Cast Iron Gardeners Keys by Gardman

Product Information

The bit is always quite simple, often symmetrical, sometimes uncut. They are normally made from cast copper-alloy, but can occasionally be made from folded sheet. A selection of medieval ‘casket’ keys. Left, three keys with projecting stem-tips. Top to bottom: YORYM-BA5220, SUR-213DCA, YORYM-F9FB06. Centre, three keys with hollow tips to the stem. Top to bottom: SWYOR-1E38C8 (with lozenge bow), LIN-45359F, BUC-7FCC12. Right, cast and sheet-metal keys. Top to bottom: NLM-8E3BA4 (cast, with filemarks), DENO-273694 (of folded sheet metal). Most of the keys recorded on the PAS database are made from copper alloy, but most excavated keys (and probably most keys in use in the past) are made from iron. Keys of the two materials seem to be surprisingly different, and we should not assume that what holds for iron keys is also true for copper alloy keys. These handles can also be found on smaller keys, and in a variety of patterns, not all of which have the three lobes (see below for examples). There are also some quatrefoil or quadrilobate key fragments recorded on the PAS database as Roman, but as all complete examples are medieval, a Roman date is less likely to be correct. If you are unsure whether to go for a Roman or medieval date, look closely at the collar (if it survives) as Roman collars tend to have multiple transverse grooves and narrow ridges, and medieval collars tend to have a larger central rounded component. Roman keys which retain at least part of a copper-alloy openwork handle and an iron stem. Left above, WMID-4CCDD1 (with double bit). Left below, HAMP-B535F4. Right, HAMP-78F8D1. Note the distinctive collars. Some openwork handles have separately made iron stems and bits (see illustration above) but others, mainly smaller, have integral copper-alloy stems and bits (see illustration below). Note that in some cases (such as SF-491826 on the left below) the bit projects at right angles to the handle. Left: three Roman keys with openwork handles and integral copper-alloy stems and bits (left, SF-491826 ; right above, ESS-DB9F01; right below, DOR-038704). Right: a variety of shapes of openwork handles (left, WILT-8FF132 (above) and BERK-3259FE (below); centre, NMS-D6C4D9 (above) and NMS-F4BE10 (below); right, YORYM-FAA017. Crummy (1983, 84) suggests that type 5b (with ‘flat wards’) may be early Roman, whereas type 5a may be 3rd or 4th century in date.

Now that we understand a good bit about the different kinds of keys, it’s also helpful to have a little bit of familiarity with the different brands and manufacturers throughout history. In a public building for example, the janitor may need a key to every room to clean, but not every worker needed to access every single room. The janitor would have a master key that could open all the doors, while a worker may only have a key to his or her specific office. Those with openwork bows often also have suspension loops, normally short and tubular; these may have been used with rings, chains or swivels but, if so, none survive in place. One key, WMID-25B5B4, has a leather thong surviving, but it is wrapped around the bow and does not actually use the ‘suspension’ loop. Keys of London type VI with openwork bows and tubular suspension loops. Left, WMID-D7BDAC (above) and WAW-7347C6 (below). Centre, NMS-45AE81 (above) and WMID-643E11 (below). Right, WMID-7CE0D1 (above) and WMID-25B5B4 (with leather thong, below). The good news is the charm and demand is higher than ever for old vintage keys (or even keys that look vintage). People love to use them for crafts and decorate with them! Solid copper-alloy key handles, originally with iron stems. From left, LANCUM-6B5B80, BH-08EF06, SF-F573C2, SF-072683. Keys with the bit at right angles to the plane of the handleA selection of keys with solid handles and copper-alloy stems and bits. Left to right: DEV-514F0E, LEIC-1C4B92, NMS-B016F2, NLM-3F8683 (above, a notably small example), SUSS-218BC2 (below, with unusually shaped bow). There is no generally accepted typology for Roman copper-alloy keys or fragments, but there are three distinctive shapes of handle; openwork (normally trilobate) and solid (normally rectangular, with a loop) are the commonest, and there are also a small number of zoomorphic handles. There may be many other less distinctive Roman keys too. Openwork handles, normally three-lobed Those shown below are all of Manning’s type 2 slide keys ( Manning 1985, 93); examples of Manning type 1 (with a longer, L-shaped or curved bit) have apparently not yet been recorded on the PAS database.

Some of these keys appear to be regionally distinctive. Rogerson and Ashley (2012) have suggested that one type (image above, centre top) may have been produced in the Aylsham area of Norfolk; and another (image above, centre below), with lozenge bow and four circular perforations, seems to be common in the midlands, centred around Lichfield. A detailed study of the different designs of type VI keys, and their distributions, is long overdue. SOMETHING VENTURED: Uncle Sam Is Staking Start-Ups" (PDF). VentureWire. March 12, 2008 . Retrieved August 5, 2009. Where the bow is turned at 90˚ to the modern orientation, there is a strong likelihood that the key is Roman. This feature is occasionally found with openwork key handles (such as SF-491826 illustrated above) and with solid rectangular handles (such as BH-E374F2, LVPL-556548 and SUR-19B512, all illustrated above).

Specifications

Many of the newer cars starting in 2017 do not even require a key to turn on, which some of us who learned to drive on older cars may never quite get used to. (I’m starting to, slowly! lol) Goodall defines these as having the bit ‘set laterally’ to the stem; in other words, the bit is attached to the stem by its edge. Type A keys are not particularly common, and are given a wide date-range by Goodall from early-medieval to post-medieval; the examples from Winchester (all of iron) date to the 10th to 15th centuries (Goodall in Biddle 1990, 1006). The best-photographed example on the PAS database is shown below, but this does not have an end-on view showing details of the bit. It is always useful to take as many angles as you can, as these keys can be difficult to reconstruct from limited views. Winchester type B

When Ward Perkins (1940, 134-141) established his typology of large London keys, it was the only type that was mainly found in copper alloy. It does not occur as a separate type in Goodall’s Winchester typology, presumably because none were found at Winchester. T-shaped keys should not be confused with early Anglo-Saxon girdle-hangers, which are superficially similar to copper-alloy T-shaped keys, but flat in cross-section, non-functional and generally decorated with stamps. Roman keys While the technology and style has changed over the years on modern car keys, one very interesting thing to think about is is pretty soon we may no longer even need them! The other types are very rare; type 5c has a double-sided bit, type 5d appears to be a cruder version of type 5a, and type 5e has a decorative projection which does not appear to have worked as a functional key. To save you reading the whole of this guide, most medieval copper-alloy keys fall into either London type VI (large copper-alloy keys with hollow stems) or are ‘casket’ keys of various types (some of which fall into Winchester type 9). This guide will look at these two types first, and then go on to describe a few other keys. The other main Winchester types (types 3-8) are mainly made from iron and only very occasionally occur in copper alloy. ‘Casket’ keysAt Winchester, iron keys of type 1 are found in contexts of the early 10th to mid 12th century. c. 900-1150 AD. This date seems likely for copper-alloy examples too (see the example illustrated above with 10th-century Winchester style, DOR-6E063A). Copper-alloy keys of Winchester types 1 and 2. Left, two keys of Winchester type 1, with projecting stem-tip ( NLM-5B60B5 (an unusually large example) and SF-9D1532). Right, four keys of Winchester type 2, with hollow-ended stem ( SF-7A2A05, BH-2934A9 (above) and IOW-A346E4 (below – a casket key type), NMS-5D98AE). It is given to players by the Guildmaster of the Champions' Guild during the Dragon Slayer I quest. (Should players lose it before completing the quest, they may return to the Guildmaster to claim another.)