There is evidence of a cottage industry of clay-pipe making in Rode between the years of c.1648 and 1796. 7 workshops were operating in 1700, usually at the rear of the pipe-makers’ cottages. At least 26 master pipe makers are recorded from this time. Two excavations of hundreds of clay pipes and some clay-pipemaking kilns have been made in the immediate area, including a kiln and clay pipe waste found in the 1980s in the garden of Barbara Wheeler who owned what is now known as Barbara’s Field. Pipes by Jeremiah Bayly, a well-known maker of the 17th-18th Century, were found in Barbara’s Field in the 1990s.
Above: A display case of clay tobacco pipes from 22 Bradford Road [these are believed to have been found in the garden of 22 Bradford Road and displayed in that house by a previous owner].