From the above data and analysis, several conclusions can be drawn:
1. The trench in the midden dealt with deposits from approximately 1902-1907
2. The three different stripe patterns present are a chronological sequence from the 3-stripe pattern, which is the earliest, to the 2i stripe pattern which follows, to the 2-stripe pattern which is the most recent. There are only bowls for the 3 stripe pattern, while tankards are introduced for the 2i-stripe pattern. The introduction of the 2-stripe pattern coincides with the introduction of knives and forks in the Poorhouse, and there is immediately a much wider range of articles of crockery.
3. From 1891 onwards, paupers ate food served from vegetable dishes and ashets which sat on the table of each group of people.
4. From at least 1891, the diet in the Poorhouse included food which could be eaten with a knife and fork, rather than only broths and soups.
5. The overall predominance of liquids in the diet is reflected by the large proportion of bowls to plates.
6. There are no substantial differences between the sizes and shapes of the equivalent blue- and red-striped articles of crockery. This comes with an exception - only blue soup plates (and possibly also blue flat plates) have a lip, while this is not present on any red plates. This suggests a different manufacturer for the blue lipped plates. There is not enough evidence to say whether or not red-striped crockery was used for one sex and blue-striped for the other.
7. The plain white crockery was probably used by children and patients in the infirmary wing of the Poorhouse.
The deposits excavated appear to date from the period between 1902 and 1907. This is only five years out of a possible 37 year period of dumping, based on the dates of the opening of the Poorhouse and the start of the MEGC lease. It is very likely that while the fields attached to the Poorhouse were being used for arable rather than grazing, the architect's plan was followed and the waste was spread on the fields. Therefore, the midden as it is today would have begun to accumulate after the fields were put over to permanent pasture, which was sometime before 1893 (see section 1.12).
The total depth of the deposits in the place where the trench was positioned is probably between 3m and 9m. These estimates are arrived at as follows. The 1902 date stamp is more likely to have been deposited after 1902 than during it, so taking 1m=4years' deposits, 1893-1907=14years which is about 3.5m. But also, there is no dating evidence definitely from after 1903, so it is possible that 1m=2years' deposits. The fields were put over to permanent pasture no earlier than 1886 when the records begin, so 1886-1904=18 years, which is 9m of deposits. Wherever the correct depth is between 3m and 9m, there is still a greater depth left untouched than has so far been excavated.
Calculations can now be made of (i) the percentage breakage rate of bowls per year, and from this can be calculated (ii) the date of introduction of the 2i-stripe pattern crockery.
In order to carry out these calculations, the following assumptions will be made:
Assumptions used for (i):
1.The rim sherds on the surface of the midden can be approximated to be proportional to the ratios of 2-stripe pattern, 2i-stripe pattern and 3-stripe pattern bowls in use in the poorhouse in 1907. This is reasonable because the midden must have stopped being used in 1907 when the golf course took over the land, and the surface is the top, and therefore the most recent, layer.
2.The year 1891, when documents say knives and forks were first introduced, was also the year in which all 2-stripe pattern crockery was introduced, no new 2i- or 3-stripe pattern crockery being acquired after that date. This is reasonable because:
* the introduction of knives and forks made essential the use of soup plates and/or plates, since the deep soup bowls in use previously could only be used in conjunction with spoons. This sudden increase in the range and therefore the number of vessels of crockery may well have been perceived as too costly if bought with the crest on as well. So, opting for non-crested crockery, but with essentially the same stripe pattern as before would have been the logical option, since it would no longer have to be specially manufactured for the poorhouse.
* the 2-stripe pattern is by far the most numerous out of the 2-, 2i- and 3-stripe patterns on the surface of the midden, suggesting that it was the pattern in use mainly at the time of breakage.
3.The percentage breakage rate for poorhouse bowls of all types was constant over time. There would appear to be no reason why this would not have been the case - there are no obvious structural problems present in any of the bowl sherds, and any other variables affecting the breakage rate are essentially non-measurable and less significant.
4.The total number of bowls in use in the poorhouse remained constant over time, more being got as necessary from the Store when breakages occurred. In spite of the probable use of bowls exclusively before 1891, and their subsequent use in fewer meals after the introduction of knives and forks, there still had to be enough bowls for everyone for at least one meal. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that the number of bowls remained constant over time, while after 1891 the number of items of crockery increased dramatically.
5.The ratio of 3-stripe pattern bowls to 2i-stripe pattern bowls in 1907 was the same essentially as in 1891. This follows immediately from assumption 3.
Assumptions used for (ii):
6.The presence of similar numbers of 2i- and 3-stripe pattern bowl rim sherds with 2i-stripe pattern tankards and no 3-stripe pattern drinking vessels means that the 3-stripe pattern is the earlier one. Tin enamel, or some other non-ceramic, mugs were in use in conjunction with the 3-stripe pattern. This is a reasonable assumption because the numbers of sherds clearly show there to have been no ceramic 3-stripe pattern drinking vessels. There could have been no conceivable reason to use plain white ceramic drinking vessels with crested and striped bowls. The drinking vessels used with the 3-stripe pattern bowls must therefore have been made of a different material, such as enamelled tin. It is more unlikely that a ceramic tankard and bowl set, striped and crested, was in use, and then changed to being crested bowls and tin mugs, than the other way round. Therefore the more likely alternative is assumed.
7.At a certain fixed date, 2i- stripe pattern bowls (and tankards) were introduced, replacing 3-stripe pattern bowls as necessary, and no new 3-stripe pattern bowls were acquired after that date. This is a reasonable assumption to make, since if there was not a clean break with the 3-stripe pattern bowls, it could have been decided that 3-stripe pattern tankards could be ordered as well, with no new pattern. The manufacturer may well have been different for the two patterns, however, and the change of manufacturer may have provided in the impetus the order the tankards.
a. By assumption 1, the total number of bowls in use in the poorhouse in 1907 was 71X, where X is an unknown constant. The number 71 comes from the total number of 2-, 2i- and 3-striped bowl rim sherds found on the midden surface.
b. By assumption 4, the total number of bowls in use in the poorhouse in 1891 was also 71X.
c. By assumption 2 and a and b, the number of 2i- and 3-stripe pattern bowls in use in the poorhouse in 1891 was 71X.
d. By assumption 1, the total number of 2i- and 3-stripe pattern bowls in use in the poorhouse in 1907 was 33X. The number 33 comes from the total number of 2i- and 3-stripe pattern bowl rim sherds found on the midden surface.
e. By c and d, and assumption 2, the number of 2i- and 3-stripe pattern bowls broken over the 16 year period between 1891 and 1907 was 38X. This figure comes from 71X (in 1891) - 33X (in 1907) = 38X broken between 1891 and 1907.
f. By e and assumption 3, there was an annual percentage breakage rate of ~5%. This is calculated using the recurrence relation given by the formula 33 = a^16.71, and this solves to give a = 0.95. This shows that after each year, 95% is left of what was there the previous year, so 5% breaks each year.
By the above, the percentage breakage rate of bowls per year is ~ 5%. This can now be used in the second calculation.
Using the result from (i), and assumptions 1- 7, we can calculate the length of time it would have been from 1891 since the introduction of the 2i-stripe pattern. By a similar exercise to (i), the figure of about 16 years is obtained.
This gives an approximate date of 1875 for the introduction of the 2i-stripe pattern.
This date means that the 3-stripe pattern can have been in use for a maximum of 5 years prior to that, from 1870 to 1875. The short length of this period of time makes it all the more likely that it was the first set of crockery in use at Craiglockhart, and that no other patterns preceded it. There is of course a slim possibility that the crockery from Forrest Hill was moved to Craiglockhart when the move took place, but it is unlikely.
Figure 26 shows the numbers of 3-, 2i- and 2-stripe pattern bowls in use in the Poorhouse from 1870 to 1907 as projected back by the calculations just done. Figure 27 shows the percentages of the different stripe patterned bowls in use in the same period, but displayed as areas, which is more helpful from a visualisation point of view. Whereas the 2-stripe pattern appeared so dominant of the other two in 1907, it can be seen from Figure 27 that the 2-stripe bowls take up the smallest area, having been introduced at a much later date than either of the other two patterns.
Although the calculations were carried out for the bowls only, they apply equally to all other articles of crockery with these stripe patterns, by the arguments used in the calculations.
Based on the chronological sequence of crockery established above, it can be seen that serving dishes were in use from 1891 onwards. These took the form of lidded vegetable dishes, and ashets. This implies a practice at that time of serving food out in small groups at the tables. A question that might reasonably be asked would be how the quantities of food each pauper received were to be monitored if the final serving out was done by the paupers themselves. Food should have been hotter when it was eaten using this practice, however, rather than using the system of dishing out all the food and then marching the paupers into the dining hall, as was done in some English workhouses.
It should also be noted that the date of the introduction of the serving dishes could have been later than 1891, but 1891 is the most visible date for a dramatic change in practices, and the introduction of the serving dishes is most likely to have been part of these changes.
The serving spoon, Find No. 2AD, recovered from the excavation is at present not datable. Although the manufacturer is known (James Dixon & Sons, Sheffield), the mark: is not one which was used on silver, only on silver plate, for which marks have as yet not been documented. It would be interesting to know if serving spoons, and therefore serving crockery, were in use before 1891, but it is not possible to find this out currently.
It will be noticed that the only documented diet in use in the Poorhouse up to 1897 could not have been eaten with forks. This appears to be in conflict with the introduction of knives and forks and a wide range of articles of crockery at the earlier date of 1891. However, it is certain that the new cutlery and crockery would have been brought in in response to a new diet which required them, or as a result of more liberal thinking in relation to a diet currently in use. From this it must be supposed that the diet prescribed in Local Government Board Rule 67 for which the documents are unavailable contained food which could be eaten with a knife and fork. That part of the diet which was intended for the aged and infirm did not contain such foods, possibly due to a view that broths and soups were more palatable for these people. The Rule 67 diet cannot have come into force earlier than 1894, since this is the year that the L.G.B. was established. Therefore, the diet prescribed by the Board of Supervision, possibly the same one which was then continued by the L.G.B., must have contained foods which could be eaten with a knife and fork as well.
By 1907, there were still more bowls than plates overall in use at the poorhouse, which presumably reflects the predominance of liquid foods over solid foods in the diet.
A question worthy of careful consideration is whether red striped crockery was used for one sex, and blue striped for the other, and/or whether the presence of the colours harked back to a time when there was a functional reason for their use.
Looking at the better documented diet in English workhouses points to certain things. It may have been an advantage to be able to tell the difference between a meal intended for the consumption of an able-bodied man from that of an able-bodied woman, however. Since the only differences were in small quantities of the different types of food stuffs, these differences would probably not have been easily detectable by eye. So, having a plate with a different-coloured edge stripe could provide an easy solution to this problem. Since the difference in content between different classes' diets tended to be greater than between the sexes within a single class, having a meal intended for an aged and infirm man on the same type of crockery as that for an able-bodied man should not have been a problem.
Since this stripe pattern, and probably also these colours, were very likely to have been in general use in institutions around the turn of the century, they would seem to have been well-established, and these colours may well hark back to a time when there was a functional reason for having them, and have this as a reason for their establishment in the first place.
Every item of crockery from the midden which appears in the red stripe pattern is also present in the blue stripe pattern and vice versa. Corresponding items of crockery with red and blue stripes are the same size as each other. There is also nothing at all in the Store Ledger to suggest any distinction was made between items of different colours, if they were still different colours at that time.
No conclusions can be drawn from the information as regards the proportions of different items of red- and blue-striped crockery from the midden, other than that these are the proportions of different articles for that particular area of the midden.
It must be left as an open question as to whether blue striped crockery was used for one sex and red striped for the other. It would seem that there may have been a functional reason for using it that way in the past, otherwise its appearance at all is a bit puzzling, but whether by the turn of the century it was still used in that way at Craiglockhart it is not possible to say without more evidence.
One point which was immediately noticeable about the midden was the lack of a substantial amount of patterned crockery other than the blue- and red-striped sets.
It seems quite clear that all the crockery on the midden came from the Poorhouse, but that only the white, red-striped and blue-striped sets were used by the inmates. Of the little that remains, the only set which separates itself off from the rest is the porcelain tea set consisting of tea cups, saucers and a sugar bowl. It is not particularly fancy, and was quite possibly used by the inmates, although numbers of sherds are low. The majority of the rest has only one rim sherd per pattern represented. There are only three Willow pattern rim sherds, and even they are all different variations of that pattern. There are eight spongeware rim sherds, and more body sherds, which would not have been for the Poorhouse staff (Harry Kelly, pers. com., 1999). They may however have belonged to the grieve or the gardener employed by the Poorhouse.
The red and blue striped crockery, crested and uncrested, was surely designed to be used in the dining hall, since it has a more formal and regimented feel to it than the plain white, which does not say anything. Since there are almost as many rim sherds from plain white crockery as from red and blue striped together, either a mixture of both must have been used for meals in the dining hall, or plain white could have been used for a different class of patient than the striped crockery. This different class could have been patients in the hospital wards - treatment was more lenient as regarded meals if inmates were ill, the extreme being consumptive patients, who were given a very good diet, and were encouraged to eat as much as they could. Crockery which would act as a constant reminder of where they were (i.e. crockery labelled as Poor House, or from that same set) would not increase their spirits. Children almost certainly would not have had to suffer the indignity of eating from crockery labelled Poor House - committee members were very aware of the great disadvantage it was for children to grow up in a Poorhouse, and as many as possible were boarded out. It was in their interests to ensure that the children got a good start and did not return to the Poorhouse in adult life.
In Figure 20 the proportions of bowls to plates can be seen for white, red striped and blue striped types. White has the lowest proportion of plates in relation to bowls, and this may indicate that white was used for people with an even more liquid diet than the rest. This would be children and some hospital ward patients. Apart from possibly have a plate for bread, children would have eaten exclusively from bowls (see Figures 8, 9 and 10). Without documentary evidence to assist, it is very difficult to say anything more concrete about who would have used the white crockery.
After analysis of the results of the excavation and surface finds from the midden from Craiglockhart Poorhouse, the results may be stated as follows.
A complete chronology of crockery types based on pattern was established from the opening of the poorhouse in 1870 to the end of the period of use for the midden in 1907. The first set of crockery consisted entirely of deep soup bowls, bearing the Edinburgh crest and a banner saying Edinburgh City Poorhouse, with three edge stripes in red on some and in blue on others. These bowls were used in conjunction with tin enamel mugs and soup spoons, and were the only items of crockery in use until around 1875. In this year the tin enamel mugs were abandoned, and a new set of crockery was ordered, probably made by a different manufacturer. This second set consisted of deep soup bowls identical to the previous set except that the stripe pattern on the edge had one of the stripes on the inside. Along with the bowls were tankards bearing an identical pattern. The first and second sets of crockery were used together, the numbers of the second type increasing over time, while the numbers of the first type decreased. In 1891, a major change occurred. Knives and forks were introduced, and with them came a wide range of new crockery types: plates, ashets, vegetable dishes, soup plates, pudding bowls. It was decided that these should not be specially manufactured for the Poorhouse as the increased number would make this too expensive. Instead, a two stripe pattern set was bought, without the crest, again in the red-striped and blue-striped versions. This set was manufactured by at least two different manufacturers, probably both different from the two that had gone before.
As a corollary to this chronology, changes in serving arrangements could be seen. Up to 1891 the food would have been served out before the paupers entered the dining hall, but the presence of the ashets and vegetable dishes from 1891 onwards shows that food was being dished out within small groups at the table, probably by the paupers themselves. This raises questions as to how the quantities of food that each pauper received could be monitored effectively under this system. Was the responsibility for adequate nourishment transferred to the paupers themselves?
The establishment of this chronology for the crockery demonstrates very clearly the changing attitudes towards paupers at Craiglockhart Poorhouse over time. It is not clear whether the change in attitude originates from the governor or from changes in the dietary regulations put forward by the Board of Supervision. The diets in use at Craiglockhart could have all been eaten out of a soup bowl with a soup spoon, however, so it is more likely that the governor was responsible for the changes in the crockery.
The red-striped and blue-striped sets of crockery were shown to have been present over the entire period from the opening of Craiglockhart Poorhouse to the end of the period of use for the midden. It was suggested, based on evidence from diets in English workhouses in the 1880s-90s that the two colours could have functioned at an earlier time as a quick way of telling apart a man's meal from a woman's. The differences in the quantities of food given to the two sexes were sufficiently small so as to make them difficult to detect by eye. It was not possible to tell, due to insufficient evidence, whether or not the red-striped and blue-striped sets of crockery were used one for each sex at Craiglockhart, or whether the colours persisted harking back to their earlier functional use, with the use by then entirely disregarded.
Finally, it was suggested that the plain white crockery was used for the sick in the infirmary wing of the poorhouse, and for the children. This was based mainly on the observation that these groups would be more likely not to eat in the main dining hall. They could then be given the privilege of eating from crockery without the stigma of it being marked as belonging to the poorhouse. The much greater proportion of white bowls to white plates compared with the red-striped and blue-striped equivalent also led to the conclusion that the white crockery was for people with even more liquid diets. These people are the children and the sick in the infirmary wing.
This collection of pottery from the midden at Craiglockhart is so far unique. It does not matter if the artifacts come from a time when there are good written records, having artifacts makes the past much more accessible to everyone. This area of our recent past has been neglected for too long. I hope this is just the beginning of a lot more research to come.
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