Monument record TQ 76 SW 4 - Kit's Coty House, Aylesford

Summary

The remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb, known as Kit's Coty House. The visible remains comprise of three large sarsen uprights arranged in an H-plan, topped by a substantial capstone. This structure stands at the south-eastern end of a mound orientated southeast-northwest and now most clearly visible on air photographs due to prolonged erosion by ploughing. The tallest of the upright stones stands circa 2.5 metres above the ground, and the capstone measures circa 4 metres by 2.7 metres. An Ordnance Survey field investigation in 1959 recorded the mound as being of elongated oval plan and measuring circa 80 metres long and up to 33 metres across, with an average height of circa 0.7 metres. The flanking ditches can be seen on air photographs as cropmarks. Minor excavation in the late 18th century proved fruitless. Trial trenching of the mound in 1956 confirmed suspicions that the mound had been revetted or enclosed by a sarsen kerb. While much of the original form of the monument is speculative, even less is known of the contents, as the chamber has been open since at least the late 16th century. There are vague mentions of "rude pottery" and some worn sherds said to be Neolithic or Beaker were found in the surrounding plough soil in the 1930s. A large sarsen recorded nearby by William Stukeley in the 1720s, and known as The General's Tombstone, may have derived from Kit's Coty House. The chamber (but not the mound) was one of the first Scheduled Ancient Monuments and the iron railings surrounding it (which were erected at the insistence of Lt General Pitt Rivers) are testament to early ideas about protecting such sites.

Location

Grid reference Centred TQ 7448 6085 (123m by 100m) FCE
Map sheet TQ76SW
County KENT
District TONBRIDGE AND MALLING, KENT
Civil Parish AYLESFORD, TONBRIDGE AND MALLING, KENT

Map

Type and Period (2)

Full Description

?18TH CENT DRAWING/ENGRAVING OF 'KIT'S COITY HOUSE' Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE129.

?18TH CENT DRAWING/ENGRAVING OF 'KIT'S COITY HOUSE' Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE129.

ENGRAVING FOR 'THE ANTIQUARIAN AND TOPOGRAPHICAL CABINET' 1812 Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE500.

ENGRAVING FOR 'THE ANTIQUARIAN AND TOPOGRAPHICAL CABINET' 1812 Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE500.

KET'S COITY HOUSE,ENGRAVING PUBLISHED BY ALEXANDER HOGG Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE213.

KET'S COITY HOUSE,ENGRAVING PUBLISHED BY ALEXANDER HOGG Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE213.

Ordnance Survey: Portfolios (Collection). SKE6541.

Ordnance Survey: Portfolios (Collection). SKE6541.

PRINTED REVERSED - TAKEN FROM THE BACK Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE127.

PRINTED REVERSED - TAKEN FROM THE BACK Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE127.

PROBABLE MEGALITHIC STRUCTURE AT WEST END - NOT REMAINING Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE114.

PROBABLE MEGALITHIC STRUCTURE AT WEST END - NOT REMAINING Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE114.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE111.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE111.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE112.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE112.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE113.

VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE113.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE126.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE126.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE130.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE130.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE222.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE222.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE223.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE223.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE178.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE178.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE212.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE212.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE502.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE502.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE503.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE503.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE504.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE504.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE505.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE505.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE506.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE506.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE501.

VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE501.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE175.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE175.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE176.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE176.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE177.

VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW (Photograph). SKE177.

<1> OS 6" 1910 (OS Card Reference). SKE48325.

<2> OS 6" 1939 (OS Card Reference). SKE48359.

<3> Arch Cant Vol 65 1952 p.106-113 (J H Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE36426.

<4> Dr Stukeley's Diaries Surtees Soc p.76 226 (OS Card Reference). SKE41511.

<5> Nenia Britannica 1793 p.181 (OS Card Reference). SKE47528.

<6> Iter Cur 2nd edn 1776 Platch (OS Card Reference). SKE44786.

<7> Arch Cant Vol 63 1950 p.63 ff (J H Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE36417.

<8> VCH Kent Vol 1 1906 p.318 illus (OS Card Reference). SKE51188.

<9> Beake-Poste MSS (Maidstone Museum) Vol 3 Sect p.3 77-83 (OS Card Reference). SKE37605.

<10> Arch Cant Vol 62 1949 p.133-4 (J H Evans) (OS Card Reference). SKE36413.

<11> OS Prof Paper NS no 8 1924 (O G S Crawford) (OS Card Reference). SKE48426.

<12> Arch Cant Vol 70 1956 p.250 ff (A McCreirie) (OS Card Reference). SKE36433.

<13> Wanderings of an Antiquary 1854 p.193 (T Wright) (OS Card Reference). SKE51272.

<14> Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales 1950 p.234 (G E Daniel) (OS Card Reference). SKE48652.

<15> MOW nameplate (OS Card Reference). SKE47358.

<16> F1 AC 14-JUL-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE41801.

<17> F2 ASP 20-OCT-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43140.

<18> Philp, B, 1981, A survey of the Medway megaliths, KAR 64: 87 (Article in serial). SKE24000.

<18> Philp, B. and Dutto, M., 2005, The Medway Megaliths: An illustrated guide to the famous Neolithic chambered long-barrows of the Medway area (Monograph). SKE23999.

<19> Arch Cant 97 1984 232 illus (R Holgate) (OS Card Reference). SKE36304.

<20> Antiquity 55 1981 51-53 illus (P Saunders) (OS Card Reference). SKE33296.

<21> The Buildings of Engalnd West Kent and the Weald 1980 141 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE50164.

<22> Arch J 126 1969 240 (E Warman) (OS Card Reference). SKE36548.

<23> Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 4 - July, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4162.

<24> Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 4 - October, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4163.

<25> "KITS COTY" (Collection). SKE6554.

<26> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<27> Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity, Birmingham University, 2009, Kit's Coty House and Little Kit's Coty House, Kent: Geophysical Survey, 2009 (Unpublished document). SKE16366.

<28> Historic England, Archive material associated with Kits Coty House Scheduled Monument (Archive). SKE54073.

Sources/Archives (77)

  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01610. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01610. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01611. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01611. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01612. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VARIOUS VERSIONS OF NAME - NONE REVEAL ORIGIN Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01612. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: PROBABLE MEGALITHIC STRUCTURE AT WEST END - NOT REMAINING Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01613. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: PROBABLE MEGALITHIC STRUCTURE AT WEST END - NOT REMAINING Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA69/01613. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05698. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05698. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: PRINTED REVERSED - TAKEN FROM THE BACK Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05699. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: PRINTED REVERSED - TAKEN FROM THE BACK Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05699. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: ?18TH CENT DRAWING/ENGRAVING OF 'KIT'S COITY HOUSE' Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05905. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: ?18TH CENT DRAWING/ENGRAVING OF 'KIT'S COITY HOUSE' Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05905. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05920. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA71/05920. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05028. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05028. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05029. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05029. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05030. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW WITH RAILINGS Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA77/05030. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA81/01111. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. AA81/01111. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB46/03016. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB46/03016. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: KET'S COITY HOUSE,ENGRAVING PUBLISHED BY ALEXANDER HOGG Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB58/00317. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: KET'S COITY HOUSE,ENGRAVING PUBLISHED BY ALEXANDER HOGG Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB58/00317. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB67/08165. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB67/08165. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB67/08166. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. BB67/08166. Black and White. Negative.
  • --- Photograph: ENGRAVING FOR 'THE ANTIQUARIAN AND TOPOGRAPHICAL CABINET' 1812 Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29041. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: ENGRAVING FOR 'THE ANTIQUARIAN AND TOPOGRAPHICAL CABINET' 1812 Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29041. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29042. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29042. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29043. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29043. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29044. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29044. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29045. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29045. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29046. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29046. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29047. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Photograph: VIEW Types: CHAMBERED LONG BARROW. P29047. Black and White. Print.
  • --- Collection: Ordnance Survey: Portfolios.
  • --- Collection: Ordnance Survey: Portfolios.
  • <1> OS Card Reference: OS 6" 1910.
  • <2> OS Card Reference: OS 6" 1939.
  • <3> OS Card Reference: Arch Cant Vol 65 1952 p.106-113 (J H Evans).
  • <4> OS Card Reference: Dr Stukeley's Diaries Surtees Soc p.76 226.
  • <5> OS Card Reference: Nenia Britannica 1793 p.181.
  • <6> OS Card Reference: Iter Cur 2nd edn 1776 Platch.
  • <7> OS Card Reference: Arch Cant Vol 63 1950 p.63 ff (J H Evans).
  • <8> OS Card Reference: VCH Kent Vol 1 1906 p.318 illus.
  • <9> OS Card Reference: Beake-Poste MSS (Maidstone Museum) Vol 3 Sect p.3 77-83.
  • <10> OS Card Reference: Arch Cant Vol 62 1949 p.133-4 (J H Evans).
  • <11> OS Card Reference: OS Prof Paper NS no 8 1924 (O G S Crawford).
  • <12> OS Card Reference: Arch Cant Vol 70 1956 p.250 ff (A McCreirie).
  • <13> OS Card Reference: Wanderings of an Antiquary 1854 p.193 (T Wright).
  • <14> OS Card Reference: Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales 1950 p.234 (G E Daniel).
  • <15> OS Card Reference: MOW nameplate.
  • <16> OS Card Reference: F1 AC 14-JUL-59.
  • <17> OS Card Reference: F2 ASP 20-OCT-64.
  • <18> Monograph: Philp, B. and Dutto, M.. 2005. The Medway Megaliths: An illustrated guide to the famous Neolithic chambered long-barrows of the Medway area.
  • <18> Article in serial: Philp, B. 1981. A survey of the Medway megaliths. KAR 64: 77-92. KAR 64: 87.
  • <19> OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 97 1984 232 illus (R Holgate).
  • <20> OS Card Reference: Antiquity 55 1981 51-53 illus (P Saunders).
  • <21> OS Card Reference: The Buildings of Engalnd West Kent and the Weald 1980 141 (J Newman).
  • <22> OS Card Reference: Arch J 126 1969 240 (E Warman).
  • <23> Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 4 - July, 1959.
  • <24> Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 76 SW 4 - October, 1964.
  • <25> Collection: "KITS COTY".
  • <26>XY Scheduling record: English Heritage. Register of Scheduled Monuments. [Mapped feature: #327 Kits Coty House, ]
  • <27> Unpublished document: Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity, Birmingham University. 2009. Kit's Coty House and Little Kit's Coty House, Kent: Geophysical Survey, 2009.
  • <28> Archive: Historic England. Archive material associated with Kits Coty House Scheduled Monument.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (4)

  • Non-Intrusive Event: Geophysical survey at Kit's Coty House and Little Kit's Coty House (Ref: PN 1964) (EKE10641)
  • Intrusive Event: KITS COTY HOUSE, 1790-1799 (Ref: EI 15239) (EKE4152)
  • Intrusive Event: KITS COTY HOUSE, 1956 (Ref: EI 15240) (EKE4153)
  • Non-Intrusive Event: Survey of Kit's Coty House (EKE12809)

Related Thematic Articles (1)

Record last edited

Aug 2 2021 6:29PM