Blantyre Project reader Gerry, his father and son were looking in the Calder for anything interesting and at the end of their search found this, on 2nd April 2018.
On closer inspection and cleaned up, it was a John Yates 1808-1840 silver sauce spoon!
I won’t pretend I know much about silverware, but this seems a wonderful find. That period, especially around Milheugh at the Calder saw great change when the former house was extended hugely and hundreds of years of ownership by the Miller family ended by passing to the Bannatynes, (although still related to the Miller family). The gardens were also massively extended, improved upon and landscaped.
The Bannatynes also held garden fetes in the early 20th Century to raise money for war efforts, and if I recall correctly, the people of Blantyre were invited down to the area and given bread rolls and soup, tea and cakes.
I wonder is this is a stray piece from those times!?
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,
Thomas Barrett Uri Geller must’ve dropped it.
Marian Maguire What a find, maybe could have a place in local museum.
Eleanor Connor Great find !