The renovation of a 17th-century long-house at South Poorton Farm uncovered the Poorton Coin Hoard: roughly 100 coins hidden in a glazed pottery bowl and buried since the English Civil War. The collection, which includes gold from James I and Charles I and silver pieces from earlier reigns, was conserved by the British Museum and dated to circa 1642–1644. It later sold at Duke's Auction House for about $75,000 and offers fresh evidence of how civilians hid valuables to survive wartime upheaval.
Renovation Reveals 17th-Century Treasure: Couple Unearths the Poorton Coin Hoard — Sold for ~$75,000
Kitchen Renovation Yields 17th Century Coin Hoardsb-borg - Getty Images
While lowering the floor of their 17th-century long-house at South Poorton Farm in West Dorset, an English couple made an extraordinary discovery: a glazed pottery bowl containing roughly 100 coins dating to the era of the first English Civil War.
How the Find Happened
The discovery occurred nearly five years ago when Robert Fooks broke the bowl while digging to increase headroom in the cottage. Inside were around 100 coins — a mix of gold and silver pieces — later catalogued as the Poorton Coin Hoard. The couple reported the find and submitted the coins to the British Museum for conservation and study.
What Was Found
The hoard included gold coins from the reigns of James I and Charles I, together with silver half crowns, shillings and sixpences, some issued during the earlier reigns of Elizabeth I, Mary I and Philip (of Spain). After conservation and expert study, the collection was sold at Duke's Auction House for approximately $75,000.
Historical Context
British Museum specialists dated the hoard to about 1642–1644, placing it squarely in the turbulent opening years of the English Civil War. Civilians commonly hid money and valuables in walls, pots and other secret caches to protect them from billeting troops, requisitioning, and looting. Many such caches were never reclaimed when their owners fled or were dispossessed.
“If we hadn’t lowered the floor, they would still be hidden there,” Betty Fooks told The Guardian. “I presume the person intended to retrieve them but never got the chance.”
Waseem Ahmed, a doctoral student in 17th-century British political history at University College London, noted that estates and goods could be sequestrated by whichever side considered a household sympathetic to the other faction, explaining why wealthy families often hid or moved their valuables. Dorset was strategically important for troop movements; nearby Lyme Regis endured an eight-week siege in 1644, sustained by daring smuggling efforts that ran food and gunpowder through blockades.
Why It Matters
Beyond their monetary value, the coins provide tangible evidence of civilian responses to wartime insecurity and add to the archaeological and historical record of mid-17th-century England. Now conserved, catalogued and dispersed by auction, the Poorton Coin Hoard helps historians trace patterns of hiding, loss and survival during a period that reshaped the nation.
