Promoting awareness of the archaeology and history of north Devon
Promoting awareness of the archaeology and history of north Devon
Recent acquisitions:
At the Museum of North Devon: By Alison Mills (Newsletter No
4 2002)
A Bronze Age axe-head recently found by metal detectorists at Bishops Tawton has been acquired for the museum collections. The axe-head, which measures 62mm by 53mm has no socket or flange, but is not a traditional flat axe (cast in a an open mould). The unusual shape suggests it may be one end of a flanged axe or palstave, although the butt end does not appear to be broken off. Hopefully the puzzle can be solved by expert study.
The axe was purchased with the agreement of the landowner and with financial support from the North Devon Archaeological Society.
A prehistoric bronze ring has recently been reported to the museum. The ring, which has a beautiful patina, is cast as a double ring and is c. 40mm in diameter. It may be a terret-ring dating from the late Bronze Age or Iron Age. It was found near the scheduled Iron Age enclosure of Roborough, near Pilton, and has now been loaned to the museum for display by the finder.
A 16th century decorative cast copper alloy box was recently found by metal detectorists near Barnstaple. The box, with a hinged lid, is a beautiful object decorated with punched dots and incised lines and showing some traces of having been gilded. It has been identified as a container for nesting bronze weights, a high status item perhaps used by an apothecary or goldsmith, and comparatively rare. Sadly we were unable to compete with a private purchaser for this item, though we have recorded its discovery.
The Dissenters’ Silver
The Barnstaple Dissenters’ Silver consists of 2 porringers, a dish and 2 plates by John Elston of Exeter (fl. c.1691-1730) (3 pieces) and Edmund Richards of Exeter (fl. c. 1698-1730) (2 pieces) inscribed “The Gift of Mrs. Mary Gammon to this Church at the Castle Meetting for ever 1707” . Makers’ and assay marks.
The Barnstaple Dissenters’ Silver is intimately linked with the personalities and history of the town during the key period of its development - the 17th and 18th centuries. The founder of the town’s first nonconformist meeting, Rev. Jonathan Hanmer, born in Barnstaple in 1606, had been appointed to the lectureship of Barnstaple parish church following the ejection of the vicar, Martyn Blake, during the Civil War. On his refusal to accept the Act of Uniformity after the restoration of Charles II in 1662 Mr.Hanmer was himself ejected, but continued to preach in private houses, establishing the Castle Street Meeting with his colleague Oliver Peard when the Dissenters gained a measure of freedom of worship in 1672.
Both the Hanmers and Peards were at the forefront of Barnstaple society, and Mr.Hanmer was held in high regard. “His lectures in Barnstaple were greatly thronged, vast numbers repairing to them from all parts round the town, some who lived many miles distant, and among the rest, divers people of distinction; and he was endeared to the people, both of the higher and lower ranks in life”. Hanmer was also the grandfather of the poet John Gay, Barnstaple’s most famous son.
The North Devon Record Office holds a large number of documents relating to the Barnstaple dissenting congregation, and also a probate copy of the will of Mary Gammon, who presented the silver to the meeting and who died in 1718. She was clearly a wealthy woman, leaving gold and silver to a number of her co-religionists, including the families of the ministers Peard and Hanmer and the Mauzeys - Huguenot refugees who came to Barnstaple from La Rochelle in 1685. The house of her cousin Margaret Christmas was registered for nonconformist worship in 1719 and later became the site of the Cross Street Meeting House.
Barnstaple already had a reputation as a dissenting town before the Civil War, banning entertainers from the town and being severely critical of its then parish priest. Devon as a whole was known for its large nonconformist population, especially in the North, and this tradition remains strong within the town. By the early 18th century the parish priest declared to the Bishop that he was unable to comment on the state of charities within the town as these were all run by dissenters! Later the nonconformists were leading lights in Barnstaple’s vigorous campaigning in favour of the Reform Act, and continued to hold political office - the relationship between the town’s nonconformity and political liberalism continued into the 20th century.
The silver was given to the Castle Meeting, Barnstaple by Mary Gammon in 1707 and used by this church when it later merged with the Cross Street Meeting. It remained in the Elders’ possession as they became the Barnstaple Congregational Church, then merged with others to form the United Reformed Church on the same site. The church has now joined with the Methodists in a new building and Cross Street Church is redundant.
Recent changes and drops in Church attendance placed the future of the silver in doubt. It now exists as the only three-dimensional evidence of this part of Barnstaple’s history. The Castle Street Meeting House, later used as the National School, was demolished late in the 19th century and the Cross Street Church has been sold. The Elders of Cross Street were anxious to ensure the long term future of the silver in the town and avoid any future public sale by their successors at the merged church. The acquisition of the Dissenters’ Silver, together with access to the documents held in the North Devon Record Office,has given the museum the opportunity not only to save this important part of Barnstaple’s cultural heritage but also to interpret this important part of the town’s history in the context of the other 17th and 18th century material we hold.
The Victoria and Albert / Resource Purchase Grant Fund and independent art charity the National Art Collections Fund promised to support the purchase if the remaining funds could be raised locally. This was raised with the assistance of the Barnstaple Bridge Trust and BarnstapleTown Council, together with money donated directly to the Museum.
The silver is now on display, accompanied by portraits of the two Rev. Hanmers on loan from the church. We are very grateful to Mr.Ralph Forsythe for all his hard work in sorting out this acquisition.
Barnstaple Excavations Publication- An Update - Alison Mills (Newsletter No 5 2003)
Most members will know that the Society, together with other interested groups and individuals, has been encouraging the publication of the Barnstaple excavations. The most significant material, identified by the Mediaeval pottery Research Group as one of the most important unpublished excavations in the country, relates to the kilns excavated in Tuly Street.
The collection held at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon consists of several thousand boxes of pottery and other material, and also includes the results of other work carried out around the town in the 1970s and 1980s
This is a vast project, and Exeter Archaeology have already spent several years agreeing a brief for the Feasibility Stage with English Heritage. Approval was finally given around Christmas, and Exeter Archaeology began work earlier this year. Archaeologist and potter Tim Gent was appointed to carry out a survey of the excavation archives (principally from the North Devon Rescue Unit and Trevor Miles’ excavations), and to assess the large quantity of research and writing up already completed. Tim, together with colleagues specialising in different areas, has since been back to assess a selection of the pottery.
The feasibility study will result in a project design for the final publication, and grant applications will have to be made to carry out the work – which may take several years. One important part of the project is, however, already well on track, with Alison Grant planning to publish an update of her book on North Devon Pottery in September this year. Funded through the Tarka Millennium Awards scheme, Alison’s documentary research is a crucial resource for anyone studying North Devon Pottery.
Representatives from the Society are part of a support group, which first met last July at the unveiling of the reconstructed Tuly Street kiln, and again in October to hear how the project was progressing.We hope to meet again in late May or early June to hear from Exeter Archaeology about progress on the project.