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Archaeology round-upbridge Farm: a ‘New’ roman Sitebarcombe roman bathhouse brede High Woods ‘big Dig’etymology of Plashett Park

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Lorna’s NotebookA round-up of all that’s new in the membership department

MEMBERSHIPDEPARTMENT

Bull House, 92 High Street Lewes, BN7 1XH

Tues-Fri 10am-3pmAnswering machine outside these hours

01273 405737members@sussexpast.co.uk

membership matters Opening Lines

SuSSeX

Past &Present

The Sussex Archaeological Society Newsletter

N u m b e r 1 2 9A P r I L 2 0 1 3

Contents 2 Membership Matters 3 Opening Lines 4 Barcombe Roman Baths 5 Barcombe Roman Baths 6 Archaeology Round-up 7 Archaeology Round-up 8 Brede High Woods ‘Big Dig’ 9 Plashett Park 10 Bridge Farm Survey 11 Peter Sangster Obituary 12 Library & Bookshop 13 John Houghton Obituary14 Book Reviews 15 Book Reviews 16 Snippets

Published by the Sussex Archaeological Society, Bull

House, Lewes, E Sussex, BN71XHTel: 01273 486260Fax: 01273 486990

Email: adminlewes@sussexpast.co.uk

Editor: Wendy MurielEmail: spp@sussexpast.co.ukResearch Editor: Luke Barber

ISSN 1357-7417

Cover: Underwater archaeology at Church Field, Barcombe. Summer 2012. Photo: David Millum

Your Society...looking forward to the new season

OPeNING LINeSmemberSHIP

Welcome to the April edition of Sussex Past & Present.

Sunday 7 July: Society AGmThe Society’s AGM will be held this year at Michelham Priory, and the AGM notice including the agenda is enclosed with this newsletter. Further papers will be available online nearer the time in the members’ area of the website – contact me if you need the password. Lunch is available (pre-booked only) and in the afternoon you will have the chance for a tour to see the changes at the Priory – more details in the Noticeboard section (centre pages). Please use the form there to book in advance so we know how many people to expect.

Saturday 2 November: Sussex and the Georgian Age

c1680 - 1830 ConferenceOur autumn conference this year looks at the impact of the Georgian period on Sussex. It is taking place rather later than usual, and we hope that this means more people will be free to attend. As for the last two major conferences, the venue is Lewes Town Hall; however, this time we are using the Corn Exchange instead of the Assembly Room, in the hopes that this will ameliorate the acoustic difficulties encountered in the Assembly Room.Full details are in the enclosed booking form, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

WW1 ConferenceWe will be holding a one day conference on Saturday 26 April 2014 to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The venue will be Lewes Town Hall, and it will be followed on 27 April with a range of associated

field trips. Further details will be circulated in due course, but the topics will be diverse and thought-provoking.

As part of this event, we plan to put together a display to remember those who fought or otherwise served between 1914-1918, and we need your input. If you had family or friends who fought in the Great War, we would like to hear from you. The aim is to collect brief biographical details about each person, ideally combined with a photograph or a postcard they may have written during the War. If we have sufficient material, we plan to put together a poster display for the conference which can then be exhibited afterwards in one of the Society’s properties. We also hope to include some of these stories in the short articles section of Sussex Archaeological Collections during the period 2015-2018. It will be our way of commemorating those whose lives were lost or irretrievably changed as a result of that conflict.

We do need to have this information in good time to plan these various events, so start doing your research now! The deadline for receipt of your information is Friday 4 October 2013, but it would be helpful if you could initially email me on members@sussexpast.co.uk or contact me at Bull House so we have an idea of how much and what type of information we will be receiving. If you need help with researching the details we will be able to provide you with some guidance on where to look.

members’ SurveyLast year we asked members’ opinions specifically on our publications. This year, we would like to gather some more general

feedback from you to help us retain and recruit members by learning what attracted you to the Society and what keeps you here. You may fill in the copy of the form enclosed and return it to me by post, and a version is also available in the members’ area of the website (contact me if you need the password) for you to complete and email to me. We will give a summary of the feedback in a future newsletter and online. It should only take you a few minutes to complete, and we would very much appreciate your time!

Visiting our PropertiesMy usual reminder at this time of year - do remember that if you are planning to visit any of our properties you must have a valid membership card to show at the admissions desk in order to gain free entry. If you don’t, you will be asked to pay the normal admission price and this cannot be subsequently refunded. Please do not get cross with our admissions staff if you have forgotten to check that you have a current card with you before setting off.

Lorna GartsideMembership Secretary

Here we are awaiting spring and hopefully better weather than last year. The weather in 2012 greatly affected visitor numbers to our

properties and therefore the main income of the Society. We were required to draw down from reserves to cover a greater than anticipated deficit. This continued drain on our reserves and the need to address some significant items is of very serious concern. We have no choice but to consider a significant range of potential actions which arise from this reality. In response the Council is preparing to formulate a fundraising campaign to increase our income and to build up our reserves. We are also working hard with the Chief Executive and our staff team to make all of our income generating activities work as efficiently as possible.

We are also looking to obtain support from outside funding bodies and organisations. I recently attended a meeting with representatives from Waitrose property department who are offering their expertise and labour to extend and refurbish the shop at Michelham Priory. The Friends of Michelham Priory are yet again funding a wide range of changes including enhancements to the Great Barn. The northern part of the moat has been cleared of growth and is looking much better. I recommend a visit to see the new views. The works carried out this year complement those of last year. The property is now much improved and greater income from functions is anticipated.

A meeting has also been held with a number of grant giving bodies at Anne of Cleves House Museum, to hopefully fund the new café, garden and disabled toilet/access provisions. The weddings business at both the Castle and Anne of Cleves House show an encouraging increase on last year thanks to the efforts of our Eastern Properties Commercial Manager, Isobel Roberts. At Fishbourne Roman Palace the café has been redecorated and the garden museum has been refurbished. We also plan to extend the successful spoil heaps excavation during the Festival of British Archaeology this summer.

In 2012 the 150th volume of the Sussex Archaeological Collections was issued. This is a great achievement, and the Collections are envied by other societies throughout the country. We are planning a celebration in September at which all members will be invited to participate together with authors who have been published in the Collections. More information will be published in the next issue of Sussex Past & Present. The Society is in good heart, with the library, schools education, research, museums and collections achieving a very high standard and well used.

Society membership increased last year and despite the rise in subscriptions sanctioned by members is expected to continue to rise in 2013. Members’ visits to our properties have doubled over the last two years. Members are reminded that legacies are a very important way of helping the Society. For most charitable bodies, like the Society, this is a very significant element of their income. The Society can only survive with your support.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the AGM.

richard Akhurst Chair of Council

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bArCOmbe rOmAN bATHSbArCOmbe rOmAN bATHSresearchexcavations

In October 2012 the bathhouse excavations at Barcombe were

filled in, thus ending five seasons of excavations in Church Field and a total of 14 years of fieldwork for the Barcombe Roman Villa Project. It also marked the end of practical field archaeology at the University of Sussex whose Centre for Continuing Education (most recently, until its demise: Community Engagement) CCE - had joined the Project as partners of the Mid Sussex Field Archaeological Team (MSFAT) in 2006. Over the years many intriguing features have been exposed at both the villa and bathhouse sites. This article reports upon some of the most interesting discoveries and outcomes of the final, very wet, fieldwork in 2012.

The bathhouse: Cold plunge room

During the five seasons of excavations starting in 2008 a rectangular room, approximately 9m by 5.5m, had gradually been unearthed at the extreme western end of the complex. It was named

West Room 2 (WR2) and consisted of three outer flint walls 700mm wide to the north, west and south, all of which had a substantial 1m wide chalk wall abutting them internally (Fig.1). On the eastern side was a shallower 600mm chalk internal wall adjacent to what appeared to be a corridor. The flint

wall had scattered tegula lying on its surface which were interpreted as part of the wall, rather than fallen roof tiles, as tegula were found, in situ, in a lower string course. An evaluation trench dug to the outside of the northwest corner showed a well-built structure with quoins made from dressed sandstone and paludina limestone (Fig.2).

Initial theories as to the room’s function included speculation that the strength of the walls could suggest a two-storied structure or even a watermill. Indeed, geoarchaeological work by Dr Mike Allen, and geophysical surveying by David Staveley, suggest that a water course passed the structure’s western flank. However, Ernest Black felt that the room was a cold plunge pool and this seemed more convincing than a counter proposal of a large latrine.

A priority in 2011 and 2012 was to investigate the interior of the room, especially the inside faces of the walls. As the southwest quadrant was excavated a scatter of loose debris on the surface was resolved into a partition wall across

possibly within the Roman period, this lack of evidence could not be taken as proof that this was always the case. Another possibility is that only the smaller southern part of this room (i.e. the area with the drain) functioned as a small plunge pool, whilst the northern part with its opus signinum floor functioned as an apodyterium or changing area.

A bronze ‘wolf and twins’ coin of c. AD 330-340 was found in the surface layer of the south east corner but no datable items were found in sealed lower contexts. Although this suggests that WR2 was filled with sediment by the early 4th century, it is equally possible that the coin was a secondary deposition as part of later sedimentation. The black sooty fill in the northwest corner suggests that this presumed once recreational building was subsequently used for a more industrial purpose.

Figure 5 aims to explain a possible temperature zoning for the bathhouse and shows WR2 placed at the extreme cold end of the complex and therefore in an ideal location for a cold wet use such as a plunge bath. It should be noted however that we now think that there may have been at least three major phases of building at this site and that the whole building may not necessarily have been in use at one time.

the room. The walls were taken down internally to their foundations and a distinct plinth was uncovered at the base of both the south and north walls.

Even more intriguing was the small square opening at the base of the extreme south west corner (Fig. 3). Was this a drain outlet or water inlet for a cold bath; or did the plinths imply a suspended floor with the partition wall merely a sleeper for bearing joists and the opening a vent to keep the under-floor area dry, by drainage and/or ventilation? The fuller excavation of this feature in 2012 recovered part of a copper-alloy spatula and this and a pair of copper-alloy tweezers from outside WR2’s southern wall are items which often form part of Roman toilet sets. In the north of the room a black sooty fill to the western side gave way to a pink opus signinum layer, with a compacted chalk layer beneath. Finally the western half of the partition wall was removed and distinct differences between the fills on either side were observed, with a significant absence of the opus signinum layer in the southern area. By the end of the 2012 season, although the interior of WR2 was fully excavated there was no evidence that the structure had been capable of holding water. However, with so much material obviously robbed from this building,

Possible Saxon remains Earlier in 2012 David Staveley

had undertaken a new geophysical (magnetometer) survey of Church Field. The most intriguing discovery revealed was a strange ‘m’ shaped anomaly upslope from the baths, much nearer to St Mary’s Church. This anomaly was further investigated last summer and a large part of it was exposed by mechanical excavation (Fig. 6). Although unfortunately the site has been badly truncated by ploughing (many of the features found were thus very shallow), discoveries included: a linear south-west north-south orientated ditch; two possible ‘wall trenches’ aligned parallel to the ditch and some 3.5m apart with one measuring approximately 8m in length; a large pit filling the gap between the northern ends of the two ‘wall trenches’; another large pit; three postholes and a drain of probably later date. Some of these

features, i.e. the ‘wall trenches’ and the three postholes, may have formed parts of a timber building. The strange ‘m’ shaped anomaly thus proved to have been caused by a combination of some of the above listed features. Finds, except charcoal, were few but included pottery sherds which have been provisionally identified as Mid Saxon. It is hoped that C14 dating of some of the charcoal will help to resolve the age of the remains

exposed. Was there perhaps a shift in settlement focus from the villa and baths to the vicinity of St Mary’s Church, with a deliberate avoidance of areas containing traces of Roman buildings?

The maltese ConnectionAnother important outcome of

the 2012 season at Barcombe was the success of a Senior Volunteer exchange project with Heritage Malta. This Grundtwig (European) funded project - Inclusive Archaeology and Cultural Heritage - involved sending six English, over 50s, volunteers to Malta to work on the Roman baths at Ghajn Tuffieha and in return for Heritage Malta to send six of their Senior staff to Barcombe. This exchange project resulted in a sharing of ideas and methods and the forming of new friendships, plus Mario Casha’s brilliantly apt cartoons, an example of which is shown below.

David millum, David rudling & Chris butler

Project Directors Chris Butler & David Rudling, and Site Supervisor David Millum would like to thank all who have helped at Barcombe since 1999; the respective landowners, St Mary’s Church and the Stroude Family, for their cooperation and encouragement. Church Field has now been ploughed and returned to agricultural use.

excavations

Fig.1 WR2 at the end of 2011. Photo: D Millum

reflections on a Cold Plungereporting on the final year’s dig in Church Field at barcombe

Fig.5 Temperature zone diagram. Image: D Millum

Fig.2 The NW corner. Scales: 250mm. Photo: D Millum

Fig.3 Opening in the SW corner. Photo: D Millum

Fig.6 The North trench after initial cleaning. Scales: 2m & 500mm. Photo: L Fisher

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ArCHAeOLOGY rOuND-uP

What’s Going on in Sussex?A round-up of local archaeological investigations

ArCHAeOLOGY rOuND-uPexcavations

The following gives brief details of some of the more interesting

sites and discoveries made in the last year as well as forthcoming volunteer opportunities. Other sites are reported on more fully in this newsletter but summaries of all archaeological work that I am aware of, even if devoid of finds, can be found on the website under the Research page ‘What’s been happening in Sussex Archaeology’. Volunteer opportunities are highlighted (*) where known. For information on particular sites contact the responsible body (abbreviated in brackets at the end of each report) whose details are given on the web-pages, where the key to the abbreviations is also to be found. If you do not have access to the web then you should contact me on 01273 405733 or research@sussexpast.co.uk.

Luke barberResearch Officer

east Sussex*bishopstone Tidemills: The 2012 season saw the excavation of Meadow Cottage and a smaller earlier cottage to the south. The latter, which is depicted on the Tithe map, perhaps housed a shepherd, as it appeared to have originally been surrounded by stock enclosures. An extension to the south certainly housed animal troughs with elaborate patterned brick bases. Meadow Cottage, first depicted on the 1st edition OS map, was a grander residence and had several large extensions. However, both cottages gained a flushing outside toilet at the same time, suggesting a landlord’s intervention, probably early in the 20th century. Fieldwork should resume in May 2013. If you wish to volunteer please contact Luke Barber: research@sussexpast.co.uk. (SAS).brighton, The royal Pavilion: A watching brief revealed the top of the tunnel that runs from the Royal Pavilion to Brighton Museum, including a glass topped light shaft. (BHAS).eastbourne, ‘Pococks’: A four- week community excavation of a building

once known as ‘Pococks’ uncovered evidence to show there that had been a significant building on the site since at least the C13th. Despite being buried beneath 3m of overburden in the 1960s substantial remains of a chalk cellar and stone wall footings remained (Eastbourne Museum).Folkington to Friston Water pipeline: Monitoring of a 4km long easement identified two major sites. South of Folkington, in the area of Broughton, a settlement first recorded in the Doomsday Book, parts of medieval tenement plots, outbuildings and pits were revealed. At the Friston end of the scheme a large Iron Age / Romano-British farm complex was recorded (Kent Archaeological Projects).mountfield,british Gypsum: A woodland survey recorded 160 sites within the area. These included earthworks and enclosures, of possible medieval date and significant quantities of well-preserved industrial archaeology. The latter includes open mine shafts, quarries, miners’ roads, leats, water management features and brick buildings associated with quarrying operations (CBAS).

Ore, Old St Helen’s Church: A community excavation of the interior of the church uncovered a number of 18th- to early 19th- century brick built tombs. Although deposits were very mixed, finds dating back to the Late Saxon period were recovered together with

an important assemblage of decorated medieval floor tiles (CBAS) (Fig. 1).rye: 31 mermaid Street, rye: Monitoring recorded up to 1.5m of stratified deposits, including two medieval stone walls with an associated stone box drain and flag stone floor. As the trench was some 10m from the street, the remains may relate to a detached kitchen block (ASE).Sedlescombe, Park View the Street: Archaeological work uncovered some 40 early post-medieval tannery tanks in addition to a number of ditches and structural remains. The bulk of these were to be preserved in situ by the new development (ASE).*Stanmer, rocky Clump: The 2012 excavations revealed the corner of an Iron Age enclosure, with an associated trackway. A number of pig burials were found and significant amounts of Late Iron Age decorated pottery. The 2013 season will begin on Saturday 6th April and will investigate the interior of the enclosure. Contact John Funnell at john.funnell@brightonarch.org.uk or call 01273 607127 or use the BHAS website at www.brightonarch.org.uk

West Sussexbroadbridge Heath, Land south of broadbridge Heath: Excavations have located significant prehistoric remains including a small Mesolithic/Neolithic flint scatter, Early Iron Age features including at least one four-post structure and a

close group of four Middle Iron Age round house eaves-drip gullies. There was also part of a Late Iron Age to C1st- AD settlement, bounded on three sides

by watercourses and low-lying alluvial marsh, and including a round house eaves-drip gully and possible hearth. Roman activity consisted of a C1st- enclosure with radiating long boundary ditches and a sunken lane. Early Medieval enclosures and two rectangular beam-slot structures, dating to the 12th century, and a further, separate, High Medieval beam-slot building and small yard enclosure were also discovered (ASE) (Fig. 2).burgess Hill, Land off manor road: Small-scale excavations found post-holes and an eaves-drip gully of a Later Bronze Age round house and a pit containing contemporary loom weights. (Thames Valley Archaeological Services).Chichester, eastgate Square: Archaeological excavations revealed several Roman rubbish pits and a large quarry. Two Roman burials were also recovered: an infant interred in a rubbish pit and an adult buried in the base of the quarry. The bulk of the deposits relate to the medieval and post-medieval cemetery: 1764 burials were recorded, including shroud and coffined burials, as well as a number of post-medieval brick tombs (ASE).Crawley, site of former Sussex House, High St: Excavations have recovered part of a possible rectilinear beam-slot structure, clay extraction pits, plot boundaries and other pits containing

large quantities of ironworking slag. All appear to be of High Medieval date, including several complete jugs from the base of a well (ASE).

Crawley, east side of Gatwick Airport: Archaeological work has so far revealed an Iron Age enclosure/field system and Bronze Age funerary related features (Network Archaeology).Horsham, Land at millfield, Southwater: The excavations of a Roman agricultural enclosure, probable cremation burial, and trackway have taken place. This is the first known Roman site of this nature from the Southwater area. Evidence of an ancient watercourse and the remnants of medieval middens were also uncovered indicating that a previously unknown medieval settlement or farmstead is likely to have been very close by (ASE).Selsey, flood alleviation (medmerry): Monitoring and excavations have revealed elements of a Late Bronze Age landscape, significant Roman and medieval remains and evidence of the WW2 defences and aircraft firing range. More details can be found at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/medmerry_archaeology.pdf (ASE/Environment Agency).

excavations

Fig.1 Community excavation within Old St Helen’s Church, Ore. Photo: Chris Butler Archaeological Services

Fig. 2 Excavation of Medieval building at Broadbridge Heath. Photo: Archaeology South-East & RPS Consulting

A busy year ahead on the ‘big Dig’ at brede High Woods

On Tuesday 9th April we will be returning to the iron working site that we started work on last year (see article on following page). The excavation and work in this part of the wood will take place over three weeks which will give us enough time to thoroughly explore the iron-working site. As it is difficult to estimate in advance how much time we will need to spend at the iron-working site we may also be investigating further charcoal platforms, carrying out a walk over survey on the site and surroundings of Austford farm and seeing whether we can find any remains of World War Two activities within the woods nearby.

From 17th-22nd June 2013 we will be finalising the archaeological excavations and consolidating the remaining foundations at Brede High Farmhouse. Whilst in nearby Coneyburrow Wood (or Coneybury on old maps), we shall be excavating a saw-pit and some charcoal platforms. During this period we will have an open day to which the public will be invited to view a live dig. We will display some of our findings, including the oral history aspect of this project, and involve schools in charcoal making activities.

We will have a final week at Brede in mid September, details to be announced in due course.

To join in with the excavations contact: brede@cbasltd.co.uk. For more information about the wood visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/brede.

Vivienne blandford

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breDe HIGH WOODSresearch

What’s in a Name?From Cardinal richelieu to Plashett Park

brede High Woods ‘big Dig’Successful first year uncovers remains of farm buildings

excavations

Excavating the iron working site, Brede High Woods. Photo: V Blandford

The Woodland Trust, which acquired Brede High Woods (6

miles north of Hastings, East Sussex, NGR TQ793201) in 2007, secured a ‘Your Heritage’ HLF grant of £50k to run a community archaeology project to help uncover more about the archaeology and history of this 262 hectare site. The grant runs from October 2011 to June 2014. Chris Butler Archaeological Services is leading the project on behalf of the Woodland Trust and we have successfully completed a rewarding first year of investigations during which we attracted over 100 volunteers, some of whom regularly turned up in what were, at times, truly appalling weather conditions.

The year started fine and dry when we surveyed a gill stream in Thorp’s Wood to investigate a potential early iron working site. Various lumps of the waste product of iron making (slag) and the baked clay remains of the furnace lining were found. A Roman coin, found in the vicinity of the site late last year, has been dated to the Emperor Valens, circa 364-378 AD. We shall return to this site in April 2013 for a three-week period of excavation and surveying in the immediate area.

Our first dig of the year was on the site of Brede High Farm, where over a period of three weeks more than 25 volunteers worked on the site carrying out a range of activities including excavation, recording and finds processing. Together with a combination of geophysical surveys, looking at old maps and excavation, some foundations of the farmhouse were found but it was the farm buildings that were easier to locate. These included pigsties and the foundations of an oasthouse. A large amount of building material, pottery, glass and metal was recovered during

the excavation which was cleaned up and is now in the hands of specialists for analysis. Most of the finds date to the late 19th and early 20th century, though some are possibly earlier. The site was backfilled, although some of the walls have been left exposed. Further work will be carried out here this year and this will hopefully make it easier for the casual visitor to understand what now remains. The house was first recorded on a map in 1767 and probably dates to the late 17th century. It was comprehensively demolished in the 1930’s when the Powdermill reservoir was being built.

We then moved to the site of Austford House and its coach house. Initially the walls of the coach house were stabilised as they were in danger of collapsing. In October the floors of the coach house were cleared of metres of mud and debris, revealing some interesting features which included a deep, render-lined waterproof tank, which under the wet conditions soon filled up with

water. The yard between the coach house and the foundations of the house was exposed. A large, well built cellar with a complete flight of steps was uncovered and, on the south facing front of the house, a substantial bay window and porch were revealed. This site was backfilled in November.

We are also carrying out oral, documentary and historical research. We were lucky enough to interview a local man who had lived at Brede High Farmhouse just prior to its demolition and he was able to fill in some valuable details about the scullery, water pump and locations of the toilets in a shed at the bottom of the garden. He was also able to provide us with a picture of the farmhouse.

If you would like to take part in this project please contact Chris Butler Associates via email brede@cbasltd.co.uk or call 01323 811785.

Vivienne blandford

Even some woods and farms in Sussex have names which

are known in different forms round the world. One example is Plashett Park, Wood and Park Farm located north-east of Ringmer, near Lewes. Plashett Park was a gentleman’s hunting park and the gentleman concerned in this case was the Archbishop of Canterbury until the Dissolution when it was acquired by the Gage family.

In the early 14th century there were, according to South East from AD1000 (Brandon & Short), 380 deer parks for hunting in Kent, Surrey and Sussex; the possession of a park had become a status symbol, even for knights and the lesser gentry. So it is not surprising that almost adjoining Broyle Park (the name of which is derived from the old French breuil, meaning hunting park, see the writer’s article in this

journal of August 2005) there were others nearby, and one is called Plashett Park.

Mawer & Stenton’s ‘Place Names of Sussex’ tells us that the name is of Romance origin from the Late Latin plessetum, plassetum a woven enclosure. Why woven? Because the fence was of living wood with interlacing branches (Delisle, L’Agriculture en Normandie au moyen age). Sharing similar etymology are English words like pleached and plaited. There are similar names in Essex (Pleshey), Herefordshire (Platch), Hertfordshire (Plashes), Norfolk (Plasset), Northumberland (Plessey Woods), and even in London, East Ham, where Plashet Grove still exists (Weinreb & Hibbert’s London Encyclopedia and Reaney’s Essex, EPNS).

The fence or hedge was, in the case of our Plashett, intended to keep the deer in the park. But elsewhere it was used as a fortification, to keep people out. The corresponding name in France is Plessis and it is widespread in the northern part of that country because there the emphasis is not on keeping animals in (the appropriate name for which is parc) but on keeping humans out. It is the name of a chateau, a fortification. Nine place names are listed in the Paris region alone (Noms de Lieux d’Ile-de-France by Marianne Mulon), the strangest of which is Plessis-

Robinson, a Plessis which was first mentioned in 839 and was named progressively, Plessis–Raoul, Plessis-Piquet, Plessis-Liberté at the time of the Revolution, back again to Plessis-Piquet in 1801 and finally, in 1909 it took on the name of a cafe/dance hall named after Swiss Family Robinson, the name of which was inspired by Robinson Crusoe.

We must not forget the family and business name Plessis and its kin in this country and elsewhere since at least 1204 (Gilbert de Plessis, Oxford Dictionary of Surnames, Reaney & Wilson). One example is the family name of Cardinal Richelieu, Chief Minister of Louis XIII and claimed to be the world’s first Prime Minister (Cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu). Other occurrences of the name include the industrial company Plessey (now no more), Plessis Armouries, a South African cricketer (Francis du Plessis), two rugby players of distinction (Bismarck and Jannie) and a former Liverpool footballer born in the French West Indies (Damien Plessis).

Finally, a notorious, now overruled, US Supreme Court case: Plessy v Ferguson 1896 (races separate but equal) bears the name.

All this from the name of a hedge.

Colin Child

FeaturePLASHeTT PArK

Location of Plashett Park Image: J Kay, SAC 138

Theft of millstones from famous Sussex landmarks Five millstones worth £5000 have been stole from the site of the famous Jack and Jill Windmills at Clayton. The demand for unusual garden ornaments is fuelling this type of theft. If you are buying anything of this nature, please check the The Salvo Directory website www.salvo.co.uk which has a list of over 200 items believed to have been stolen and question any seller carefully as to where your prospective purchase came from.

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CAP PrOJeCT uPDATe PeTer SANGSTer

Survey reveals roman SiteSubstantial HLF Grant will enable further investigation

During early 2011 David Staveley conducted a magnetometer

survey in a large field at Bridge Farm, Wellingham, Nr Lewes (TQ43301440) on behalf of the Culver Archaeological Project (CAP). He was looking for the Roman London to Lewes road that Ivan Margary had suggested ran down the east side of the Ouse at this point (Margary 1948). The initial results were so outstanding and unexpected that the survey was extended over the next two years as a clear picture of a substantial Roman settlement in a bend of the River Ouse emerged from the geophysical images. The location is just across the river from Culver Farm where a Roman road and industrial

workings have been discovered just to the north east of the Barcombe villa and bathhouse complex (see Sussex Past & Present 128, Dec 2012). The settlement pattern is apparently interrupted by a double ditched enclosure suggesting more than one phase of activity on the site. In the magnetometer images the enclosure appears to overlay the settlement but the chronology was not conclusive and the CAP directors, Rob Wallace and David Millum, agreed that this was one of the main questions to be resolved when planning the subsequent excavations for July and August 2013. The later surveys revealed radiating roads heading to the north, east and west, with smaller

trackways and boundaries indicated by ditches in the area surrounding the main settlement (Fig.1).

The interpretation of the buried features as Roman was supported by the Roman pottery and tile collected by systematic field walking in early 2011. Then in late 2012 David Cunningham, a local metal detectorist who had collected an assemblage of finds from the site over several years, was introduced to CAP by Robin Hodgkinson of the Independent Historical Research Group.

This extensive collection ratified the longevity of the settlement as it included various coins from the Republican era right through to Gratian in the

Fig.1. Geophysical survey results (D Staveley 2012)

Ordnance Survey data supplied by the EDINA digimap service. Crown copyright/database 2010. All rights reserved.

late 4th century AD (Fig.2). Whilst it is likely that the worn nature of the republican coins indicates use in the 1st to 2nd century AD (D Rudling pers. comm.) rather than when they were minted, the coin sequence still indicates a 300- year time span. In early December 2012 CAP organised a thorough and systematic metal detecting survey by the Eastbourne, West Kent and Ringmer groups, who found a further 15 Roman coins mainly dating from the 3rd century AD. Over the next few months the full results of this survey and Mr Cunningham’s collection will be scrutinised and fully recorded.

Further exciting news was received in October when the project was awarded a substantial grant of £90,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund which has enabled a comprehensive programme of surveys and excavations to be planned for 2013, with a strong focus on the involvement of the local community including nearby schools. The main excavation has been set for a six-week period from 1st July to 10th August 2013, to be open seven days a week to encourage the widest possible participation. Further details will be posted on the project’s website, www.culverproject.co.uk.

David millum, AIfA mADeputy Director of the Culver

Archaeological Project

References: Margary, I. 1948. Roman Ways in the Weald. London, Phoenix House.

Acknowledgements: David Staveley for the use of his magnetometer survey image and for his expertise and perseverance over many months of data collection; David Cunningham for access to his artefact collection; David Rudling for his identification and dating of the coins; and to Mark Stroude for allowing CAP continued access to his land.

b. Trajan denarius AD 97-117

c. Septimius Severus denarius AD 206

d. Gratian siliqua AD 375-8

Fig.2 A small selection of the detected Roman coins. Photos: D Millum

a. Galba denarius AD 68/9

Obituaryexcavations

Peter Sangster 19�� - 2012

Peter Sangster was co-opted to the Finance Committee of the Sussex Archaeological Society in 2003 and elected to the Council

of the Society as a Trustee in 2005. He became Chair of the Finance Committee in 2007, was re-elected as a Trustee in 2008, serving as Chair of Council from 2008 until 2010. He retired from Council at the end of his second term as a Trustee in 2011.

The sound financial advice that Peter was able to offer the Society was quickly recognized as a great asset for the organisation. Peter had over 40 years experience in the Financial Services Industry, moving from banking to property insurance and finally to marine insurance. Given that the Society required a balanced Council of people with both archaeological/historical experience and business/financial expertise, Peter more than ably added to the ranks of the latter.

In his first address as Chair in SP&P (115, August 2008) he commented that while the expenses of the Society had been reasonably controlled, annual income had varied due to the vagaries of visitor numbers, and had declined in the last three years. During his two-year tenure Peter reduced the running costs of the Society and, logically enough, was an important figure among a small group of Trustees who took responsibility for drafting a new Strategic Plan for the organisation. That plan, broaching the thorny issue of property sales, did not find favour with the members. Peter also successfully oversaw the completion of the lottery-funded works at Lewes Castle and Barbican House, which increased visitor numbers and income, and the vital repair works required at Anne of Cleves House. Finally he served on the panel which selected a new CEO for the Society - Tristan Bareham.

Peter led many challenging meetings during his time as Chair of Council with patience, diplomacy and a respect for the governance procedures of the Society. He was both firm and fair in his dealings with everybody, and always exercised a keen editorial hand in drafting the minutes of meetings he chaired. He was a frequent and friendly visitor to Bull House, discussing matters of the day with key staff, always finding an opportunity to chat affably with other personnel. He proved as generous with his time and he was with his expertise.

Peter’s greatest challenge, met with a typical, upbeat vigour, was the prognosis he received in June 2010 when his oncologist, having diagnosed an aggressive tumour on the lung, gave him between 12 and 18 months to live. Faced with a finite time left, he devoted himself to enjoying each and every moment with his family and friends, and to deepening his involvement with the Baptist faith. He also wrote a book about his life, describing himself all too modestly as a ‘normal and average’ person, promoting its sales as widely as possible, since all proceeds and royalties would go to Macmillan Cancer Support. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and loving children Duncan and Penny.

John manley

Sussex Past & Present April 2013 www.sussexpast.co.uk12 www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013 13

LIbrArY & bOOKSHOP JOHN HOuGHTONLibrary

Library News Thomas masson moore bequest

I make no excuse for returning to the Thomas Masson Moore bequest, referred to in the previous Sussex Past & Present, as, too late for

inclusion in that issue, the final money from the bequest enabled me to buy two rare items which we would otherwise have not been able to acquire.

Firstly, J L Andre’s Chests, Chairs, Cabinets & Old English Woodwork (published by S Price of Horsham in 1879), in an author’s edition, which was clearly the property of “Simmons, Cabinet maker, Lewes”, with detailed examples including one in the possession of R G Rice. Andre was one of the early supporters of the SAS.

Secondly, an edition of M A Lower’s Handbook for Lewes (1845), of which we already have a copy, but this is again an author’s copy, given to Mr Courthope, and has four extra preliminary pages to any other edition we have seen, plus blank pages bound in at the end with mounted newspaper cuttings of the period. The bookseller had had it rebound in an appropriate style.

Each of these cost £200, and are a fitting tribute to Thomas Masson Moore (who I am told was particularly interested in early guidebooks), as well as important additions to our stock.

This illustrates how important such bequests are to the support and enhancement of the Library and how much they are appreciated.

I list below some recent additions to the Library (all 2012):

HINTON, Ian Alignment and location of medieval churches BAR British Series 560

KINORY, Janice Salt production, distribution and use in the British Iron Age BAR British Series 559

JERROME, Peter St Edmund smiles

WESTMAN, Andrew Chichester City Walls

We are grateful to the following for their donations to the Library:C Brent; J English; J Pennington; M Pratt; D Tankard; C Whittick; A Winser.

esme evans Hon. Librarian

Obituary

BookshopTHE Spring offer from the Bookshop rings the changes somewhat by presenting not one or two, nor, even, three books – but one hundred and fifty seven. They are all in very decent condition, even though the oldest of them has been around for over a century and a half. A few of them have bookplates – L F Salzmann (1899 - before the dropping of the final ‘n’), Courthope and Burrell Hayley being amongst the previous owners. Packed with interesting articles – indeed, there is never a dull moment – they are an essential part of the library for the student of Sussex studies. One hundred and fifty four of these books are available at ONLY £300 (i.e., less than £2 per volume, which is tantamount to giving them away). They’re boxed up and ready to go. Buyer collects. This bargain, of course, is volumes 1-149 (hard back) of Sussex Archaeological Collections plus the five index volumes. And the other three? A delightful de luxe edition of the Alecto Sussex Domesday contained in the original red drop-down presentation book box (rather than the usual slipcase). Vol. 1 has the facsimile and maps; vol. 2 the translation and indexes; vol. 3 the modern interpretative articles. Another bargain at only £180. (If I understand correctly the Alecto Domesday website – visited 14 Feb., 2013 – will supply the Sussex Domesday in red presentation book box for £495.)Lastly, do let me know if you would like to be circulated with the occasional list of second-hand books from Alan Stevens’ library. I include a few Sussex titles in each list, and medieval architecture is often well represented also.See ‘Noticeboard’ for contact details.

John bleachBarbican House Bookshop

John Houghton, a former General Administrator and President

of the Society, died on 6 February at the age of 92. John Charles Yoxall Houghton was born on 7 September 1920 at Kew, the son of Henry Houghton, a surveyor and estate agent, and his wife Stella. The family moved to Chiddingly and John attended Eastbourne College, proceeding to Imperial College, University of London. But the war intervened after only a year, and it was a matter of perpetual regret that he was never able to complete his studies. He saw active service in North Africa, was badly wounded at El Alamein and, after lengthy recuperation, fought all through Italy, including action at Monte Cassino; he left the army with the rank of Captain. In 1948 John married Betty Bowden who hailed from Chiddingly, and had herself served at Bletchley Park. He had joined the Ford Motor Company in 1945 and left, as Chief Export Sales Manager, to become Managing Director of the London General Cab Company in 1962. In 1966 John and Betty settled at Swanborough and together opened Meridian Designs in Lewes High Street, a shop with everything for house and home. John became immersed in Lewes and its many organisations; one of his great achievements was leading the campaign to save All Saints Church in Friars Walk, and to superintend its conversion as a concert hall, educational centre and meeting venue.

John was a moving spirit of the Lewes Archaeological Group, and its founding chairman from 1969. His fascination with the town’s topography and buildings led him to act as advisor for the Lewes episode of Alec Clifton-Taylor’s Six More English Towns (1981). He had by then embarked on the prodigious

task of investigating the ownership and occupancy of every tenement within the ancient borough, from which came ‘Burgage tenure and topography in Lewes’ in SAC 124 (1986), Unknown Lewes. An historical geography (1997) and The Great River of Lewes (2002).

John joined the Sussex Archaeological Society in 1968 and from 1977 to 1981 served on its governing body as a co-opted member representing the County Council, which at that period provided an annual grant. In 1981, on giving up both ESCC and Meridian Designs, he became General Administrator, the title he proposed in preference to Secretary. In those days, the honorary officers were actively involved in management (other than of the semi-autonomous Fishbourne and Michelham) and much was achieved over the next six years through a robust but close partnership. John’s boundless energy resulted in a successful shop at Barbican House, a new-look series of guidebooks and publicity material, mechanising the Society’s accounts and membership records, inaugurating a septennial maintenance programme, and

much more besides. John’s achievements were formidable – whether launching the Lewes Town Model, finding a new future for Parsonage Row, holding Beard’s Brewery liable for the collapse of Brack Mount onto the Lewes Arms or the architects for the decay of the cover building at Fishbourne, his dogged persistence brought successful conclusions to many a seemingly intractable problem. Anticipating his own (third) retirement and seeing that the Society’s ways of working were no longer fit for purpose, he prompted the fundamental review, reporting as ‘Aims and organisation for the 1990s’, which paved the way for a more corporate and integrated approach to management. But although he had briefly served as Mayor of Bologna, he was far from being a bureaucrat – there was much of the showman in John, and for once the tired old metaphor sums it up – his enthusiasm was truly infectious.

After handing over to Derek White in 1988, John redoubled his local history research and returned to serve the Society again, as President for 1992 to 1995, actively exercising his ex officio membership of Council. His readiness, indeed eagerness, to maintain his interest into his last year impressed us, especially when he joined his fellow vice-presidents to grapple with current problems.

John Houghton represented the best in the traditions of the Sussex Archaeological Society – a member whose commitment led him to take an active part in its management while maintaining his scholarly pursuits. We need more John Houghtons – although the original will always be inimitable.

John Farrant & Christopher Whittick

John Houghton 1920 - 2013

Sussex Past & Present April 2013 www.sussexpast.co.uk1� www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013 1�

booksbOOK reVIeWS

booksbOOK reVIeWS

Sussex Coast Through Time

THERE are many books of photographs of the beautiful Sussex coastline, but Douglas d’Enno in his book Sussex Coast Through Time is more concerned to focus on the social changes which have occurred over the last 150 years on or near the shoreline. He does this by presenting us with a series of contrasting images beginning with Camber Sands in the east, and ending 90 miles away in Chichester Harbour using a mixture of paintings, postcards and photographs dating from the latter part of the 19th century.

An early pairing is labelled ‘Rye Harbour Postmaster’ and shows Mr A G Hedgler looking out of the front door of the Post Office in the 1920s, compared with the current use as residences of both the Post Office and the neighbouring Methodist Chapel. Similar contrasts are shown by those of central Shoreham, whilst those of East Brighton show what Brighton people are missing whilst the Black

Rock site still awaits development. In researching the book the author

made use of many local experts who shared their knowledge of building use and offered glimpses into the lives of the people in the images. A 1939 postcard of the Pagham Riviera Lido Holiday Club was sent by someone who had to leave because of evacuation. ‘I wish Hitler at the bottom of the sea’ the sender cries.

It is noteworthy that many of the photographs have never been published before in a book, and this distinguishes Sussex Coast Through Time from other volumes of before and after images. It should be of interest to both general readers and social historians.

maria Gardiner

By Douglas d’Enno, 2012. Amberley Publishing. ISBN:

978-1-4456-0546-3.Paperback, 96pages, £14.99.

east [& West] Sussex Place Names

THESE are very green books. They contain a lot of recycled material. The technique of the author (APS) is to take entries from standard works, namely the English Place-Name Society’s (EPNS) volumes for Sussex, Ekwall’s Concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names or Mills’ Oxford work of similar national scope, give a couple of old spellings, and sometimes expansively paraphrase one or more entries, using curious wordings, e.g. that the recorded spellings “speak of” or “tell us of” what is denoted, or “refer to” a meaning when he means “mean”. He then adapts material selectively from some books written by local experts, mainly on pub names and street-names, and includes this under the relevant town or village name. As regards major place-names, therefore, he is dealing with opinions often between 53 and 84 years old, and he takes no account at all of respectable recent work such as Watts’s monumental if flawed Cambridge dictionary of English place-names (2004), Forsberg’s book on Lewes (1997) or the vast amount of new material

and reinterpretation in the 11 years of the Sussex Locus focus series (1996-2007) and the Journal of the EPNS, let alone Cox’s work on pub names (1994). This leads APS into etymological howlers such as those found under Weald (in both books!), and into out of date pronouncements on e.g. East Grinstead and Firle.

The reliability of the material does not even match up to that of the elderly sources, and there are quite a number of dreadful failings. The entry for Eastdean (East Sussex) mentions the minor names Open and Closed Winkins, which are really in the East Dean in the other half of our county, and which seem to have, along with Malecomb, cloned themselves into lands of the East Sussex village, hopefully unbeknown to programmers of satnavs. The river Limden is in the wrong book, having been diverted into the wrong river Rother. The entry for Kingston by Lewes is really about Kirdford. Arundel contains stuff from Ashburnham. Langney appears in both volumes with identical wording. These facts suggest that this was originally one book which has been carelessly ruptured into two (you’ll pay for the same impoverished preface twice if you buy both). At a more picky level, there are transcription errors such as those in the names or words which give rise to the first elements in Landport (St John Without), Iping, Duncton and Raughmere (Lavant) and the whole of Heene (Broadwater) and Worth (and many others), indicating a disdain for accuracy. Pulborough is explained invertedly as ‘the pool by the hill or mound’. Sometimes unsophisticated readers are likely to be led off into unlit bogland, as with Maresfield, where alternative etymologies are given but it is left to readers’ expertise or insouciance to decide how on earth mere feld can give rise to the current name. Even where there is basic accuracy,

the reader is sold short – no clue is given about why Marden, Westham, Barcombe, Newhaven or Frostbourne in Fairlight are interesting in their various ways, or how the Domesday spelling Cloninctune can possibly be relevant to Donnington.

The imbalance of the urban material can be judged by the entry for Eastbourne. It is 15 pages long, has three lines on Eastbourne (correct, but omitting to say that the mentioned contrasting and far less well known Westbourne is not even to be found in the same book), about two pages on streets and minor places (largely adapted from John Milton’s book of 1995), about five on pubs, and nine pages infested by gloomy b/w photos, some irrelevant (like that of Warren Hill, not mentioned in the entry). In Lewes, far more is said about the woodcock of Cockshut Road than about the name of the town itself, dismissed in a bare two lines (including a mistake) because APS does not investigate the relevant history.

Now I would be the first to agree that the standard books can be formidable. Over the decades the EPNS has missed a trick by not getting out something more accessible to the general reader than its academic tomes. This matter is in hand, with its ‘popular’ dictionaries available for some counties, not at the moment including Sussex. But APS has not even provided a stopgap, and he is not the man to do it. He shows signs of mis- or not understanding key points (Clapham, Amberstone in Hailsham, Warbleton, Slinfold, and the true import of some Old English elements like -ing(a)-; most hilariously of all Grevatt’s in Easebourne) whilst at the same time lacing his text with authoritative-seeming but curdled remarks such as: (Cowfold) “Found as Coufaud in 1232, this early record is easy to see as Old English cu fald and ‘the small

enclosure for cows’”, and a bizarre one on the supposedly posthumous naming of Etchingham.

The reviewer would recommend the out of print and by no means faultless single-volume popular book by Judith Glover (Batsford, especially the unextended second edition of 1986) as much superior to these pretty-covered but pretty depressing books, which are regrettably already available on Kindle and in National Trust bookshops. Find a way of recycling your copies if you already have them.

richard CoatesBy Anthony Poulton-Smith, 2012.

East Sussex Place Names and West Sussex Place Names. DB Publishing.

ISBN 978-1-78091-016-1 (191 pp) and 978-1-78091-017-8 (189 pp).

Paperback. £9.99 each.

Lewes Through Time

IN respect of the photographic heritage of the town and its accessibility to researchers and other interested parties, Lewes is fortunate – and doubly so. Firstly, there survives a friendly photographic business (with a magnificent archive) that has been active in and around the town since the 1850s. Secondly, the Lewes area is home to a number of indefatigable collectors of postcards of local views who recognise the potential value of their respective collections to the social and local historian. One of the infatigables has selected some treasures from his collection (2,000 strong – and counting, I am reliably informed) and joined with Amberley Publishing to present this latest title in the ‘Through Time’ series.

The conjoining of ‘then’ and ‘now’ images is well-tried and tested (though this book does not

stick rigidly to the familiar formulaic format), and results in a graphic presentation of the changes in townscape, traders and traffic over the last 100 years or so. Changes in businesses and road use are a given; alterations in the fabric of the townscape, also, are to be expected, but the amount of change can vary from town to town.

On the whole, and here I disagree with the tag to the photograph on page 2, Lewes has not been decimated, whether ‘in the name of progress’ or in the name of anything else. Change occurs – slum clearance in the 1930s (Westgate Street, page 48; lower North Street, page 70); war damage (Stag Hotel, North Street, page 68); post-war concern with inter alia traffic flow and car parking (Malling Street, pages 9, 11-13; Cliffe crossroads, page 22; Little East Street, page 69). And, always there will be a destructive fire or two or three or four – Lewes Sanitary Steam Laundry, now housing (page 5); The Bear Hotel, rebuilt as JCH Martin and now Argos (pages 27-8); Smith’s, now Mimi and A & A Nails (page 41); Dusart’s, now A & Y Cumming and Lewesiana (page 45).

But, the impression gained from reading and viewing Bob Cairns’ informed and informative ‘through time’ journey around Malling, Cliffe, Lewes and Southover, is that much of the townscape fabric recorded in the early-20th century has survived. Further to this, some of the buildings that have appeared in the intervening years – the art deco of Argos, the restrained balconied statement of Mimi and A&A Nails, for example (both new builds on fire sites, I note) – are undoubtedly adornments to an essentially 19th-century and earlier townscape.

John bleach By Bob Cairns, 2012. Amberley Publishing.

ISBN: 978-1-84868-807-0. Paperback. £14.99.

Sussex Past & Present April 2013 www.sussexpast.co.uk16

Next Issue

Snippets

THE Sussex Past & Present newsletter is published three times a year, in April, August and December. The next issue will be published in August 2013; the copy deadline is 1�th June. Short articles, letters and ‘snippets’ are welcome; longer items should be kept to a maximum of 500 words unless prior arrangements have been made with the editor, Wendy Muriel, at spp@sussexpast.co.uk, or Luke Barber on 01273 405733. Please note that we require images with most contributions, preferably in high quality colour format. To submit digitally, please use MS Word (preferably 97-2003 format) for text and send images in JPEG or TIFF formats, at a minimum resolution of 600dpi. Correspondence and details of events should be sent to Wendy Muriel, Editor, Sussex Past & Present, Bull House, 92 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XH, or emailed to the above address.

Rates for insertions into the newsletter, which goes out to over 2000 members, start at £100 (plus minimum handling charge of £20). Contact Lorna Gartside on 01273 405737 for details.

Near Lewes Hoard Appeal

Help uncover the Hidden Past of Petworth Park

THE National Trust is inviting volunteers and local communities to get involved in an exciting project investigating the archaeology of the 700-acre Petworth Park. Volunteers will have the chance to learn about and get involved in all aspects of archaeological investigation, including documentary research, field-walking, geophysical survey, environmental sampling and excavation.

The trustees of The Monument Trust have provided a generous grant to the National Trust for a five year programme of restoration and conservation in Petworth Park. As well as conservation work such as tree planting and repair and maintenance of walls, the grant will also fund a detailed archaeological survey of the Park.

Many people are familiar with Petworth House, a spectacular Grade I listed building, home to the National Trust’s finest collection of pictures and sculpture, but the parkland in which it sits is poorly understood. Petworth Park today is very different from the original park which was created at least 750 years ago. Today the park is made up of gentle rolling slopes, tranquil shady glades of trees and grand vistas. But historic maps and documents suggest that in the past the park has included canals and formal gardens, rampart terraces and monumental stables, Henry VIII’s banqueting hall and a Second World War military camp – not to mention the site of the original manor house.

The project will address all of these aspects of the park’s history as well as looking to the earlier human occupation of the area, giving volunteers the opportunity to help unearth the secrets and stories that lie preserved in the landscape and beneath the ground.

If you think you would be interested in volunteering with the project, whether it’s bringing to light new evidence from the archives, getting your hands dirty through excavation or simply walking and reading the Petworth Park landscape, you can find out more or register as a volunteer by e-mailing susan.rhodes@nationaltrust.org.uk or calling 01798 345525.

People in the Iron Industry

THE Wealden Iron Research Group’s on-line database of iron-working sites has been in existence for five years, and continues to be updated when new sites are discovered or when additional information becomes available.

A new facility allows users to search for people associated with the iron industry. More than 2000 individuals have already been included, ranging from the owners and tenants of iron sites to those employed in various roles in smelting, forging and other occupations. People are linked, where possible, to both ironworking sites and other individuals with which they are known

to have been associated. Records include bibliographic references and selected archival extracts.

Access is unrestricted and ‘fuzzy’ searching enables variants of personal names to be searched for easily. This project will remain a ‘work in progress’, and users who are able to contribute material from sources (such as parish registers) not already included are invited to contact the Editor via the site - www.wirgdata.org. Access is also available via the Group’s main website - www.wealdeniron.org.uk.

Jeremy HodgkinsonWealden Iron Research GroupEmma O’Connor, Museums Officer

and Stephanie Smith, Finds Liaison Officer, would like to thank everyone for their generous donations in support of this purchase.

The Society is still looking for some funding to assist with exhibition and conservation of this material. The process for acquisition has been delayed somewhat due to the high volume of material being dealt with through the Treasure Act process. We anticipate that the material will be acquired later in the spring.