NEWSLETTER 16

position of palaeopal‘l'1o.logi.s'l/os'l'eologis'l', study.i.ng the rnamy
burials we are en<:ounter'ing on the St. (h.‘ogoi'§y's site.
’I'revor last worked for the Trust in l.<)‘76 on the Mint Yard
site. We hope that they, together with the many new faces,
will have an enjoyable, if busy, "time with us.

 

The increase in staff numbers has put an
impossible pressure on our already overcrowded hoste'l.s. I
am deeply gra'tel?ul to the members and officers of
(.Ianterbury City Council for allowing us continued use of
coun(:il owned premises and the <:ampsi.te at llekesbourne,
howrzvor, this problrrm is likely to iii(:i'<-ease with our stall
and ii any llriend can otter .‘-illg‘g(!Sl.l.()l'lS [or a short-— or
)ong—l:erin solution, I. would be overjoyed to ‘hear from them.

Work on our office bu:ildings proceeds apace.
We have two part-tiine and one full—‘time empl.oyee
refurl:).ishing and rebuilding — {Iohn Ford, "Dex Riddler and
Sean Wilson, for whose excellent work I am very gra'tefLil.
In early August we hope to renew the roofs of two
builclings and weatherboard one complete range of the
establi.sl'unenl;, thereby not only cut.ti.ng down on dust and
draughlis, but considerably improving the external. appearance
of the premises. These refurbishments are being paid for
out of a generous loan from the City Council — another
instance of the marvellous and invaluable help we receive
from them. We have also obtained listed building grant aid
to improve specific parts of the building, and both these
grants should go a "long way to provide us with the efficient
working environment; and l?a(:.i.li'ties that we sorely lack.

Margaret Cowles continues to "brighten the
itreet~1frontage of our offices with her display of Flowers in
our small garden, and to (quite rightly) reprove us for
.ina(lequa'te weeding and watering. We are extremely grateful
to her.

A number of in‘teresting excavation projects
have been undertaken recently. At St. l”lartin’s Hill, the
Conduit House for St. Augustine’s Abbey has been fully
exposed by a small team under the supervision of Dennis
Nebiker. This roughly octagonal structure provided water
for the Abbey throughout the medieval period, for the

 

NEWSLETTER 16

_Sl_<}”t_.gg1_r_'Vg1ma_y _7_ _._:_l'_c'_»iAl"lVl.‘l_£:'l_l_,“__X ,_1..._g§_<_._) PAUI. .l'l.l'~INNl‘-'."lf"l": ANNUAL 'REIV1lE2W
ol the work ol the '|".rust, in the New l.octur(2 l‘l'1<::atii‘e of
(.’hr.i_stchurch College at I) p.m. As .l.‘.-M8  a very busy year

this talk is going to be even more interesting than usual.

 

]')l'REC'['OR’S R E.P()RT

Dear Friend,

It  difficult to know where to start. t.hi.s short
report of the 'l.‘rust’s activities since the publication of our
last News-;le'l"l.er‘ — so much has liappmierl. C'l'imigcs of
personnel, l‘angi|).le signs of improvoment within the ollict-rs,
work in progress and new pul,>|i.<:a'lions  it is enough lo
make your head spin. One yardstick for measuring this
increase in activity is the size of the '.l‘rust’s staff. At the
last count, some 61+ indzividuals appear on the payroll,
together with our excellent I35—strong M.S.C. "team and a
large contingent of. seasonal volunteers from Canada, the
U.S.A. and all over Europe. The Trust is truly a large and
cosmopolitan organisation this year.

Sadly, we have lost. ‘two members of our core
unit team. Paul. Blockley, our former Assistant Director, has
left for Milan to join his new wife and take up a post with
an archaeological unit there. John Bowen, our talented
arcl'1:i.‘tectur'al draughtsman and ’recons'l;ruc'ti.o'n’ expert, has
set himself up in business at Evesham, where his family
have recently moved. Within the extendecl farnily of the
Trust these ol.d friends will be sorely missed and we wish
them well tor the future.

On a brighter note, we welcome the return of
other old friends. Martin and Alison l-licks have come t‘)ElCl'\
to us from the British School at Rome after a long absence.
They both worked on the Marlowe Arcade and Cakebread
Robey sites several years ago and are now running the new
St. Grego'ry’s Priory site at Northgate. Luc Lepers, who
t.eaches in Dunkirk, is spending his summer vacation
'translating,many Trust publications into French. Luc has not
worked for us for several years but has been invaluable
lately liaising with the archaeologists working on the
French end of the Channel Tunnel. Another old friend,

Trevor Anderson, has recently returned to take up the