The weather was a bit off over the weekend so no digging, but as I have a couple of days off this week a spur of the moment decision to get out for a bit saw me solo on the Gasworks again this morning. It was only a short session today, eleven a.m. until half past two, but it was long enough for a couple of nice finds. It was a brilliantly sunny day, and to be honest the wildlife on show on site was worth getting out by itself.
It took a while to get through the capping as there was a good amount of loose soil thrown over the spot where I was digging, which together with the clay made the capping about three foot thick. Once into the ash, though, it was full of bottles; unfortunately most of them modern junk. One or two nice broken bits came out early on (a "THOROGOOD, BURSCOUGH WATERLOO & SEFTON" pint beer and an "ELDRIDGE POPE & Co. DORCHESTER" half pint) which showed some promise that there was a few more good items in this patch than there was the last time out on here.
The first good find of the day came out of a very rusty seam, a half pint beer "TWTHILL HOTEL, CARNARVON." These beers are pretty rare, the hotel being only a small concern. It was a while before anything else of note appeared, but when it did it was well worth the wait. What seemed to be the base of a codd appeared wedged between the ash and the clay and stones at the bottom of the tip. Careful digging soon revealed that it was indeed a codd, and an unusual one at that. Wiping away some of the thick clinging clay showed that it was embossed "EXTRA STRONG GLASS. DAN RYLANDS Ld. 4 SOLE MAKERS BARNSLEY." Turning it over, there was initial disappointment as it was unembossed, but after wiping more crud off it was found to be "acid etched." (These are not really acid etched but sand blasted). And even better it was etched "THOMAS & EDWARDS CARNARVON." To say that I was overjoyed was an understatement as this was a totally unrecorded local codd. Not one that is visually pleasing like the firm's pictorials, and nothing to set the pulses of collectors from outside the area racing, but nevertheless an important and rare local bottle.
The rest of the session was something of an anticlimax, and nothing else of note came out except an impressed cream pot. So not a lot of finds today, but a couple of cracking local bottles.
It took a while to get through the capping as there was a good amount of loose soil thrown over the spot where I was digging, which together with the clay made the capping about three foot thick. Once into the ash, though, it was full of bottles; unfortunately most of them modern junk. One or two nice broken bits came out early on (a "THOROGOOD, BURSCOUGH WATERLOO & SEFTON" pint beer and an "ELDRIDGE POPE & Co. DORCHESTER" half pint) which showed some promise that there was a few more good items in this patch than there was the last time out on here.
The first good find of the day came out of a very rusty seam, a half pint beer "TWTHILL HOTEL, CARNARVON." These beers are pretty rare, the hotel being only a small concern. It was a while before anything else of note appeared, but when it did it was well worth the wait. What seemed to be the base of a codd appeared wedged between the ash and the clay and stones at the bottom of the tip. Careful digging soon revealed that it was indeed a codd, and an unusual one at that. Wiping away some of the thick clinging clay showed that it was embossed "EXTRA STRONG GLASS. DAN RYLANDS Ld. 4 SOLE MAKERS BARNSLEY." Turning it over, there was initial disappointment as it was unembossed, but after wiping more crud off it was found to be "acid etched." (These are not really acid etched but sand blasted). And even better it was etched "THOMAS & EDWARDS CARNARVON." To say that I was overjoyed was an understatement as this was a totally unrecorded local codd. Not one that is visually pleasing like the firm's pictorials, and nothing to set the pulses of collectors from outside the area racing, but nevertheless an important and rare local bottle.
The rest of the session was something of an anticlimax, and nothing else of note came out except an impressed cream pot. So not a lot of finds today, but a couple of cracking local bottles.
Looking up the banking before starting. The loose topsoil can be clearly seen:
Is this a codd?:
Yes indeed, and an unusual one as well:
The previously unrecorded Thomas & Edwards codd:
The day's take homes:
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