Mudlarking the River Thames - A Rare Find and A Voyage that ends in Despair

Im sure everyone who is potty about mudlarking will agree that one of the magical things about this pastime is that a muddy old object which has been languishing in the mud for centuries can make history come alive. You just never know quite where it is going to lead you. A few months ago I was lucky enough to find a unique wax seal stamp marked with "Commodore Superintendent Woolwich". This wax seal stamp would have been used by the Commodore Superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard - a Senior Royal Navy Appointment which existed at Woolwich between 1828 and 1852. There were 5 of them. The last one was Captain Henry Eden. In all probability this would have been kept under lock and key and there would only have been one. What particularly excited me most was coming across correspondence between the Admiralty and the Commodore Superintendent's office, dated 1852 - in which the Admiralty wanted to check what colours the Erebus and Terror were painted when they were refitted out at Woolwich Dockyard in 1845 before they set off on their ill fated expedition to the Arctic lead by Sir John Frankin. This is because in 1851 two masts were spotted in the glaciers of Newfoundland and it was rather hoped that they could be the lost ships. Oliver Lang, the Master Shipwright of Woolwich who oversaw the refit of the ships & the Commodore Superintendent confirmed that the masts were painted white so it was not them. Despite several expeditions to try to solve the mystery of what happened to the ships it wasn't until 2014 when the Erebus was found and then 2016 the location of the Terror was also discovered. It wasn't until I found this little wax seal stamp that I discovered that the Erebus & Terror were refitted out with all the mod cons at Woolwich Dockyard including having their masts painted white. And I do wonder if this stamp sealed the letter which was sent to the Admiralty to confirm this. It certainly was special using this seal for the first time since probably Captain Henry Eden. My only regret is that I used pink sealing wax which was all I could get at short notice last week!! #mudlarking #mudlark #thamesfinds #erebusandterror #northwestpassage #woolwichdockyard