Germander Speedwell's Clay Pipe Rescues

Watch these highlights from Germander Speedwell's clay pipe rescue expeditions, as these precious miniature moulded 'smoking sculptures' are saved from ignominy in the Thames mud. 

Clay tobacco pipes were disposable; millions were used and thrown away, many of them into London's Thames. Most are plain in design, but some are decorated, and the variety of designs is seemingly infinite. The earliest clay pipes in Britain date from around 1580; they were widely used for centuries until their decline in the early 1900s when superseded by cigarettes. 

All salvaged pipes are given sanctuary in the Speedwell Asylum for Retired Pipes, and the most distinguished have their portraits taken for viewing here: www.germanderspeedwell.org.uk/claypipecollection

Please note that a permit is needed to search the Thames foreshore - info here: www.pla.co.uk/thames-foreshore-permits, and it has taken years of experience to learn to safely locate and resuscitate clay pipes in distress.