The Henry Clegg Knife I found
In April this year I wrote a metal detecting story on how I found a old knife made by Henry Clegg – Click to see story.
Recently I received an email from Darryl in England who is a relative of Henry Clegg and is doing some family history on the Clegg Family in England and he gave me some great informtion about Henry Clegg.
Henry Clegg & Sons was a smallish manufacturer as were most of the Sheffield manufacturers. Many of these were family concerns as was Cleggs. Henry was born in 1818 and called himself a “table knife cutler” from 1841 onwards. Whether he was self employed or worked for someone else is unknown. He called himself a “table knife manufaturer” in 1881 employing “30 men and 2 girls” (one of these girls was his daughter, Florence and one of the men was his son John). The name Clegg has been associated with making cultlery in Sheffield from as early as 1692.
Your knife bears the engraving VR which means it was made between 1837 and 1901 – Queen Victoria’s reign. Henry’s second son John was born in 1847 so the name Henry Clegg and Sons would not apply before this date.
Henry lived at modest addresses until the 1860s when he moved “upmarket” so I would estimate that your knife was made in the latter part of the 19th century.
The handle of your knife looks the same length as the blade in your photo. With this and the sharp angle of the blad it might have been a larger knife (carver etc) and ground down in later years for another use.
I don’t know if Henry Clegg was large enough to export his goods. It’s most likely that the knife was taked to Oz by a Brit who emigrated there.
Cleggs worked from several factories at different times. I’ve attached a photo of one of the later ones. Several similar manufacturers shared the premises. Joseph Rogers occupoed the factory at the time of the photo. The factory is in the foreground just behind the two buses.
Henry Clegg Tombstone & Gravesite
Henry Clegg - Cuter Factory
Thanks for the great info Darryl!
Hidden Treasures Under a House
Under House Metal Detecting Finds
Well not exactly hidden treasure, but I found some nice stuff yesterday at an old house which has no floorboards (eaten away by termites)
I spent around 6 hours detecting yesterday, I went for a long drive as I usually do and love to do, looking for places to go metal detecting and I went to a few old homesteads around the district.
The first one I went to was just basically a very old iron shack, I had no luck there, and did not hang around for long, because the ground was like concrete and impossible to get the shovel in, usually I carry a geologist pick ax, but I keep on forgetting to take with me, as I do with my metal detecting pouch, so at the end of the day my pockets are full of sand.
The Australian Iron Shack
After leaving the old iron shack, I headed East of town to a place where I have been previously hunting for old Australian bottles, feeling alot more confident and excited.
This old place had two old abandoned houses, the first place was very old for Australian standards, probably late 19th Century, it is a mud brick home, very weathered and very damaged by termites and the elements of weather.
The Australian Mud Brick House
Once again that old place had ground like concrete, so I did not really try much detecting, but around 200 metres away was the next old house…. this is the house which gave up some of its hidden treasures.
The house looked pretty good on the outside, but on the inside it was just ball walls, no floorboards due to termites, and as soon as I noticed it had no floorboards, thats when I started feeling a little excited, knowing that there was a good chance to find things that had either been buried under the floorboards, or to find things that may have fallen between the floorboards.
No Floorboards - Treasure Hunters Dream
Mystery Coin in the Sift
So I started detecting and it did not take long to get a strong signal, the soil was beautiful and soft so I had no trouble digging soil into my sift. What I found was a coin of some type which I had never found before, because it was bigger than all the previous Australian Pre-Decimal Coins I had found before, but there was no way I could identify it because it had a big shell of corrosion surrounding it.
I thought the coin would be well and truly damaged from the corrosion, that is only if it was a copper coin, but was it copper?
I leave that surprise to a post tomorrow, because I am still impatiently cleaning this unknown find… so please come back tomorrow and you’ll see my surprise find … (nothing special, but I have never seen one before)
The Mystery Coin Found Under Floorboards
The Mystery Coin above will be revealed on the site soon!
Anyhow, besides that item, this is what I found under the floorboards and around the house:
- 1912 Australian Half Penny
- 1922 Australian Half Penny
- 1925 Australian Half Penny
- 1939 Australian Six Pence
- 1942 Australian Three Pence
The Third House
I did find some other coins, six pence and three pence, but due to my carelessness, I had them in my top pocket and they must have fallen out when I was digging or bending over, but will find them on my return hopefully!
I found other stuff at the house as follows:
- Silver Tea Spoon
- 2 Silver Bangles / Bracelets
- Buttons
- Some Bottles and Jars
- Plenty of Junk!
Will be heading back to that place in the very near future!
Then finally on the way home, I past another old house, and thought, bugger it, I will test my luck there as well!
And I found some more coins.
- 1948 Australian Shilling
- 1950 Australian Shilling
- 1951 Australian Three Pence
- numerous 1 and 2 cent coins
The Last House for the Day!
Old Toys, Badges, Coins and Bullet Holes
A Penny with a bullet hole through it!
Over the last couple of days I have been doing some treasure hunting at yet another old house, just outside of town, but all that remained of this house was just the concrete slab. I believe that this house probably had something to do with the Railway, possibly a Station Masters house, no sure, but it is directly opposite the Railway Line in Dumbleyung.
Man in a Old Toy Tractor
I found a few things of interest to myself as follows:
- A Old Toy Man in a Tractor
- Toy Ranger Pistol
- AMF button with KC & “no borders” map – WW2
- Brass Coat Hook
- Silver Fork
- Stainless Steel Fork
- Dumbleyung Football Club Badge dated 1969
- Australian Railway Badge?
- 1943 Australian Penny
- 1916 Australian Half Penny
- 1922 Australian Penny
- A Penny with a bullet hole through it!
Dumbleyung Football Club Badge dated 1969
Hidden Stash Found Metal Detecting!
My Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector finds a hidden coin stash?
Today I went back to the old house where I found the 1941 East Africa Shilling a few days ago, with the aim of hopefully finding some more old coins and other exciting finds. So as usual I was excited and confident as I always am when I go metal detecting.
It did not take long for my heart to start pumping with adrenelin when I came across this cylindrical object in the hard soil, it took me ages to get to it, and as soon as I saw that it was a “jar like” object, I got really excited thinking that finally I have found my first ever stash of hidden coins, what some boy may have buried many years ago.
As soon as I saw it, I took a photo of it, and then gently dug around it, you can see where my little shovel had scuffed it a few times, putting small dings on it… that was when I dug to hard with the shovel, because the soil was rock hard.
The Stash of Money - No Dirt!
Tools of the Metal Detecting Trade - Small Shovel - Sieve or Sifter - Metal Detector
Anyhow, I dug it out, and pulled it away from it’s little hideaway, and tipped it upside down, shaking it, waiting for the coins or treasure to fall out …. all what was in it, was dirt! So I was a bit disappointed about that, but nethertheless, it was very exciting to find the enamel tin buried upright, and quite unusual. So sorry to disappoint you, there was no hidden stash.
Today's Metal Detecting Finds - Coins etc
But I did have a great metal detecting day, finding quiet a few more old coins and other unusual items around the house as follows:
E-Trac Metal Detector and a found coin - Australian Penny
Australian Pennys
- 1964 Australian Penny
- 1948 Australian Penny
- 1951 Australian Penny
- 1942 Australian Penny
- 1943 Australian Penny
Australian Half Pennys
Todays other Metal Detecting finds
I also found some other interesting things … where I was Metal Detecting, the place is on a hill with a beautiful view, over looking the farm plains below and there is a beautiful big old shady tree near the house, so I decided to do some metal detecting under the tree.
It is one of those trees that you could build a Tree-House in, and has standing room below the branches, with views to the plains below also, and I found a few coins there, as well as the Stokes Sugar Serving Spoon as pictured below. And also I found the ladies Powder Mirrow under the tree also.
So I could just imagine that no doubt, people would have had beautiful summer and spring picnics under the tree and thats how they probably lost the stuff below.
I also noticed quite a few bones buried under the tree, thats where the dog tag comes into play, I found the dog licence tag below just under the surface of the soil, so no doubt there was probably a loving farm dog buried under that tree 50 years ago. I did not find a skull or anything, just plenty of bones just below the surface. And I buried them again once I had finished.
That beautiful tree must have plenty of stories to tell, picnics, sweathearts, kids playing, all the beautiful things that come with life.
Beautiful View from the Old House
Metal Detecting Find - Copper Stones Sugar Serving Spoon - Made in Australia
Metal Detecting Find - Road Board of Dumbleyung - No 44 - Dog Registration Licence Tag - 1953 to 1954
Metal Detecting Find Found Under Tree - Ladies Powder Mirror - With Powder Still In It!
I had a great day today, as you can see above, I love metal detecting, it is one of the best things I have ever done. It is so good for the soul, it keeps you fit, your mind active, and the rewards as you can see from my site and wonderful. As soon as I start Metal Detecting, all my worries about life just go away.
I spent six hours detecting today, really enjoyed my day!
It’s taken me three hours to write this Blog … why, because my laptop is old … I need a New Laptop Computer
The Old Australian House - Remants of a past Era!
1941 East Africa Shilling Found
1941 East Africa Shilling
I had another great detecting day today! I usually try and plan my day ahead so I can get a few hours in detecting to relieve my metal detecting addiction, so I get all my jobs done around the house and by around 2pm I am ready to head off detecting.
I am not working at the moment, I am having a planned long holiday, I have not worked for over a year, since leaving the Navy and it has been pretty good. I am doing all the things I have wanted to do for a long time and I am really enjoying my freedom at the moment. Thats why I am posting on this blog everyday about the stuff I am finding, because some of you must wonder how I find the time to go out detecting every day.
So today I went for a long drive on the isolated gravel roads around my district in search for good detecting places, hoping to find old abandoned homesteads, did not come across any, so on the way home I ended going to a couple of places that I had known about previously and thought I’d give the detector a few hundred swings!
The first place is one of my favourite old houses in the district, a beautiful old house, probably around a hundred or so years old. I really love this place, the house is beautiful with so much potential to renovate, I just love the long open verandah and I really love the beautiful Australiana style tin roof.
Today's Metal Detecting Spot 1 - Beautiful Old Australian Homestead
I found a couple of interest things worth keeping at this place as follows:
- 1955 Australian Penny
- 1948 Australian Penny
- Australian 1 cent coin
- Refill Only Mobile Oil Badge off a fuel tin with the Mobile Red Horse.
- Warranted Superior Saw Button
- Silver Teaspoon
- and the usual shotgun cartridges and bullet shells
Warranted Superior Saw Button
Warranted Superior medallions are found on secondary lines manufactured by Disston and other major saw makers with other brand names on the etch. Some smaller 19th century saw makers may have bought sawnuts and medallions from the bigger factories.
After 1900 or so the “small guys” were actually secondary lines of the “big guys.” The small companies were bought up by bigger ones and some of their products were continued for a time. Harvey Peace is one example. Most American saws from the 20th century, regardless of brand name, were made in the works of Disston, Atkins, Bishop, or Simonds.
In the case of Disston, their replacement medallions were stamped Warranted Superior rather than “Disston.” I would speculate their rationale was they didn’t want their name on lesser-quality saws. Brand identity and loyalty in the U.S. was much stronger in the first half of the 20th century than it is today. Source: http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/medallionpage.html
The next old place I went to is where I found quite a few old Australian coins, including an usual but thrilling find of a East African Silver 1 Shilling coin using my Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector.
I have had this minelab detector for around 8 months now and I am finally getting the hang of it, pre programing it for certain coins and learning how to discriminate properly. I learnt a few good e-trac metal detector tips tonight via watching youtube.com videos, so youtube.com is a great resource for learning how to use your metal detector.
The second old place is basically just old ruins of an old homestead, very old and a beautiful spot on top of a hill with views to die for
Today's Metal Detecting Spot 2 - Old Australian Homestead Ruins
Anyhow, here is what I found at the second old house:
- 1943 Australian Penny
- 1953 Australian Penny
- 1910 Silver Australian three pence
- 1941 Silver East Africa Shilling
- and the usual shotgun cartridges and bullet shells
Mobil Flying Red Horse Oil Tin Badge
1941 East Africa Shilling - Reverse Side
Another great days metal detecting
Old Shack Finds
Remnants of the Shack
The last couple of days I have been doing a bit of Metal Detecting around an old shack near my town. As far as I am aware the shack was the home of a family who settled in the region in 1906.
I found plenty of coins there, but no old coins, just alot of 1 and 2 cent coins and a couple of 10 cent pieces, in a place where I believe may have been a childs sand pit, where they would play.
Unfortunately I have not found no old coins, no pennys, no three or six pence coins, so that is a bit disappointing, as I was sure I would find some older coins.
I did however find a couple of interesting little nick nacks.
brass shoe ashtray "made in India"
little badge "Minehead"
Sugar serving spoon
Numerous Shotgun cartridges and bullets
1 and 2 cent coins
Off to the next place ….
Henry Clegg & Sons – Cutlers – Sheffield
Henry Clegg & Sons - Cutler - Sheffield
Well the old ghost town near my town never fails to reveal its hidden treasures to me. Everytime I go out there, I always come back with something interesting!
Today I went out around 4pm, with a couple hours of daylight remaining, I parked my old Holden Ute at the usual spot on the side of a dusty gravel road, and unpacked my Metal Detecting gear, my detector, small shovel and trusty old sieve and off I went on a treausre hunt.
Where the old town used to exist, is quite small, around 5 acres I would estimate, it’s hard going, because the ground is littered with all kinds of metal buried just below the surface of the ground, metal such as lead, brass, copper, aluminum, steel, iron.
So if you are a metal detectorist, as you would know, it can be quite annoying swinging the coil and the headphones are constantly ringing high and low tones. Aluminum and Copper is the worst, it gives the same tone on my detector than that of what the old coins do, so I find a fair bit of old aluminum and copper.
Anyway, I found this old knife today, it is a Henry Clegg & Sons knife, I really like it, and I think that the handle is made out of some kind of animal Horn or Deer Antler, the handle has a few holes in it and it definately looks like a type of horn or antler material.
As soon as I got home, I gave the blade a bit of a clean, as it had a bit of surface rust on it, when I saw the “Enry Clegg & Sons” on it, I did a search of Enry Clegg, then I worked out that the H had been worn away, so I then searched for Henry Clegg and no matter how hard I searched, I just could not find any information on Henry Clegg & Sons – Cutlers – Sheffield < besides that link, but nothing on a Henry Clegg being a Cutler.
Maybe someone can point me in the right direction as I would like to know how old the knife is that I found.
Henry Clegg & Sons - Cutler - Sheffield
