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Archaeology in Marlowwww.archaeologyinmarlow.org.uk

Volume 15 Issue No: 4 August 2016

AiM’s Forthcoming Events

NEWSLETTER

Thursday 22nd September,‘Putting Marlow on the Map’ FromGough to Google by John Leighfield.

John’s talk will cover the develop-ment of maps of Britain from the 14thcentury right through to today. It willlook at the major map makers andthe key phases through which mapmaking has gone. It will be highly il-lustrated with images of all key mapsand will concentrate on maps show-ing the Marlow area. There will be anillustrated handout for the talk.

Garden Room, Liston Hall, 8pmAIM members, £3, Visitors £4.

Thursday 13th October,

‘The Old Straight Track revisited and revised’;Understanding the dating patterns of mobilityin prehistory by Prof. Martin Bell

(A joint talk with AIM arranged by MAS)

Garden Room Liston Hall, 8pmAIM and MAS members, £3, Visitors £4.

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AiM’s Events at a Glance

Free parking is available in the adjacent carpark after 7 pm.

Thursday 24th November, 8pm

‘Richard III Part 2 - Revealing Richard’sburial place and the latest research onthe king’, by Mathew Morris

Much has been published since Mathewvisited us in May 2014 to talk to us aboutthe discovery of Richard III under aLeicester car park. Mathew will update uson the latest research on Richard III andthe excavations at Grey Friars friary,where Richard’s remains were found (Ajoint talk with MAS arranged by AIM).

Main Hall, Liston Hall, 8pmAIM and MAS members, £3, Visitors £4

Thursday 8th December 8pm

Annual Quiz with refreshments and rafflein the Garden Room, Liston Hall, 8pm

Hunt’s of Marlow

For First ClassDIY, Hardware andGarden Supplies

35 Station Road, MarlowTel 01628 488228

*Liston Hall’s full address is:Chapel Street, Marlow, SL7 1DD.

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John Laker introduced James Mather by sayingJames had been an AIM member since 2012and had given AIM a talk back in 2011 on re-sponsible metal detecting.

James started by telling us how his talk wouldprogress, commencing with some backgrounddetails about him and placing metal detectingin context. He would then show us some re-cent finds and after that move on to give usthe story of his finding of The Hoard.

James is 60, married and has lived in Readingfor many years and has been metal detectingfor around 25 years. In that time he has seenrelations between archaeologists and metaldetectorists improve greatly over the years. Hesaid that John Laker was the person that first

showed him how to trowel. James explained thatin the UK there are around 25,000 detector-ists, 201 clubs, two regulatory bodies andmagazines concerning metal detecting. Heshowed us the type of equipment needed andalso said that you need permission from the

Watlington Hoard Talk

owner of any land you want to metal detect,and preferably with a signed contract. Themost frequent finds are post medieval/Georgian but he also finds a large amount ofrubbish!

He reports his significant finds to The Port-able Antiquities Scheme (PAS). The PAS haslisted over 1,000,000 finds, 96% of thesewere discovered whilst metal detecting. ThePAS website is: www.finds.org.uk where youcan see these finds. The PAS is a DCMSfunded project to encourage the voluntaryrecording of archaeological objects found bymembers of the public in England andWales. Every year many thousands of ob-jects are discovered, many of these bymetal-detector users, but also by peoplewhilst out walking, gardening or going abouttheir daily work.

James then showed us slides of items he hadfound locally over the years, dating frommodern to Palaeolithic times. These slidesincluded a hammered gold coin of EdwardIII, an Anglo Saxon strap end, an 8th centurycoin with a mythical animal on it, which hasbeen confirmed as unique. A Roman find atNettlebed was a priest’s staff head. Therewas also a Bronze Age spear head, Neolithicflints and several axe heads. In Cavershamhe had found a bout coupe (a rare type ofNeanderthal axe head) lying on the surface,and a lower Palaeolithic example, broughtwith him for us to see, dated back to around470,000 BC.

James then went on to explain his 12,500/1chance find in October 2015. He was detect-ing on a farm which he had been visiting forthe last 5 years, that particular day he hadnot found anything much and was about to

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go when he got a good signal, so he exca-vated where the signal was and he showedus a photo of what he found in situ, whichhe thought might be a Viking silver ingot.Focussing his search activity he then founda silver coin about twelve feet away, fol-lowed by a mass of additional coins. Whatto do?

He immediately rang the Finds Liaison Of-ficer (FLO) who said, stop digging and sendhim a photo. This proved difficult for Jamesas the battery and credit on his mobile phonewere running out and the signal was poor! He

also phoned the landowner to advise him. TheFLO said he would come out to excavate,but because of booked commitments thiswould not be for 5 days! During this periodJames went out to check the site every dayand was very relieved when the FLO andhis colleagues came and excavated a 1.5mtrench and decided to “block lift” thehoard. It was then taken to the British Mu-seum where it was X rayed and conservedto be studied by experts both from theBritish Museum and the Ashmolean.

This is the earliest Viking hoard foundwhich includes gold. The hoard included186 Anglo Saxon coins (some fragments),15 ingots and 7 items of jewellery. Many ofthe coins were produced in different mintstelling us of new moneyers not previouslyknown. It is the most southerly Vikinghoard found, and the coins were dated be-tween 875 and 880 and are from a pivotalperiod in England’s development. Two ofthe most interesting and rare coins are“Two Emperor” types of King Alfred (theGreat) of Wessex and King Ceolwulf II ofMercia. These coins indicate a muchstronger alliance than the history books

say, and in 879 Ceolwulf disappears, thequestion is - was he written out of historyby Alfred?

Because of the hoard’s huge importanceand significance, there has been massivecoverage in the media, with James and thehoard appearing in many Newspapers,Magazines, websites and on TV. The hoardwas declared treasure on 23 February 2016and is currently on display in the BritishMuseum. James hopes eventually it will beacquired by the Ashmolean, especially asAlfred the Great was born in Wantage.James then answered questions and wewere able to examine and handle the arte-facts he had brought with him.

Thanks to James for coming to talk to us soeloquently and enthusiastically about thehoard. He kept us all enthralled. His knowl-edge of history, especially in relation to hisfinds helped put them in context and makethem come alive. It also taught me a bitmore about the Wessex fightback againstthe Vikings and the specific Ceolwulf era.

Ann Pitwell

Note - James briefly explained the legal obliga-tion to report certain finds under the TreasureAct. A more detailed definition of what quali-fies as treasure can be found at https://finds.org.uk/treasure/advice/summary Anymetallic object, other than a coin, provided itis at least 10% by weight of precious metal andthat it is at least 300 years old when found,will be Treasure. Similarly so with groups ofcoins from the same find if at least 300 yearsold. If there is more than one object of prehis-toric date it will be Treasure provided any partof it is metal.

Watlington Hoard Talk (cont.)

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This was an exceedingly interesting presentation,put together by Julian, but much aided by JanetSmith, the Marlow researcher whose presencehad been requested and who contributed mas-sively to the evening.

The opening illustration was of Jefferies’ 1770’smap of Marlow, concentrating on the area nearthe church, bridge and mill(s). Domesday suggestthis river village is significant, the two mills beingvalued at 20 shillings each. Up to the 1840s Tythemap, this area is key to the importance of Mar-low.

Domesday informs us that Marlow has royal con-nections; Queen Matilda held land and had use ofa mill. The Bishops of Bayeaux held land let toTedeld. Miles Crispin had land, possibly in theWidmer area. Walter De Vernon held land. Therewere probably four “Manors” at this time in Mar-low Magna and Marlow Parua, totalling 35 hidesin the taxable area. There was woodland, pas-ture, arable, waste, together with fishing and two(or one shared) mills.

Marlow does not appear to be a planned area,the main street led to river wharfs and the roadsdon’t align to major buildings. Copies of variousold documents were shown; the Hundred Rollsgive a list of burgesses, their names describingtheir trades or their place of family origin. The1522 Certificate of Musters lists Marlow landowners and the annual income from their hold-ings, including the King (£62 per annum) and hissteward there (£4 per annum).

The 1554 rental of the manor of Marlow pin-points the ‘Capital House or mansion of theManor’ next to a close of land called ‘Court Gar-den’. The southern boundary of this close in-cludes ‘the River Thames and the Court House ormansion’. A further close with a barn on it iscalled ‘Court Barn Heyes’. Harleyford is listed as asub-manor house.

Major buildings in the High Street such as TheGreat House (later known as Cromwell House)and the Lower House (later called BramptonHouse), were shown not to be manor houses butlarge houses belonging to the Moore family ofbrewers. The 1653 Will of John Moore shows thathe was a successful brewer with several tiedhouses, probably fulfilling a lucrative businesswith the men who worked the barge trade. In1669 Moore’s son bought the Manor of Marlow,including a store house or brewery at the wharf.

The barn on the wharf (shown on early photo-graphs of Marlow Bridge and erroneously calledby some historians ‘the Conventual Barn ofBisham Abbey’) appears to have been the manorhouse or ‘Court House’.

The mystery of the history of Marlow Manor isgradually unfolding, with the deeds to Court Gar-den and Brampton House turning up at John Ry-land’s Library in Manchester. Some obvious con-veyances have not yet been unearthed, such asthe 1669 purchase by Thomas Moore and the1790s sale to Thomas Williams, but the 1000 yearsaga is coming together.

Hopefully the collaboration between Julian Huntand Janet Smith will continue and a “History ofMarlow Manor” will be fully written up and pub-lished. It will be a much better read than this veryreduced report of what was a very informativetalk.

Gerry Platten

Marlow’s Manor HouseA talk given by Bucks Historian,

Julian Hunt

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There is an excavation, near Harpsden, not far from Henley, where South Oxfordshire Archaeologi-cal Group (SOAG) is uncovering a Romano-British site, which could be a Temple complex. AIMmembers Martin Fowkes and John Laker were invited by Site Supervisor Dave Nicholls to visit thesite on Friday the 17th of June. Dave gave us a very comprehensive tour and introduced us to ‘thediggers’ (see photo) and the ‘finds specialists’.

AIM member, Chris Francis, had helped to locate the site whilst dowsing in the area. Unfortu-nately, the site has been extensively robbed of any remotely valuable items on an industrial scale.However, archaeology is not about ‘treasure’, it is about discovering the history of the site and therole of the inhabitants within.

There are a series of significant Flint Walls and much roof and floor tiles. Pottery sherds are com-mon, as are pieces of Quern Stones, used for milling. Much more is waiting to be unearthed onthis large and most interesting site.

See SOAG’s website http://www.soagarch.org.uk for more details and contact information.

Roman Dig

Tony Reeve R.I.P

Tony Reeve died on the 10th of July, aged 82. Tony was an important and well known local histo-rian, writing a book, The Monsters of Marlow (The Story of the Shelleys), plus many articles andpapers, including one on the origin of the name of our Town.

Tony was one of the founder members of AIM (member no. 10) and gave us a talk on Anglo-SaxonMarlow in September 2008. Tony also attended many of our other talks. Tony was kind, knowl-edgeable and a true gentleman; always happy to chat and discuss the topics of the day. He will besadly missed by, not only AIM members, but also by many people living in Marlow and beyond.

On the 25th of July, following a church service in the Methodist Church in Spittal Street, Tony wasinterred in the Wethered Road Cemetery. The Church was packed and the recollections and anec-dotes from two of Tony’s children were expansive, entertaining and moving.

John Laker.

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AiM AGM

On Thursday the 23rd June 2016, we held our AGM in the Main Liston Hall. The members ap-pointed Martin Fowkes as Chairman and Ann Pitwell as Minute Taker for the meeting.

Martin Fowkes welcomed everyone to the AGM and said that the supporting documents hadbeen sent out to members earlier. He reported a continuing healthy membership which waspartly due to the continuing Warren Wood excavation which attracted new members. One newmember even cycled from London to site. Martin also reported a successful programme of talks,including the joint talks with Marlow Archeological Society (MAS), particularly the Stonehengetalks earlier in the year.

Apologies were read out, the minutes of the last AGM were accepted, as were the Treasurer’sReport and Audited Accounts for 2015/16.

Martin then read out the nominees for the committee and the positions and remarked that 5committee members had elected to remain and one was exiting. Martin thanked Gerry Plattenfor his work and help over the years for AIM. The vote was taken for the committee en bloc andthe following members were elected unanimously

Chairman - John Laker, Vice-Chairman - Martin Fowkes, Treasurer - Ann Pitwell, Secretary -Beverley Howard, Membership Secretary - Nicky Pendered, Committee Member - Tony Birkett.

Having been elected Chairman, John Laker then took the chair and read out the following motionto amend the AIM constitution, ‘In ‘F’ Membership, a new 1 (c) to be inserted to read, ‘(c)‘ anyIndividual member, or Household members, who are offered Honorary membership by the Ex-ecutive Committee. The Executive Committee will decide upon the duration of such a member-ship’. This motion was agreed unanimously.

Geoff Knight of Knight & Co was unanimously appointed to audit the Accounts again next year.

AIM Member Mike Hyde thanked the committee for their work with AIM, particularly with War-ren Wood and said he was pleased to note the combined meetings with MAS.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 8.15 p.m.

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August 2016’s Quiz Question

The June Newsletter Quiz question was,

If you wander through the old Wethered Brewery site in Marlow, what is the oldest,dated, inscription you can find, and what form does it take?

The answer is,

Wethered’s brewery is thought to have been established in 1758, based on the east sideof the High Street.

The brewery site between High Street and Portlands Alley is first known from a lease of1788. There are two bricks with “T.W. 1788” cut into them, mounted in the old Bre-

whouse wall, probably moved from an original position at the rear of the offices.

June 2016’s Quiz Answer

How many Dragons look down on the people of Marlow? The winner will bethe person who has the highest number of confirmed sightings.

Prize for the AIM member with the first correct answer - Two tickets to anyAIM talk. Email or phone your answer to Ann Pitwell

(see back page for contact details).

Marlow Market

Dean Street Car Park, Marlow - Every Wednesday, 8.00am - 3.00pm.

A small friendly market offering top quality cut flowers, a full floristry service,a large selection of herbaceous plants and all seasonal plants.

Large quantities of English and Foreign fruits and vegetables, with discounts for bulk orders.

Fresh eggs, pet foods, peanuts and wild bird foods.

Fresh fish from Grimsby (until 12.00)

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Members may remember that we did a ‘rough survey’ of Rassler and Hogg Woods (betweenMarlow Common and Danesfield School) back in March and April this year. We had been askedby Bucks, Berks and Oxon Wildlife Trust to field walk these Woods, that they had recentlyleased from Bucks County Council, to try to identify any signs of human activity.

The graphics we pro-duced for each woodshow much activity andin addition, the evi-dence of pollarding andcoppicing indicates thatthese woods have beena significant source ofwood and timber formany years.

Many thanks to all theAIM members whocontributed to thesesurveys.

Rassler & Hogg Wood Surveys

Iron Age Hillforts

Cathie Hasler has been appointed to the ChilternsConservation Board to run a project to research andconserve Iron Age hillforts in the Chilterns area. Thisproject is mainly funded by the Heritage lotteryFund.

In order to familiarise Cathie with some local hill-forts, on Friday the 15th of July, John Laker invitedCathie along to visit the two hillforts in our area.Meeting up close to the Church of St Peter and StPayl in Medmenham, we walked around thewooded part of the Medmenham hillfort. We then drove to the SAS Institute, where we met upwith Andrew Ford who accompanied us across the northern banks of the Danesfield hillfort. Wethen visited Danesfield Hotel and Spa to take a look at the part of the Danesfield hillfort thatlies within their lands. We enjoyed the view from the cliff heights above the Thames and thenvisited the ‘cascades’, a Victorian water feature, which runs down to the river.

Members will be glad to hear that all three information ROMADAM Project boards, providedand erected by AIM are in good condition, especially the one at SAS, which Andrew has had re-furbished (see photo of Cathie and Andrew by the board).

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Lenborough Saxon Coin Hoard Appeal

Bucks County Museum wants to save the Hoard for the people of Bucks.

Brett Thorn, The Keeper of Archaeology at Bucks County Museum Trust, has launched its‘crowdfunder’ for the Lenborough appeal. The incredible and nationally important LenboroughSaxon coin hoard has been valued at £1.35m.

Brett hopes that most of this money will come from national grants, but he says that the moreraised locally, the more it shows national bodies that the people of Bucks care about their heri-tage, and the more likely it is that they will give us support.

For the first time, an online crowdfunding website is being tried. If you haven’t alreadypledged, or would like to increase your pledge, please give your support at

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/lenborough-hoard(please note - the appeal closes on the 8th of August).

Every pound raised means more of the coins can be kept in Bucks. If the money cannot beraised, any coins that are not purchased will be sold on the open market, and are likely to goabroad.

Find out more information about the hoard, and the appeal, here:http://www.buckscountymuseum.org/museum/about-the-museum/news/the-lenborough-coin-hoard/Follow updates on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bucksmuseum

1000 years ago the coins were lost - YOU can help save them!

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We have continued with visits to our site in Warren Wood during June and July. Oneof our visits coincided with a sponsored walk for Medical Detection Dogs, and wehad a number of walkers stop by the site to find out what we were doing. Trench 11has now been backfilled, but we have two other trenches on the go, so have plentyto do.

Trench 12 crosses the inner enclosure bank and ditch. Recent work has been con-centrated in the ditch where we hope to find datable material. A few small pieces ofpottery have been found in the first layer, but this is too close to the surface to tellus when the ditch was constructed.

This unusual stone has been found in T12. It has a hole in it and is relatively heavyfor its size, but is not magnetic. I assume it is natural, but does anyone know what itis?

We have started our new trench (T13) in the northern part of the inner enclosure.This trench is positioned to investigate some interesting findings from the resistivitysurvey which may indicate the remains of a flint wall, which was recorded by ArthurBoarder in the 1970s. So far the upper layer has yielded several small pottery sherdsand quite a lot of roof tile fragments.

Future visits are planned to Warren Wood on August 7th, 21st, Sep 4th, 18th, and Oct2nd, 16th.

We would welcome more AiM members on site, so please contact me if you are in-terested.

Martin Fowkes (Field Work Co-ordinator)

Warren Wood Update

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Other Events of interestOther Organisations’Events and Resources

Marlow MuseumPeacock Room, Court Garden Leisure CentreHigginson Park, Pound Lane, Marlow SL7 2AELatest quarterly display on WW1 and exhibi-tion about General Sir George Higginson whowould have been 190 this year. Results ofthe photographic competition.Open Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays1-5pm and Wednesdays 2 – 5 pmwww.marlowmuseum.wordpress.com

Wycombe Museumhttps://www.wycombe.gov.uk/uploads/public/documents/Wycombe-Museum/Wycombe-Museum-Whats-on-June-to-August-2016.pdf

Monday 15th August 2016 7.30 pmMarlow Society, Local History GroupThe Saving of Marlow BridgeSpeaker: Martin BlunkellGarden Room, Liston Hall, Chapel Street,Marlow, SL7 1DD£1.50 members, £3 non-members 01628476610

Heritage Open Days website is: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting

Heritage Open DaysMaidenhead Civic SocietySaturday 10 September 10am – 4pmSt Luke’s Church, 26 Norfolk Road, Maiden-head, Berkshire, SL6 7AX

Other Events of interestThis is the information available to us at the time of publication, but we advise you tocheck as this may have changed since then. The website addresses given are sometimescopied from other publications and we cannot therefore guarantee they are safe.

Early English style church dedicated in 1866.Architect George Row Clarke. Notable forfresco tile painting of Jacob's Ladder by W.B. Simpson & Sons 1885. World War I me-morial chapel dedicated 1923. Guides & ex-hibition. www.maidenheadcivicsoc.org.uk

Heritage Open DaysSunday 11 September 2016 10am – 4pm,tours 12noon & 3pmThe Marlow Society with Marlow Remem-bers WW1Marlow Brewery in World War OneThe Brewery Courtyard, High Street, Mar-low, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2FFAn exhibition about the history of theWethered Brewery in the 20th century andits role as a munitions factory during WWI.Three stands of photos, memorabilia andinformation including a county project tohelp trace ancestors who undertook war ser-vice. Unveiling of a plaque to the memory ofthe eight workers who died during the war.Guided tours of the Marlow Brewery estate.Event not suitable for children under the ageof 5.www.marlowsociety.org.uk/www.marlowww1.org.uk/

Buckinghamshire Archaeological SocietyBucks Local History Network ConferenceSaturday 1 October 10am – 4.30pm

See following page for details

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Bucks Local History Network AnnualConference and Fair

SATURDAY 1st OCTOBER 2016, DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICES, AYLESBURY

6 lectures and displays by local groupsStudents under 25 free, £15 without lunch, £20 with lunch - first lecture 10.00 finish 4.30

Booking Forms are available online at http://www.bucksas.org.uk/

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE’S TIME TEAM - Recent strides in the County’s Archaeology

HUMAN ACTIVITY IN THE BUCKS MIDDLE THAMES FROM 10,000BC TO ROMAN TIMES. THEEVIDENCE OF KINGSMEAD QUARRY HORTON - Alistair Barclay, Wessex Archaeology

THE EVOLUTION OF THE LANDSCAPE IN NORTH BUCKS: THE EVIDENCE FROM BROUGHTON -Rob Atkins, Museum of London formerly of Oxford Archaeology

RESEARCHING THE IRON AGE AND ROMAN LANDSCAPES AROUND AYLESBURY - Sandy Kidd,Principal Archaeology Adviser - Greater London and Eliza Alquassar, County Archaeology Officerand Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic England.

SETTLEMENT IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE IN THE SAXON PERIOD - Mike Farley, Former CountyArchaeologist

THE SAXON AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF WYCOMBE HEATH, PENN, COMMON AND KINGSWOODS - Miles Green, Historian of Penn

THE CONTEXT OF THE LENBOROUGH HOARD - Susan Fern Hon Curator of the Old GaolMuseum, formerly numismatist at National Museum of Wales

http://www.bucksas.org.uk/blhnconference.html

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AiM Committee Meetings

Future AiM Committee Meetings

7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th August at 88 Blind Lane, Bourne End, SL8 5LD

7.30 pm on Thursday 6th October at 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT

All members are welcome to attend all AiM meetings.

AiM Committee Members

Chairman John Laker9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT01628 481792 - johnlaker@thamesinternet.com

Vice-Chairman Martin Fowkes88 Blind Lane, Bourne End, SL8 5LD01628 530832 - mfowkes@tiscali.co.uk

Treasurer Ann Pitwell9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT01628 481792 - annpitwell@thamesinternet.com

Secretary Beverley Howard40, Pheasant drive, High Wycombe, HP13 5JL01494 533669 - nicktillyer@yahoo.co.uk

Membership Secretary Nicky Penderedc/o 9 Spinfield Lane, Marlow, SL7 2JT

Newsletter Compiler Jessica Smalljs722@kent.ac.uk

Joint Field Work Co-ordinators01628 481141 - andyford.marlow@btinternet.com Andy Ford01628 530832 - mfowkes@tiscali.co.uk Martin Fowkes

Committee Member01494 675195 - jabirkett@btinternet.com Tony Birkett

AiM

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RATES £10.00 Individual (over 18)

£12.00 Household Membership (one adult and any children under 18 at the sameaddress

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