Cloth Seal, Cloth Seal, 1657, Norwich Weavers' Company Seal, Image & Found by Derfel.
Found on the Thames foreshore, 16mm.
NOR / WIC / H // (PR) / (B)HDR / 16.57 / (B)CSP / KL .
A Norwich cloth seal with the letters in a well known style:- NOR / WIC / H on one side and the other side shows the surname initial of the 12 wardens of Norwich & Norfolk for that particular year, PR / BHDR / 16.57 / BC(SP*) / KL.
It is possible to identify the missing letters from the Norwich Mayor's Court Book held at the Norfolk Record office under reference: NCR Case 16a/24,(fol. 68v). With the help of a transcription found in Appendix 6a, Provenanced Leaden Seals, Geoffrey Egan, Department of Medieval Archaeology, University College,University of London, 1987, for that year the Norwich wardens were - Jhn Pleasance, Chris Richer, Walter Barkham, Willm Hardingham, Jehosephat Davy, Samuel Rawling and the Norfolk wardens were - Robt Beare, Thos Church, Anth Edwards, John Mercer, John Knight, Chris Lym.
P.188 of the same reference also refers to a similar discrepancy as occurs on this seal, "For 1657 (the first year from which a warden list survives *) is: [seal]287 .. R/.. HDR/16.57/.. CSP/I... // (missing).
* cf. PRBHDR, BCEMKL - the surname initials from the list (Appendix 6A). The initials for Norfolk (the last six) are among the very few where the date is certain and correspondence is not exact. The reason for the discrepancy is not understood."
Also see the 'Worsted Reformed' seals that were attached to the other end of these cloths.
