Over 90% of excavated Medieval pottery around the Castle site in Great Torrington is unglazed North Devon Ware. This includes dishes, cups, bowls, cooking pots, platters and jugs.
These unglazed coursewares date to c.1200- 1500. They consist of 18% coarseware, 33% gravel free, and 49% gravel tempered.
These include heavy-duty Devon coarsewares, kitchen utensils and cookware.
There are also finer earthenware bowls that were internally glazed for liquids, such as dairy products and stew. Everyday dishes for serving food in the home were important!
Gravel-free North Devon wares were used for household storage of dry goods or oils.
Serving platters were used for entertaining!
Glazed scraffito plates imitated foreign goods but were North Devon made, and were often traded with America.
Fine, gravel free terracotta vessels were also used for drinking and alcohol storage.
Ridge tiles provided a water proof sealant to the top of a slate roof from the 1200s onwards in Devon – some were glazed in bright colours or decorated.
Some roofs were made of kiln-baked, hand made clay tiles, which interlocked.
Many examples of Medieval "Torrington" relief moulded tiles are visible at the Church of St Mary and St Gregory, Frithelstock Devon. These include floor tile patterns of the fleur-de-lis, wheel of fortune and flowers/foliage.
Freshly excavated muddy tile.
Cleaned broken medieval tile showing fragment of fleur-de-lis design.
Other ceramics commonly found are fragments of clay pipes for smoking.
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