I've been digging by the Broadway goods shed, and and in one particular area a quantity of mainly GWR chinaware is turning up in a layer of ash about 6ins below the surface. It is all smashed to pieces, but the more I dig up, the more I am hoping that my growing jigsaw puzzle in the shed will finally see something click into place. So far I can see remainder of different sized plates - marked
Great Western Railway Hotels - cups, saucers and part of a bowl. Here are some plates of different diameters:
Each one has the same GWR coat of arms on it, which I believe was used up to 1933, when it was replaced by the roundel. Sometimes the manufacturer's stamp is visible on the bottom - Booths, or often Minton.
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| Close up of the coat of arms on a plate. |
This is rather exciting for me, as I have never held anything GWR in my hands before - not even 2807! It feels like history. I have looked on Ebay, but there does not appear to be too much GWR china around, so it might be quite scarce. I now have about 20 plate fragments, but frustratingly, so far only two have matched. I think this means more digging is required!
The other thing that comes up is found by our ditch digging gang at Broadway. They are clearing the ditch that runs along the former allotments below the goods shed. Their finds are mostly bottles, and I think they must have been thrown there by the users of the allotments - mineral water is a common theme.
This one appeared quite recently. It has its original stopper, and contains a syrupy liquid which I have not yet dared to investigate more closely...
The bottle is intact and cast into it are the words:
ARDEN
MINERAL WATERS
HENLEY-IN-ARDEN
I have Googled this company, but found nothing. Does anybody have any information on it?
Also, if anyone knows of a website that shows more examples of GWR china, I would be interested to know.
These bottles give you a window into the past, and reflect the culture of this area - Cheltenham, Evesham, Stratford on Avon, Moreton in Marsh, and here Henley in Arden. From various pointers I have found, the general period is I would say the 1930s.
More finds next time !
5 comments:
Kellys Directory for Warwickshire 1940 gives the following
HENLEY-IN-ARDEN
Arden Mineral Water Co. mineral water mfrs. 169 High St. TN21
Info. obtained from Ancestry. You may also find the following link useful
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp
Can we try and keep Broadway stuff on the Broadway blog?
Thank you for the info on Arden Mineral Waters, much appreciated!
To Anonymous: CRC2 is being built by the Broadway gang, and these are the stories we have to tell. They also give a bit of variety to pure brick laying.
The link is brilliant! I found the 1914 Kelly's directory, which not only revealed something about another bottle I found, but a lot about my own village I did not know. Highly recommended for those with an interest in history, and their community. As the documents are in PDF form, they do not appear in Google searches.
I recently became a GWSR member and am also the Chairman of the Bristol Ceramics Society. Several of our members have an interest in GWR ceramics which are as you say rare. We would be pleased to assist in identifying any shards you find - particularly if they were manufactured by "Pountneys" of Bristol.
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