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Description: | Post Medieval lead-alloy cloth seal for cloth, probably a type of serge, probably made in Wellington, Somerset. The seal appears to be of the two-disc type and both discs and the connecting rivet survive, although the tab that previously linked the discs is missing. The seal is 25.3mm in diameter, 2.8mm thick and weighs 9.24 grams.The ring disc and rivet are stamped with a central design of a merchants mark in the form of a human foot over a elongated 4 with an R under the heel and an E under the toes. Around the central design is a line border and then the legend: .SAML. BUR[RI]DGE . TIVERTON within an outer line border. On the other, solid disc is a central legend of 22 over GO again within a plain line border and encircled by the legend [TH]OMS . WRIGHTON . within an outer plain line border..Samuel Burridge (1678-1734) was a prominent merchant of Tiverton and one time Mayor although he became bankrupt before his death. He was the grandson of Samuel Foote, the original user of this merchant mark, although at some point in the use of the mark the initials under the foot have changed from S/F to R/E.SOM-9F1A10 also found in Wellington and recorded on this database is a similar seal, possibly used by Robert or Samual Burridge, although the initials under the foot in that case are S/F.J. Evans (unpub.) has catalogued seals both using the foot mark and those naming Samuel Burridge without the foot and records two examples of this exact design both found in Holland. She comments (pers comm. 13/1/2014)"Sam Burridge died in 1734 but his name with the Foot merchant's mark (originally the merchant's mark of his grandfather Samuel Foote, hence the usual initials SF under the foot) continued in use to designate a particular grade of serge. The quality was high in his grandfather's time in the late 17th century but later came to signify middling quality cloth of the type which was favoured by the Dutch. (The very best quality bore a seal with one or two rampant lions.)After 1754, Thomas Were & Sons of Wellington adopted these well-tried and respected symbols or trade marks, maybe buying them from Tiverton merchants. Names such as THOMS WRIGHTON were added by Were or Fox, ie the Wellington business, again to signify a particular grade of cloth. Other fictitious names used were THO GOOD and THEOD WILSSON.Thus, the date lies in the second half of the 18th century, from 1754 onwards. At present I cannot be more precise."Other seals of Were and Co have been found in the same field and adjacent fields.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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