Kaolin pipe bowl showing Edward, crowned as Prince of Wales. The other side shows Princess Alexandra. The second bowl (right) bears the symbol of the Crossed Keys. Originally a papal emblem, it attached to many pubs, and this pipe may have been purchased at a pub of that name. Both discarded in London and dumped in Essex.
Prince of Wales Clay Pipe
Household
We found a cross keys pipe bowl while removing an old fireplace. The front of the fireplace and grate were no longer there, it had been boarded up. The pipe bowl was under the back fill that had been put in behind the grate,among wood shavings and general day to day building waste.
The house is in Letchworth, Herts and was built in 1904.
That’s a good way to date it. Bottles, pipes and tins left behind by builders can often be found under original floorboards and chimney places in old houses. Thanks for passing on the news of your discoveries.