Local finds part 2 - River Torridge rims

Its difficult now to go sherding as the beach is very sandy and weedy so its difficult to find anyhting. So for Autumn and Winter I will continue to post some more of my finds.
 Here's a small selection of pot rims.
I like rims.
They not only look and feel nice, they are really interesting as they can help to identify a pot's form and and also give a good indication of its size as a whole vessel. Rim charts help with this process too.

All of these rims were pulled out of the River Torridge, around Instow.
I don't know their age for sure but would say they are probably 17th Century or 18th Century, given the confirmed age of other finds I have discovered from the same area such as the Pipkin in my previous post.

North Devon sherds - local finds part 1

 

I have been collecting sherds and fragments from the local beach over the last three years, at low Spring tides, preferably when the River Torridge is lower (after less rainfall) and mainly in the Winter. It's not so weedy and sandy then compared to the Summer, which makes it easier to spot the pot!

I will share some of my finds over the next few blog posts which gives me an opportunity to take stock of what's in my collection and to raise the significance or otherwise of the finds. It is also an opportunity to open up these for comment, analysis, appreciation and highlight the relevance and significance of North Devon's Pottery heritage and industry here in Bideford. 

This piece is one of my favourites because it really is a fragment, not a sherd, as explained by Rob Hunter Editor of Ceramics in America, because you can see this piece for what it is - or was - rather than a smaller unidentifiable piece of pot. 

A Pipkin is a cooking pot, glazed on the inside as this would have been in contact with food. A complete vessel would have had three feet, intended for standing on fire or hearth and a stubby handle on one side. The form goes back to Medieval times and the 17th Century English colonists and planters would have used these cooking vessels in their settlements.

I love this one as its now got sea barnacles encrusted on it from its hundreds of years in the salt water.

I had a very positive and exciting meeting last week in Exeter to discuss a project about the relationship between Devon and Newfoundland. 
The meeting was with Robin Wootton of the Devonshire Association and their plan for a major project for 2016, all being well. It's very early days and needs lots of planning with hopefully a grant of some sort to fund it. I have been invited to be on the steering group to help make it happen. As a 'can do' person I am looking forward to helping to drive this forward and make it happen for Devon.
I will of course be contributing to the North Devon Pottery 'arm' of the project and look forward to hopefully meeting folks from Newfoundland in due course.

Meanwhile, here's where it is :

The 17th century Storage jar

Here is the photo I took of the 17th century North Devon storage jar at St Nicholas Priory in Exeter and referred to in my previous post. The similarity is striking!
I would say this is the same vessel as the big sherd I found.

A piece of treasure off the beach

I found this wonderful piece of old pot on Saturday at Instow beach near Bideford. I was making the most of the rare super low Spring tide which gave me the opportunity to explore further out, in places normally still under water.

This sherd was just lying there waiting to be picked up. I don't know how old it is and pretty sure it is a storage jar. Comparing it to a photo I took of a storage jar from the 1600s in St Nicholas Priory in Exeter it bears an uncanny resemblance! If anyone can shed any light on this do let me know. 

Post talk comments

Here's the feedback I have just been sent by Barnstaple library staff. They are comments they received after my talk.
I am glad that it was so well received!

"Really enjoyed the talk by Sadie Green"

"Enjoyed the lecture on North Devon Pottery in America. Nice venue and speaker"

"Came to a talk on ND Pottery found in the USA. Really interesting talk, well organised by library staff. Thank you"

"An interesting presentation."

Summary of Talk in Barnstaple, October 19th 2013

What a lovely 2 hours I spent on Saturday - My talk was well received by a packed audience in the upstairs room at Barnstaple Library, so much so more chairs needed to be found from the store room.
This was me in full swing, talking about the sgrafitto design differences between potters in Bideford and Barnstaple and how designs found in sherds at a dig in Bideford's Stella Maris Convent in 1999/2000 have pointed to the origins of finds found at Jamestown's May - Hartwell site being from a pottery in Bideford (thanks to John Allan's research and paper written up for a Devon Archaeology Society Journal). This contains North Devon pot sherds dating to the first half of the 17th century.
Chatting over a cup of tea afterwards, there was a lot of interest and lots of questions as well as very giving people who were sharing knowledge of, as well as enthusiasm about, North Devon Pottery.

Thanks to all who came and to the library staff for organising, publicising and providing refreshments.