This ornate pin, likely from the early 17th century during the post-medieval period, was unearthed during excavations carried out by the archaeology department of the Winchester Museum Service at St. Bartholomew's School on Saxon Road in Winchester, Hampshire, in 1983.
The pin features a rather fanciful design, with a gilded head fashioned in the form of a draped and knotted scarf, adorned with intricate floral ornamentation. The head is cast separately and attached to the rod using lead-tin solder, which, though a somewhat fragile attachment, is reinforced by a small loop of copper alloy extending from the back of the bottom of the head around the rod. This prevents the head from being pushed upward.
The upper part of the head, with its finely engraved floral decoration, adds to its aesthetic appeal. It is believed to date from the early 17th century and was discovered in a soil layer dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. This pin may have belonged to someone who resided in the fine townhouse built on the site of Hyde Abbey after the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s.