Article taken from Lincolnshire History and Archaelogy. No.23 1988

Hilary Healey

It is a matter of some astonishment that, despite the village name, the early finds of ceramic material from Potter Hanworth were assumed to be Roman. As far as one can make out, the only likely Roman site was one from well outside the built up area on one of the ‘Moor fields’ (Norgate and Footman 1901-2). The other discoveries, from the site of the school and the water tower respectively (Kelly 1909,471), do seem to have been examples of the ware that gave the village its medieval title. None of these fragments appear to have been saved, unfortunately, and it was only the examination of sherds newly turned up beside the school and on a building site in 1973 that finaly established a distinctive shell-tempered fabric as the local product (Healey 1974). In the brief report published at the time the forms commonly occurring were illustrated; one or two additional types were added in the following year (Healey 1975, 160 and Fig. 11). Reference was made in the earlier note to a sherd of ‘a possible alembic’ which had been too small to illustrate.

An alembic is one of the two main vessels used in the distilling process, the upper component being either of pottery or glass, and the name was incorrectly applied to the Potter Hanworth fragment. The type of vessel which should have been referred to was the base of the distilling equipment. The form and function of the various pieces used for distilling have been described in some detail by Moorhouse (Moorhouse and Greenway 1972). The base resembles a cooking pot with a pronounced bifid rim especially designed to seat the upper, baseless vessel. A pot of this kind from Toynton All Saints, in Lincolnshire, was amongst those illustrated (Moorhouse and Greenaway 1972, 112 and Fig. 32.5). More recently, in discussion, Moorhouse has pointed out the very wide range of uses for equipment of this type and has recommended describing them in less specific terms as ‘industrial bases.’

It now seems worth drawing attention to four more substantial fragments of the same form which have come to light since 1975. All four pots are recognisable as typical Potter Hanworth ware. The fabric is generally buff or reddish-buff in colour, with a grey core, unglazed and with large shell inclusions, some up to 3mm across. Samples of the fabric were examined at the Lincoln laboratory some years ago and it was not possible to determine whether the shell was recent or fossil. The local limestone contains abundant shell fragments which would not be difficult to extract and grind up.

The Pottery

All diameters are measured from the outer rim.
1. Swineshead. Light brown surfaces, redder interior, medium grey core. The original Potter Hanworth sherd (not illustrated) is very similar. Diam. 28 cm.
2. Grantham. Light brown surfaces, redder interior, medium grey core. Diam. 27 cm.
3. North Ormsby (NO 66 FF [3.701). Grcy-brown exterior, paler interior, light grey core. Diam. 28 cm.
4 Lincoln (BE 73 I LF). These sherds provide the most complete profile so far, even though the base is missing. The form is basically that of a cooking pot and it is therefore likely that this vessel would have had a similar flat base. Diam. 26 cm.

Manufacturing Techniques

In the illustrations each section is drawn to show the visible layers. These rarely appear in identical positions on each end of the same sherd, and as far as possible a view of a left-hand section is given. The pots were constructed by pressing a series of coils or ‘ribbons’ of clay against each other, and the sinuous, not necessarily continuous, line indicates that the surfaces of the coils have not completely
blended together. This effect can be seen on much medieval pottery, but on shell-tempered wares the different alignment of the shell particles makes it more readily observable. The Potter Hanworth products appear to be mostly wheel-made and there is no reason to suppose that they were built up by hand (Hayfield 1980) since the practice of using coils on the wheel is well-known to potters (Healey 1975, 50). No evidence has been found amongst Potter Hanworth wares of the very regular alignment of coils noted in some fabrics from the north of the county.

The Findspots

Although the Lincoln piece is an unstratified and previously unpublished find from the Broadgate East excavation, it is interesting that the other three have monastic connections. The Swineshead example was found 1 km south-west of the site of the Cistercian Abbey on a field which was almost certainly part of the abbey property. The Grantham sherds came from excavations on the site of the Franciscan Friary and the North Ormsby piece from excavations on part of the Gilbertine Priory. Moorhouse cites several examples of finds from religious houses, in particular Pontefract and Selbourne Priories (Moorhouse and Greenaway 1972, 101-3) and there is a well-known collection of laboratory material from St Leonard’s Priory at Stamford (Mahany 1977, 21). One might suppose a monastic establishment more likely to be using this kind of equipment than the average household, and one may perhaps speculate that this type of base was something in which the potters at Potter Hanworth specialised.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Ann Dornier and Andrew Rogerson for allowing me to use material from the North Ormsby and Grantham excavations and to the City of Lincoln Archaeological Unit for permission to publish the Lincoln piece, which was brought to my notice by Sarah Jennings.

References

Hayfield, C., 1980. ‘Techniques of pottery manufacture in East
Yorkshire and North Lincoinshire’, Med. Ceramics 4, 29.44.
Healey, R.H.,. 1974. ‘Pottery from Potterhanworth [sic]’, in
Marjoram, J., ‘Archaeological Notes 1973’, LHA 9, 30-31, 33 Fig.
U, (captions transposed).
Healey, R.H., 1975. ‘Medieval and sub-medieval pottery in Lincoln-
shire’. Unpublished M. Phil. thesis, University of Nottingham.
Mahany, C.M., 1977. ‘St. Leonard’s Priory’, South Lincoinshire
Archaeology 1, 17-22.
Moorhouse, S., and Greenaway, F., 1972. ‘Medieval distilling
apparatus of glass and pottery’, Med. Archaeol. 16, 79-121.
Norgate, K. and Footman, M.H., 1901-2. ‘Notes for a history of
Potter Hanworth’, Lines. A.A.S.R.P.
Kelly’s Directory of Lincoinshire, 1909.

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Pottery from Potterhanworth by R. Hilary Healey

Following surface investigations by H. Healey and Mr. and Mrs. A. Hawkins and family, and many helpful villagers, pottery which appears (from the quantity) to have been made at the Medieval pottery kilns has at last been identified, and was collected from eight sites in the village. The fabric is shell-gritted with grits up to 3mm in size, giving a rough but hard-fired surface, usually grey, buff or light brown in colour. A few finds in a very sandy grey fabric with green gLaze may indicate the production of finer wares but at present this evidence is inconclusive. The common shelly-ware form is the cooking pot of a type already known from sites as far apart as Boston (JBAA, xxviii, 1965, 102-3) and Somerby (LHA, 4, 1969, 71-2). Other forms include bowls, pancheons, pipkins, and jugs or storage jars, and a few fragments have wavy line decoration. The place Potter Hanworth, for the village previously known as ‘Haneworthe juxta Nocton’ first occurs in 1327, although in Bishop Burwash’s register it does not appear until 1334. At present there is no other dating evidence or any indication of how long the kilns were in operation.