A Medieval child’s toy doll?

In 1910, workmen digging in the gardens at the school in Toynton All Saints discovered the remains of a Medieval pottery kiln, including fragments of 'wasters' (pots that were damaged during firing) and a small figurine.

The potteries at Toynton All Saints are now well known, particularly after excavations in the 1950s and 1960s uncovered some of the many kilns in use at the site, which was sending pottery in vast quantities across Lincolnshire and beyond.  In 1910, though, the scale of the site was not as well understood.  The clay figurine was such an unusual find that it was donated to the museum.

It is a crude item, effectively made by squeezing a small piece of clay into a rough rectangle with two indentations to represent a neck.  With the addition of blobs for eyes and a nose and a slightly sad looking mouth, the figurine was given a green glaze and put into the kiln.  Was this little figurine something made in a spare moment to keep a child entertained?  Was it something made by a child while learning the arts of being a potter?

Whatever the origin of this little item, it seems to tell of a single, lighthearted moment in time at a busy Medieval pottery centre.

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