Germander Speedwell
@germanderspeedwell.bsky.social
Gatherer of lost knowledge
Explorer of Thames foreshores
Assembler of obscure collections
And observer of flora and fauna.
London, England
www.germanderspeedwell.org.uk
No direct messages sorry - I can't access them; please email me (see my website).
Explorer of Thames foreshores
Assembler of obscure collections
And observer of flora and fauna.
London, England
www.germanderspeedwell.org.uk
No direct messages sorry - I can't access them; please email me (see my website).
A Victorian 'pork pie' inkwell, which was found exactly as in the photo - nestled in a mud ledge, and exposed at a very low tide. It's a glorious honey colour and perfectly intact; people are often surprised that these can survive in the Thames, but they're such sturdy compact little things!
January 3, 2026 at 7:32 AM
A Victorian 'pork pie' inkwell, which was found exactly as in the photo - nestled in a mud ledge, and exposed at a very low tide. It's a glorious honey colour and perfectly intact; people are often surprised that these can survive in the Thames, but they're such sturdy compact little things!
Revealed by the tide: this Irish-style clay tobacco pipe bowl, with a lovely crisp shamrock on one side, and the Harp of Erin on the other. It dates probably 1850-1910. Cross-hatched designs on pipes, such as this shamrock, was partly functional - this surface was often used to strike matches on!
January 1, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Revealed by the tide: this Irish-style clay tobacco pipe bowl, with a lovely crisp shamrock on one side, and the Harp of Erin on the other. It dates probably 1850-1910. Cross-hatched designs on pipes, such as this shamrock, was partly functional - this surface was often used to strike matches on!
1/3: I bet you can never guess what this curious object is, found on the Thames foreshore on Boxing Day....
Follow the thread for a delightful surprise!
Follow the thread for a delightful surprise!
December 28, 2025 at 8:08 AM
1/3: I bet you can never guess what this curious object is, found on the Thames foreshore on Boxing Day....
Follow the thread for a delightful surprise!
Follow the thread for a delightful surprise!
1/2: This 'bulldog' style pipe was neatly exposed on the surface - and I could see there was part of the maker's name on the stem...
December 26, 2025 at 9:01 AM
1/2: This 'bulldog' style pipe was neatly exposed on the surface - and I could see there was part of the maker's name on the stem...
1/2: Spot the stoneware flower, and follow the thread to see where it came from...
December 25, 2025 at 9:05 AM
1/2: Spot the stoneware flower, and follow the thread to see where it came from...
1/3: Do you recognise what I've found on the foreshore? Follow the thread to see if you're right...
December 4, 2025 at 8:46 AM
1/3: Do you recognise what I've found on the foreshore? Follow the thread to see if you're right...
1/2: I recently found this corner of a colourful floor tile on the foreshore; expert Mark Sowden recognised it as a probable animal tile, like the ones pictured; the manganese purple ring between the blue ones is also seen on tiles made in Aldgate between 1580 to 1615 - so this may be one of them!
December 4, 2025 at 8:42 AM
1/2: I recently found this corner of a colourful floor tile on the foreshore; expert Mark Sowden recognised it as a probable animal tile, like the ones pictured; the manganese purple ring between the blue ones is also seen on tiles made in Aldgate between 1580 to 1615 - so this may be one of them!
A delightful find, sitting on the shingle waiting for me! It's a broken tree trunk / stump pipe, known at the time as a 'rustic' design. There were many variations, but this flat-based one is more unusual; this will date from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.
November 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
A delightful find, sitting on the shingle waiting for me! It's a broken tree trunk / stump pipe, known at the time as a 'rustic' design. There were many variations, but this flat-based one is more unusual; this will date from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.
Here's a couple of 20th century fragments recently found on the foreshore: part of a lovely hand-painted tile, and a very curious large piece depicting an insect landing on something I can't quite identify! This was probably from a jug or vase; the style of decoration is particularly unusual.
November 23, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Here's a couple of 20th century fragments recently found on the foreshore: part of a lovely hand-painted tile, and a very curious large piece depicting an insect landing on something I can't quite identify! This was probably from a jug or vase; the style of decoration is particularly unusual.
Here's a longish thread about what turned out to be one of my favourite foreshore finds of the year... It started when I spotted this bottle. Another mudlark had just walked over that patch - did they not see it, or were they just uninterested in bottles? Or was it simply meant for me? Contd...
November 22, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Here's a longish thread about what turned out to be one of my favourite foreshore finds of the year... It started when I spotted this bottle. Another mudlark had just walked over that patch - did they not see it, or were they just uninterested in bottles? Or was it simply meant for me? Contd...
1/2: What's this? It's a tiny china marble! It's a bit faded from rolling about in the river, but you can still see the coloured circles.
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
November 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM
1/2: What's this? It's a tiny china marble! It's a bit faded from rolling about in the river, but you can still see the coloured circles.
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
China marbles are hand-painted ceramic marbles made in Germany in the 1800s and widely exported - they're quite collectable now! Follow the thread to compare...
1/2: Spotted an unusually shaped broken clay pipe on the foreshore - and picked it up to discover it's a fox face design! I recognised it immediately, as I found another broken one last year. The maker (on the stem) is Daniel Hall of Southwark. Follow the thread to compare with my other one...
November 19, 2025 at 8:04 AM
1/2: Spotted an unusually shaped broken clay pipe on the foreshore - and picked it up to discover it's a fox face design! I recognised it immediately, as I found another broken one last year. The maker (on the stem) is Daniel Hall of Southwark. Follow the thread to compare with my other one...
1/2: Spotted a very large piece of china lying face-down on the Thames foreshore - had to turn it over to check, though I thought it would just be a plain white piece...
November 17, 2025 at 8:44 AM
1/2: Spotted a very large piece of china lying face-down on the Thames foreshore - had to turn it over to check, though I thought it would just be a plain white piece...
1/2: You don't often find a fragment on the foreshore with the complete name of the establishment! However, a quick look in the British Newspaper Archive produced surprisingly few mentions; they appear to have been a chain with several branches in central London, mostly active in the 1850s-60s...
November 13, 2025 at 8:29 AM
1/2: You don't often find a fragment on the foreshore with the complete name of the establishment! However, a quick look in the British Newspaper Archive produced surprisingly few mentions; they appear to have been a chain with several branches in central London, mostly active in the 1850s-60s...
These are my delftware / tin-glazed earthenware finds from the last few months; this type of pottery dates from the 1500s-1700s. It's quite common on the Thames foreshore, but these days I only keep the ones with the more complex designs or rich colours, or from specific sites of interest.
November 7, 2025 at 8:23 AM
These are my delftware / tin-glazed earthenware finds from the last few months; this type of pottery dates from the 1500s-1700s. It's quite common on the Thames foreshore, but these days I only keep the ones with the more complex designs or rich colours, or from specific sites of interest.
1/3: Aha - part of a white stoneware pot showing through the mud of the Thames foreshore... Because its lip was intact (the most vulnerable part) I was quite sure that this was going to be complete, whatever it was...
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
1/3: Aha - part of a white stoneware pot showing through the mud of the Thames foreshore... Because its lip was intact (the most vulnerable part) I was quite sure that this was going to be complete, whatever it was...
1/4: When I found this piece on the Thames foreshore, I thought it would just end up in my drawer of unidentified fragments - with such a general name as the 'London Tavern' I'd never be able to pin it down; it was barely even worth looking it up....
November 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
1/4: When I found this piece on the Thames foreshore, I thought it would just end up in my drawer of unidentified fragments - with such a general name as the 'London Tavern' I'd never be able to pin it down; it was barely even worth looking it up....
It was 'giant insect day' when I visited this particular foreshore. Both of these creatures were upside-down and unable to right themselves, so I helped them up and gave them a log to steady themselves. I have now rehoused them in a less tidal habitat -around one of the street trees in my road.
November 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
It was 'giant insect day' when I visited this particular foreshore. Both of these creatures were upside-down and unable to right themselves, so I helped them up and gave them a log to steady themselves. I have now rehoused them in a less tidal habitat -around one of the street trees in my road.
1/2: In a different place, these fragments of a 'Grecian urn' emerging from the ground might have been an exciting sight...
November 1, 2025 at 9:01 AM
1/2: In a different place, these fragments of a 'Grecian urn' emerging from the ground might have been an exciting sight...
1/3: What a surprise find! I spotted the shape of a clay pipe bowl briefly exposed between the waves; it was immediately covered by another wave, so I had a nervous wait hoping it would be exposed again. And when it was, I grabbed it quickly. At first I thought that rounded shape was a crescent...
October 29, 2025 at 8:08 AM
1/3: What a surprise find! I spotted the shape of a clay pipe bowl briefly exposed between the waves; it was immediately covered by another wave, so I had a nervous wait hoping it would be exposed again. And when it was, I grabbed it quickly. At first I thought that rounded shape was a crescent...
1/4: I recently found on the foreshore this nice large piece of what I recognised as Sunderland lustreware. You can see part of a ship in the top right, a figure in the middle right, and at the bottom, the letters 'TH'. I then remembered something similar found by a fellow mudlark...
October 27, 2025 at 8:02 AM
1/4: I recently found on the foreshore this nice large piece of what I recognised as Sunderland lustreware. You can see part of a ship in the top right, a figure in the middle right, and at the bottom, the letters 'TH'. I then remembered something similar found by a fellow mudlark...
Reposted by Germander Speedwell
My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com
1/2: I recently found this unusual armorial clay pipe bowl, with a charming restful lion. It's different to earlier armorials, and in the second photo at the beginning of the stem you can see the letter T - I wonder if this wording described some national event or occasion? Contd...
October 26, 2025 at 8:08 AM
1/2: I recently found this unusual armorial clay pipe bowl, with a charming restful lion. It's different to earlier armorials, and in the second photo at the beginning of the stem you can see the letter T - I wonder if this wording described some national event or occasion? Contd...
I found this beautiful tin-glazed tile fragment some time ago; it was of sufficient age and interest to be recorded at the Museum of London. I've got it back now; their conclusion was that it was made at Pickleherring or Rotherhithe in London c. 1590-1650; it's been matched up with a known design.
October 23, 2025 at 7:05 AM
I found this beautiful tin-glazed tile fragment some time ago; it was of sufficient age and interest to be recorded at the Museum of London. I've got it back now; their conclusion was that it was made at Pickleherring or Rotherhithe in London c. 1590-1650; it's been matched up with a known design.
Well how about this, for a symbol of hope... it was on a day when I was feeling very low, and while doing the dishes, I spotted that a seedling had sprouted from this steel wool scourer! Life sprouting from this harshest of environments... it certainly distracted me from my negative thoughts!
October 21, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Well how about this, for a symbol of hope... it was on a day when I was feeling very low, and while doing the dishes, I spotted that a seedling had sprouted from this steel wool scourer! Life sprouting from this harshest of environments... it certainly distracted me from my negative thoughts!