A ring and hook thought to be more than 500 years old were found in Shropshire, an inquest heard. An expert from the British Museum said the two items found in Bridgnorth, which would have been owned by “high-status people”, showed the wealth of some folk in the area hundreds of years ago. Both the ring and hook were declared as treasure at an inquest held in Shirehall. Speaking after the inquest, Peter Reavill, finds liaison officer for British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, said: “Although not found together, these two very fine late Tudor or Stuart artefacts show the material wealth of some residents of the Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth area.
Both finds would both have been owned by high-status people who would display their money through the objects they owned and displayed around their person. The first item, a gilded, silver dress hook or hat hook, was found on November 30 last year. The hook is 12.9 millimetres in length, with a head diameter of 12.8 mm and a weight of two grams. Mr Reavill said – The Tudor dress hook or hat hook is an exceptionally fine example – functionally it would have held swags of cloth together but it’s shape and form show considerable workmanship. The gold ring was found on March 8 and while it was originally circular in shape, it is now sub circular because of soil pressure. Inside, the ring has the inscription “MY HART IS YOVRES” and weighs 1.4g.