School for Young Ladies

14/07/1855

Information

The following notice appeared in the Peterborough Advertiser:

The MISSES STRICKLAND RESPECTFULLY inform their Friends and the Public that they intend opening a School after the Midsummer Vacation, for the instruction of young Ladies. With hopeful confidence they solicit a share of public patronage, assuring their friends that every effort will be used for advancement of the pupils entrusted to their charge. The First Quarter will commence on Monday July 16th 1855. TERMS - Young Ladies are Boarded and Instructed in Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, History etc., at £18 18s per annum. Day pupils: 10s 6d per quarter. Laundress: Two Guineas per annum. A Quarter's Notice previous to the removal of a young lady. Each young lady to be provided with a pair of sheets, a fork and spoon, which will be returned on their leaving. 34 Cowgate Street, Peterborough.

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

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Sennianus Fired a Mortarium

175-199

Information

A fabulous fragment of Roman pottery was discovered in Water Newton. It is a piece of a mortarium, which is kitchen ware used for grinding and pounding food. This piece is remarkable because of the painted text near the rim of the pottery.

The text was likely to have been painted by the potter who made the pot. His name was Sennianus and he lived in Durobrivae. We know this because he painted 'Sennianus Durobrivis Urit', which is Latin for 'Sennianus of Durobrivae fired this.' This is a very valuable piece of pottery because there are very few references to the name Durobrivae. This is the only British example of the name Sennianus, but a German funerary stela also bares the name. The stone object was discovered in Cologne in 1650, is mid third century, and can be seen in the link provided.

The height of the pottery making industry at Durobriave was in the late 2nd century (175-199AD). Pottery created around Durobrivae is known as Nene Valley Ware. The most common type of Nene Valley Ware is colour-coated ware, which has distinctive white decoration on a black coloured pot. However, the mortarium that Sennianus created was a light brown colour. It was designed to be used in the kitchen, so did not require elaborate decoration.