The Field Detectives

16^th January 2025- The Field detectives – Richard Pincott & Catherine

Richard started by saying "25 years’ time travel in 45 minutes, quite a challenge!" Only 3 of them when they started, but now 21, only 8 of which use ‘metal detecting’, more of a ‘historic landscape investigation team’, who have collaborated with landowners on a self-funded basis. He then identified the themes of their work:

• Every field tells a story
• You don’t always find what you set out to look for!
• Often neglected musket balls
• What is ‘treasure’?                                                                                                                        

Richard then took us through an amazing list of Investigations:                                              

1999 – Owls Nest field, Keyworth- lost wedding ring, mother’s name badge                        

2000 – Samworth Farms – Romano British artefacts; A46 trackway, Cotgrave, Cropwell Butler St Nicholas Field Chapel.  The campsite of Henry VII en-route to the Battle of Stoke (1487). Richard talked about the importance of recording the finds’ location of the often-neglected lead musket balls. An ongoing collaboration with the National Armouries Museum and the National Civil War Centre.                                                                                                       

Plumtree – King George V Chestnut Farm Coronation field (1911)                                            

 2016/17 The Lost church of St. Ethelburga. A further focus on ancient trackways; Ermine Street, the Fosse way and the hypothesised route to Margidunum (Bingham).  At Goadby Marwood near Melton, while searching for an ancient trackway, they found the wreckage of a pilot crash, discovered to be George Laurence Bazett Hull, from South Africa, lost in a Mosquito (the wooden wonder)                                                     

Canal Farm, Harby -Jim’s mystery building#; BABS (Beam Approved Beacon System)                     

Mr Henry Cressey, when jumping from a plane displaced his head camera, which after 4 years in the ground was found by the field Detectives, with video evidence.                       

2020 saw the COVID ‘stay at home’ situation, so Catherine started writing, and Sean started singing, but that peaceful interlude didn’t last long; a mystery with an RAF connection emerged, when at Eaton (Leic.) using their 20 m. grids (Social distancing) they found some Perspex(windscreen). They continued and found an engine identification plate featuring a serial number.  Then a treasure Trove story where they found a ring, which cost them more than it was worth!

Poo enters the story with the investigations of the Grantham canal and the ‘Night Soil’ transported from the city. A number of the artefacts are now to be found in the National Poo Museum on the Isle of Wight! But also starting with a fascination with the many ‘tailor’s buttons’ they discovered, indicating the manufacturing in Nottingham during the late 19^th century. Then the unusual balls with pointed hats. Garth’s gold ring (Frederick Garth Doubleday. The GI Dog tag (James Troy Lockhart), leading to family connections.  Now they are looking for Stathern Hall.

As for as Richard and Catherine are concerned the ‘treasures’ are the people involved and the stories that follow.

A number of questions followed which Richard easily fielded and Bill congratulated Richard on his brilliant preparations and presentation, appreciating the amount of work invested and how he had enjoyed it asking for a warm round of applause from the members, who had been captured by the fascinating finds!                                AR