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Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames
A lyrical and evocative narrative history of London and its people, told through objects found on the banks of the Thames by the city's most prominent mudlark
For thousands of years human beings have been losing their possessions and dumping their rubbish in the River Thames, making it the longest and most varied archaeological site in the world. For those in the know, the muddy stretches provide a tangible link with the past, a connection to the natural world, and an oasis of calm in a chaotic city...
For fifteen years, Lara Maiklem has walked the Thames foreshore, spending innumerable hours peering into the mud for items discarded by past generations of Londoners. The list of things Lara has rescued from the river is long and varied: from Neolithic flints, Roman hair pins and medieval shoe buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes, seventeenth-century love tokens and discarded war medals.
Mudlarking is the story of the River Thames and its people, told through the objects that Lara has eased from its muddy clutches over the years. Weaving her story through and around the history of the River, from prehistory to the present day, she uses her finds to bring the ordinary lives of long forgotten Londoners to life
For thousands of years human beings have been losing their possessions and dumping their rubbish in the River Thames, making it the longest and most varied archaeological site in the world. For those in the know, the muddy stretches provide a tangible link with the past, a connection to the natural world, and an oasis of calm in a chaotic city...
For fifteen years, Lara Maiklem has walked the Thames foreshore, spending innumerable hours peering into the mud for items discarded by past generations of Londoners. The list of things Lara has rescued from the river is long and varied: from Neolithic flints, Roman hair pins and medieval shoe buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes, seventeenth-century love tokens and discarded war medals.
Mudlarking is the story of the River Thames and its people, told through the objects that Lara has eased from its muddy clutches over the years. Weaving her story through and around the history of the River, from prehistory to the present day, she uses her finds to bring the ordinary lives of long forgotten Londoners to life
295 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2019
487 people are currently reading
8680 people want to read
About the author
Lara Maiklem
9 books103 followersLara Maiklem is a British editor who has been mudlarking for more than a decade. Featured in the Guardian and by the BBC for her work as the "London Mudlark," she lives on the Kent coast,close to the Thames Estuary, and visits the river as regularly as the tides permit.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 960 reviews
November 11, 2024
Review of whole book:
Began 8th July 2019.
Finished 5th August 2019.
What a joy; a pure delight.
This is a book of surprising value and lasting worth.
So wonderfully crafted and written, it covers the range of this peculiar pastime along the Thames from West to East. That is from Tidal Head to Estuary.
You immediately feel comfortable with this author in her hobby, obsession and delight for Mudlarking.
With wit and an open writing style, she opens up her world in a way that you can feel her passion, share her enthusiasm and marvel in her imaginations.
Here without prompting yawns or repetition Lara speaks of each area of the river bank she visits. Her finds and the history of that location are detailed and shared. She is an honest commentator, a well researched historical narrator and a person who shares fully of herself.
It is a real pleasure to read. In all these endeavours and historical asides she reveals more of herself and her journey into collecting things the river offers.
I found myself feeling that although Mudlarking would perhaps not be for me, I recognised its charms and if I was to don a pair of wellies it would be to spend sometime watching Lara at work and sharing at firsthand the all consuming love she has for this activity.
What makes this book so special is Lara’s writing and insights. She has that wonderful ability to let her mind wander, way beyond the present, and we follow in her imagination the provenance of her finds. Making up scenarios for how the objects came to be in the river; they have been preserved by the mud and spotted on the foreshore.
I feel my knowledge of the history of London has been deepened and enlarged by her comments on these objects, the riverside locations and ultimately the Thames itself.
I have always enjoyed spending time on the river and those journeys have enhanced my experience in visits to the capital. Now in this one book about a historical pastime I have received a fresh insight.
This is one of the best non-fiction books I have read in a long time. I am amazed it is Lara’s first move to becoming a published author. I’m sure it was a hard slog and kept her from those hours of solitude and peace beside her beloved river. Her efforts are well received and she can be so proud of her disciplined writing and research. Her approach sustained my interest throughout the journey along the river and I would recommend this book without reservation to all.
Previously: [please read my earlier review below. I stand by every word now that I have read the whole book].
Sampler:
I have only had the opportunity to read a taster - Chapter 7 - I believe London Bridge.
It is a glimpse into an activity I have never really given much thought to before. I have never been into metal-detecting but since childhood who has not enjoyed beachcombing, rockpooling and pond dipping? Mudlarking is an adult version of this sense of treasure hunting ironically named after a mud lark - ‘A mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term used especially to describe those who scavenged this way in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries.’
This is a wonderful idea since modern day scavenging isn’t for coal, food or items just washed into the river but a history lesson and more akin to river archaeology.
This book has something of an advantage in that it is written by someone passionate about the practice of mudlarking and curious enough to dig deeper than the mud of the river Thames. By that I mean Lara Maiklem brings both the search and the objects alive through her descriptive language and interest in history. Add to that an active imagination she takes the reader back to Roman times, Frost Fairs on the frozen river or the flames of The Great Fire of London.
Lara speaks also of moment of the find. The care and preservation of artefacts. The best light and intensity of the search and how without that moments scan, hesitation, acquired skills objects might forever remain undiscovered or be shattered by one’s next step.
I still have little interest in metal-detecting but the sense of being so close to the soul of the river, teasing out its bounty by effort and a good eye and reconnecting the present with the past has a value beyond the items themselves.
A good cook book sends you to the supermarket and the kitchen. A rambling tale gets you lacing your boots and out in the countryside. Lara’s delightful book will do the same. Rekindle our childhood memories, reconnect us with a sense of place and time. See value in everyday things and detest the polluting waste of plastic. Over and above everything, this chapter has given me a desire to read this book and appreciate the history of London by the items lost, captured in silt and revealed at low tide. Lara’s enthusiasm has enable my creaking knees and stiff back to get down on all fours and take a worm eyed view of London’s rich mud, sand and shingle. I was with the author as she delved, deduced and discovered her priceless treasures.
Reading is often about escape, entertainment and enlightenment Mudlarking brought me all three.
Began 8th July 2019.
Finished 5th August 2019.
What a joy; a pure delight.
This is a book of surprising value and lasting worth.
So wonderfully crafted and written, it covers the range of this peculiar pastime along the Thames from West to East. That is from Tidal Head to Estuary.
You immediately feel comfortable with this author in her hobby, obsession and delight for Mudlarking.
With wit and an open writing style, she opens up her world in a way that you can feel her passion, share her enthusiasm and marvel in her imaginations.
Here without prompting yawns or repetition Lara speaks of each area of the river bank she visits. Her finds and the history of that location are detailed and shared. She is an honest commentator, a well researched historical narrator and a person who shares fully of herself.
It is a real pleasure to read. In all these endeavours and historical asides she reveals more of herself and her journey into collecting things the river offers.
I found myself feeling that although Mudlarking would perhaps not be for me, I recognised its charms and if I was to don a pair of wellies it would be to spend sometime watching Lara at work and sharing at firsthand the all consuming love she has for this activity.
What makes this book so special is Lara’s writing and insights. She has that wonderful ability to let her mind wander, way beyond the present, and we follow in her imagination the provenance of her finds. Making up scenarios for how the objects came to be in the river; they have been preserved by the mud and spotted on the foreshore.
I feel my knowledge of the history of London has been deepened and enlarged by her comments on these objects, the riverside locations and ultimately the Thames itself.
I have always enjoyed spending time on the river and those journeys have enhanced my experience in visits to the capital. Now in this one book about a historical pastime I have received a fresh insight.
This is one of the best non-fiction books I have read in a long time. I am amazed it is Lara’s first move to becoming a published author. I’m sure it was a hard slog and kept her from those hours of solitude and peace beside her beloved river. Her efforts are well received and she can be so proud of her disciplined writing and research. Her approach sustained my interest throughout the journey along the river and I would recommend this book without reservation to all.
Previously: [please read my earlier review below. I stand by every word now that I have read the whole book].
Sampler:
I have only had the opportunity to read a taster - Chapter 7 - I believe London Bridge.
It is a glimpse into an activity I have never really given much thought to before. I have never been into metal-detecting but since childhood who has not enjoyed beachcombing, rockpooling and pond dipping? Mudlarking is an adult version of this sense of treasure hunting ironically named after a mud lark - ‘A mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term used especially to describe those who scavenged this way in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries.’
This is a wonderful idea since modern day scavenging isn’t for coal, food or items just washed into the river but a history lesson and more akin to river archaeology.
This book has something of an advantage in that it is written by someone passionate about the practice of mudlarking and curious enough to dig deeper than the mud of the river Thames. By that I mean Lara Maiklem brings both the search and the objects alive through her descriptive language and interest in history. Add to that an active imagination she takes the reader back to Roman times, Frost Fairs on the frozen river or the flames of The Great Fire of London.
Lara speaks also of moment of the find. The care and preservation of artefacts. The best light and intensity of the search and how without that moments scan, hesitation, acquired skills objects might forever remain undiscovered or be shattered by one’s next step.
I still have little interest in metal-detecting but the sense of being so close to the soul of the river, teasing out its bounty by effort and a good eye and reconnecting the present with the past has a value beyond the items themselves.
A good cook book sends you to the supermarket and the kitchen. A rambling tale gets you lacing your boots and out in the countryside. Lara’s delightful book will do the same. Rekindle our childhood memories, reconnect us with a sense of place and time. See value in everyday things and detest the polluting waste of plastic. Over and above everything, this chapter has given me a desire to read this book and appreciate the history of London by the items lost, captured in silt and revealed at low tide. Lara’s enthusiasm has enable my creaking knees and stiff back to get down on all fours and take a worm eyed view of London’s rich mud, sand and shingle. I was with the author as she delved, deduced and discovered her priceless treasures.
Reading is often about escape, entertainment and enlightenment Mudlarking brought me all three.
January 3, 2020
When I first started this book I thought the entire would enthrall me. But it didn't.
While I found the writing and the river description, route, clarity to place names upon it- all of that IS exceptional, still! Still, I found most of her tasking while mudlarking becoming insipid. It's me. Too much of the same, too much of the same.
Yes, there are fascinating pieces of the past all along the Thames positions at low tide. Some of the coin, pins, bottles, medals, tools or cooking items found, those long descriptions were true evidence of their times and how they were used. But STILL- it just got too tedious to me. And all her personal relationship information and genealogy for many past ancestors just so monotonous.
You'd think I'd find some of this Tudor item piece or James I pirate cob, or Roman scabbard shield minutia of most elemental or restoring detail surrounded grabbing my imagination. Or even deep appreciation. But I just couldn't at all. So I sped read the last 1/3rd.
This hobby is not for everyone. It's sounds much more adventurous than it really is. This book might be more enjoyed by antique collectors or genealogy fans who love to look backwards. You need to get a license to do Thames Mudlarking and it doesn't sound easy either. Most of the hobbyists seem like special agents never telling anyone else where they found or repeat locate most anything. Not sharers of crux knowledge except for some massive printing press letter drops. IMHO, highly introverted in majority.
This loses an entire star for lack of photos. There could have been some excellent ones, I am absolutely sure. Secrecy again? Or maybe copyrights?
While I found the writing and the river description, route, clarity to place names upon it- all of that IS exceptional, still! Still, I found most of her tasking while mudlarking becoming insipid. It's me. Too much of the same, too much of the same.
Yes, there are fascinating pieces of the past all along the Thames positions at low tide. Some of the coin, pins, bottles, medals, tools or cooking items found, those long descriptions were true evidence of their times and how they were used. But STILL- it just got too tedious to me. And all her personal relationship information and genealogy for many past ancestors just so monotonous.
You'd think I'd find some of this Tudor item piece or James I pirate cob, or Roman scabbard shield minutia of most elemental or restoring detail surrounded grabbing my imagination. Or even deep appreciation. But I just couldn't at all. So I sped read the last 1/3rd.
This hobby is not for everyone. It's sounds much more adventurous than it really is. This book might be more enjoyed by antique collectors or genealogy fans who love to look backwards. You need to get a license to do Thames Mudlarking and it doesn't sound easy either. Most of the hobbyists seem like special agents never telling anyone else where they found or repeat locate most anything. Not sharers of crux knowledge except for some massive printing press letter drops. IMHO, highly introverted in majority.
This loses an entire star for lack of photos. There could have been some excellent ones, I am absolutely sure. Secrecy again? Or maybe copyrights?
Read
September 7, 2019A delightful, evocative read about fossicking for the past on the banks of the Thames. Loads of atmosphere, of the river now and the past, lots of tactile details. A very satisfying book to get lost in.
November 22, 2019
(3.75) When I was a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist. I kept a collection of curiosities like bones, feathers, interesting rocks and shells, and ceramic fragments I found in my best friend’s backyard. I still have a natural history collection with this kind of stuff. Although I realized archaeology wasn’t all it cracked up to be when I did a summer field school at age 15 and discovered it was hot, mucky and mostly tedious work, the idea of paying meticulous attention but also making lucky finds still attracts me. Hunting is a natural human instinct, it seems; for me these days that plays out through litter picking, foraging for free food, searching for fossils and shells on the beach, and looking for wish list items and random gems in secondhand bookshops.
Lara Maiklem is a London mudlark, scavenging for what washes up on the shores of the Thames. I thrilled to her descriptions of what she’s found, including clay pipes, coins, armaments, pottery, and much more. “The Thames is England’s longest archaeological landscape,” she notes, and the many layers of the city’s history mingle at the foreshore: Victorian, Georgian, Elizabethan, medieval, and Roman. The jewel of Maiklem’s collection is a sixteenth-century leather child’s shoe she sent to Cardiff University for conservation.
I was also intrigued to learn about the official procedures for registering finds. When Maiklem came across a sixteenth-century posy ring, she had to report it to the Museum of London as potential Treasure (which under UK law belongs to the Crown or to the City of London) so they could decide if they wanted to purchase it from her. The British Museum already had a similar one, so she was allowed to keep it. Her finds also get recorded in a nationwide Portable Antiquities Scheme database with 1 million+ items: in this way, mudlarks are contributing to citizen science.
The book is arranged geographically, moving west to east along the Thames. I’m not familiar enough with London for this progression to have meant much to me, so by just past the halfway point the chapters felt like “here’s where I went and here’s some things I found” and “here’s somewhere else I went and some other things I found.” I’m not sure how the structure could have been more successful: perhaps each chapter could have focused on a different time period or category of finds? All the same, this is a fascinating way of bringing history to life and imagining what everyday existence was like for Londoners across the centuries. (If only there were photographs of Maiklem’s collection!)
Favorite passages:
“Time stands still in the fog. With all modern points of reference obscured, the river is ageless, static and ghostly. The spirits of the foreshore rise up in the mist, just out of sight. Through the swirling whiteness a medieval fisherman pegs his fish traps to the riverbed, a Victorian scavenger wanders barefoot through the mud, and a Georgian shipwright checks the hull of his newly built ship. On the river, invisible galleons and sailing barges glide past, wherries are carried swiftly downstream on the retreating tide, and a phantom paddle steamer pushes through the currents. Thames fogs are quite literally the mists of time. They are daydream manifested, swirling visions of the past.”
“My mother had had a museum of her own when she was a child and would delight me with the story of the cat skull, the pride of her collection. She had found it by the side of the road in a state of partial decomposition and rather than wait for the maggots to do their job and risk losing it to another collector, she took it home and boiled it in her mother’s best milk pan to remove the remaining flesh. I loved that story, but bedtime cocoa at my grandmother’s house never tasted quite the same after I’d heard it.”
“The key to spotting objects on the foreshore is simply to relax and look through the surface. Mother Nature rarely makes perfectly straight lines or circles, and as the eye becomes practised, imperfections and patterns start to stand out.”
Lara Maiklem is a London mudlark, scavenging for what washes up on the shores of the Thames. I thrilled to her descriptions of what she’s found, including clay pipes, coins, armaments, pottery, and much more. “The Thames is England’s longest archaeological landscape,” she notes, and the many layers of the city’s history mingle at the foreshore: Victorian, Georgian, Elizabethan, medieval, and Roman. The jewel of Maiklem’s collection is a sixteenth-century leather child’s shoe she sent to Cardiff University for conservation.
I was also intrigued to learn about the official procedures for registering finds. When Maiklem came across a sixteenth-century posy ring, she had to report it to the Museum of London as potential Treasure (which under UK law belongs to the Crown or to the City of London) so they could decide if they wanted to purchase it from her. The British Museum already had a similar one, so she was allowed to keep it. Her finds also get recorded in a nationwide Portable Antiquities Scheme database with 1 million+ items: in this way, mudlarks are contributing to citizen science.
The book is arranged geographically, moving west to east along the Thames. I’m not familiar enough with London for this progression to have meant much to me, so by just past the halfway point the chapters felt like “here’s where I went and here’s some things I found” and “here’s somewhere else I went and some other things I found.” I’m not sure how the structure could have been more successful: perhaps each chapter could have focused on a different time period or category of finds? All the same, this is a fascinating way of bringing history to life and imagining what everyday existence was like for Londoners across the centuries. (If only there were photographs of Maiklem’s collection!)
Favorite passages:
“Time stands still in the fog. With all modern points of reference obscured, the river is ageless, static and ghostly. The spirits of the foreshore rise up in the mist, just out of sight. Through the swirling whiteness a medieval fisherman pegs his fish traps to the riverbed, a Victorian scavenger wanders barefoot through the mud, and a Georgian shipwright checks the hull of his newly built ship. On the river, invisible galleons and sailing barges glide past, wherries are carried swiftly downstream on the retreating tide, and a phantom paddle steamer pushes through the currents. Thames fogs are quite literally the mists of time. They are daydream manifested, swirling visions of the past.”
“My mother had had a museum of her own when she was a child and would delight me with the story of the cat skull, the pride of her collection. She had found it by the side of the road in a state of partial decomposition and rather than wait for the maggots to do their job and risk losing it to another collector, she took it home and boiled it in her mother’s best milk pan to remove the remaining flesh. I loved that story, but bedtime cocoa at my grandmother’s house never tasted quite the same after I’d heard it.”
“The key to spotting objects on the foreshore is simply to relax and look through the surface. Mother Nature rarely makes perfectly straight lines or circles, and as the eye becomes practised, imperfections and patterns start to stand out.”
December 14, 2020
I definitely have mudlarking tendencies, so I was probably always going to love this. And I absolutely did. It will probably be in one of my top ten books of the year. For those who don't know, a mudlark is some who searches river mud for items that have been lost or discarded, particularly along the Thames in London. I managed to go once before lockdown and this book has made me itch to go again as soon as I can. Maiklem describes various sections of foreshore and what she finds there, as well as going into just the right amount of detail about the history of what and who might have lived and worked nearby and the types of items they lost or discarded. I found it enlightening, entertaining and really well written.
June 27, 2023
This book is a social history lover's delight, filled with fascinating stories and objects. Lara Maiklem is a wonderful writer who really made me feel as though I was there beside her, rooting through the mud for buried treasure. This is a book to savour, to dip into a chapter at a time, letting your imagination travel through time. My only regret was that my e-copy did not have photos, though I was able to see some of the objects Maiklem found via her Facebook and Instagram pages.
May 2, 2024
Listened to the audiobook together with Simon. Lara Maiklem provides a fascinating look into the history of London through found items along the banks of the River Thames.
September 19, 2022
A surprisingly quick, and fascinating read about the Authors obsession with mudlarking, (collecting objects from the foreshore of the Thames).
December 19, 2020
It’s surprising just how many people go Mudlarking on the banks of the Thames, searching for finds, as every low tide reveals new treasures from past ages.
As the waters ebb and flow, they churn up layers of silt, erode banks, and dissolve the remains of old buildings, boats and docks, leaving behind traces of the lives of people who have lived and worked in London since the first settlers chose to make the banks of this great river their home, back in Roman times.
I was amazed at the sheer amount of things that appear out of the mud....a mud that acts as a preservative to tobacco pipes, coins, buttons and shoes, old weapons, bones and bottles, and so much more.....but this book isn’t just an account of what author Lara Maiklem has found, it’s also a truly brilliant history lesson, as she explores the provenance of her discoveries, and imagines the lives of those people who had used and lost the artefacts she uncovers.
A great read....
As the waters ebb and flow, they churn up layers of silt, erode banks, and dissolve the remains of old buildings, boats and docks, leaving behind traces of the lives of people who have lived and worked in London since the first settlers chose to make the banks of this great river their home, back in Roman times.
I was amazed at the sheer amount of things that appear out of the mud....a mud that acts as a preservative to tobacco pipes, coins, buttons and shoes, old weapons, bones and bottles, and so much more.....but this book isn’t just an account of what author Lara Maiklem has found, it’s also a truly brilliant history lesson, as she explores the provenance of her discoveries, and imagines the lives of those people who had used and lost the artefacts she uncovers.
A great read....
November 4, 2020
An interesting way to share history with today's excavation of the shores along the Thames River. My favorite parts were when the author talked about the origins of some of her more unique finds.
October 21, 2019
Mudlarking is the act of searching or scavenging in the river mud at low tide seeking items of value. Modern mudlarks forage in the mud in search of items from history - regardless of value - and it's amazing what they find. I saw the River Thames in person for the first time in 2012 but it's always been fascinating to me as a repository of history.
Author Lara Maiklem is a proud London mudlark and shares her finds in Mudlarking - Lost and Found on the River Thames. First, some interesting facts about the Thames from the book.
FACTS
"...the height between low and high water at London Bridge varies from fifteen to twenty-two feet [and] it takes six hours for the water to come upriver and six and a half for it to flow back out to sea." Page 3
"The tides today are higher than they have been at any time in history." Page 13
"... in 1957, the Natural History Museum declared the Thames 'biologically dead' ... A campaign to clean up the Thames began in the 1960s and by the end of the 1970s the river was considered to be 'rehabilitated'. It is now cleaner than it has been in living memory and supports over 125 species of fish." Page 259
FINDS
In Mudlarking, Lara Maiklem takes us down the river from Teddington to the Estuary and the open sea in a combination of memoir, archaeology, science and history in a narrative non-fiction style of writing. She tells us her preferred method of searching the river bed and banks is to kneel with her 'nose barely inches from the foreshore' where she completely immerses herself in the task.
One of my favourite finds from the book was the legend of the Doves Type. A bookbinder by the name of Cobden-Sanderson tipped 500,000 pieces of lead type into the river at Hammersmith. Following a dispute about the ownership of the type with Emery Walker, he bequeathed the type to the River Thames between 1913 - 1916 and mudlarks have been searching for them ever since. Such a fascinating story.
In January 2018 I thoroughly enjoyed How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life by Ruth Goodman and the tidbit that pins from this era are still being found in the Thames today. Maiklem expands on the humble pin on page 86 and I was transfixed by her words. She tells us pins accumulate and wash together in tangled metallic nests and that pins are one of her favourite treasures to find because they're so ordinary.
HISTORY
I also enjoyed the London Bridge chapter, particularly the information about old London bridge.
"The old bridge was built with nineteen arches of varying widths and wide piers... which created a virtual barrier across the river, impeding its flow and trapping the tide." Page 145
I had no idea the construction of the old bridge slowed the water to such an extent the river froze over in harsh winters. I knew about the festivities that took place when the Thames froze over in the 1600s but wasn't aware that it doesn't do so now because these obstructions were removed when the old bridge was demolished.
Turning to more recent history and how did I not know about London's Riveria known as Tower Beach?
"The half-moon of soft yellow sand that forms a gentle hill in front of the river wall and peters out to shingle towards the river, is all that remains of 'London's Riviera', 1,500 barge-loads of Essex sand that was spread over the foreshore to create a public beach in 1934." Page 165
Apparently Tower Beach was a great success and in 1935 approximately 100,000 people came to 'holiday' beside the Thames. What a sight this must have been.
MEMOIR
From the very beginning, Maiklem tells the reader just what mudlarking means to her:
"I have carefully arranged meetings and appointments according to the tides, and conspired to meet friends near the river so that I can steal down to the foreshore before the water comes in and after it's flowed out. I've kept people waiting, bringing a trail of mud and apologies in my wake; missed the start of many films and even left early to catch the last few inches of foreshore. I have lied, cajoled and manipulated to get time by the river. It comes knocking at all hours and I obey..." Page 3
Armed with this information on just how much this obsession controls the author's life, I formed the opinion she'd make an unreliable friend and frustrating partner but is no doubt a highly experienced mudlarker.
However she makes mention several times throughout the book that she won't share specific locations. By omitting them the reader can join the dots on their own (or not), but openly stating she won't share the locations made her seem arrogant in my view.
Here's an example:
"I have two American plantation tokens, both of which I found within a few feet of each other (I'm not saying where), and several years apart." Page 203
What's the point? Trust me, her finds are fascinating enough (buckles, coins, leather shoes, buttons, clay pipes, beads, ink pots and more) and I don't think anyone would expect her to disclose her secret locations.
Another thing that irked me was her belief that a portion of the shore had been taken away from her. When telling the reader about nets of stones placed against the river wall in Greenwich in an attempt to prevent erosion, she says:
"My special patch has been covered up, ... and half an hour on every tide has been taken away from me." Page 248
I'd like to tell the author 'your special patch isn't yours and so it can't be taken away from you'. Losing access may be a sore point, but have gratitude for the access you do have and what you managed to find there in the past. While Maiklem acknowledges the perils of erosion, she notes that it also washes out treasures for mudlarks to find.
CONCLUSION
On a lighter note, Maiklem has a marvellous ability to bring history to life. She uses her imagination to breathe life into the objects she unearths and I enjoyed this immensely.
However, I wish there had been photographs to accompany the text. So much of what the author shares with us has a visual component and I felt this was missing in Mudlarking. The only saving grace is that Maiklem has an awesome Instagram account and I was able to go there to see photographs of some of her finds.
In summary, I adored learning more about the history of the River Thames, I was gripped by every item the author discovered and researched but I could happily have done without the memoir aspect with no sense of loss at all.
Recommended reading for amateur and professional historians and genealogists; archaeologists; aquaphiles; environmentalists; museum lovers and the curious.
* Copy courtesy of Bloomsbury Circus *
Author Lara Maiklem is a proud London mudlark and shares her finds in Mudlarking - Lost and Found on the River Thames. First, some interesting facts about the Thames from the book.
FACTS
"...the height between low and high water at London Bridge varies from fifteen to twenty-two feet [and] it takes six hours for the water to come upriver and six and a half for it to flow back out to sea." Page 3
"The tides today are higher than they have been at any time in history." Page 13
"... in 1957, the Natural History Museum declared the Thames 'biologically dead' ... A campaign to clean up the Thames began in the 1960s and by the end of the 1970s the river was considered to be 'rehabilitated'. It is now cleaner than it has been in living memory and supports over 125 species of fish." Page 259
FINDS
In Mudlarking, Lara Maiklem takes us down the river from Teddington to the Estuary and the open sea in a combination of memoir, archaeology, science and history in a narrative non-fiction style of writing. She tells us her preferred method of searching the river bed and banks is to kneel with her 'nose barely inches from the foreshore' where she completely immerses herself in the task.
One of my favourite finds from the book was the legend of the Doves Type. A bookbinder by the name of Cobden-Sanderson tipped 500,000 pieces of lead type into the river at Hammersmith. Following a dispute about the ownership of the type with Emery Walker, he bequeathed the type to the River Thames between 1913 - 1916 and mudlarks have been searching for them ever since. Such a fascinating story.
In January 2018 I thoroughly enjoyed How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life by Ruth Goodman and the tidbit that pins from this era are still being found in the Thames today. Maiklem expands on the humble pin on page 86 and I was transfixed by her words. She tells us pins accumulate and wash together in tangled metallic nests and that pins are one of her favourite treasures to find because they're so ordinary.
HISTORY
I also enjoyed the London Bridge chapter, particularly the information about old London bridge.
"The old bridge was built with nineteen arches of varying widths and wide piers... which created a virtual barrier across the river, impeding its flow and trapping the tide." Page 145
I had no idea the construction of the old bridge slowed the water to such an extent the river froze over in harsh winters. I knew about the festivities that took place when the Thames froze over in the 1600s but wasn't aware that it doesn't do so now because these obstructions were removed when the old bridge was demolished.
Turning to more recent history and how did I not know about London's Riveria known as Tower Beach?
"The half-moon of soft yellow sand that forms a gentle hill in front of the river wall and peters out to shingle towards the river, is all that remains of 'London's Riviera', 1,500 barge-loads of Essex sand that was spread over the foreshore to create a public beach in 1934." Page 165
Apparently Tower Beach was a great success and in 1935 approximately 100,000 people came to 'holiday' beside the Thames. What a sight this must have been.
MEMOIR
From the very beginning, Maiklem tells the reader just what mudlarking means to her:
"I have carefully arranged meetings and appointments according to the tides, and conspired to meet friends near the river so that I can steal down to the foreshore before the water comes in and after it's flowed out. I've kept people waiting, bringing a trail of mud and apologies in my wake; missed the start of many films and even left early to catch the last few inches of foreshore. I have lied, cajoled and manipulated to get time by the river. It comes knocking at all hours and I obey..." Page 3
Armed with this information on just how much this obsession controls the author's life, I formed the opinion she'd make an unreliable friend and frustrating partner but is no doubt a highly experienced mudlarker.
However she makes mention several times throughout the book that she won't share specific locations. By omitting them the reader can join the dots on their own (or not), but openly stating she won't share the locations made her seem arrogant in my view.
Here's an example:
"I have two American plantation tokens, both of which I found within a few feet of each other (I'm not saying where), and several years apart." Page 203
What's the point? Trust me, her finds are fascinating enough (buckles, coins, leather shoes, buttons, clay pipes, beads, ink pots and more) and I don't think anyone would expect her to disclose her secret locations.
Another thing that irked me was her belief that a portion of the shore had been taken away from her. When telling the reader about nets of stones placed against the river wall in Greenwich in an attempt to prevent erosion, she says:
"My special patch has been covered up, ... and half an hour on every tide has been taken away from me." Page 248
I'd like to tell the author 'your special patch isn't yours and so it can't be taken away from you'. Losing access may be a sore point, but have gratitude for the access you do have and what you managed to find there in the past. While Maiklem acknowledges the perils of erosion, she notes that it also washes out treasures for mudlarks to find.
CONCLUSION
On a lighter note, Maiklem has a marvellous ability to bring history to life. She uses her imagination to breathe life into the objects she unearths and I enjoyed this immensely.
However, I wish there had been photographs to accompany the text. So much of what the author shares with us has a visual component and I felt this was missing in Mudlarking. The only saving grace is that Maiklem has an awesome Instagram account and I was able to go there to see photographs of some of her finds.
In summary, I adored learning more about the history of the River Thames, I was gripped by every item the author discovered and researched but I could happily have done without the memoir aspect with no sense of loss at all.
Recommended reading for amateur and professional historians and genealogists; archaeologists; aquaphiles; environmentalists; museum lovers and the curious.
* Copy courtesy of Bloomsbury Circus *
August 21, 2019
In terms of archaeological digs or even just searching for random items the Thames is probably a very neglected area due to its inaccessibility, but the items mudlark Lara Maiklem has uncovered within the muddy deposits are nothing less than fascinating and the tales they tell even more so. A mudlark is defined as a person who scavenges in the muddy riverbeds at low tide. From fairly modern items discarded or lost by Londoners or tourists to pieces that hark back to the days of old, this is a compelling and highly interesting read.
I haven't ever seen a book such as this before and that makes this all the more of a unique experience. I must admit that despite having been to London a few times and enjoyed myself I find big cities rather exhausting given I am a country girl at heart. That said, they offer a prime hunting ground for items that could give valuable insight into the social and urban history of an area populated for centuries and founded by the Romans in 43 AD.
Overall, it's a well written and constructed work of non-fiction and through it's many varied layers never fails to hold your interest. I tend to have a big appreciation for books that manage to be both informative and entertaining, but sadly they are few and far between; Mudlarking is one of those rare and special gifts. The author has extensive knowledge of the geography of London over the centuries and the Thames tides and her enthusiasm for her subject matter is infectious.
I won't spoil it, but some of her finds were truly momentous and no doubt hastened her return to the dirty, muddy river beds she scans so patiently. Organised into chapters based on location, readers take a steady meander through items that date back to the Roman fortification of Londinium as it was then known. A truly captivating and majestic read. Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.
I haven't ever seen a book such as this before and that makes this all the more of a unique experience. I must admit that despite having been to London a few times and enjoyed myself I find big cities rather exhausting given I am a country girl at heart. That said, they offer a prime hunting ground for items that could give valuable insight into the social and urban history of an area populated for centuries and founded by the Romans in 43 AD.
Overall, it's a well written and constructed work of non-fiction and through it's many varied layers never fails to hold your interest. I tend to have a big appreciation for books that manage to be both informative and entertaining, but sadly they are few and far between; Mudlarking is one of those rare and special gifts. The author has extensive knowledge of the geography of London over the centuries and the Thames tides and her enthusiasm for her subject matter is infectious.
I won't spoil it, but some of her finds were truly momentous and no doubt hastened her return to the dirty, muddy river beds she scans so patiently. Organised into chapters based on location, readers take a steady meander through items that date back to the Roman fortification of Londinium as it was then known. A truly captivating and majestic read. Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.
April 15, 2022
The author gives an evocative exploration of the tidal Thames - from Teddington Lock in the West down to the estuary - through her hobby of Mudlarking, searching the foreshore for interesting detritus from the long history of the waterway.
She uses her explorations and her finds to relate the past of the river - Roman, Middle Ages, Tudor, Restoration, Victorian, and more - along with a little about her personal relationship with the water.
She uses her explorations and her finds to relate the past of the river - Roman, Middle Ages, Tudor, Restoration, Victorian, and more - along with a little about her personal relationship with the water.
July 19, 2019
What a little gem of a book this is. A wonderful discovery much like the artifacts and treasures of the past that can be found after being revealed and unmasked by nature at low tide on the foreshore of the tidal Thames. I remember many years ago when working not far from the site of the present Globe Theatre being fascinated by the sight of men (there were never any women) digging and scavenging away on the mud at the river's edge. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and near my present residence I encountered the same sight but this time it was on the banks of the Forth Estuary. Who are these people, what are their motivations and what finds can be made? Now Lara Maiklem has provided answers to these questions in a book that reads like a love letter not only to her beloved pastime but perhaps more importantly to The River Thames which is intrinsically linked to the development and pre-eminence of the UK's capital city.
Divided into chapters devoted to various mudlarking locations from Teddington Lock to the isolated Kent Marshes of Magwitch fame we make a journey into the past through the objects of that time. Roman coins, pewter medieval toys and Georgian pipes provide an intimate portal to another time. These were mainly personal objects and each tells a story. Whether it be a Roman soldier far from his native land on guard near the City Walls or a convict about to be transported to the other side of the World.
There are many captivating stories to be found here relating to the finds which incredibly included a Victoria Cross. The writing is clear and lucid and connects to the reader on an emotional level. If you have ever read Rachel Lichtenstein's Estuary or like the work of Iain Sinclair then I'm sure you will love this book as much as I did. A must for all London lovers whether residents or exiles.
Divided into chapters devoted to various mudlarking locations from Teddington Lock to the isolated Kent Marshes of Magwitch fame we make a journey into the past through the objects of that time. Roman coins, pewter medieval toys and Georgian pipes provide an intimate portal to another time. These were mainly personal objects and each tells a story. Whether it be a Roman soldier far from his native land on guard near the City Walls or a convict about to be transported to the other side of the World.
There are many captivating stories to be found here relating to the finds which incredibly included a Victoria Cross. The writing is clear and lucid and connects to the reader on an emotional level. If you have ever read Rachel Lichtenstein's Estuary or like the work of Iain Sinclair then I'm sure you will love this book as much as I did. A must for all London lovers whether residents or exiles.
September 26, 2025
I do genuinely think this might be the closest you can get to time travel.
Mudlarking is charged throughout with love for London and its history. Maiklem’s descriptions are witty, evocative and she has some wonderful anecdotes to relate. The history she encounters in the silt of the river hark from the depths of the Bronze Age all the way through to the palaces of the Tudor period and the filth of the Victorian era. As comprehensive as it may be, the history is never dry, and spans so much further than just that of Britain. Maiklem reaches out to the far corners of the globe; detailing 18th century transportations, the horrors of transatlantic slave trade, and even merchant ships hawking sugar and spice and all things nice.
The morbid part of me especially enjoyed hearing of Maiklem’s encounters with human remains -both modern and ancient - and following her speculations as to the life they may have led. I’m still haunted by her description of Amy Johnson’s tragic end – and my imagination was particularly captured by the fact that although her chequebook, logbook and travel bag were retrieved, her body was never found…
Maiklem shuttles seamlessly between micro and macro, making the most ordinary objects resonant with meaning.
Mudlarking is charged throughout with love for London and its history. Maiklem’s descriptions are witty, evocative and she has some wonderful anecdotes to relate. The history she encounters in the silt of the river hark from the depths of the Bronze Age all the way through to the palaces of the Tudor period and the filth of the Victorian era. As comprehensive as it may be, the history is never dry, and spans so much further than just that of Britain. Maiklem reaches out to the far corners of the globe; detailing 18th century transportations, the horrors of transatlantic slave trade, and even merchant ships hawking sugar and spice and all things nice.
The morbid part of me especially enjoyed hearing of Maiklem’s encounters with human remains -both modern and ancient - and following her speculations as to the life they may have led. I’m still haunted by her description of Amy Johnson’s tragic end – and my imagination was particularly captured by the fact that although her chequebook, logbook and travel bag were retrieved, her body was never found…
Maiklem shuttles seamlessly between micro and macro, making the most ordinary objects resonant with meaning.
August 11, 2020
Three star reviews are often dismissed on Goodreads, so I wanted to urge people to read it despite my rating. I think this is a genuinely good book. It's an in depth look at an interesting pastime that gives snapshots into the history of London and the Thames. But it just didn't work for me.
I wish I could say more than that. On paper, this should be right up my street. It's the kind of fun micro-history that covers a nice range of time periods and is filled with fun factoids that I would normally love, but for some reason it's missed the mark. Maybe its the authorial voice? Maybe its the additions of autobiographical details that I don't care about? Maybe it was just that I didn't enjoy the audio book narration? I really can't put my finger on it, but my response to this book can be described as lukewarm at best.
Despite this, I really would recommend it to any history fans out there. It's well structured, detailed and genuinely interesting. I'm honestly quite frustrated that it's left me so cold.
I wish I could say more than that. On paper, this should be right up my street. It's the kind of fun micro-history that covers a nice range of time periods and is filled with fun factoids that I would normally love, but for some reason it's missed the mark. Maybe its the authorial voice? Maybe its the additions of autobiographical details that I don't care about? Maybe it was just that I didn't enjoy the audio book narration? I really can't put my finger on it, but my response to this book can be described as lukewarm at best.
Despite this, I really would recommend it to any history fans out there. It's well structured, detailed and genuinely interesting. I'm honestly quite frustrated that it's left me so cold.
November 12, 2020
Wonderfully informative while being entertaining and fun - I honestly think this book should be part of high school history curriculum or required 'over the summer' reading. It is chock full of English historical information as we mudlark up and down the River Thames with our narrator Lara Maiklem. Her personality comes shining through the pages, and she is someone you will be absolutely delighted to meet - if COVID ever leaves us and life can resume as we once knew it, I would run to a bookstore to meet her if she ever did a reading. Her research and knowledge alone definitely make this book an easy 5* rating for me, and she is so very humble.
I had no idea what the term "mudlarking" meant, had never heard of a "mudlarker". It is a profession or hobby or ambition not to be taken lightly as I was on the edge of my seat a few times hoping our friend didn't get sucked into the mud or swept away by the unforgiving Thames. There is so much that needs to thought out before attempting these journeys, the time of year, time of day, the tides, the weather - it can be quite a dangerous undertaking if the mudlarker is not well prepared.
This was the opening book for me for our NI 2020/2021 Book Voyage. Thanks to our NI friend, Susan, who says to us "I hope everyone enjoys this look at London's past" - I did! What a wonderfully personal choice! As it is a non-fiction historical journey, I read it while reading other books hence the length of time it took me to finish it.
Also worth noting for the book map lovers - there are maps! - as well as other lovely images on the covers and inside covers which are explained in the book.
I had no idea what the term "mudlarking" meant, had never heard of a "mudlarker". It is a profession or hobby or ambition not to be taken lightly as I was on the edge of my seat a few times hoping our friend didn't get sucked into the mud or swept away by the unforgiving Thames. There is so much that needs to thought out before attempting these journeys, the time of year, time of day, the tides, the weather - it can be quite a dangerous undertaking if the mudlarker is not well prepared.
This was the opening book for me for our NI 2020/2021 Book Voyage. Thanks to our NI friend, Susan, who says to us "I hope everyone enjoys this look at London's past" - I did! What a wonderfully personal choice! As it is a non-fiction historical journey, I read it while reading other books hence the length of time it took me to finish it.
Also worth noting for the book map lovers - there are maps! - as well as other lovely images on the covers and inside covers which are explained in the book.
April 12, 2020
A book to light up your imagination. Being a rural minded girl I never suspected I could be jealous of someone living near built up London but Lara has managed to do just that. The sheer amount of British history she unearths, one small speck at a time, from old father Thames will get you googling every found object in exquisite wonder. A rich and curiosity driven exploration into Mudlarking and it’s treasures.
February 10, 2020
Pretty much everything that humans have made used and thrown away will be here forever. Often these possessions have ended up in middens and now we bury vast quantities of our unwanted stuff in the ground in dumps. If you know where to look these relics from a time long gone can be found, especially along the foreshore of the tidal Thames.
There have been people finding the detritus and treasure alongside the capital’s river for hundreds of years. It has been called the world’s longest archaeological site! The people who look for those discarded and lost items are called mudlarks and for the past fifteen years, Lara Maiklem has walked searching for anything that she can find. The variety of things that she spots is quite astounding, and these tell the story of London going back several thousand years to the Neolithic.
I have been following her via various social media accounts for years now, so nice to read a little more on the subject as well as a little of her own history as to what she finds so addictive about doing it. I really enjoyed this and liked the way each chapter concentrated on different parts of the capital, from Hammersmith, Rotherhithe and right out into the estuary. I found her to be an informative writer who is passionate about her subject and keen to discover more about the objects she finds. If the book has one tiny flaw, it is that there are very few pictures of her finds. I know she has an Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/laramaiklem...) that is linked to the book, but I am not on Instagram so couldn’t see them.
There have been people finding the detritus and treasure alongside the capital’s river for hundreds of years. It has been called the world’s longest archaeological site! The people who look for those discarded and lost items are called mudlarks and for the past fifteen years, Lara Maiklem has walked searching for anything that she can find. The variety of things that she spots is quite astounding, and these tell the story of London going back several thousand years to the Neolithic.
I have been following her via various social media accounts for years now, so nice to read a little more on the subject as well as a little of her own history as to what she finds so addictive about doing it. I really enjoyed this and liked the way each chapter concentrated on different parts of the capital, from Hammersmith, Rotherhithe and right out into the estuary. I found her to be an informative writer who is passionate about her subject and keen to discover more about the objects she finds. If the book has one tiny flaw, it is that there are very few pictures of her finds. I know she has an Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/laramaiklem...) that is linked to the book, but I am not on Instagram so couldn’t see them.
October 12, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am full of envy for all the wonderful things the author finds on the shore of the Thames.
I'm amazed that so much 'stuff' is still being found although Maiklem explains how building, erosion etc can constantly reveal new treasures.
In one of her regular haunts there are so many old pins that she has to be careful where she kneels to stop herself being pricked by them. It had just never occurred to me that for centuries just about every Londoner would have had numerous pins about them holding their clothes together!
What stops me giving it a rare 5 star review are two issues.
Firstly a tendency to somewhat absurd flights of fancy (an example being when she holds up some Tudor glass and wonders whether Henry 8th looked through it when pondering Anne Boleyn's future).
And secondly she frequently describes her numerous finds but there's not a single illustration of any of them!
I'm amazed that so much 'stuff' is still being found although Maiklem explains how building, erosion etc can constantly reveal new treasures.
In one of her regular haunts there are so many old pins that she has to be careful where she kneels to stop herself being pricked by them. It had just never occurred to me that for centuries just about every Londoner would have had numerous pins about them holding their clothes together!
What stops me giving it a rare 5 star review are two issues.
Firstly a tendency to somewhat absurd flights of fancy (an example being when she holds up some Tudor glass and wonders whether Henry 8th looked through it when pondering Anne Boleyn's future).
And secondly she frequently describes her numerous finds but there's not a single illustration of any of them!
Read
April 3, 2020A non-fiction memoir about mudlarking, by an English queer woman. Lots of historical detail and amazing anecdotes.
January 23, 2020
Splendid!(particularly if read a chapter at a time!)
In a time when many of our historical novelists are filling our heads with what can surely be called highly unlikely drivel,the lives of ordinary people are now warranting much more of our attention.
In short,we want to know the truth!We research our own ancestors with glee,and-aided by social media- take much more interest in local history and archaeology.We gaze into the past with wonder through the eyes of authors like Dickens,Hardy,Tolstoy,Pasternak,Steinbeck-even the young Beatrix Potter-who paint better pictures of their times because they actually lived in them-and,from somewhere on the Thames,London Mudlark,Lara Maiklem hails us from the foreshore with a Codd bottle,a Roman hairpin,a Tudor button-and no end of clay pipes-and tells us their story.This is London's real history,painstakingly excavated out of a very muddy river.
In a time when many of our historical novelists are filling our heads with what can surely be called highly unlikely drivel,the lives of ordinary people are now warranting much more of our attention.
In short,we want to know the truth!We research our own ancestors with glee,and-aided by social media- take much more interest in local history and archaeology.We gaze into the past with wonder through the eyes of authors like Dickens,Hardy,Tolstoy,Pasternak,Steinbeck-even the young Beatrix Potter-who paint better pictures of their times because they actually lived in them-and,from somewhere on the Thames,London Mudlark,Lara Maiklem hails us from the foreshore with a Codd bottle,a Roman hairpin,a Tudor button-and no end of clay pipes-and tells us their story.This is London's real history,painstakingly excavated out of a very muddy river.
March 4, 2020
As I had never heard of a Mudlark (someone who searches for treasure on the "foreshore" of London's River Thames) before reading this book, it has certainly changed my life. The writing is absolutely stunning; many stellar lines marked in my copy. But if you are a history geek who also loves the thrill of the hunt for old objects, you will love this book. It has turned me on to the whole world of mudlarking (check out Nicola White's you tube videos, she's my other favorite mudlark right now and her videos transfix), something I have added to my bucket list. Lara Maiklem's affection for the detritus of history is a gift to us all.
January 2, 2020
Fascinating look at relics of the past found along the Thames. This book really brings history alive! The author posts her finds on her website, so it's helpful to follow along while reading the book. 4.5 stars.
May 19, 2021
Such a fascinating read. London has long been my favourite city (well, after Edinburgh, but who would compare these two?), and I had heard and read much of the mudlarks who in Victorian London picked a more than meagre living from the dirty sludge that was then the Thames, wading through excrement and offal to find discarded pins and lost things, to gather pieces of coal fallen from barges or dive after coins thrown by cruel onlookers into the worst of the mire.
I always wanted to know more. So When I saw this book, I initially thought it was about these Victorians. It turns out that Ms Maiklem is a very modern mudlark, but that didn't make the book any less fascinating - moving from the tidal head of the Thames to the Estuary, she describes what she finds on the foreshore and tells fascinating stories about the people who lived, worked and died on the river, and whose lost possessions the tides still erode out of the mud.
What's more, she has that gift that many non-fiction writers sadly lack, no matter how interesting their subject: beautifully flowing prose.
I loved the respect and connection she feels to the people whose lost possessions she finds - often, history books take a callous approach to the people they talk about, as if their misfortunes and often cruel lives and deaths were unimportant or a matter for sport just because they have been dead for a long time, and it always sits wrong with me.
The only thing I would have wished for was more pictures - there were some glossy photographs in the middle of the book that showed some of her finds, but I often wanted to see something she described that wasn't among the photos.
Would highly recommend to anyone interested in London's past and/or archaeology.
I always wanted to know more. So When I saw this book, I initially thought it was about these Victorians. It turns out that Ms Maiklem is a very modern mudlark, but that didn't make the book any less fascinating - moving from the tidal head of the Thames to the Estuary, she describes what she finds on the foreshore and tells fascinating stories about the people who lived, worked and died on the river, and whose lost possessions the tides still erode out of the mud.
What's more, she has that gift that many non-fiction writers sadly lack, no matter how interesting their subject: beautifully flowing prose.
I loved the respect and connection she feels to the people whose lost possessions she finds - often, history books take a callous approach to the people they talk about, as if their misfortunes and often cruel lives and deaths were unimportant or a matter for sport just because they have been dead for a long time, and it always sits wrong with me.
The only thing I would have wished for was more pictures - there were some glossy photographs in the middle of the book that showed some of her finds, but I often wanted to see something she described that wasn't among the photos.
Would highly recommend to anyone interested in London's past and/or archaeology.
February 13, 2025
Since the pandemic prevents me from traveling, I am following Emily Dickinson's observation that "there is no frigate like a book." Reading about Maiklem's adventures in the mud was a wonderful experience. This is a delightful book with a lot of depth and complexity. It's more fun than visiting a museum but just as educational. Warning: I took a lot of "side trips" while reading in order to look up some of the people, places, and objects described. But that made reading the book all the more enjoyable.
Maiklem peels back the layers of London's history by finding objects on the foreshore of the Thames. She doesn't dig into the mud because this promotes erosion; she also has a bit of a woo-woo believe that she should let the river offer up its treasures to her. I think it's a great stance towards treasure hunting along the shores of the Thames. Her writing is a perfect mix of detail and poetry. I cried softly at her description of the fog on pages 62-63.
Maiklem describes mudlarking on locations that start west of London and she moves east, describing many spots along the foreshores of the great city itself. She finishes at the estuary east of London. Even though there are a variety of finds in every location, Maiklem tends to focus on one or two particular items in each chapter in order to provide a lot of information about that object and its history. The book has a personal feel because it includes personal stories, but I would say that it's not strictly a memoir.
1. Mudlark: This chapter instructs the readers on the tidal nature of the Thames.
2. Tidal Head: This chapter describes bottles, bottle necks and stoppers amid descriptions of Tidal Head near Richmond and Teddington. She also includes flashbacks to Maiklem's childhood on a farm where she spent a lot of time outdoors. I spent a little time looking up more information about Codd bottles.
3. Hammersmith: This chapter shares information about the rules of mudlarking, the license required to mudlark, the societies for mudlarkers, and their habits. This stretch of the river includes the Blackfriars Bridge, which is where mudlarkers have found Doves type font thrown in the river by Cobden-Sanderson during the Victorian era. That's a story worthy of a feature film, and Maiklem does a great job providing the history as well as some updates about some of the finds from that printer's dump.
4. Vauxhall: This section talks about finds from a variety of eras but focuses on prehistoric objects such as flint stones and sea urchins, which are also found in Bronze and Iron Age burial sites, perhaps due to mystical qualities. I spent some time looking up "fairy loves" and "hag stones." The last part of this chapter describes the history of a grove of trees that is centuries old but the river is crawling up their trees' trunks.
5. Trig Lane: This chapter explains the requirement that mudlarks have to submit finds to a museum for evaluation. This chapter also discusses Maiklem's affinity for pins--hair pins made of bone used by Romans and metal pins for fastening clothes used by more recent inhabitants. But this chapter also makes mention of roof tiles, garnets, rings and an assortment of other objects.
6. Bankside: This chapter not only describes more coins but also tokens, which are cousins to coins. Also this is where Maiklem discusses clay pipes, one of the most often found objects along the Thames.
7. Queenhithe: This is where Maiklem talks more about the problem of erosion along the foreshore of the Thames. But she also describes objects such as clay and shoes, including a relatively intact child's shoe when the more common find is only the sole or the buckle. From watching some of Mailkem's YouTube videos, I know that she has a special fondness for Bellarmines--a type of jug decorated with a bearded man's face. This is where she explains their history and some of her Bellarmine finds.
8. London Bridge: The first part of this chapter shines some light on finds from Rome that the author and others have located in the river: coins, bone hairpins, bath tiles, dice, and such. The second part talks about pilgrim badges and other religious artifacts.
9. Tower Beach: This chapter has more about coins but a lot about weapons and ammunition. Keeping on the theme of war, there is information about war medals, including a Victoria Cross found in the Thames.
10. Rotherhithe: This location was used for scrapping ships, so there are a lot of tools, nails and whalebones (used for repairs when in places like Greenland). That fact transitions to appearances in the Thames by whales and other ocean creatures who swam the 80 miles to London. This is also the place that the Mayflower launched. She describes how some of the objects found at Rotherhithe are similar to those found in the earliest British colonies in N. America.
11. Wapping: After a more whimsical start describing toys found in the mud, this chapter describes many of the criminals who worked along the shores, particularly those who stole from ships. This prompted the origins of the marine police in 1789 who were a private force for one shipping company. They evolved into the Thames River Police. (I would LOVE a reality tv show based on the River Police with interspliced flashbacks to crimes from decades prior.) The end of the chapter describes all manner of counterfeiting coins. In the last couple of pages, Maiklem herself has an encounter with some shifty characters.
12. Greenwich: Here are details about kitchens from the Tudor era particularly. Finds include animal bones and kitchenware. Toward the end, the chapter describes several manner of bricks found in the mud as well as a few details about tile, glass, and buttons.
13. Tilbury: Sewers, of course, empty into the Thames at several points, but this chapter takes on the topic in earnest, including a discussion of The Great Stink of 1858 and the current problem with fatbergs. There are some descriptions of found objects of bygone eras, but this chapter describes how the river is host to a lot of contemporary trash, betraying our consumerism and throw-away culture.
14. Estuary: This is the point where the Thames meets the North Sea. There are a number of birds who frequent this area, but this is the chapter that has the most detail about human remains found in the mud or floating in the river. The last few paragraphs describe the Thames as a "snake-dragon, smoothing and stroking its treasures, hiding them in its coils" (293). You could even read these last two pages as a preview for the book.
PS: Maiklem's Mudlarking is a perfect companion for reading with Rutherford's London (2002).
Maiklem peels back the layers of London's history by finding objects on the foreshore of the Thames. She doesn't dig into the mud because this promotes erosion; she also has a bit of a woo-woo believe that she should let the river offer up its treasures to her. I think it's a great stance towards treasure hunting along the shores of the Thames. Her writing is a perfect mix of detail and poetry. I cried softly at her description of the fog on pages 62-63.
Maiklem describes mudlarking on locations that start west of London and she moves east, describing many spots along the foreshores of the great city itself. She finishes at the estuary east of London. Even though there are a variety of finds in every location, Maiklem tends to focus on one or two particular items in each chapter in order to provide a lot of information about that object and its history. The book has a personal feel because it includes personal stories, but I would say that it's not strictly a memoir.
1. Mudlark: This chapter instructs the readers on the tidal nature of the Thames.
2. Tidal Head: This chapter describes bottles, bottle necks and stoppers amid descriptions of Tidal Head near Richmond and Teddington. She also includes flashbacks to Maiklem's childhood on a farm where she spent a lot of time outdoors. I spent a little time looking up more information about Codd bottles.
3. Hammersmith: This chapter shares information about the rules of mudlarking, the license required to mudlark, the societies for mudlarkers, and their habits. This stretch of the river includes the Blackfriars Bridge, which is where mudlarkers have found Doves type font thrown in the river by Cobden-Sanderson during the Victorian era. That's a story worthy of a feature film, and Maiklem does a great job providing the history as well as some updates about some of the finds from that printer's dump.
4. Vauxhall: This section talks about finds from a variety of eras but focuses on prehistoric objects such as flint stones and sea urchins, which are also found in Bronze and Iron Age burial sites, perhaps due to mystical qualities. I spent some time looking up "fairy loves" and "hag stones." The last part of this chapter describes the history of a grove of trees that is centuries old but the river is crawling up their trees' trunks.
5. Trig Lane: This chapter explains the requirement that mudlarks have to submit finds to a museum for evaluation. This chapter also discusses Maiklem's affinity for pins--hair pins made of bone used by Romans and metal pins for fastening clothes used by more recent inhabitants. But this chapter also makes mention of roof tiles, garnets, rings and an assortment of other objects.
6. Bankside: This chapter not only describes more coins but also tokens, which are cousins to coins. Also this is where Maiklem discusses clay pipes, one of the most often found objects along the Thames.
7. Queenhithe: This is where Maiklem talks more about the problem of erosion along the foreshore of the Thames. But she also describes objects such as clay and shoes, including a relatively intact child's shoe when the more common find is only the sole or the buckle. From watching some of Mailkem's YouTube videos, I know that she has a special fondness for Bellarmines--a type of jug decorated with a bearded man's face. This is where she explains their history and some of her Bellarmine finds.
8. London Bridge: The first part of this chapter shines some light on finds from Rome that the author and others have located in the river: coins, bone hairpins, bath tiles, dice, and such. The second part talks about pilgrim badges and other religious artifacts.
9. Tower Beach: This chapter has more about coins but a lot about weapons and ammunition. Keeping on the theme of war, there is information about war medals, including a Victoria Cross found in the Thames.
10. Rotherhithe: This location was used for scrapping ships, so there are a lot of tools, nails and whalebones (used for repairs when in places like Greenland). That fact transitions to appearances in the Thames by whales and other ocean creatures who swam the 80 miles to London. This is also the place that the Mayflower launched. She describes how some of the objects found at Rotherhithe are similar to those found in the earliest British colonies in N. America.
11. Wapping: After a more whimsical start describing toys found in the mud, this chapter describes many of the criminals who worked along the shores, particularly those who stole from ships. This prompted the origins of the marine police in 1789 who were a private force for one shipping company. They evolved into the Thames River Police. (I would LOVE a reality tv show based on the River Police with interspliced flashbacks to crimes from decades prior.) The end of the chapter describes all manner of counterfeiting coins. In the last couple of pages, Maiklem herself has an encounter with some shifty characters.
12. Greenwich: Here are details about kitchens from the Tudor era particularly. Finds include animal bones and kitchenware. Toward the end, the chapter describes several manner of bricks found in the mud as well as a few details about tile, glass, and buttons.
13. Tilbury: Sewers, of course, empty into the Thames at several points, but this chapter takes on the topic in earnest, including a discussion of The Great Stink of 1858 and the current problem with fatbergs. There are some descriptions of found objects of bygone eras, but this chapter describes how the river is host to a lot of contemporary trash, betraying our consumerism and throw-away culture.
14. Estuary: This is the point where the Thames meets the North Sea. There are a number of birds who frequent this area, but this is the chapter that has the most detail about human remains found in the mud or floating in the river. The last few paragraphs describe the Thames as a "snake-dragon, smoothing and stroking its treasures, hiding them in its coils" (293). You could even read these last two pages as a preview for the book.
PS: Maiklem's Mudlarking is a perfect companion for reading with Rutherford's London (2002).
January 10, 2021
Trigger warnings: mentions of war, death, drowning, descriptions of dead bodies etc. I think that's all? There's one scene where Maiklem discusses how she once had to call the police because but nothing actually happens.
I've had a passing interest in mudlarking and toshing that I think I can attribute to Joan Aiken's Midnight Is A Place, which I read when I was about ten. But I honestly thought it was something that happened in, like, the Victorian era because having seen the state of the Thames (and the Yarra, tbh), I can't really imagine anyone voluntarily searching for lost treasures in the tidal mud flats of the riverbank. But turns out there's a thriving community!
This is a very...quiet?...book that's almost equal parts a love letter to London's history and its relationship to the Thames as much as it is about Maiklem's experiences of mudlarking and the array of objects she's found over the years. I flew through it and loved every second of it. I do wish there had been some more images included, but Maiklem's Instagram account is more than sufficient on that front!
I've had a passing interest in mudlarking and toshing that I think I can attribute to Joan Aiken's Midnight Is A Place, which I read when I was about ten. But I honestly thought it was something that happened in, like, the Victorian era because having seen the state of the Thames (and the Yarra, tbh), I can't really imagine anyone voluntarily searching for lost treasures in the tidal mud flats of the riverbank. But turns out there's a thriving community!
This is a very...quiet?...book that's almost equal parts a love letter to London's history and its relationship to the Thames as much as it is about Maiklem's experiences of mudlarking and the array of objects she's found over the years. I flew through it and loved every second of it. I do wish there had been some more images included, but Maiklem's Instagram account is more than sufficient on that front!
September 5, 2020
A hidden history of the Thames River through found objects is a book I did NOT know I needed in my life, but will likely go down as a favorite of the year! I found each chapter— which starts at Tidal Head and slowly progresses downriver and out to sea, to be a fascinating mini-adventure; full of surprising details and discoveries, as well as a thoughtful and contemplative journey by the author, Laura Maiklem. My paperback edition has both photographs and amazing watercolor sketches to help illustrate the various relics she’s unearthed over the years, and it feels like peering into a naturalist’s personal diary. I actually bought this on a visit to London earlier this year, not far from London Bridge and the actual Mudlark Pub it turns out, and am now kicking myself for not stopping in for a pint or checking the nearby riverbanks to see if the author was out on a 'lark.' Fascinating and beautifully written from start to finish, Mudlarking is a treasure of a book that’s made me look at the world (and some of its “junk!”) with fresh eyes. A feat that’s easily worth 5-stars.
August 23, 2020
Strangely, for someone who really enjoys history, I struggled with this. Its tells of the author's finds from the tidal mud of the River Thames. She catalogues her finds by description and a brief history or a guessed ownership of the items. I tried reading the book, then listened on disc, but found both methods difficult. The book is interesting but too much of the same thing repeated. Its probably an addictive hobby, but not for me.
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