Record ID: CORN-80F942
Object type: BUTTON
Broad period: MODERN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Pressed and stamped three-part hollow domed gilt copper alloy button with separate soldered attachment loop, embossed with the Royal coat of arms, consisting of a crowned garter with a lion to the left and unicorn to the right, with the legend HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE (the French phrase meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks evil of it") within the Royal Garter. From these details and the size of the button, it appears to be a General Service cap button, which were introduced in 1871 and in use until 1924 when a variety of regimental buttons were re-introduced (Meredith & Cuddeford, 1997,…
Created on: Monday 7th May 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 9th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-80CB46
Object type: BUTTON
Broad period: MODERN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Pressed and stamped three-part hollow domed gilt copper alloy naval button with separate soldered attachment loop, embossed with the crown of George III to William IV c.1760-1837 (Meredith & Cuddeford, 1997, 42) over a the 'foul' anchor, where the anchor is entangled with a cable, within linear and ropework borders, and on a background of parallel transverse incised lines. The back of the button is too corroded and encrusted to make out the back mark and only the base of the attachment loop remains. In 1774 a foul anchor surrounded by rope edging took the place of the rose and in 17…
Created on: Monday 7th May 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 9th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-806C16
Object type: BUTTON
Broad period: MODERN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Pressed and stamped three-part hollow domed copper alloy button with separate soldered attachment loop at the back. The front of the button depicts, in relief, the Prince of Wales plume of three feathers within a coronet with the motto ICH / DIEN in a scroll on either side. The three feathers and the motto "lch Dien", German for "I Serve", go back to Edward (1330-1376), the eldest son of Edward III. He was known as the 'Black Prince' because he had his suit of armour painted black, a very unusual thing at the time. He later became the Prince of Wales and the three feathers and coronet…
Created on: Monday 7th May 2012
Last updated: Friday 11th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-7F87B1
Object type: BUTTON
Broad period: MODERN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy hollow-domed, die-cut, two-piece button with a soldered circular attachment loop at the back. The front of the button depicts the 'Ordnance' shield (Ivall & Thomas, 1974, p.42) with three artillery guns, one above the other, surmounted by a band with three bezants in a row, alternating with piles of shot. The surface of the button is very worn and corroded and would have originally been plated but no evidence of that now survives. The button is probably stamped with the words 'PORTREATH ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS' from left to right on either side and above the shield, but…
Created on: Monday 7th May 2012
Last updated: Thursday 10th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-7E6A42
Object type: BUTTON
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy two-piece domed button with soldered attachment loop. The face of the button is very worn and hard to make out but the back mark is clear: .FIRMIN & WESTALL. STRAND which operated in London from c.1794-1812. The letters within the seven-pointed star of the Order of the Garter, surmounted by a crown, appear to be D G which stands for Dragoon Guards, with an X above them which would stand for the 10th Regiment which became the Prince of Wales' Own Hussars in 1806. At this time the buttons depicted the Prince of Wales feathers so this button must pre-date 1806. The mott…
Created on: Monday 7th May 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 9th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-53E127
Object type: SHOT
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast iron shot, spherical in shape, with pitted surface, but with most of the surface iron corrosion product having fallen away since it was found, leaving the original object. The shot is about an inch and a quarter in diameter, or 39 mm, which could have been used by the smaller artillery pieces like the 'base', or small cannon, which was the smallest of the 'standard' list of guns of the late 16th century, at one and a quarter inch calibre, but equally could have been used as grape shot for some of the larger pieces. In the 17th century, during the Civil War, any iron object was us…
Created on: Saturday 5th May 2012
Last updated: Saturday 5th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-27F352
Object type: BULLET
Broad period: MODERN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast lead bullet with hollow core, cylindrical in shape and sub-circular in section, with three incised parallel lines around its circumference at the mid point. The bullet has been bent and flattened through use, from the impact it received when hitting a hard surface, once it had been fired. The diameter of the bullet has been distorted by the impact and when perfectly round, would probably have been about 16 mm. From the diamater and weight of this bullet, it appears to be a 0.625 (16 mm) bullet from an English Baker rifle type, originally the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle, but refer…
Created on: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Last updated: Saturday 5th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-2637E3
Object type: SHOT
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Two cast lead shot, probably musket balls, spherical in shape, one with two incised parallel lines on the surface at its widest point, but not damaged from use. The diameter of about 16 mm and weight of about 23 g of the shot compares well with examples from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Royal Institution of Cornwall's collections and those on the database. These are definitely for small arms and may have come from a smooth bore musket. Musket calibres ranged from 0.5 inches (13 mm) to 0.8 inches (20 mm), but during the 17th century they tend to be larger and heavier than these e…
Created on: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Last updated: Saturday 10th November 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-251B02
Object type: CANNON BALL
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast iron cannon ball, spherical in shape, pitted and corroded on the surface but not damaged from use. The diameter of 82 mm and weight of almost 2kg of the cannon ball compares well with examples of Civil War shot in the Royal Institution of Cornwall's collections, in particular a cannon ball from Castle Dore, Lostwithiel (TRURI 1992.91) and another from Tresillian Bridge (TRURI 1993.8), both Civil Ware battle sites. The size and weight of the ball suggests that it would fit a 'Minion' cannon which had a 3.5 inch bore and shot a 4 pound ball (Bailey, 2000, 95). These were used from …
Created on: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Last updated: Monday 7th May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-1AEFD1
Object type: BOWL
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Fragment of a cast copper alloy bowl, from the base of the rim, following the curvature of the body of the bowl and tapering towards the base where it has broken away from the vessel. The curvature in profile shows that the bowl would not have been very deep, perhaps 120 mm in depth. The the curvature in plan suggests that the bowl would have been about 260 mm in diameter. Egan (2005) illustrates a similar example of a bowl fragment with a curved body on page 99, Fig.85, No.443, which is dated from c.1550-1600. Ottaway and Rogers (2002) list body fragments of thin cast cooking pot…
Created on: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Last updated: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-F13F72
Object type: SWORD
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Fragment of a cast copper alloy sword blade, rectangular in plan and profile and lozenge-shaped in section. Both cutting edges are worn and incomplete and the perpendicular edges to these are broken so that the original length of the blade is unknown as well as the position of this fragment along it, though it is at the end that tapers towards the tip, as any raised area has flattened out in section. The smooth dark green patina survives better on one face of the blade than the other, which has an uneven surface of raised areas of corrosion product. The lozenge-shaped section of the…
Created on: Tuesday 1st May 2012
Last updated: Tuesday 1st May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-F0C156
Object type: VESSEL
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy rim fragment from a large bowl or cooking vessel with an internally bevelled rim that is semi-circular in section and flush with the upper edge of the vessel. The body of the vessel curves downwards slightly to suggest a reasonably deep straight-sided bowl or a deep straight-sided everted rim, as seen on cauldrons, and the curvature of the rim suggests a large diameter of about 320 mm. The bevelled rim itself is 4.7 mm thick which then tapers to the body which is 4 mm thick. Egan (2005) illustrates a similar example of a bowl fragment with a flared rim and straight…
Created on: Tuesday 1st May 2012
Last updated: Thursday 3rd May 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-EBBDA2
Object type: CAULDRON
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy receptacle leg, probably from a small cauldron or skillet, triangular in plan, profile and section, with a large central mid-rib, flanked by a slightly narrower rib either side, and tapering from the triangular fragment of the body of the vessel at its upper end, to a pointed end at its foot. The back of the leg is flat and the end of the foot is worn, particularly on one side from use wear, so that it looks deliberately narrowed or pinched. Read (1988) illustrates a similar example on page 96, no.596, which is dated from the 13th to the 17th century. Butler & …
Created on: Monday 30th April 2012
Last updated: Tuesday 2nd August 2016
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-91F4F7
Object type: COIN
Broad period: ROMAN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Copper as of Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, c.AD 139-180, [TR POT VI (according to the position of HONOS)] COS II on reverse so c.AD 151-2, RIC 1306, BMC 1918
Created on: Thursday 26th April 2012
Last updated: Thursday 26th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-7F10E5
Object type: COIN
Broad period: ROMAN
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Brass sestertius of a Roman emperor of the 2nd century AD, as it is reasonably square, suggesting it was made out of a strip, but too worn and incomplete to identify.
Created on: Wednesday 25th April 2012
Last updated: Thursday 26th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-5CBF05
Object type: BUCKLE
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy spectacle or double-loop buckle frame with bevelled inside edge and flat back so that it is semi-circular in section. The pin bar is also bevelled on both sides and therefore narrowed, but it is flush with the frame with a recessed groove at either end where it meets the frame. The frame is decorated with oblique lines which change angle as they move around each loop, creating a rope effect. The pin is missing but the original surface remains, although with some scratches and corrosion. Whithead (1996) illustrates similar spectacle buckles with oblique engraved lin…
Created on: Monday 23rd April 2012
Last updated: Tuesday 24th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-F3AE48
Object type: SPUR
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Incomplete cast copper alloy spur with only one terminal remaining, the other side having been broken in antiquity. The sides of the spur have been bent outwards and the terminal has been bent back towards the side that it would have originally been in line with. The terminal is an enclosed sub-rectangle in profile and this type is often found paired with a circular terminal on the other side in Medieval examples, such as on iron prick spurs; but the style of the moulded neck and rowel box suggests that this spur dates from the Post-medieval period and so there would probably have bee…
Created on: Thursday 19th April 2012
Last updated: Thursday 19th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-D56A12
Object type: COIN
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Silver threepence of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), Third Issue (1561-1577), dated to 1568 on reverse, confirmed by mintmark of coronet, North 1998, Spink 2566.
Created on: Tuesday 17th April 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 18th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-D539B2
Object type: COIN
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Silver 4 sols of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), minted at Lyon and dated on reverse to 1676. Obverse: IVDOVICVS XIIII D GRA; draped bust with annulet curls facing right Reverse: FRAN ET NAVARRE REX 1676; Crown above fleur-de-lis cross, D within. Krause & Mishler 2003 (17th century, 3rd edition), p. 218, No.KM 232.2.
Created on: Tuesday 17th April 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 18th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-CA4A22
Object type: JEWS HARP
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Cast copper alloy jews harp, with bevelled edges so that it is lozenge-shaped in section, which flattens out as the body extends into the tapering arms. At the apex of the loop there are two parallel grooves where the iron tongue would have been attached originally. This small lyre-shaped musical instrument was used by holding the frame between the teeth and striking the iron tongue with the fingers. They were used from the Medieval period right up to the 18th century, but the earlier ones are often forged iron, are decorated with punchwork or engraving, have 'barleytwist' loops, and …
Created on: Tuesday 17th April 2012
Last updated: Tuesday 17th April 2012
Spatial data recorded.