Some Pottery Bits and Pieces

September 30, 2026 Tim Campbell-GreenLeave a comment

What ho! What ho! And, if you’ll permit me… What ho!

As promised… some pottery! Ahhhh, the screams of joy and happiness that accompany those words, always a pleasure to hear. The swearing is a bit off, but there is no accounting for some people. And the personal threats of violence are a bit much. And I think the man who appears to be forming some sort of one-man angry mob, complete with flaming torch and pitchfork, is a bit doo-lally… poor chap.

Pottery. We haven’t had too much of this lately, sadly (yes, thank you Mr Shouty-Outy… we know what you think only too well), and so here we are with a random selection of pottery sherds. I love this stuff so much; each sherd is a tiny fragment of the past, a tangible link to a long-gone world, and a tactile reminder that the past is all around us – we just need to look. And look I do, to the detriment of my back… old hunched Richard III they’ll call me soon enough (and yes, Mr Shouty-Outy, I know you have been calling me a Richard III for years, and yes, I too know rhyming slang).

Anyway, enough of the unpleasantries , on with the sherd-show!

First up, a small sherd from Derbyshire Level. Just by the urn-off for Brownhill Farm, they had dug a new manhole for the electricity or telecoms, and had disturbed some soil in doing so. Well, never looking a G H in the M, I looked to see what I could see, if anything. And lo… something! A sherd of Manganese Mottled Ware presented itself.

Absolutely lovely, the mottled brown surface produced by the manganese glaze melting in the kiln. I’ve talked about Manganese Mottled Ware in the Rough Guide to Pottery (Part 7 – here), and I think this sherd is part of the belly of a cup like this one:

Dating to the early 18th century (1700 – 1720ish), it is small, very refined, and quite lovely. People often ask how I know how it is not more modern (and the Victorians did use manganese glaze), and I respond that it is all in the fabric – the meat of the pot, rather than the skin, so to speak. In the Victorian period, the fabric is always white, whereas the earlier stuff (mid 17th to mid 18th century) is always a yellow, cream, or very pale brown colour, and often with red or brown inclusions within it. It’s very characteristic, once you know it, and I wish I had a better camera in order to show it better.

Next to it, amongst the soil. was this odd piece of bronze (or some other form of copper alloy):

Thin, hollow, and vaguely peanut shaped in section, I have no idea what it is. It’s heavy – probably due to the high lead content in the bronze, which also suggests it is quite old; that and the fact that people didn’t use bronze for very much past the 18th century. The ends seem to be finished and smooth, so I don’t think its the shank of a spoon or similar that has broken off, and the surface looks almost as though it was silvered at some stage, but I can’t be sure. Also, the Roman road from Castleton (Navio) passes very close by, and whilst I don’t think it’s that old, who knows? Anyone any ideas? Let me know.

Sticking with Manganese Mottled Ware, here is a sherd from the site of Whitfield Green Farm:

A body sherd from another mug or cup, similar to the one above, and of a similar age – late 17th or early 18th century. Also from Whitfield Green Farm (the track to Lean Town), and of a similar date, is this pile of sherds, some of which I glued back together to rebuild this base to a large pancheon

You can see from this photo that the exterior is slipped in a red, but not glazed, and the base also has a string mark where it was removed from the potter’s wheel. The clay also has that characteristic brown and cream marbling that I talked about here. The pancheon has a base diameter of 30cm or so…it’s huge!

Sticking with the Black Glazed pottery, we have a few sherds of late 17th or early 18th century pottery – those thick bands where it was turned on the wheel are a bit of a giveaway.

It’s almost Cistercian Ware, but later – an evolved form, if you will – and it has a very hard, almost vitrified fabric, with small inclusions, which also recalls the 17th century stuff.

It’s early, I know that much, and is from an open bowl type vessel.

Here is a fragment of a clay pipe bowl I found in a field just of Derbyshire Level:

It’s very roughly made, and is early to mid 19th century in date, according to the charts shown here, and looking at the inside, you can see where the tobacco had burned the surface, which I find wonderful:

You can also see where the wire has pushed through the stem to create the hole through which smoke was drawn. I have tried to recreate what it would have looked like, with a slight forward tilting angle.

Not perfect, but it works… I think (I might have to change the image!)

Next we have a wonderful sherd of early Derbyshire Stoneware, found on the footpath across the field to the east of the graveyard of St Michael and All Angels, Mottram.

The orange-peel skin, caused by the salt-glazing process, is so clear in the light here – lovely stuff.

Right, so bear with me here whilst I do the sherd-nerdery, and explain what I mean by that. So, the earlier Nottingham Stoneware (c.1700 – 1800) is characterised by a chocolatey-brown slip, and refined shapes, thin walls, fine lathe-made horizontal decorative bands on the exterior, and an orange peel skin. This sherd has these features, absolutely, but the glaze is the darker brown of the later Derbyshire Stoneware (much more commonly found), and importantly, the interior is of a cream/grey colour (that is, it has not been slipped in the iron-rich paste that fires to the classic brown colour). This suggests to me that it bridges the gap between both, and perhaps giving a date of 1790-1820, just as production shifts to the potteries in Derbyshire. The shape is a flared-mouth open bowl, with a flat ledge rim, and although much broken, it had a diameter of roughly 18cm, so not large.

Sticking with brown stoneware, are these small sherds:

On the left is a bit of similarly aged early Derbyshire Stoneware – late 18th century, or thereabouts. It’s thin walled, and brown on the interior too, so probably an open shape. Not having the chocolate creamy colour of the early stuff, and yet too refined and orange-peeled of surface for the later stuff, it sits in the valley between both.

On the right, another tiny sherd of Manganese Mottled Ware, a body fragment with a horizontal band running around it:

The pale creamy body is the same as that of the above Manganese Mottled Ware, and it is probably from a tankard or jug, as pictured here, from the wonderful Chipstone Foundation:

These look a lot browner, but the glaze is the same, and the shape, too.

Both of these sherds were found in the soil of a flattened molehill in Manor Park, suggesting that something was happening in that area in the early 18th century – unsurprising, really, and it may be connected with the original Glossop Hall, known as Royle Hall, which was constructed from 1729 onwards. It also backs up my theory that you should ALWAYS CHECK A MOLEHILL, PEOPLE! It honestly is amazing what turns up whilst playing cricket with one’s son – this was found in the middle of our improvised pitch!

Also in Manor Park, by the duckpond, was this tiny fragment:

Using the clues in the design, a search online produced this complete version:

A cup celebrating the coronation of King George VI in 1937, which dates the pile of soil and rubbish in that area, deposited as part of the substantial landscaping that took place here over the years following its conversion from the garden of Glossop Hall to a public park in 1927. Love it, despite it being borderline not archaeology in my mind – only 101 years old.

And to end with, I’d like to shine a little light on Master CG. It is slightly related, in that it includes archaeology, but also… it’s my website! He’s growing up fast (he’s 10… eeeek!), but he’s an amazing young man, and a joy to go Wandering and adventuring with, and he’s also got a keen eye for pottery and other bits, including this lovely bottle. Discovered sticking out of the soil of the woodland path on the way to Hyde swimming baths (and whilst we were looking for conkers), he excavated it quickly, and lo… it was whole. I’m so proud of him – he’s genuinely an absolute corker!

A small ‘teaspoons’ bottle – it has embossed measurements in teaspoons along the side so you didn’t need to measure it actually using a teaspoon.

It has some lovely bubbles in the glass, a feature of the manufacturing process – which at this point consisted of molten glass hand blown into a mold, with the neck being shaped and applied afterwards.

Probably late 19th century in date, and normally used for medicines, the ‘teaspoons’ (or ‘2 teaspoons’, as it is here) bottle is fairly common, but is always a joy to find, and certainly gives me a warm fatherly pride watching my son dig it up so deftly. Amazing stuff! And now… let’s play conkers!

That’s all for now, but more soon, promise. Until then, do look after yourselves and each other – we are all important… even you, Mr Shouty-Outy, even you. Until then, I remain.

Your humble servant,

TCG

Archaeology · Mason's Marks · Pottery · Pottery Guide

A Fireplace Finds Frenzy

September 25, 2025September 26, 2025 Tim Campbell-Green4 Comments

What ho! Autumn is here… it was cold this morning, and leaves are already turning, and hopefully this article will be published on the Autumn Equinox. Probably. I mean to say… that’s what I’m aiming for*. It’s been a very weird and stressful week or two for a variety of reasons too complicated to go into here, but in the spirit of hopefully moving on, I present this short(ish) offering, which I hope satisfies at least the craving for pottery.

*Ok, so I failed… but only by two days.

So, I have a large inglenook style fireplace in my house, and the hearthstone in front of the wood burner in said fireplace has, much to the annoyance of Mrs CG, become something of a drying and sorting zone for the bits and pieces I have found along the course of my normal life! And precisely because the nights are getting colder, and the burner might need to be used soon, I am forced to clear up the archaeology. Well… hold my glass of stuff that cheers, as the saying goes, the challenge has been accepted.

It’s interesting in that it represents a sort of snapshot of the kinds of things I have found very recently, and actually from all over, too, not just Glossop. I’ve also tried to keep to my new rule of only keeping things that I find interesting, or that you might find interesting – so no more simple and plain Blue and White Transfer Printed Ware or similar. And in all honesty, I won’t keep some of this, and I’ll return it. Anyway – here we go.

First up, a Derbyshire Salt Glaze Stoneware bottle base, with a diameter of 8cm – you can see the ‘orange-peel’ effect of the salt glaze on the exterior. It probably contained some form of drink, perhaps alcoholic, and although they often contained ink, too, I think it would have been to nice for that, with the fancy groove running around the bottom. The interior is also glazed, and has wonderful grooves, evidence of how the bottle was hand made on a potter’s wheel.

The rising of the grooves on the inside, showing where the potter pulled the clay into the bottle shape.

Next up is this lovely teacup sherd in an unusual colour. Measuring 9cm in diameter, it seems to have straight sides, and is decorated with what might be a tree in front of stormy clouds, or perhaps just clouds, in a brown and yellow transfer. It’s probably 20th century in date, and it’s odd, but I quite like it.

Found in Alexandra Park, Oldham, having been dug out of a badger’s sett in the woods.

Next up, a chimney…

A tiny sherd of transfer printed ware, dating to the late Victorian period, and showing what was probably a cottage scene, of which the roof and chimney is the only bit to survive. I couldn’t leave that behind, could I? Found on the footpath by Pyegrove, Glossop.

Next we have a…

…copper roof nail. Found at the top end of Whitfield Cross, the result of someone having roof work done, with the old nail being pulled out and the slate replaced. Contrary to what I had thought, the nail is not bent accidentally, but rather it is driven into the wooden battens a short distance, and then bent over deliberately in order to secure the slate in place. Lovely stuff; I love the colour, but also the square shape in section of the shaft. I wrote a little about them and how they were made, here, and oddly they seem to seek me out – I’m always finding them in the street, and I have hundreds!

Next up, a Victorian clay pipe stem:

Awful shot, but I think I am due to get a new phone soon…

The pipe stem and mouthpiece is to the left, and the bowl should have been to the right – the bit that sticks down is the spur of the pipe. This sort of thing.

Interestingly, the spur – designed to keep the pipe from rolling around and to keep the hot bowl from burning surfaces – has a circular (or annular) maker’s mark or decoration on it. I have no more information to offer, sadly, but I think it is quite a common marking. Love it!

I also love this:

A lovely sherd of Victorian Hand-Painted pottery. You can see (through the mud – apologies) the individual brush strokes that make up the delicate blue flower that once adorned a probable . I have the next Rough Guide to Pottery planned that, among other pottery types, looks at this Hand-Painted stuff; you lucky people, you! Anyway, enough of the shouting and cursing… this was also found on the Pyegrove path, as indeed was this next one:

I think this was well used and quite worn when it went into the ground.

It’s a sherd of Industrial Slipware, in a lovely pale grey colour, and, measuring a diameter of 14cm, it’s probably a rim to a Georgian/early 19th century Mocha Ware open bowl, perhaps like this:

Found on the internet and shamelessly stolen – you could have bought this lovely example from only $225, which is probably well worth it.

The next two were found on the track from Pyegrove to Old Glossop – along the track to Hall Fold:

and…

And a bit of a body sherd – tiny, really, but characteristic.

The first sherd is a rim sherd from a large open bowl or plate, and is in a 17th century Midlands Yellow Ware. It’s impossible to get a rim diameter – despite being a rim sherd – because it is such a small fragment (thus we see the limits of the Rim Chart). However, it is chunky and well made, so it is likely to be large, and as it is a relatively fine fabric, so it is likely to be later in date. Probably.

The second sherd is a fragment of a Manganese Glazed vessel. Honestly, I have no idea about the shape – most are open, rather than a closed shape, and this has glaze on the interior and exterior, which also suggests open shape. Date… 17th to very early 18th century.

Both of these are lovely bits, and really bring home the age of these trackways that I keep banging on about! I have a future blog post planned… don’t worry.

Next is this wonderful thing:

The low evening sunlight really brings out the features.

A single piece of lead came – window lead. This lead came held the small pieces of window glass together to make up a window, and is made by squeezing the lead through a former, whose cogs leave grooves in the lead. It seems that, as a rule of thumb, the smaller the gaps between these ‘reeds’, the newer the came, and vice versa. So it seems that this piece of came is quite early – 17th, or possibly 16th century? It was found on the banks of Erwood Reservoir, near Buxton, along with a whole pile of other 17th century material (the subject of a future article, especially as it very much mimics the same material found on the valley sides around here). This is the fabric of a long lost farm, and I wonder who last looked through the glass it once held.

And to finish this ramshackle wander around my hearthstone, I present the following: a mason’s mark from the railway bridge at the bottom of the Hayfield Road (A624) at Chinley.

Here’s what it looks like:

A rough sketch from my catalogue of mason’s marks in the area.

I realise that it’s not really a fireplace related thing, but I like this sort of thing, and so do most of you, and besides… I don’t know where else to put it! It’s one of several examples of this mark on the bridge, and has maddeningly resisted me taking a photograph for one reason or another. However, the other day we were travelling in our new camper van, and all the planets aligned, and I managed to get this snap! Whilst very similar, it’s not like any of the others in the area that I have documented, and whilst this is disappointing, it makes sense as there were hundreds of stonemasons working on building the rail network in the early to mid-Victorian period (the line here was opened in 1867). This whole area is interesting, and following the construction of the railway, the road system was monkeyed around with, with roads no longer connecting, or moved over and replaced by newer ones. I should explore it a little, who knows what might be uncovered.

In terms of mason’s marks, I’m still toying with the idea of a project that studies all the marks, to catalogue, photograph, and cross reference them. If anyone fancies coming with me on a few walks to make this happen – from Broadbottom to Longdendale, and then the Chinley Line, perhaps – give me a shout.

So, there you go, the Fireplace Finds Frenzy… I hope you enjoyed it.

More soon, honestly. But until then, I know I say this every month, but please do look after yourselves and each other; I have recently learned just how important this is, and in particular, you never know when your time is up.

And as always, I remain, your humble servant.

TCG