Clay Pipe found in my garden

[groom]

Are clay pipes made in a mould? If so wouldn't the T W and pattern be imprinted on the inside of the mould rather than be added later?

[Whipby]

Another good point groom.  Oh dear my head's in a whirl!  Maybe I'll never get to the bottom of this - unless I get an answer from Heather Coleman.  Fingers crossed.

[PrueM]

Hi whipby

Found the following - has many similarities with yours (although slightly different shape to the heart):

http://www.joshuasattic.com/search/product.asp?ID=2233

[Greensleeves]

I understood that the majority of the clay pipes were sold pre-loaded, ie with the tobacco already in them.  This is why so many can be found - they were disposible.  You smoked your baccy and chucked them away.  Of course, some frugal people, and those with a stash of tobacco, might keep their pipes.  I used to live in a house which was  an inn/pub from the 1600s until the 1930s.  Trying to dig out a vegetable garden from the land behind was more like archeology than gardening and I ended up with a huge collection of bits of clay pipe - an awful lot of stems and shards, but also some rather beautiful bowls as well.

[Whipby]

Hi whipby

Found the following - has many similarities with yours (although slightly different shape to the heart):

http://www.joshuasattic.com/search/product.asp?ID=2233

Oh wow Prue, it's almost identical!  Is this Newcastle in Northumberland, England, or New Castle in America (I think?) as I notice the price is in dollars.

I understood that the majority of the clay pipes were sold pre-loaded, ie with the tobacco already in them. This is why so many can be found - they were disposible. You smoked your baccy and chucked them away. Of course, some frugal people, and those with a stash of tobacco, might keep their pipes. I used to live in a house which was an inn/pub from the 1600s until the 1930s. Trying to dig out a vegetable garden from the land behind was more like archeology than gardening and I ended up with a huge collection of bits of clay pipe - an awful lot of stems and shards, but also some rather beautiful bowls as well.

That must have been really fascinating!  But I suppose things would get a bit mundane after a while?  I was really excited to find this as I've never dug up anything interesting before.

[IMBER]

Looks like the American website may have misspelled the surname:

http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue1/peacey/newcast.html

[Redroger]

It's made of clay, hit it with a big hammer and it would have been squashed flat.

 

I was of course referring to the die, and not the pipe! The markings would be placed either in a mould or on the pipe before the clay hardened.

[Redroger]

The p[ipe shown in the US site is certainly a close relative. I think the information shows it was made in Newcastle, UK and at some time either historically or recently as an artifact has crossed the Atlantic. We now have TW WT and a possible FW all with heart pattern for the initials. Could be they are descended from the Edinburgh makers pattern if he was an earlier producer.

[Whipby]

Looks like the American website may have misspelled the surname:

http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue1/peacey/newcast.html

I wondered that, too, IMBER, so thank you for finding that info for me, most interesting - I may email the descendent who has put a comment on the site as he has put his email address.

The p[ipe shown in the US site is certainly a close relative. I think the information shows it was made in Newcastle, UK and at some time either historically or recently as an artifact has crossed the Atlantic. We now have TW WT and a possible FW all with heart pattern for the initials. Could be they are descended from the Edinburgh makers pattern if he was an earlier producer.

Heather Coleman has very kindly and promptly replied to my email and says that the pipe probably dates from between 1880-1920ish  - quite a large range but it’s difficult to pin it down to a narrower date as they were so commonplace.  She thinks it was probably made for a working man by a firm in the north of England, as the design, and variations of it, are quite common round here.  This ties in with the possibility it’s from Newcastle, just an hour away from where I live.

I’m so chuffed with the information and help I’ve received, thank you all.