This large group of household objects, found in a garderobe pit on the Marks and Spencer site in Queen Street in 1979, is closely datable from its porcelain, stoneware,glass and single clay pipe to c. 1600. It is a crucial group for the understanding of the development of ceramics in SW England at this time. The most plentiful finds are fragments of red earthenware from south Somerset, but there are also sherds of North Devon calcareous ware (two-handled jar top left), and gravel-tempered ware (bowl top right), Border ware (no doubt sent via London), Frechen and Raeren stonewares (bottom right), Tuscan maiolica and and Ming porcelain The glass includes fragments in the Venetian tradition. At this date coarse vessels for use in the kitchen outnumber tablewares, but the group contains some of the earliest known examples of S Somerset sgraffito pottery.
