Monument record TQ 86 SW 168 - Church Battery - Stockbury

Summary

A second version of the site record has been produced after visiting the site as it was then realised that it was impractical in this case to treat each section of the WWI works separately. It should be noted that although on the castle site the 1919 photographs a refer to it as the Church Battery, also it seems to have been believed that the earthworks were Roman. First World War works consisting of a fire trench running around two sides of the battery. There are three machine gun emplacements in the trench line and three others inside the line. There are also positions for the two naval 12 pr guns and two shelters inside the defences, the western of the shelters is believed to be a deep dugout. The battery observation post was in a tree. The whole was surrounded by a barbed wire belt.

Location

Grid reference TQ 8464 6162 (point) Accurate from sources
Map sheet TQ86SW
County KENT
District MAIDSTONE, KENT
Civil Parish STOCKBURY, MAIDSTONE, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

The site is a scheduled ancient monument located on a hillside facing roughly South East. The site is listed because it contains the remains of a timber mote & bailey castle.
There are a number of earthworks and dry moats on the site most of which are believed to be mediaeval and associated with the castle. A number though seem to line up exactly with the WWI works shown on the map ARA48 attached, there is what appears to be a section of a, largely filled in, fire trench running from the church boundary wall along the line shown on the map ARA48 attached, between grid ref 584699-161648 and grid ref 584645-161596, to just before where the trench should curve around the ditch, also shown in the map, approximatly 75 meters in length with one or two short gaps. Near the churchyard wall are what seem to be the visible remains of two fire bays.
Mounds or bumps in the ground which seem to be in the positions of two of the MGE's were noted at grid references 584634-161605 and 584580-161618. Other irregularities in ground levels were noted at grid references 584565-161622 and 584644-161623 on the positions indicated on the map ARA48 as the location of the two shelters on the site.
All the above will need archaeological investigation to confirm these observations.
The owner Mr Goldfinch also indicated that some believed the site Roman, as indicated in the old photographs. (1)


<1> Kent County Council, 2013-2017, Defence of Swale Recording Form (Unpublished document). SKE32091.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1> Unpublished document: Kent County Council. 2013-2017. Defence of Swale Recording Form.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • Non-Intrusive Event: Defence of Swale Survey 2013-2017 (EKE15921)

Record last edited

Jun 19 2017 4:06PM