EXCAVATIONS:
KENT SITES


23. Bifroris warchi'ng BrieF

A Excavation and building recording sites discussed in this years report.
Z3 Bifrons
o 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'lTlEdl€Val
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 cleaia nce. 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 oftheoriginal Bifrons house which waserected either bySir
Robert Bargrave (d. 1600) or his son Siriohn 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 znc. 1705-l0arid 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 incorpoiated into another building put up anew
by the Rev. Edward Taylor in i767. Constructed in an elegant but plain

     


A Engraving of the north from of Bifrons. c 179/.

early Georgian style the building. ofthree floors. IS depicted ir ».' qigravmg
of 1794 which also shows a central rising entrance over a se" casement.
The excavations exposed a large part. tf not all. oftne west w '3; nmcatmg
a rectangular plan forthis building which probably had a ffOi“.'1’_j§ Qfabogt
36 m internally, other Features otthis building were also re'.'.":r:d_ These
included the remnants of an intricate drainage system. -. //EH5 am; 3
cheese or cold storage pit.
ln 1830 the Bifrors estate passed by sale to the Conyngham Family
Minor azterations to the house were probably undertaken both before and
after its sale. The architect. Thomas Hunt (d. 1831 l lS known to have §l'»€l"'
Bifrons its ‘Tudor style and his pupil G.H. Smith lS 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 earl,
Georgian house was vlrtually demolished and tne ground level tc the horti"
raised 2  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 Wll'ldOWS and we
foundation ofthe north elevation appearto have been retained. but were
pierced forthe insertion of a pairof barrelyaulted cellars whicri extended
below the main driveway. Another harrelevauited cellar was also surveyed
immediately tothe west ofthe main central entrance. This may dare ‘row.
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, sizesand fabrics were, zr fact.
observed in the various building phases of Bifrons house. Some were
obviously early, possibly late sixteenth century or early seventeenth
century in date. out it is notoriously difficult to date brick types
individually with any degree of certainty Ata 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 brici<s probably from the Faveishair
brickyaros, 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 p3l'Tl(lOl'lS
of the lower basement survived the demolition of 1948. These com prised

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. out 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 wasaiso recorded. out could not be directly related to individual
room function and use From the demolition deposits which infilled these
rooms. however, a large number ofzrchitectural 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 Whltbyjet head 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.


COAL CELLAR

Excavared lo . -, - § , - _ {O '"°”°’
5
BARREL vautrzo srorwci
l
t 1'._l >
STDKEROONI | ®
550/4:2 HDU§E_ 1 J)


RIISHINC ROOM
.
A General view of excavation. /oak/ng northwest. Scale 2m,

A The soum from of Ehfrons c. I900.