Tag Archives: history

SMASHED IN THE CELLAR: The Surgeon/Apothecary

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Oliver Kent

Edward Spencer Surgeon/Apothecary Following on from my previous post, a little about the man whose bankruptcy precipitated the disposal of a huge quantity of household goods in the back garden of 8 Cathedral Green, Wells in about 1820. Amongst the … Continue reading →

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SMASHED IN THE CELLAR: Life in 18th-century Wells, Somerset

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Oliver Kent

Smashed in The Cellar, Wells and Mendip Museum in Somerset. 16 February – 12 April 2024 The exhibition is built around the remarkable ‘hoard’ of ceramics, glass and other artefacts found dumped in a backfilled cellar and a cess-pit to … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, ceramics, China, Contemporary Art, Museums, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Slipware | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wedgwood, Waterlilies and Westbury-on-Trym (Bristol)

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Oliver Kent

Bristol is rightly well-known for its pottery industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bristol was the first home of the delftware industry after London and the collection in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is spectacular. By the middle of … Continue reading →

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China Comes to Wells

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Oliver Kent

Chinese Export Porcelain from Archaeological Excavations at Wells and Mendip Museum When Wells and Mendip Museum in Wells, Somerset decided to build an extension to the rear of their building on Cathedral Green in the early 1990s they were expecting … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, China, Museums, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Teapots | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Modernism – in Weston-super-Mare

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Oliver Kent

Chamberlin, Powell and Bon are best known as the architectural practice responsible for the Barbican development in London. Construction began in 1963 after 10 years of design negotiation and is now regarded as one of the most iconic examples of … Continue reading →

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Modernism in Bristol: Marcel Breuer on College Green

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Oliver Kent

2019 is the centenary of the founding of Bauhaus in Weimar and there are lots of exhibitions and events worldwide. At the restored second Bauhaus in Dessau you can stay in the student accommodation and wonder who occupied the room … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Bristol, Germany, Ken Stradling Collection, Modernism, Museums, World War 2 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Modernism in Bristol: Marcel Breuer on College Green

Mastering the Basics of Bonfire-firing Ceramics

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Oliver Kent

Several people have asked me if I would provide a basic guide to bonfire-firing. This post is intended to provide a straightforward outline of the basic process sufficient to make it possible to fire successfully. There is no shortcut to … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Bickley Ceramics Project, Bonfire Firing, Experimental Archaeology, International Ceramics Festival, Kilns and Kiln-building, Medieval pottery, Open firing, Studio Ceramics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bristol 1944: Coffee, Doughnuts and a Lost Dog-Tag

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Oliver Kent

A few years ago one of my students found a metal label in the grounds of Bristol School of Art in Clifton. She had been in the military and recognised it as an American military dog-tag from the Second World … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Architecture, Bristol, Germany, Modernism, Post-Medieval Archaeology, World War 2 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments