When I moved a few years ago the house was in a very bad condition. Most of the heavy work was clearing a path to the house, because it was sodden, broken up and in a pretty poor state. Having moved 4 tons of soil by hand (Ok wheelbarrow) we can actually get in now and the place is drier. But there’s a long way to go. We found layers and layers of broken stuff chucked by the decades of tenants before us. We saved these bits to clean and use for decoration or because we just liked them. In the wood behind the house there’s whole heap of broken toys but as we’ve enclosed the back yard this is not as accessible right now. Still, we also tidied up the wood as well as our patch.
In olden times people threw fewer things away but also these things were more biodegradable. But bones, glass, pottery and clay, some metal and even fabrics survive for several hundred years depending on the soil, even for thousands of years. Most homes would have had what in Scotland we called the “midden” where broken things were thrown. I don’t think the word is exclusive to Scotland but the midden survived in both use and language until the 1970s.
Bottles and what might possibly be a parasol handle in the foreground
The white thing in front may be a handle of a parasol. It is made of a sort of early plastic type material but is solid and quite heavy. It could be gutta percha, an early form of very solid rubber which was often used for handles. Bone was also used for handles but it doesn’t feel like that.
All the best bits
We also dug up lots of other bits and pieces but this is what we kept.
Pelvic bone from an animal
I am not an expert on bones but this is either a badger or fox pelvic bone.
Torpedo bottle
A torpedo bottle is a glass bottle shaped like a long cylinder. Carbonated drinks such as Lemonade bottles in the mid 19th century did not have seals to keep the fizz in, only corks which were not always successful at doing this as they dried out and let air in and also CO2 (the thing which gives it fizz) out. This occurred especially if the bottle was upright as there was a small air gap at the top. If you laid the bottle on its side the cork kept wet and kept the seal intact. The torpedo shape meant you couldn’t accidentally leave it upright and lose the fizz. The shape was no longer needed after proper bottle sealing was invented.
Leg
This mysterious disembodied leg is some kind of metal. It could be zinc. I have a lot of things made from iron at home and in the museum collection and it doesn’t look much like iron underneath. It has a rough surface which could be deliberate or might have corroded over time.
Shells
Shells are not unusual in back gardens all over an island like ours. I am near the sea and the house used to be on the quay side before the land was all filled in and the estuary diverted further out to the Thames.
Old Spice bottle
Old Spice was originally called Early American Old Spice and was developed in America in 1937, originally for women. Old Spice for men was launched in 1938. The branding idea is about evoking the colonial feel and so sailing ships and the word spice is used to nod to adventure on the seas, exploration and the exotic trade. Romantic if you were not on the receiving end of this colonialisation. The original company was the Shulton company but Procter and Gamble bought the product from Shulton in the 1990s. Old Spice was very popular in the 1970s and the fragrance market for men was also growing, with items such as Brut. Old Spice is regarded as a bit old fashioned now but has seen a retro resurgence.
What is a pickle jar from Peckham doing miles from London?
I found this pickle jar in the stream running near my house (really an open ditch, let’s not get too romantic although it does have eels and little fish and the odd shrew).
Peckham was famous for its pickle manufacturers as was Bermondsey and though I haven’t tracked this manufacturer down yet it should be easy from the trade directories at the archives.
See what you can find outside
Take care though when sifting through anything.
Ideally a pair of washing up or gardening gloves are always good to have to hand (pun intended) and a couple of little bags.
Wash everything very carefully, ideally outside, before you handle them. You never know what has been in those containers and bottles and things need a good scrub and a soak. Normally we wouldn’t give museum objects a dunk in detergent but in this case we should make some exceptions!
Animal bones should not be directly handled and do no suffer cleaning very well. Best to look and leave them.
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