‘Mudlark’ is the charming name for those searching for objects on the river foreshore, similar to beachcombers fossicking at the sea edge. In London, the Thames provides a Mudlarker’s heaven. Ever since the 18th century, the destitute rifled the riverbanks for trinkets dropped into the water or cargo fallen off passing boats, which they would then sell for a living. Poor Victorian children were nicknamed mudlarks, for they used to dig and scavenge in the smelly mud at low tide, hoping to find lumps of coal to earn a few pence.
Nowadays it is more treasure hunting. Lara Maiklem (well-known modern Mudlarker) says there is a division between the hunters and gatherers. The hunters are usually men focused on the outcome often with the help of metal detectors. There are territorial disputes, and the shoreline can become a battlefield. Whereas the gatherers, mainly the women and children, are there for the enjoyment of the search, a meditative process. She likes to slow down, relax, and look through the surface.
Ref: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/16/mudlarking-lara-maiklem-river-thames-review/16/
The sides of the Thames are a vast archaeological site, the tidal stream ebbing and flowing displaying 2500 years of London’s history. Twice a day the tides flood and spill their contents, like Grandma tipping her apron out, full of bits and pieces including prizes for those ‘in the know’.
A lot of the charred remains from the Great Fire of London in 1666 were dumped into the river and in more recent times, the same happened when the city was bombed during the blitz of the Second World War.
The increase in popularity of mudlarking resulted in a new law enforcing purchase of a foreshore permit from the Port Authority. Items found must be checked by London Museum staff, to check for first dibs. That way they are available to be seen by the whole community.
Safety is also important due to the swift rising and falling of the tide to more than seven metres and there being few accesses for a fast retreat.
Some of the prized finds include fossils up to 100 million years old, Stone age flint artifacts, Roman mortars and tesserae (tiny cubes of stone, tile or glass utilised in mosaics), musket and lead cannonballs, gold and silver jewellery and coins. Trade tokens and bravery medals from the sixteen hundreds. Tudor beer tankards and ancient bottles. Eighteenth-century wig curlers and wooden combs. Brass weights, Victorian medallions, snuff and matchboxes. Beautiful statuettes of Hindu deities possibly cast into the river as a ‘home’ ritual. Animal bones, often seen near past slaughter yards. Human teeth in good or bad condition.
Clay pipes are a common find with carved heads on bowls and long stems, dating back to the sixteenth century. Although reusable, they were frequently just tossed away, especially by the dock workers. Some are whole with tobacco still inside and others in pieces.
Most searchers will come across sherds of pottery, stoneware, lots of old nails and washers, screws, nuts and bolts, knife blades, cutlery, chains, bones, scissors, pins, thimbles, buttons, buckles, studs, badges, beads, and keys. Broken porcelain figurines, coloured sea glass, blue and white china /Delftware, glass and clay marbles. Old iron, hinges, files, hammer ends, petrified leather shoe soles and heels. Parts of old lamps, padlocks, and bottle stoppers.
To further one’s knowledge of mudlarking, a variety of books and YouTube videos can be found online, as well as identification resources for the discoveries.
There are Facebook groups as well as people selling craft articles and jewellery made from clay pipe stems and other relics and fossils which are listed on their sites and on e-bay.
Image by Derar Al Nasser. Permission granted.
Gallimaufry 