Brendon Wilkins's blog

In a David and Goliath battle between four test pits and an infrastructure behemoth, the Maidstone office hosted an open day at the Bishops Palace in Halling, going head to head with a similar open day on the East Kent access road. Great minds think alike, and the fact that the open days fell neatly between football fixtures (Saturday 21^st June) is probably no coincidence.

Directed by Michelle Collings and managed by Brendon Wilkins, the Rochester team were commissioned by Valley of Visions to excavate test pits prior to landscaping works intended to renovate this valued community amenity. The hope was to find evidence for a lost chapel associated with the palace – known from early maps but probably destroyed by later 19^th century industrial cement workings. With flyers going home with every school child and a noticeable buzz around the village, the pressure was on to find something worthy of an open day.

The event was a great success. Michelle Collings, Mark Williams and Helen Glass were all on hand to explain to visitors why we were digging and what we had learned. The medieval chapel remained elusive, but we did find evidence for the reuse of the palace as a work house in the 17^th century – a prince’s to pauper’s tale that fascinated our visitors, demonstrating that the later industrial phase might not have been as destructive as once presumed. As for David and Goliath, they’ve called this one a draw, and agreed to agree that no outreach and education job’s too big or too small.

Have you ever wondered how archaeologists go about their day to day jobs when the TV cameras aren’t rolling? Well this is your chance to find out…

Wessex Archaeology has been commissioned by Valley of Visions to excavate some test pits to find clues to the hidden history of the Bishop’s Palace, Halling, Kent, and on Saturday 19^th June, 10 am till 4 pm, we are hosting an open day. View a map of the location.

Bishops Palace Halling

The ruined walls and mysterious mounds at the Bishop’s Palace are tantalising clues to a fascinating past stretching back for at least 1000 years. Today, the Bishop’s Palace site is part of an exciting Valley of Visions project to create a modern community space reflecting the historic roots of Halling. The first mention of the name ‘Halling’ is in an 8^th century charter and it is thought to mean ‘hall dwellers.’ The Bishop’s Palace itself may well have been built by Gundulph in 1077 but the ruins you can see today are probably slightly later, belonging to the 12^th century. The hall was the largest building but there was also a gate house and a chapel, all of which stood inside a stone wall. The area is now covered by trees, ground ivy and modern rubbish. Some of the original hall survives because it marked the boundary of the churchyard. The splayed windows you can see in the photograph here date to the 13^th century.

13th Century Splayed Windows

The last Bishop to live in the palace left in 1535 and the land was then leased to farming tenants. The buildings soon fell into disrepair and in 1795 the site became the Parish workhouse. The imposing tram embankment was built to service the nearby cement works in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The embankment is one of the fast disappearing reminders of what was once a thriving industry.

Wessex Archaeology will be digging test pits and investigating the mounds within the site.  Some mounds may be modern rubble and can be removed; others may be medieval structures.  We hope to find the lost chapel and the path which led down to the river. The results of this work will further our understanding of the Bishop’s Palace and will be used to guide the visual appearance and landscape design of the community space.

Come along and see for yourself what we find. Tours start at 10 am, and will be every half hour until 4 pm. No need to book in advance, it’s suitable for all ages, although stout foot ware is essential. Contact Brendon Wilkins in our Maidstone Office on 01622 739381 to find out more.

Look forward to seeing you then!

And a warm welcome from everyone in the office to all our new readers!

Over the coming weeks and months we’re going to be using this space to let you know about some of the exciting changes that are taking place now that the Rochester regional office has opened. Interesting sites, knowledgeable advice, startling discoveries and fascinating techniques - essentially any news that will give you an insight into the world of commercial archaeology.

In the weeks to come we will all be blogging about our work in a busy office providing commercial archaeology and cultural heritage services to the south-east region. The team is led by Helen Glass (Regional Manager), who recently joined Wessex Archaeology, from Arup and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Her background is complimented by Brendon Wilkins (Senior Project Manager), another new addition to the company, who has returned to the UK after spending many years managing infrastructure archaeology projects in Ireland.

Mark Williams (Project Manager) has relocated from the Salisbury office, and brings a wealth of experience managing all manner of archaeology projects from small house plots to large-scale developments. Niall Donald (Systems Developer) and Katharine Barber (Senior Heritage Consultant) have moved here from the London office, bringing solid skills and insightful ideas that are sure to be reflected here.

If you have any questions for the Rochester team just let us know; we are always happy to help.

All the best,

Wessex Archaeology Rochester