Committee Round-Up

CHURCHES COMMITTEE

The first of the committee’s church visits in 2006 were to the parish churches of Tenterden and Rolvenden on April 1. Mr Tunstall Bates, President of the Tenterden Historical Society welcomed us to St Mildred’s Church, Tenterden. It is a large church with a splendid late 15th century tower. The tower is sometimes open in the summer and offers wonderful views of Kent and the sea. The interior was thoroughly restored 1864-6. The Lady Chapel there is a monument to Herbert Whitfield (d. 1622) with large figures kneeling at a prayer desk.
In contrast, St Mary the Virgin, at Rolvenden is a straightforward medieval church. We were welcomed by Mr. Jacques Dossiers who gave a most memorable and thought-provoking paper he described the Day, Jacques Dossiers who read a thoroughgoing report about the structure.

The afternoon visit ended with a visit to Tenterden and a further detailed exploration of the church’s history by another member of our group.

Sadly, ill health prevented Mr Davey from being present himself but his knowledge and obvious love of the building were greatly appreciated by the party. The earliest parts date back to the 13th century. There are remains of lancet windows in the chancel and the arcades seem to have been influenced by work at Canterbury Cathedral. The south door also seems to date from that time but not necessarily exactly where it is now. The later work seems to have been interrupted—perhaps by the Black Death in 1348—and work was finished when the building was consecrated in 1349. Among very interesting features is the still-used 1825 West gallery family pew above the Guildeford chapel. It has a good view of the altar, but not of the pulpit! Mr Davey’s recent research has led him to think that some of the architectural history of the church and the questions posed towards the end of his paper still sit uneasily after the evidence. A new edition of his excellent guide published in May 1997 is eagerly awaited.

Mary Berg

FIELDWORK COMMITTEE

The early part of 2006 has been relatively quiet for the Fieldwork Committee, but many of the affiliated groups have been busy with their own excavations. The Ringlemere excavation is undergoing its Fieldwork Committee-sponsored two-week dig, with an extension of work at the site to September.

The East Farleigh Roman villa excavation is under the guidance of Albert Daniels and the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group. They are wall chasing, trying to locate the ends of the corridor and tie in the bottom part of the building. This site was visited by a party of Dutch Rotary Club members who were on an exchange visit arranged by the sites’ owner. Albert intends to hold an open day on the August Bank Holiday Monday, set to coincide with the 150-year anniversary of the railway that runs along the valley near the site, so do please go and visit. He is also working at White Sundays. Investigations at the site of the medieval manor by the Lenham Archaeological Group have included ground penetrating radar that did not reveal as much data as hoped when they visited.

(Fieldwork details continued—paraphrase available if needed.)

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

The following matters were agreed: Future publications would be handled by Heritage Marketing and Publications Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk, with the first volume being the Hadlow Manorial Survey. The Hadlow Prize for studies in the archaeology or history of the County would be known as the Hadlow Prize. This was intended to be for studies submitted in the calendar years 2005-2006.

The Archaeologia Cantiana bibliography continues to expand, and the next volume of Archaeologia Cantiana will be published later this year. At the moment this is the final item available online.