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CLAY PIPE (SMOKING)
Unique ID: MAS-100011
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
This is a very worn example of a 'cutty' (short) pipe (total length 115 mm) with a round-based spurless bowl imitating a briar pipe, and decorated with multiple 'thorns' - small pointed protrusions around the stem and bowl. This type of bowl was in use between c. 1850 and 1910 (Atkinson and Oswald 1969: type 30), and the thorn design was one of the many decorative types popular during this period (e.g. Ayto 1994:11; Hammond 2009: figure 7).
Clay tobacco pipes were manufactured (using two-piece moulds) in huge quantities in many towns and cities around the UK and were also imported from the Continent. They were cheap, highly disposable items, often given away with a pint of beer by the local publican. The short 'cutty' pipes were popular with working men as they could be smoked while working, whereas the longer pipes were more for smoking at leisure.
This clay pipe was found approximately 250 m outside the offshore designated area for the HMS Coronation wreck site. The period of the pipe's manufacture confirms that it is not associated with this vessel, which was wrecked in 1691. The pipe's location is thought to be within an extensive dumping site featuring artefacts dating from the 19th century through to the modern period.
Notes:
Although the clay pipe is not associated with HMS Coronation, there is still the potential for small and delicate items to be discovered beyond the extent of the protected areas that may be associated with the wreck.
HMS Coronation was an English Royal Navy Second Rate ship of the line, armed with 90 guns. Built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1685, it was wrecked in a storm in 1691 off Rame Head, Cornwall, with the loss of approximately 600 lives (Lavery 1983: 162).
After the discovery of the site in 1967, it was protected in 1978 under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (1978 - Coronation offshore Site 17; 1989 - Coronation inshore Site 33). The offshore site has an exclusion zone radius of 150 m, while the inshore site has an exclusion zone radius of 250 m. Divers may apply for a licence to visit these sites.
The NRHE and Cornwall & Scilly HER reference numbers cited in this record refer to the wreck of HMS Coronation.
Class:
Dress and personal accessories
Sub class: Personal accessory
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: With finder
Subsequent action after recording: Submitted as wreck to the Receiver of Wreck
Wreck details
Droit number: 298/16
Chronology
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Period from: NINETEENTH CENTURY
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Circa AD 1850
Date to: Circa AD 1910
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 115 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Friday 23rd September 2016
Personal details
Found by: This information is restricted for your login.
Recorded by: M F
Identified by: V L
Secondary identifier: L M
Other reference numbers
NRHE monument number: 1082129; 1082130
Other reference: Cornwall & Scilly HER Number: SX 44 NW 53; SX 44 NW 54
Droit ID: 298/16
Materials and construction
Primary material: Ceramic
Manufacture method: Moulded
Decoration style: Other
Completeness: Complete
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SX4348
Four figure Latitude: 50.31098713
Four figure longitude: -4.20632722
1:25K map: SX4348
1:10K map: SX48SW
Display four figure position on What3Words
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
- Lavery, B, 1983 The Ship of the Line. Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850 London : Conway Maritime Press, 162 ,
- Atkinson, D and Oswald, A, 1969. London clay tobacco pipes. England : Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 171–227 ,
- Ayto, EG, 1994 Clay Tobacco Pipes Princes Risborough : Shire Publications, ,
- Hammond, PJ, 2009. Ebenezer Church: Clay tobacco pipe manufacturer of Pentonville, London. London : Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, 225–248 ,
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