A Short History of Clay Tobacco Pipes
My interest in pipes began as a family shared hobby with siblings when much younger. Days out often involved exploring the villages and countryside learning about nature and local history; and where ever there was "old soil" we often found fragments of these broken pipes as well as pottery.
Pottery and glass finds from ploughed land close to towns and villages. Date: 1630-1860
Please note this page is being drastically updated (March 2008) and so text will be limited for a while.
The main discovery of smoking tobacco was first recorded by European explorers to the 'New World' in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st. Famous names such as Sir Walter Raleigh spring to mind and it was these early explorers who first indulged in the smoking culture of native American Indians there and so the first pipes were brought back to England in the period of about 1570. Prior to this tobacco smoking was carried out in the ancient tribes as an important social and religious culture which had been passed down for thousands of years. Small amounts had also been brought across to Europe as a medicinal herb in earlier decades.
The first tobacco pipes smoked in England had an extremely small clay bowl and the amount of tobacco used was barely a pinch. Only the rich could afford to indulge in this novelty which was condemned especially by the religious leaders of that time.
At first the tobacco plant was brought back to England and grown successfully as a large crop, however, King James I was not a supporter of the habit and ordered the fields to be destroyed in an attempt to ban smoking. This created a lot of public interest and smoking became even more popular as a result! In the end he decided to allow tobacco to be imported with a tax instead of being grown in the country.
Men, women and children smoked tobacco and were also involved in the production of clay pipes either as a main trade or to suppliment their income. Hundreds of makers all over the country produced millions of pipes which were cheap, expendable and sometimes even given away free at the local tavern. It was often the case after one use that a pipe was tossed away in the nearest convenient place in the same manner as litter is today. This is why the remains of clay pipes often turn up in so many places.
Re-enactment of a 1700 period Welsh Poet smoking a long pipe.
You can see pipes I have made in my studio here...
Just after the turn of this new millennium the continuing enthusiasm of cigarette smoking and the opposing disgust of many who seek a healthier lifestyle/working environment are very familiar to all of us in our modern society.
Those wishing to delve deeper into the "Art & Archaeology of Clay Tobacco Pipes" will find my CD ROM useful.
Just follow the link from the index page.