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Project outline
As
reported earlier, the FSARG team has decided to carry out a
multidisciplinary study of Ospringe. The early stages
involve pulling together the considerable amount of research
done on the area over the years and pinpointing the
outstanding questions about the settlement. These are
likely to centre upon a) Medieval Ospringe, especially the
period before the building of the Maison Dieu and including
manorial and church investigations b) the Upper West Brook
valley in prehistory c) recording and investigating the
fast-disappearing vernacular landscapes.
Justification:
In 2003, the Kent Archaeological Team working
with English Heritage produced a detailed archaeological
assessment of Faversham in a volume on Kent’s Historic Towns
(KHTS). Ospringe was not included, even though the historic
part of the village falls within the modern Faversham town
parish. We do not think that the history of Faversham is
understandable without Ospringe, and intend to redress the
problem. There are also a number of significant gaps in
Ospringe’s historical record, notably the mid medieval state
of play and the prehistoric, and we would hope to address
these as far as possible.
Multidisciplinary aspects:
We are working closely
with Mike Frohnsdorff, the Maison Dieu team and English
Heritage for the medieval history side and with Dr Paul
Wilkinson for the Roman aspects. We intend to introduce the
skills of environmental archaeology involving local
palaeobotanists, probably in 2009. The possibility of some
creative work on the theme of Ospringe’s past is being
explored.
Community aspects:
The small size and community strengths of
Ospringe are enabling a great deal of contact with and
involvement of local people. Ideally, we would like to work
with such groups as the school, church, allotment society
and also with local landowners.
Details:
The approach for 2008 is mainly exploratory
and preliminary, with much archive research, geophysics
surveying, small scale test pitting and perhaps some
auguring. From this should come a clear focus for work in
2009?
Final product:
The main end product will be a detailed
archaeological assessment of Ospringe, using the model
contained in the KHTS. Simon Mason, the Kent Archaeologist
responsible for this area, has indicated the Kent team’s
support for this, and it will be archived at Maidstone. We
would also hope to put on an exhibition at the Maison Dieu
and publish a book for local people and visitors. The site
archive (material, paper and digital) will be lodged with
the Faversham Society and be available to any researcher who
wants to use it.
Funding:
No specific funding is needed as, thanks to
the Kent Network grant, we are well set up for the immediate
future.
Update on
progress
During
April and May the following progress has been made:
Resources
-
Copies of large scale maps have been
obtained, for 1865, 1907 and 2008, along with geological
maps and a plan of the Napoleonic barracks (1803-1815).
-
A considerable library of historical
photographs has been built up by borrowing and scanning
in original photographs.
-
The Historic Environment register
has been searched for all items on the study area (the
middle and upper West Brook valley).
-
A tabulated townscape survey of
Ospringe village has been obtained, which includes house
dating and other details.
-
Published accounts and reports of
previous excavations in the study area have been
studied.
-
A small reference library has been
set up, including copies of historical documents.
Field work
-
A
very detailed house to house survey has been carried out
using the townscape material. Many questions arose from
this exercise which are currently being followed
through.
-
The whole area has been walked in a general way,
including the large allotments site, and decisions made
about possible field walking locations.
-
A
geo-resistivity survey has been carried out in an open,
unexcavated part of the Maison Dieu site, and
permissions gained for some other selected areas in and
around the village.
Contacts
We
have made friendly contacts with the Maison Dieu trustees,
the Vicar, the school and board of governors, the Allotment
manager and many local people, who are already showing
interest. A meeting has been arranged for Wednesday June 18th
in the Primary School for all local residents who want to
know more about their village and the project. We are also
beginning to feel at home in the Ship, Ospringe’s only
surviving pub.
Next stage
The
field season is from Saturday 19th July to Sunday
10th August. We already have clear ideas about
where we want to be focusing our efforts and will be
confirming permissions over the next two weeks. Watch this
space for another update in August, during our
post-excavation phase.
Other work
Running alongside the new project, considerable work has
been carried out on archiving the Hunt the Saxons material,
paper and digital records. The Finds team is at present
setting up a sophisticated pottery reference system for
Faversham using the fabric series of the Canterbury
Archaeology Trust, and is looking forward to applying their
expertise this summer. Another small group is working hard
on the illustrations for the Hunt the Saxons
publication, due for publication at the end of this year.
Very
busy as you can see! Once again, I must express my awe at
the levels of skills and initiative developing amongst team
members. The training sessions over the winter have paid
enormous dividends. On-going thanks for all the effort and
I’m looking forward to the summer season.
Pat Reid
May 28th 2008. |
