Welcome back to our spotlight series, where we highlight our collections and the amazing work we do at Jarrow Hall! This spotlight is written by placement student Sarah Needham, a MA student from Newcastle University. Sarah decided to research our collection of clay pipes, a common (but maybe underrated!) archaeological find. Read on to see what she discovered about these interesting little objects.
During my placement, I was fortunate to work with a number of clay pipes from the Jarrow excavations in 1978. One of which is this little clay pipe that most likely dates back to the 16th/17th century. Clay pipe making became popular in the UK between 1580-1585, beginning in London and later spreading across the country. Clay comes from small pieces of aluminium silicate which form in the ground through decomposition of igneous rocks. People formed pipes by hand into the hollow tube shape that we see, then fired them at temperatures of up to 1000 degrees Celsius to form the ceramic.
Archaeologists found this undecorated clay pipe in the same area as some adjoining stem and bowl pieces. One of the stem pieces included with this pipe is a green glazed stem piece. This would have connected to the user’s mouth for smoking. As in many pipes of this time, the ball is very small. This would have most likely been due to the high costs for tobacco in England at this time.
A standard pipe of this making would have likely lasted 1-2 years before the clay began to break down. This is one of the key reasons why our clay pipe collections are so vast. Clay pipes are a big portion of Jarrow Hall’s collections, and highlight important aspects of history like community and craftsmanship. Clay pipes are an extremely useful item in archaeology. This is because their constantly changing designs mean we can use them to determine the dates of objects discovered nearby. You can find more about dating clay pipes here.
The large number of pipes from the Jarrow excavations are an interesting contrast to some of the initial protests against tobacco from some religious groups in Britain at this time. King James I, King of England from 1603-1625, famously supported the Counterblaste Against Tobacco during this period, claiming the moral issues presented by the consumption of such a chemical. This kind of moral questioning is similar to mass protest of other substances throughout history, such as American prohibition of alcohol throughout the 1920s.
The nature of this pipe raises a very important question of conservation. Jarrow Hall proudly holds a large number of these pipes, ranging over a wide timespan. However, today there are very few practising pipe makers, and even fewer opportunities for people to train in the craft. Where once almost every city and town in the UK had a clay pipe maker, there are a handful today. Jarrow Hall was delighted to host several clay workshops this year with our 2025 Artist in Resident, Laura Marley. You can watch an interview with Laura where she discusses her work and her residency below.
There is still hope that we can revive these practices! Nowadays we are seeing a reuptake of homemade crafts like crochet and knitting as a response to mass production and climate change. You can also see weaving practices such as nalebinding and lucet weaving demonstrated at Jarrow Hall. As appreciation grows for the importance of handmade craft, this will hopefully encourage further interest in this technique for future generations.
It is wonderful to see how an item that was so common in its time can develop new life and value through its place as an educational tool in our collection. It begs the question of which 21st century items future generations might use for these purposes – could it be something of yours?
Be sure to check out our spotlight display case to see a display about these fascinating little objects. And keep an eye out for Part 2 of Sarah’s spotlight, coming soon! You can also see our last spotlight here, showcasing objects found by our Young Archaeologists’ Club.
Placement student Dake Lin, with us from Durham University, is doing some amazing photogrammetry and 3D modelling work with our objects. He has produced some 3D models of some of our clay pipes, which you can see below! Feel free to zoom in, click on and rotate the objects to get a closer look.