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).
1/5: Can you see what I've spotted? This is one of my most unbelievable foreshore finds... follow the thread for the full revelation!
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
1/5: Can you see what I've spotted? This is one of my most unbelievable foreshore finds... follow the thread for the full revelation!
1/3: When I spotted the top of this pipe bowl in the mud I thought it was just going to be a plain one - but look at that unusual and elegant shape. I then spotted it had a maker's stamp at the back of the bowl - CHURCH, LONDON - it was Ebenezer Church, my favourite pipemaker!
January 19, 2026 at 11:33 AM
1/3: When I spotted the top of this pipe bowl in the mud I thought it was just going to be a plain one - but look at that unusual and elegant shape. I then spotted it had a maker's stamp at the back of the bowl - CHURCH, LONDON - it was Ebenezer Church, my favourite pipemaker!
This brass button was lying face-up on the surface, in perfect clean condition, exactly as in this photo. My hasty research identifies it as a generic merchant navy button from the 1900s. The back is a bit more worn, but this side looks like it's just fallen from someone's uniform...!
January 15, 2026 at 9:37 AM
This brass button was lying face-up on the surface, in perfect clean condition, exactly as in this photo. My hasty research identifies it as a generic merchant navy button from the 1900s. The back is a bit more worn, but this side looks like it's just fallen from someone's uniform...!
1/3: Ooh... a clay pipe - and it looks like it might be a decorated one! Follow the thread to see what this turns out to be...
January 11, 2026 at 9:08 AM
1/3: Ooh... a clay pipe - and it looks like it might be a decorated one! Follow the thread to see what this turns out to be...
1/2: Another promising looking bottle in 'my' bottle patch! Most of its body seems to be there, but will the top be intact? Follow the thread to see...
January 9, 2026 at 9:06 AM
1/2: Another promising looking bottle in 'my' bottle patch! Most of its body seems to be there, but will the top be intact? Follow the thread to see...
1/2: Next week Thursday, Jan 15, I'll be giving a talk for the Bexley Archaeological Group about all the discoveries at @surreydocksfarm.bsky.social related to the site's history - especially all the artefacts and structures emerging from the farm's foreshore...
January 8, 2026 at 8:16 AM
1/2: Next week Thursday, Jan 15, I'll be giving a talk for the Bexley Archaeological Group about all the discoveries at @surreydocksfarm.bsky.social related to the site's history - especially all the artefacts and structures emerging from the farm's foreshore...
1/2: Next week Tuesday, Jan 13, I'll be the mudlark-in-residence at the Secrets of the Thames exhibition at London Museum Docklands - so I'll shortly be selecting some clay pipes from my collection to come with me, including a few of these (my finds from one particularly good year) ...
January 7, 2026 at 9:08 AM
1/2: Next week Tuesday, Jan 13, I'll be the mudlark-in-residence at the Secrets of the Thames exhibition at London Museum Docklands - so I'll shortly be selecting some clay pipes from my collection to come with me, including a few of these (my finds from one particularly good year) ...
I quickly picked up this piece of broken clay pipe bowl from the foreshore - and then saw how unusual it is! The little animal at the back appears to be a dog, and the pipe bowl itself is in the form of a drum, with a drumstick just below the dog. Never seen this design before - it's a mystery...!
January 7, 2026 at 9:04 AM
I quickly picked up this piece of broken clay pipe bowl from the foreshore - and then saw how unusual it is! The little animal at the back appears to be a dog, and the pipe bowl itself is in the form of a drum, with a drumstick just below the dog. Never seen this design before - it's a mystery...!
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....