Foreshore finds: treasures from the Thames

Howland Great Dock near Deptford, c.1717

The Dock was opened in 1700 as a facility for merchant ships. ID no. 58.22/6

What you see when you visit the Museum of London is only a tiny portion of the history that the museum holds. The museum’s collections include over seven million objects, with just 1% currently visible in the galleries due to the restrictions of space. During my time as a volunteer I have been working on a project to bring stored objects into the light, via digitization so that they can be viewed online.

Vyki Sparkes, Curator of Social and Working History, has been guiding me through 8 boxes of objects excavated from the Thames foreshore in the 1980s. Most of these objects were discovered by mudlarks, who hunt along the banks of the Thames for the treasures revealed at low tide. The material dates mostly from the 18th century and helps us to understand the days when London was a busy working port.

Shoe patten with wooden sole

1710-20; ID no. A3635

It has been a magical mystery tour opening each box and coming face to face with relics of the city’s past - woodworking tools, boat nails, iron barge padlocks and even shoe pattens. These were protective over-shoes, with thick wood or metal soles, worn outdoors to protect shoes from the filth and mud of London’s streets. These pattens led me on a journey around London to Rood Lane, the centre of the patten trade in the 18th century. On the corner of Eastcheap and Rood Lane you can find St Margaret Pattens Church, where you can discover more about the history of the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers and still see their crest in the stained glass windows.

Thames foreshore near Rotherhithe

Getting to grips with the objects has been just the initial step in the project. I have worked with the museum photographers to capture images of all the objects, including close up pictures of their owner’s or maker’s marks – vital for identifying where and when they were used. These pictures will be accessible via Collections Online, on the museum’s website.

As the weeks progressed on this project I became more and more interested in foreshore archaeology and the licensed 'mudlarks' who scan the banks of the River Thames for clues to London's past. I took the opportunity to go on a guided foreshore walk with the Thames Discovery team and even managed to find my own boat nail whilst walking along the river on a beautiful sunny day.

Iron barge padlock, 1820-85

Recovered from the Thames foreshore. ID no. DK87.72/3

Whilst measuring and photographing the objects, I became intrigued by a padlock belonging to G. Carr 108 & 110 Rotherhithe Street. I decided to investigate further and took a walk down Rotherhithe Street to get the sense of an area of London that was once full of boat builders and dockers. I couldn't track down the exact location of G. Carr's premises as the original building had been replaced with flats, but you still got a sense what this part of the docks would have been like.

I also stumbled across the Rotherhithe picture library, free to visit, where you can dig and delve into some fantastic pictures of old London. I lost a good hour or so pouring over pictures of the London port workers, using and handling the very tools that got lost in the river, ending up in the Museum of London collections.