EXCAVATIONS: KENT SITES A Excavation and building recording sites discussed in this years report. 23 Bifrons by Tim Allen and Richard Cross During September and October i988 and again between February to May 1989, the Trust undertook two short seasons of purely post medieval archaeological work at Patrixbourne near Bridge. At the request of Savills of London who were acting as agents to the Conyngham Estate. the Trust excavated. almost wholly by machine clearance. the buried remains of the west wing of Bifrons House. a mid nineteenth-century rebuild of successive late sixteenth and eighteenth-century cou ntiy mansions. The placename Bifroris occurs first in 1551 in the title deeds to the house and S4 acres of land and has been traditionally accepted as having the meaning ‘two frontsi The building was finally demolished in 19418. The earliest structural evidence exposed comprised parts of a rectangular building constructed of fiint and mortar walls. enternally plastered and set with brick quoins. This. and other short sections of wall foundations of similar build or date. together with a well, all possibly date from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries and perhaps formed part of the original Bifrons house which was erected either bySir Robert Bargrave (d. 1600) or his son Sir iohn Bargrave in an architectural style of predominantly Jacobean proportions. ln its most developed form this building, with a modified E—plan and extensive south racing ornamental gardens. is depicted in a painting by either John Wootton or (more probably) Jan Siberechts executed in c. 1705-l0 and in a nineteenth- century engraving based on other early paintings. Whether the early structures seen in the excavations did in fact form part of tne original Bifrons mansion must. however. remain open to doubt. at least until more of its plan has been excavated and securely dated. Whatever the case. the early structures together apparently with much earlier re-used fabric. were incorporated into another building put up anew by the Rev. Edward Taylor in i767. Constructed in an elegant but plain Detail from a prospect of Early Bifrons attributed to Jan Siberechts Engraving of the north from of Bifrons. c 1794. early Georgian style the building of three floors is depicted in an engravmg of 1794 which also shows a central rising entrance over a semi casement. The excavations exposed a large part tf not all of tne west wing indicatmg a rectangular plan forthis building which probably had a frontage of about 36 m internally, other Features otthis building were also recorded. These included the remnants of an intricate drainage systemtwo wells and a cheese or cold storage pit. ln 1830 the Bifrons estate passed by sale to the Conyngham Family Minor alterations to the house were probably undertaken both before and after its sale. The architect. Thomas Hunt (d. 1831) is known to have given Bifrons its ‘Tudor style and his pupil G.H. Smith is also known to have carried out alterations to the house in 1835. None of these changes however, were readily identified in the excavations. The major rebuilding of Bifrons occurred in 1863/64 when the early Georgian house was vlrtually demolished and the ground level tc the north raised 2m by extensive dumping of sand. The maiority of the structural remains exposed on the excavations date from this period of massive rebuilding, At semi-basement level the Georgian windows and wall foundation of the north elevation appear to have been retained but were pierced for the insertion of a pair of barrel-vaulted cellars whicri extended below the main driveway. Another harrel-vauited cellar was also surveyed immediately to the west of the main central entrance. This may date from c. 1815. being constructed of bricks in a yellow sandy fabric comparable to types used in the Napoleonic period fortifications at the Westerr Heights. Dover. A wide range of brick forms, sizes and fabrics were, in fact. observed in the various building phases of Bifrons house. Some were obviously early, possibly late sixteenth century or early seventeenth century in date but it is notoriously difficult to date brick types individually with any degree of certainty At a iarge and important building such as Bifrons there are the added complications of reused earlier material and the use of large numbers of bricks procured at regular intervals from non-local sources. The predominant types used in the 1863/64 rebuilding were the soft red bricks probably from the Faversham brickyards, but use was also made or London Brick Company yellows‘. With the exception of the entirely Victorian north portico. the foundations of which were exposed, only the floors and wall partitions of the lower basement survived the demolition of 1948. These comprised a range of rooms leading off a central east-west corridori The domestic functions of these rooms which included both outside and inside larders scullery. kitchen. linen room. butler's pantry and brushing room as well as a footman and hallboy's bedroom. reflect something of the way of life of not only aristocratic Victorian England but also the living and working conditions of the servants necessary to run such large country houses as Bifrons. Much of the complex sewerage. water and heating systems to the house was aiso recorded but could not be directly related to individual room function and use From the demolition deposits which infilled these rooms. however, a large number of architectural mouldings together with a range of other building materials provide some indication of the ornate and heavy Victorian internal decoration of the house. The recovery of a small Whltby jet bead and a ‘flat" lead toy soldier from the silts of one drain similarly allow a glimpse ofthe material possessions of the occupants of the building in the nineteenth century. General view of excavation. looking northwest. Scale 2m, The south from of Bifrons c. I900.