Frank Coopers Mudlarked Sherd Pendant

Historical Information
Type: Stoneware Marmalade Jar Fragment
Fabric: Salt-glazed Stoneware
Date: Late 19th – Early 20th Century
Find Location: Essex, UK
Extra Information:
This sherd comes from a Frank Cooper’s Oxford Marmalade jar, one of the most famous names in British preserves.

Frank Cooper, a grocer in Oxford, first sold his wife Sarah-Jane’s thick-cut marmalade in 1874. The preserve quickly gained popularity, leading to the distinctive stoneware jars being produced in large quantities by potteries such as Maling of Newcastle.

The jars were salt-glazed or slip-coated and boldly printed in black with the Frank Cooper’s Oxford Marmalade name and royal warrants. Durable and inexpensive, they were used from the late Victorian period through to the 1920s, before glass jars became the norm.

Today, fragments of these iconic jars are commonly unearthed on Victorian rubbish dumps, providing a tangible link to Britain’s breakfast tables of the past.