Mudlarking is quite simply searching the muddy shores of rivers for valuable or interesting objects. Historically, it referred to people who scavenged in the River Thames in London for anything they could sell, but today, it has become a popular hobby for history enthusiasts who search for historical artefacts such as old coins, pottery, and jewellery along riverbanks, especially the Thames.
Modern mudlarkers often need permits to search in certain areas and must follow regulations to preserve historical sites.
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How to start mudlarking
Here are some tips to get you started on your own mudlarking adventures
You are not going to find anything if you are in a hurry or you look too hard. Set aside your larking time, clear your mind and relax. Larking is as much about the joy of the hunt as it is the thrill of the find. Even if you come home empty-handed, the time you have spent searching should be food enough for the soul.
2. Wherever you decide to lark, do your research first. Find out what you are most likely to spot on the beach you are visiting, when the farmer is ploughing his field and search old maps for river-ferry points, wharfs, old river stairs and bridges where people are more likely to have thrown or dropped objects into the water.
3. Visit beaches on cold, stormy days, as strong winds will whip up the best stuff. Some of the best beaches to search for flotsam are along the Atlantic coast, where the Gulf Stream washes all manner of objects ashore.
4. If you are mudlarking on beaches or the Thames foreshore, be aware of the tides. Check online tide tables and allow yourself about two hours either side of low tide to safely mudlark on the Thames.
5. Rivers, especially the Thames, sort by weight, so look for patches of metal where coins, pins and other small metal objects congregate. Invest in a pair of knee pads and get close to the mud for the tiniest objects.
6. Don’t pass a molehill without looking it over. They often range across land that has never been touched by the plough and you never know what they might dig up.
7. If you ever take up the floorboards in an old house, sift through the dust and rubble beneath them for the small things that slipped between the cracks and were ‘posted’ down by children.
8. Carefully scrape old wallpaper off the wall and frame it or cover a section with plexiglass as a feature of the room.
9. Don’t lark on or near a Scheduled Monument or in Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Always ask the landowner for permission and get a permit from the Port of London Authority if you want to mudlark on the tidal Thames. Report anything of archaeological significance to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and objects that might qualify as Treasure (over 300 years old and made of precious metal) to the coroner.
10. Finally, don’t hide it! Show other people what you’ve found and post it online using #larking. You’ll find a band of fellow larkers out there to share your simple joys with.
