Echoes of Flavio's Ghost Dreaming

Low tide was early that Sunday, but a little later in Chelsea, so I headed there on the first train out.

I reached the foreshore around sunrise, but the skies were grey and cloudy. Just past Battersea Bridge, on the foreshore, you can see the remains of trees that once grew there, a forest that is now submerged.

I found:

The largest intact bottle I’ve found so far! It’s about 18cm tall.

United Glass Bottle Manufacturers) apparently used the UGB mark from 1913-1968.
The marks on the bottom look like they say:
H781
UGB
S 28

It possibly contained disinfectant.



Another rounded bottom bottle, perhaps from the 1880s?

A piece of glass that says “W & M”

A piece of glass that looks like it says “edon” but I am not sure of the letters before that.



A mysterious white cube object with patterns that has broken off something. Possibly a spaceship.

A handle from something (possibly bone)

A piece of glass from United Dairies.

A marble

Two and a half buttons.

Part of a ginger beer bottle by W&W. Western and Wolland (W&W) were in business in Bermondsey from about 1865 to 1896, making ginger beer and lemonade. As this bottle is stoneware as opposed to glass, it’s likely to be from the earlier period.

I likely walked past the premises where this was made on the day I found this sherd but didn’t realise at the time.

Part of a bottle that says London on it.

The base of a bottle that says:
London the property of Id (letters cut off)
Not to be refilled
Regd no
853390
B&Co

B&Co could be Bagley & Co.

A green bit of a Batey bottle.

Part of a torpedo (hamilton) bottle. It says on it “E&C” and possibly “waters” and “street”. It also says “rior” - Prior? It is dark green and quite thick glass. Thicker than the other bits of torpedo bottle I’ve found.

A Van Den Bergh & Co gin bottle fragment. This would have been from a Dutch gin bottle from around the 1870s.



(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

It was dark and raining and low tide had already passed. I crossed Blackfriars bridge and hesitated about going down to the foreshore. I found just a piece of Staffordshire style combed Slipware before giving up.



(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I miscalculated and only gave myself just over an hour on the foreshore before I had to be elsewhere but perhaps that was just as well as it was cold.

This time I wore gloves underneath my plastic gloves and thicker socks under my wellies and that helped me to keep warmer.

There were plenty of tourists, both on the foreshore and staring down at me, which is why I prefer to avoid this bit at weekends, unless it's early.

I found my second glowstick, and also some sherds including:

Four pieces of Express Dairies Aster pattern
Brown piece of Dudson
Some delicious strawberries
Dunn Bennett & co
J & G Meakin

A mysterious piece that says “Drew” and “Circus”. Wondering if it could be from St Andrew St, Holborn Circus, but difficult to tell.

Also, what I think is a bobbin, possibly bone and possibly for lace.





(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)