Mudlarking 101 - Bottles, a record and golf
Saturday, 11 April 2026 09:56![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
squirmeliaIt was Easter Sunday and I headed back to Gabriel’s Wharf and along to outside the National Theatre and underneath Waterloo Bridge, and I found so much!
The tide was lower than predicted and I was able to get to the bottle graveyard.
There was a giraffe toy but it was too sad and mud covered so I left it.
To start with I was the only person on that section of foreshore, but other people appeared later.
I was glad to be back at this section which always has plentiful finds, but it seemed like it had less pottery sherds this time and the line of coal/brick debris is shifting along. It was great for bottles though.
It also seemed to have more waste, particularly sanitary towels, than most occasions, which is always sad to see.
Finds included:
Blue sticklebrick - I used to have some of these when I was a child.
Boots Cash Chemists piece of a glass bottle. Boots used this name as at the time, most places accepted buying things on credit, but Boots didn’t. This meant that they could offer items at a cheaper price. They also took part in a court case as they were the first chemist that allowed customers to pick items up off the shelves and take them to the cashier, as opposed to having to ask the cashier for them as they were kept behind the counter. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain took them to court for this in 1953 and Boots won.
A piece of a glass bottle that looks to say “ale Bros” on one side and “r hi” on the other side. I wonder what the rest of it said.
Half a small cup
Two vulcanite bottle stoppers. One is unbranded but has an orange band on it. The other says White Ltd, so would be from R White’s.
A sherd that says “sapph” and W & co on it. Probably Whittaker & Co from Hanley, who were in operation from 1886 - 1891.
A sherd that has blue and white leafy patterns on the front and possibly says “ssen” and “England” on the back.
In the second picture:
A piece of a white plate that doesn’t look very interesting from the front, but on the back, it says:
Stone China
E & C Challinor
England
It also has the Royal Arms on it.
It dates from circa 1891, made by Edward & Charlies Challinor in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. I wonder what was eaten off it and who used it.
–
A nice piece of mocha ware
A glass bottle lid that looks to say Calder - probably Aire and Calder Glass bottle works of 83 Upper Thames Street, London and Castleford.
A base of a bottle that says “J.L. & Co.” - John Lumb & Co. They were also from Castleford.
Half a bottle base that looks like it said “New Cross” on the side. Possibly Kent Mineral Waters Co.
A large piece of an ink bottle - "Encre Japonaise" by N. Antoine & Fils, Paris, from around 1870 - 1900. It must have been a large ink bottle, so I wonder who was using that much ink.
A 2 Player Championship Golf LCD game, made by Tandy, circa 1991.
There was also a Radio Shack branded version that appeared in their 1992 catalogue. It's on page 163 and says: "An entire 18-hole golf course you can hold in your hand and play anywhere! Musical sound effects add to excitement."
https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1992_radioshack_catalog.html?fb3d-page=163
A broken Orange Dew bottle. Sparkling Orange. Manufactured by Anchor Springs.The Anchor Brewery in Littlehampton started making mineral waters, under the name of Anchor Springs, when Henty & Constable Ltd took it over in 1921. I can’t find any mention of Orange Dew, apart from an American brand, but Anchor Springs is at least detailed, and there’s a long list of Henty and Constable pubs.
A Schweppes bottle. I often find R White’s bottles, but rarely Schweppes!
An LWD (London Wholesale Dairies) milk bottle.
A Wallingford mineral waters bottle.
A curious red broken bottle. I am not sure what it would have contained.
A plastic City Cruises coffee cup depicting London landmarks.
There were a number of records strewn on the foreshore, as well as their cases, which were separated from the records. It seemed like they probably hadn't been there long. I picked one up and found the matching cover to it. When I got home I listened to the piano music on YouTube: https://youtu.be/32lbp3uylk4
Part of a broken bottle from the Pure Water Company (PWC), Battersea. They had a mineral water factory built around 1870 in Queens Road, Battersea. Advert: https://gll-libraries-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/qqh7i5r8teknbg7cb1d4lqtqhx6u
Postcard on Ebay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333449128241
A United Dairies bottle.
(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)
The tide was lower than predicted and I was able to get to the bottle graveyard.
There was a giraffe toy but it was too sad and mud covered so I left it.
To start with I was the only person on that section of foreshore, but other people appeared later.
I was glad to be back at this section which always has plentiful finds, but it seemed like it had less pottery sherds this time and the line of coal/brick debris is shifting along. It was great for bottles though.
It also seemed to have more waste, particularly sanitary towels, than most occasions, which is always sad to see.
Finds included:
Blue sticklebrick - I used to have some of these when I was a child.
Boots Cash Chemists piece of a glass bottle. Boots used this name as at the time, most places accepted buying things on credit, but Boots didn’t. This meant that they could offer items at a cheaper price. They also took part in a court case as they were the first chemist that allowed customers to pick items up off the shelves and take them to the cashier, as opposed to having to ask the cashier for them as they were kept behind the counter. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain took them to court for this in 1953 and Boots won.
A piece of a glass bottle that looks to say “ale Bros” on one side and “r hi” on the other side. I wonder what the rest of it said.
Half a small cup
Two vulcanite bottle stoppers. One is unbranded but has an orange band on it. The other says White Ltd, so would be from R White’s.
A sherd that says “sapph” and W & co on it. Probably Whittaker & Co from Hanley, who were in operation from 1886 - 1891.
A sherd that has blue and white leafy patterns on the front and possibly says “ssen” and “England” on the back.
In the second picture:
A piece of a white plate that doesn’t look very interesting from the front, but on the back, it says:
Stone China
E & C Challinor
England
It also has the Royal Arms on it.
It dates from circa 1891, made by Edward & Charlies Challinor in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. I wonder what was eaten off it and who used it.
–
A nice piece of mocha ware
A glass bottle lid that looks to say Calder - probably Aire and Calder Glass bottle works of 83 Upper Thames Street, London and Castleford.
A base of a bottle that says “J.L. & Co.” - John Lumb & Co. They were also from Castleford.
Half a bottle base that looks like it said “New Cross” on the side. Possibly Kent Mineral Waters Co.
A large piece of an ink bottle - "Encre Japonaise" by N. Antoine & Fils, Paris, from around 1870 - 1900. It must have been a large ink bottle, so I wonder who was using that much ink.
A 2 Player Championship Golf LCD game, made by Tandy, circa 1991.
There was also a Radio Shack branded version that appeared in their 1992 catalogue. It's on page 163 and says: "An entire 18-hole golf course you can hold in your hand and play anywhere! Musical sound effects add to excitement."
https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1992_radioshack_catalog.html?fb3d-page=163
A broken Orange Dew bottle. Sparkling Orange. Manufactured by Anchor Springs.The Anchor Brewery in Littlehampton started making mineral waters, under the name of Anchor Springs, when Henty & Constable Ltd took it over in 1921. I can’t find any mention of Orange Dew, apart from an American brand, but Anchor Springs is at least detailed, and there’s a long list of Henty and Constable pubs.
A Schweppes bottle. I often find R White’s bottles, but rarely Schweppes!
An LWD (London Wholesale Dairies) milk bottle.
A Wallingford mineral waters bottle.
A curious red broken bottle. I am not sure what it would have contained.
A plastic City Cruises coffee cup depicting London landmarks.
There were a number of records strewn on the foreshore, as well as their cases, which were separated from the records. It seemed like they probably hadn't been there long. I picked one up and found the matching cover to it. When I got home I listened to the piano music on YouTube: https://youtu.be/32lbp3uylk4
Part of a broken bottle from the Pure Water Company (PWC), Battersea. They had a mineral water factory built around 1870 in Queens Road, Battersea. Advert: https://gll-libraries-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/qqh7i5r8teknbg7cb1d4lqtqhx6u
Postcard on Ebay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333449128241
A United Dairies bottle.
(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)
