Dress Accessories, c. 1150 - c. 1450 0851158390, 9780851158396

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D EDICATION The authors dedicate this volume to Brian Spencer, former senior keeper of the Medieval Department, Museum of London, in grateful recognition of his wisdom and kindness generously given over many years (GE & FP)

MUSLIM

OF L O ND ON

MEDIEVAL FINDS FROM EXCAVATIONS IN LONDON: 3

DRESS ACCESSORIES c .1 1 5 0 — c .1 4 5 0

Geoff Egan and Frances Pritchard with contributions by Justine Bayley, Mike Heyworth, R ose Johnson, Peter Stott and others

Principal illustrators: Susan Mitford and Nick Griffiths

TH E BOYDELL PRESS

©

1991, 2002 Museum o f London

A ll Rights Reserved. Except as perm itted under current legislation no part o f this work may be ph otocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, perform ed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, w ithout the prior perm ission o f the copyright ow ner First published 1991 Her M ajesty's Stationery O ffice Reprinted 1 9 9 3,1 9 9 7 N ew edition 2002 The Boydell Press, W oodbridge

ISBN 0 85115 839 0

A M useum o f London Publication Museum o f London, London W all, London E C 2Y 5H N w w w .m useum oflondoiLorg.uk T h e Boydell Press is an im print o f Boydell & Brewer PO Box 9, W oodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, U K and o f Boydell & Brewer In c PO Box 41026, Rochester, N Y 14604-4126, USA w w w .boydell.co.uk A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for

First publication o f this b ook was assisted by a grant horn the C ity o f L ondon Archaeological Trust

This publication is printed on acid-free paper Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Lim ited, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Contents catalogue num bers Introduction

Vl[

(GE)

Introduction to the second edition (GE) Dating and Context of the Finds Alloy Nom enclature

M ounts

13 (GE)

18 1-26

(GE)

Strap-ends

1

06)

(FP)

Buckles

xiii

(GE)

The M etal Dress Accessories - Som e O bservations Girdles

27 - 573

(FP)

574 - 769

(GE)

7 7 0 -1 3 0 2

Com binations of D iverse Strap Fittings and Possible Ensuite Item s (GE) Brooches Buttons

(GE) (GE)

Lace Chapes

(GE)

Hair Accessories Pins

(FP)

(FP)

Beads Chains

(GE) (GE)

Pendants

(GE)

Finger Rings B ells Purses

(FP)

(FP) (FP)

Cased Mirrors

(GE)

page

35 50 124 162

244 1 3 0 3 -1 3 7 5

247

1 3 7 6 -1 4 0 4

272

1 4 0 5 -1 4 4 9

281

1450 -1 4 6 7

291

1 4 6 8 -1 4 8 8

297

1 4 8 9 -1 5 8 9

305

1 5 9 0 -1 5 9 9

318

1 6 0 0 -1 6 0 7

321

1 6 0 8 -1 6 4 3

325

1 6 4 4 -1 6 9 2

336

1 6 9 3 -1 7 0 7

342

1 7 0 8 -1 7 1 8

358

Dress Accessories

VI

Combs

(FP)

Cosm etic Sets Needlecases

(FP) (FP)

M etallurgical Analysis of the D ress Accessories Conservation

(MH)

1 7 1 9 - 1754

366

1 7 5 5 - 1779

377

1 7 8 0 -1 7 8 4

384 387

(RJ)

396

Acknowledgem ents

400

Bibliography

402

Introduction This is the third o f the thematic volumes on medieval finds from excavations in the City o f London. This work was undertaken by the D e­ partment o f Urban Archaeology, Museum o f Lon­ don (up to 1973 by its predecessor, the Field Archaeology Section of the Guildhall Museum), during redevelopm ent in the 1970s and early 1980s. It takes for its subject dress accessories and toilet items from the three-hundred year period c.1150 to c.1450. As in the tw o previous volumes {K nives and Scabbards, Cowgfll et al. 1987; Shoes and P atten s, G rew and de Neergaard 1988) the emphasis is on finds from the waterfront area. H ere fore­ shore deposits and dumps of rubbish put down in reclaiming new land from the River Thames have preserved metals and organic materials in excep­ tionally good condition compared with items reco­ vered on m ost inland sites. Some other objects, which provide significant information either in their own right or about those recovered from the waterfront sites, have been included from other City excavations or from other sources. Notable among the latter are the Museum o f London’s established (pre - 1975) and more recent collec­ tions (M oL in text), as well as som e private collections of London material. Further compara­ nda from outside London are mentioned where appropriate, though they receive less detailed treatment. The great diversity in form and manufacturing techniques evident in the 1784 dress accessories described in this book necessitates a different approach from the highly synthesised typology used in Shoes and P atten s. Girdles and fittings for them take up a large part o f the volume. This reflects the wide variety available during the period considered of items which in many cases gave a m odest opportunity for fashionable self expression. Variety and standardisation can each be emphasised within many o f the basic categor­ ies - the extrem es being found respectively among the mounts and the lace chapes. Som e categories of finds described here are already well represented in museum collections, but the close dating for the site sequences from

which the very large number o f stratified objects included here were excavated provides, virtually for the first time, an accurate chronological framework. Associated groups o f finds (from the same series of reclamation-dump deposits etc) can be reassembled from the stratigraphic in­ formation given below (pp 3 -1 2 ). The further inferences (typological, patterns of use in alloys, degree o f ornamentation, earbest/latest occurr­ ence, etc) that can reasonably be drawn from this may be o f interest in their own right, or particular categories and whole assem blages may be com ­ pared with finds from other excavations, whether in London or elsew here. A further strength o f the collection described here is its sheer size. O ver 1750 well preserved and closely dated objects offer the opportunity for statistical analysis o f a type which hitherto has only been available for those studying ancient ceram ics. It seem s unlike­ ly at present that any other series o f dress accessories of comparable date anywhere in the country could provide such an extensive data­ base. A number o f statistical inferences are made in this volume, but there will be readers who will wish to reinterpret, dissect and reassem ble the raw data, and to use selected information to set against other medieval assem blages. T o make such analysis possible, but at the same time to prevent the book exceeding reasonable bounds of length and cost, representative objects, rather than every single item, are illustrated. In deciding on terminology, which dimensions, and the level o f detail to include in the catalogue descriptions of each object, therefore, a balance has been sought between burdening the text with minutiae and providing adequate data to characterise various traits to help researchers. The objects have been considered not only from the point o f view o f the original users, but also from that of the manufac­ turer as wed. The tenacity o f som e traditions in manufacture has been identified, though it will probably need far more exam ples to be assessed in this way before, for exam ple, the products o f a particular workshop can be confidently identified among these and other finds. The chapters dealing with the different cate­

D ress Accessories gories o f accessories begin with girdles and buck­ les - basic articles o f dress which the overwhelm ­ ing majority o f Londoners would have worn. These are follow ed by other girdle fittings strap-ends, mounts etc - which were also very com m on, but w ere in less universal usage. Diffe­ rent means o f securing clothes around the body brooches, buttons and lace chapes - are discus­ sed next, follow ed by hair accessories and more purely decorative categories. Purses, which were worn suspended from the girdle, are followed by toilet articles, som e o f which w ere carried around on the person while others probably did not leave the hom e. Comparison o f the recently excavated assem b­ lages with the London Museum Medieval Cata­ logue (W ard-Peririns 1940), where it covers the same categories (the Guildhall Museum Cata­ logue o f 1908 includes very few corresponding item s), and with the collections o f the form er London and Guildhall Museums, shows that the splendid series o f dress accessories assem bled prior to 1975 (when the two collections w ere united in the Museum o f London) must have been acquired on a highly selective basis. Not only are the majority o f these items from the tw o form er museums com plete, a far greater proportion than em erges in the excavated groups are highly decorative. Som e categories among the recently excavated accessories in cheap alloys, notably items o f lead/tin, w ere not included in the two catalogues mentioned above (the few lead-alloy medieval rings in the national collection w ere similarly omitted from the British Museum’s cata­ logue of finger rings). A few categories, Hke spangles, medieval buttons and needlecases, are com pletely absent from the old London collec­ tions. Conversely, m ost of the more expensive items that w ere published are not represented among the material excavated during the 1970s and early 1980s. Apart from four thin finger rings and a handful o f gilded items there is no gold among these finds, and the few silver objects have a metal content that together would barely amount to that o f six and a half contem porary pennies. Recent acquisitions by the Museum of London have considerably extended the range of the established collections; selectivity on the basis of com pleteness continues, though other items of particular interest are collected, and items o f new

form s tend to be acquired in preference to those o f types already represented. The recorded con­ texts o f the excavated assem blages that are the subject o f the present volume provide the m ost reliable basis available for dating. Although highclass items are very scarce, the relative popular­ ity of everyday forms can begin to be established from duplicate item s, as can recurrent patterns of wear and breakage. In terms of published mate­ rial, the assem blages presented here transform the picture o f the importance o f accessories of lead and tin alloys. A few design elem ents which recur on different categories o f fittings towards the end o f the period under consideration may point towards som e notion o f ensuite accessories for dress (fig 157), perhaps ultimately deriving from armorial devices o f aristocratic parade item s. There are several juxtapositions o f diffe­ rent strap fittings found together still in place, which would probably never have occurred to the researcher. (See on Combinations o f D iverse Strap Fittings and Possible Ensuite Item s). Detailed analysis o f the metallic content o f a large number o f the objects described has been undertaken by the staff of the Ancient Monu­ m ents Laboratory (initially by Paul Wilthew and subsequently by Mike H eyworth, both working under the supervision o f Justine Bayley). It is particularly pleasing that the Historic Buildings and M onum ents Com m ission (England) has funded this important aspect o f the research. The results for the first time establish som e para­ m eters for the study o f other assem blages o f similar late-medieval metalwork. Some of the methods of manufacture appear remarkably labour-intensive to the present-day observer. Several items have been assem bled from different elem ents (occasionally using di­ verse alloys) where there is no apparent decora­ tive or functional advantage over using a single piece of metal. Punched decoration was som e­ times added to cast fittings (eg nos. 1714-16), and there are instances where elem ents o f the ornamentation w ere continued onto part o f an object which would not have been visible (eg nos. 473 & 475). This seem s to emphasise a basic difference in outlook betw een the medieval and the latter-day production w orker (com pare the large proportion o f metal that had to be recycled following each casting as evidenced by the item at the bottom in fig 153 - see p 239 - this may well

Introductum

be an extrem e instance). A remarkable copperalloy buckle (no. 39)» manufactured by a combina­ tion o f labour-intensive techniques where a single casting would have sufficed» seems» when com ­ pared with the other buckles listed here, to have been as anomalous in its own time as it would be today. It may com e as a surprise to those familiar only with the idealised view o f medieval production propounded by William M orris and others, that poor workmanship, inadequate materials, and de­ signs that are every bit as banal and repetitive as those seen in m odem seaside souvenirs w ere current in medieval London. It is quite dear that in the 14th-century copper-alloy buckles w ere being cast in batches o f over one hundred at a time, and by the 15th century mass-production o f cheap trinkets in the basest alloys for the de­ mands of a flourishing popular market was firmly established. It would, o f course, be misleading to characterise the entire subject matter o f this volume as cheap and nasty - though som e o f these objects certainly w ere. There are many plain and decorative item s, which, as wear on them shows, w ere capable o f serving their in­ tended purpose perfectly adequately over a long period. Some accessories w ere used until they w ore out; others w ere repaired - in som e inst­ ances by methods that are by any criterion am ateurish. E vidence for repairs has been observed largely on what appear to be betterquality fittings rather than the cheapest o f the range. A very few objects, like three armorial mounts (no. 933 - these w ere surely specially commissioned) and a silver-gilt mirror case (no. 1718), stand out because they com bine highly skilled workmanship with effective design. Exotic materials, notably among the beads, hint at som e o f the international trade links attested by documentary sources. Bead manufac­ ture in London from raw jet and amber (the form er material was certainly and the latter was probably available in England) is com plem ented by waste pieces o f Mediterranean red coral in the same assem blages. Although several parallels among metal girdle fittings and brooches have been traced with objects excavated on the Conti­ nent, it is not possible at this stage to say whether this represents trade in either direction or a common international style. The manufacture in London of sheet-copper mounts and various

a cast buckles and strap loops o f copper-alloy, and also of sheet-iron items with tin coating is attested by a limited amount o f industrial waste. The main excavated waterfront groups discussed here do not include any moulds for metal items, though there are examples o f both clay and stone from inland and more recent waterfront sites, and they also appear among chance finds from the City. A future volume will, it is hoped, make available the large amount o f new information on manufacture - som e o f which is still being reco­ vered from the ground at the time o f writing. Many o f the motifs and methods o f manufac­ ture that are found in these dress fittings can be paralleled at a general level in the jew ellery of non-industrial societies from the ancient work! to the present (cf Geriach 1971, passim). N everthe­ less, these London assemblages possess a char­ acter that specifically and unmistakably ties them to the high middle ages of north-west Europe. It is too early to put this in perspective, with so much important material unpublished from recent excavations in this country (including further large groups from subsequent fieldwork in the City o f London) and on the Continent. The remarkable finds from M eols in M erseyside, pub­ lished in the middle of the last century (Hume 1863), provide the most extensive series o f parallels available so far. Com parisons with assem blages excavated in Bristol and Beverley, and from the Bedem site in York, should soon be possible, and it will be particularly useful in the longer term to try to identify any regional varia­ tions. It seem s remarkable in a period when limited social provision meant that life for the urban poor was far from easy, that so many items o f metal w ere discarded apparently without being reused or recycled. The extensive retrieval activity on urban rubbish dumps in many third-world coun­ tries today shows that the unpleasantness of the task does not prevent it being a major source of day-to-day income for the deprived. Perhaps those to whom metal scraps would have provided som e useful income did not have access to the dumps. It is impossible to know the precise circum stances o f the accumulation of material dumped to make up the newly reclaimed land along London’s waterfront in the high medieval period, but the failure o f contem poraries to re­ cover so many reusable or recyclable items is the

Dress Accessories

X

good fortune of today's researchers. AD London waterfront sites seem to be prolific in finds if appropriate retrieval methods are used. On sites in the 1970s only hand collection took place. At Billingsgate (B1G82) a certain amount of sieving and metal detecting was undertaken by the Department o f Urban Archaeology's staff. The use o f metal detectors in the skilled hands of members o f the Society of Thames Mudlarks under the direction of the Department of Urban Archaeology was the principal factor in the recov­ ery o f virtually aD of the metal items included in this volume from the watching briefs at Swan Lane and Billingsgate. It is sobering to look at the SWA81 and BWB83 item s, som e 68 per cent of the catalogued objects listed here (from all cate­ gories and materials), and to consider which parts o f this study - including some of the most out­ standing individual items as weD as entire cate­ gories of objects (eg shield-shaped strap-ends nos. 732-742) - could not have been written without this fruitful cooperation in the recovery o f groups of finds for the Museum o f London. As much as any o f the individual points touched on above, the fascination of this extensive series of finds lies in the range of items within basic ca teg ories. The dress accessories used in medieval London w ere demonstrably far m ore varied than these recent discoveries alone are able to indicate. The picture this volume provides is by no means a com plete one, but its aim is to bring the everyday variety of this aspect of medieval life into a sharper focus, within a more detailed chronological framework.

Conventions used in the text For aD catalogued item s, the first number (the catalogue num ber) is in a running sequence in­ dicating the position in the category lists in this volume. Then com es the site cod e, which is followed by the accession num ber (unique within each site), the context num ber (layer number) in brackets, and the ceram ic phase n u m b e r .eg “ 18 SWA81 36 (2103) 12*' is item number 18 in this volume, which is accession no. 36 from the Swan Lane site, found in layer 2103, which has

been assigned to ceram ic phase 12. (For dates assigned to ceram ic phases, see opposite). Only objects excavated at the London sites listed at the end o f this section are included in the numbered series. Where two or more items that are essentiaOy similar or part of a single article have been given the same accession number, they are here given the same catalogue number, otherw ise each different item has a separate number in the catalogue series. Occasionally different items on a single object are discussed under different category headings eg girdles with m ounts and a buckle - here each item is separately numbered, and there is appropriate cross referencing. A b b rev ia tion s a cc.n o . AML

- accession number - analysis by Ancient Monuments Laboratory, HBMC(E) BM , M LA - British Museum, Dept. o f Medieval & Later Antiquities c - chapter (in Statutes) c. - circa d - diameter DUA - Department o f Urban Archaeology (Museum o f London) estd - estimated h - height HBM C(E) - H istoric Buildings and Monuments Commission (England) 1 - length lead-tin - lead and tin* (analysed items only) lead/tin - lead and/or tin MLC - analysis by Museum of London Conservation Dept. M oL - Museum of London nd - no date RAK - XRF analysis at Royal Armouries, HM Tow er o f London, by Roger Turner o f Kevex Ltd th - thickness w - width XRF - x-ray fluorescence analysis * Since the nan-quantitative spot tests used by the Museum of London Conservation Dept can detect the presence of very smal quantities of a metal, some items described as ‘lead-tin (MLC)’ may contain less lead than others described as ‘tin (AML)’ - the tetter indicates a lead content of c. 5% or less. In this book 'pewter* is used only of items so designated by Mike Heyworth as a result of analysis at the Ancient Monuments Laboratory (see fig 262).

Introductum

xi

Site codes

Ceram ic phase dates

BC72

6 7 8 9 10

B1G82 BOY86 BWB83 CUS73 GAG87 LUD82 M1L72 MLK76 OPT81 SH74 SM75 SUN86 SWA81 TEX88 TL74 WAY83

- Baynard H ouse, Queen Victoria Street ('Baynard Castle D ock'), 1972 - B illin gsgate lorry park, L ow er Thames Street, 1982 - City o f London Boys’ School, 1986 - Billingsgate lorry park, watching brief, 1983 - Old Custom House, Low er Thames Street, 1973 - Guildhall Art Gallery, 1987 - Ludgate HOI, 1982 - 10 Milk Street, 1972 - 1-6 Milk Street, 1976 - 2 -3 CopthaD Avenue. 1981 - Seal House, 106-108 Upper Thames Street, 1974 - St Magnus Church, Low er Thames Street, 1975 - Sunlight W harf, U pper Tham es Street, 1986 - Swan Lane, 95-103 Upper Thames Street. 1981 - Thames Exchange, Upper Thames Street, 1988 - Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street, 1974 - 10-13 Ludgate Broadway, 1983

For detailed location of objects from the BIG82, BW B83, SWA81 and TL74 sites within the sequ­ en ces, see section on Context and Dating o f the Finds (figs 2 -5 ).

11

12

c.1150 - c.1200 c.1200 - c.1230 c.1230 - c.1260 c.1270 - c.1350 c.1330 - c.1380 c.1 3 5 0 -C .1 4 0 0 c.1400 - c.1450

Drawing conventions

AH the numbered objects in the catalogue from the sites listed above, together with detailed archive reports and associated information, are stored at the Museum o f London, where they can be examined by prior arrangement. Details of comparative items published here from private collections are held by the Medieval Department of the Museum of London; appropiate enquiries can be answered at the Museum or passed on to the ow ners.

Introduction to second edition T he first edition o f this w ork in 1991 was well

decoration

received, and the intervening decade has seen the

ornate toolin g) than that evident in the sample

(from

both elaborate form s and

w ide adoption o f its term inology and thus its

published here (c f the greater use o f gilding in

basic descriptive approach for several im portant

this period, w hich does com e over from the

categories o f everyday accessories. T h e broad

catalogued items - p 27).

conclusions given then still stand, though inevi­

Battered brooch N o. 1332 from a deposit

tably further significant details have now com e to

assigned to the late 14th century looks similar to

light, both for groups and for individual items. T h e perceived rise o f lead/tin items

a series o f Saxo/N orm an accessories assigned to the 11th/12th century, with (?)loops rather than

(pewterware) for girdle accessories from the m id

separate pins (the definitive pan is missing horn

14th century can now, from earlier assemblages

N o. 1332). A small range o f these items was

excavated in the interim (eg V H A 89, BUF90

found, for exam ple, at the BUF90 site (acc. nos.

and G uildhall-Yard sites), be put in to a fuller

1501

perspective as a resurgence, at least in the case o f

com parable w ith N o. 1332). M ounts N os. 877

m ounts, follow in g an unexplained absence or

and 885 -7 w ith lead in their backs and all from deposits assigned to the late 14th century are

very low

profile o f two centuries or m ore

and

1757

from

there

are

closely

analogous to a num ber o f others recovered

('spangles' N os. 1269-83 remain an enigm atic group, apparently unrelated to developm ents

subsequently,

elsewhere in lead/tin accessories). Repertoire

the 12 th century. T h e earlier dating may mark

changes like the one em erging for m ounts may

the high poin t o f this unexplained practice. Pins

have

had

som ething

to

do

with

N os. 1468-9 (p 297, 299

shifting

predecessor

m etalworking guilds organisations.

The

their items

the end o f a Saxo-Norm an tradition in their late

or

few

& Plate 7 Q , with

lead-glass heads, could similarly from further finds w ith dating now available stand towards

perceptions and emphases in fashion on the part o f the early

mainly from contexts o f around

12th-century deposits. O ther individual points

included o f coiled - (w ound-) wire decoration (p 27) can now be seen as early representatives o f a fashion that lasted into the early 1600s, but with

include buckle N o. 263's identification as an im port from the South o f France from

its main popularity in the (?late 15th-) early 16th

com parison

century (Egan & Forsyth 1995, eg 234 & fig 15.10). Significandy increased numbers o f finds

decoration w ith that on a group o f similarly

of

its

dense,

stamped-annulet

shaped buckles found in that region (M Barrfcre

from the early pan o f the period covered by the

in Barrfere & Rcy D elqu l 1990, 218-19 nos.

present b ook and im m ediately before (11 th- 12th centuries) recovered from sites excavated in the

443-6 from Ari&ge, etc; a cou ple o f further,

late 1980s/1990s now furnish an extended and

similarly decorated accessories have since been seen am ong antiquity-dealers' stock in this

presumably

country, but caution is needed w ith vaguely or

m ore

representative

range

of

copper-alloy buckles. Norm an fashions in these

com pletely unprovenanced/undocum ented finds

basic accessories emerge as including a m uch

as they may include latter-day im ports via the trade in m etal-detected items - perhaps through

higher proportion with com plex frame and plate XJU

Dress Accessories

X IV

known links between dealers in East Anglia and

provided

by

several

archaeological

ones in the Toulouse area). The significance o f soudd gem N o. 1589 (Place 9B right) is further illum inated by Lightbowns com m entary on red

am ong w hich Biddles W inchester Studies 7.2 (1990) and M argesons N orw ich Households

studies,

doublets made in Paris and elsewhere from tw o

o f material described in these is m ore lim ited

(1993) are particularly useful, though the range

pieces o f crystal, though presumably those were

than in the present study and residuality is m uch

m ore convincing as high-quality gem stones than

m ore

this particular find, at least in its present state

waterfront finds. An assemblage o f lead/tin accessories from the

evident

than

am ong

the

London

(1992, 18-19). T h e series o f straps with two sets o f m ounts,

River Avon at Salisbury includes parallels for

identified

in

N os.

som e o f the London finds in this present volum e,

1168-86,

has this identification

definitively

am ong w hich is som e production evidence (Egan

1991

as

spur

leathers,

confirm ed by com parison with a redrawing o f a

2001; waste from casting lead/tin shoe-buckles

detail in a contem porary Italian painting, G entile de Fabianos A doration o f th e M agi (Beck

shown in fig 31 no. 4 must have had counterparts in London for N os. 1 1 8 ff in the

1989,

are

present volum e). It seems probable that by the

republished with fuller illustrations in the 1995 volum e, The M edieval H orse and its Equipm ent,

end o f the period considered m ost towns w ould have been m anufacturing centres. Plans are

as nos. 379-96). Present catalogue N os. 7 2 0 -6 ,

currently under discussion for full publication o f

109

fig

75;

the

London

finds

and 905 and 1061-2, tentatively identified in

the

1991 respectively as clasps and m ounts from b ook covers, have been republished along with

material in Britain after that in the capital - the

next-largest

assemblage

of

com parable

other finds relating to books as nos. 919-28 in the 1998 volum e on The M edieval H ousehold the latter interpretation is now certain for the

accessories, recovered at the rural site o f M eols in

finds, including hundreds o f medieval dress Cheshire, mainly in the 19th century (attention

clasps at least. Som e o f the late medieval secular

was drawn to these in 1991 - p ix). They include a remarkable num ber o f direct and close parallels

lead/tin brooches, N os. 1353-73, have been republished by Spencer for the sake o f indusivity

across all categories with the present urban groups (the im plications o f all this for the degree

in his volum e on Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular

o f hom ogeneneity in everyday dress accessories

Badges (1998) as nos. 3 0 8 ,3 1 5 -1 8 and 327; faux buckles like N o. 573 are republished there as no.

across the country are for future consideration against the w ider picture currently being built up

33, w hile pin N o. 1470 is republished as no. 254

through

(a further m irror case, no. 325f, is also in duded

Schem e).

the

Portable Antiquities

there). T h e passage o f time has seen the publication o f a num ber o f relevant, m ajor works elsewhere,

volum e from 1916 (w hich was not previously

From

France,

Enlarts

Recording im portant

available to the writers) provides a large corpus o f relevant material - it w ould, for example have

the m ost notable general one being Lightbowns

furnished ready identification for purse hangers

1992 volum e on M edieval European Jew ellery.

like

W hile it m ainly deals w ith much m ore expensive

W hitehead’s volum e on Buckles 1250-1800 close on the heels o f the appearance o f the first edition

items than those discussed here, usually made o f

N os.

1194-8.

The

publication

of

predous metal, it gives greater perspective to som e o f the less com m on categories in the

o f the present w ork can be viewed with mixed

present catalogue, like pendants and collar

sector o f the market, though it covers m uch

chains. A range o f urban com paranda is now

similar ground and includes illustrations and

feelings (it was intended primarily for a different

Dress Accessories

xv

dating remarkably closely com parable to som e o f that w hich appeared in

A B 0 9 2 site in Berm ondsey (south side o f the

1991; our original

River Tham es) from the 16th century includes

edition is noted am ong the suggestions for

evidence for precisely how the circular, iron-w ire

further reading). The extent o f the adoption o f

framed

our term inology may be unacknow ledged com plim ent.

accessories from the m id 14 th to the m id 16th

taken

as

an

shoe

buckles

that

were

standard

century were made (Egan forthcom ing, nos.

Further w aterfront excavations in the capital have produced a num ber o f assemblages o f com paranda and, inevitably, an extended range

773-4, c f present catalogue Nos. 6 0 ff). Finally, it is perhaps worth restating (since some com m entators have expressed uncertainty

o f fresh variants, though, as already indicated,

on the point) that the end date for this present

the m ain trends outlined and conclusions drawn

study is determ ined by the num erical strength o f

in 1991 rem ain unaltered. Evidence excavated in London for the production o f dress accessories o f

the waterfront reclam ation-sequence finds assemblages in the City. These groups in effect

several kinds (alluded to on p 123) has grown further w ith fieldw ork in the Guildhall Yard area

cease around the m iddle o f the 15th century (it is remarkable that, while the London sequence can

(c f Fig 8 0 ). A b rief summary o f som e o f this

in broad terms be picked up again on the south

im portant material was collated by the writer in

side

1996. A t least tw o foundry workshops in copper

Southwark to

alloy

continued well into the post-m edieval period,

are

represented

by sizeable

industrial

of

the

river along

the

stretch

from

D ockland, where reclam ation

assemblages - furnaces were recorded as well as

there is apparently still no tighdy stratified

waste material recovered at the G uildhall Yard

assemblage rich in m etalwork that can be

sites (a surprising location, so close to the civic

assigned to the generation e. 1450-80 - c f Egan &

centre,

sm oke

Forsyth 1995, 215). See Egan forthcom ing for

p ollu tion ), and a dispersed dum p from the T E X 88 w aterfront site. A n assemblage from the

the continuation o f developm ents in London dress accessories into the 'post-medieval* period.

for

an

industry

involving

B IB L IO G R A PH Y BARRERE, M & REY D E L Q U fi, M (eds), 1990, A rdteotegie et V ie Q uotidiennne awe 13 -1 4 e Steeles en M id i P yrM es, Mus^e des Augustins, Toulouse (exhibition catalogue) BECK , P, 1989, U ne Ferm e Seigneuriale au l4 e S teele: La Grange du M ont, Cham y, C oted A zure (D ocu­ m ents d ’A rteteologte Franqaise 2 0 ), Paris B ID D LE , M (ed), 1990, O bject and Econom y in M edieval W inchester (W inchester Studies 7.2 (tw o vols), O xford C LA R K , J, 1995, The M edieval H orse and its Equipm ent (M edieval Findsfrom Excavations in London 5 ), L ondon

Dress Accessories

XVI

E G A N , G , 1996, ‘ Som e archaeological evidence for m etalworking in London d 0 5 0 A D -d 7 0 0 A D ’, in H istorical M etallurgy 3 0 .2, 83-93 — 1998, The M ed ieval H ousehold: M edieval Findsfrom Excavations in London 6 London — 2001, ‘ Lead/tin alloy metalwork’ , in P Saunders (ed), Salisbury and South W iltshire M useum M edieval Catalogue 3, Salisbury and South W iltshire M useum , 92-112 — forth com in g, Transition in M aterial C ulture in London: Selected Findsfrom Berm ondsey South London, cl4 5 0 -1 7 0 0 EGAN, G

6c F O R S Y T H ,

H . 1995, ‘W ound wire and silver gilt’, in D Gaimster

6c P Stamper (eds),

A ge o f Transition: The A rchaeology o f EngUsh C ulture 14 0 0-1 6 0 0 (Soc. M ed. Arch. M onograph 15: O xbow M onograph 9 8 ), 215*38 ENLART, C , 1916, L e Costum e (M anuel d'A rdidologie Franquse 3 ), Paris L iG H T B O W N , R W , 1992, M edieval European Jew ellery London M A R G E SO N , S, 1993, N orw ich H ouseholds: M edieval and Post M edieval Findsfrom N orw ich Survey E xcavations 1 9 7 1 -7 8 (East Anglian A rchaeology 58) SPEN CER, B, 1998, Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges (M edieval Findsfrom E xcavations in London 7 ), London W H IT E H E A D , R, 1996, Buckles 1250-1800, Chelm sford

l

Dating and Context of the Finds As in the earlier volumes o f this series, the overwhelming majority o f the 1784 catalogued finds included w ere recovered on sites adjacent to the River Thames, both from the dumped fills, mainly of highly organic refuse, deposited for land reclamation, and from the more mixed gravel and silt foreshores that accumulated against the suc­ cessive medieval revetm ents. The dumps, which w ere up to 2m deep, eventually form ed almost 100m o f new land - virtually aO o f the block to the south o f m odem Upper and Low er Thames Streets - as reclamation from the river progres­ sed through the three centuries o f the later middle ages with which this volume is concerned (C .1150-C .1450), A few other selected finds, including som e discarded in the City Ditch near Ludgate, have been included from inland sites, but by and large the preservation o f metal and leather in soils away from the waterfront is poor, and within the present categories the finds assem blages from inland sites have only very exceptionally approached the diversity and prolif­ eration o f those retrieved beside the Tham es. Without the waterfront material it would have been quite impossible (even if the finds from more recent excavations had also been considered) to produce the land o f synthesis that is presented here. Notably absent from recent excavations in the City are later-medieval assem blages from dom estic and other more specific contexts. Hori­ zontal deposits, such as floors, that could be attributed to the 14th or 15th centuries have virtually all been rem oved in the City o f London by subsequent activity. The cut features that have survived - foundations, rubbish pits and wells - have generally proved disappointingly unproductive o f material in categories appropriate for inclusion in this and the preceding volumes in the series. Indeed, but for the w aterfront assem blages, the surviving material culture from medieval London - with the exception o f ceram ics and, less directly, the various structural remains - would give little indication that this was the m ost important dty o f the realm and the thriving market for the consumption of goods o f all kinds that documentary sources attest.

The freshness of breaks in many pottery sherds found in the organic dumps, and the unadvanced state o f decomposition o f som e o f the plant material there - reeds and m oss, for exam­ ple - suggest that much o f the refuse was very recently discarded when deposited. M ost o f this was presumably dom estic rubbish and stable sw eepings, perhaps with som e pit-clearance material. The pottery from foreshore deposits (which often include som e organic material similar to that in the dumps, presumably deriving from the same sources) is sometimes m ore abraded, and occasionally markedly m ore so. This abrasion probably represents tidal action during the accu­ mulation o f the foreshore against the wharves. The mechanisms o f the movement o f material in the river by the action of the water are highly com plex, and depend on ephemeral factors in each immediate area at different states of the tide and according to the amplitude o f the river at any season. N evertheless, most o f the pottery here too appears quite fresh, and the ceram ic phasing assigned to the latest sherds accords wefl with coin and other dating and the wider sequences. N o significantly higher degree o f abrasion has so far been noted on the metal objects from fore­ shores com pared with those from the reclamation dumps, though corrosion in very gravelly de­ posits o f the form er can be m ore advanced. The relatively high density of many o f the metal objects may well mean that they w ere less liable to tidal m ovem ent than pottery (though the shape and thinness o f som e o f the lead/tin brooches etc could have rendered these more mobile in the water than might at first sight be supposed). The heavier objects are likely to have settled where they fell, while the matrix o f the foreshore moved around them (cf the effect o f gold panning). Future studies may further elucidate these points. There are a few earlier finds among the later medieval deposits - the odd Saxon or Roman objects usually stand out. There is always the possibility that a slightly earlier medieval object may have been kept for some time as an heirloom before it was discarded, or that it ended up in a

Dress Accessaries

2

1

City o f London, location o f sites mentioned in the text

dump with predominantly later material for other reasons. This can be difficult to pinpoint in the present state of knowledge, particularly with scarcer item s, but wider considerations may som etim es indicate instances where this could have happened (eg mirror case no. 1718, dated by the style o f the decoration). V ery occasionally an object appears from a l the available informa­ tion to be intrusive, from a later period (eg buckle no. 473). This kind o f anomaly may be attribut­ able to a variety o f factors - including errors in excavation or subsequent documentation, or an object may be a very early, so far isolated, instance o f a category which later becam e m ore com mon. Any special factors to be taken into account are detailed in the discussion of each site given below . The overwhelming majority o f the finds presented here are from well-dated de­ posits, how ever, and are thought to have been discarded within a generation or so o f manufac­ ture. For further discussion o f the context o f waterfront finds with particular reference to the

Trig Lane site, see Rhodes 1982B, 85-92. For the locations o f the sites see fig 1. The majority o f the extrem ely varied finds included in this book seem to have been either casually discarded or single losses, though some groups o f similar items may have m ore signifi­ cance. These include som e manufacturing evi­ dence - the bead-making waste o f diverse mate­ rials from Baynard Castle D ock (BC72) and Trig Lane (TL74) sites (also possibly suggested by tw o amber item s from Swan Lane - SW A81), bone waste from Ludgate HUI (LUD82), and the evidence for casting various copper-alloy belt fittings from CopthaQ Avenue (O PT81). The large number o f similar lead-tin Bhoe buckles from Trig Lane and the latest groups recovered at Swan Lane may also represent som e kind o f com m erc­ ial activity. M ost, but not aO o f these buckles had been well-used by the time they w ere discarded; som e appear broken beyond repair. Since no other categories o f dress accessories w ere found n such large numbers, these particular assemb­

D ating and Context o f die Finds lages could represent an aspect o f cobbling (perhaps the retrieval o f usable leather from worn shoes in order to patch others - here represented by metal fittings that w ere at that stage mostly expendable by-products). The waterfront was one o f the principal loca­ tions for discarding rubbish o f aD kinds during the medieval period, both on the wharfside at recog­ nised laystalls and, inevitably (despite the attempts of the City authorities to prevent it), in the River Thames and on the foreshore (Sabine 1937, 32 & 3 7 -4 0 ). In the present state of knowledge it is virtually impossible to identify the place o f origin within the City o f even those groups o f waste which represent specific crafts that are known from documentary sources to have been carried out in particular areas. Although beadmaking gave its name to Paternos­ ter Row (first recorded in the early 14th century as Paternoster Street - Harben 1918,459) just to the north of St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Trig Lane/Baynard Castle area is the closest part of the waterfront to this, the possible link with the excavated bead-manufacturing waste remains very tenuous, as it is unlikely that any craft was entirely restricted to one area of the City. Single, scattered workshops could easily have produced each o f the assem blages of waste that have been recovered. The finds from one series o f late 14th-century dump deposits at the BC72 site have already been singled out in the course o f earlier research by the virtue of som e unusual aspects o f the assem b­ lage o f shoes they produced (rather than being patched, these particular shoes w ere discarded when they started to becom e worn) compared with others recovered from London sites (Grew and de Neergaard 1988,90); the 16 or m ore used (?)spur straps with varied mounts (nos. 116885), and the only horse shoes known with pun­ ched marks (Clark 1988,19 & 21 nos. 8 & 9, fig 7) further reinforce the impression that, although these dumps also produced run-of-the-mill finds such as the bead-manufacturing w aste, part of this assem blage differs markedly from the others along the waterfront. A milieu that had so many different highly decorated spurs for disposal must have been an extrem ely affluent one. It remains to be seen whether any specific connection can be established (for exam ple, linking these objects with the nearby Great W ardrobe). The large

3

number of iron (as opposed to lead-tin) plain circular shoe buckles from this site is also in contrast to other assem blages so far analysed, though the significance is far from dear. Another notable assemblage o f leatherwork and metal fittings that is in som e ways comparable, also including horse equipment which hints at a milit­ ary milieu, came from a single late 14th-century deposit at Trig Lane (context 414). The dating o f the deposits at the waterfront sites depends in the first instance on coins, supplemented where possible by dendrochrono­ logy. This has permitted key changes in the ceramic sequence to be assigned approximate dates (principally the work o f Alan Vince). The ceram ic phases thus defined are the linch pin of the dating assigned in this volume to each o f the groups of deposits that together constituted a reclamation dump or foreshore etc. A brief sum­ mary of the dated sequence proposed for each o f the nugor sites is given below . Post-excavation analysts methods differed from site to site so that groupings and interpretation may not correspond precisely between the proposed sequences. Ceramic phasing with defining pottery fabrics phase 6 phase 7 phase 8 phase 9 phase 10

p h a s e li phase 12

c.1150 c.1200 c.1230 c.1270 c.1330

-

c.1200 c.1230 c .1260 c.1350 c.1380

c.1350 - c.1400 c.1400 - c.1450

shelly sandy ware London/Rouen wares Kingston ware Mill G reen ware late medieval Hertfordshire glazed ware Cheam ware coarse border ware/ bifid rims

For further details, see Vince 1985, 2 5 -9 3 .

Analysis o f the com plicated site records has progressed, in some cases significantly, beyond the point reached when the first o f the volumes in this series was written. The slightly simplified site plans (figs 2 -6 ) for four o f the nugor excava­ tions can be used in conjunction with the lists below o f individual contexts and the discussion o f each site to pinpoint the location in the sequence at which a specific find was discovered. AD the contexts - the individual recorded layers - which com prise a single foreshore or a reclamation dump at these sites have been assigned a group

D ress Accessories

4 num ber, these groups are the key com ponents in the analysis o f each site sequence. For exam ple, (m ethod for BWB83 and SWA81 sites) the buckle that is catalogue no. 314 in this book (SWA81 accession no. 530) is from context 2040 of group 74; group 74 can be located on the Swan-Lane site plan (fig 4). From the plan, it can be seen that the buckle was found in a ceram icphase 9 reclamation dump associated with the second o f a sequence o f three successive revet­ ments constructed during the period that defined as ceram ic phase 9 (c.1270 - c.1350). The group74 dump is likely to have been deposited at som e time in the middle o f this period - it might be taken to date from the first quarter o f the 14th century, but in this particular instance tokens o f a type thought not to have been issued after 1279, found in som e o f the group-74 deposits, provide a firmer and slightly earlier date. W here a particular group is part o f a sequence within a single ceram ic phase and no further dating evidence is available, there is at present no way o f telling how early or late within the phase each o f the successive programmes of reclamation and revetm ent con­ struction took place. As a second exam ple (method for BIG82 and TL74 sites), brooch no. 1363, TL74 accession no. 2551, is from Trig Lane site, context 368, which is assigned in the list below to a dump from group 15 (ie it is associated with structure 15) o f ceram ic phase 12 (c.1400 - c.1450). The site plan (fig 5) shows that structure 15 is a river wall, dated to 1440+ by dendrochronology. The deposition o f the brooch in the associated dump can thus be dated to the 1440s, later than som e of the other items from ceram ic phase 12 at this site. It is possible to take all this one stage further, to examine the dating evidence for the other brooches o f the same kind. The three similar brooches (nos. 1360-62) found in ceram ic-phase 12 deposits at the Swan Lane site came from a foreshore in front o f a revetm ent dated by dendrochronology to C.1394+, and from the overlying dumps (associated with the next programme of reclamation) which appear from coin evidence to date to 1422+. This begins to establish the period when brooches o f this kind w ere in fashion. This level of information is not yet available for all sites, much less for all con­ texts that produced finds; as research progresses further details can be expected to be added, and minor alterations made.

T h e S ites This section is intended to provide a brief back­ ground to all the City o f London sites mentioned in this book. There is also detailed information, w here this is available, on the sequences at those sites which w ere m ost productive o f finds, for researchers interested in following up the con­ texts o f specific item s. Only contexts which produced finds discussed in this book are listed. B C 7 2 : B aynard H ou se, Q u een V ictoria S treet ‘Baynard C astle D ock’ (site supervisor P Marsden) T w o extensive groups o f dum p d ep osits, attributed to ceram ic phase 11, a ssoriated w ith a stone-w alled d ock known as the ’East W atergate’ (W ebster and C h en y 1973, 1 62 -6 3 ; V ince in CowgiD et al. 1987, 2 ). T he finds assem blage from one dum p group (con tex ts 55, 79, 83. 88, 8 8 /1 , 89 and 150) stands out for the high-class m ifieu to which (b y knpfication o f internal evidence - s e e p 3 ) som e o f the ob jects relate - though there are also everyday item s from th ese sam e d e­ p osits. B 1 G 8 2 : B illingsgate lorry park, L ow er Tham es S treet - fig 2 (site supervisor 5 Roskams) Finds from a detailed sequ ence o f dum ps and fore­ sh ores o f ceram ic phases 6 to 8 (Y oungs e t al. 1983, 1 9 1 -9 2 , c f V ince in C ow g jl e t al. 1987, 3 ). Dating is provided b y coin s, p ottery and dendrochron olog y. S om e sieving and also m etal detectin g w as undertaken by site staff not previously experien ced in the latter m ethod (the S ociety o f Tham es M udlarks w as not involved during the con troled excavation h ere); th ese efforts at their m ost intensive cov ered about a quarter o f the volum e o f m aterial excavated, but they w ere abandoned in the face o f lim ited resou rces fo r com plet­ ing the excavation. A fter the form al excavation w as com pleted and a ccess to the site had been denied to arch aeologists, a num ber o f finds w ere recovered from the spoil heaps by m em bers o f the public. B ecause in som e areas w ater-lain d eposits appeared to have accum ulated o v er land-reclam ation dum ps, and som e d eposits defined as foresh ores included exten sive orga­ nic e tc dum p-type m aterial (perhaps rubbish discarded in the riv er), it is difficult to ca tegorise each con text firm ly as either reclam ation dump o r foresh ore. T he group-8 revetm ents and possibly oth ers m ay have been replaced at least on ce, resulting in a com pficated structural sequ en ce; interpretation m ay change as a result o f further analysis.

Dating and Context o f the Finds For the subsequent watching brief covering the remaining five sixths o f the redevelopm ent site and the later part o f the sequence, see BWB83 below. For ceramic phasing see individual catalogue items. N o te - w h ere th ere is n o s tr u ctu re h a v in g e x a ctly th e sa m e n u m b e r as th e g ro u p , th e d e p o sit m a y rela te to a n y o f th e s tru ctu re s w ith a n u m b e r co r re sp o n d in g to th a t b e fo re th e com m a . C o n te x ts w h ich h a v e n o ty p e d e sig n a te d , o r w h ich d o n o t a p p e a r in th e fo llo w in g list an d w h ich h a v e b een p h a sed a s p a rt o f th e r e le v a n t g ro u p s (see fig 2) n eed to h a v e th e p recise n a tu re

2

5 o f th e ir a ssocia tio n w ith th e re cla m a tio n s e q u e n ce cla rified b y fu r th e r p o st-e x ca v a tio n w ork . f d

- foreshore - dump

con text

group

2171 2196 2243 2284 2498 2506

12 12 12 12 13 11

Billingsgate lorry park site (BIG82) - schematic plan

type

con text

group

type

3511 3521 3529 3561 3562 3807

10,2 10,2 8.1 8.1 8,1 11

f f d d d

D ress Accessaries

6

2514 2516 2S44 2591 2596 2636 2745 2831 2853 2879 2888 2898 2914 2972 3071 3135 3204 3212 3232 3267 3367 3394 3405 3506

12 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 11,4 12 11 12 11 11 11 11 9.2 11 9.2 8.1 10,2 11.4 9.2

d d d f d

4012 4064 4086 4100 4103 4105 4178 4201 4449 4533 4761 5020 5066 5113 5221 5222 5224 5277 5363 5364 5400 6219 6220 6974

9,2 8.1 11 10.1 10,1 10,1 8.1 11 10,1 8.11 7,10 8,2 8 8,2 9,2 9.2 9,2 9,2 8,2 8,2 8.2 8.1 8.1 11.4

d d d d d d d d d

d d d d d d d

In broad terms the sequence is coherent, and a northern limit for deposits attributed to each ceramic phase is indicated in fig 3. In this watching brief the dating for som e objects may have been attributed to a later phase than would have been the case had more detailed recording been possible. On the positive side, the very extensive assemblages o f finds recovered were the result o f metal detecting by the Society o f Tham es Mudlarks. F or the earlier part o f the sequence at the site see BIG82 above. In the following table bracketed context numbers indicate deposits that w ere disturbed before retrieval took place; there is the possibility o f contamination by earlier or occasionally later items among finds recovered from these deposits, d * dump f * « foreshore m = mixed dump and foreshore con text

groupU )

type

(4) (16) (17) (108) (109) (110) (112) (113) 117 (119) 124 125 (126) (128) (129) 131 (136) (137) 038) 142 144 047) 149 150 151 154 155 156 157 (204) (207) (219) (222)

57/59 57/59 45/47 17 44 28/31/33 28/31/33 31 31 41 50 41 41 unassigned 41 41 unphased unphased unphased 41 42 36/38 36 38 36 57 59 59 38 57/59 57/59 9/11 9/11

m m m f f m m d d d f d d

d

BOY86: City o f London Boys' School (site super­ visor C Spence) Included for comparanda: late-medieval sequence o f dumps continuing into the (?)late 15th century. Metal detecting by Society o f Thames Mudlarks. BWB83: Billingsgate lorry park, watching brief - fig 3 (site supervisor G Egan) Extensive finds from ceramic phases 6 to 12 (mainly 9 to 12). A ccess was initially severely constrained by the developers until most o f the structural sequence had been rem oved. Very limited detailed recording o f dumps and traces o f revetments etc in at least three adjacent properties provided a sketchy basic sequence in som e parts o f the site, but the majority o f the finds came from foreshores and deeper riverine deposits (som e already disturbed when examined), after all structural features had been rem oved. For these reasons dating must be considered much m ore roughand-ready than for other sites. M ost o f the finds have been assigned to ceramic phase 11 (although individual groups within this broad category appear to be assign­ able to ceramic phase 10, their locations do not readily combine to produce a coherent overall sequence as on the other waterfront sites - because o f the constraints during recording, major features such as inlets may not have been identified; simflarty the division betw een deposits o f ceramic phases 11 and 12 is not d ear-cut).

d ?d ?d ?d ?d d f m f d

( i d d d m m m m

ceram ic phase 11 11 101 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 11 11 11 11 >11 >11 ?11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 9

D ress Accessories

8 (247) 256 257 (259) (260) (263) (264) (265) (269) (274) (275) (276) 279 282 (283) (284) (285) (286) (287) (289) (290) 291 (292) 293 (295) (296) 297 (298) (299) 300 (301) 303 (304) (306) (306) (307) 308 309 (310) 313 (314) 317 318 (319) 324 325 326 (328) 329 (330) 332 (333) 334 (338) 341 343

unassigned 45 39 unassigned 9/11 13 13 45/47/57/59 unassigned unassigned unassisted 44 36 36 36 unassigned 23/33 42/44 57 24/26 23/24/36 42 57/59 44 42/44 42 57 57/59 42/44 unassigned 42/44 36 unassigned 36/38 28 45/47 38 54 unassigned 54 unassigned 36 28 54 54 SO 54 61/62/64 61 61/62/64 61 57/59 61 61/62/64 61 S3

f f m f f m

d f f f m

re f m m f

re

d m m f m m m m f f f in f f f f f f f d f m f

ra f m f

re f d

11 11 >9 9 9 12 ?9 ?9 >12 11 11 11 11 ?9 9 11 11 9 9 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 ?11 11 11 >11 11 11 11 11 12 ?12 12 ?12 11 11 12 12 9 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

345 (346) (348) 351 (352) 353 (354) (355) 357 (358) (359) (361) 362 366 (367) (368) 369 373 (376) 377 378 380 (383) 386 387 (389) 391 (395) 396 399 (401)

61 61/62/64 57/59 53 61/62/64 57 57/59 61/62/64 61 unassigned 51/53 51/53 48 48 48 57/59 51 51 61 61 61 33 61/62/64 51 61 61/62/64 61 61/62/64 61 51 61/62/64

11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

f tn m d m f tn

re f m m m f f f d f f f f d m f f m f

11 11 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

ra f f m

C U S 7 3 : Old Custom H ouse S ite, L ow er Tham es S treet (site supervisor T TaUtm-Brown) Pubfished by Tatton-B row n (1974, 1 1 7 -2 1 9 ). T ren ches I-V I, X I-X II and X 1V -XV n d u d ed m aterial o f appropriate date for this volum e. Each trench has a separate series o f con text num bers. T he foresh ores and dum ps produced a limited num ber o f finds attribut­ able to ceram ic phases 9 and 11. G A G 87:

Guddhail

A rt

Gallery

(site

su pervisor

G Porter) F or com paranda: inland site with finds eviden ce and plant from a w orkshop casting copper-alloy buckles o f a form attributed on other sites to ceram ic phase 11. L U D 8 2 : Ludgate H il (site supervisor P Rowsome) Inland site including the C ity D itch. T he main Ditch fills have been dated, by a coin o f 1302-10 and docum entary evidence o f developm ent ov er the form er Ditch area by 1340, to the m iddle part o f ceram ic phase 9; earlier fills in another area seem to date to the mid 13th century (ceram ic phase 8 ). S ee V ince in CowgiO et

Dating and Context o f the Finds

9

al. 1967, 4 , and Youngs et aJ. 1 98 3 ,1 9 4 . Finds include w aste from bone-bead m anufacture in the early 14thcentury Ditch fills. M 1 L 7 2 : 10 Milk S treet (site supervisor N Farrant) Inland site; a pit produced one com b included in this volum e. M L K 76:

1 -6

M ilk

S treet

(site

supervisors

S Roskams, J Schofield) Inland site; a pit produced one o f the girdles discussed in this volum e. O P T 81:

2 -3

C opth al

A venue

(site

supervisor

C Maloney) Inland site, with a few finds deriving from the manufac­ ture o f cast copper-alloy strap fittings (ceram ic phase 9 ) - see P earce et al. 1985. S H 7 4 : Seal H ouse, 106-108 U pper Tham es S treet (site su p ervisory Schofield) Sequence o f dum ps and foresh ores (ceram ic phases 6 to 8 ). T he four su ccessive w harves can b e dated to 1 1 3 3 + , 1 1 6 3 -9 2 + , and 1193+ by dendrochron ology, and to c.1250 by p ottery. Few finds relevant to this volum e. S M 7 5 : S t. M agnus Church, L ow er Tham es S treet (site s u p e rv is o r/ Schofield) Small w aterfront site. A chain from ceram ic phases 6 to 7 is included in this volum e. S U N 86: Sunlight W harf, U pper Tham es S treet (site supervisor R Bluer) F or com paranda: sequ ence o f reclam ation dum ps and foresh ores (ceram ic phases 6 to 12 and later). M etal detectin g by S ociety o f Tham es M udlarks. S W A 8 1 : Swan Lane, U pper Tham es S treet - fig 4 (site supervisor G Egan) Sm al controlled excavation and subsequent extensive watching brief com prising reclam ation dum ps and fore­ shores with up to ten su ccessive revetm ents in three adjacent properties (ceram ic phases 6 to 12). D espite watching brief conditions, the helpful con tractors (Sir R obert M acAlpine and Sons) perm itted prolonged a ccess to the fullest reclam ation sequ en ce record ed am ong the main sites included in this volum e. M etal detectin g by the S ociety o f Tham es M udlarks produced extensive and varied finds assem blages that can be dated closely (Egan 1985/86, 4 2 -5 0 ), though recording o f the earliest (ceram ic phase 6) and som e o f the later

(ceram ic phase 11) parts o f this sequ ence is lim ited. T he late 13th-century and early 15th-century deposits w ere especially productive (ceram ic phases 9 and 12). T he latest tw o successive dum ps (kite to 1394+ by dendrochron ology, and to 1422+ from coin eviden ce, and the foresh ore associated with the form er and underlying the latter can be dated to c. 1400-30 (the absence o f coins o f the reign o f Henry VI is taken to be inconsistent with deposition as late as the 1430s V ince in CowgiU et al. 1987, 6 ). con text 161 (dump, phase 9) 1280 (dump, phase 9) 2000 2004 2006 2008 2012 2016 2017 2018 2020 2023 2025 2027 2028 2030 2031 2032 2039 2040 2046 2050 2051 2052 2054 2055 2057 2061 2062 2063 2065 2069 2070 2072 2075 2078 2079 2081 2082 2084 2085 2097 2100

group

70 85 104/106/107 (redeposited) 93 80 74 74 74 100 (?)74 74 74 74 74 100 74 74 74 74 74 58 100 85 74 74 74 74 85 100 74 74 74 74 74 74 103 103 102 103 103

con text group 2101 102 95 2102 2103 103 2105 95 2106 103 2107 102 2108 103 2109 102 93 2110 2111 103 2112 103 2113 103 2114 103 2115 102 2117 103 2126 77 2127 74 2128 88 74 2132 2133 67 2134 74 2135 67 2137 74 2139 61 2141 74 2142 61 2144 74 61 2145 2146 74 2149 74 2150 61 2176 24 2182 (?)24 2187 24 2207 26 2209 24 2257 (?)38 2266 42 102 2269 61 2270 55 2273 67 2274 2279 42

Dress Accessories

10

4

Swan Lane site and watching brief (SWA81) - schematic plan

Dating and Context o f the Finds T E X 8 8 : Tham es Exchange, Upper Thames Street (site co-ordinator G Milne, supervisors C Milne and K

Tyler) F or comparanda: extensive site with controlled excava­ tion areas and wider watching brief (ceramic phases 6 to 11, possibly 12). Metal detecting by the Society o f Tham es Mudlarks. The extensive finds assemblages indude evidence from manufacture o f cast copper-alloy and lead/tin strap fittings. Details o f coin and dendrochronologtcal dating for the very full sequence are not available at the time of writing. T L 7 4 : Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street - fig 5 (site supervisor G Milne) Well-dated sequence o f reclamation dumps and fore­ shores from c.1250 to C.1440 (ceramic phases 8 to 12). Dating o f the 17 revetments/repairs and foreshore structures in three adjacent properties was from dendrochronology, coins and pottery. The field records do not permit specific identification o f all contexts as Trig Lane site (TL74) - schematic plan

11 either foreshore or redamation-dump deposits. Exten­ sive finds from ceramic phases 10 to 12. T he structural evidence has been published (Milne and Milne 1982, d Vince in CowgiU et al. 1987, 6 -7 ). Because all the recorded deposits associated with each major structure Ge the earlier foreshore contexts immediately adjacent and underlying, as weD as the later ones accumulating to the south against each revetm ent, together with the reclamation dumps immediately to the north o f the structure) have been put together under one group number, some o f the foreshore deposits at this site have in post-excavation analysis been divided between the earlier structural group to the north and the later one to the south. This way o f grouping contexts may thus place finds from the same foreshore strata re­ corded at slightly different points under different group numbers.

Dress A ccessories

12

d = dump f = foresh ore accum ulated foresh ore = postdating each structure underlying foresh ore = predating each structure For ceram ic phasing see individual catalogue en tries. con text

274 275 279 291 306 364 368 370 414 415 416

group (ie relates to revetment number . . .) 15 15 15 (?)11 11 15 15 11 (?)7 /ll 11 10/1 1/13/15

429 431 453 1347 1388 1457 1590 1877 1942 1956 2232 2332 2416 2417 2455 2S15 2525 2529 2532 2606 2656

W A Y 83:

9/11 9/11 11/15 7