Category Archives: Medieval

VM_365 Day 251 Medieval Well Shaft at Cliffsend

Archaeology, Cliffsend, From the Archives, Medieval, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 251

Today’s image for Day 251 of the VM_365 project shows a Medieval well shaft under excavation at Little Cliffsend Farm between 1985 and 1987.

The well head, which was lined with sandstone boulders, was discovered in 1985 when a large hole opened up in the fields above the cliff top overlooking Pegwell Bay.  The hole had been caused by the soils filling the well shaft collapsing into an open void lower down.

The backfill of the shaft was excavated by members of the Thanet Archaeological Unit under the direction of Dave Perkins and Len Jay, to a depth of more than 16 metres before the water table was reached and it had to be abandoned. If you look closely at the base of the shaft you can see the yellow hard hat of one of the excavators.

The well, dated by pottery sherds to the 14th century, was cut into the solid chalk bedrock and featured handholds in the sides, presumably cut to allow the original excavator of the well to enter and exit more easily. Similar well shafts have been exposed in the cliff face at Pegwell Bay nearby.

 

VM_365 Day 235 The Church of All Saints Shuart

Archaeology, Churches, From the Archives, Medieval, Shuart, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 235

Today’s post for Day 235 of the VM_365 project shows an aerial image of the excavation of the medieval Church of All Saints, Shuart which was carried out by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit between 1978 and 1979.  The routes made by the wheel barrow runs during the excavation can be seen as wispy white trails leading to the spoil heaps at the top of the picture.

The site was excavated by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit under the direction of Frank Jenkins, assisted by Dave Perkins, later to become Director of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology,  and site assistants from the Manpower Services Commission.

The Church  was originally established in the 10th century as a proto-church in three parts comprising a nave, chancel and sanctuary.    All Saints was altered and expanded in the 10th-11th centuries to include a nave and chancel of the same size. Further alterations took  place in the 12th century  when part of the church was pulled down to allow construction of an aisled nave with five bays, a longer chancel and a new chancel arch. The west tower was also built around this date.

Other alterations took place in the 13th century. when the north chapel was built on part of the graveyard and it is possible that new windows and window tracery were installed as many fragments of window glass and fragments of stone mullions were found in the demolition deposits associated with this phase.

By the mid 15th century the church was in ruins and it was eventually demolished by about 1630. Nothing of the church was visible above ground by 1734.

The reason for the decline of the Church of All Saints may be that the parishes of St Nicholas at Wade and All Saints were combined in the early 14th century and it became too much of a financial burden for the parish to support two churches with All Saints  left to ruin.

Previous posts have included photographs of the  fragments of 14th/15th century floor tiles and fragments of carved decorative stone work recovered from the demolition levels.

 

VM_365 Day 181 13th century medieval pitcher from Manston

Archaeology, In the Store, Medieval, Ramsgate, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 181

The image for Day 181 of VM_365 is of the near-complete profile of an Early Medieval pitcher in Canterbury sandy ware fabric. The surface of the pot is decorated with two or three broad incised horizontal  wavy-line decoration which extends around the body.

The vessel is unglazed which is an indicator of its early date in the sequence of Canterbury sandy ware pitchers.  The preferred dating for this vessel is 13th century, c.1125-1150/1175 AD. The pottery was excavated near Manston in Thanet in 2003.

VM_365 Day 148. Medieval Jug from Margate

Archaeology, In the Store, Margate, Medieval, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 148

Today’s Day 148 VM_365 image shows part of a medieval jug excavated from a pit at East Northdown, Margate in 2003.
The upper part of this later 14th century globular bodied jug was found in 17 pieces within the fill of a pit, much of it is missing, including part of the handle, but enough was present to reconstruct the upper part of its profile. The jug was manufactured in Canterbury and is made of Canterbury Tyler Hill sandyware with a date range of c.1350-1400/1425 AD.

VM_365 Day 133 Decorative Stone from lost Medieval Parish Church of All Saints, Shuart

Archaeology, Churches, In the Store, Medieval, Places, Shuart, St Nicholas, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 133

VM 365 Day 133’s image shows two fragments of decorative stone from the lost medieval parish church of All Saint’s, Shuart, which was excavated between 1978 and 1979 by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit.

The image shows the fragments of delicately carved Caen stone dating from the 12th century. The carvings represent fragments of a piece of carved foliage, used to decorate the interior of the church. The pieces were found along with other contemporary fragments of decorative stone in deposits associated with the much later demolition of the church building.

 

VM_365 Day 84 Medieval pottery from a refuse pit in Margate

Archaeology, Medieval, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 84

Today’s VM_365 image is of a large pottery cauldron or ‘stewing pot’, possibly dating from the 11th to the 13th century (c.1075-1100/1225 AD). The vessel was excavated from a contemporary medieval refuse pit at East Northdown Farm, Margate in 2003. The pit contained  sherds from six or seven pottery vessels, all made of Canterbury Sandy ware fabric, including the one pictured.

The pit also contained a large quantity of animal bones and large lumps of bonded clay and chalk which could have derived from the demolition debris from a nearby structure. Soil samples taken from the pit included fragments of barley, oats and elder, the cereal crops suggesting the agricultural products that were used for human consumption or animal fodder when the broken pot was thrown away.

VM_365 Day 75. Decorated Medieval Floor Tile from Salmestone Grange

Archaeology, Medieval, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM 75

Today’s image shows a fragment of a 14th century glazed medieval floor tile found in 1979 during excavations at Salmestone Grange, Margate by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit.

Salmestone Grange was a Benedictine Monastic Grange founded in the 12th century by the Monks of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury. The Grange operated as an administrative centre for their large estate, part of which covered most of Thanet. The Grange was also occasionally used as a retreat for the Monks.

The excavations, carried out in 1979, were located in the now ruined south western end of the domestic range, in the area of the garderobe and dormitory built in the 14th century by Thomas Ickham, Sacristan to the Abbot of St Augustine’s.

VM_365 Day 38 Medieval Floor Tiles

Archaeology, Churches, From the Archives, In the Store, Medieval, Shuart, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project

VM_38

Today’s image shows three nearly complete floor tiles from the site of one of the lost medieval parish churches of Thanet;  All Saints, Shuart. The site was excavated by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit in 1978 under the direction of Frank Jenkins, assisted by Dave Perkins and site assistants from the Manpower Services Commission.

These plain glazed floor tiles were found in the demolition rubble of the latest phase of the church and are of Flemish manufacture dating to the late 14th to 15th centuries.

The Church  was originally established in the 10th century, along with St Nicholas at Wade, as dependent chapels of the Church at Reculver. All Saints was altered and expanded in the 10th-11th centuries,  12th century and again in the 13th century. By the mid 15th century the church was in ruins and it was eventually demolished by about 1630.

The reason for its decline may be that the parishes of St Nicholas at Wade and All Saints were combined in the early 14th century and it later became too much of a financial burden for the parish to support two churches;  All Saints was neglected in favour of St Nicholas at Wade.

Further reading:

Jenkins, F. 1981. The Church of All Saints, Shuart. In Detsicas, A. 1981. Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold. Kent Archaeological Society; Maidstone. 147-154.