File:Medieval padlock, Padlock (FindID 803413).jpg

English: A complete copper alloy barb spring padlock of medieval date. The lock is comprised of an elongated hollow case which is octagonal in section with an integral, projecting hasp to one end. The keyhole, at the same end as the hasp, has a rounded aperture with a shallow V-shaped base. The hasp is flat and rectangular, projecting out at a 90 degree angle from the case. An integrally cast rectangular bar extends from the top of the hasp and runs parallel to the case, tapering to a worn point. The point of the hasp arm is slotted into a loop in the lock arm, which is separately cast to the rest of the padlock and would have been released by the internal barb-spring mechanism. The lock would have been opened by a barrel padlock key; the size of this example may indicate use on a casket or chest.

Numerous similar examples have been recorded on the PAS database. For examples see: LEIC-B39FE6, LVPL-D91832, SF-9C3B66 and YORYM-6016A5. Parallels from London (e.g. Egan 1998:93; ref. 244) have come from pre-fourteenth-century contexts, although elsewhere they have been found in later contexts, for example Biddle (1990) illustrates a similar example, No. 3666 which was found in a context dated up to the 15th century. Suggested date for this example: 1200-1500.