Whenever I walk around the Arcade, I am always surprised at how many bottles can be found for sale. Most of these are over one hundred years old and there is a good chance that they have been found by people looking for links with the past.
I was in London a few days ago and found myself by the Thames at low tide and noticed a few rather old looking bottles in the mud. Obviously I did not attempt to salvage them as I was not dressed for mudlarking which seems to have made something of a comeback recently.
There are a couple of websites where enthusiasts discuss their finds and believe me, some of these are worth getting dirty for. But this is a subject for another article as I would like to concentrate on what is known as sea glass.
I had always been aware of sea glass and its decorative uses, but had only really begun to discover it since moving to this area.
On the face of it, sea glass does not sound that exotic as it sounds like the broken bottles that one sadly finds on popular beaches. This is strangely enough, the beginning of a process which can take decades to really qualify as real sea glass.
Here in Deal, I cannot say that I find much sea glass on the beach, maybe one or two pieces a year and that gives something of a clue as Deal had an economy more dependent on fishing (and smuggling one might add) whereas, a town like Folkestone had a glassworks near the beach.
Unlike today, all waste tended to go into the sea (builders waste, unwanted household items to name but two) and these tended to break down over time (that said, I sometimesfind pieces of crockery and terracotta pots here and there).
But glass was a slightly different animal as the glassworks here in Folkestone used to dispose of waste glass and slag, (a by-product of glass making) mainly in Victorian times in the sea.
Folkestone was not the only town that did this as it was a common practice all along the coast.
The glass had many origins such as broken bottles, drinking glasses, window panes and many other related items. This glass waste was usually either broken by the fall or was later broken up by the sea.
Over a considerable number of yearsand after being tumbled constantly by the sea, the waste glass became what is now known as sea glass. Its shape and texture changes in a way that is pleasing to the eye as it becomes frosted and opaque due to a chemical reaction with the sea. This frosting is also a clue to its age, as the more frosted and opaque the piece is, the older it is.
Obviously, sea glass is very popular when designing or creating jewellery as it comes in a variety of colours and glass is a very easy medium to work with.
I frequently see really exquisite pieces of sea glass jewellery when visiting local craft fairs and other events.
It is very likely that on your last visit to the Arcade, you would have seen sea glass jewellery or the sea glass beads that were frequently used as lamp decorations.
That said, I cannot say that I have seen much loose sea glass in the Arcade apart from on odd occasions when pieces had been collected in jars or boxes.
Another member of the sea glass family are bottle stoppers (which date back to around 1500 BC) and were mostly made of glass before the metal and plastic tops came into use.
Although most were utilitarian and used with everyday objects such as sauce and beer bottles, some were more decorative for use with perfume bottles and other feminine items.
Like any other glass that enters the sea, these stoppers become frosted but for some reason they tend to retain their original shape. I have yet to find one, but have seen examples and like the antique bottles, they are small pieces of social history.
Another type of glass that shows up occasionally is Bonfire Glass which is likely to have originated from beach bonfires or, maybe as the result of wartime explosions during the last war (one mustremember that this part of Kent was known as Hellfire Corner due to it being so close to France).
Bonfire glass differs from sea glass in many ways as it has a melted look and are normally larger pieces of glass fused with other colours. The glass often has air bubbles within which were created from the heat of the fire.
I actually found a piece of Bonfire glass recently along with pieces of Pirate Glass (which are less common) and I am slowly building a small collection.
Caron has recently purchased a couple of sea glass necklaces which are both rather lovely and original.
As I do not wear jewellery, I just collect specimens on local beaches especially in Folkestone near the site of the old glassworks.
If it is of interest to you, then a good rule of thumb is to know the industrial history of any coastal area but that said, I have found some of my pieces in Margate which can hardly be called industrial and for the most part is what it is today, a seaside resort.
In a way this mystifies me as it is usually quite easy to spot sea glass in the sand and I believe that its presence could be something to do with the tidal patterns in Margate.
Another big bonus of looking for sea glass is that you can do your bit for the environment by picking up the rubbish that tends to accumulate on beaches and rocks. A rather sad commentary is that for every piece of sea glass I find, I usually fill a carrier bag up with rubbish which I dispose of in the proper manner.
In fact, when I was in Margate recently, Caron and I found more broken glass than sea glass which I mentioned in passing to the local council as it was a poor show.
You will find many examples of glass (not just sea glass) in the Arcade as it has too many uses to name and one of the best things about any type of glass is that it interacts well with the light, whether artificial or natural.
I collect sea glass as you never know what you are going to find and it is totally free and really, it is a pastime for all seasons (I tend to find some fine examples after storms). It is like fossil hunting as once collected it is reasonably easy to catalogue and store.
As you can guess, I tend to collect locally and it can be a little frustrating because beaches change after every tide.
My tip for what it is worth, is to just keep your eyes peeled as you tend to find sea glass when you are not looking for it. Either that, or pop along to Hungerford on Sea and find out what the Arcade has to offer.
I was in London a few days ago and found myself by the Thames at low tide and noticed a few rather old looking bottles in the mud. Obviously I did not attempt to salvage them as I was not dressed for mudlarking which seems to have made something of a comeback recently.
I had always been aware of sea glass and its decorative uses, but had only really begun to discover it since moving to this area.
Over a considerable number of years and after being tumbled constantly by the sea, the waste glass became what is now known as sea glass. Its shape and texture changes in a way that is pleasing to the eye as it becomes frosted and opaque due to a chemical reaction with the sea. This frosting is also a clue to its age, as the more frosted and opaque the piece is, the older it is.
Caron has recently purchased a couple of sea glass necklaces which are both rather lovely and original.
In a way this mystifies me as it is usually quite easy to spot sea glass in the sand and I believe that its presence could be something to do with the tidal patterns in Margate.