Hello - I've tried to access the Historic Castings site for their cauldrons but the domain name is now used by some-one else. Does anyone know if they are still trading? Thanks.

I've seen the small fluted bottle from the Mary Rose but wondered if anyone else had come across further examples? See this link:
http://bottledigging.org.uk/Topic166148 ... x#bm166196

Just visible in the background of this 1930s picture, hanging with civil war armour on the wall. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hereford ... 2397439108

Interesting pair of pattens apparently found in a cache in a house.

http://holtantiquefurniture.com/index.p ... tem&id=351

Years ago, when a student in Scotland, I went to a private historic house as part of a friend's research project. It had a lovely central hall with black and white marble flags. A large and gracious black and white greyhound rose up langorously and came to greet me. Looking up at the 16th century po...

I have posted before about a supplier of silk bobbin lace, and going back to the site although I can't find a shop link with this new website there is a very moving film which explains the link between recreating lace for 18th century costume dramas and those women whose families were affected by th...

I wish these posts had a 'like' button as on FB!

Well done - I have been wanting to get a rescued greyhound but work full time and have two cats...it's a long-term dream, but there are so many dogs out there that need homes now!

*Dog envy*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WaterSpagnel1.jpg
Looks a bit like a lion...

Apparently the tradition English otterhound is in decline. This set me thinking about old breeds of dog. In 'Macbeth' Shakespeare mentions 'hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves.' Some of these are still around, even if a King Charles spaniel looks diff...

Yes - I have since found simple screw threads on pewter from the Mary Rose but as a means of fixing, it is like an ivory Victorian mallet I have whose handle is secured in that way.
Nice object, and I wondered if any wood turners out there might have been interested!

Has anyone seen one of these before? I doubt the early date if it has a screw turn base (though some-one out there will know better than me) but it's a lovely thing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-16th-17th-CENTURY-TURNED-MAPLE-BOX-WOOD-SEARCES-APOTHACARYS-SIEVE-/270950044908?pt=UK_Collectables_Scie...

Now that is a book I have! Thanks for reminding me!

Thanks, both - excellent references. Now for that book-buying overdraft...

Hello - does anyone know how far a pedlar in the 16th century might travel? A couple of parishes? Or is this a how long is a piece of string question? I've seen a German engraving of a pedlar with ribbons, a looking glass and beads amongst other trinkets, and have come across a reference to them sel...

Nice site, from Stoke-on-Trent museum, showing 17th century and later slipware. You may have already found it, but it was new to me!

http://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/collecti ... collection

I must say, I would have been completely fooled by the photo of the Reb in 2006

Is the pirate-y person levitating behind the trestle table?

Brilliant! I can witter on about tallow candles now! (But not make them, as it's very much a museum we're working in, and sources of heat and atmospheric pollution are right out of the question... But as it's a smelly procedure, I'm not too sad!) I did see the part of the filthy cities but must have...

So William Morris might have said "Have no bucket in your tent unless you believe it to be beautiful or know it to be useful?'

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-16th-Century-original-Rare-english-oak-wellbucket-/270738277586?pt=UK_Antiques_AntiqueFurniture_SM&hash=item3f094244d2 My first thought was, another of those Chinese buckets you find in antique centres, but I'm not sure now. I have never seen a weighted bucket like thi...

Thank-you, both. Merlon, the region is Herefordshire and Bevis, I have found out about early references ot the glove trade in Herefordshire thanks to the article. Merlon, I will pm you.

I'm trying to find out more about what it was like to be a butcher in the late 16th/early 17th century. Can anyone recommend useful books/source material? Or is anyone out there a specialist? The things I really need to know are: - are there any images of a butchers shop from the period? (I have see...

How do you think the buttons were made, and of what? They look like the knots of braid you get in modern cufflinks to me, squinting hard at the photo.

I was reading Arthur Ransome's autobiography, and in the early 1900s charcoal burners in the Lake District would take a new clay pipe and put it in their charcoal stack to season, as otherwise a brand-new clay pipe would be raw and unpleasant on its first smoke, whereas a blackened one was just 'run...

My eleven-year old brought this home, and I went from reading it over his shoulder to blatantly stealing it and locking myself in the bathroom until I'd finished it. (Luckily for all, I'm a quick reader!) It's a Medieval/fantasy story which is utterly gripping. An orphaned boy lives at a monastery a...

It was simply a matter of finance, I think, in the end. There was meant to be some coming from another source, but it dried up, and so as she hadn't been able to find a Georgian group she just decided to do two periods instead of four (which was probably a bit ambitious at this point anyway due to t...

This sounds brilliant. I just wanted to say be careful with the comfrey- I planted some and it's become a bit of a pest. The borage has seeded itself everywhere too but I don't mind that - it's gorgeous. I didn't know it was a green manure too, so thanks for that!

Hi Bucket - thanks very much, but the Visitor Service Officer decided to drop the Georgian as a bit of a non-starter, and is concentrating on Tudor and Victorian instead. (The Tudor is covered, but I'm not sure about the Victorian.) I'll let her know, though, just in case.