Page 42 - John Barber's Oakham Castle and its archaeology

36 sherds in Nottingham, Bourne, Lyveden/Stanion, Coarse Shelly and Medieval Sandy wares, with a terminal date in
the late 13th or early 14th century, were recovered from the occupation level outside the south wall of the kitchen,
context C. The identifiable vessels in fabric LY1 included a minimum of four highly decorated jugs. Also present was a
ridge tile fragment in the Bourne fabric BO2, dating from the mid 13th century.
Sixteen pottery sherds were recovered from the well, including three sherds of glazed Nottingham ware, fabric NO2,
dated c.1230-1300, at the lowest recorded level, context K. Nine sherds of Lyveden/Stanion type ware, fabrics LY1 and
LY4, and Coarse Shelly wares, fabric CS, dating from the 13th century, were also present in the two lower levels,
contexts K and L. Four glazed sherds of pottery in the Nottingham fabric NO3 and the Medieval Sandy ware MS2, all
thought to date from the 14th century, were recovered from the upper levels, Context M.
However the bulk of the material was recovered from the general destruction levels, contexts D – J (2), and dated
from the Saxo-Norman to the 18th or 19th century, though most of the pottery and ridge tile lay within a late 12th, 13th
and 14th century date range.

The Ceramic Record (Tables 4 to 6 and Figs 1 & 2)

The five sherds of Stamford ware, fabrics ST1 and ST2, date from the mid 11th to the 12th or possibly early 13th
century. The limestone tempered Coarse Shelly wares and Lyveden/Stanion types wares, fabrics CS, LY1 and LY4,
dating from the late 12th to the 13th or early 14th centuries, were the most common, accounting for 51% and 63% of
the pottery recovered from the site by sherd numbers and weight respectively. All these wares are thought to originate
from both known and unknown kilns on the Jurassic limestone in east Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. Most of this
pottery was hand made, and included 12th and 13th century cooking pots/storage jars and bowls in CS and LY4, whilst
typically many of the vessels in fabric LY1 were jugs decorated with applied white clay slip and grid stamped pads
under the transparent lead glaze. The Nottingham ware fabrics NO1, NO2 and NO3 accounted for 18% and 14% of the
pottery totals by sherd number and weight. Most of the Nottingham ware sherds were glazed, and were probably all
from jugs, with a date range from the 13th into the 14th century. The Bourne fabrics BO1 and BO2, dating from the
13th to the mid 17th century, were equally common, and again, like the Nottingham wares, were mostly glazed jugs,
though at least one cistern was recognised in the later medieval or early post medieval fabric BO1. Also present was a
single sherd of 12th or 13th century Potters Marston ware. Medieval Sandy ware dating from the 13th and 14th
centuries, and fragments of late medieval or early post medieval pottery in Cistercian and Midland Blackware, probably
both of Midlands origin, were also present.
Of the 18 fragments of ridge tile recovered from the site, seven were in the Lyveden/Stanion fabric LY1, and eleven
in the Bourne ware fabrics BO1 and BO2.

Discussion

Most pottery, save the occasional import, was of low status in medieval England, and wealthy households, as here at
Oakham Castle, would have used metal as a first choice, especially as a table ware. Pottery and wooden vessels would
generally have been used by the servants for their own needs, and for the preparation and storage of food in the kitchen
and elsewhere. Hence the range of fabrics present here is typical of that found across the region, and is also very similar
to other material recorded by the author at Oakham Castle. This is a reflection not only of the status of pottery but the
generally local trade and distribution patterns of pottery in the medieval period.
In terms of the fabrics, Stamford was a major pottery making centre from the late ninth to the early to mid thirteenth
centuries, followed by sources dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and later which included the
Lyveden/Stanion complex of kilns in north Northamptonshire and elsewhere on the Jurassic System, Bourne in
Lincolnshire and Nottingham. One fragment of Potters Marston, from south-west Leicestershire, was recorded, whilst
the origins of the Medieval Sandy and Cistercian/Blackwares wares are less certain, although one possibility is kilns at
Nottingham, or production centres in the east Midlands, notably Warwickshire and Derbyshire.
Similarly the pottery vessels are typically domestic in nature, with jars, jugs and bowls all present. Whilst it is
tempting to assume that the highly decorated Lyveden/Stanion jugs in particular may be indicative of a well-to-do
household, in fact these pots are found on all types of sites from hamlets to urban centres. However, there is no doubt
that the potters were copying decorative motifs used in leatherwork, for instance, to make their products more attractive
in the market.

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