Summary Kilns and indications of kilns forming part of the medieval Tyler Hill pottery and tile industry. . Reasons for Designation Part of the Tyler Hill medieval pottery and tile industry is scheduled for the following principal reasons: * Period: as part of a large-scale medieval industry operating over a long period and related to a rich hinterland, which adds to the knowledge of tile production at a national level; * Documentation: as a medieval industry with well documented location and distribution confirmed by archaeological excavation and survey; * Survival: the partly excavated kilns survive well as buried deposits and are preserved in situ. Archaeological investigations suggest that other buried deposits pertaining to the industrial process are also well preserved, which indicates that survival is good; * Potential: with kilns and associated material suitable for archaeological analysis. . History The first record of manufactured pottery in this country is in the early Neolithic period starting around 4000 BC. This early pottery usually took the form of coiled clay vessels. Mass production of wheel-thrown pottery did not begin until the Iron Age starting around the 2nd-century BC, and pottery production on an industrial scale not until after the Roman invasion of AD 43. It was the Romans, too, who introduced tile-making for use in buildings. The Romans introduced the 'updraft' kiln which is described below, but at the end of the Roman period pottery production reverted to simpler means of firing resembling the clamp kiln of the pre-Roman period (see below), and it was not until the medieval period that the 'updraft' kiln was re-introduced. Although large-scale manufacturing resumed in the late-Saxon period, notably with an important industry centred on Stamford, Lincolnshire, the traditional view, which is still probably broadly correct, is that industrial activity increased with the arrival from the Continent of the reforming monastic orders of the C12. From the C12 onwards pottery and tile producing centres are found right across the country, mostly in rural locations serving local markets. Tile production was particularly associated with the supply of floor tiles, sometimes highly decorated, to monasteries, churches and cathedrals. An example is the kiln site producing floor and roof tiles close to the Cistercian Abbey of Meaux, Yorkshire (NHLE 1007843). Brick and tile making was quite widely distributed by the C14, but relatively few production sites are known due to the temporary nature of most works associated with their production. Medieval potteries were industrial sites where ceramic wares were formed and fired. Some potteries were small scale enterprises worked by a single potter, while others were much larger entities. They usually survive in the form of below ground archaeological remains and were located to take advantage of neighbouring natural resources of water, clay and wood. Some of the earliest pre-C12 medieval potteries were, however, often sited in towns. Kilns for firing clay pots or tiles are usually the most easily recognised surviving components. Medieval kilns developed from the simple clamp, or bonfire, type of kiln which existed before the Roman period and which leave little in the archaeological record. Kilns evolved into more substantial structures which were partly excavated into the bedrock or subsoil and had clay-lined walls. In these more sophisticated structures the heart of the kiln was the firing chamber which was a sunken circular or oval pit usually about 3m in diameter which housed the unfired clay wares. Leading from the firing chamber were one or more flues which ended in stokepits. Hot air, from fires built in the stokepits, was drawn through the flues into the chamber, firing the ceramics by the updraft of hot gasses which circulated around the stack of pots and escaped via a vent in the roof of the kiln. The larger, later, kilns could have as many as six flues. Kiln roofs were temporary structures which were broken to retrieve the fired ceramics and rebuilt for the next firing. Some kilns had surrounding walls or windbreaks, and a few had sheltering roofed structures. The wasters (broken produce from the firings) lay close to the kilns in heaps together with 'spacers' (clay objects used to separate the pots or tiles in the kiln). Also present would have been workshops for making the pottery or tile, drying sheds, storage buildings, yards, clay pits and drains. The whole pottery complex was sometimes enclosed by a boundary ditch or fence. There was some regional diversity in kiln form and construction, but medieval potteries and tileries are distributed over most of England in areas where suitable potting clay was available. THE TYLER HILL MEDIEVAL POTTERY AND TILE INDUSTRY The Tyler Hill ceramic industry was based on the local availability of raw materials including London clay and timber from the surrounding woods. It is possible that the first kilns were located here in the 9th-century according to J Cotter ( 'The medieval pottery and tile industry at Tyler Hill', Canterbury's Archaeology, 1990-1991, p 49-56), although the more commonly accepted start date from pottery evidence is about 1150. In the C12 bowls, jugs and pots were being produced for local markets. The industrial area was quite extensive stretching south from Tyler Hill hamlet following the Hackington Road down Canterbury Hill to the Sarre Penn stream and beyond, and north through Tyler Hill hamlet towards Clowes Wood and Canes Wood. Some of the earliest decorated floor tiles produced by the industry appear to have come from a kiln at Clowes Wood, identified in 1967, which appear to have been used at St Augustine's Abbey, Christ Church Priory and St Gregory's Priory in Canterbury as well as St Mary's Abbey in Faversham and thought to date to 1170-1180. An extensive fire in Canterbury in 1174, which destroyed many timber houses and badly damaged Christ Church Priory, had proved an impetus to tile production at Tyler Hill, because as a result it was determined that future roofs in Canterbury should be tiled. The Tyler Hill industry dominated Kent, especially east Kent producing everyday house tiles as well as decorated floor tiles and pottery. It is thought that French tilers, who were employed to work on Christ Church Priory and St Augustine's Abbey towards the end of the C13, settled at Tyler Hill and influenced the design and fabric of the tiles produced. By 1325 it appears that decorated tiles ceased to have been produced at Tyler Hill since local churches and priories seem to have imported tiles from Penn in Buckinghamshire which is about 100 miles away. However, the Tyler Hill pottery industry continued producing wares until at least the early C15, and roof tiles were produced into the C19 as shown by census returns and map evidence of 1877. The pottery has been found throughout east Kent and the floor tiles through most of the County. HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION Field observations and excavations have taken place at Tyler Hill for over 70 years. However, much of this information is unpublished or exists as interim reports or notes. In 1942 a bomb dropped near Cheesecourt Gate, to the north of the area under consideration, and revealed a quantity of medieval pottery wasters. G C Dunning, a pioneer in the study of medieval pottery reported the find. Dunning with P J Spillett and W P D Stebbing published the find and first recognised it as Tyler Hill ware. Spillet also identified waster heaps of floor tiles, roofing tiles and pottery nearby indicating a second possible kiln in 1945 and 1947 and recognised the range of products here. Between 1956 and 1958 work was done by J Chappell, but is largely unpublished. In 1960 to 1966 fieldwork identifying kilns or kiln sites was undertaken by the Forest of Blean Research Group but was also unpublished. This group also discovered a scatter of medieval roof tiles and a waster heap in 1968 on the east side of the road opposite Darwin College. The Stour Valley Research Group also undertook fieldwork during the 1960s. In 1967 FW Jenkins, a local archaeologist who had identified the possible site of another tile kiln in 1963, found broken medieval tiles and the indications of a kiln in the S bank of the Sarre Penn stream, a site re-located in 1991 by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. In the same year a rectangular kiln was excavated by Brian Philp. Another important discovery in 1967 was that of a late C12 tile kiln at Clowes Wood, to the north of Tyler Hill, which produced some of the earliest decorated floor tiles and roof tiles in Kent. When the new University of Kent was built (1965-70) the University of Kent Archaeological Society under the direction of Gerald Cramp and Duncan Harrington discovered more evidence of the ceramic industry: kiln debris was found near Eliot College in 1965 and two unusual bottle-shaped kilns on the site of Darwin College which were excavated by them in 1969-70. Harrington also excavated another kiln on the east side of the Hackington Road in 1971. The excavations undertaken by the University of Kent have been published only in summary form. In 1978 Gerald Cramp and Mark Horton found roof and floor tiles near the site of the 1967 excavation on the E side of the Hackington Road. From 1979 Wesley McLachlan, a local school teacher, in collaboration with Canterbury Archaeological Trust, undertook more fieldwork in the area and, as well as locating waster and kiln sites, has studied the bank and ditch systems surviving in a number of the woods to the north of Tyler Hill. In 1983 finds, by McLachlan, of C12 wasters, probably starting about 1150, from the area of Brittancourt Farm, to the north of Tyler Hill, indicate that pottery production goes back to this time. In 1993 a replacement sewer pipeline was laid running south from a pumping station by the Sarre Penn stream along the east side of the Canterbury Hill Road for a distance of nearly 0.6km to a point on St Stephen's Hill opposite the University of Kent. The watching brief and limited excavation along this line demonstrated that elements of the industry stretched for the whole extent from Tyler Hill to at least the municipal boundary on St Stephen's Hill. In 1993 fieldwalking by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust found indications of a tile kiln site, and at the top of St Stephen's Hill and east of the university kilns a watching brief by the same group revealed a waster pit containing decorated medieval floor tiles. In the same year trenching on the site of the new Rutherford College accommodation block revealed the base of truncated medieval tile kilns and possible clay settling tanks immediately to the south of the Darwin College kilns. In the summer of 2000 Channel 4's Time Team excavated one of two kilns which were identified by geophysical prospection. The other, a short distance to the north-east was left untouched. The near intact kiln proved to be one of the best-preserved medieval tile kilns ever found in England. It was similar to the university kilns, but smaller and triangular rather than bottle-shaped. Most of the complex system of flues and supporting arches were intact and the kiln survived to a height of 1.5m. Archaeomagnetic dating gave a range of about 1238-1286 for the kiln which appeared to have been producing roof tiles. Also in 2000 a possible pottery kiln was identified at Daw's Wood, to the north of Tyler Hill and opposite the Cheesecourt Gate kiln sites found in the 1940s. In 2011, Stratascan Ltd undertook a geophysical survey on land adjacent to Little Hall Farm in advance of the application from Mercia Crematoria Developments Ltd to build a crematorium on part of the site. This area lies to the east of the sites identified by fieldwork and excavation. Anomalies of both probable and possible archaeological origin were found which were indicative of former cut features such as pits or ditches. The survey also identified a number of magnetic anomalies which may relate to modern ferrous materials or may be associated with former kilns. . Details PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS The monument consists of the earthwork and below ground archaeological remains of kilns and indications of kilns forming part of the Tyler Hill pottery and tile industry, operational from at least the C12 until the C19. DESCRIPTION Tyler Hill is a predominantly south-facing hillside lying about 1.5 miles north of Canterbury. The ground is uneven with a number of earthworks. Tyler Hill pottery and tile industry is extensive, extending south from the Sarre Pen stream parallel to and to the east side of the Canterbury Hill and St Stephen's Hill Roads. Most sites are represented by surface scatters of pottery or tile which give an indication of the presence of a kiln nearby. A few kilns have been partially excavated and one located by geophysical survey left untouched. The history of the discovery of this extensive industry is recorded above. Of the sites noted, nine are within the scheduled area. From north to south these are: 1. NGR: TR 14256046: the indications of a tile kiln in the south bank of the Sarre Pen stream, on the north side of Canterbury Hill. The discovery by FW Jenkins in 1967 of black earth, broken tiles and burned flint indicated a tile kiln. This is the site re-discovered in 1991 by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust and appears to be the site of a C17 tile kiln, although the latter found C13 pottery and wasters here. 2. NGR: TR 14306045: a tile kiln just to the south of the previous location at the west end of the field which lies on the east side of Canterbury Hill. This is the rectangular kiln which was partly excavated in 1967 under rescue conditions by Brian Philp and the Reculver Excavation Group. Both the north and south ends of the kiln were respectively robbed and removed. The kiln is a double chambered type and appears to have originally measured about 3m to 4.2m in length and 2.75m in width. The walls are of clay bonded with broken roof tile and a baked clay floor. Piers of bricks were found on the sides of the east chamber which originally would have supported arches for stacking the unfired pots. C13 roof tiles, pottery and floor tiles were found nearby. 3. NGR: TR 14416039: the indications of a tile kiln to the south-east of the previous kiln, also on the east side of Canterbury Hill and north of the unmade road to Alcroft Grange (Giles Lane). In 1963 FW Jenkins found probable C13 broken tiles and pits and disturbed ground here. 4. NGR: TR 143603: the indications of a tile kiln about 183m south of the kiln excavated in 1967. A scatter of C13-C14 roof tiles and a waster heap were found in 1968 by the Forest of Blean Research Group. 5. NGR: TR 14436023: the site of a tile kiln on the east side of St Stephen's Hill and just north of the unmade road to Alcroft Grange (Giles Lane). The kiln was found and excavated in 1971 by the University of Kent Archaeological Society under the direction of Duncan Harrington. The kiln, thought to be C14, is rectangular measuring about 6m in length and 3.5m in width, made of clay bonded with roof tile set on edge. The kiln is lengthened by extending the arch at the stoke hole end and has a flint-built working area at this end. There is a waster heap nearby. FW Jenkins thought this kiln to be post-medieval. 6. NGR: TR 145602: the indications of a tile kiln site just south of the unmade road (Giles Lane) on St Stephen's Hill. In 1993 a scatter of medieval glazed peg-tiles and possible kiln wall-tiles indicating the proximity of a kiln site was found by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 7. NGR: TR 14426000: tile pits found opposite and E of Darwin College, on the east side of St Stephan's Hill. In 1993 the Canterbury Archaeological Trust found two intercutting pits full of decorated medieval floor-tile wasters during a watching brief. 8. NGR: TR 14445997: tile kiln on the east side of St Stephen's Hill opposite Darwin College. A geophysical survey and partial excavation of a low mound was undertaken by Channel 4's Time Team Live and the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in 2000. The excavation exposed and recorded a kiln of clay bonded with plain roof tile 5m long and 3.4m wide tapering to a flue 1.2m wide at the south end. The evaluation showed that it was a well-preserved medieval tile kiln surviving virtually intact to a height of 1.5m with the main elements of the structure in situ. To the south-west a low, tile-built revetment wall 3.2m long was bonded to the kiln structure. The kiln had been infilled with tip lines of roof tiles. A sample of tile from the kiln gave an archaeomagnetic date of 1238-86. 9. Tile kiln located in 2000 by geophysical survey 60m to the east of the previous kiln and the presence of clay extraction pits, waster heaps, a trackway aligned north-east - south-west and large patches of ferrous material indicating an industrial complex (Stratascan, 2000, 2). EXTENT OF SCHEDULING The scheduled area is roughly rectangular situated across three fields, to the east of Canterbury Hill and St Stephen's Hill, with a southern boundary just south of Darwin College. The slightly larger area, to the north of Giles Lane and Little Hall Farm measures about 250m east-west by 320m north-south. This narrows to measure about 180m east-west by about 240m north-south in the fields to the south, as indicated on the attached map. The scheduled area is defined by the NGR locations of 'known' kilns found during archaeological investigations as described above and currently excludes the area indicated on the geophysical survey report undertaken in 2011 adjacent to Little Hall Farm, for the reasons above. At least a 2m buffer has been applied around the area for the protection of the monument. EXCLUSIONS Fences and tracks and land drains are all excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath them is included.