KAS Newsletter, Issue 59, Winter 2003/4
Written By KAS
Issue number 59 Winter 2003/4
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk
n Wednesday 5th
November 2003, Peter and
Christine Johnson obtained
permission from a farmer
to do some metal detecting
on arable land at
Thurnham. Walking onto
the field that the farmer had indicated,
they began to find a number
of coins spread across an area
of about 10 square metres.
Initially Peter and Christine were
not sure of the date of the coins.
They informed the farmer of their
find, and then returned home to
see if they could discover more.
Research on the Internet soon
identified the coins as Iron Age
Potins; cast coins of high tin
bronze. Many of the coins still
retained traces of the sprue from
which they had been snapped.
Returning on subsequent days
the Johnsons recovered more
coins from the same area. Further
coins were also recovered by John
Darvill and Nigel Betts of the Mid-
Kent Search and Recovery Club,
who also had permission to detect
on the land. In total 145 more or
less complete coins, and a further
80 fragments were recovered by
21st November. In the meantime,
the finders notified the coroner of
the find, since the coins clearly
represented a dispersed hoard,
and were therefore potential
Treasure. They also contacted the
Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) for
Kent, Andrew Richardson.
All the Potins were of Flat
Linear I type, depicting a highly
stylised human bust on the
obverse, and butting bull on the
reverse. One of the coins however
was of an unusual style, with no
Winter 2003/4
1
obvious parallel (pictured overleaf).
The hoard was also examined
by David Holman, Kent’s leading
Iron Age coins expert, who had
also not seen such a coin before.
Given the rarity of Potin hoards
(only about 14 have been recorded,
of which very few have been
archaeologically investigated) it
was decided to carry out an
excavation at the find spot, with a
view to recovering as many further
coins as possible, and also to try to
locate the point of deposition of the
hoard, and see if any of it remained
in situ. This excavation took place
on a sunny but cold Sunday
in early December. The team
Inside
2-3
Axes at Crundale
Valley Park School
Internet Publishing
Higham Priory
Allen Grove Fund
4-5
Library Notes &
Rectors of Aldington
New Books
6-7
Lectures, Courses,
Conferences & Events
8-9
Notice Board
10-11
‘Ideas & Ideals’
Wesley & Whitefield
and the Evangelical
Revival
12-13
Lenham Big Dig
Bayford Castle
14-15
Letters to the Editor
YAC Report
Summer Excursion
16
John Williams
news l e t e r K E N T A RC H A E O LO G I C A L S O C I E T Y
T H U R N H A M
P O T I N H O A R D
Above: Complete and fragmented potins.
continued on page 2
upils at Valley Pa r k
Community School in
Maidstone have a new
a m e n i t y, a purpose-built
archaeology centre and
museum in the school
grounds. The KAS Education
Committee has provided a laptop
computer for use within the
centre. Pam Johnson, Head of
History at the school, instigated
and co-ordinated the design, construction
and furnishing of the
centre and is delighted that pupils
will be able to further explore their
interest in their after-school club.
The centre was officially
opened by the Mayor of
Maidstone, Morel de Souza, and
Phil Harding of ‘Time Team’, as
part of a day of activities designed
around the Vinters Estate and the
Whatman family. In the morning
pupils investigated the landscape
and remains within Vinters Park,
led by Ian Coulson; workshops in
Winter 2003/4
2
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
ARCHAEOLOGY
CENTRE AT
VALLEY PARK
SCHOOL
logical features were observed,
and no archaeological materials,
other than Potins, were discovered.
Of the latter, a further 59
more or less complete coins, and
78 fragments were recovered. An
area of approximately 1 square
metre with a concentration of
largely complete coins was identified,
and this probably represented
the original point of deposition.
Ploughing had dispersed coins
across a roughly oval area about
20m by 10m, with the area of concentrated
finds lying
roughly at the centre of this
area. The number of damaged
and fragmentary
coins appeared to increase
the further they were from
the central zone.
The apparent lack of
any pit cut into the clay
subsoil, or of any finds
other than Potins, suggests
that this find represents an
isolated hoard, probably
contained within an
organic pouch or bag and
deposited in a shallow pit. Flat
Linear I Potins date to between
circa 100-50 BC. We are likely to
be able to learn much from further
study of this hoard, but unfortunately
the reason why someone
buried these coins sometime
during the 1st century BC and
never returned for them is
probably lost forever.
Andrew Richardson
Kent Finds Liaison Officer
consisted of the Johnsons along
with Keith Stafford, Nigel Betts
and John Darvill of the Mid-Kent
Search and Recovery Club, Caspar
Johnson of Kent County Council’s
Heritage Conservation Te a m ,
David Holman, and three members
of the Kent Archaeological
Society. The Portable Antiquities
Scheme was represented by
Andrew Richardson (Kent FLO)
and Liz Wilson (Sussex FLO).
The excavation was an excellent
example of co-operation, at both
an individual and organisational
level, between professional and
amateur archaeologists, and metal
detectorists.
A hand-dug trench removed
the ploughsoil across the central
area where the coins had been
found, revealing stiff orange claywith-
flints at a depth of about
25cm. The trench and spoil were
thoroughly metal detected during
excavation, as was the immediate
area around the dig. No archaeocontinued
from page 1
T O PMARKS FOR S C H O O L’ S
A R C H A E O L O G Y C E N T R E
S T O P
P R E S S
Valley Park pupils listen intently to an
explanation of knapping techniques
As we go to print, another huge hoard has come to light, this time at
Crundale and dating to the Bronze Age, consisting of axeheads,
spearheads, sword blades and cast copper cake fragments (these last alone
weighing 9kg!). Further details in the April edition.
the afternoon included Victorian
washday, paper making and also
flint knapping by Phil Harding.
Obverse of the unusual potin.
THE HIGHAM PRIORY PROJECT
Winter 2003/4
3
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
ANDTHE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
ANDTHE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
ANDTHE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
ANDTHE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
ANDTHE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
AND THE
INTERNET
PROJECTS’
FUNDS,
COMPETITION
AND THE
INTERNET
Half of all households
in the UK now
have a connection to
the internet – Oftel
….. The Times,
Business 27.10.03
he great advantage of internet
publishing is that it is freely
available to the world community
at negligible cost to the
Society. The Society is capable
of fulfilling its educational and
publishing role both locally
and internationally. Half the homes in
the UK are now able to access and
he Churches Committee of the
KAS is promoting a competition
for the best essay on an unusual,
puzzling or bizarre feature of
some church within the ancient
county of Kent. Such an article
should be between 500 and
1000 words in length and would
attract a prize of £100. The article will
download our on-line publications.
Internet and electronic publishing
can accommodate items of any length,
profusely illustrated and in colour
without additional cost. If the files are
very large they are more suitable for
publication on a CD. In addition to
indexing, notation and bibliography in
traditional publication, electronic publication
includes the ability to word
search the publication and provide
page thumbnails and bookmarks.
With internet and electronic publishing
the end user has full control.
They may decide to read the publication
on their computer screen or they
may choose to print out all or part of it.
As far as the Society is concerned, the
decision as to the size of a print run
and the prospect of storing unsold publications
is eliminated.
The Society’s internet publishing
facility can be found at
h t t p : / / w w w. ke n t a r c h a e o l o g y.ac and
select ‘articles’. Full details on how
to submit articles can be found on the
site or in previous editions of this
newsletter.
T H E S O C I E T Y
A N DT H E
I N T E R N E T
C H U R C H E S
C O M M I T T E E
C O M P E T I T I O N
rchaeological & Historic
Building Research
The KAS Fieldwork
Committee are looking into
the possibility of carrying out
a programme of archaeological
and historic building research
work across the general area covered
by Higham Priory and its surrounding
environs. The purpose of this
work is to continue the archaeologi-
THE ALLEN
GROVE LOCAL
HISTORY FUND
The late Allen Grove left a legacy to
the Kent Archaeological Society to establish
this fund to be used for the purposes
of research, preservation and enjoyment
of local history. The trustees will consider
applications for grants for any project
with one or more of these purposes.
Projects may be practical ones such as
presentation, publication and education
as well as research.
Grants may be made to societies and
groups as well as to individuals and are
not restricted to members of the K.A.S.
They are usually around £200 to £400
each but the trustees would consider a
larger grant for a particularly imaginative
or innovative project which might not be
able to proceed without the grant.
Awards may not be announced until the
summer or autumn of 2004.
Applications should be submitted,
on the official application form, by the 31
March 2004. Application forms and further
information may be obtained from
the Hon. Secretary: Mr A I Moffat, Three
Elms, Woodlands Lane, Shorne,
Gravesend DA12 3HH, or by email to secretary@
kentarchaeology.org.uk.
Other grants
The Society has other grant programmes.
Fieldwork grants may be obtained
from the Fieldwork Committee and applications
should be sent to its Hon.
Secretary: David Bacchus at Telford Lodge,
Roebuck Road, Rochester ME1 1UD.
The Society’s Kent Local History
Fund makes grants to assist with serious
research leading to publication. They are
only made to societies affiliated to the
K.A.S or the Kent History Federation and
members of those societies or the K.A.S.,
professional historians and post graduate
students are not eligible to apply.
Application forms can be obtained from
Dr James Gibson, 27 Pine Grove,
Maidstone ME14 2AJ.
cal work carried out by Peter Tester,
and broaden the research to include a
detailed understanding with regard
to the prehistoric, Roman, medieval
and post-medieval development of
this area.
The Fieldwork Committee are
looking for people or archaeological/
historical groups who would be
interested in helping with the planning-
development of the project, carrying
out archaeological/historical
research, site survey, archaeological
fieldwork – excavation, historic
building recording and post-excavation
work, at Higham Priory. If you
are interested in this project, please
contact:
Anthony Thomas BA (Hons), MIFA
32 Herbert Road, Bexleyheath,
Kent DA7 4QF
Tel: 020 8306 7043 or 07931 660120
be marked giving credit both to the
nature of the feature involved and also
to the clarity and liveliness of the
description. We are anxious to attract
entries from the widest possible range
of contributors and consequently are
not looking particularly for entrants
with academic qualifications. The
competition was featured on Radio
Kent in November and is open to non-
KAS members.
The final date for submissions will
be 15 May 2004 and entries should be
sent to:
Mrs S Petrie
Sunninglye Farmhouse
Bells Yew Green
Tunbridge Wells
TN3 9AG
LIBRARY
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A carefully researched and well written
account of an area of Kent’s history
that is not otherwise well supported by
published material.
725. Johnson, Matthew Behind the
Castle Gate London, Routledge 2002
0415 261000 7
illus., diagrs., bibliog.
A lively but scholarly reappraisal of
castle design and building. Life in castles
was not so grim as we might expect, and
careful examination of sites and plans can
show how castle builders were careful to
site and build these structures with regard
not only to defence, but to the quality of
life that they could sustain. An intriguing
book, with much relevance and reference
to Kent.
942K. Lyle, Marjorie Canterbury: 2000
years of History Stroud, Tempus Publishing
2002
0 7524 1948 X
illus., plates (col), diagrs., bibliog.
A useful, modern account of
Canterbury’s history, with some good illustrations
and an intelligent text.
913. Grainge, Gerald The Ro m a n
Channel Crossing of AD43: the constraints of
Claudius’s naval strategy. Oxford,
Archaeopress 2002
1 84171 2973
maps, diagrs., bibliog.
BAR British Series 2973
352.2K. Ingleton, Roy Policing Kent:
Guarding the garden of England, 1800-2000
Chichester, Phillimore & Co Ltd 2002
1 86077 2331
front., illus., bibliog.
A well written account of policing in
Kent. It contains good illustrations and
could be a useful source of information for
anyone commencing a deeper study in
this, or related fields.
Library to assist users. The Book
Guide will help to locate books in the
library rooms or stores, and the Safety
Guide gives guidance on health and
safety aspects of use of the Library.
913. Pearson, Andrew The Roman
Shore Forts: coastal defences of Southern Britain
Stroud, Tempus Publishing Ltd 2002
0 7524 1948 8
illus., plates, maps, bibliog.
A brisk but adequate survey of the
Roman forts, including those in Ke n t .
Good illustrations, informative text and a
useful bibliography.
301.4K. O’Hara, Diana Courtship and
Constraint: rethinking the making of marriage
in Tudor England Manchester, Manchester
University Press 2000
0 7190 5074 X
diagrs., bibliog.
A scholarly account of Tudor marriage
customs, of particular use to KAS members,
since it draws heavily upon church,
and other, court records in Kent.
942K. Black, Shirley Burgoyne Local
Government, Law and Order in a Pre-reform
English Parish, 1790-1834 Lampeter, Mellen
Research University Press 1992
0 7734 9239 9
map, bibliog.
Detailed research into the parish of
Farningham. A valuable addition to the
Library.
301.424K. Joyce, Brian The Chatham
Scandal: a history of Medway’s prostitution in
the late 19th century Rochester, Baggins
Book Bazaar 1999
1 901625 04 4
bibliog.
Our appeal for volunteers to work
in the Library has not fallen on deaf
ears. We have enlisted a sufficient
number of willing members to make a
start on the work that needs to be
done to improve the service which the
Library offers to members. Among
the areas on which work has started
or is continuing are:
* cataloguing the Hussey collection
of files of Kentish genealogy and
family history interest
* cataloguing of visual records
and assessing the quantity and diversity
of different types of visual records
in order to draw up plans and costs for
their conservation
* assisting in editorial preparation
of articles for posting on the website
kentarchaeology.ac
* cleaning and organisation of
books on shelves, and identifying
items needing refurbishment
My thanks are due to those members
doing this work. However, there
is room for more volunteers on these
and other tasks. A pressing need is for
someone with knowledge of Brass
Rubbings. The library has a collection
of rubbings in need of cataloguing
and assessing for conservation and
storage. Potential volunteers for this
and other work please contact the
Hon. Librarian: Dr F Panton, Grove
End, Tunstall, Sittingbourne ME9 8DY
Two Guide Folders are now in the
L I B R A RY
NOTES
NEW ADDITIONS
TO LIBRARY
VOLUNTEERS FOR
LIBRARY ASSISTANCE
R E C T O R SO FA L D I N G T O N
ndexing the Hussey collection
has begun, and revealed some
colourful Rectors of Aldington.
John Noble, one of the Library
Volunteers writes, “After reading
this, you may conclude that subsequent
Rectors of Aldington
determined to live a quiet and sober
life!”
John Allen, rector 1510-1511,
became Cardinal Wolsey’s henchman
in the early suppression of smaller
monasteries, which rendered him odious
to the people. Rewarded by elevation
to the Archbishopric of Dublin, he
was barbarously murdered at Clontarf
on 28 July 1534, his brains being beaten
out with a club.
Desiderious Erasmus of Ro t t e rdam,
rector 1511-1512. Archbishop
Warham offered him the living, but
Erasmus initially declined since “he
was not sufficiently versed in English
but a barbarian speaking a foreign
tongue”, but was persuaded to accept.
He resigned in 1512 upon appointment
to a Professorship at Oxford.
Before leaving, he astutely arranged a
pension of £20 per annum should be
paid to him out of the living.
Robert Masters, rector 1514-1558.
He had as a parishioner Elizabeth
Bolton, a young girl subject to fits and
trances during which she saw visions
and uttered prophecies. In 1525, she
entered a nunnery and became known
as the holy Maid of Kent. In 1533 she
began to denounce King Henry VIII
and his conduct towards his Queen
about the proposed divorce. Thomas
Cromwell ordered that everyone who
had at any time been privy to her
prophecies should be arrested and
condemned to death, including
Masters. The charges were knowing
her to be an imposter and aiding and
abetting her to their own advantage.
Masters, and the others implicated,
were placed upon a high platform
at St Paul’s Cross, London, and put to
public humiliation before a vast concourse
of spectators, Bolton reading a
confession of guilt. Bolton, two
monks and a priest, were hanged at
Tyburn. Masters, although condemned,
was imprisoned for a further
four months, then by Royal Grant
(1534/35) received pardon and remission
of his attainder with restoration
of his goods and possessions.
Meanwhile, Erasmus complained
that his £20 was not being paid!!
John Noble
LIBRARY
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Kent 1800 – 1899 A
Chronicle of the Nineteenth
Century by Bob Ogley. Published
by Froglets Pu b l i c a t i o n s .
Hardback 1-872337-51-1 £18.99,
Paperback 1-872337-56-2 £13.99.
In 1801 people were spread
evenly around the Kent countryside;
by 1891 more than two thirds
had moved to the towns. This
book tells the story of the changing
face of the county, the understanding
of childhood, the desire to seek
recreation in the sea-bathing
resorts and the appreciation of art
and literature with Dicke n s ,
Morris, Tennyson and Turner preeminent
among the county’s novelists,
designers, poets and artists.
Extensive quotes from newspapers
of the day recreate the atmosphere
and tell the story of Kent, year by
year, throughout the 19th century.
A feast of facts and over 200 illustrations
(many in full colour) provide
a panorama of the 19th century
and an invitation to spend hours
browsing.
Available from Kent bookshops
or direct from Froglets at Brasted
Chart, Westerham TN16 1LY –
please ring 01959 562972 for information
about postage.
A School at Bearsted b y
Kathryn Ke r s e y. 0-9545831-0-8
£15.00.
For over 160 years, there has
been a school at Bearsted. This
book is a celebration of the staff,
the original modest red-brick
building and its later counterpart,
which have all meant so much to
local residents. Drawing on the
written and visual records of the
school and village, incorporating
original research and interviews
with local people, memories of Old
Scholars and school staff, the fullyindexed
chapters cover many different
topics. These include the
original application in 1839 for
financial assistance, the Centenary
celebrations, the school during the
two World Wars, the effects of the
railway line on the school - and
some good reasons not to attend!
More recent times are examined
together with a discussion of the
struggle to relocate to the current
site at Roseacre.
Available from Mrs K Kersey, 5
Greensand Road, Bearsted,
Maidstone ME15 8NY. Cheque
payable to Kathryn Kersey. Please
add £3.85 for first class postage.
All profits from sales of the book
will go to the school fund.
The Discovery and
E xcavation of Anglo-Sax o n
Dover by Brian Philp. Published
by the Kent Archaeological Rescue
Unit, £18.00. This is the third in a
series on Dover’s archaeology, and
deals with the excavation of major
A n g l o - S a xon structures from
1970-1990.
The report covers The Saxon
Domestic Buildings and The Saxon
Monastic Church. Sunken floored
buildings were discovered, including
a large weaving hut destroyed
by fire, containing spectacular
strings of fallen loom weights.
Nearby, a stone-floored hall, posted
buildings and a boulder road
were also found. The sequence of
the monastic church of St Martin’s
dating from the 7th century was
uncovered, from its beginnings as
a small wooden cell through several
enlargements culminating in a
major church over 22m long. In
the 11th century the wooden
church was replaced by the
Norman stone church of St
Martin-le-Grand.
Available from K.A.R.U. (to
whom cheque payable) Ro m a n
Painted House, New Street, Dover
CT17 9AJ. Please add £3.60
postage.
The Fylfot-Crosses in the
church of St.Mary the Virgin,
Great Canfield by the Reverend
Stephen Ta y l o r. Published by
Cambridge Universal Publications
0-9545455-0-8 £5.99
While on ordination retreat at
Pleshey in the early 1960’s,
Stephen Taylor explored the Essex
countryside and chanced across
this lovely little church. He was
greatly mystified by the presence
of what appeared to be five
swastikas cut into the stonework
of the porch. The little guidebook
in the church spoke of their link
with the catacomb of San Callisto
in Rome, but could say no more;
forty years on, Stephen Taylor is
offering the fruits of his research
into the meaning and significance
of these Flyfot-Crosses.
Available post free from CU
Publications (to whom cheque
payable), PO Box 878,
Whittlesford, Cambridge CB2 4XZ
Tel: 01223 830461 email: cupastay@
fish.co.uk
N E WB O O K S
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
LECTURES
EVENTS
CONFERENCES
& COURSES
KAS AGM
Saturday 15 May at Canterbury Christchurch
University College.
With guest speaker Jill Eddison on ‘R o m n e y
Marsh: Survival on a Frontier’
Fuller details can be found on page 8
KAS Churches Committee Outing
Saturday 24 April
You are invited to visit the two east Kent churches of
Crundale and Godmersham. We meet at Crundale at
1.45 for 2pm. Tea and biscuits will be provided at
Godmersham. Tour £2 (students £1) with £1 for tea.
Please return enclosed booking form by 17 April.
Replies to Philip Lawrence, Barnfield, Church Lane, East
Peckham, Tonbridge TN12 5JJ tel: 01622 871945
KAS Place-Names Field Day
‘Place-Names in the Weald’
Saturday 17 July 10am-4pm at the Free Church,
Staplehurst.
Dr Paul Cullen of Nottingham University will give a lecture
followed by a power point presentation. Further
details and booking forms will appear in the April
newsletter.
KAS ‘Lectures in the Library’ series. Saturdays at
11am in the KAS Library in Maidstone Museum.
Tickets £2 each; reservations can be made to pay on
arrival by telephoning Denis Anstey on 01634 240015 or
email d@degian.demon.co.uk. Members are reminded
that they should sign in and out with their membership
card at the museum reception.
24 January
History and Archaeology Research on the Internet by Dr
Jacqueline Bower
14 February
Writing up Your Research by Dr Jacqueline Bower. How
to approach writing up, whether for an academic essay,
a published article or just for pleasure.
13 March
Tonbridge People in the Seventeenth Century by Dr C W
Chalklin
The Great House, from the Roman Villa to the Stately
Home: Perspectives & Prospects on Monday 26 to
Wednesday 28 January, the Institute of Historical
Research.
The great house has been an abiding feature of Britain’s
political, social, economic, cultural and architectural history.
Although forms were necessarily varied and divergent
across two millennia, there are common themes concerning
the functioning and the perception of these great houses.
Wide participation is encouraged from individuals, groups,
organisations and constituencies with an interest and concern
in the great house. Speakers are too numerous to mention
here, but include Barry Cunliffe and David Rudkin on
Villas, the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire on Chatsworth,
Simon Jenkins from The Times, Simon Thurley of English
Heritage and Ian Coulson of KCC. Representatives of the
VCH, Country Life, National Trust, Historic Houses Assoc.,
Hamlyn Foundation, British Museum and the Institute of
Historical Research will also speak.
Cost: £65 Member/Friend of IHR, £95 non-Member, £30
Postgrad or Unwaged.
All sessions take place at the IHR in the Beveridge Hall,
Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. Further
details from the Conference Secretary at this address or tel:
020 7862 8740 email: ihrsec@sas.ac.uk
Cobham Hall Study Weekend
16-18 April
One of the greatest of English country houses, this conference
will address issues of history and interpretation and
will provide an opportunity to look at the history, architecture
and setting of this multi-phase house, its park and garden
buildings.
Non residential £160, residential £195 per person. All meals
are included in the price plus a concert in the Gilt Hall on
Saturday.
L e c t u res, Conferences, Courses and Events
KAS EVENTS
OTHER EVENTS FROM AROUND
THE COUNTY
CONFERENCES
The KAS History & Archaeology Show
Saturday 5 June at Maidstone Museum
Keep this date free in your diary! Further details will
appear in the April newsletter.
Winter 2003/4
6
Shoreham & District Historical Society
12 March
(AGM) The Ground Beneath Us by David Horsley
Tel 01959 522835 to check time.
The Science and Conservation of Treasure, Thursday
11 March from 9.30-17.00 at the British Museum. A
Study Day to be held in conjunction with the Treasure exhibition
and National Science week, exploring many aspects
of the archaeology, science and conservation of gold treasures
from Britain, from the Bronze Age to the Civil War.
Tickets £24, concessions £18, to include entry to the exhibition
on the day. Further details and booking forms from P
T Craddock, The British Museum, London WC1B 3DG. Tel:
020 7323 8797 Email: pcraddock@british-museum.ac.uk
University College London, Field Archaeology Unit.
Five/two/one day practical archaeology training
courses at Barcombe Roman Villa, East Sussex as part of
the fourth season of research and rescue excavations.
* Excavation techniques
* Surveying for archaeologists
* Archaeological planning & section drawing
* Geophysical prospecting
* On-site conservation
Brochure & application form available from website:
www.archaeologyse.co.uk or send SAE (A5 size) to Mrs J
Brooks, UCL Field Archaeology Unit, 1 West Street,
Ditchling, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 8TS. Tel: 01273
845497, email: fau@ucl.ac.uk, fax: 01273 844187.
Regional Dayschools from the University of Kent
28 February
An Introduction to Greek Art - Christine Spillane at Bridge
Wardens’ College, Historic Dockyard, Chatham
13 March
Greek and Roman Art & Architecture – Dr Chris Wilson &
Rachel Ollerearnshaw at the University Centre, Avebury
Avenue, Tonbridge
27 March
The Architecture of the Georgian Age – Hubert Pragnell at
the University of Kent, Canterbury
27 March
Local History in Practice – Elizabeth Edwards & Sandra
Dunster at Bridge Wardens’ College, Historic Dockyard,
Chatham
24 April
The Whitefriar’s Dig Uncovered - Mark Houliston
(Co-Director of Whitefriars Excavations) at University of
Kent, Canterbury.
Cost £25.00, concessions £12.50. Further details on freephone
0800 975 3777 or email: information@kent.ac.uk
LECTURES
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CONFERENCES
& COURSES
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CONFERENCES
& COURSES
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& COURSES
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& COURSES
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& COURSES
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& COURSES
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& COURSES
LECTURES
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CONFERENCES
& COURSES
Further details of speakers, themes & times from
Tracy White tel: 01795 535430,
email: tracy@virtuallyorganised.com or from
PO Box 177, Faversham, Kent ME13 8WB.
Images of the Ice Age: Recent work on the earliest art
by Dr Paul Bahn on Friday 13 February at 6pm. The
annual Darwin Lecture will be given by this leading international
authority on Palaeolithic art, in the Lord Brabourne
Lecture Theatre, Keynes College,
University of Kent at Canterbury.
Paul Bahn has recently discovered
the first examples of cave art to be
recorded in Britain, at Creswell
Crags in Derbyshire.
Admission to the lecture is free.
Further information from the Communications and
Development Office, University of Kent
tel: 01227 827829.
Transport through the Ages; by Land, Sea & Air -
Council for Kentish Archaeology on Saturday 3 April
from 2-5.30pm at the Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar
School, Faversham. Speakers:
Land: Giles Guthrie. 300 years of horse drawn transport at
the Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages, Maidstone.
Sea: Valerie Fenwick. Projects include the Graveney Boat,
the Dover Boat and the Goodwin Sands.
Air: John E King, aviation historian. Flying Through Kent.
Tickets £4.00 (friends of CKA free), available from CKA (to
whom cheque payable), 7 Sandy Ridge, Borough Green
TN15 8HP. Please enclose SAE.
Horton Kirby & South Darenth Local History Society
8 March
The History of Silk by Janet Hearn-Gillham
10 May
St Mary’s Church by Malcolm Green
12 July
Inland Waterways of Kent 1740-1850 by John Elderton
13 September
The Life of Edward Hasted by Shirley Black
8 November
A Roman Re-enactor by Leslie Allman
All on Monday in the Village Hall, South Darenth at 8pm.
Farningham & Eynsford Local History Society
Friday 20 February
Lullingstone Roman Villa by C P Ward (Eynsford Hall)
17 September
The Anglo-Saxon Jutes in Kent by Andrew Richardson
(Eynsford Hall)
12 November
A Journey along the River Cray by Denise Baldwin
(Farningham Hall)
All on Friday at 8pm.
EVENTS
COURSES
LECTURES
Winter 2003/4
7
A.G.M. 2004
ABBEY FARM EXCAVATION
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MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
You and Your Society
Canterbury will be the location
of the Society’s annual general
meeting on the 15 May this year.
The business meeting will be in
the morning at Canterbury Christ
Church University College and we
hope to be supported by the
attendance of plenty of members.
After the business there will
be a presentation by the Library
Committee about its work which
includes the Society’s archives
and website. Jill Eddison will be
giving the afternoon lecture
Romney Marsh: Survival on a
Frontier. She is well known for her
work on the history of the
Marsh and recently appeared on a
television programme about the
area.
The results of the elections
will be announced at the A.G.M.
Nominations can be submitted for
any office; it is a sign of an active
society if there is competition for
office.
Any five members can propose
a candidate for election as a
member of the Council or as an
officer. Nominations have to be
received by the Hon. General
Secretary by the 1 March at the
latest and must be accompanied
by the written consent of the candidate.
Further information and
guidance can be obtained from
the Hon. General Secretary, Mr A I
Moffat, Three Elms, Woodlands
Lane, Shorne, Gravesend DA 1 2
3HH; email: secretary@ke n t a rc
h a e o l o g y.org.uk. Although an
application form does not have to
be used, he can supply a suitable
form.
The KAS, in conjunction with the Trust for Thanet Archaeology, will be holding an eighth season of
excavation at Abbey Farm, near Ramsgate. Settlement here spans from prehistoric times through to the
Anglo Saxon period. As most members know, the site is dominated by a large Roman Villa complex. Work
will commence on Sunday August 15 2004 and continue for two weeks.
The excavation is open to people aged 16 years and above. Participants can attend for the two week
period or for one of either weeks.
Registration fee for members of the KAS or the Thanet Archaeological Society is £35 for one week (non
members £50) or £50 for two weeks (non members £70).
For enrolment or further details please contact:
Chris Pout, Sunnydene, Boyden Gate Corner, Marshside, Nr. Canterbury CT3 4EE. Tel: 01227 860207
Thank you to all of you who have sent your subscription renewals to me recently.
Would those who pay by banker’s order please check your January statements as banks
are not as reliable as they used to be – some even pay annual subscriptions monthly!
At the December Council meeting it was agreed that a list of new members should
appear in the newsletter as well as in Archaeologia Cantiana.
I am pleased to welcome the following:
HONORARY MEMBER
Mr D H Clifton, Abbey Farm, Minster, Ramsgate, Kent, CT10 4HQ
JOINT MEMBERS
Mr L Cunningham & Miss L Horner, 46 Cross Lane West, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 7PY
JUNIOR MEMBERS
Mr J Davis, 19 Chestnut Place, Cowden, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7HZ
Miss C L Ingham, Walnut Tree Cottage, High Street, Hadlow, Tonbridge, Kent,
TN11 0DG
ORDINARY MEMBERS
Miss J A Batchelor, Oastlands, Hermitage Road, Higham, Rochester, Kent, ME3 7NF
Mr N. Bates, 42 Beaumont Avenue, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4TJ
Mr C P Butler, Rosedale, Berwick, Polegate, Sussex, BN26 6TB
Mr A G Crampton, Pix’s Cottage, Mount Lane, Rolvenden, Cranbrook, Kent,
TN17 4NX
Mrs H A Ingram, Springfield, Old London Road, Knockholt, Sevenoaks, Kent,
TN14 7JR
Mr K C Isted, 14 Common Road, Bluebell Hill, Chatham, Kent, ME5 9RG
Mrs C King, 4 Boughton Place Cottages, Sandway, Maidstone, Kent, ME17 2BD
Miss L E Lyddon, Bowden Court, 24 Ladbroke Road, London, W11 3NN
Mr J E Maxted, Providence House, The Street, Smarden, Ashford, Kent
Ms L Millgate, 33 Chantlers Mead, Cowden, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7HU
Sir Roger Moate, Calico House, The Street, Newnham, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 0LN
Mr P Nash, 4 Reeves Close, Staplehurst, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 0NN
Ms E Smith, 140 Ploughmans Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8LP
Mr E L Stuckey, 32 Albermarle Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent, TN24 0HL
Mrs M-A Young, Park View, Ninn Lane, Great Chart, Ashford, Kent, TN23 3DB
Shiela Broomfield
The address for all correspondence relating to membership is:
Mrs Shiela Broomfield, KAS Membership, 8 Woodview Crescent, Hildenborough,
Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9HD. Tel: 01732 838698.
Email: membership@kentarchaeology.org.uk or s.broomfield@dial.pipex.com.
Winter 2003/4
8
The visit to two parish churches
on the 1st November was preceded by
the opportunity to investigate the
remains of a Roman building within
the ruined medieval church of Stone
by Faversham, with the assistance of
Clive Foreman.
Oare and Davington churches are
both sited on raised ground overlooking
creeks of the Swale Estuary. The
relevance of the topography to the
buildings and the history of the localities
was brought out by each of the
speakers, each as churchwarden having
insight into details of the fabric,
and enthusiasm for elucidating the
past and existing structures.
Donald Goodsell told of recent
work at Oare uncovering earlier
remedies for subsidence, and the
insubstantial foundations of the rectangular
ragstone and flint church;
Domesday Book referred to half a
church at Oare.
At Davington, following a viewing
of the western exterior, Lawrence
Young outlined the history of the priory
buildings and varied ownership
since its founding in AD1153. In
1931 the Church of England purchased
Davington Priory, formally
establishing Davington Parish Church
the following year. The priory house
and grounds subsequently passed
once more into private ownership.
The church is virtually as ‘restored’ by
Thomas Willement, owner in the
19th century, and represents the
modified western half of the original
priory church.
Deborah Goacher
The following three members
were appointed to the committee;
Michael Howard, Michael Eddy and
Anthony Thomas.
A GPS meter (Geographical
Positioning System) has been purchased
for use on fieldwork projects.
This meter locates items and features
by calculating their grid reference.
The committee also has a resistivity
meter.
To obtain information about the
geophysical equipment please contact:
The Committee last met on
Saturday 6 December 2003 and will
next meet on Saturday 28 February.
The Committee has a new Secretary, Dr
J M Gibson, and I am deeply grateful
to Miss E Melling, the retiring
Secretary, for all her hard work over
many years. Full membership has
been reduced to thirteen, four former
members having opted for observer
status, each being sent an Agenda with
an open invitation to attend if there are
any matters which interest them.
The bid for funds to re-establish
the Victoria County History has been
successful. The total project costs for
Kent amount to £197,619, comprising
Heritage Lottery Funding of £145,857
(74%) and matching funding of
£51,762 (26%). Nationally 17 VCH
studies will be produced in print and
on-line with volunteer support. The
HLF insists on the engagement of volunteers.
For Kent a two year module,
People and Work in the Lower Medway
Va lley, c.1750-1900 should commence
during 2004. Volunteers will use maps
and records to explore agricultural and
industrial change within a group of
parishes in the Lower Medway Valley
close to Rochester, within the hinterland
of an ancient and important ecclesiastical
centre, market town and river
port. The volunteers will receive training,
acquiring new skills, working with
and under the supervision of a professional
historian as County Editor,
£70,651 being allocated for staff costs.
John Whyman (Chair)
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KAS COMMITTEE ROUND-UP
You and Your Society
Brian McNaughton
Eltons, Warehorne Road
Hamstreet, Ashford,
Kent TN26 2JL
Tel: 01233 732721
Writing up Past Excavations
Over the past four decades there
has been a steady rise in the number
of excavations that have not been
written up. To help with the costs of
bringing out a report on some of
these sites, the Committee is to make
available small grants. It is envisaged
that they will be in the range of
£100 to £1000. For those who have
an outstanding report to complete
and wish to apply for a grant the
following criteria apply to their
application:
* Applicants must define the
site they are writing up and the sum
of money required.
* The write-up must be offered
for publication in Archaeologia
Cantiana.
* The closing date for applications
is Saturday February 21 2004.
* In all grant decisions the
Committee’s view is final.
Applications to:
David Bacchus, Hon Sec. Fieldwork
Committee
Telford Lodge, Roebuck Road,
Rochester, Kent ME1 1UD
Tel: 01634 843495
At the meeting held on Saturday
11 October Dr Paul Cullen agreed to
run a Study Day on place-names at
Staplehurst in July. He ran a powerpoint
presentation on the Anglo-
S a xon bounds of Godmersham
parish to show the Committee how
he could marry maps and documents,
and we were all mesmerised.
He could sell place-names to
Eskimos. For those who like to travel,
he is arranging a conference at
Nottingham University on rivernames,
called ‘Adventure in
Hydrology’.
Material for the Kent placenames
volumes is accumulating at
Nottingham, and the on-line Key to
Kentish Place-Names will appear
when the maps have been drawn.
Our next meeting will take place
on Saturday 20 March.
Anita Thompson
CHURCHES
COMMITTEE
FIELDWORK
COMMITTEE
PLACE NAMES
COMMITTEE
PUBLICATIONS
COMMITTEE
CONTACT
ADDRESSES
Hon. Gen. Secretary
Andrew Moffat
Three Elms,
Woodlands Lane,
Shorne
Gravesend DA12 3HH
Email: secretary@kentarchaeology.org.uk
Hon.Treasurer
Robin Thomas
1 Abchurch Yard,
Abchurch Lane
London EC4N 7BA
Email: treasurer@kentarchaeology.org.uk
Winter 2003/4
9
he three founders of
Methodism were born within
eleven years of each other.
John Wesley in 1703,
Charles in 1708 and George
Whitefield in 1714. This latter
date is significant in the
lives of all three, as the colony of
Georgia in British North America
was also founded then, and was
to figure largely in their work of
evangelism. John fully appreciated
the task to be undertake n
there. “Here are adults from the
furthest parts of Europe and Asia
and the inmost kingdoms of
Africa ...who shall come over and
help us, where the harvest is so
great and the labourers so few?”
George Whitefield was to return
seven times. The gentler upbringing
of the two Wesleys forced
them to return from a colony
where many of the settlers were
convicts.
The three had met during
their studies at Oxford; John
was already a Fellow of
Lincoln College and had gathered
around him the nucleus of ‘Our
Company’ or the ‘Holy Club’,
when Whitefield, in the summer
of 1733, was invited to breakfast.
The ‘Holy Club’ was accustomed
to take the Eucharist every
Sunday, to fast on Wednesdays
and Fridays, and they firmly
believed in the Apostolic
succession of the Church of
England priesthood. Each of the
three was eventually to be
ordained within that Church.
George was soon to experience
conversion. Recovering from ill
health at home in Gloucester,
‘God was pleased to remove the
heavy load...when the weight of
sin went off and an abiding sense
of the pardoning love of God and
a full assurance of faith broke in’.
The central beliefs of the two
Wesleys rather followed the gentler
Lutheran evangelicalism characterised
by belief in ‘justification
by faith’ and ‘the priesthood of all
believers’. Their father the Rector
of Epworth had initially been educated
for the dissenting ministry
‘Predestination to life’ as the everlasting
purpose of God.
L a t e r, Wesley’s Lutheranism
and Whitefield’s Calvinism led to
a separation between the two
leaders. John Wesley could not
accept ‘the horrible blasphemies
contained in this horrible doctrine
(predestination) which represents
our Blessed Lord... as a hypocrite
or deceiver of the people, a man
devoid of common sincerity ...it
represents the most Holy God as
worse than the Devil’. He set out
what was to be the chief characteristic
of his movement - that of
Christian Perfection or Holiness
which was ‘An attainable condition
in which the sinful nature is
eradicated and the soul entirely
sanctified’. To George Whitefield
this was ‘Papistical ignorance and
refined Deism’ and ‘if this doctrine
is true ...how few ...will be
saved?’ (Deism, a form of religious
rationalism, regarded God as simply
the force which was present in
creation and which could be
termed ‘Natural Religion’).
From 1739 the title of
Methodism rather than the original
‘Our Company’ had been universally
adopted and Charles
Wesleys’ fine Hymn Book, in its
new edition, made clear to all
their supporters the brothers’
teachings. As well as members of
the Church of England,
Independents, Baptists and
Presbyterians were to be made
welcome. From 1750 there was
some measure of reconciliation
between Wesley and Whitefield,
although the latter wrote ‘Have
before joining the Established
Church and their maternal grandfather
had even been ejected from
St.Giles Cripplegate. Furthermore,
they were initially strongly influenced
by the Lutheranism which
Moravian refugees brought with
them from the continent. John
even thought of himself as a
Moravian minister for a time. It
was a little later that the strict and
methodical way of life of them
and their followers earned them
the title of ‘Methodists’.
The Moravian influence took
the Wesleys into the ethos of
Central Europe. Moravians from
Bohemia had inherited the mantle
of John Huss, had been forced to
flee to Saxony and had then
absorbed that state’s Lutheranism
which they subsequently brought
with them to England. In spite of
attracting a following estimated to
number some 100,000, their
weakness lay in their failure to
secure naturalisation; their societies
remained dependent upon
German preachers and administrators.
George Whitefield, following
the tenets of Calvinism, believed
in the doctrine of predestination,
that the death
of Christ referred particularly
to the elect, ensuring
their salvation, and
in the evangelical doctrine
that the essence of
the Gospel consists in
the teaching that salvation
depends upon faith
rather than works. The
foundation of his ministry
was his emphasis
on the ‘new birth’ and
WESLEYAND
WHITEFIELDAND
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‘IDEAS and IDEALS’
This is the ninth of a series of articles describing formative movements and ideas in the history
of the church. These were the crises of thought and conviction which brought us to where we are.
WESLEY AND WHITEFIELD AND
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL
John Wesley (left) and his brother Charles.
George Whitefield preaching in 1749.
Winter 2003/4
10
Dean, the Vicar of Shoreham,
Vincent Perronet, who was later to
be regarded as ‘the Archbishop of
the Methodists’, in the words of
Charles We s l e y, written almost
forty years later in 1782. Year after
year the brothers came to stay in
the sixteenth century vicarage
teaching a devout group gathered
in the kitchen. From the vocal
opposition of the first visit in 1744
when, ‘The wild beasts began roaring,
stamping, blaspheming, ringing
the bells and turning the
church into a bear garden’ to ‘The
most lively society in the circuit’.
(Vincent Pe r r o n e t by Margaret
Batty). In their later visits Vincent
Perronet and his family remained
strongly supportive of his friends’
teachings. Some years later two
Methodist chapels were to be built
in the village; the larger surviving
one, until its closure, was always
known as the Wesleyan Chapel.
The Wealden area of Kent, so
responsive to earlier Protestant
teaching brought across the
Channel, had remained a centre of
dissent. William Cobbett, riding
down to Dover, ‘All across Kent
from the Weald of Sussex’,
although opposed to Methodism
could not help but note the enthusiasm
for ‘these roving fanatics’ as
he passed by their many chapels.
And in Canterbury, many of the
soldiers temporarily stationed in
the barracks were converted by
the local congregations. Not only
was Kent part of John Wesleys’
‘Home circuit’, but Archbishop
Potter, who, as Bishop of Oxford
had ordained John as priest, was
not unsympathetic. By 1844, the
centenary of the Methodist movement,
there were eleven circuits in
Kent.
The zeal of these three men
kindled a fervour within and without
the established church which
resulted in evangelism and social
reform.
Joy Saynor
Suggestions for further reading.
A Dallimore, George Whitefield - Life
and Times. Banner of Truth Trust
1980
N Currock, Journal of the Rev. John
Wesley Epworth Press 1938
R Southey, Life of Wesley and the Rise
of Methodism. 1890
E P Thompson, Making of the
English Working Class Pe n g u i n
Books 1991.
M White and J Saynor, Shoreham,
A Village in Kent Shoreham Society
1989
I Murray, Whitefield’s Journals, new
edition. Banner of Truth Trust 1960
made more converts in those areas
newly affected by the changes
brought about by the Industrial
Revolution, while the softer
Lutheranism of the Wesleys had a
greater appeal for the largely agricultural
areas of the country. But
the ports and riverside industries
of north Kent were frequently visited
by Whitefield as he slowly
made his way down the river to
begin his many voyages to
Georgia. Becalmed at Deal he
records lengthy visits ashore. The
Wesleys ventured abroad less frequently
but occasionally there was
rivalry with Whitefield’s supporters.
Whitefield’s opinion was ‘Let
the Lord send by whom He will
send so that Christ is preached’.
At Chatham Wesley preached to
‘nearly twelve thousand people’.
He frequently visited the then
rural settlements in north west
Kent of Blackheath, Lewisham,
and Bexley. His visits were to centre
on Blendon House in Bexley,
the home of the wealthy sugar
i m p o r t e r, whose son Charles
Delamotte had been a member of
the Oxford Holy Club, and who
had accompanied the Wesleys on
their early visit to Georgia. George
Whitefield unsuccessfully courted
Charles sister, Elizabeth, but his
great open air gatherings on
Blackheath and Bexleyheath
attracted, ‘above twenty thousand
people’ and perhaps comforted
him. On one Sunday alone three
thousand came into Blendon garden
to listen to Whitefield preach
to them from the top of the garden
wall.
The spiritual guide of the
Delamotte family was their parish
priest, the Vicar of Bexley, the Rev.
Henry Piers, ‘An awakened clergyman’
and ‘A strenuous ally’ of the
Wesleys. It was he who was credited
with introducing them to his
you thought about a union?...I
believe we are on two different
planes’. But he was soon to
renounce his leadership of his
supporters.
One of the strengths of the
evangelical movement was its
appeal, not only to the poor and
dispossessed - this goes without
saying - but also to the aristocracy
and leading politicians. The contact
was made when George
Whitefield was appointed as one
of Selina Hastings’, Countess of
Huntingdon’s, chaplains. She has
been described as, ‘A combination
of Puritan Churchman, Dissenter
and Re f o r m e r,’ and her wealth
enabled her to build chapels in
Bristol, Brighton and Bath as well
as in Tunbridge Wells. Among her
supporters were the elder Pitt,
Lords North and Bolingbroke, the
Earl of Chesterfield and Frederick,
Prince of Wales. But the poor were
not forgotten. John Wesley was a
social reformer, opening dispensaries
and distributing medicines,
while George Whitefield dedicated
his life to his Orphanage House in
Georgia. Although Wesley was
no revolutionary he ‘affirmed
unfeigned loyalty to the king and
sincere attachment to the constitution’.
Some of his lay preachers
were rather more anti-establishment.
It was noted ‘their doctrines
are more repulsive and strongly
tinctured with disrespect towards
their superiors...it is monstrous to
be told you have a heart as sinful
as the common wretches that
crawl upon the earth’.
John Wesley, before he died,
drew up a deed of declaration; 100
ministers were named as the governing
body of the Methodist
Church and vacancies were to be
filled by election by the ministers.
The chapels were grouped into circuits
and the circuits into districts.
The itinerant ministers were
appointed for three years. Neither
John and Charles Wesley nor
George Whitefield wished to leave
the Church of England, but in
1795 after their deaths, the
English Methodist congregations
broke with the established church.
However, on 2nd November 2003,
at a ceremony attended by Her
Majesty the Queen, the Methodist
and Anglican churches signed a
covenant which is intended to
heal the 200 year rift and move
towards re-unification.
When the spread of
Methodism in Kent is considered,
it might be assumed that the
Wesleyan rather than the
Calvinistic Whitefieldian form
would be preferred. Whitefield
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WHITEFIELDAND
THE EVANGELICAL
REVIVAL
WESLEYAND
WHITEFIELDAND
THE EVANGELICAL
REVIVAL
WESLEYAND
WHITEFIELDAND
THEEVANGELICAL
REVIVAL
WESLEYAND
WHITEFIELDAND
THEEVANGELICAL
REVIVAL
John Wesley preaching at the Market Cross.
Images from the website of the Methodist Archives and Research Centre, www.rylibweb.man.ac.uk Winter 2003/4
11
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIGDIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIGDIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIGDIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
BIG DIG IN
LENHAM
meter subsequently refused to
function at all the following week,
so it may be that it had already
started to malfunction on Stack
Platt.
We were prepared to dig three
trial pits on Stack Platt to see what
we could find, but ‘Time Team’
were very behind with their
Registration procedure and we had
not received their pack of instructions!
It was not till June 19th (just
10 days to go) that I received a
phone call to say that they were
very interested in our proposed
sites and they would send us a roving
cameraman on Sunday June
29th.
Imagine my confusion and
shock when on the following
Tuesday an e-mail arrived from a
‘Sheridan Nott’ of ‘Time Team’ to
say that our sites were “too sensitive”
and that we could not be registered
in their scheme. (One of
our members suggested that this email
was a hoax…. but somehow, I
do not think it was).
As the mix-up seemed too silly
for words and everything was
planned, we decided to go ahead
regardless! And it was just as well
that we did, because a full registration
pack finally arrived mid week
at East Lenham Farm. (I would
appreciate hearing from any other
people who had the same standard
letter from refusing registration of
their sites).
On the Sunday morning,
Duncan, the cameraman, arrived
as planned and he took shots of
our dig at East Lenham and the
film was sent back to London by
c o u r i e r. We made it into the
Sunday programme in a short slot,
but it was well reported.
the SMR although it is
mentioned in the Domesday book
- a modern mystery!
In June of this year we did a
resistivity survey of Stack Platt
using the KAS meter and with Ted
Connell’s assistance. (fig 1). Is the
paler inverted ‘L’ shape in the top
right quarter the manor house and
the darker, denser areas the fallen
walls and rubble? Perhaps the
rectangle (position of trial pit 3)
was a stone floor…of a missing
chapel? We were eager to find out.
But the amount of stone in the
present farm buildings and walls
suggests that a huge amount had
been robbed out, so was everything
else just rubble?
A resistivity survey was also
done of the area closer to the lake,
as there one substantial wall still
stands, but not normally visible as
submerged by the waters of the
moat. Constructed of well-shaped
Kentish rag, four blocks high, it
extends around a marshy area in a
distinct right angle.
Was this just a ‘garden
wall’ or was it the
footings of the original
m a n o r, standing,
rather like Ightham
Mote, with its feet in
the water? (fig 2).
Fo r t u n a t e l y, when
re-dredging the moat
in 1980, Andrew Barr
had taken this picture.
The building behind is
a C19 cowshed that
was marked on the
1831 tithe map. But
the area abutting this
wall showed simply
nothing on the resist
i v i t y. However, the
n Summer 2003, Time Team’s
‘BIG DIG’ invited the public
to excavate, causing much
controversy amongst archaeological
commentators. Here,
one participating group
recount their experience of
the venture.
East Lenham discovering
a lost moated manor on
‘Time Team’s’ BIG DIG
weekend.
Lenham Archaeological Society
officially came into being earlier
this year. When ‘Time Team’
announced their BIG DIG proposal
we thought it would be an
excellent opportunity to join in
something that had ‘official’
backing and get ourselves some
publicity.
Various field walks, observations,
geophys surveys and
research had already been started
by our members and we had
found several interesting areas
that would warrant trial pit investigations.
Rather than each individual
entering separately we
deduced it would be easier to
enter the different sites together
as a Group. Unfortunately this
seemed to confuse the ‘Ti m e
Team’ organisers - as you will see
shortly.
One of the most interesting
sites we wished to investigate was
East Lenham moated manor. The
owner of the present house/farm
at East Lenham, Andrew Barr, had
found a 1660 map with a picture
of the old manor house standing
on Stack Platt, the piece of land
encircled by the present moat.
The old manor had no reference in
B I GD I G I NL E N H A M
fig 2
fig 1
Winter 2003/4
12
ollowing my article on the suggested
origins of Bayford
Castle, Sittingbourne, published
in the Summer 2003
edition of this magazine, I was
pleased to read Alan Ward’s
extensive comments and criticisms
of my theory. Little has been recorded
of this castle’s past and following
extensive industrial activity in the
19th century, any tangible remains
have been obliterated. The best we
can now do is to put forward our
own individual hypotheses based
upon what knowledge we might
have. I’m grateful to Mr Ward for his
thoughts on this subject.
Bayford Castle is without any shadow
of doubt an ancient structure. It
is mentioned on most OS maps and
I was able to purchase a copy of
Christopher Saxton’s map of
Bayford and Goodmanstone manors
dated 1590, from the British Library.
On it he mentions ‘Castle Ruffe’, a
name by which Bayford Castle was
also known at that time.
Re my hypothesis of the origins
of Watling Street, the A2, Mr Ward
said that there is no evidence for its
original line once having been
adjacent to Bayford Castle, some
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
THE
CONTINUING
SAGA OF
BAYFORD
CASTLE
and proof of its age. But the C16
brick poses more questions… Wa s
there a Tudor manor house, as the
picture on the 1660 map suggests?
Was there an older medieval manor
closer to the lake? Were they both
demolished in progression till the
present house and farm buildings
were built? Were there intervening
C18 buildings on the Platt?
It is all very intriguing. There
could even be Roman features present
on the Platt. One surface find of a
Romano-British sandy ware sherd
might suggest that. But Roman and
older finds have been surfacing in all
fields around Lenham.
BUT, it is certainly worth a larger
dig and a bigger trench without the
‘Time Team’s’ restriction in size. A
trench across the slight mound that
did not show any resistivity abnormality
might well reveal the building
indicated on the 1831 map.
An intriguingly named field,
‘Stumbles’, lies on the western
borders of the moat, an uneven
pasture that would warrant further
resisitivity work. Certainly Lenham
Archaeological Society could make
good use of the KAS resistivity meter
again!
Lesley Feakes
Chairperson LAS
Here is a sketch map
adapted from the 1831
tithe map to show the
position of present and
past farm buildings, the
moat wall, and the position
of our resistivity
plots. (fig 3).
Each of the trial pits
dug had a hard layer or
‘floor’ just 15cm beneath
the surface. These floors
were of well packe d
flints, hard packed chalk
and/or crushed tile and
brick and each area was
some 15cm in depth.
Beneath the ‘floors’ was
another 15cm of mixed
top soil/heavy clay. As we
were not allowed (by
‘Time Team’ rules) to dig
much deeper than 60cm
we left investigation at
that depth. Few finds of
datable material were
obtained. However, in trench 2 (half
way along the northern edge of the
resistivity print-out) an old brick with
whitish mortar was found at a depth
of 50cm, now identified as early C16.
In trench 1 a C19 button was found.
Conclusions are difficult to arrive
at from so little excavation! There
were a variety of hard surfaces deliberately
constructed, possibly for stockyards,
possibly using the material of
the earlier manor house, possibly from
the destruction of a later C18 building.
We would have been extremely
lucky if we had found definitive evidence
for the C12 manor’s existence
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF BAYFORD CASTLE
300m to the north. He does
agree with me however, when
I suggested the Romans initially
used the Lower Road when
marching between London and
Dover/Richborough.
It is only since embarking upon a
course of studies in archaeology with
Exeter University that I started to
question how the Romans actually
got from Richborough to London
and Colchester. I assumed they built
Watling Street section by section as
they progressed across Kent, but I
now know this was not so. In the
early days of the invasion they
would have used existing trackways.
It was only later, once the southern
tribes had been subjugated, that
there was the need for a fast access
road back to the Channel ports to be
built.
Watling Street conveniently
links London, Canterbury and Dover
by a more or less straight road. Our
Iron Age ancestors would not necessarily
have needed to link such large
distances. They were not great travellers
in comparison to the Romans.
If they sought to link one community
to the next, the Lower Road would
m a ke more sense. Locally, the
original settlements of Faversham,
Teynham, Sittingbourne and
Milton Regis were all on this line,
being small fishing ports. There is
nothing of Iron Age date along
Watling Street.
I agree with Mr Ward when he
offers the theory of Ospringe also
being a possible overnight resting
place for travellers. This is borne
out by the recent discovery of
Roman remains here, possibly the
long lost town of Durovernum. It
must be accepted however, that
resting places would be needed for
east-west journeys as well as those
from west-east.
Moving on to the mysterious
earthworks shown in ‘VCH’ that
once lay by St Michael’s church, I
concede they could indeed be flood
defence measures, especially in
view of the closeness of the stream
that once crossed Watling Street
nearby.
This is what makes the study of
Bayford Castle such a fascinating
and thought-provoking study. I’m
truly grateful to Mr Ward for his
views on the matter.
fig 3
John Clancy
Key
approx
resistivity
areas
Winter 2003/4
13
Dear Editor
BARFRESTON CHURCH
I have sometimes been asked, and
indeed often wondered myself, how it
was that the Romanesque carving on
the south portal at Barfreston survived
the iconoclasm of the Cromwellian
period when so much else in the area
was desecrated.
There are a number of pre-restoration
engravings showing the chancel
or the east end, but I have not yet seen
any showing the portal. Hussey’s
account of his restoration in
Archaeologia Cantiana 16 reports relatively
minor restoration of the south
portal.
It had been suggested to me that,
since the carving on the portal is low
relief, it may have been covered in
plaster to hide the sculpture from the
Puritans. In 1778 Hasted mentions ‘a
modern porch’ and does not describe
the sculpture. However, I recently
came across the Kent volume of
‘Picturesque Beauties of Great Britain’
with drawings by Shepherd and others.
Although not dated, the work
seems to have been completed in the
first quarter of the 19th century. It
includes Shepherd’s drawing of the
Dear Editor
KENT CHURCHES
I do not wish to prolong the
debate on church surveys but I must
again comment on a statement by
Alan Ward, in his letter in the last
issue. He talks of white-washing over
a wall painting as ‘destruction’. I
think he now concedes that his claim
was based solely on hearsay evidence
of an event of about twenty years ago;
but even if correct, the act of covering,
far from destroying the painting, actually
safeguards it for the future. This
has to be done when paintings are
uncovered and if money is not available,
either to investigate further, or to
embark on a possibly large-scale and
expensive programme of conservation.
The Canterbury Diocesan
Advisory Committee on the Care of
Churches (DAC) has recently recommended
just such a procedure. There
is an obvious parallel in ‘dirt’ archaeology;
sites that cannot be fully excavated
are recorded and protected, to
await further study.
Leslie A Smith
Vice-Chairman
Canterbury DAC
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
WINTER 2003/4
Barfreston chancel from the south
dated 1823. The Shepherd drawings
are familiar in Kent but I had not seen
the text before. A sentence on page 82
reads, ‘The south, or principal entrance
opening into the nave, is most richly
ornamented with figures: but a great
portion of it is now obscured from view
by a brick porch, so injudiciously constructed
as to abut immediately against
the sculptures.’
The porch was not mentioned by
Glynne, who visited the church before
1840 and most likely about 1830. My
tentative conclusion is, therefore, that
a porch might have been built to
obscure the sculpture on the south portal
in order to prevent its destruction.
The porch was either removed between
1823 and 1840 (when Hussey visited
the church), or may have fallen victim
to the subsidence that necessitated
Hussey’s thorough restoration. In any
event, the sculpture is in unusually
good condition and this may be due to
the presence of a porch.
Can any reader shed light on the
mystery of why the sculpture on the
Barfreston door is in such good condition?
Mary Berg
Canterbury
LETTERS
TO THE
EDITOR
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TO THE
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TO THE
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TO THE
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TO THE
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LETTERS
TO THE
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TO THE
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LETTERS
TO THE
EDITOR
DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS MYSTERY OBJECT?
Can any KAS member identify this mystery object? Discovered in the bottom of a box of bric-a brac from a charity shop, it has already been sent
to Maidstone Museum and the British Museum, but to no avail. The object is metal, bronze or brass, weighs 4oz/112gm and is 9.45inches/
240mm long. Which language do the 12 oriental characters which surround the compass belong to? Is the compass a later addition to the
object? The burnt mass within the bowl is slightly sticky. Although the stem is hollow, there is no ‘exit’ hole at the end furthest from the bowl.
The puzzled owner would love to know its origins and use. Please contact the Editor at the usual address, email or telephone number.
Winter 2003/4
14
greatly appreciative of the glorious
sunshine!
During the autumn we learnt
about the Portable Antiquities
Scheme from Kent’s Finds Liaison
Officer, Andrew Richardson and
the children enjoyed using metal
detectors to search for their own
‘treasure’. We investigated the
beginnings of writing, creating
hieroglyphs on papyrus and
cuneiform on clay tablets. We
then focussed
on watermills,
with expert
Mick Fuller
giving a talk,
followed by an
examination of
ancient querns
and a taste test
of different
breads.
Our Roman
2003 has been a great
year for the North Downs
Young Archaeologists’
Club. We have been
involved with many exciting
projects, some of
which you will already be
aware from previous articles
in the Newsletter.
This summer our contribution
to National
Archaeology Day was an
event entitled ‘A Century
of Change’ held within the
Museum of Kent Life. The
Cantiaci Living History
group were there, as was
the Roman Primus Abuteus, both
demonstrating aspects of life in
the first century AD. North
Downs YAC ran a number of
activities where people could try
their hand at spinning and mosaic
making, amongst others. Our
young members and the public
enjoyed eating the edible torcs
they had fashioned and tasting
food of the period. As we were
dressed in costume we were
Winter 2003/4
15
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
A YEAR TO
REMEMBER
A YEARTO
REMEMBER
AY E A RT O REMEMBER FOR YA C
(Thomas Hardy). We will take in
sights such as Maiden Castle,
stronghold of the Iron Age
Durotriges and the Cerne Abbas
Giant. Our base will be a hotel in
Bournemouth. For further details
and enquiries please contact:
Joy Saynor, Hon. Excursions
Secretary
Friars, 28 High Street
Shoreham
Sevenoaks TN14 7TD
Tel: 01959 522713
email:
saynor.shoreham@amserve.com
his year the Society will
again follow the five-day
pattern which has proved so
successful for the last two
Summer Excursions, leaving
valuable summer weekends
free. As usual, our coach will
have four pick-up points throughout
Kent and will provide our
transport during the holiday.
Our excursion will explore the
classic and historic landscape of
Dorset; rolling chalk downland
and hidden valleys, “of a shape
approaching the indestructible as
nearly as any to be found on earth”
THE KAS 2004 SUMMER EXCURSION ~14-18 JUNE
Carenza Lewis surrounded by enthusiastic YAC members.
Maiden Castle in Dorset.
YACmembers proudly
display their
hieroglyphic
calligraphy skills.
Christmas Party was also to be
remembered. We ate our fill of
food (reclining of course!) and
were exhausted by the games, so it
was great to sit and listen to a fascinating
talk by Carenza Lewis
from Time Team who joined us for
the event.
Our YAC group is very appreciative
of all the time and effort many
people put into making our club a
success. KAS and Maidstone
Museum deserve our thanks, as do
the guest speakers who give up a
Saturday morning to make our
meetings interesting, informative
and enjoyable. The results speak
for themselves as our members are
a keen and dedicated bunch, happy
to turn up regularly despite having
been made to fieldwalk in the
pouring rain!
We have an exciting
programme ahead, and will
keep you up to date with our
adventures in future Newsletters.
Happy New Year from North
Downs Young Archaeologists’ Club.
Susie Lee
appropriate standard and subsequent publication
of the results is a key role of John’s
team.
Two members of this team are responsible
for the Sites & Monuments Record.
Others include a Finds Liaison Officer (see
front page), and a Conservation Architect,
dealing with issues of built heritage and
KCC’s historic windmills.
Beyond the core work of developmentled
archaeology, the emphasis is on ‘partnerships’.
John embraces the wider picture,
emphatic that Kent’s archaeology must be
set within a European context. “Working
with continental neighbours develops a better
vision and takes forward best practice.”
PlanArch (planning and archaeology) led
by Kent, is uniting Essex, Nord–Pas-de-
Calais, Flanders, Wallonia, the Netherlands
and the Rhineland in a C2.5 million programme
of work. The Historic Fortifications
Network, embracing Kent, West Flanders
and Nord–Pas-de-Calais, in its present
phase is bringing C700,000 of European
funding into Kent. John has to be something
of an entrepreneur in terms of putting
funding together; bidding for money is now
standard practice, a completely different
scenario from 20 years ago.
Does John ever miss trench and trowel?
“The spirit is willing but the knees are
weak!”, a problem exacerbated by years
down cold, damp holes, allied to sporting
activities - he played cricket for Manchester
U n i v e r s i t y, where he remembers being
D RJ O H NW I L L I A M S
Head of Heritage Conservation,
Kent County Council
Winter 2003/4
16
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n his own admission, John
Williams is perhaps shy when the
subject in question is himself. But
passion for his role in the management
and promotion of the archaeology
of Kent sees no such reticence.
He heads a team of 10 archaeologists
and a conservation architect and takes obvious
pride in their work, “one of the best
teams in the country, and possibly the best”.
Born in North Wales, he was discouraged
in the 60’s from following archaeology
as a career due to the perceived lack of
prospects (a consistent theme within these
Back Page interviews). A letter to Mortimer
Wheeler drew the response “But the really
important thing is to work hard ….”
‘A’ Levels in Latin, Greek and Greek
and Roman History preceded reading Latin
at Manchester University, where he took
Roman Britain as a special subject. In his
second year he was a supervisor after one
week on a training excavation - “very unlike
the long apprenticeships of today” - and
passed the summer as no 2 on the excavation
of Chester’s Roman amphitheatre. The
next year, either side of graduation, 15
weeks were spent directing major excavations
at Warrington, a Roman industrial
complex, for the Ministry of Public Building
& Works. John’s sense of the absurd is
apparent when recounting an observation
from the audience at a lecture on the site –
“what an eye the Romans had for a tactical
defensive position, locating the settlement
between the River Mersey and the
Manchester Ship Canal”. Staying on at
Manchester he did an MA with Barri Jones
on Stone Building Materials in Roman Britain,
but then three years “away from the ivory
tower of unversity archaeology” in the textile
industry provided a good business
grounding – “some of my best archaeological
training”.
He joined Northampton Development
Corporation, a New Town authority, in 1971,
at the beginning of the explosive growth of
rescue archaeology, and headed its archaeology
unit for 13 years. His most challenging
and rewarding excavation was of a large
middle Saxon Yeavering-style timber hall,
subsequently replaced in stone. Publication
of Middle Saxon “Palaces” at Northampton followed.
He also got deeply involved in the
Medieval documentary sources for the
town.
He then became Director of Lancaster
University’s archaeology unit for 5 years,
doing some undergraduate teaching along
the way, and during this period obtained his
Doctorate for a portfolio of published work
on Medieval Northampton.
In 1989 he became Kent’s County
Archaeologist, to face the very real challenge
of curating wonderfully rich archaeology
under quite considerable development
pressure. Of some 22,000 planning applications
annually around 1500 have to be
looked at in some detail and, in addition to
full publications, over 300 pieces of “grey
literature” (unpublished site reports) are
generated each year. Ensuring an adequately
funded archaeological response to an
EDITOR : LYN PALMER
55 Stone Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2QU
Telephone: 01892 533661 Mobile: 07810 340831
Email evelyn.palmer@virgin.net
or newsletter@kentarchaeology.org.uk
bowled by Brian Statham in a game against
Lancashire Club and Ground – so much for
the 4 the ball before - and has a coaching
qualification. However, one of the great
pleasures of his current job is not having to
do another archaeological sequence diagram.
Aside from sport, gentler pursuits are
followed. A good thriller appeals, although
current reading is The Archaeology of Ancient
G r e e c e, and the Independent crossword
focuses his mind. A music lover, he enjoys
both classical and jazz and plays the piano.
He also cooks a “mean curry”, a skill learnt
at university following liquid cricket celebrations
– or commiserations!
John is married to Egyptologist
Frances Williams (a relationship initiated
down a medieval cess pit in Colchester)
and obviously revels in having his own personal
guide when accompanying her to
that country. Their daughter, once asked by
a schoolteacher about her parent’s employment,
replied that both “used to be”
archaeologists. The concerned teacher
enquired ‘Have they got real jobs now…?’
John asserts that it is only through
public support that heritage will prosper,
but questions the distortion of some television
programmes with a ‘mystery’ or ‘disaster’
ingredient. Stirring the public’s
imagination raises awareness, but it is
important that best practice and rigorous
interpretation are encouraged.
What is John’s vision for the future?
For Kent, one long-held desire is the creation
of an archaeological resource centre,
to assemble the archives and finds from
excavation and fieldwork and make them
available for both academic study and general
access to the public and schools. At a
personal level, he hopes to pick up again
research on Medieval Northampton.
John feels archaeology has ‘come of
age’ during the last 30 years and that he is
privileged to have been employed throughout
that period in varying roles in three different
parts of the country, each with exciting
archaeology. For those starting out in
the profession today there are perhaps
more initial opportunities but developing a
longer-term career is not easy. Having had
the chance to participate in shaping the
management of archaeology at one of its
most exciting periods and more recently be
involved with major work in Kent, including
that associated with Channel Tunnel
Rail Link, he counts himself a lucky man.
(For an update on Roman Kent see
John’s New Light on Roman Kent, just published
in the Journal of Roman Archaeology)
Copy deadline for the next issue in April is Monday 1st March.
The editor wishes to draw attention to the fact that neither she nor the Council of the KAS are answerable for
opinions which contributors may express in their signed articles; each author is alone responsible for the
contents and substance of their work.
Published by the Kent Archaeological Society, The Museum, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1LH
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk