HAARG
Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group
Registered Charity No.294989
HOME
NEWSLETTER - March 2005
LATE NEWS: Despatch of this newsletter
has been further delayed by the news thtaour Treasurer and Field Officer, Mike
Greenhalgh, is unwell and has had a few days in hospital
As their household removal to Bexhill is also imminent, members are asked not to write or telephone to the Laton Road addressuntil furthert notice.
Subscriptions are being handled by Kevin Cornwell who is being appointed Acting Treasurer - address will be on renewal slip if payment is due.
All other enquiries should be addressed to David Padgham or Lynn Russell.
CLUB HEADQUARTERS:
the room we have used at All Saints Street for several years has just been vacated;
the move was brought forward slightly and there was no time to write to all
members, but it is believed that all those who attend regularly were contacted.
From 23 March the Wednesday morning meetings are being held until further notice
in the upstairs room (disabled lift available) at the Fishermen's Museum, Rock-a-Nore
Road, from 10.30am to 12.00. We are still sharing space with the Old Hastings
Preservation Society, and we are grateful to them and to the "Shipkeeper"
of the Museum, and in particular to Dennis Collins for facilitating the move.
Members attending will be asked to sign in with the attendant at the entrance
desk, to comply with fire regulations. Admission to the Museum is free, but
donations in the box at the door will be welcomed and we shall be making a collective
donation at intervals from our funds for the use of the room; coffee will still
be available and our collecting box will be more prominently proffered!
PERMANENT LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE: there
are distinct hopes now that premises for a permanent local history centre can
be secured in the Old Town within a year or so. The prime mover is the Old Hastings
Preservation Society, which is at present trying to raise a large amount of
capital from charitable and other sources, either by way of loans or as outright
donations. HAARG and Hastings Local History Group are being invited to become
minority stakeholders within the limits of their much smaller assets, but another
potential source of fundªraising could be some philanthropic member who
is in a position to make a capital grant or loan or even a legacy! Anyone who
would like to discuss such a proposition is invited to talk in confidence to
OHPS President (also HAARG's) - Anne Scott (Hastings 427718).
HAARG LIBRARY: There is limited space for shelving
in an annexe to the new meeting room, where the more important volumes have
been retained, but it was necessary to dispose of duplicates and those items
which do not relate directly to HAARG's interests. Finds, equipment and filing
cabinets have had to be transferred temporarily to the homes of the officers.
COMMITTEE
MEETINGS will be held at 64 Tower Road West, at the
kind invitation of Heather Grief. The next one is planned for Wed. 13 April
and notices are enclosed for the committee with a map showing the location.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS WERE DUE IN JANUARY; our
thanks to the large number of members who have renewed without reminder. For
those who did not, a further renewal form is
enclosed which please return to the Treasurer as soon as possible. The rate
is unchanged for a fourth year at £8 for ordinary membership, or £9
for one household or family where only one copy of each publication is required.
For those who are retired, or full-time students, the individual rate is reduced
to £7.
THE TREASURER, MIKE GREENHALGH: members were
sorry to hear that Mike is unwell and in hospital; as they are likely to move
to a new address shortly, members are asked not to contact the Laton Road address.
Acting Treasurer is Kevin Cornwell, 3 Wychurst Gardens, Bexhill-on-Sea TN40
2EP (224405), and all other enquiries should be directed to David Padgham
THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING was held on a very cold
snowy night on 23 February - our
thanks to all those who attended. All existing officers and committee were re-elected
as set out
in the agenda circulated beforehand, no other nominations being received. Afterward
there were
slides presented by Anne Scott and Mike Greenhalgh showing the conservation
work in progress at Dickens Cottage, and the excavation which we carried out
last August.
DOREEN MCLEAN: we record with
regret the death on 13 March of Doreen Mclean, for many
years one of our more active members working alongside the late Zoe Vahey on
local digs and in the Pett and Icklesham areas. Doreen's work in the Women's
Land Army during and after WWII and a subsequent life in farming gave her a
love for the landscape, and led her to being also an expert in wildlife and
a keen botanist, and it was always a pleasure to have her company on country
walks.
EXCAVATIONS AT GLOSSAMS PLACE, BECKLEY:
as previously explained, there will be no
full-scale excavation this year pending the preparation of a definitive report,
but there may be
limited investigations to resolve a few of the uncertainties. Members with some
knowledge of the
site will be contacted if this does occur. Additionally it is hoped that conservation
work on some
of the masonry can be carried out by members and students as a training course
under Paul Reed's professional supervision; details will be circulated later.
THE FOOTLANDS PROJECT: John Stafford,
who is the Forester in charge of many Forestry
Commission woods in the area, and Greg Chuter of the County Archaeologist's
Department both of them members of HAARG - have invited HAARG to carry out a
landscape survey of Footlands Wood near Vinehall, and Lynn Russell has been
nominated to lead the recording. This is a major Romano-British iron-working
site but also has evidence of Medieval and later industry. The long-term project
involves surveying all details of the landscape and recording ore pits, furnace
hearths etc. The final report will be published in HAARG Journal, with copies
to the County Archaeologist's Department (where all features will be added to
the Historic Environment Record) and to the Forestry Authority to assist in
conservation of the area.
Members interested in taking part - mainly working at weekends - please contact
Lynn Russell:
phone 01424 224405, or e-mail [email protected]. There may be limited excavations
later
in the project, but this is primarily surveying and recording work rather than
a dig.
HAARG HAS A NEW DEDICATED E©MAIL ADDRESS
- as quoted in the preceding paragraph
- for contact through our Secretary Lynn Russell: [email protected] - members
who would
like to communicate with her by e©mail are invited to add their own addresses
to our database -
not forgetting to give their full name on the first occasion!
THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX CENTRE FOR CONTINUING
EDUCATION is now using the new Hastings University Centre in
Havelock Road, and a number of members have been attending a course in recent
weeks. On Saturday 2 July, two half-day tutorials will be held there
by Geoff Mead: from 10.0am to 1.0pm on A taste of industrial archaeology and
from 2.0pm to
5.0pm taste of local history. Fees are £5 for each, and enrolment is with
the CCE at Falmer,
by phone 01273 873744, or by form through the post. Brochures are available,
which also give
details of other local courses and those at the Falmer campus.
050408 061005
