Mudlarking 19 - Oatine and a face

Jun. 17th, 2025 03:57 pm
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I was going to visit the Thames Barrier and wanted to go mudlarking on the way, but didn't quite manage to.

I started at Woolwich - the first set of stairs I looked down were too muddy and the foreshore was similar. The second set, I walked down but they got muddier and I started slipping so turned back. A man saw me doing this and told me there were steps further on that would be better. We walked together to the steps but then found them padlocked.

The steps nearest to the Thames Barrier, outside the Hope & Anchor pub (now closed) seemed to be missing steps and also looked very slippery, so I gave them a miss too.

So mudlarking 19 did not happen that day, and instead the day after.

I headed to Rotherhithe and it was blissfully quiet, I was the only person on the foreshore.

I found a few pieces of shoe soles and picked one up, wondering if anyone had worn it or if it was just surplus.

I found some pottery sherds and a few pieces of glass, and a few bits of pipe.

I headed back up the steps.

“Are you okay?” a man asked after I'd taken my gloves off and wiped my nose.
“Yeah”, I said, nodding.
“Are you a tourist or you live around here?” he asked.
“Neither,” I replied, and he walked off before I could elaborate, seeming annoyed. Then he started cheering random joggers who were running past, who looked at him confused.

Mudlarking finds - 19A

I headed to Limehouse after that and there were Canada Geese and goslings, and swans.

I found my first face! I am not sure who he is, although he looks familiar somehow. It may have been part of a Bellarmine jug.

Sherd

I found quite a lot of sherds with words on:

“Oat” - A part of what looks like a small white pot that says “oat” on the bottom. It seems there was once a face cream called Oatine, so this little pot likely held that. It looks like Oatine was sold in the UK from 1905 to 1960s, but was most popular around the 1920s. Article I found on Oatine: Oatine: The food for the complexion.

Oatine

“unt” - a small sherd with what looks like “unt” visible. The letter before could have been a “o” so perhaps it spelt county or mount?

“ho” - a sherd where most of the glaze has come off and all that is left looks like it spells “ho”.

Also glass shards with words on:

“ark” - this shard was obviously from Noah’s Ark.

“c.” - a nice letter c and a full stop, but whether the rest of the word was Isaac or maniac or automatic, I don't know.

“by” - possibly, or it could be “ry”, but I think it looks more like “by”.

One where they are obviously letters but what remains of them is too difficult for me to tell.

I found a terracotta coloured stone that looks like it has a little pink heart on it.

I found a button and a blue circle of glass with two holes, which could have been a button also but it could have been on a necklace, perhaps?

Limehouse finds are colourful!

Mudlarking finds - 19B

Mudlarking 17

Jun. 11th, 2025 10:38 am
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[personal profile] squirmelia
A busy day of immersive theatre and when I left it was pouring with rain, but when I walked through Blackfriars Station to the other side of the river, it magically stopped raining and I headed down to the foreshore!

It was quiet, as people had been put off by the rain.

Earlier in the day, in an Ambient Lit workshop, I had pretended to be a dog and chased pigeons. “Woof”, I said to the pigeons on the foreshore.

There were patches of metal objects, nails, screws, objects once used.

I picked up pipes, pottery sherds and pieces of glass, and also a tiny heart shaped sticker. Thanks for the love, dear Thames.

Mudlarking finds - 17

Mudlarking - 16 & the Mudlark

Jun. 10th, 2025 08:48 pm
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[personal profile] squirmelia
It was just before low tide and the foreshore was busy with people, teenagers on a guided mudlark tour, and others searching.

The foreshore emptied and then there were more geese than humans and the goslings pecked at the wall, green with algae.

That day, I kept finding stripey pottery sherds. As I was going to meet Ingress players afterwards and our team colour is green, I started to concentrate on picking up green sherds. Green triangles!

I found another pipe with an “S” on it, different to the last. The other side looks like it could be a “P” so perhaps it was made by Solomon Price.

Another piece of Staffordshire Slipware, some more pink slag, and a sherd with a letter “E” on it.

It seemed appropriate to go to the Mudlark pub after that to meet friends and show them my bag of finds. On the walls of the pub were pictures of the foreshore and of pipes.

Mudlarking finds - 16

Mudlarking 15

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:23 pm
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Mudlarking - 15A

It was lunchtime and not much beach could be seen. I’d gone down an alleyway that didn’t smell pleasant, and then down steps, and past flies. I walked back and forth on the small patch of shore anyway, while the tide went out and the beach gradually grew.

I found a small piece of glass, a blue and white sherd, and a mysterious brown metal object. It is not the telescope I imagined it was when I picked it up.

A man sat on the steps, but the tiny patch of foreshore was entirely mine that day.

Mudlarking finds - 15A



Mudlarking 15B

An after work trip to the foreshore, low tide was a few hours before.

A religious looking poster floated in the water, but later appeared on the shore.

An Egyptian goose walked by.

I found a tiny green plastic bottle with a swirl on it and I wondered what it once contained.

I found another square small black tile that looks modern, but I have about 4 now. Maybe I’ll find enough to make a space invader mosaic eventually.

There were a few broken pipe bowls, and what I thought was a piece of green pipe, but now looks like something else.

I found a stone with delightful stripes, or is it a fossil?

Mudlarking finds - 15B

Mudlarking 14 - A sherd with a word

Jun. 5th, 2025 07:30 pm
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[personal profile] squirmelia
Gardener sherd

I found a sherd with a piece of writing on it on the foreshore and found it looks very similar to a cute pearlware Child’s Alphabet Mug, circa 1830 on an antiques website.

I like the verses on it:

"G was a Gardener who works many hours.
H was a Hot-house to hold his choice flowers

A was an ass so stupid & dull.
B was a bee with her honey bag full.”

Full mug and photos here: https://junoantiques.com/childs-pearlware-alphabet-mug-ref-1382/

The rest of my finds included some more Staffordshire Slipware, a very speckled sherd with a bumpy texture, a piece of blue glass, and various other things:

Mudlarking finds - 14

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