POST MEDIEVAL FINGER RING

1644

A complete copper alloy signet ring of post-medieval date. The finger ring has a sub-circular bezel with a crude engraving. The engraving is in the form of a heater-style shield within a border of dots around a linear score; the field of the shield has been divided into two, with one half depicting the outline of an Irish harp while the other field has indistinct scratches, possibly an unfinshed design attempting to imitate the flag of St George. The shoulders taper into the undecorated hoop.The imagery on the shield is interesting, as is the findspot and its association with the English Civil War; the border between Great Shefford and Leckhampstead may have been the location of a skirmish in c. AD 1644, and local legend says that Charles I stayed in Shefford before the Battle of Newbury in the same year. The design on the signet ring, in the form of the shield and the design, is reminiscent of Commonwealth pennies issued between AD 1649-1660. The Arms of the Commonwealth (cojoined shields with the arms of St George and the Irish harp) was in use between May 1649 and 1655, after which a new Arms of the Commonwealth encorporating the Scottish saltire was issued. This type of finger ring would be correct for the 17th century, so it may have belonged to someone of Parliamentarian or Commonwealth loyalty during this period.