Wessex Archaeology Maidstone
Recording Chatham’s Military History
The common perception of archaeology is of digging holes in the ground, but here at Wessex that’s just one aspect of the service we provide to our clients. When new developments are proposed, the impact on the entire historic environment – above ground, below ground, and sometimes underwater – needs to be carefully considered.
As a Senior Heritage Consultant my role is to advise our clients on how to make best use of the historic environment within their schemes, and how to promote that idea through the planning process. One of the areas we specialise in is the recording of the built environment, and these skills were recently put to the test on a project at The White House in Chatham. This is a key development in the regeneration of the town – the building is in a highly prominent position, and is scheduled for refurbishment as part of the Chatham Dynamic Bus Station Scheme.
The White House, Chatham
The White House, built in 1816, has strong associations with Chatham’s military history, and our research found that the building sits within the footprint of ‘New Gun Wharf.’ The White House was occupied by military personnel and was in use as both offices and residential quarters throughout its history. The wharf originally formed an extension to the Ordnance Depot of the Chatham Historic Dockyard – a highly significant complex that is currently short-listed for World Heritage Status.
The White House is not a listed building, but the association with Chatham’s military history meant that it was a key facet in the planning process and decision. Having worked on a number of other projects in Chatham Dockyard, we were ideally placed to advise our clients on the best course of action to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. The final design for the Bus Station firmly retains The White House’s prominence in the modern streetscape and ensures its future for the next generation to enjoy.
Archaeological Open Days in Kent: Bishops Palace, Halling
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 21st June) is probably no coincidence.
Directed by Michelle Collings and managed by Brendon Wilkins, the Maidstone 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 19th 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 17th 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.
Valley of Visions
Thanks to the Icelandic Volcano, I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in a recent project organised by the team behind the Valley of Visions project in Kent. One of my colleagues Katharine Barber, our standing buildings specialist had been asked to speak at the launch of a new initiative called Medway Mosaics when she found herself stranded by the ash cloud in Bangkok. The project is designed to encourage people in the Medway Gap area to record their own heritage and to develop their own interests, and I was more than happy to step into her shoes.
Medway Mosaics is led by Valley of Visions (in this case Tay Arnold, the Community Training and Education Officer) in partnership with Kent County Council Heritage Conservation Department (Wendy Rogers, Senior Archaeological Officer). The day itself took the form of a conference, with brief presentations by leading experts followed by workshops on recording Cultural Heritage. The workshop themes included building recording, landscape analysis, oral history and interrogating the county Historic Environment Record.
This was an excellent opportunity to explain the principles that underlie development-led archaeology to a genuinely interested audience, and made quite a refreshing change from my day job - the cut and thrust of commercial project management.
Medway Mosaics is a very exciting project, and something that Wessex Archaeology will continue to support. Look out for further updates about Medway Mosaics here on this blog, including a forthcoming day school by Katharine Barber (volcanoes permitting!).
Mark Williams
Maidstone Regional Manager Writes
As the new Regional Manager for Wessex Archaeology based at Maidstone and covering the entire south east region, there is a great deal to learn.
I am getting to know the people at Wessex Archaeology and specifically the team here at Maidstone; they are a talented group. I have been made very welcome and they have been patient while I learn the systems and procedures of a new company. It is a big change from my role at Arup and my work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (High Speed 1), but I am enjoying it immensely. There is a great opportunity to build on all the work that Wessex Archaeology has undertaken over the years in the south east and to really get involved in the life of the archaeological and cultural heritage community here. We recently presented to the Kent County Council (KCC) Heritage Conservation team, introducing the team and the new regional structure of Wessex Archaeology, as well as re-introducing me to KCC in my new role.
In order to ensure that we give the best possible service to clients, curators and the community we are actively seeking feedback from everyone to understand their needs and requirements; there is always something that can be improved.
We are already looking for new offices to provide the facilities we need for the expanding team and for the services we offer together with those we propose to offer soon. It’s a bit like looking for a new house, sometimes you like the location, but it’s too far from the amenities you need, or it’s close to friends but too far from work. Trying to find a combination that suits the office functions like research, management and admin, with fieldwork and post excavation processing, is challenging, but it is a good one to have.
We have recently advertised for more staff to meet the demand for all kinds of fieldwork from watching briefs in North Kent and Thurrock, Essex, to geo-archaeological recording in Ashford and excavations in Cambridgeshire and Sussex.
It looks like being a busy summer.
Bishop's Palace Halling, Archaeological Open Day
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 19th June, 10 am till 4 pm, we are hosting an open day. View a map of the location.
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 8th 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 12th 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 13th century.
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 19th and early 20th 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!
Welcome to the Wessex Archaeology Maidstone Blog…
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 Maidstone 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 Maidstone team just let us know; we are always happy to help.
All the best,
Wessex Maidstone
