Sunday 14 February 2010

Bury My Heart Under The Tree

For Valentines Day: a little heart I love


It's part of a clay pipe and we found it in our garden. When we moved in, we knew that our house had been built on a car park and we were prepared for the ground to be hard and the gardening to be slow work. But before the car park there was a big garden belonging to a Victorian house and slowly, slowly we have been pulling from the ground the little treasures left behind. We have quite a collection now and we quite often find a new bit to add to the tray I keep on the hall table:


The big house, I discovered, was built on what used to be known as Pleasure-House Hill; which sounds more racy than romantic, I thought at first. But I've done a bit of research and really a pleasure house is simply a summer house, a gazebo. I looked to see what I could find out about the pipes, too. It seems they were made here in town in Pipe Lane with clay brought from Devon in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were very cheap and very fragile and a hardened smoker could go through four a week. I wonder, was the one we found a Valentines special? I'd love to know.

Today I'm Loving..Rebecca Sower's handmade hearts. A little bit of love is a really good thing, don't you think?

23 comments:

Heather said...

what a gorgeous little relic of the past! I used to go digging in what we now know as the midden/dump of the local 'big house'!! There were loads of broken pottery pieces & glass bottles but I dont remember pipes. Good fun!!

Cheri said...

It's so cool that you get to find historic treasures in your garden!

debs14 said...

Must be lovely to find interesting things in your garden. A great way of learning a little about the local history. It's a lovely thought that the pipe may have been a valentine's gift long ago.

Rhona said...

How fascinating to find bits of the past in your garden. I love the little pipe! Great that you could also find out a little bit more about the original house. I find old buildings so interesting.

scrappyjacky said...

We love finding bits of the past in the garden.In our last garden we found 3 old,intact bottles all produced by Hastings Brewery [long since defunct]....they now have pride of place on our dresser.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Oh, Sian, I love this! What a fantastic collection with a wonderful bit of history to it. Very special indeed.

And thanks for the link to Rebecca's blog. I gasped when I saw her stitched heart! I've never been to her blog before, but I'm adding it to my list of blogs to follow.

Have a fabulous Valentine's Day!
xo

Ruth said...

I love that you have a tray in your home for the things you unearth.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Oooh. Buried treasure! Appeals to the pirate girl in me, and, yes, I think pirates are very romantic!
rinda

Bubbles said...

So, are we going to see a mosaic table top, or mosaic picture... something made from your fantstic historical collection...? I think it's wonderful that you find and keep these little treasures.

Ally said...

Sian,
How lovely to have a house sitting upon history for you to gradually find and piece together.

Beautiful

Scrappi Sandi said...

How great to live in a house with a history...our house was part of a new development (now six years old) was built on farmland...all we've pulled out of the ground is bits of scaffolding & builders tools!!!

JO SOWERBY said...

oooh i love abit of history. when i owned my house in southampton i found out loads about the area and the house itself. i found the original drawings by the architect from 1906. it was very interesting. maybe mel's The Doctor who is now revealed as a Professor of history could aid in your house history lesson?
Love Jo xxx

humel said...

Amazing finds :-) I too thought of a mosaic or a glass-topped table type display - but I think I like your tray idea best xx

PS Have taken out a trial subscription to How It Works, thanks for the tip :-)

sharyncarlson said...

What an interesting (and beautiful!) piece of treasure! And from your very own backyard. Happy Valentine's Day!

Lizzie said...

It's always fun to find little scraps of the past, but even more so if it's in your own home or garden. I love the idea of a tray in the hallway, so you can look at your little treasures and connect with the history of your area.

Alana said...

How nice to have a house with some history, ours def, doesn't as it was one of the first new towns.

Anonymous said...

How lovely to find such treasures in your backyard. I love the heart. Happy Valentine's Day!

Amy said...

My parents have a similar collection of old jugs and jars my Dad has found in the paddocks surrounding our family home - they all tell a wonderful story.

Darcy Marshall said...

oh wow!!! I love your tray of treasure finds, how fantastic are they???!! oh the history, I love it.

Liberty :) said...

What a great selection of treasures!! My house was built on a pond. That's about as much history as it has!

Sandra said...

What a beautiful find :) ... I have a head filled with romantic notions of a gentleman smoking that now LOL. How lovely to search the history of your home.

Fun Mama - Deanna said...

What a very cool collection! My parents live in the woods in the middle of nowhere, but it must have been farmland at one point, and perhaps a Native American encampment long before that, because they discover the coolest assortment of pottery, bottles, and whittled flint.

Jennifer Shaw said...

Just found this older post and what a terrific read! So exciting to find bits from the past and to research what existed on your spot many years ago. I love the Victorian era! In my neck of the woods it is exciting to learn what pioneer settlers were doing as they farmed and tried to survive the winters.

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