THE SOCIETY FOR
POST-MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY
MONOGRAPH 9
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS
1500–1700
WEST COuNTRY
HOuSEHOLDS
1500–1700
Edited by
JOHN ALLAN, NAT ALCOCk
and DAVID DAWSON
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© Contributors and
he Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology 2015
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
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First published 2015
he Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978 1 84383 994 1
he Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
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he publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
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his publication is printed on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
List of Contributors
xxiii
List of Abbreviations
xxiv
Introduction
John Allan, Nat Alcock and David Dawson
1
ix
I he Form and Development of West Country Houses
he Development of the Vernacular House in South-West England,
1500–1700
Nat Alcock
1
9
2
he Transformation of the Building Stock of Exeter, 1450–1700
Richard Parker and John Allan
35
3
he Appearances of Godolphin, Cornwall, c. 1300–c. 1630
John Schofield
69
4
Boiling Furnaces, Smoking Chambers and Malt kilns in West Country
Households
Peter Brears
99
5
II he Decoration of West Country Houses
he Polychrome-Decorated Plank-and-Muntin Screen at Marker’s Cottage,
Broadclyst, Devon, and its Context
Eddie Sinclair and Isabel Richardson
117
6
he Interior Decoration of an Elizabethan Merchant’s House: the Evidence
from 41–2 High Street, Exeter
John R.L. Thorp
141
7
Sgraito-Decorated and Painted Plaster on Devon Fireplaces
†Ann Adams
155
8
North Devon Relief-Decorated Ceramics in the Household
Cynthia Cramp
189
9
he Stained Hangings at Yarde Farm, Malborough, South Devon
James Ayres
223
III he Material Culture of West Country Households
10 Culinary Artefacts in West Country Households, 1550–1700: Form,
Function and Nomenclature
Peter Brears
255
11 he Archaeology of the West Country Bronze Foundries
Stuart Blaylock
271
12 Cast Bronze Cooking Pots in England, 1500–1720
Christopher Green
309
13 Table Glass in the West Country Home, c. 1500–1700
Hugh Willmott
321
14 Portuguese Faience in South-West England
Tânia Manuel Casimiro
339
15 Dinner on the Ceiling: the 17th-Century Plasterwork at 144 Fore Street,
Exeter
Peter Brears
357
16 Pots and Texts: understanding Pots in use
Oliver kent
367
17 Presenting an Elizabethan Interior: the Reinterpretation of St Nicholas
Priory, Exeter
kate Osborne and John Allan
401
Index of People and Places
419
Index of Subjects
432
ILLuSTRATIONS
PLATES (between pages 216 and 217)
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
Townsend, Stockland, Devon, view from north (photograph, N.W. Alcock)
Townsend, Stockland, Devon, smoke-blackened interior of roof showing truss
B (photograph, N.W. Alcock)
Stud-and-panel partition at the high end of the hall at Owls Castle, Stockland,
Devon (photograph, N.W. Alcock)
Sanders, Lettaford, North Bovey, Devon. View, with the shippon on the right
(photograph, N.W. Alcock)
Decorated beams and ceilings. (1) Laurel House, Alhampton, Somerset. (2)
Spencecombe, Crediton, Devon (photographs, N.W. Alcock)
Moxhayes, Membury, Devon, of 1684: view (N.W. Alcock)
Finish details at Moxhayes, Membury, Devon, of 1684. (1) View of interior
woodwork. (2) Painted decoration (photographs, N.W. Alcock)
Internal panelling of the 17th century. (1) Hunnacott, Bratton Fleming, Devon
(c. 1600). (2) underdown, Yarcombe, Devon, dated 1691 (since removed)
(photographs, N.W. Alcock)
Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, Devon: general view of the screen from
the parlour following conservation, including replacement of lost planks
(photograph, © he National Trust)
Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, Devon, screen decoration on the parlour side:
details of panels 2 and 3 (photographs, E. Sinclair)
Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, Devon, screen decoration on the hall side (1,
drawn by E. Sinclair; 2, © he National Trust)
No. 41 High Street, Exeter, irst-loor rear room, fragment of a painting of
St George and the Dragon: the Dragon (photograph, J. horp, © Exeter
Archaeology)
No. 42 High Street, Exeter, second-loor rear room. (1) Rear wall. (2)
Headbeam frieze, rear wall. (3) First-loor rear room, rear wall (photographs,
J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
No. 42 High Street, Exeter, second-loor front room, rear wall. (1) General
view. (2–3) Cartouches (photographs, J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
No. 42 High Street, Exeter, second-loor front room: detail of frieze
(photograph, J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
No. 41 High Street, Exeter: Elbeuf tapestry fragment (photograph, D. Garner,
© RAMM)
Yarde Farm, Malborough, Devon: the hanging from the north-facing wall,
photographed ex situ in 2008 (photograph, G. Young, © Exeter Archaeology)
x
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
XVIII Yarde Farm, Malborough, Devon: the hanging from the south-facing wall,
photographed ex situ in 2008 (photograph, G. Young, © Exeter Archaeology)
XIX St Nicholas Priory, Exeter: the kitchen as reconstructed (photograph, D.
Garner, © RAMM)
XX
Painted small-ield oak panel from 71 High Street, Exeter (photograph, Exeter
Archaeology archive)
XXI St Nicholas Priory, Exeter: the Parlour as reconstructed (photograph,
D. Garner, © RAMM)
XXII St Nicholas Priory, Exeter: the Chamber over the Parlour as reconstructed
(photograph, D. Garner, © RAMM)
FIGuRES
0.1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
1.13
1.14
1.15
South-West England (drawn by T. Ives)
Townsend, Stockland, Devon. (1) Early trusses D and B, dated to c. 1260d.
(2) Later truss C, dated by typology to c. 1400. (3) Plan and long section
(from Alcock & Laithwaite 1973, with amendments)
Typical examples of jointed cruck roof trusses. (1) Bury Barton, Lapford,
Devon (from Alcock 1966). (2) Clerks, Spaxton, Somerset (photograph,
N.W. Alcock)
Inserted chamber over the hall at Badlake, West Anstey, Devon
(photograph, N.W. Alcock)
Internal jetty at Johnson’s Acre, Stocklinch, Somerset (photograph, N.W.
Alcock)
Wooden windows at Hobhouse, Drewsteignton, Devon. (1) Traceried top
lights of the window to the former open hall. (2) Double-light lancet
window (photographs, N.W. Alcock)
Re-creation of a medieval Devon farm (drawing by Cary Carson, from
Alcock 1978)
Sanders, Lettaford, North Bovey, Devon. (1) Elevation. (2) Plan
(Alcock et al. 1972)
Distribution of long-houses in South-West England (listed and mapped
by N.W. Alcock; boundaries provided by EDINA ukBORDERS with the
support of the ESRC and JISC, using boundary material which is copyright
of the Great Britain Historic GIS Project, Portsmouth university)
Basclose, Otterton, Devon, a side-chimney house (photograph,
Samuel Mather Photography)
Alternative stair positions: spiral stair at Lower Lye, Stockland, Devon, and
plan and section of Gorvin, Hartland, Devon, with stair turret
Two-storey porch at Wrey Manor, Lustleigh, Devon (photograph,
N.W. Alcock)
View and plan of Dymonds, Sowton, Devon (N.W. Alcock)
View and plan of Trevenn, Lamerton, Devon, of c. 1650 (N.W. Alcock)
View and plan of Wick Farm, Curry Rivel, Somerset (C. Carson)
View and plan of South Town, Sampford Courtenay, Devon
(N.W. Alcock)
2
10
10
12
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
1.16
1.17
xi
Moxhayes, Membury, Devon, of 1684: plans (N.W. Alcock)
25
View and plan of Penny Hill Farm, Stockland, Devon, dated 1704
26
(N.W. Alcock)
1.18 Map of Oreston, Plymstock, Devon, in 1754 (from Alcock & Carson
28
2007, 186)
1.19 Two two-room plan cottages: Burt’s Cottage, knole, Somerset, and Staple
29
Cottage, Dartington, Devon (from Alcock & Carson 2007, 24)
1.20 Windows of the 17th century. (1) Woodbeer Court, Plymtree. (2) Lower
30
House, Payhembury (photographs, N.W. Alcock)
2.1 (1) Houses at the centre of High Street, perhaps c. 1860–70 (photograph
36
courtesy of S. Bhanji). (2–3) he front of 225–6 High Street with its rich
carving (photographs, Exeter Archaeology)
2.2. Arthur Glennie’s drawing ‘Old Houses in Smythen Street’ showing one
38
side of Butcher Row c. 1827 (courtesy of the DHC)
2.3 Medieval houses in Cathedral Close. (1) he two courtyard houses now
40
forming Nos 8–11 Cathedral Close. (2) Nos 1–2 Catherine Street
(photographs, Exeter Archaeology)
2.4 Reconstruction drawings of 38 North Street, viewed from the rear of the
41
property. (1) As built c. 1500. (2) In the late 16th century. (3) In the
mid-17th century (drawings by R. Parker from horp 2012, Figs 22, 33
and 47)
2.5 Small medieval houses. (1) No. 16 Edmund Street. (2) Houses at the corner 42
of Fore Street and North Street shortly before demolition in 1880 (Isca
Collection, courtesy of Peter homas). (3) No. 11 West Street: details of
drawn survey (drawn by J. Allan and J. Dunkley, © Exeter Archaeology)
2.6 Reconstruction drawings of the row of three houses forming the Ship Inn, 44
St Martin’s Lane. Top: primary form c. 1400. Below: the progressively
denser buildings (drawn by R. Parker, from Matthews et al. 2012,
Figs 11–13)
2.7 he crowded city: view of the Hedgeland model with High Street on the
46
left, and Goldsmith Street and North Street at the centre of the view
(courtesy of RAMM)
2.8 Houses built in 1656–60 on the cathedral cloisters. (1) he backs of houses 47
on the west walk (left and centre), with smaller houses between the cathedral
buttresses in the north walk undergoing demolition (right) (drawn by Henry
Eldridge c. 1818, from a private collection). (2) Two-roomed houses on the
north walk (left) and chambers for the poor to the east (right) (engraving
by Woolnoth, 1807)
2.9 he row houses of Bradninch Place. (1) Fronts shown in Norden and
48
Norden’s map of Exeter Castle of 1617, © he British Library Board (BL
Add. MS 6027 f. 81). (2) Rear elevations, from the Hedgeland model of
Exeter of c. 1820 (photograph D. Garner, © RAMM). (3) he OS 1:500
map of 1876 (with later extensions into gardens on their northern sides)
2.10 Reconstruction of a gallery and back-block house: 18 North Street (drawn
50
by R. Parker, © Exeter Archaeology)
xii
2.11
2.12.
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
2.17
2.18
2.19
2.20
2.21
2.22
2.23
2.24
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
Long section of 18 North Street showing early roof line on the frontage
and demolished rear block (drawn by T. Ives, © Exeter Archaeology)
Timber-framed party wall between 224 and 225 High Street, showing
earlier roof line below later structure (photograph N. Heard, © Exeter
Archaeology)
(1) Sketch of 1933 showing the 15th- or 16th-century partition in the party
wall between 16 and 17 Cathedral Yard (Anon. 1933). (2) Position of the
party wall (photograph, J. Allan)
Arthur Glennie’s drawing of Goldsmith Street and St Paul’s Church
c. 1827 (courtesy of the DHC)
No. 198 High Street, recorded during demolition in 1975 (drawn by John
horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
he rise of 1–5 Cathedral Close. (1) he low medieval range (courtesy of
RAMM). (2) Sherwood’s drawing of c. 1625 (courtesy of the DHC).
(3) Modern appearance: ive post-medieval houses raised within the fabric
of the medieval building (photograph, Exeter Archaeology)
Nos 39–47 High Street (photograph, Exeter Archaeology)
he development of 44 High Street (drawn by T. Ives, © Exeter
Archaeology)
(1) Restored appearance of primary form of 46–7 High Street. (2) Long
section showing timber framing beside Lamb Alley. (drawn by k. Westcott,
© Exeter Archaeology)
Reconstruction of the development of 41–7 High Street (drawn by T. Ives,
© Exeter Archaeology)
Demolished pairs of houses. (1) Nos 19–20 North Street, painted by
E. Ashworth, 1889. (2) From John White Abbott’s view of High Street,
1797. (3) In South Street, drawn by G. Townsend. (4) he Chevalier Inn,
Fore Street, drawn by R. Brown in 1833. (5) In Waterbeer Street. (6–7) In
Billeter Lane and High Street, shown on the Hedgeland model. (1, courtesy
of the DEI; 2–4, 6–7, © RAMM; 5, courtesy of Garton king Ltd)
Rows of three houses. (1) hree Gables, Cathedral Yard. (2) Nos 119–21
Fore Street (photographs, © Exeter Archaeology)
Reconstruction of part of a row of houses in Preston Street (drawn by
J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
Row of suburban houses in Holloway Street, built c. 1660 (courtesy of
the DHC)
he early 14th-century estate layout (graphic, T. Ives, based on
OS 1:10,560 map, 1906)
Map showing the position of the new house of c. 1480 and the dislodged
garden (graphic, T. Ives)
Map showing the outer enclosure, displaced road and privy garden of
c. 1520 in relation to earlier phases (graphic, T. Ives)
Map showing the north approach, forecourt, suggested deer-course and the
raised walk in the park, all c. 1540 (graphic, T. Ives)
he little hall in the east range (called the Dining Room) (photograph,
Paul Raeside)
51
52
52
53
53
54
55
57
58
59
60
61
62
62
71
74
76
78
80
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
xiii
he courtyard gate of c. 1575, based on the Roman Doric gate at
82
Collacombe, Lamerton, Devon (photograph, Arthur Tedman, 1911,
© Country Life)
3.7 he stable range of c. 1595, possibly designed by Robert Adams
83
(photograph, Paul Raeside)
3.8 he west range after repair in 2004 (photograph, Paul Raeside).
84
3.9 Elevation and cross-sections of the front range as built c. 1630. Measured
87
and drawn by the author. Reduced from 1:100 scale
3.10 Plan of the house at irst loor level, showing work of c. 1630. he footprint 88
of the existing house plotted as broken lines (based on a survey by RCHME)
4.1 Restored drawings of kitchen boiling furnaces. (1) Newton St Loe Castle, 100
Somerset. (2) Dartington Hall, Devon, c. 1388–99. (3) Berry Pomeroy
Castle, c. 1610–30 (4) Smoking chamber, Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon,
(drawings, © P. Brears)
4.2 he brewhouse at Buckland Abbey, Devon. (1) Plan (G. Young &
102
B. Moore/J. Reed, © Exeter Archaeology). (2) Reconstruction of the
interior (© P. Brears)
4.3 A Devon malting kiln: Yarde Farm, Malborough. (1) View of the ireplace, 108
with ovens to the left and malt kiln to the right. (2) Plan. (3) Section
(1, photograph, S.R. Blaylock; 2–3, drawings, J. Allan/T. Ives, © Exeter
Archaeology)
4.4 Details of the malting kiln at Yarde Farm, Malborough. (1) View to the
109
rear wall, with window and vault above. (2) he kiln vault, showing the
duct to the ireplace chimney (photographs, J. Allan)
4.5 Ware Farm, ugborough. (1) House plan showing location of malt kiln.
110
(2) he vault. (3) Reconstruction of primary form of kiln: the exterior of
the kiln, with the kitchen chimney rising behind it. (4) Cross-section and
plan of kiln (1–2 from Allan 2005; 3–4 drawn by P. Brears)
5.1. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: view from the north-west, 1989
119
(© he National Trust)
5.2. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: ground plan (© he National Trust)
119
5.3. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: long section through the front range
120
(drawn by Brian Blakeway; © he National Trust)
5.4. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: reconstructions. (1) Late medieval. (2) Early 121
16th century, phase 2 (drawn by Brian Blakeway, © he National Trust)
5.5. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: smoke-blackened roof looking south, 1987
121
(photograph, © he National Trust)
5.6. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: reconstructions. (1) Early 16th century,
122
phase 3. (2) Early 17th century (drawn by Brian Blakeway, © he National
Trust)
5.7. Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst: line drawing of the screen decoration on the 125
parlour side, with numbering of individual panels (drawn by E. Sinclair,
© he National Trust)
5.8 Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, screen decoration on the parlour side:
126
panel 5 including St Andrew, 1989 (© he National Trust)
3.6
xiv
5.9
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, parlour side, panel 5. (1–2) he ship beside
St Andrew. (3) Creatures below St Andrew (photographs, E. Sinclair)
5.10 (1) Marker’s Cottage, Broadclyst, ?depiction of the Assumption
(photograph, E. Sinclair). (2) E.W. Tristram’s restoration drawing of the
wall-painting of the Assumption in Exeter Cathedral (courtesy of the Dean
and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral)
5.11 Painted decoration on dado panels in the rood screens of south Devon
churches. (1) South Pool. (2) Chivelstone (photographs, J. Allan)
6.1 Nos 41–2 High Street, Exeter. (1) Frontage. (2) Rear courtyard in 1976
(photographs, J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
6.2 Nos 41–2 High Street, Exeter: plans (graphic, J. horp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
6.3 Nos 41–2 High Street, Exeter: composite long section (graphic, J. horp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
6.4 No. 41 High Street, Exeter, irst loor, ireplace in front room: side oven
above painted false ashlar (photograph, J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
6.5 No. 41 High Street, Exeter, irst-loor front room, east wall: body of an
elaborately dressed man (graphic, J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
6.6 No. 41 High Street, Exeter, irst-loor rear room. (1) Front and west walls.
(2) West wall, headbeam frieze (photographs, J. horp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
6.7 No. 41 High Street, Exeter, second-loor rear room, east wall (photograph,
J. horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
6.8 No. 41 High Street, front attic room: youth with hawk (J. horp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
6.9 Nos 41–2 High Street: carved wooden panel (photograph, J. horp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
7.1 Distribution of sgraito-decorated ireplaces in Devon and other places
mentioned in text (graphic, T. Ives)
7.2 Billany, Dartington: two ireplaces decorated in geometric sgraito, both
under plain oak lintels with run-out chamfers. (1) he irst-loor design.
(2) Schematic and slightly conjectural restoration drawing of the
ground-loor scheme (drawing, Ann Adams)
7.3 West Moore, South Brent: upper-loor gable ireplace; above are a frieze,
loral devices and the date 1653 (Ann Adams after a drawing by Robert
Waterhouse)
7.4 Middle Moor, Sowton, ground-loor ireplace. (1) General view. (2) Detail
of right jamb. (3) Measured drawing. (1–2, photographs, Peter Child,
1971; 3, drawing, courtesy of Trevor Miles and the Devon Archaeological
Society)
7.5 Nos 44–6 Magdalen Street, Exeter. (1–2) Ground-loor ireplace with
caryatid. (3) First-loor ireplace with chequerboard and stripes.
(4) Fireplace jamb with diamond pattern (drawings, John horp 1977,
© Exeter Archaeology)
7.6 No. 62 Fore Street, Topsham (photographs, © Exeter Archaeology)
7.7 Middle Moor, Sowton, irst-loor ireplace. (1) General view (photograph,
127
128
132
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
151
156
158
158
159
160
161
162
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
7.8
7.9
7.10
7.11
7.12
7.13
7.14
7.15
7.16
7.17
7.18
7.19
7.20
7.21
7.22
xv
Peter Child 1971). (2) Measured drawing, the outer faces restored (drawing
courtesy of Trevor Miles and the Devon Archaeological Society)
No. 70 Fore Street, Totnes: ireplaces in curved hearths behind high-status 163
carved stone lintels, the styles with vase stops. (1) With well-preserved
all-over diagonally halved squares. (2) With all-over diagonally quartered
squares (photographs, © Totnes Museum 2007)
Brook Manor, Buckfastleigh. (1–2) First-loor chamber, detail and measured 164
reconstruction of the left jamb. (3–5) Second-loor chamber, right jamb,
with tulips above a fruiting vine. (photographs 1, 3–5, Donna Cox 2008,
3 slightly enhanced)
Nos 44–6 Magdalen Street, Exeter: second-loor ireplace with false ashlar 165
on the jambs (1, 3) and back (2), with diagonally halved squares on the
outer wall faces (4). here are suggestions of a curved ‘ireback’ at the centre
of the rear wall (drawings, John horp 1977, © Exeter Archaeology)
Lower Ridge, Chardstock: irst-loor ireplace (photograph, Peter Child
166
1974)
Gulliford, Lympstone: ground-loor ireplace (photographs, © Exeter
167
Archaeology)
Chains Road, Sampford Peverell (photograph, Peter Child 1997)
168
Gotham, Tiverton, right jamb of a ground-loor sgraito-decorated
168
ireplace
No. 4 he Quay, Dartmouth: the second-loor ireplace. (1) Photograph
169
c. 1982 (from horp 1983, 114, ig. 4; 116, pl. 3b, © Exeter Archaeology).
(2) Suggested restored design
he Manor House, 63 Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot. Schematic
170
drawing of the back and jambs of an elaborate and well-preserved ireplace
Fireplaces in High Street, Plymouth. (1–2) Reconstruction and photograph 171
of irst-loor ireplace at No. 23. (3–4) Back of a second-loor ireplace at
No. 21 (1 and 4 based drawings by S.R. Jones; 2–3, photographs,
S.R. Jones)
No. 49 Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot, an important town house
172
(drawn from a photograph by Robert Waterhouse)
Higher Brownsham, Hartland. (1) Fireplace in a irst-loor chamber,
172
showing its relationship to the enriched rib ceiling and ‘Pegasus’ frieze.
(2) he probable intended appearance of the design in the jambs
No. 21 he Mint, Exeter, part of the former St Nicholas Priory.
173
(1) Ground-loor ireplace. (2) First-loor ireplace (drawings, © Exeter
Archaeology)
No. 33 St Andrew’s Street, Plymouth. (1) Elaborate sgraito geometric
173
scheme in a irst-loor front parlour (photograph, © Plymouth City
Museums & Art Gallery 2007). (2) Measured reconstruction of the
remaining three bands
No. 21 High Street, Plymouth, irst-loor ireplace. (1) he complete design 174
(drawn by S.R. Jones). (2–3) Fragments surviving in Plymouth City
Museums (photographs, John Allan, © Plymouth City Museums & Art
Gallery 2007). (4) Details of two tile-like patterns
xvi
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
7.23 he Strand, Lympstone. (1–2) Floral design on the wall faces. (3) Detail
175
from right wall face
7.24 Honiton Barton, South Molton: irst-loor ireplace. (1) General view.
176
(2) Left side, the design wrapping round the wall face, jamb and part of the
back. (3) Detail of the bird/root eating its own fruit, from the right jamb.
(4) Measured reconstruction (in natural wool needlepoint) of the entire
right-hand design
7.25 Honiton Barton, South Molton. (1) A ground-loor ireplace with part of a 177
painted trompe l’oeil architectural scheme on the wall face. (2) he left jamb
of a second ground-loor ireplace with a fragment showing lowers in a vase
7.26 House near Chard, Somerset. (1–2) Fireplace jamb (photographs, Jeremy
178
Sharpe). (3) An early 18th-century Dutch panel of 90 tiles, bordered with
scrolls very similar to those in Fig. 7.25 (1)
7.27 Parallels and design sources. (1) Dutch tiles forming a geometric design.
182
(2–3) Early 17th-century Dutch tiles showing lowers in a vase and a tulip.
(4) Late 17th-century Barnstaple sgraito-decorated plate, with lowers in
a vase. (5–6) Early 18th-century Westerwald stoneware jugs, no. 5 combining
applied and incised design, no. 6 with bunches of grapes and trailing stems.
(7) Floral motif from a Devon mid-17th-century carved chest panel.
(8) Oak storey post from No. 4 he Quay, Dartmouth (1–3, from a private
collection; 4, courtesy of the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon; 8,
drawing, John horp, © Exeter Archaeology)
7.28 Manor Farm, Strete: ireplace found in 2010 (photographs,
184
R. Waterhouse)
8.1 he forms of north Devon relief-stamped ceramics. (1–2) Front and back
191
of a tile. (3) Long iredog from Barnstaple (length: c. 420mm). (4) Firedog
from Barnstaple. (5) Spit support from Bideford. (photographs, 1–2, Exeter
Archaeology; 3, C. Cramp; 4–5, RAMM)
8.2 he restored design of the Appledore ireback (drawn by C. Cramp)
192
8.3 Map showing distribution of relief tiles and hearth furniture from secular 194
sites
8.4 Tile stamps from secular sites: designs k1–vk26. (drawn by C. Cramp)
195
8.5 Tile stamps from secular sites: designs k28–43. (drawn by C. Cramp)
196
8.6 Tile stamps from secular sites: designs k50–58, N1–3. (drawn by
198
C. Cramp)
8.7 Tile stamps from secular sites: designs N4–11. (drawn by C. Cramp)
199
8.8 Map showing most likely towns of origin of relief tile stamps found on
200
secular sites (drawn by C. Cramp)
8.9 Relief tiles reset in hearths. (1) No. 28 South Street, Great Torrington, as
201
relaid after restoration in 1995. (2) No. 77 New Street, Great Torrington.
(3) Town Mills, Landkey (reproduced by permission of the North Devon
Conservation Society)
8.10 Baker’s hatch, Braunton: stamped plasterwork. (1) General view.
205
(2) Lion stamp. (3) Pot holding a lower (photographs, C. Cramp)
8.11 Spit-supports with design vk23. (1) D6 with the head of a dog, the ears
206
and muzzle broken. (2–3) Sides and base of D9 from Northam.
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
8.12
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
10.1
xvii
(4) Sgraito-decorated iredog/spit-support. (photographs 2–3 courtesy
of B. Hughes; 4 reproduced by permission of National Museums
Liverpool)
Bricks from the chimney breast of No. 172 New Street, Great Torrington 207
(photographs, G. Young, Exeter Archaeology, courtesy of Great Torrington
Museum)
Yarde Farm, Malborough in the late 19th century (courtesy of
224
Mr C. Browning)
Yarde Farm, Malborough: plans of south range (J. Allan/T. Ives,
226
© Exeter Archaeology)
Yarde Farm, Malborough, south range: elevation of north wall, showing
228
recent position of hangings and suggested former location (J. Allan/T. Ives,
© Exeter Archaeology)
Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire: stained hangings in situ in a irst-loor
229
chamber (photograph, English Heritage, ref. BB85/2853, © Crown
copyright, NMR)
Donore, Sherborne: fragment now in Sherborne Museum (photograph,
231
J. Ayres)
Hounds shown on hangings. (1–3) Yarde (photographs, G. Young,
232
© Exeter Archaeology). (4–5) Donore (photographs, J. Ayres).
6. Jenkyn Place (photograph, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert
Museum, London)
Buildings shown on hangings. (1) Yarde (photograph, G. Young,
233
© Exeter Archaeology). (2–4) Owlpen (photographs, Derek Parker).
5) Jenkyn Place (photograph, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert
Museum, London). (6) Munslow Farm (photograph, J. Ayres).
(7) Donore (photograph, J. Ayres)
Trees shown on hangings. (1) Yarde (photograph, G. Young, © Exeter
234
Archaeology). (2–3) Owlpen (photographs, Derek Parker). (4) Munslow
Farm (photograph, English Heritage). (5) Jenkyn Place (photograph,
courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London)
he Lockers, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire: irst-loor chamber
237
(photograph, English Heritage, ref. BB79/5094, © Crown copyright, NMR)
West Country culinary artefacts. (1) Early 16th-century ‘crock of earth’,
257
Exeter. (2) Crock of bronze, 15th/16th century, West Country. (3) Earthen
posnet, late 16th century, Exeter. (4) Bronze posnet, 16th century, possibly
attributable to the Birdall foundry, Exeter. (5) Chafer? of earthenware,
15th/16th century, Exeter. (6) Chafer of bronze, 1670. (7) Chaing dishes
for ire, British Library Harleian MS 2027. (8) Chaing dish, earthenware,
c. 1660–80, Exeter. (9) Chafer for food, earthenware, Goldsmith Street kiln,
Exeter, early 16th century. (10) Chafer for food, bronze, by homas Sturton
II, South Petherton, Somerset, 1670. (11) Apple roaster, Woolston, Somerset.
(12) Apple roaster, c. 1660–80, Exeter. (13) Earthenware copy of a pastry
pie-crust, early 16th century, Exeter. (14) Earthenware pasty base, north
Devon. (15) Earthenware pie-crust, Totnes, c. 1600. (16) Earthenware
xviii
10.2
10.3
10.4
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9
11.10
11.11
11.12
11.13
11.14
11.15
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
whitepot dish, mid-17th-century, Exeter, with a woodcut of a whitepot of
c. 1660 (© Peter Brears)
Pottery ‘crocks’ produced at Goldsmith Street, Exeter, in the early 16th
century (photograph, courtesy of RAMM)
West Country artefacts related to drinking. (1–3) Earthenware white ale
pitchers from Little Petherick Creek, Totnes and Donyatt. (4) Earthenware
bucket, Exeter. (5) Coopered bucket, 19th century, south Devon. (6–11)
Cups from Exeter: (6) turned wood, c. 1660; (7–8) earthenware, early 16th
century and c. 1660; (9–10) stonewares, early 16th-century Cologne and late
16th-century Frechen; (11) wooden cups, depicted in use in ‘he Field of
the Cloth of Gold’ (redrawn from Royal Collection, © Peter Brears)
Spigot-jug with three bung-holes from Little Petherick Creek, near
Padstow, North Cornwall (photograph, D. Dawson, courtesy of the Royal
Cornwall Museum)
Map of South-West England, showing excavated vessel foundries and other
places mentioned in the text (graphic, T. Ives)
Location of the ive foundry sites excavated in Exeter, based on Benjamin
Donn’s map of Exeter, 1765
An exceptionally large tripod cauldron, now in the Warming Room at
Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire (photograph, courtesy of he National Trust)
Specimen vessel types: a large cauldron, Butler collection no. 13, by John
Fathers I of Montacute (photograph, D. Garner)
Specimen vessel types: a ‘posnet’, Butler collection no. 4, possibly by the
Birdall foundry of Exeter (photograph, D. Garner)
Specimen vessel types: a ‘skillet’ (photograph, D. Garner)
he Cowick Street foundry site under excavation in 1984 (photograph,
F.M. Griith, 27 May 1984, © Devon County Council)
Vertical view of a casting pit in the Cowick Street foundry (photograph,
S. Blaylock, © Exeter Archaeology)
General view of excavated clay quarrying pits in the Cowick Street
foundry (photograph, S. Blaylock, © Exeter Archaeology)
Group photograph of a selection of cope mould fragments, illustrating the
typical nature of the material from Cowick Street (photograph, G. Young)
Conjectural reconstruction drawing of a cauldron mould, based on the
mould material from Cowick Street (drawing, S. Blaylock/T. Ives)
Two skillet handle moulds from the Cowick Street foundry (photographs,
B. Sinclair/G. Young)
Line drawings of a selection of skillet handle moulds from the Cowick
Street foundry (drawings, S. Morris, © Exeter Archaeology)
Detail of catalogue no. 4 of the Butler collection, a ‘posnet’ with an
inscribed ‘M’ scratch mark on its shoulder (left); a mould fragment from
Cowick Street bearing a similar incised scratch mark (right) (photographs,
D. Garner)
Complete half-mould for a manilla from Cowick Street alongside a
19th-century manilla from the collections of RAMM, Exeter
(photograph, D. Garner)
258
263
264
272
273
276
276
277
277
278
279
280
280
281
283
283
284
286
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
11.16 Selection of moulds from Cowick Street for lat dimpled objects of
unknown purpose (photograph, D. Garner)
11.17 General view of the Penningtons’ foundry excavated at Paul Street, Exeter,
in 1982 (photograph, B. Sinclair, © Exeter Archaeology)
11.18 Phased plan of the Paul Street foundry (drawing, S. Blaylock/B. Jupp,
© Exeter Archaeology)
11.19 he reverberatory furnace excavated at Paul Street in 1982 (photograph,
S. Blaylock, © Exeter Archaeology)
11.20 General view of the bell-foundry installation at Paul Street (photograph,
B. Sinclair, © Exeter Archaeology)
11.21 he irebox and melting hearth of the reverberatory furnace excavated at
Keynsham Abbey, Somerset (photograph, S. Blaylock, by permission of
B. Lowe/Keynsham Abbey Archaeological Society)
11.22 Group of leg mould fragments from the Whirligig Lane foundry,
Taunton (photographs, S. Blaylock)
11.23 Single fragment of a decorated skillet handle with a vaned pattern from
Whirligig Lane, Taunton (photograph, S. Blaylock)
11.24 Reconstruction of a typical Taunton vessel, based on study of the mould
fragments (drawing, S. Blaylock/T. Ives)
11.25 Excavations in progress at Lightgate Road, South Petherton in 2004
(photograph, S. Blaylock)
11.26 Mould fragments illustrating the four skillet handle mottoes from the
Sturton foundry at Lightgate Road, South Petherton (line drawings,
Nicholas Griiths; photographs after Butler & Green 2003, 201)
11.27 (1) Mould fragment and (2) inscribed skillet handle bearing the name of
homas Sturton II. (3–4) Mould fragments from an unidentiied motto
reading …]ES F[… from Lightgate Road, South Petherton (line drawings,
Nicholas Griiths; photograph after Butler & Green 2003, 109)
11.28 he foundry site at 35 East Street, Crediton. (1) Location of the tenement,
shown on a 19th-century copy of John Norden’s survey of Crediton of 1598
(Devon Heritage Centre 1660A/Add4/E1). (2) Simpliied site plan showing
foundry features. (3) Conjectural reconstruction of a Crediton cauldron
mould (scale approximate). (4) A vessel from the Butler collection (cat.
no. 172) displaying the distinctive straight upper proile shown by the
mould fragments, and thus possibly a product of the Crediton foundry.
(1–3, Exeter Archaeology archive; 4, photograph courtesy of he Museum
of Somerset)
11.29 Selected contemporary illustrations of cauldrons and skillets in use (not
necessarily for typical purposes!). (1) Stained glass roundel in the Burrell
Collection showing a cauldron in a ireplace (© CSG CIC Glasgow
Museums Collection). (2) Nottingham alabaster panel showing a large
cauldron supported on a brandreth. (3) Bench end at Altarnun, Cornwall,
showing a man with a cauldron (photograph, S. Blaylock). (4) Misericord
at Ripple, Hereford and Worcester (after Laird 1986, ig. 10). (5) Detail
from a misericord at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire (after Laird
1986, 121). (6) Extract from the Doom painting originally over the chancel
xix
286
288
289
290
291
291
293
293
294
295
296
297
299
300
xx
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6
15.1
15.2
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
arch at Shorthampton. (7) Marginal illumination from the Smithield
Decretals, showing a skillet being used as a weapon (!) (BL MS Royal
10 E IV), c. 1340. (8–9) Scenes from the Luttrell Psalter (BL Add.
MS 42130, f. 182v, 207, after Backhouse 1989, igs 7, 44), c. 1325–35.
(7–9 © he British Library Board)
Cauldron with early, globular body form (photograph, C. Green)
Posnet with broad, relatively lat base characteristic of 16th- and
17th-century vessels (photograph, C. Green)
Skillet with broad, shallow body characteristic of 16th- and early
17th-century examples (photograph, C. Green)
Skillet with deep body characteristic of mid- to late 17th- to 19th-century
examples (photograph, C. Green)
Scratch-marks of founders and foundries (graphic, C. Green)
Mark on cauldron resembling merchant’s mark (photograph, C. Green)
Examples of unusually large and unusually small skillets (photograph,
C. Green)
(1–3) Cauldron with date and mark of ownership (photographs,
C. Green)
Posnet and skillet by John Palmer of Canterbury (photograph, C. Green)
Glass from Exeter, Paul Street (1–11) (drawn by Jerneja Willmott)
Glass from Exeter, Trichay Street (1–6) and Queen Street (7–11)
(drawn by Jerneja Willmott)
Glass from Poole, Old Orchard Car Park Pit F40 (1–3) and VI L1 (4–17)
(drawn by Jerneja Willmott)
Glass from Poole, Old Orchard Car Park Pit F37 (1–8) and Pit F23
(9–13) (drawn by Jerneja Willmott)
Glass from Plymouth, Woolster Street (1–6) and Castle Street (7–15)
(drawn by Jerneja Willmott)
(1) Location of Portuguese faience production centres. (2) Sites where
Portuguese faience has been found in southern England (graphic by T. Ives)
A Portuguese faience dish with puce and blue decoration (A. Miranda
collection)
Portuguese faience from Woolster Street, Plymouth. (1) Dish with lace
decoration. (2) Dish with Chinese-inspired loral decoration (drawn by
T. Casimiro)
Portuguese faience from Exeter. (1) Bowl/cup with aranhões from Trichay
Street. (2) Dish with spirals from Princesshay (drawn by T. Casimiro, 14.4
(1) after Allan 1984a, 181, no. 2117)
Portuguese faience dish with lace decoration from Poole (drawn by
T. Casimiro)
Portuguese faience from St Nicholas’s Almshouses, Bristol. (1) Bottle with
date 1652 and coat of arms. (2) Porringer (drawn by T. Casimiro after
Barton 1964, 200, nos 7, 11)
No. 144 Fore Street, Exeter: house plan (© Exeter Archaeology).
No. 144 Fore Street, Exeter: measured drawing of the ceiling (drawn by
J. horp & R. Parker, © Exeter Archaeology)
310
310
312
312
313
314
314
316
317
324
326
328
330
332
340
343
344
346
347
348
358
360
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
16.1
16.2
16.3
16.4
16.5
16.6
16.7
16.8
16.9
17.1
17.2
17.3
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
xxi
No. 144 Fore Street, Exeter: the middle bay of the ceiling (photograph,
G. Young, © Exeter Archaeology)
No. 144 Fore Street, Exeter: the dishes of the front bay, following
restoration of lost elements (photograph, G. Young, © Exeter Archaeology)
A sweetmeet banquet shown in F. Massialot’s ‘New Instructions for
Confectioners’ in he Court and Country Cook of 1702
Early 18th-century ceiling with reversed text at Penstone Barton,
Colebrooke (photograph, J. horp)
Small vessels with handles from Goldsmith Street, Exeter (drawings from
Allan 1984, igs 97–100, © J. Allan)
Wide-mouthed small vessels with handles, St Nicholas’s Almshouses,
king Street, Bristol (drawings, O. kent)
Small vessels with handles, St Nicholas’s Almshouses, king Street, Bristol
(drawings, O. kent)
A selection of cups from he Academy of Armory, 1688. From the
manuscript drawings except wassell cup which is from the published
plate(drawings, O. kent)
Pan Mug from he Academy of Armory, 1688 (drawings, O. kent)
Cans from he Academy of Armory, 1688. All from the original drawings
(drawings, O. kent)
Jugs from he Academy of Armory, 1688. All from the original drawings
except drinking jug, which is from the published plate (drawings, O. kent)
Cruses from he Academy of Armory, 1688. From the original drawings
(drawings, O. kent)
Pottinger and Porrenger from he Academy of Armory, 1688. From the
original drawings (drawings, O. kent)
St Nicholas Priory, Exeter: ground-loor plan (T. Ives, © Exeter
Archaeology)
St Nicholas Priory: imaginative reconstruction showing the operation of
the west range c. 1600 (drawn by R. Parker, © Exeter Archaeology)
St Nicholas Priory. (1) he parlour ceiling, drawn by J. Crocker (Crocker
1886, pl. xxxviii). (2) Details of the lobby ceiling (photographs,
D. Garner, © RAMM)
361
362
364
365
373
374
375
377
381
382
384
386
387
402
404
406
TABLES
9.1
9.2
9.3
12.1
Valuations of stained/painted cloths in Exeter Orphans Court inventories,
1564–1601 (source: Crocker 2007)
Locations of 110 stained cloths and 98 painted cloths in Exeter Orphans
Court inventories, 1564–1601 (sample: 85 inventories; source: Crocker
2007)
Locations of stained and painted cloths in Exeter Orphans Court
inventories of less than £50 and more than £1000, 1564–1601
(Crocker 2007)
London silversmith’s marks, 1470–1699 (source: Jackson 1989)
240
241
242
317
xxii
LIST OF ILLuSTRATIONS
12.2 Mottoes cast on handles of skillets produced at the Fathers and Sturton
foundries
13.1 Glass from Paul Street, Exeter
13.2 Glass from Trichay Street 316, Exeter
13.3 Glass from Queen Street 314, Exeter
13.4 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F40, Poole
13.5 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park VI L1, Poole
13.6 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F37, Poole
13.7 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F23, Poole
13.8 Glass from Woolster Street, Plymouth
13.9 Glass from Castle Street, Plymouth
16.1 Ceramic cups in West Country probate inventories, 1581–1700
16.2 Ceramic jugs, cruses and gorges from West Country probate inventories,
1581–1700
16.3 Tableware from the probate inventories of homas Yeo (1675) and
William Parker (1690)
17.1 he numbers of pots, pans, etc. recorded in wealthy late 16th-century
Exeter merchant households (Brears 2005, based on selected Exeter
Orphans Court inventories)
17.2 Brears’ proposed furnishings for the kitchen at St Nicholas Priory
(Brears 2005)
318
325
325
327
327
329
329
331
331
333
378
385
390
408
409
he editors, contributors and publishers are grateful to all the institutions and persons
listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every
efort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are ofered for any omission, and the publishers will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions.
CONTRIBuTORS
†Ann Adams
Nat Alcock Independent scholar
John Allan Independent scholar
James Ayres Independent scholar
Stuart Blaylock Independent scholar
Peter Brears Independent scholar
Tânia Manuel Casimiro Instituto de Arqueologia e Paleociências da universidade
Nova de Lisboa
Cynthia Cramp Independent scholar
David Dawson Independent scholar
Christopher Green School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science,
university of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AB, uk
Oliver Kent Department of Ceramics, Bristol School of Art, Queens Road, Bristol
BS8 1PX
Kate Osborne Learning and Skills Oicer, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art
Gallery (RAMM), Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3RX
Richard Parker Independent scholar
Isabel Richardson Independent scholar
John Schoield Independent scholar
Eddie Sinclair Independent scholar and conservator
John R.L. horp Partner, keystone Historic Buildings Consultants, 3 Colleton
Crescent, Exeter, EX2 4DG
Hugh Willmott Senior Lecturer in European Historical Archaeology, Department of
Archaeology, Northgate House, West Street, Sheield, S1 4ET
13
Table Glass in the West Country Home,
c. 1500–1700
Hu gh Willmot t
his paper examines selected groups of excavated table glass from the three urban centres
of Exeter, Poole and Plymouth. By examining the changes in provenance and range of
forms present it is possible to chart the evolving patterns of consumption taking place
in the West Country home during the 16th and 17th centuries. As well as growing
competition between the emerging European centres of production, innovations in style,
technological advances and developing patterns of trade can all be seen to have afected
directly the consumer choices of the emerging middling sort.
I N T RO D u C T I O N
he detailed examination of 16th- and 17th-century vessel glass has a relatively short
pedigree, and it has only been in the last quarter of a century that a greater appreciation
of the range and numbers of vessels used in England has developed. Since relatively few
glasses dating to this period have survived in art historical collections, it is only through
the study of the growing corpus of excavated archaeological material that is it possible
to gain a more sophisticated appreciation of the patterns of consumption of early postmedieval glass. he late Robert Charleston was the pioneer of this process, studying
many of the key assemblages excavated in the 1970–80s, and publishing in 1984 English
Glass and the Glass Used in England circa 400–1940.1 Although a more detailed survey of
the archaeological evidence for glass of this period has been produced more recently,2
this, like Charleston’s book, remains in practice a synthetic work, largely dealing with
the individual vessel types in isolation and removed from their contextual background.
Despite this growth in the number of specialist reports in recent years, to date there
have been no wider regional surveys of archaeological glass. Whilst many specialist
studies, such as Courtney’s 2004 report on Acton Court,3 have provided fully contextualized examination of the glass and even contributed to the wider site narrative, this
format only really allows for a relatively restricted intra-, rather than inter-, site analysis.
Furthermore, geographically the material culture found in the West Country, and glass in
particular, has not received the attention that it has in other parts of England. he reasons
for this are many and varied, and may be due to the relatively low numbers of researchand developer-led excavations compared with other parts of the country, and the fact that
the area is physically removed from some of the national museums and universities where
material culture study has traditionally been based. Whatever the case may be, there is
322
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
no genuine reason for this lack of attention. here are a number of important and large
assemblages of glass that equal those from elsewhere, whilst the West Country lends
itself both culturally and geographically to a contextualized regional survey.
M E D I E VA L V E S S E L G L A S S I N T H E W E S T C O u N T RY
Finds of medieval vessel glass are surprisingly few in the West Country. his must, in
part, be due to some of the biases already outlined, but nonetheless from the 12th to the
15th century glass genuinely appears not to have been widely used in the region. here
are of course notable exceptions, particularly from high-status sites. he late 13th- to
early 14th-century enamelled Italian beakers found at Launceston Castle4 and Restormel
Castle,5 both in Cornwall, are remarkable and rival those found at any other European
site, whilst other vessels such as a near-complete 14th-century jug from Penhallam Manor
again suggest there was a desire for high-quality glass amongst the elite.6 However, these
examples remain isolated and occasional inds and do not form parts of larger assemblages.
Vessel glass is also found, as might be expected, on ecclesiastical sites, but again
in relatively small quantities. Christchurch Priory is typical, the only tablewares being
fragments from a late 13th/14th-century prunted beaker and a 15th-century ribbed and
enamelled beaker, both Italian in origin, as well as a portion of a hanging lamp.7 Whilst
such tablewares are typical of those found on monastic sites, this assemblage is very
small when compared to those found elsewhere in the country, such as at Battle Abbey.8
he one place where medieval vessels have been found in larger numbers is Exeter,
and during excavations at Goldsmith Street in particular. Here fragments of 13th- and
14th-century stemmed goblets and optic-blown beakers made in a domestically produced
potash glass have been identiied, as well as larger numbers of lasks, urinals and fragments of distillation equipment.9 A 13th-century Italian bowl with coloured prunts is
also present at Goldsmith Street, but this is one of the few certain imports. Indeed
Charleston noted that ‘the Exeter inds do not include perhaps the most spectacular
glasses’ such as those found at Southampton, Winchester, Nottingham or London.10
herefore, the evidence for glass use in the West Country prior 1500 is scarce when
compared with other parts of England. Finds of high-quality imported glass are known,
but these are unusual objects and likely to represent individual personal possessions of
the wealthy. It is more surprising that domestically produced utilitarian wares are also
relatively uncommon outside a major town such as Exeter. he likely reason for this
is the distance of these markets from the medieval centres of glass production in the
Surrey/Sussex Weald and Stafordshire, perhaps making the trade in glass uneconomic.
However, this situation changed dramatically during the following century and a half,
when vessel glass became a common feature in the West Country home.
G L A S S F RO M T H R E E W E S T C O u N T RY TOW N S
his study concentrates on the West Country’s principal assemblages – those found
in Exeter, Poole and Plymouth; the fact that all three are ports is not coincidental.
During the period in question, glass is almost entirely absent from ordinary domestic
323
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
rural contexts. For example, of the 1,816 fragments recovered from the Shapwick parish
survey, only seven vessels dating to between 1500 and 1670 could be identiied, and
these all came from contexts relating to the manorial complex.11 In this respect the West
Country is no diferent from the rest of England. For example, at Wharram Percy the
only properly stratiied 16th- or 17th-century glass came from the North Manor and the
Vicarage on the South Glebe.12
Glass of this period from castles and other high-status locations is surprisingly rare.
Sites such as Berry Pomeroy Castle have produced occasional imported vessels,13 but not
in suicient numbers to contribute to a contextualized regional survey. he exception, of
course, is Acton Court, where excavations revealed a large assemblage primarily dating
to the mid-16th century.14 As well as domestically produced utilitarian wares and some
early Low Countries imports, the site produced the largest group of imported Italian
inewares to have been found outside Southampton and London. However, this material
is not considered in this paper, partly because it has already received expert study and
discussion, but also because it is unlike any other assemblage found in the West Country
– perhaps, as has been suggested by the excavators, because most of it represents a single
commission to celebrate the visit of the king in 1535.15
Almost all the larger assemblages of 16th- and 17th-century glass found in the west
come from towns, and especially those on the coast – an interesting distribution which
is discussed below. One surprising exception, given its size and importance, is Bristol. To
date, very little glass has been excavated there, a situation that must result from post-war
development and excavation policies rather than relecting a contemporary absence of
glass use. Indeed, where glass has been found in small quantities, as at Narrow Quay16
and St Nicholas’s Almshouses, king Street,17 it hints that people in Bristol had access
not only to domestically produced utilitarian glass and inewares, but also to imported
goods, just as they did elsewhere.
In total, nine assemblages from Exeter, Poole and Plymouth are examined for the
purpose of this survey. Given that this represents a minimum number count of 230
vessels, it is not feasible to catalogue and discuss each individually, nor is it necessary
to do so, as all but one of the groups are published. Instead, each assemblage is broadly
outlined, representative vessels illustrated and the essential characteristics (such as
proportions of diferent types of vessels and their origins) quantiied. Furthermore, this
study concentrates primarily on the tablewares rather than the other utilitarian vessels,
because glass tablewares were much more responsive to changing contemporary fashions
and therefore show more variation, both chronologically and stylistically. Consequently,
by combining these approaches it is possible to outline the range of vessels used in
the West Country household, review how this changed through time and consider the
reasons behind the consumer choices relected in the archaeological record.
EXETER
he importance of Exeter in any survey of material culture from the West Country is
obvious, given its role as an international port and regional centre. It has already been
noted that the city has produced the region’s most important assemblages of medieval
vessel glass, and it is no surprise that there are a number of important assemblages of
16th- and 17th-century glass too.
324
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
Fig. 13.1 Glass from Exeter, Paul Street (1–11). Scale 1:2.
325
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
Paul Street (Fig. 13.1 (1–11))
An unpublished excavation of a pit at Paul Street18 recovered a large assemblage of both
window and vessel glass, deposited in a single action at the very beginning of the 16th
century. Five of these vessels are imported tablewares: a French pedestal goblet (Fig.
13.1 (1)) and beaker (Fig. 13.1 (2)), a portion of an Italian or possibly French ribbed
and enamelled goblet (Fig. 13.1 (3)), a ine Italian tumbler or miolo (Fig. 13.1 (4)) and a
ribbed Italian lask or inghistera. However, the vast majority of the assemblage (around
49 vessels) consists of poorer-quality potash glass containers which were probably all
produced domestically, although some imports from northern Europe cannot be ruled
out. he vessels represented include pedestal lasks (Fig. 13.1 (6–7)), jars (Fig. 13.1 (8)),
globular lasks (Fig. 13.1 (9–10)) and urinals (Fig. 13.1 (11)).
Table 13.1 Glass from Paul Street, Exeter
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
2
2
50
% of total
4%
4%
92%
% imported
100%
100%
2%
% domestic
0%
0%
98%
Origin of imported glass
France
France & Italy
Italy
Trichay Street 316 (Fig. 13.2 (1–6))
Excavation of Trichay Street feature 316 produced an assemblage of glass that has a
suggested date of deposition in the mid-17th century. However, as has been noted with
the ceramics from the same context, most of the glass is rather earlier and produced in
the late 16th and early 17th centuries. he glass was published by Charleston in his wider
stylistic review of glass in Exeter.19 here is an interesting variety of tablewares. Two are
early 17th-century English goblets (Fig. 13.2 (1–2)), produced by Sir Robert Mansell at
his Broad Street factory in London. Of similar origin might be the base from a poorerquality pedestal beaker (Fig. 13.2 (6)). he three other tablewares are all apparently Low
Country imports. Two (Fig. 13.2 (3–4)) are later 16th-century goblet bowls decorated
with alternating vetro a ili and retorti marvered trailing, originally an Italian style, but
one that came to typify Antwerp production. Possibly slightly later is a cylindrical beaker
decorated with blue and white vetro a ili, a style characteristic of Amsterdam production in the early 17th century. However, the majority of the assemblage still consisted of
potash glass containers, lasks, a case bottle and a urinal, which are all almost certainly
English products.
Table 13.2 Glass from Trichay Street 316, Exeter
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
4
2
11
% of total
24%
12%
64%
% imported
50%
50%
0%
% domestic
50%
50%
91%
Origin of imported glass
Low Countries
Low Countries
–
326
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
Fig. 13.2 Glass from Exeter, Trichay Street (1–6) and Queen Street (7–11). Scale 1:2.
327
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
Queen Street 314 (Fig. 13.2 (7–11))
Deposition of this smaller assemblage was dated by the associated ceramics and pipes
to c. 1600. he glass was published by Charleston in his wider stylistic review of glass
in Exeter.20 Half the assemblage consists of tablewares, and with the exception of two
potash-rich pedestal beakers (Fig. 13.2 (11)) these are imported vessels. Two fragments
(Fig. 13.2 (7–8)) are from good-quality goblets, and although they are relatively undiagnostic, the quality of the glass suggests a Low Countries origin. he inal tablewares are
two beakers, the irst a typical Low Countries trailed example from either Middelburg
or Antwerp (Fig. 13.2 (10)), the second a pedestal vessel decorated with white vetro a
ili trailing, probably from Antwerp, although this style was also produced in Italy. he
remaining half of the assemblage consists of potash globular lasks and a hexagonal
bottle.
Table 13.3 Glass from Queen Street 314, Exeter
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
2
4
6
% of total
17%
33%
50%
% imported
100%
75%
0%
% domestic
100%
25%
100%
Origin of imported glass
Low Countries
Low Countries, Italy?
–
POOLE
Poole, like Exeter, was a signiicant commercial centre in the early modern period, and
excavations have demonstrated its importance at this time through the diversity of the
material culture used there. In particular, excavations in the area of the Old Orchard Car
Park uncovered a large number of rich pits and other contexts containing large quantities of ceramics and glass. All these glass assemblages were published by Charleston in
his wider review of glass in Poole.21
Old Orchard Car Park Pit F40 (Fig. 13.3 (1–3))
Although this pit, whose ill dates to the period c. 1520–50, only produced a small
number of vessels, it is a very interesting assemblage. Portions of ive diferent, but very
similar, pedestal beakers were found. hree of them (Fig. 13.3 (1–3)) have enamelled
inscriptions running beneath their rims in the form of opaque white lettering bound by
blue bands with white dots. his style is typical of French glass production of the irst
half of the 16th century, although such inds are rare in England, and it is interesting
to note that in addition to these ive examples two others were found in diferent pits
at Old Orchard Car Park.
Table 13.4 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F40, Poole
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
0
5
0
% of total
0%
100%
0%
% imported
0%
100%
0%
% domestic
0%
0%
0%
Origin of imported glass
–
France
–
328
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
Fig. 13.3 Glass from Poole, Old Orchard Car Park Pit F40 (1–3) and VI L1 (4–17). Scale 1:2.
329
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
Old Orchard Car Park VI L1 (Fig. 13.3 (4–17))
his late 16th-century group consists primarily of tablewares from a number of diferent
sources. At least two stemmed goblets (Fig. 13.3 (4–5)) are probably English, whilst fragments from four pedestal goblets (including Fig. 13.3 (6) decorated with optic-blown
hexagons and Fig. 13.3 (7) decorated with white thread trailing) are almost certainly
French imports. Another pedestal beaker decorated with marvered opaque white trails
(Fig. 13.3 (8)) is slightly earlier in date and probably an Italian import, whilst the
remaining two pedestal goblets are English in origin (Fig. 13.3 (10, 13)). Beakers are
more numerous, with pedestal varieties dominating, and whilst two of these might be
French (Fig. 13.3 (17)), at least ive are English (Fig. 13.3 (15–16)). he remaining beakers
are cylindrical and with the exception of Fig. 13.3 (14) are probably all imports from
the Low Countries, with Antwerp being the likely origin (Fig. 13.3 (11–12)). Only ive
containers are present; these are typical English lasks or bottles.
Table 13.5 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park VI L1, Poole
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
8
14
5
% of total
30%
51%
19%
% imported
50%
64%
0%
% domestic
50%
36%
100%
Origin of imported glass
France, Italy
Low Countries, France
–
Old Orchard Car Park Pit F37 (Fig. 13.4 (1–8))
his large pit was long-lived, with ceramics spanning the 17th–19th centuries. However,
the clay pipes show that there was a peak of deposition in the middle of the 17th
century, the period of the glass assemblage. Interestingly, almost all the glass comes from
tablewares and, with the exception of a single pedestal stem goblet (Fig. 13.4 (6)), all
are imported. here are six goblets; four are knop-stemmed with bucket- or trumpetshaped bowls (Fig. 13.4 (1–4)) and the ifth has coloured serpentine stem (Fig. 13.4 (5)).
Such glasses are usually thought to be Italian imports because the form was repeatedly
illustrated in glass orders sent between 1667 and 1672 by the London merchant John
Greene to the Venetian supplier Allesio Morelli. However, it is also clear that other
centres, in the Low Countries in particular, were manufacturing this style of glass and
it is interesting to note that Fig. 13.4 (4) has an applied decorative raspberry prunt, a
typical Flemish rather than Italian addition. he two beakers in this group are also Low
Country imports, being a footed ring beaker (Fig. 13.4 (7)) and a squat tumbler with
an opaque white prunt foot (Fig. 13.4 (8)). Only one fragment from a container, an
English-made square jar, was found.
Table 13.6 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F37, Poole
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
6
2
1
% of total
67%
22%
11%
% imported
80%
100%
0%
% domestic
20%
0%
100%
Origin of imported glass
Low Countries, maybe Italy
Low Countries
–
330
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
Fig. 13.4 Glass from Poole, Old Orchard Car Park Pit F37 (1–8) and Pit F23 (9–13). Scale 1:2.
331
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
Old Orchard Car Park Pit F23 (Fig. 13.4 (9–13))
his pit, dating to the very early 17th century, also contained a small assemblage of both
domestic and imported glass. here are two pedestal goblets – one English (Fig. 13.4
(9)) and one of probable French origin (Fig. 13.4 (10)). he two beakers recovered are
both imported; Fig. 13.4 (11) is a pedestal foot which although undecorated probably
came from an enamelled glass, and Fig. 13.4 (12) is an unusual barrel-shaped beaker from
the Low Countries, decorated with training and raspberry prunts. Two containers are
also present, and whilst one is an ordinary English bottle, the other is a high-quality
imported lask, also decorated with a raspberry prunt.
Table 13.7 Glass from Old Orchard Car Park Pit F23, Poole
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
2
2
2
% of total
33%
33%
33%
% imported
50%
100%
50%
% domestic
50%
0%
50%
Origin of imported glass
France
France, Low Countries
Low Countries
P LY M O u T H
Two signiicant assemblages of early post-medieval glass have been excavated from
Plymouth. unfortunately the nature of their excavation and subsequent treatment has
resulted in the loss of almost all their signiicant contextual background. Given this,
the two groups do not add signiicantly to a more detailed study of glass consumption
in the West Country. However, it is clear from the surviving glasses that households in
Plymouth were also consuming considerable quantities of glass, and this material was
coming from similar sources to those supplying Exeter and Poole. herefore, whilst
accurate quantiication and statistical comparisons are not possible, a brief examination
of these inds is worthwhile. he entire collection has been examined stylistically and
published in a discursive report.22
Woolster Street (Fig. 13.5 (1–6))
he glass recovered from excavations at Woolster Street dates almost entirely from the
early to mid-17th century. Tablewares make up the majority of the assemblage, although
there are a few typical English-produced containers. he drinking vessels include
English pedestal and cylindrical beakers (Fig. 13.5 (5–6)), and at least one mid-17th-century knopped stem goblet that might be Italian or Flemish (Fig. 13.5 (4)). Beakers of
Germanic origin are, however, also represented: there are fragments from at least two
prunted waldglas beakers (Fig. 13.5 (2–3)) and a tall octagonal and trailed pedestal beaker
or pasglas (Fig. 13.5 (1)).
Table 13.8 Glass from Woolster Street, Plymouth
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
6
10
3
% of total
n/a
n/a
n/a
% imported
yes
yes
no
% domestic
yes
yes
yes
Origin of imported glass
Low Countries?
Low Countries, Germany
–
332
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
Fig. 13.5 Glass from Plymouth, Woolster Street (1–6) and Castle Street (7–15). Scale 1:2.
333
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
Castle Street (Fig. 13.5 (7–15))
he assemblage recovered from excavations at Castle Street, consisting of a minimum
of 83 vessels, is by far the largest of its kind to have been found in the West Country
to date because it represents town rubbish, originally derived from many households;
its composition, however, is not very diferent from that of other assemblages included
in the survey. Almost all the glass dates to the irst half of the 17th century, and around
half the vessels are ordinary English-made lasks, bottles and jars. he tablewares include
domestically produced knop-stemmed goblets (Fig. 13.5 (7)) and pedestal beakers (Fig.
13.5 (12–14)). However, there are also a large number of imported items, almost all of
which appear to have come from the Low Countries. hese include a serpentine stem
(Fig. 13.5 (8)) and cylindrical beakers decorated with optic blowing, trailing or a combination of the two (Fig. 13.5 (9–11)). A mid-17th-century opaque white bowl decorated
with coloured blobs was also recovered (Fig. 13.5 (15)).
Table 13.9 Glass from Castle Street, Plymouth
Type
Goblets
Beakers
Containers
No.
3
41
39
% of total
n/a
n/a
n/a
% imported
yes
yes
no
% domestic
yes
yes
yes
Origin of imported glass
Low Countries
Low Countries
–
C O N S u M P T I O N , T R A D E A N D P RO D u C T I O N
Sixteenth-century consumption and sources of imported glass
he nine assemblages of glass outlined in this paper provide a detailed and revealing
insight into the glass consumed in the West Country home. As already noted, glass use
during the later medieval period was relatively restricted; there are only a few inds of
high-quality tablewares, and even utilitarian glass lasks and urinals are less common
than in central or eastern England. his situation seems to continue into the early postmedieval period, when inds of early 16th-century glass are also relatively uncommon.
Where they do occur, as at Paul Street, Exeter, or Old Orchard Car Park, Poole, the
overall numbers of tablewares are few and all of these are imported. Whilst the Paul
Street assemblage is larger than the medieval group found at Goldsmith Street, it shares
many characteristics. he majority of the vessels found at both sites are simple lasks,
jars and urinals; indeed, if it were not for the presence of the tablewares the Paul Street
assemblage could easily have been dated stylistically to the 13th or 14th centuries.
he source of these early 16th-century imported tablewares is of particular interest.
Traditionally, Venice has been seen as the main supplier of high-quality vessel glass
at this time, but it is now clear that other north Italian centres such as Altare were
also supplying the wider European market. Furthermore, whilst some Italian imports
are indeed present in this sample, such as the miolo and inghesterea from Paul Street
(Fig. 13.1 (4–5)), the predominant supplier to the West Country at this time was France.
his is not surprising given the geographical proximity of ports such as Rouen. Furthermore, whilst France is often noted as an important exporter of window glass, mainly
produced in Burgundy and Normandy,23 high-quality vessel glass was also increasingly
334
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
made there. As early as 1443 the Italian glassmaker Ferro was recorded as entering the
service of René d’Anjou in Provence, and by the early 16th century Italian glassmakers
were established in the towns of Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, Nevers, Lyon and Paris.24 It
is therefore logical that France was a more important supplier of high-quality glass to
the West Country than Italy, particularly given the absence of the Venetian mercantile
communities that were based in Southampton and London at this time.
he emerging impact of production in the Low Countries and London
Over the course of the 16th century, several changes to the patterns of glass consumption
can be observed. here are increasing numbers of assemblages of glass dating to the late
16th and early 17th centuries, and these groups contain larger numbers of high-quality
tablewares. his rising demand for ine table glass was clearly stimulated by the establishment of new high-quality industries in both the Low Countries and London, the
products of which are visible in all the West Country assemblages of this date.
Although there is some indirect evidence that the production of poor-quality forest
glass may have taken place in limited quantities in the Low Countries during the late
Middle Ages, it was not until the 16th century that a better-quality Venetian-style
industry was established. he irst reference to this comes in 1537 when foreign glassmakers were noted in Antwerp, and in 1549 Jean de Lame from Cremona was granted
a monopoly to produce Venetian-style glasses there. By 1581 operations had spread to
Middelburg, and in 1597 the irst furnace was built in Amsterdam.25
he establishment of a ineware industry in England is also well documented, with
the glassmaker Jean Carré, a native of Arras who had learned his craft in Antwerp,
establishing a furnace at Crutched Friars in London during 1567. With his premature
death in 1572 the operation was taken over by the Venetian-born Giacomo Verzelini,
who secured a 21-year monopoly to produce drinking glasses in the Venetian style. his
he operated successfully until his retirement in 1592, when the industry was managed
rather less efectively by a number of Englishmen until it was monopolized by Sir Robert
Mansell in 1616, after which output increased dramatically.26
he establishment of these new centres of production had a signiicant and immediate impact on the range of glass available to West Country households. his change is
typiied by the assemblage from Trichay Street, Exeter (Fig. 13.2 (1–6)), where, instead of
French or Italian goblets and beakers, plain-stemmed English goblets are found side-byside with elaborate vetro a retorti and ili wares from Antwerp. In this respect the assemblages from Exeter, Poole and Plymouth are no diferent from those found in any other
English town at the time. However, there is a signiicant diference in the proportions
found; in almost all these assemblages imported Flemish wares signiicantly outnumber
their English counterparts, a situation hardly found anywhere else in the country, with
the notable exception of Norwich.27
It is particularly interesting to compare these archaeological inds with contemporary
documentation, namely the Exeter customs records of the early 16th century and from
the 1560s onwards the Port Book series, both summarized by Allan.28 hese records,
though only partial and for only one of the towns in this study, do conirm the patterns
seen archaeologically. During the irst half of the 16th century references to imports of
glass are often restricted to windows, although vessels are mentioned amongst the goods
335
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
of some ships coming from Normandy, and by the second half of the 16th century
Rouen appears to be the main source of imported vessels, although glasses are also listed
as arriving from Bordeaux.29 Perhaps more signiicantly, the last decades of the 16th
century saw a signiicant rise in the number of shipments arriving from London. Whilst
some, or even most, of these consignments were probably redistributing foreign goods,
they must also have been carrying the products from the newly established industry in
the capital which began to appear in West Country assemblages at this time. During the
irst half of the 17th century Allan notes that nearly all recorded cargoes of glass arriving
at Exeter came from London.30 In part this must be a direct result of Mansell’s monopoly
over production in England, but it also signals the decline in imported French glasses
in favour of those from the new production centres in the Low Countries which appear
to have entered the country via London.
Domestic production in the West Country
Given the growing demand for glass in the region, and with Sir Robert Mansell constantly
seeking to exploit his monopoly for vessel glass manufacture more efectively throughout
England, it is no surprise that there were attempts early in the 17th century to establish
a furnace in the West Country. It was a region which had no tradition of earlier glassmaking. In 1617 Mansell concluded an agreement with Sir William Clavell licensing him
to produce vessel glass at kimmeridge Bay for sale only in Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall.31 he reasons for the location of a furnace on Clavell’s estate
were the rich deposits of oil shale that it was hoped could be used as efective fuel, and
a large pier that would allow vessels to dock to allow the transport of inished goods. A
furnace was successfully constructed, but from the outset there were problems with the
venture. Clavell failed to pay his rent to Mansell and this was followed by a number of
oicial complaints that he broke his agreement and began selling his glass in London.
Eventually matters deteriorated to the point that Mansell petitioned the Privy Council
to close the furnace, which it duly did in 1623.32
he reason why this enterprise was not successful is not entirely clear, but it is
apparent that one of the principal problems was that there was not suicient demand for
its products, which caused Clavell to try to sell the glass outside the limits of his licence.
his seems a little surprising given that a single furnace had the monopoly to supply not
only the whole of the South-West, but Hampshire too. But perhaps the reason for the
lack success was the quality of the product. Just two years after the furnace closed, John
Crase of Puddletown described the output of the furnace as being ‘only green glass and
of very small value’.33 his was further conirmed by excavations on the site of the works
in 1980–1, which showed that whilst the furnace did produce a range of tablewares as
well as utilitarian containers, all were in a heavily green-tinted glass, possibly as a result
of using the oil shale as fuel.34 If this was indeed the case, it shows that by the 17th
century, whilst the households of the West Country were probably still content to have
poorer-quality domestically produced bottles and lasks for everyday use, they expected
better-quality wares on their tables.
336
WEST COuNTRY HOuSEHOLDS, 1500–1700
C O N C Lu S I O N : G L A S S u S E I N T H E H O M E A F T E R 1 650
here is no doubt that the onset of the Civil War in the 1640s had a serious efect on
patterns of glass consumption in the West Country, just as it did elsewhere in England,
and there appears to have been a hiatus in inds of vessel glass during the third quarter of
the 17th century in Exeter, Poole and Plymouth. his was caused by the efective cessation of domestic ineware production from 1642 onwards, coupled with an apparent
change in taste away from glass tablewares.35 However, this was not to last long, as Allan
has demonstrated in his study of the Exeter Foreign Port Books. Although in 1666 no
imports of Flemish glass were recorded arriving in Exeter, during the 1670s and 1680s
there was a massive rise in the trade, peaking at over 20,000 vessels in 1683.36 Exeter was
not alone in this renewed desire for glass; in London the merchant John Greene ordered
over 30,000 glasses from the Venetian Allesio Morrelli in 1667–72.37 his new inlux of
glass can also be seen archaeologically, with assemblages such as North Street 1501 from
Exeter deposited c. 1680–90, containing increasing numbers of these imports.38
his resurgence in imports was short-lived; Allan notes that by 1691 imports of
Flemish drinking glasses into Exeter had virtually stopped39 – not because the demand
for high-quality wares had diminished but as a result of the introduction of new styles
and centres of production, particularly centred on Bristol and London. Much has been
written concerning the development of the new lead crystal in the 1670s,40 but questions concerning its origins and precise chemical composition that seem to dominate
current archaeological literature are unlikely to have concerned its contemporary West
Country consumers. he new medium allowed a new range of fashions to be developed,
and in the absence of a monopoly on glass production, many were quick to exploit the
situation. By 1681 a glasshouse had been founded at Topsham, 5km south of Exeter,41
although the nature of its output is unknown, and it may simply have produced bottles.
However, as early as the 1670s eleven separate applications were made by glassmakers
for admission to the Freedom of the City of Bristol, and one of the earliest operations at Redclif Backs was established in the second half of the 17th century speciically to produce good-quality vessel glass.42 In London production had taken of even
more rapidly, and by 1696 John Houghton had noted that there were as many as 24
glasshouses there, although not all may have been in operation at a single time.43 As a
consequence, by the start of the 18th century the West Country home was more than
adequately supplied with fashionable table glass from both London and Bristol, and had
no need to rely on foreign imports.
A C k N OW L E D G E M E N T S
I would like to thank John Allan for inviting me to contribute to this volume and for
his very helpful information on the Exeter probate inventories. I am grateful to the staf
of Exeter City Museums, Plymouth City Museums and Art Gallery and Poole Museum
for access to their collections.
337
TABLE GLASS IN THE WEST COuNTRY HOME
N OT E S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Charleston 1984b.
Willmott 2002.
Courtney 2004.
Harden 1978, 13, pl. vi.
Charleston 1984b, 26–7.
Beresford 1974, 138–9.
Charleston 1983.
Charleston 1985.
Charleston 1984a, 265–8.
Charleston 1984a, 258.
Willmott 2007, 766–7.
Willmott 2004, 233–4.
Allan 1996, 237–8.
Courtney 2004.
Courtney 2004, 334.
Good 1987, 104–6.
Barton 1964, 211.
Paul Street 1982, Layer 1492.
Charleston 1984a, 271–2.
Charleston 1984a, 271.
Charleston 1992.
Charleston 1986.
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Godfrey 1975, 200–4,
de Rocheburne 2004, 146.
Liefkes 2004, 228–34.
Willmott 2005, 71–95.
Haslam 1993.
Allan 1984, 263–5.
Allan 1984, 263.
Allan 1984, 263.
Willmott 2005, 101.
Willmott 2005, 102.
Willmott 2005, 102.
Crossley 1987.
Willmott 2005, 107.
Allan 1984, 264.
Willmott 2005, 114.
Charleston 1984a, 274–5.
Allan 1984, 264.
e.g. Francis 2000; Watts 2008a.
Watts 2008b.
Weeden 1983.
Willmott 2005, 120.
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Allan, J.P. 1984, Medieval and Post-Medieval Finds from Exeter, 1971–1980, Exeter Archaeol. Rep. 3.
Allan, J.P. 1996, ‘he excavated glass vessel fragments’, in Brown 1996, 237–8.
Barton, k.J. 1964, ‘he excavation of a medieval bastion at St Nicholas’s Almshouses, king Street,
Bristol’, Medieval Archaeol. 8: 184–212.
Beresford, G. 1974, ‘he medieval manor of Penhallam, Jacobstow, Cornwall’, Medieval Archaeol.
18: 90–139.
Brown, S. 1996, ‘Berry Pomeroy Castle’, Proc. Devon Archaeol. Soc. 54: 1–335.
Charleston, R.J. 1983, ‘he glass’, in Jarvis 1983, 72–3.
Charleston, R.J. 1984a, ‘he glass’, in Allan 1984, 258–78.
Charleston, R.J. 1984b, English Glass and the Glass Used in England circa 400–1940, London:
Allen & unwin.
Charleston, R.J. 1985, ‘he vessel glass’, in Hare 1985, 139–46.
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