and a complex stratigraphical sequence which will be reported on in Arch. Cant., lxxxii (1967). To the north-west of these workshops, a fairly large area covered with metalling has been partly exposed, but its purpose and dating is not yet established; to the north-east, parts of a large, barn-like building have been cleared, and the remainder will be investigated in 1967. More sections were also cut to south-west and north-west of the site and across the line of the early ditch (Period I, to c. A.D. 55), which continues beyond the points reached so for. A resistivity survey of the area to the north-east of the sites excavated during the last five years was carried out by Mr. I. J. Bissett using the K.A.S. resistivity meter, and its interesting results will be confirmed by excavation next year. (b) A rescue excavation was undertaken at Wbitsun a short distance . from the site of the villa to recover the plan of a tilery exposed in the course of mechanical stripping of the topsoil. Though most of the evidence had already been destroyed, it was possible to establish that the tilery was rectangular, with overall measurements of 25 by 26 ft.; it had a central flue extending over practically the whole length of the tilery and traversed by several cross-walls. It was fired from the south and loaded from the north, through an entrance in its north wall which was bricked over before firing. This tilery (N.G.R. TQ717604) produced box-tiles, bonding. tiles, tegul,re and imb1-ices in the course of the second century A.D. for use at the site of the villa during Periods IV and V. The site of the tilery is now concreted over for industrial purposes, and a foll report will appear in Arch. Oant., lxxxii (1967). xli:x: 4 REPORT, 1966 Interim Report "l>y Mr. J. H. Parfitt, on the Excavations at Lei,gh, near Tonbridge: The site of the excavation is a moated enclosure at Moat Farm, at the eastern end of Leigh (N.G.R. 555466). The land enclosed by the moat is approximately 200 ft by 90 ft., and has no permanent str􀄟cture above surface level. A considerable tile scatter over most of the surface area and exploratory work some foux years ago revealed evidence of previous buildings on the site, and pottery finds suggest a late thirteenth-century date. The northern third of the moated area was allocated for excavation this season, an area of 90 ft. by 40 ft., enclosed on three sides by the moat. Stone wall footings were discovered close to the edge of the moat, and an area approximately 35 ft. by 30 ft. surrounding these footings was uncovered to a depth of approximately 2 ft. 6 in., below which is undisturbed natural clay. Thoμgh the first season's work has provided little as to the plan of the structure partially uncovered, considerable quantities of pottery have been obtained, all of a consistent period-provisionally dated to the end of the thirteenth century. These fragments, of which over 1,000 have been recovered, are mainly of three kinds, (i} Coarse grey cooking pots and dishes, (ii) Finer gt·ey jug fragments, and (iii} Green glaze pottery. Some of this has already been re-constructed, in particular some 150 fragments of a heavily patterned grey pot of ornamental character (approximately 60 per cent. of the total surface), which is quite unlike the other pottery sherds so far discovered. Other finds include, (i) considerable quantities of bone, (ii) boars' tusks, (iii) lead and nails, (iv) oyster shells, and (v) small fragments of glass. There are considerable quantities of charcoal and ash, suggesting a fire, though the tile fall immediately above the occupation surface shows no marks of fire. The site so far uncovered indicates that it has been considerably disturbed by ploughing and drainage in recent centuries, and this has made the task of identifying layers very difficult. Interim Report by Mr. A. C. Harrison, B.A., on the Excavp,tions at St. 1v.Ia,ry' s Hoi-pital, N ewarlc Yard, Sitrood: At the request of the Ministry of Public Building and Works, an excavation has been undertaken by the Lower Medway Archreological Research Group and the Archreological Society of Sir Joseph Williai;nson's l\fathematical School, at Newark Yard in Strood, the traditional site of the Hospital founded by Bishop Gilbert de Glanville of Rochester in 1193 and suppressed by Henry VIII in 1539. The excavation was supported financially by the Kent Archreological Society, the Mayor of Rochester, and the Ministry, which allowed a mechanical excavator to be used to remove the walls and floors of later buildings overlying the medieval structure. It has proved possible to recover almost the whole plan of the principal building, which consisted of a long narrow aisle-less Ho.11, 24 ft. wide by at least 48 ft. long, lying approximately north-south, with a Chapel 35 ft. long by 18 ft. wide projecting at right angles to the east. The Hall was entered by two large doorways in the west wall and was divided by a central partition-wall opposite the centre of the archway leading into the I REPORT, 1966 Chapel-a division clearly designed to separate the male and female inmates while still enabling them to have an uninterrupted view into the Chapel. This plan is closely paralleled by St. John's Hospital founded by Lanfranc in Canterbury c. 1089 (cf. A1·ch. Journ., lxxxvi, pp. 101-2). The bases of small shafts in the north-east and north-west corners of the Chapel indicate that this was vaulted. The original plan was twice modified. At some period, not closely datable at present, the Chapel was destroyed almost to floor level, and, after foundation material had been laid on top of and overlapping the wall stumps, rebuilt with the floor at a higher level. It seems probable that the collapse was due to the thrust of the vaulting overthrowing the walls, which were somewhat insecurely based in alluvial clay. When rebuilt the structure was strengthened with very massive buttresses at the corners and the vaulted roof was not replaced. Still later the two doorways of the Hall mentioned above were blocked, the central wall demolished, and a new doorway opened up in the centre. At the same time the Hall was shortened by the construction of walls at either end and the floor raised. Inserted into this floor was a very well-constructed grave made of stone and brick and floored with coloured tiles. 'I'his grave, which is tentatively assigned to the fifteenth century, contained two burials. The situation of these burials in what had been the living quarters, taken in conjunction with the other modifications, would seem to suggest that in its later stages the Hospital ha