This will be only a brief note from me this month, as I’m writing this from my hotel room in Alkmaar, in the Netherlands, and must shortly head out to attend the opening lecture of the 72nd Sachsensymposion, an annual (apart from 2020) gathering of archaeologists and historians who specialise in the study of Northern Europe in the first millennium AD. The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Making places, making lives: Landscape and settlement in coastal wetlands’, promises to chime well with the developing research questions of the Lossenham Project.
Building 1 at Lossenham Friary
Yesterday, Friday 8th October, saw the completion of recording for this year in three of the trenches we had opened on the site of Lossenham Friary. Trenches 2 and 3 have now been backfilled, to protect the fragile building remains that they had exposed. Trench 1, to the south-east, has not been backfilled, but will be provided with a protective cover for the Winter. The plan next Spring is to expand this trench to further expose the building (Building 1) that it had revealed. It now seems likely that this large structure, with thick buttressed walls of sandstone, which runs along the south side of the cloister, is in fact the Priory church of St Mary. It had been suggested that this might have been the refectory, since churches were usually (but not always) positioned to the north of the cloister range. However, the discovery of several graves immediately south of, and parallel to, Building 1, now strongly suggests that this is the church. Its location to the south of the cloister range is probably a result of the local topography; this is by far the most prominent position on the site, overlooking a south facing slope leading down to the Rother. Situating the church here meant there would have been an unobstructed view of it across a wide area, and it seems likely this was the intention. Next year, we aim to reveal much more of this important structure.
Glazed Floor Tiles
In the last newsletter, I wrote about the glazed floor tiles that we had been finding at the Friary. I noted that although we had several types, all were plain, and that we had not yet discovered any decorated examples. No sooner had last month’s newsletter appeared, than this was out of date, as several fragments of decorated floor tiles were unearthed. All are incomplete, but none seem to match designs known from the Carmelite Friary at Aylesford. Clearly, however, Lossenham was sufficiently wealthy to have been provided with a floor or floors of decorated tiles; we look forward to finding more examples as the excavation of the site progresses.
Andrew Richardson
The archives for the Lossenham Project may be at an embryonic stage, but I take this opportunity to update the community of the latest publications to the archive & book library.
The latest additions focus on the Hanseatic League and medieval trade across Northern Europe, which lasted for 500 years. The following titles have recently been added:
- Lloyd, T.H. England and The German Hanse 1157-1611. A study of their trade and commercial diplomacy, 1991
- Zimmern, H. The Hansa Towns and the Hanseatic League, 1889
- Ayers, B et al, Six Essays in Hanseatic History, 2017
- Map of Hanseatic League, pamphlet – a useful visual guide to Hanse trade routes.
The German Hanse was the most successful and most far-flung trade association that existed in medieval and early-modern Europe. The relationship between England and the Hanse was based on trade, but this was made possible only by intensive political and diplomatic bargaining.
Another welcome addition over the summer was the purchase of the Kent History Project series, commissioned by Kent County Council (1989). The series is comprised of eight publications covering the whole of Kent from its earliest age to the present day. The complete series has been written by 'experts in their field and provides the first authoritative history of the County since Edward Hasted published his History and Topographical Survey of Kent in 1796'.
The final volume in the Kent History Project series, published in June 2016 and edited by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh, is entitled 'Early Medieval Kent, 800-1220'. The essays collected in this publication provide insights into a range of topics of importance in the history of Kent during this seminal period. To provide a context for these the opening essay presents an assessment of the kingdom of Kent. Subsequent chapters consider the development of first rural and then urban society, the impact of the Vikings, pilgrimage and the landscape, literacy and learning, the developing monastic way of life, placements, and parish church architecture and Norman patronage. The final three chapters develop a multidisciplinary approach to discuss Canterbury as a case study. (Source KCC website).
The archive and its research also covers a wide range of topics for the Lossenham Project, whether this be on archaeology, history, ecology or environment, through to spiritual and cultural references. For example, I recently discovered an article by Mary Adams, History of the Demense Farm at Appledore from Contemporary Building Records, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol 112, pp 283-298. What was of interest is how this case study revealed building practice, and the role of the serjeant, to obtain a picture of the buildings making up the farm complex. Of further interest was the sourcing of building material across the landscape along the Rother river, using the Bedel rolls. Such reports contained information on the use of hay and the process of thatching. Adams reveals that the Bedel Rolls are more than a list of the buildings, in the serjeants' accounts, but also a complete list of building repairs – to help determine the nature of these buildings. Such articles are of interest as they open up possibility for for further investigation of the local trade and have revealed a very useful primary source for research.
The Lossenham Project archive can be accessed by community members. The library has an extensive historical collection of books, including first editions. If you have a research topic or request for information on a Kent history based topic, contact Jason at archivist@janusfoundation.org
Should you wish to visit the archive/ library, please email Jason in advance. Days to visit the archive are Tuesdays or Thursdays, however, we can be flexible with these arrangements.
If you have any books or articles for recommendations, please do not hesitate to forward these to the archivist.
