New Books

The Romano-British Religious Centre of Vagniacis at Springhead, Kent

by Victor Smith, Gravesend Historical Society
ISBN: 0 9548137 0 7, A4, 24 pages, 60 illustrations. Price: £4.25 (includes postage & packing).

Partly funded by the Kent Archaeological Society, this is a completely re-written account of the site from its pre-Roman origins to its demise. Although mainly drawn from the results of the epic series of excavations by the Gravesend Historical Society over a period of 50 years, the text also refers to the more recent discoveries from archaeological investigations preceding the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Available from the author at 65 Stonebridge Road, Northfleet DA11 9BA. Cheque or postal order payable to Gravesend Historical Society.

The Ancient Hospitals and Almshouses of Canterbury

By Derek Ingram Hill, Canterbury Archaeological Society (new edition).
ISBN: 0 901589 05 5, A5, 64 pages, 24 illustrations. Price: mainly £5.99.

A story of nine centuries of care for the old and infirm in Canterbury, beginning soon after the Norman Conquest with the establishment by Archbishop Lanfranc of the hospital of St John just outside the city centre and another for lepers at Harbledown. The book goes on to tell how Eastbridge Hospital was set up to receive pilgrims and how Elizabethan and other benefactors responded to the needs of their times. A new final chapter by Marjorie Lyle charts the last four decades of these charitable foundations and their buildings, embodiments of a living tradition which continues to change and adapt to meet new social needs.

Available by post for £6.99 from Kenneth Pinnock, White House, St Martin’s Avenue, Canterbury CT1 1QQ.

Kent Communicants Lists 1565-1567, Part 1

By Gillian Rickard.
ISBN: 0 9630968 1 5. Price: £4.00.

The transcribed lists of inhabitants who took Holy Communion in Appledore, Brookland, Burmarsh, Dymchurch, Ebony, Fairfield, Lympne, New Romney, Orlestone, Saltwood, Stowting, Stone in Oxney, Tenterden, West Hythe, and Woodchurch. Communicants were generally aged 14 and over, but the names of many of those unable, or unwilling, to participate, were often also noted.

Available from the author at 99 Strangers Lane, Canterbury CT1 3XN (please add 50p postage) or via www.genfair.com.

Medieval Sandwich

By T.L. Richardson.
ISBN: 0 9542242 2 4. A5, 116 pages, black-and-white illustrations, maps, diagrams.

A series of new insights into the town’s early history, with sections on The Town and its World—exports and their markets, imports and their origins; The Hundred Years’ War; The Export Trade in Wool; The Overseas Trade in Cloth; The Italian Galley and Carrack Trade; The Closing of the Haven—physical change and human intervention.

Available from Barham’s of King Street, Sandwich for £4.50, or for £6.50 (includes postage and packing) direct from Dr F.W.G. Andrews, Sandwich Local History Society, 14 Stone Cross Lees, Sandwich CT13 0BZ.

Field Systems in Essex

By John Hunter.
Published by Essex Society of Archaeology and History. Price: £5.95 (including postage & packing).

The first in a new series of occasional papers by one of our neighboring county societies, this well-illustrated popular guide is a wide-ranging analysis of Essex field systems, concentrating on the medieval and Tudor periods. Includes four case studies—Cressing Temple; Little Easton, Broxted and Tilty; Littley Park; The Parallel Parishes—examining the relationship between field systems and the wider contexts of estates structures, demography, and economic forces.

Available from Dr Chris Thornton, 75 Victoria Road, Maldon, Essex CM9 5HE. Cheque payable to Essex Society for Archaeology and History.