Since I got my current job at a location very close to the foreshore, I imagined I would be able to lark on the daily. However, since my break is only either 30/40 mins, by the time I get there, usually there is just not enough time. But yesterday, I had the urge to lark so bad, that I just had to make it possible. And I did! However only for 10 minutes.
Mudlarking finds: Possibly Medieval, Tudor and Stuart pottery
None of it is particularly amazing, but I did get one nice piece of Surrey/ Hampshire borderware that I like. I love the yellow glaze with a subtle hint of green.
Mudlarking find: Surrey/Hampshire borderware
Mudlarking find diagram: a rough guide to the circumference of the complete vessel
I think I will use the technique of trying to recreate the vessel shape from now on. Its so interesting to think of the size and shape of the complete items. Sometimes I try to picture how much space all of the finds would take up if they were all whole. I'm pretty sure that they would not all fit inside the flat! Some of the shards are huge!
My guess for this shard is that it would have been a chamber-pot based on the rim shape and circumference. Below is an example of how it may have once looked:
Surrrey Hampshire border ware chamber-pot, 1551-1700- Museum of London
Ok so this has been on my hitlist ever since I found out it existed: Midlands Purple. I love it. It's plain and utilitarian, but it was made right near my hometown so I was desperate to find a shard for myself.
Mudlarking find: Midlands Purple shard
Mudlarking find: Inside view of large Midlands Purple shard
Mudlarking find: Outside view of large Midlands Purple shard
Mudlarking find: detail of inclusions in Midlands Purple shard
Mudlarking find: detail of inclusions in Midlands Purple shard
Mudlarking find: I know this one is a little blurry, but it gives a nice indication of how the rim was designed so that it could be more easily lifted
Mudlarking find: Another Midlands Purple shard with trace of luscious green glaze
In the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries technological advances meant pottery became increasingly higher fired. Also because of new cooking methods, the types of vessels produced changed, there was a new demand for pipkins, cups and lids, dripping dishes, and cisterns.
This Midlands Purple ware was produced in Chilvers Coton and Ticknall in Derbyshire. The ware has a characteristic purple hew, but also the colours can vary with tinges of grey, red, orange, brown and salmon pink.
The wares have a pimply texture which is created by the quartz sand in the clay, and could be unglazed or be dripped with black, brown and yellow-brown glazes. The workmanship is generally quite poor, and there is seldom any signs of decoration, but its still lovely in its own purpley way.
Mudlarking find: clay pipe bowl commemorating the battle of Culloden
I was
thrilled to find this little fellow. It's really exciting finding something that shows a figure. It really makes me wonder about their story, buried in the river for centuries. With this piece,
I have (with the help of a D. Higgins, thank you!) been able to identify the
find, and somewhat unravel its secrets. The figure is William Augustus, Duke of
Cumberland celebrating his victory at the Battle of Culloden.
Here is
D. Higgins description of how the full pipe would have looked:
“The bowl depicts a standing English figure
(Cumberland) with upheld sword and scroll on the left hand side and ‘I.VICTORY.GAIND’
above and a Scotsman in traditional dress with round shield and downturned
sword on the right hand side, with ‘I.BUT.DISTURB’ above. There is a Royal
Standard on the seam facing the smoker and vine scroll type leaves away from
the smoker’.
I feel
very grateful to have been given this information, and can only imagine how
impressive the complete pipe would have once looked.
Left: William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, commander of UK Government army. Right: Charles Edward Stuart, leader of Jacobite army.
The pipe I found was made to mark the
victory at Culloden, which was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite
rising- the last major battle fought on British soil. The battle took place on
16 April 1746, when the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart fought
loyalist troops known as ‘redcoats’ commanded by William Augustus, Duke of
Cumberland near Inverness. The Jacobites were decisively defeated and Charles
Stuart never again mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power
in Great Britain.
Charles Stuart’s, (affectionately known as ‘Bonnie Prince
Charlie’s’) Jacobite army mainly consisted of Catholics, whilst the British
Governments Hanoverian loyalist forces were mostly Protestants. The battle was
quick and bloody, finishing in less than one hour. Around 1200-1500 Jacobites
were killed or wounded, compared to only around 300 UK Government soldiers.
Left: Example of UK Government army soldiers uniform. Right: Example of the Highland units Jacobite soldier uniform.
The prince himself had invaded Britain to put his own father back on the
throne of Great Britain and the army had worked their way south to London. However,
by the time they had reached Derby it became very apparent that they
weren’t going to get the support they expected. And so, they began their
march north again, hoping to fight the British governments’ armies back on
their own soil in Scotland. By the time they had arrived back in Culloden in the morning of the 15th April, they stood there waiting for
the opposition to approach Inverness. Unbeknown to the Jacobites, that morning
was the Duke of Cumberland’s 25th birthday, and he had no intention
of fighting a battle. He remained in his camp at Nairn and issued brandy and
cheese to his men to celebrate. So it wasn’t until the morning of the 16th
April after the Jacobites had made an aborted night march against the
government camp that the battle itself began, and Charles's dreams of victory evaporated.
Ignoring the advice of his best commander,Lord
George Murray, Charles chose to fight on flat,
open, marshy ground where his forces would be exposed to superior government
firepower. Charles commanded his army from a position behind his lines, where
he could not see what was happening. Hoping Cumberland's army would attack
first, he had his men stand exposed to Hanoverian artillery. Seeing the error
in this, he quickly ordered an attack, but the messenger was killed before the
order could be delivered. The Jacobite attack, charging into the teeth of
musket fire andgrapeshot fired from the cannons, was uncoordinated and met with
little success.
The
Jacobites broke through the bayonets of the redcoats in one place, but they
were shot down by a second line of soldiers, and the survivors fled. Murray
managed to lead a group of Jacobites to Ruthven, intending to continue the
fight. However Charles, believing himself betrayed, had decided to abandon the
Jacobite cause.
At a time when the etiquette of
warfare was considered very important, Cumberland was able to dispense with it
by labelling the Highlanders inhuman savages. The brutish way in which
Cumberland went about dismantling Highland culture by disarming the clans,
banning the wearing of Highland dress, suppressing certain surnames and the use
of the Gaelic language amounted to an early example of ethnic cleansing. Cumberland
set about destroying the social nexus of the clan that was at the heart of
Highland society. After the battle, as a result of his ruthless treatment of
the rebels William Augustus was known as the ‘Butcher’.
After Culloden, Cumberland
emerged a powerful and opinion dividing character. He was despised by the
Highlanders and remains perhaps the most villainised historical figure of his
age, yet idolised in England and the Lowlands.
Due to his unpopularity in the Highlands, Cumberland was frequently satirized.
As for Charles's, his subsequent
flight has become the stuff of legend and is commemorated in the popular folk
song The Skye Boat Song and also the
old Irish songMo Ghile Mear.
Hiding in the moors of Scotland, he
traveled about, always barely ahead of the government forces. Though many
Highlanders saw Charles, and indeed aided him, none of them betrayed him for
the £30,000 rewardoffered.
Assisted by supporters such as the pilot Donald Macleod of Galtrigill, Captain
Felix O'Neill of theO'Neills of
the Fews dynasty andFlora
MacDonald, who helped him escape pursuers on theIsle of Skyeby taking him in a small boat
disguised as her Irish maid, "Betty Burke,” he evaded capture and left the
country aboard the French frigateL'Heureux,
arriving back in France in September.
Left: Flora Macdonald. Right: Charles Edward Stuart dressed as Betty Burke.
ThePrince's
Cairnmarks the traditional spot
on the shores ofLoch nan UamhinLochaberfrom which he made his final departure
from Scotland. With the Jacobite cause now lost, Stuart would spend the
remainder of his life — with one brief secret visit to London — in exile.
The 'Princes Cairn' today
Images: National portrait gallery, wikipedia, 1745association, clanmacfarlanegeneology.
When I first found this shard, I thought it was part of an old toothpaste lid because of the similar style and appearance, but actually it's from a pot of anchovy paste.
Mudlarking find: Anchovy paste lid shard
Mudlarking find: Shard overlapping the complete lid design
I inserted the picture of the shard onto the complete lid and it fits perfectly. I love the how it says 'so highly approved of for toast sandwiches'.
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich by Thomas Gainsborough , c1783
The sandwich which has become a British icon and a
lunchtime staple, is considered to be the namesake of John Montagu, 4th
Earl of Sandwich because of the claim that he was the inventor of the food
combination. John Montagu was a keen gambler and the story goes that in 1726
during a 24 hour gambling binge he instructed the cook to prepare his food in
such a way that it would not interfere with his game. The cook presented him
with sliced meat between two pieces of toast- perfect! This meal required no
utensils and could be eaten with one hand, leaving the other free to continue
the game. Others began to order ‘the same as Sandwich’ and thus the ‘Sandwich’
was born.
The Sandwich began its life as a popular food that men
shared whilst gaming and drinking at night, and slowly began filtering into
polite society as a late night meal. The popularity of the sandwich gained
momentum during the 19th century, when the rise of industrial
society and the working classed made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals
essential.
I found a couple of recipes for Anchovy Sandwiches:
[1869:Paris]
"Anchovy canapes.
Cut some slices of crumb of bread, 1/4 inch thick; cut these in pieces 2 1/2
inches long, 1 1/2 inch wide; and fry them in clarified butter, till a nice
golden colour; When cold, spread the pieces with Anchovy Butter; Steep some
anchovies in cold water; drain, open, and trim them; Place 4 fillets of
anchovies, lengthwise, on each piece of bread, leaving three small spaces
between the fillets; fill the first space with chopped hard-boiled white of
egg; fill the middle space with chopped parsley, and the third with chopped hard-boiled
yolk of egg; Dress the canapes in a flat china boat, or small dish, generally
used for all these cold Hors d'oeuvre."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated and adapted for English use
by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son & Marston:London] 1869 (p. 409)
[1874:London]
"234. --Anchovy toast.
Ingredients: Toast 2 or 3 slices of bread, or, if wanted very savoury, fry them
in clarified butter, and spread on them the paste, No. 233. Made mustard, or a
few grains of cayenne, may be added to the paste before laying on the toast."
---Mrs. Beeton's Cook Book, Isabella Beeton
The first instalment of of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was
published in 1861. It sold over 60,000 copies in its first year of publication
and nearly two million by 1868. I actually own a Victorian copy myself.
Call me romantic, but I really love the idea that this lid may have once graced a Victorian picnic.
I would like to wish you a happy new year, and may 2016 be the year we all find gold, (or cool bits of pottery... either works.) I have already managed to sneak in the first lark of the year, and I have to say one item is particularly exciting! Stay tuned for plenty more articles, and snippets of history.
This next find is one which has taken me a really long time to identify. At first I thought it was a bent safety pin, for a while I thought it was a whistling acacia seed from Africa, then I thought it was an animal claw, and finally I saw it had been identified on the London Mudlark facebook page. And I am so happy it was. Because it turns out it's much cooler! It's a Thornback Ray spine.
Mudlarking find: Thornback Ray spine
Thornback Rays are widespread in coastal waters from Iceland to Norway. Its geographic ranges extends into the North Sea, The Meditteranean Sea, the Black Sea, Madeira Island, the Atlantic coasts of Africa, as well as the waters off the coast of South Africa and the South-Western Indian Ocean.
They inhabit a range of sea floor habitats, including mud, sand, gravel, and rocky areas.
Map of Thornback Ray territory
As the name denotes, the upper portion of the body and tail are covered with thorn-like projections. When Thornback Rays reach sexual maturity the bases of the thorns thicken to resemble small button like projections called buckler. The snout and small portions of the body are covered in thorns in sub adults and the underside may be thorny in large females. Adults typically have between 21 and 25 large thorns running from the nape to its first pectoral fin.
Thornback Ray photo with detail of spines similar to my find
The largest specimen ever recorded weighed 18 kg. Females can grow up to 130 cm long and live to 12 years of age.
I found this pretty early on in my mudlarking career and had a mini heart attack as I was digging it up. It was together in the ground, but was fractured in many places. I dug it up the best I could trying not to cause any further damage and put it in my bag. That evening I enjoyed trying to fit the pieces back together, and was delighted to see that I could reassemble all the shards.
Mudlarking Find: Blackware tyg shards
This is the result of my efforts: Some of the glaze was chipped off in places, so this is the best I could do with my amateur gluing skills. I know its not perfect but I still love it. I remember the feeling of trying to lift it carefully out of the mud, rejoicing in the fact the shape of the vessel could somewhat be recognised. This wasnt just a fragment, but a LARGE fragment.
Mudlarking find: Blackware tyg after assemblage
With a bit of digging around, (see what I did there?) I have been able to identify the find as Midlands Blackware which makes me very happy as I am originally a Midlander myself. I like to think that we found each other.
Midlands Blackware developed from the earlier Medieval Cistercian ware, named so due to the pottery first being recorded in runied monastories inhabited by Cistercian monks in the 16th Century. After the dissolution, the ware evolved into Post medieval Blackware. Blackware is lead glazed English earthernware, which has a red body, and a black metallic looking glaze. The pottery forms usually consist of drinking vessels, including tall mugs, trumpet shaped drinking tygs, with two four, and sometimes up to eight handles, and tankards. One of the distinguishing features is the horizontal ribbing, and sometimes the vessels also have white decoration.
It was a finer ware, and would have been owned by wealthier people, such as well-off farmers,
Midlands Blackware tyg, 1500-1600, Fitzwilliam Museum Collection
Midlands Blackware Flagon, 1640-1660, Fitzwilliam Museum Collection
