Medieval kiln dump and possible site of pottery kiln at Mill Green (EHER 843)

The site of a possible medieval pottery kiln at Mill Green which was excavated in 1914. The excavation revealed a large quantity of wasters within a depression, but no kiln structure was identified. Field investigations in 1975 located a scatter of pottery, but nothing was seen during a visit in 1988. The finds assemblage has been interpreted to suggest a kiln site must be very close by.

1914. Archaeological excavation at 'No. 2. Site'. Possible kiln site was discovered in 1914, 300 yards to the North of kiln dump EHER 842, on the Eastern margin of Mill Green near the NE corner of the common. The find was made in a ditch which divides Box Wood from a small pasture field immediately behind Potter's Row Farm. Subsequent excavation revealed a large quantity of wasters contained in a depression, but no kiln structure. <1> <2> <3> September 1975. Field survey. Site identified on the ground, the actual spot being indicated by an occupant of the adjacent farm. A scatter of about a dozen potsherds can be seen in an area of 5m diameter. <4> <5> <5> gives OS card as TL60SW18 but this refers to other kilns, in our collection, though card is earlier in date than the one referred to here-does later card have the same number? August 1988. Field survey. Area indicated now covered by neglected pasture, light scrub from Box Wood was encroaching on area. <6> See also <7>. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. NRHE Summary description: The pottery is in a fabric originally known as West Kent ware, now described as Mill Green ware. The pottery is in a sandy and slightly micaceous firing fabric. Forms included jugs, cooking pots and bowls. The kiln was in production during the 13th and 14th century. <8> <9> This record does not directly represent the location of a kiln. Instead, it is a findspot of medieval pottery which probably constitutes a kiln dump. The site was excavated and the results were interpreted alongside the findings from EHER 842, both have been interpreted as the site of kilns. It is probably a duplicated record along with EHER 752.