And by the time Nelson faced Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805, HMS Victory (the second ship with this name) had moved on to bigger guns and bigger cannon balls, replacing the smaller falconet because more fire power was needed (photo of a replica falconet below.)

Eg Rotherhithe, Deptford, Woolwich, Charlton. Falconets were developed from the 15thC onwards, and saw action by the English against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Later they were widely used to defend smaller vessels at sea in the 17thC and early 18thC, though by the mid 18thC were out of fashion 3/

The falconet cannon ball is cast iron, spherical. Turning it over in my hand I noticed a hole eroding from the bottom. Falconets didn’t contain gunpowder but the hole’s from a nodule that would’vebeen part of the casting process. Commonly found where ships were broken up on the Thames Foreshore 2/

I am so sorry, Clare.

THE TRAITORS BLANKET OF SILENCE HAS FALLEN 🤐

Cat Burns similarly about to be interviewed on Radio 2 by Scott Mills in order to promote her new record. We have been told NO TRAITORS QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED #spoilers

Yes, this is why mudlarking is heavily regulated, in order that important artefacts are reported and recorded.

They really are!

Found my first white inkwell last year. Tiny chip on the rim but otherwise in good condition. I’d also heard these were for red ink, which is why they tend to come in a small size. Very pleased with mine.

And the tides will vary across the tidal Thames according to weather conditions. There was a storm
surge in the North Sea last week which caused much higher than predicted low tides. Always worth checking live tides versus predicted ones as things can change dramatically.

It’s to do with the need to carry out essential maintenance work on Richmond Lock/Weir. They have to keep these open while the work is ongoing during November and part of December every year. For the rest of the year the river is narrow here so you don’t see much of the foreshore during low tides.