Germander Speedwell
@germanderspeedwell.bsky.social
Gatherer of lost knowledge
Explorer of Thames foreshores
Assembler of obscure collections
And observer of flora and fauna.
London, England
www.germanderspeedwell.org.uk
No direct messages sorry - I can't access them; please email me (see my website).
Explorer of Thames foreshores
Assembler of obscure collections
And observer of flora and fauna.
London, England
www.germanderspeedwell.org.uk
No direct messages sorry - I can't access them; please email me (see my website).
A delightful find, sitting on the shingle waiting for me! It's a broken tree trunk / stump pipe, known at the time as a 'rustic' design. There were many variations, but this flat-based one is more unusual; this will date from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.
November 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
A delightful find, sitting on the shingle waiting for me! It's a broken tree trunk / stump pipe, known at the time as a 'rustic' design. There were many variations, but this flat-based one is more unusual; this will date from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.
Here's a couple of 20th century fragments recently found on the foreshore: part of a lovely hand-painted tile, and a very curious large piece depicting an insect landing on something I can't quite identify! This was probably from a jug or vase; the style of decoration is particularly unusual.
November 23, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Here's a couple of 20th century fragments recently found on the foreshore: part of a lovely hand-painted tile, and a very curious large piece depicting an insect landing on something I can't quite identify! This was probably from a jug or vase; the style of decoration is particularly unusual.
Here's a longish thread about what turned out to be one of my favourite foreshore finds of the year... It started when I spotted this bottle. Another mudlark had just walked over that patch - did they not see it, or were they just uninterested in bottles? Or was it simply meant for me? Contd...
November 22, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Here's a longish thread about what turned out to be one of my favourite foreshore finds of the year... It started when I spotted this bottle. Another mudlark had just walked over that patch - did they not see it, or were they just uninterested in bottles? Or was it simply meant for me? Contd...
1/2: What's this? It's a tiny china marble! It's a bit faded from rolling about in the river, but you can still see the coloured circles.
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
November 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM
1/2: What's this? It's a tiny china marble! It's a bit faded from rolling about in the river, but you can still see the coloured circles.
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
1/2: Spotted an unusually shaped broken clay pipe on the foreshore - and picked it up to discover it's a fox face design! I recognised it immediately, as I found another broken one last year. The maker (on the stem) is Daniel Hall of Southwark. Follow the thread to compare with my other one...
November 19, 2025 at 8:04 AM
1/2: Spotted an unusually shaped broken clay pipe on the foreshore - and picked it up to discover it's a fox face design! I recognised it immediately, as I found another broken one last year. The maker (on the stem) is Daniel Hall of Southwark. Follow the thread to compare with my other one...
1/2: Spotted a very large piece of china lying face-down on the Thames foreshore - had to turn it over to check, though I thought it would just be a plain white piece...
November 17, 2025 at 8:44 AM
1/2: Spotted a very large piece of china lying face-down on the Thames foreshore - had to turn it over to check, though I thought it would just be a plain white piece...
1/2: You don't often find a fragment on the foreshore with the complete name of the establishment! However, a quick look in the British Newspaper Archive produced surprisingly few mentions; they appear to have been a chain with several branches in central London, mostly active in the 1850s-60s...
November 13, 2025 at 8:29 AM
1/2: You don't often find a fragment on the foreshore with the complete name of the establishment! However, a quick look in the British Newspaper Archive produced surprisingly few mentions; they appear to have been a chain with several branches in central London, mostly active in the 1850s-60s...
These are my delftware / tin-glazed earthenware finds from the last few months; this type of pottery dates from the 1500s-1700s. It's quite common on the Thames foreshore, but these days I only keep the ones with the more complex designs or rich colours, or from specific sites of interest.
November 7, 2025 at 8:23 AM
These are my delftware / tin-glazed earthenware finds from the last few months; this type of pottery dates from the 1500s-1700s. It's quite common on the Thames foreshore, but these days I only keep the ones with the more complex designs or rich colours, or from specific sites of interest.
1/3: Aha - part of a white stoneware pot showing through the mud of the Thames foreshore... Because its lip was intact (the most vulnerable part) I was quite sure that this was going to be complete, whatever it was...
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
1/3: Aha - part of a white stoneware pot showing through the mud of the Thames foreshore... Because its lip was intact (the most vulnerable part) I was quite sure that this was going to be complete, whatever it was...
1/4: When I found this piece on the Thames foreshore, I thought it would just end up in my drawer of unidentified fragments - with such a general name as the 'London Tavern' I'd never be able to pin it down; it was barely even worth looking it up....
November 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
1/4: When I found this piece on the Thames foreshore, I thought it would just end up in my drawer of unidentified fragments - with such a general name as the 'London Tavern' I'd never be able to pin it down; it was barely even worth looking it up....
It was 'giant insect day' when I visited this particular foreshore. Both of these creatures were upside-down and unable to right themselves, so I helped them up and gave them a log to steady themselves. I have now rehoused them in a less tidal habitat -around one of the street trees in my road.
November 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
It was 'giant insect day' when I visited this particular foreshore. Both of these creatures were upside-down and unable to right themselves, so I helped them up and gave them a log to steady themselves. I have now rehoused them in a less tidal habitat -around one of the street trees in my road.
1/2: In a different place, these fragments of a 'Grecian urn' emerging from the ground might have been an exciting sight...
November 1, 2025 at 9:01 AM
1/2: In a different place, these fragments of a 'Grecian urn' emerging from the ground might have been an exciting sight...
1/3: What a surprise find! I spotted the shape of a clay pipe bowl briefly exposed between the waves; it was immediately covered by another wave, so I had a nervous wait hoping it would be exposed again. And when it was, I grabbed it quickly. At first I thought that rounded shape was a crescent...
October 29, 2025 at 8:08 AM
1/3: What a surprise find! I spotted the shape of a clay pipe bowl briefly exposed between the waves; it was immediately covered by another wave, so I had a nervous wait hoping it would be exposed again. And when it was, I grabbed it quickly. At first I thought that rounded shape was a crescent...
1/4: I recently found on the foreshore this nice large piece of what I recognised as Sunderland lustreware. You can see part of a ship in the top right, a figure in the middle right, and at the bottom, the letters 'TH'. I then remembered something similar found by a fellow mudlark...
October 27, 2025 at 8:02 AM
1/4: I recently found on the foreshore this nice large piece of what I recognised as Sunderland lustreware. You can see part of a ship in the top right, a figure in the middle right, and at the bottom, the letters 'TH'. I then remembered something similar found by a fellow mudlark...
Reposted by Germander Speedwell
My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com
1/2: I recently found this unusual armorial clay pipe bowl, with a charming restful lion. It's different to earlier armorials, and in the second photo at the beginning of the stem you can see the letter T - I wonder if this wording described some national event or occasion? Contd...
October 26, 2025 at 8:08 AM
1/2: I recently found this unusual armorial clay pipe bowl, with a charming restful lion. It's different to earlier armorials, and in the second photo at the beginning of the stem you can see the letter T - I wonder if this wording described some national event or occasion? Contd...
I found this beautiful tin-glazed tile fragment some time ago; it was of sufficient age and interest to be recorded at the Museum of London. I've got it back now; their conclusion was that it was made at Pickleherring or Rotherhithe in London c. 1590-1650; it's been matched up with a known design.
October 23, 2025 at 7:05 AM
I found this beautiful tin-glazed tile fragment some time ago; it was of sufficient age and interest to be recorded at the Museum of London. I've got it back now; their conclusion was that it was made at Pickleherring or Rotherhithe in London c. 1590-1650; it's been matched up with a known design.
Well how about this, for a symbol of hope... it was on a day when I was feeling very low, and while doing the dishes, I spotted that a seedling had sprouted from this steel wool scourer! Life sprouting from this harshest of environments... it certainly distracted me from my negative thoughts!
October 21, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Well how about this, for a symbol of hope... it was on a day when I was feeling very low, and while doing the dishes, I spotted that a seedling had sprouted from this steel wool scourer! Life sprouting from this harshest of environments... it certainly distracted me from my negative thoughts!
1/2: Here's a couple more clay pipes found recently on the Thames foreshore: this one, found lying among the rocks, has a decorated leafy base...
October 19, 2025 at 7:46 AM
1/2: Here's a couple more clay pipes found recently on the Thames foreshore: this one, found lying among the rocks, has a decorated leafy base...
1/2: When I found this china fragment, I guessed it might be from a Bear's Grease pot lid. But what is going on? There's a dog's head, and another creature in the tree above. It took a lot of searching as there are so many different Bear's Grease pot lid designs, but I eventually found a match...
October 18, 2025 at 7:43 AM
1/2: When I found this china fragment, I guessed it might be from a Bear's Grease pot lid. But what is going on? There's a dog's head, and another creature in the tree above. It took a lot of searching as there are so many different Bear's Grease pot lid designs, but I eventually found a match...
This clay pipe bowl once depicted a cyclist, but it's been rolling around in the shingle so long that the design is barely identifiable; I found it among the debris at the top of the foreshore. It probably dates from the 1880s when the safety bicycle came onto the market and became hugely popular!
October 13, 2025 at 7:06 AM
This clay pipe bowl once depicted a cyclist, but it's been rolling around in the shingle so long that the design is barely identifiable; I found it among the debris at the top of the foreshore. It probably dates from the 1880s when the safety bicycle came onto the market and became hugely popular!
1/2: Here's a few of my recent 'novelty' and 'curiosity' finds on the foreshore:
Firstly, Postman Pat. I took him home, and for a few weeks left him lodged in the letterbox of my front door, for the possible amusement of postal delivery persons...
Firstly, Postman Pat. I took him home, and for a few weeks left him lodged in the letterbox of my front door, for the possible amusement of postal delivery persons...
October 12, 2025 at 7:24 AM
1/2: Here's a few of my recent 'novelty' and 'curiosity' finds on the foreshore:
Firstly, Postman Pat. I took him home, and for a few weeks left him lodged in the letterbox of my front door, for the possible amusement of postal delivery persons...
Firstly, Postman Pat. I took him home, and for a few weeks left him lodged in the letterbox of my front door, for the possible amusement of postal delivery persons...
A perfectly broken bouquet from a stoneware vessel; this was lying in my path face-up on the shingle, as if being presented to me (in the subtle way that the foreshore does these things!)
October 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
A perfectly broken bouquet from a stoneware vessel; this was lying in my path face-up on the shingle, as if being presented to me (in the subtle way that the foreshore does these things!)
Well, how about this - a familiar shape, but an unfamiliar colour! It's a small fluted clay pipe bowl, but in a terracotta coloured clay - or dyed orange? My guess is that this was a child's bubble pipe, as I've seen similar examples of coloured pipes produced to be sold as bubble pipes.
October 8, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Well, how about this - a familiar shape, but an unfamiliar colour! It's a small fluted clay pipe bowl, but in a terracotta coloured clay - or dyed orange? My guess is that this was a child's bubble pipe, as I've seen similar examples of coloured pipes produced to be sold as bubble pipes.
A near-complete clay pipe with a dotty-design bowl, found lying on the surface, as in the second photo. The shape/style of this pipe dates it to the 1850-1910 period.
October 5, 2025 at 6:54 AM
A near-complete clay pipe with a dotty-design bowl, found lying on the surface, as in the second photo. The shape/style of this pipe dates it to the 1850-1910 period.