As many of you will know, GHAS held a Finds Day at the end of last year, where people were invited to bring anything they had found of historical significance around the village. We had pottery, toys and figurines, maps and more brought to the Village club, where we photographed them and mapped out exactly where they were found to determine the archaeological hotspots around the village.
This was very successful and one such example was a hoard of bottles found in a garden near the green. These were very interesting as they dated as far back as midway through the 1800’s to early 1900’s. Most of the bottles were treatments for all kinds of ailments and illnesses. With synthetic medicines being in their infancy, the contents of these bottles was most probably a mixture of herbs and plants.
Most of the bottles were cracked or in pieces resulting in a long chase through the dregs of Google attempting to find their make and purpose. Here is what we found:
- A blue octagonal bottle was up first. The legible writing only spelled out around half of the make and purpose, reading: EETINGS … ACHE ELIXIR … RESBOROUGH. This was identified as SWEETINGS TOOTH ACHE ELIXIR – KNARESBOROUGH. This is fascinating as it was made and bought locally. Others online date from 1890 – 1900 and probably contained opium and/or morphine.
- A round clear bottle reading STEPHENSON BROTHERS. This was a container for STEPHENSON BROTHERS FURNITURE CREAM used to treat furniture in the Victorian era.
- A clear dolls house feeding bottle reading FAIRYLITE MADE IN ENGLAND. This is a FAIRYLITE MY DOLLY’S FEEDING BOTTLE, from the 1920’s made in the shape of a bird.
- A fragmented bottle reading DADDIES on the upper face. This was a DADDIES FAVOURITE SAUCE BOTTLE. This is probably from the early 1900’s, a staple of any kitchen at the time.
- A set of 2 pale green inkwells with the embossed lettering HYDE LONDON. This is a HYDE OF LONDONS inkwell, quite a well respected and expensive brand for the time, used nationwide, from the 1800’s.
- A green square bottle reading FLETCHERS SAUCE SHIPLEY. This is a FLETCHERS SAUCE BOTTLE originating from SHIPLEY in the 1890’s, not to be confused with Fletchers Tiger Sauce of Selby sold in the 1990’s.
- A pale green glass bottle reading DINNEFORDS MADE IN ENGLAND MAGNESIA. This is DINNEFORDS MAGNESIA a medical cordial to be diluted in water, made during the 1800’s.
- Clear rectangular bottle reading …STABLISHED … OVER 100 YEARS … EST & LUNG MIXTURE… SYRUP OF LINSEED & LIQUORICE … G.DUTTON & SON (BOLTON). This is DUTTON AND SONS CHEST AND LUNG MIXTURE made from liquorice and linseed syrup, of questionable effect to the chest and lungs. It may also have included morphine.
- A moulded glass bottle reading CALIFIG SUCCESSORS TO THE CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO. This is, to no-one’s surprise a bottle of fig syrup dating from late 1800’s to early 1900’s
All of these bottles provide valuable insight into the history of Green Hammerton and how the inhabitants over 100 years ago lived. The many food products and remedies included ingredients that would definitely not be used today, such as morphine and opium.
This is just a small part of the village’s history, so if you at home have an old artefact lying around, do contact us and we’d be happy to date and investigate it.
Research and article by Aidan, GHAS