File:Illustration of a ceramic post-medieval pipkin cooking vessel (FindID 117209).jpg

English: This record compromises a large number of pottery vessel sherds from a discrete area, namely an area of domestic dumping from a house of unknown origins that was demolished in 1817. The house is visible as a cropmark under the right conditions. The material was recovered by the landowner during the digging of a water main which prompted further investigation. Helen Walker of Essex County Council kindly scanned the material and provided short notes.

A selection of animal bone was also recovered at the same time and is recorded as ESS-17E485.

Tray 1 Slip-painted, unglazed sherds of Colchester ware including cistern rim with bifid handle. 8 various jug rims showing the slip-painted dashes on the rim characteristic of Colchester ware. Also in ?Colchester ware but not slip-painted are the remains of 3 lids. One is fire blackened around the edges. Date 15th-16th century. Weight: 737.9g, sherds: 54

Tray 2 Unfeatured sherds of Colchester ware. Late Medieval type. Date 15th-16th century. Weight: 965.5g, sherds: 108

Tray 3 Unfeatured sherds of Colchester ware. The thick walled sherds are most likely to be from cisterns, one shows the beginning of a handle attachment. Cisterns are large jars with one or two handles and a bunghole near the base. They are for storing liquids and were thought to have been used for brewing and storing beer and are very common in 15th and 16th century deposits. Some of the more curved sherds are probably from jars. Date 15th-16th century. Weight: 1359.3g, sherds: 79

Tray 4 Body sherds of Colchester ware as above. The thinner walled sherds are likely to be from jugs. Date 15th-16th century. Weight: 1679.6g, sherds: 236

Tray 5 Semi-complete lid with rounded knob which could be Colchester ware but has a rather untypical buff fabric. The fragment is marked 'fig. 104, no.223, page 157, presumably this is in Cotter 2000, CAR 7. Weight: 116.5g Shoulder of a vessel or part of a lid, ?15th-16th century, pierced, with remains of attachment scar around one of the holes. Possibly a fuming pot, though it is not sooted. Sandy orange ware fabric with honey coloured glaze. The sherd is marked 'fire pot p126, fig.148, no.177, note p215.' Weight: 43g 5 sherds of Medieval coarse ware 12th-14th century. (labelled 'Bronze Age'). Weight: 73g 2 buff ware sherds, probably late Medieval. 1 sherd Raeven stoneware from squat drinking jug. These were very common imports during the 15th-16th century, even on land sites. 2 sherds of Anglo/Netherlands tin glazed earthenware. Date 17th century. 1 slip coated ?Colchester ware rim, late Medieval. 8 sherds of modern pottery comprising late kitchen earthware, stoneware, creamware, ironstone and porcelain. Date 19th-20th century. Some fragments are tile rather than pot, one pottery sherd is very abraded and may be water worn.

Tray 6 Mixture of ?Colchester ware and Post-Medieval red earthenware. Vessel forms comprise: Bowl fragment with flanged rim and internal ?swirl glaze. Lid seated jar rim, thin walled, and could be Dutch. Hollowed, everted jar rims, could be from pipkins. (Pipkins are small cooking vessels with a straight handle and sometimes tripod feet). Date 16th-17th century. Weight: 724.6g, sherds: 61

Tray 7 Mainly bases in medieval coarse ware, Colchester ware and other sandy orange ware and Post-Medieval red earthenware, mainly from jugs and jars. One base in medieval coarse ware is extremely thin-walled, perhaps the original cause of breakage. Date ?14th-16th century. Weight: 1619g, sherds: 38

Tray 8 Mainly Post-Medieval red earthenware, most of which has an overall or an internal glaze, indicating a date of not before the 16th-17th century. Some earlier sandy orange ware/Colchseter ware also present. Vessel forms comprise a Post=-Medieval red earthenware jug rim and fragments from jar rims. Date Late Medieval-Post Medieval. Weight: 4.50g, sherds: 49

Tray 9 Base, pierced through base and sides, from a strainer or colander. Internal glaze, probably Colchester ware, marked ' CAR 7, Fig.103, No.208, p.155'. Weight: 111.3g, sherds: 3 2 handled Dutch style cauldron, fire blackened patch on inside, could be Dutch or local. Weight: 208.8g, sherds: 2 Slip-coated, faceted base from a chafing dish, could be Colchester ware. Weight: 79.3g, sherds: 2 Colchester ware bungholes from cisterns and bifid handles from cisterns. Weight: 563.5g, sherds: 2 Colchester ware jug or cistern rim. Weight: 63.9g Horizontal handle in same fabric as Dutch style cauldron. Weight: 49.9g Straight handle from pipkin in Colchester ware. Weight: 65.4g Jug base in early type smooth Post-Medieval red earthenware. Date 15th-16th century. Weight: 67.1g

Tray 10 Colchester ware cistern rim. Colchester ware jar rims, square beaded rim. Colchester ware bowl rims, internal swirl glaze. Post-Medieval red earthenware jar - Cunninghams type C4. Colchester ware everted jar rim. Extremely abraded bowl rim - ?water worn. Post-Medieval jug rim, ?16th century. Post-Medieval red earthenware everted jar rim, internally glazed, late 16th/17th century or later. Date mostly 15th-16th century. Total weight: 793.5g, sherds: 24

Tray 11 Tray of Colchester ware, large fragments from flanged rim bowls, either unglazed or with an internal swirl glaze. Rim flanges are either down turned, horizontal everted or hollow everted. These are all quite large bowls, sometimes called pancheons and used in dairying. Weight: 940.5g, sherds: 15

Tray 12 1 Medieval coarse ware H2 type cooking pot, early to mid 13th century. Semi-complete pipkin with external flanged rim and straight handle. A separate tripod foot may be part of this vessel. It has a crazed greenish glaze and traces of fire blackening. It could be Dutch. (Illustrated). Weight: 621.2g, sherds: 43 Top half of jar in ?Colchester ware. Unusual stepped lid seating. Weight: 254.g, sherds: 8 2 jars with hollowed everted rims and rilled sides, probably from pipkins, possibly Colchester ware. Weight: 127g, sherds: 11 Everted jar rim, blackened and spalled on the outside, probably Colchester ware. Marked 'page 143/144, fig.93, no.140'. Weight: 68.5g Jar or cistern rim with upright, slightly everted neck, beaded around neck in Post-Medieval red earthenware. Possibly 16th century. Weight: 63.7g, sherds: 5

Tray 13 1 sherd Raeren stoneware, late15th-mid 16th century. Weight: 8.5g Almost complete one handled flared mug in Post-Medieval red earthenware, rilled below rim, honey coloured glaze, marked 'p213, fig.146, no.144'. Could be a Harlow product. 16th-17th century. (Illustrated). Weight: 154.6g Bottom half of flared 2-handled mug, near black glaze, rilling above base. 17th century Harlow type. Weight: 265.3g Fragments from similar black-glazed ware mugs. Weight: 203.7g, sherds: 7 Large part of black-glazed ware baluster jug. Possibly 17th century. Weight: 556.5g, sherds: 3 Slip-coated Colchseter ware sherds, late Medieval. Weight:210g, sherds: 17 1 sherd of yellow ware, late 18th-20th century. Date mainly 17th century. Weight: 1.3g

Tray 14 1 sherd of slip-coated and combed Colchester ware, copying Mill Green - mid 13th-14th century. Weight: 6.6g 1 sherd Colchester ware with all over slip-coating and plain glaze, late Medieval. Weight: 1.1g Several sherds of Raeven stoneware including frilled bases from squat drinking jugs. Late 15th to mid 16th century. Weight: 6.3g, sherds: 3 Rim and neck of Frechen stoneware bellarmine (another type of German stoneware), early type face mask. Second half of the 16th century. Weight: 92.8g, sherds: 4 Rim of second Frechen stoneware with mottled 'tiger ware' salt glaze and cordon above foot, indicates a late 16th-17th century date. Weight: 180g, sherds: 2 1 sherd of Westerwald stoneware with incised chequer-board decoration. Later 17th-18th century. Weight: 7.3g Miscellaneous. Weight: 116.4g, sherds: 13 Dates mainly late 15th/16th to 17th/18th century.

Tray 15 Mainly brick and tile. Thick walled base sherds with internal ?slip-coating. Weight: 145.7g, sherds: 13 Jar rim in reduced sandy orange fabric. Date late Medieval. Weight: 46.4g

Overview: Very little medieval pottery is present, comprising a few sherds of Medieval coarse ware belonging to the 13th and 14th centuries. Finds include a cooking pot with a rim type datable to the early 13th century. Nearly all the pottery dates to the late Medieval period and comprises Colchester ware, other sandy orange ware and early type Post-Medieval red earthenware. The presence of several fragments of Raeren ware squat drinking jugs indicates a most likely date of the late 15th to mid 16th century for this pottery. This is a type of German stoneware that was imported in great quantities during this period and is found on inland sites as well as sites near the coast.

Colchester ware was produced at several production sites in and around Colchester and has a coarse sandy orange ware fabric. It has a fairly limited distribution in the Tendring area and its presence here is not unexpected. Vessel forms comprise bowls, cisterns, jars, a few jugs and several pipkins. These are all kitchen ware vessels used in the storage and preparation of food stuffs.

Cisterns were used for brewing beer and pipkins are small cooking vessels. The large bowls may have been used in dairying. Some of the vessels with a sandy orange ware fabric may be Dutch red wares. This may reflect Fingringhoe's proximity to the port of Colchester, but Dutch red wares are also found inland, for example at Chelmsford.

Also belonging to the 16th century, albeit the latter period, is an early type Frechen stoneware bellarmine. These are decorated with applied face masks depicting a bearded man. This is another type of German stoneware also imported in great quantities during the late 16th and 17th centuries. 16th century examples are less common.

Some pottery can be dated to the 17th century, this includes the black-glazed ware mugs and jugs and the few sherds of Anglo-Netherlands tin-glazed earthenware. Some of the Post-Medieval red earthenware is also probably 17th century.

Summary: The pottery spans the 13th to 17th centuries, with most pottery dating to the late 15th and 16th centuries. Occupation seems to be entirely domestic. It is surprising, given it proximity to Colchester and the river Colne, and therefore access to coastal and overseas trade, that there are not more imports. The main point of interest of this assemblage is the large variety of vessel types. There is no evidence of high status. The 17th century assemblage differs in that the vessels are table wares, not kitchen wares like those of the earlier period.