A TEAPOT dating back from the early 1900s is one of the historic finds uncovered by builders constructing the replacement to the Sons of Rest pavilion in Gheluvelt Park.
Prior to Gheluvelt Park’s opening in 1922, part of the site was used to deposit domestic refuse. A number of interesting finds, including several intact bottles and pieces of china, were made by contractors as they prepared to lay foundations for the new pavilion.
Abbey and Lyndon employee Damon Auld unearthed a near intact teapot. Experts at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent have confirmed that this was a product of William Adams and Sons, an dates from between 1903 and 1936.
The teapot features the wording ‘W T Martin – GWR – Corwen’. It was almost certainly ordered by a Dudley caterer who in 1903 took over the running of the refreshment room on the Great Western Railway’s line to Corwen – a picturesque town in North Wales.
City council chiefs have made contact with the heritage line Llangollen Railway, which is building a new terminus at Corwen, with a view to repatriating the find to its original location.
“How the teapot survived for almost a century underground and is still intact today, remains a mystery,” said the
Deputy Mayor of Worcester, Coun Allah Ditta, who inspected the pavilion site earlier this week.
“It’s been impressive to see how the new pavilion is shaping up; it is going to be a really useful facility for the whole community to use throughout the year.”
When the pavilion opens in mid-July, visitors will be able to buy take-away hot food, snacks and drinks and make use of five individual unisex toilets, including a disabled toilet and baby-changing facilities.
The building also includes a community room with an adjoining kitchen.
