Day 94. Pottery of More Recent Times

A shard of medieval pottery (11^th - 12^th century) found in Preston.

This pottery is coarser and of poorer quality than the Roman pottery discussed on Day 92, despite the progress of over a thousand years.

By the Medieval period, pottery was little favoured by the better-off classes. Household dishes and other wares were typically made of pewter, or silver if especially wealthy. This trait continued well into the 18^th century. The poorer classes who couldn't afford pewter used wooden wares or pottery vessels. This pottery was basic and poorly made – anything of better quality would be unaffordable – and no attempt at beauty or style was made. Where many crafts had advanced considerably over the past several centuries, the art of the potter had remained stagnant.

Staffordshire Slip Ware found in Preston, 18^th century.

In the 18^th century, this began to change. Growing overseas trade from the early 17^th century led to the growing popularity of china – imported from its namesake country – among the higher tiers of society. Elegant porcelain was a feature of many homes. Josiah Wedgewood founded his Staffordshire factory in the mid 18^th century to emulate the imports, and the fine porcelain that became a key feature of that region was eagerly sought. China replaced metal dishes for fine dining, then began to filter down through society until it became the standard household feature which it remains today.

Day 93. The Mortaria

Shards of mortaria found in Preston

Following from yesterday's post, today we shall look at another relic of the Roman Empire.

A mortarium (plural mortaria) was a vessel used by the Romans for preparing foodstuffs. The inner surface of the dish was embedded with pieces of quartz to grind spices and other foods – a forerunner of the pestle and mortar.

Examples were imported into Britain before the Roman conquest, but became increasingly common as Roman settlers spread across Britain, and the native Britons adopted the Roman culture. A few pieces have been found in a field above Preston,  suggesting a strong Roman influence on the earliest inhabitants of the area.

The use of mortaria declined following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 4^th century.

Day 92. Roman Pottery

A large quantity of pottery shards dating to the Roman period have been found in a field near Preston – possibly relics of the first inhabitants of the area. The site was likely a modest-sized farmstead.

Fine quality pottery was a hallmark of the Roman culture. Tableware, amphorae or storage vessels for foodstuffs and wine, and other wares spread across the Roman Empire with the conquerors. The Iron Age Britons had the skill to make pottery, but the finer craftsmanship of the Romans soon influenced British potters, and native Britons began to favour Roman-made or imported wares.

The Fosse Way is a major Roman road passing a few miles from Preston, with several trading posts along its length, and probably the hub of communication between the settlement and the wider community. Pottery and other goods most likely arrived here via this route.

The majority of pottery found in Preston is Severn Valley Ware, produced in the nearby Severn Valley and used across west Britain from the 2^nd - 4^th centuries. Grey Ware, named for its colour, was commonly used domestic ware and several pieces have also been found in Preston.

 

Two shards of Severn Valley Ware – the base of a pot and a rim. 2^nd - 4^th century.

 

A shard of Grey Ware. The marks made by the potter's wheel can be seen. 2^nd - 4^th century.

Black Burnished Ware, once a wide, shallow container. This was a commonly found coarse ware, used for basic domestic purposes, and was often hand-formed rather than wheeled.

 

Shards of Samian Ware

A few pieces of Samian Ware have also been found in Preston. This was a fine, painted tableware, exported from Italy and later Gaul (modern France) in large quantities. Only the wealthiest people owned Samian Ware, although the less well-off could aspire to own one or two pieces.

Following the decline of the Roman Empire in the 4^th century, the art of the potter largely disappeared. Pottery was still produced, but was of much inferior quality to that previously known. It would be over a thousand years before fine pottery tableware was again found on Britain's tables.

Day 91. The Quern Stone.

Today we will move further back into history, and look at some of the relics the earliest inhabitants of Preston left behind.

This piece of a quern stone was found in a field near Preston, and likely dates to the Iron Age or Roman period. A quantity of pottery shards from the Iron Age and Roman periods have been found in the locality.

People have harvested and eaten seeds and grains for tens of millennia, but our teeth and digestive systems aren't capable of extracting their full nutritional value. So human ingenuity had to provide a solution. At first, stones or wood were used to pound the grain into easily digestible flour. Then the quern stone was developed.

The grain was placed on a smooth, slightly curved stone and ground back and forth with a second stone. This was a woman's job, and the 'daily grind' would take several hours each day. The importance of the task was such that the phrase remains in common use today. Analysis of skeletons from the period repeatedly reveal damage to the lower spine, from the endless repetition of this action. 

Following the quern, a hand-operated forerunner of the rotary mill was then adopted; grain was poured between two stones and the women only had to turn a handle for an hour or so to produce their flour. Then a mechanical mill, using wind or water-power, delegated the task to one man in each community: the miller (see Day 2).

This quern may have been used by some of the first women to settle in Preston, around 2000 years ago. The stone was eventually discarded – perhaps broken, perhaps replaced by a better method. It then lay in the soil for centuries until chance caused it to be ploughed to the surface.

Day 90. The Village Bobby

PC Gibson, the village bobby, c.1950.

The village bobby was once a familiar rural sight. He was a figure of respect and knew everybody on his patch, and would enforce the law and discipline diligently.

PC Gibson was stationed at Alderminster police house and cycled through the local villages on his beat several times a week, on the look out for any wrong-doing or mischief.  He was strict with discipline – he kept a slipper in his back pocket in case he had to punish any misbehaving children – but generally his punishments involved a clip round the ear, as local residents with a more mischievous past recall. He would also stop and play a bit of cricket with the boys on the village green. Not one of them ever dared to steal his bicycle.

The local village bobbies were gradually phased out in favour of large police stations in the towns. Many lament that rural crime increased in consequence and children's behaviour was unchecked – much to their own and their community's detriment.

PC Gibson became a caretaker at the Hugh Clopton school, now Stratford High School.

Day 89. Tragedy for a Coachman

The gravestone of William Woodhouse in Preston cemetery. The inscription reads:

            In Memory of William Woodhouse,

            Late coachman at Alscot,

            Killed by a fall from a horse,

            November 9^th 1885

            Aged 40 Years.

William Woodhouse came to work at Alscot Park as a coachman around 1874. The coachman's position was one of the most lucrative for a career servant, and William would have been responsible for the care of all the carriage and riding horses, as well as overseeing the grooms and stable-boys. He also drove the coach, which made him a showcase of the family when they were out in public.

In November 1885, he delivered a carriage to the coach-builders' yard in Stratford, then stopped for a drink in a nearby pub before beginning the ride back to Alscot Park. On the Shipston Road, he met a coach belonging to surgeon Reginald Greene. William's mount was panicked by the lamps on the coach and began lunging about. Greene recognised William, knew he was an experienced horseman, and assumed he could handle his mount. A moment later his groom said William was down.

Greene turned back at once. William was on his hands and knees on the road and the horse was in a state of distress on the pavement.

'Where are you hurt?'

'In the stomach,' William managed to reply.

He was struggling to breathe and Greene tried to get him to drink some whiskey, but he was unable to swallow anything. A policeman arrived, summoned by Greene's groom, and they tried to lift William into the coach, but it was now obvious he was dying. He fell unconscious and a few moments later was dead.

A post mortem found that William had suffered severe internal injuries and probably brain damage, consistent with the horse falling on him. It was concluded the animal had tripped on the pavement when lunging about and fallen backwards.

William was not local – the 1881 census states that he was born in Richard's Castle, Shropshire – and nobody knew anything about his family, so he was buried in Preston cemetery.

His gravestone – a large and elaborate design – would have been far outside the scope of his wages, and was presumably paid for by his employers. This was commonly done for an esteemed servant. It bears the stark message, In the midst of life, we are in death.

Day 88. The Gamekeepers.

Gamekeepers on Alscot Estate, c.1880.

Many gamekeepers have worked on Alscot Estate over the past two hundred years. Like many crafts, the trade was learnt by long experience and sons often followed into their father's role.

As well as nurturing game birds and animals for elaborate shooting parties, the gamekeepers waged a constant war against poachers. Game was the exclusive property of the landowner, but many poorer people, with little other alternative to feed their families, would risk severe punishment to snare a rabbit or pheasant for their pot.

Others treated poaching as a professional business. Vicious fights could break out and it wasn't uncommon for a gamekeeper to sustain serious injury in the course of duty.

In November 1869, John Goldey, a long-time gamekeeper at Alscot, discovered several snares on the estate land at Whitchurch. No doubt there were more hidden elsewhere, and the culprits would be back that night. John's fourteen-year-old son Alfred and local labourer John Hathaway agreed to keep watch with him. It was prudent for a gamekeeper to have as many strong men with him as possible.

All three men hid themselves, John in the hedge, and Hathaway and Alfred a little way off in a ditch. They waited.

Several hours passed.  Then around 3am, John stiffened. A rustling, too loud for a deer. Then a faint whisper. He saw the faint outlines of three men approaching.  Each had a stick over his shoulder. John knew they would be slung with rabbits or hares. They drew level with his hiding place. He smiled.

'I've been watching you for some time,' he said. 'You're just the men I want to see.'

The men flung down their haul and bolted.

'Hathaway! Alfred!'

Both men leapt from the ditch. The poachers dodged past them. Hathaway seized one man's arm. He struggled free and struck out with his bludgeon. It caught Hathaway on the arm and he staggered back. The poacher struck out again, this time smashing into Hathaway's head. He fell to the ground. Alfred struck the man with his own stick. The poacher stumbled back. Alfred tackled him and both fell. Alfred managed to pin him down until his father came to his aid, and they were able to secure him. Hathaway recovered his senses and got to his feet. The other two poachers had disappeared into the night.

John went back and picked up their haul, which totalled twelve hares and three rabbits.

The poacher was identified as Charles Batchelor, 25, from nearby Honington, a farm labourer who lived with his widowed mother and two brothers. He was delivered to the custody of Inspector William Rawlings of Warwickshire Constabulary the next morning. Eighteen more snares  were found on him.

Batchelor was a notorious poacher with a string of previous convictions. Twice in1860 he was caught poaching at Honington, and was fined £5 on both occasions. On New Year's Eve 1864, he was fined £1 for being drunk and riotous. In May 1867, he was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment for the same offence. When the case was heard at the Warwick Winter Assizes, Batchelor  was found guilty of assault and poaching and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour.

Batchelor then returned to his mother's household and a life of increasingly notorious crime. John Goldey continued as a gamekeeper for another fifteen years until his death in 1885, aged 74. He was buried in Preston churchyard.