South Yorkshire / North Derbyshire Medieval Ceramics Reference Collection
Chris Cumberpatch, 2004. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000242. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 384
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000242
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
The South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire regional medieval ceramics reference collection is one of the results of the review of medieval pottery studies in England undertaken by Maureen Mellor on behalf of the Medieval Pottery Research Group and English Heritage in the early 1990s (Mellor 1994). This document highlighted the great variability in our knowledge of medieval pottery across England and identified a need for more regional reference collections and the publication of sites which, while acknowledged as crucial to our understanding of medieval pottery, remained as archives, unavailable to researchers and contractors. The project was funded by English Heritage, managed by Archaeological Services (WYAS) and undertaken by Dr Chris Cumberpatch, with assistance from Dr. D. Williams, Dr. N. Walsh and Dr. M. Hughes. Invaluable assistance was also given by museum and archaeological curators across the region, by the Derbyshire Archaeological Society and the Rotherham Archaeological Society and by a number of archaeological units and contractors working in the region. A full list of participating institutions and individuals is given in the handbook which accompanies the database.
The project as a whole consists of a number of elements:
- The on-line database hosted by the Archaeology Data Service
- The physical reference collection curated by Weston Park Museum
- A series of articles describing specific potteries and their products, published in print or on-line
The on-line database consists of descriptive information, including photographs covering medieval and post-medieval pottery from the county of South Yorkshire and the northern part of Derbyshire from a line drawn approximately between Stone, Uttoxeter and Derby, northwards. Regional imports occurring within this area (such as Beverley and other East Yorkshire wares) are also included and a concordance links the types defined with those described in the reference collections and regional type series covering neighbouring areas (Hull and Beverley to the east and Lincolnshire to the south-east). A short summary of the contents of the M.W. Barley collection, held by Nottingham University is also included.
The information in the database is supported by the full text of the petrological and chemical analyses undertaken by D. Williams and Dr. N. Walsh with the interpretative report provided by Dr. M. Hughes.
The handbook which accompanies the database is available on-line and printed copies have been deposited with each of the participating institutions. This describes the database and access to it and also includes a comprehensive bibliography covering the study area.
The physical reference collection consists of samples of pottery of different types, organised according to the sources and production sites (where known) and by the area of occurrence where not. In addition to the medieval pottery which is the core of the collection, it also includes material of post-medieval date, including the type series created from the material recovered during recent English Heritage funded excavations on the site of the Silkstone pottery, one of several potteries in South Yorkshire which were manufacturing Manganese Mottled wares and Slipwares during the 18th century. Other later material includes examples of saggars from 19th century potteries in the Don valley and industrial ceramics from glass and steel manufacture in South Yorkshire.
The collection is available for viewing by appointment with the Keeper of Archaeology, Weston Park Museum, Western Park, Western Bank, Sheffield. It should be noted that the collection is designed for reference after consultation of the on-line database and the publications referenced therein and should be used to resolve outstanding problems of identification. It is not designed as a teaching collection and should not be used as such.
Publication of well known, but unpublished sites was conceived of as an integral part of the project. This has been achieved through the use of conventional journals (Medieval Ceramics and the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal) and also by on-line publication. The latter includes the sites of Brackenfield near Chesterfield and Frenchgate in Doncaster as well as a more wide ranging review of the evidence for pottery production in and around Rawmarsh, now a suburb of Rotherham in South Yorkshire. The latter includes details of the sites of Rawmarsh and Firsby Hall Farm near Conisbrough, two of the best known sources of the widespread later medieval and early post-medieval pottery known as Coal Measures ware or South Yorkshire Gritty ware. The publication is designed to establish the current basis of our knowledge of the production of this important type of pottery and to provide a basis upon which future investigation of other possible production sites can be undertaken.
All of these sites have been mentioned in the literature for a number of years but have not, hitherto been fully published. On-line publication was chosen because of the large amount of data pertaining to the pottery assemblages (presented in the form of tables) and the problems surrounding the stratigraphic and other aspects of the sites. An appendix to the Rotherham report by Dr. A. Vince summarises the results of a number of programmes of scientific analysis.
Reports published in print journals include accounts of the potteries at Burley Hill and King Street, Duffield in Derbyshire (to be published in Medieval Ceramics in 2005) and a broader overview of pottery production in Derbyshire, to be published in the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in 2004. It is hoped that these articles will stimulate interest in the medieval pottery of Derbyshire and neighbouring areas, particularly the city of Nottingham where large quantities of unpublished material await detailed attention.
The project as a whole is intended as a statement of the position of medieval pottery research in the region to the end of 2003. It is hoped that as further work on medieval sites takes place, it will be possible to use the collection and the associated texts as a basis for further specific studies of newly discovered sites and as the raw material for synthesis and interpretation.
Mellor, M. 1994 Medieval ceramic studies in England; A review for English Heritage. Medieval Pottery Research Group / English Heritage
