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41 Bridge Down

Bridge

Canterbury
CT4 SBA

Further to our conversation in Bridge Village Hall after John's funeral, I feel bold enough to send
you some material about the cropmark I mentioned, which I hope you will find of interest, and
which may persuade you to assist in lobbying for a little more investigation.

There are five items:

1)

7-)
3)

4)

5)

Copy of a photo (1982) held in the National Monuments Register, Swindon, showing Bridge
Hill running diagonally across the image and cutting through "Old England's Hole", with
Bridge Down Estate to the NE. The field, even in this copied image, clearly shows the old
(pre-1829) line of the road, burial sites in the SE, and the outline of an hexagonal structure
between the two patches of woodland (which were largely destroyed in the storm of 1987)
to the SW.

A commentary by the NMR, which is plainly mistaken, in view of items 4 and 5.

A (?fanciful) sketch of what I think I can see in the photo. The structure I judge to be 36
metres across (not 55, as I suggested earlier), and suspiciously regular. It's still quite big, and
consists of an inner, dark hexagonal patch and an outer, quite narrow line, with slightly
protruding curved angles.

Extract, pp 190-193 from FT Vine: Caesar in Kent, privately printed 1886. Copy in
ownership of RD Neame, esq., Bishopsbourne, owner of the field in question. Vine was
vicar of Patrixbourne, chaplain to Marquis Conyngham of Bifrons, and a Caesar-enthusiast.
Matthew Bell (owner of the land at the time)'s MS commentary on Vine's book, which he
clearly regards as largely fiction. He agrees however about the existence of the structure,
which was obviously visible on the ground at the time. To my lay eye it is not visible now.

What do you make of it?

Yours sincerely,

Maurice Raraty