HARGM 10426 – Skellgarths, Ripon, North Yorkshire

Ceramic Building Materials

By S Garside-Neville

Introduction

Approximately one standard box of ceramic building materials was presented for examination. The material dates between the medieval and the post medieval period. Though some of the material was abraded and reused, it is in good condition.

Medieval material

Medieval material is represented by plain roofing tile, brick and floor tile.

The plain roofing tile takes the form of peg tile with circular or square pegholes. This form is typical of North Yorkshire. There are several different fabrics present, including a very refined fabric with a pale orange outer, and a reduced core. This might possibly be a pottery fabric associated with specialised roofing furniture, but the fragment is too small to identify the form for certain. There are also other definite, distinctive, tile fabrics.

The brick has some of the typical medieval features found elsewhere in Yorkshire, including a relatively broad breadth, a narrow thickness, and indented borders. This type of brick may be ‘wall tile’, perhaps used as infilling for timber-framed buildings.

The floor tile is represented by two types. There is one fragment of small square mosaic floor tile from context 3005, which probably dates to around the 13^th century. Most typically, this type of tile is associated with ecclesiastical sites. There are two fragments of plain glazed floor tiles (contexts 3009 and 1004) which were in fairly common usage in the late medieval period. This type of tile might have been imported from the Continent, though were produced in Britain. One of the fragments (1004) is very worn.

Post medieval material

The post medieval material consists of peg tile and pan tile (roofing tile), and brick. Pan tile was used in Britain from about the 17^th century. The peg tile has two circular pegholes, and seems to be later in date than the single-holed variety.

The dating of the brick to the post medieval period is tentative, and based on measurements observed from York. Slop moulding, where the brick mould is dipped in water, tends to be a post medieval feature, but some of the bricks from this site have this feature allied with other medieval features. One fragment of brick has a turning mark – where the brick has been turned from the making table onto the hack – which, again, is a post medieval feature in this area.

Other material

There is one fragment of stone roofing tile is present in context 3002. Made of a fine grained sandstone and having a circular nailhole, this tile could have been used in conjunction with the plain roofing tile. Various combinations were used – such as several rows of stone roofing along the edge of the roof, or several rows at the top. However, it may also point to another phase, or perhaps comes from a building solely roofed in stone.

Conclusion

This sample should be retained for further study, at which time it will usefully contribute to the study of ceramic building materials in Ripon, and the wider region. There are a variety of fabrics and forms, indicating a lively medieval ceramic building materials industry in the area.

The presence of the mosaic tile may point a building of some status in the area. The plain glazed floor tile may be a later phase of this building, although they could have been used in a building of middling status as well.

Context Listing Table

Key

Cxt = Context L = Compete length B = Complete breadth

T = Complete Thickness FH = Complete Flange Height

Date range = date range of form Date = estimated date of context

* = only minimum measurement available

NB: This list indicates only forms present and any variations (such as slag attached, or pawprints). It does not list every fragment of CBM

Cxt	Form	B	T	Comments	Date range	Date
1004	Plain				13-16th	L14-16th
1004	Floor	132	39	Worn, brown glaze on edge, bevel	L14-16th
1005	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
1006	Plain			Reused	13-16^th	13-16^th
2001	Pan		18	Reused	17-20^th	17-20^th
2001	Pan		20		17-20^th
3000	Pan			Reused	17-20^th	17-20^th
3002	Roof		17	Circular nailhole 10mm across, fine grained sandstone, abraded	Med?	16-18^th
3005	Brick	109	54	Turning mark, slop moulded, unevenly fired, sandy base	16-18^th
3005	Brick	124	59	Reused, slop moulded, sanded base, indented border	14-15^th
3005	Floor	88	32	Mosaic, scooped keying, worn upper surface, brown glaze, bevelled edge, reused, freckled fabric	13^th
3005	Peg	183	14	Reused, 2 x circular pegholes	16^th+
3005	Plain			Reused	13-16^th
3007	Peg			Circular peghole	13-16^th	13-16^th
3007	Plain				13-16^th
3008	Plain			Abraded	13-16^th	13-16^th
3009	Brick				14^th+	L14-16th
3009	Floor		32*	Yellow-brown glaze, white underslip, bevelled, nailhole in corner?, kiln scar, plain glazed floor tile?	L14-16th
3009	Plain				13-16^th
3010	Peg			Square peghole	13-16^th	13-16^th
3010	Plain				13-16^th
3011	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3014	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3014	Plain			Abraded	13-16^th
3016	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3017	Brick		38	Sooted, sanded mould?	14-15^th	14-16^th
3017	Plain				13-16^th
3019	Brick			Small frag	14^th+	14^th+
3019	Plain				13-16^th
3022	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3022	Stone			Limestone? Burnt	?
3023	Plain			Silty fabric	13-16^th	13-16^th
3024	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3024	Plain		16	Shell frags	13-16^th
3034	Peg			Circular peghole	13-16^th	13-16^th
3034	Plain				13-16^th
3034	Plain?		15	Pale orange fabric, with reduced and white core	13-16^th
3036	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3042	Plain				13-16^th	13-16^th
3042	Plain			Reused?	13-16^th

Sgn 18/4/01