Searching for the Lost Priory of Bilsington: A Geophysical Survey of an Augustinian Monastery in South-West Kent

Bilsington Priory was a small community of Augustinian canons (not monks!) situated on the clay hills that cluster at the edges of Romney Marsh, a 100 square mile wetland in south-west Kent. Despite its relative insignificance, it was associated with a host of powerful people. The institution was founded in 1253 by John Mansel, a royal favourite of Henry III who himself attended the consecration ceremony. Following dissolution under the Lesser Monasteries Act (1536), the site passed through the hands of various secular owners, including Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1533-55), and Anthony St Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland under Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I. By the nineteenth-century, the priory remains had been incorporated into a farmhouse and adjacent agricultural buildings, until it was repaired and restored as part of a country house in 1906. I first visited the site in early December 2021, returning a week later with Lynn and Kevin Cornwell, field officers from Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group. With the permission of the current owner, Libby Lawson, and a license from Historic England, a geophysical survey commenced in early 2022.

The stated aim was to locate buried remains of the priory church, cloister, and accompanying monastic buildings. Our investigations centred upon the upstanding remains, a substantial L-shaped block of Kentish ragstone divided into several floors, with a large central hall. Multiple suggestions have been put forward for its use, including an infirmary or a hall of the prior. Two techniques were used: a resistivity survey was carried out immediately around the upstanding remains whilst a magnetometer was employed for the surrounding fields. It was hoped that the survey would at least locate some priory remains. Nothing conclusive, however, was uncovered in this regard.

1  The main upstanding remains at Bilsington seen from the north-west.

One possible building, situated adjacent to the upstanding remains, may relate to the priory. A partial footprint of an agricultural building, shown on the 1898 OS Map, has been proven to extend further north-east than previously known. As is often the case, only excavation will provide any further details. The surrounding fields offered more relevant, and tangible discoveries. Evidence of medieval ridge and furrow, lost field boundaries, and several prehistoric features will allow fragmentary reconstruction of the monastic estate and previous land-use. Whilst inspecting the upstanding remains, graffiti from the Durham Light Infantry was uncovered on the roof rafters. It was later confirmed by the DLI Archives that the regiment had indeed been stationed in south-east England in 1940 in the aftermath of Dunkirk. The geophysical survey revealed the priory site had been extensively disturbed – most plausibly during this occupation – making any results difficult to interpret.

2  Graffiti on the roof rafters of the upstanding remains.

This geophysics survey is part of a larger PhD project, based at Durham University, to integrate the surviving archaeological and documentary evidence for Bilsington Priory. I am enormously grateful for the financial support of the Council for British Archaeology South-East without whom this survey would not be possible. Thanks must also be given to Libby and Chris Lawson, Zena Hale, Kevin and Lynn Cornwell, Eva and Steve Corbett, Roy Dunmall, Mark Freeman, Mick Hide, and Bob Washington. Full details of the survey can be found in a report submitted to Historic England.

Alexander Hibberts, University of Durham

alexander.hibberts@durham.ac.uk

CBA Festival of Archaeology 2020 In July and October!



In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has decided to make some changes to the 2020 CBA Festival of Archaeology and it will now be taking place in two parts with a series of digital events in July and on the ground events in October.
 
We know that many people look forward to the Festival each July so we have decided to hold a week of digital activity to ensure everyone can still enjoy the Festival despite the current social distancing measures. The second week in October will provide the opportunity to participate in on the ground Festival events and activities around the UK and attending events in your local area is a great way to support the local groups, charities, museums and heritage organisations that have been affected by coronavirus.    
 
This year’s Festival theme is Climate and Environment and we’ll be offering a range of events, activities and competitions in July and October that will help you discover more about archaeology, climate change and the environment we live in.  

Digital events 11-19 July

The first part of the Festival will take place from the 11-19 July and will be 9 days of digital activity designed to help people explore archaeology from home. There will be a range of events including A Day in Archaeology and Ask an Archaeologist Day alongside new events from the CBA and the Shout Out Loud project. There will be new opportunities each day for you to get creative with and inspired by archaeology online.

On the ground events 14 October – 1 November

The second part of the Festival will run from 14 October – 1 November and will be an opportunity to get out and discover some incredible archaeology. Over 9 days, the CBA and event organisers around the UK will be offering a wide range of opportunities to participate from talks and walks to hands on activities, skills training and family-friendly fun.

Keep in touch

We will be updating the Festival of Archaeology website regularly with news and event details and we will also be launching the first of this year’s Festival competitions in the coming weeks. To keep up to date with all the latest news you can sign up for our e-newsletter or get in touch with your questions by emailing us at festival@archaeologyuk.org

Event organisers

If you are an event organiser and had been planning an event for July, we would like to invite you to join us for the October element of the Festival. Due to the current uncertainty about when social distancing measures will be lifted, we are unable to promote any on the ground activities in July. Instead, we encourage you to join us in October so that we can help support your group or organisation by promoting your venue and/or activities.

We are hoping we will also be able to provide opportunities for event organisers who wish to deliver a digital event in July. We will be sharing more information about this in the next few weeks. 
  We will be updating all of the organisers’ information on the Festival website over the coming weeks but in the meantime if you have any questions please do get in touch with the Festival team at festival@archaeologyuk.org

Help support the Festival

Over the last 29 years the Festival of Archaeology has grown from a one day event to over 2 weeks with 100s of events. We are grateful for all the support we have received over the years from our event organisers, funders, CBA members and the public to help the Festival become the biggest celebration of archaeology in the UK.

Over the last 29 years the Festival of Archaeology has grown from a one day event to over 2 weeks with 100s of events. We are grateful for all the support we have received over the years from our event organisers, funders, CBA members and the public to help the Festival become the biggest celebration of archaeology in the UK.

To make the Festival even better in the future we need your help. We would like to be able to deliver more events ourselves and provide more help and support to our event organisers so that an even bigger audience can enjoy and be inspired by archaeology. A donation of just £5 will make a difference and help ensure the Festival continues for years to come. To make your donation please follow this link or text DISCOVER to 70970 to donate £5 now.   

The Festival of Archaeology is coordinated by the Council for British Archaeology in partnership with Historic England. The Festival is also supported by CadwEnglish Heritage, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Towergate Insurance. The Festival of Archaeology is also part of European Archaeology Days

Visit the Festival of Archaeology website

Sussex Archaeological Symposium 2020

To be held on Saturday 28 March, 10am-5pm at Kings Church, Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY.

The Sussex Archaeology Symposium is an annual event, organised by the Sussex School of Archaeology, which showcases recent archaeological research in Sussex.

1000 – 1030 Richard Toms Reflections on Herbert S Toms: archaeologist and curator
1030 – 1100 David Rudling Ivan Donald Margary (1896-1976): an officer, gentleman,
scholar and philanthropist
1130 – 1200 Joe Seaman & Steve Patton From Neolithic monument to a loaded picnic: the
evolving story of Butts Brow, Eastbourne
1200 – 1230 Tess Machling & Roland Going loopy: replicating Bronze Age Sussex loops
Williamson
1230 – 1300 Thomas Hayes Recent Saxon and medieval discoveries at Seaford and a
small Late Iron Age settlement at Hellingly Green
1400 – 1430 David Martin Time travellers in Sussex: a window into the past
1430 – 1500 Simon Stevens Minepits, mud and mayhem: evidence of the Wealden
Iron industry at Horam
1500 – 1530 Lyn Cornwell Hastings Country Park Hidden Landscapes Project
1600 – 1630 Stewart Angell The rise and fall of airships in Sussex during the Great War
1630 – 1650 Carolima Lima Portable Antiquities Scheme: an update on finds
1650 – 1705 Daryl Holter Community policing: defending our heritage

Various stands and bookstalls. The Symposium fee (to include refreshments and lunch) is £35. For further details and to make bookings contact/see: info@sussexarchaeology.co.uk; www.sussexarchaeology.org