Just like Easter eggs in a game, I visited two sites around Easter that had some hidden bottles in a wood. I’d found my first bottles there 2 years ago when I was just getting into bottle digging and hadn’t been back as it wasn’t the safest location – next to a really busy a road, I was digging almost below the road. I’d found modernish bottles (glass lucozade) and camp coffee but there was also some asbestos and fly tipped stuff. When I went back to my surprise someone had felled about 6 trees and the whole area was really exposed to the traffic. Also the logs were left directly above the digging spot. How annoying. I had to dig in a different part close by. I found 3 milk bottles and a stone ink pot and some marbles I believe are from Codd bottles. I want to return soon for more. The second place was somewhere that had a lot of glass near a footpath so I walked off into the side of the path and nettles and found a lot of old glass and metal. Will return soon and see what I can find.
Hunt’s Dairies (Sherborne)
c. 1970s
I found this heavy milk bottle with a chipped neck barely below the surface. Here are some pictures and history: https://expressdairytales.uk/ed-hunts-dairies
I’ve found similar more modern stuff there but always like finding milk bottles as I used to remember them on our doorstep with the little case to stop birds pecking the foil lids.
Codd marbles
There is a clear one and a matt one. Both have a seam down the middle.
Star Find ⭐️
Salt glazed, stoneware inkwell bottle or pot bottle
I found this lovely small bottle just as I was about to pack up and go home. It cleaned up really nicely and I’ve heard the cracked glaze is called “crazing”. These jars are commonly found in rubbish dumps from the 1910s. It has a good weight and size.
There’s an impression at the bottom but I can’t make out any words or symbols – looks like AMO.. or AMA…
UPDATE – Oct 25
Found out that this actually says DOULTON – LAMBETH AKA Royal Doulton. They are still going today
Royal Arsenal Co-Op 1/2 Pint milk bottle (c.1950)
Almost a star find and completely intact. The lettering says
“Royal Arsenal CO-OP VE SOCY LTD CONTENTS 1/2 PT.
On the other side is R.A.C.S in script lettering. The company was a large consumer co-operative based in south east London, England taking its name from the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich.
The RACS ran not just food shops (a founding aim of the UK consumer co-operative movement being the provision of cheap unadulterated food) but also milk, bread and fuel deliveries, department stores,[4][5][6][7] a bookshop, jewellery department, shoe shops and chemists
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Arsenal_Co-operative_Society
More cleaning needed.