Blackfriars Barn Undercroft, Winchelsea, East Sussex Graffiti

Heritage Consultancy ? Project Management ? Research Services ? MCJ Blackfriars Barn Undercroft, Winchelsea, East Sussex Graffi ti Survey Record Matthew Champion, M.A. Dip. Land Arch. May 2012 ? M. J. Champion ? 40, Fakenham Rd, Great Ryburgh, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 7AN Tel: 07810 677723 e-mail: [email protected] Blackfriars Barn Undercroft, Winchelsea, East Sussex 1.0 Report Summary During remedial building works undertaken by contractors on behalf of the National Trust it was noted that the north wall of the western bay of Blackfriar’s Barn undercroft contained extensive inscribed decoration of an indeterminate period. In early May 2012 a full photographic survey was undertaken of the inscriptions in an attempt to record and provide interpretation of the wall surface prior to the site being made accessible to the public. At the same time the other surviving plaster surfaces in the undercroft were superficially examined to determine if other inscribed decoration was present. The photographic survey indicated that the inscribed decoration consisted of the extensive remains of at least twelve examples of ship graffiti, in addition to areas that defied formal identification, and that these ship graffiti were most probably pre-reformation in date. Early 14th century seal of Winchelsea M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea 1.1 Location: Blackfriars Barn, Winchelsea, East Sussex. 1.2 OS Grid Ref: TQ 9032 1737 1.3 Designation Status: Medieval town of Winchelsea (SAM 402) Blackfriars Barn (SAM 166) Blackfriars Barn: Grade II listed building 1.4 Background: The town of ‘new’ Winchelsea was founded by Edward the 1st between 1283 and 1292 to replace the original town, located on low lying marshland, that had been lost to coastal erosion. The town was established on a grid pattern, in similar manner to contemporary settlements such as Bury St Edmunds, and quickly became a thriving trans-shipment port for, most importantly, the continental wine trade. Winchelsea flourished in the first half of the fourteenth century, becoming ranked amongst the important trading centres known as the Cinque Ports, and appears to have enjoyed a prosperous period of growth accompanied by large scale construction projects. However, a series of French maritime raids in the second half of the fourteenth century resulted in severe damage to the infrastructure of the settlement and the curtailing of trade opportunities. This generalised decline was further exacerbated by the silting up of the towns harbour in the late medieval and Tudor periods which finally brought to an end the town’s maritime trade. By the late 19th century Winchelsea had declined in both size and status to that of a small village. 1.5 The Site: Blackfriars Barn is the current name for the building remains situated on Rectory Lane, Winchelsea, opposite the Wesleyan Chapel. Although now located on the very edge of the current settlement the site would have originally been located in the very heart of the fourteenth century town. Although the site was used as a barn during the nineteenth century, it does not appear to have ever been related to the original Blackfriars complex, which was located some distance to the north. Demolition of the barn, subsequent to a fire in the early twentieth century, revealed that it was constructed around the ruins of a large and significant building that dated to the early fourteenth century. The size, construction and layout of this building would suggest that it was not a simple domestic building, and a civic role, including that of a minor ‘Guild Hall’, has been suggested. There is evidence that the building was derelict by as early as 1364 and it assumed that it was destroyed during the French raid of 1360. Located beneath the building is one of the finest and largest of the thirty-three accessible medieval undercrofts to be found in the town. Dated to approximately 1330, the undercroft comprises of three intact chambers. The central chamber is of a simple 5 bay barrel vault whilst the chambers to the east and west are of quadripartite vaulted construction. The western and eastern chambers unusually contain two window openings in each, which would have opened on to light wells. The undercroft was originally accessed by a wide stair into the eastern chamber which would have provided access directly on to the street. M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea 13th century street layout, Winchelsea, East Sussex. © D. Martin M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea Site Location, Blackfriar’s Barn Undercroft, Winchelsea, East Sussex. © Archaeology South East M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea It has been suggested that the unusually large number of vaulted undercrofts to be found in Winchelsea are a direct result of the town’s historic role in the international wine trade. Although this theory is supported by limited documentary evidence, and a number of environmental factors, it has come under scrutiny in recent years. In the case of Blackfriars barn this would appear unlikely. The fact that the undercroft is partitioned, in contravention of contemporary legislation relating to wine cellars, and a fireplace is present in the eastern chamber, would indicate that this site would have been unsuitable for wine storage. It is presently unclear whether the undercroft continued to be used for storage purposes after the destruction of the building above in the 1360s. However, by the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century the undercroft was being used as an unofficial town dump. As a result a large part of the site was filled with rubble, waste and many thousands of pieces of broken crockery. This waste was recently removed in anticipation of the National Trust making the site accessible to the general public. 1.6 Previous Interventions: In 1976/7 archaeologists cleared the undercroft of the accumulated rubble and debris and boxed up the resulting pottery and glass artefacts. In 2005 volunteers from the Winchelsea Archaeological Society undertook to clear the undercroft of further loose debris and re-box the assemblage. This was undertaken under the supervision of Luke Barber of the Sussex Archaeological Society. During the removal of the pottery assemblage Archaeology South-East maintained a watching brief on behalf of the National Trust. Archaeological intervention was required after it was noted that five areas of animal disturbance had been cut into the floor of the undercroft. During remedial work by contractors in preparation for the opening of the site to the general public it was noted that the northern wall of the western bay of the undercroft contained a number of graffiti inscriptions. Although initial low resolution photographs indicate a number of inscriptions being present it is currently unclear as to the full extent and quality of the inscriptions. Those that were obvious included examples of ship graffiti that appear to date Bay 3 from the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. Bay 2 Bay 1 Plan of Blackfriars Barn Undercroft. All inscribed decoration was located in Bay 3, with the majority located on the north wall. M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea 2.0 Project Brief: To undertake a variety of non-invasive photographic and measured raking light surveys of the north wall of the western most chamber of the undercroft to record the already identified graffiti inscriptions. In addition, it is proposed to undertake a scoping survey of the other wall surfaces within the undercroft to identify if other areas of early inscriptions are present on the fabric. 2.1 Survey: The survey was undertaken over a period of two days in early May 2012. An initial examination was made using hand held LED spotlights to ascertain the extent of the inscribed decoration. In addition, the surface was examined with a hand held UV light source to identify any possible traces of pigmentation on the surface of the plaster. The photographic survey was undertaken using up to four 250w halogen spotlights set to cast light at an acute angle across the surface. The entire surface of the north wall of the western bay of the undercroft was photographed using a minimum of four raking light sources. In areas where extensive losses to the plaster surface had occurred, leaving deep indentations, these halogen spotlights were supplemented with hand held LED light sources. Due to the friable nature of the plaster surface the decision was taken to dispense with the small 100mm scale bars and revert to a photometrc scaled survey. The images were taken using a 14.1 megapixel digital camera with x15 optical zoom. The resulting images were then adjusted for contrast and colour balance using Adobe Photoshop 7. Multiple overlay images and multiple layered images were created using Adobe Photoshop 7 and Adobe Indesign CS5.5. M? J May 2012, Graffiti Survey Record, Blackfriars Barn Undercroft,C Winchelsea 2.2 Wall surface The original wall surface appears to have been comprised of a single layer of lime plaster applied over the natural stone fabric of the wall surface. This layer of plaster varies in thickness due to the uneven nature of the natural stone onto which it was applied. However, where losses have occurred it is possible to gauge that the plaster layer was original approximately 8-15mm thick and was applied in a single coat. Significant losses have occurred over large parts of the north, east and west walls of the bay. No plaster remained intact of the south wall and it was unclear as to whether this surface had ever had plaster applied to it. In addition, two areas of the plaster of the east wall, both located respectively beneath the window openings, had received historical plaster repairs.

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