Gold Mourning Ring from the 17th Century Found
Average reading time — 2 minutes
In the United Kingdom, a treasure hunter with a metal detector discovered an old piece of yellow-metal jewelry: a mourning ring. Rings of this kind were in great demand between roughly 1650 and 1750. They were made for the relatives and friends of a deceased person, so that the people closest to them could wear the jewel in their memory. The ring was scratched and slightly bent, but it still carried the engraved letters "Sr MG KT" and the date "28 October 90".
Who did the ring commemorate?
After a detailed examination, researchers were able to link the jewel to a 17th-century gentleman, Sir Mark Guyon, the son of a prosperous cloth merchant from Coggeshall in Essex. Sir Mark held the important posts of High Sheriff of Essex in 1675 and Justice of the Peace in 1678. He died in 1690 and was buried in the church of St Peter ad Vincula in Coggeshall. The ring is believed to have belonged to one of his close relatives or friends.
An unexpected second discovery
The gold find led to another surprise. In the county record office, researchers located a recipe book that belonged to Sir Mark's wife, Abigail Abdy. Besides old cooking recipes, the unique manuscript describes how to prepare household medicines.
The book helps to reveal details of the family's everyday life. It contains recipes for macaroons and other sweets, and explains how to make "cordial water", which was used against plague and smallpox. People at the time believed the remedy could defeat the terrible diseases of the age — although its effectiveness is doubtful: the author of the recipe book herself died of plague at the age of 35.
A treasure for the museum
Experts have officially recognised the 17th-century gold ring as treasure. The Braintree Museum has shown great interest in acquiring the artifact, with the aim of keeping the mourning ring and the recipe book together for future generations and telling visitors the story of Sir Mark Guyon and the customs of his time.
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