ENJOYING pride of place in Cynthia Williams' dining room for decades, a delicate floral teapot hides an intriguing past.
For in November of 1940 it was the only object to survive a German bombing raid intact after it was recovered from the flattened farmhouse on Marks Hall Estate, near Coggeshall.
Now it will join a collection of evidence gathered by researchers at the University of Essex in Colchester to track the past of the well-known estate from Saxon times to the present day.
"I'm glad that it's joining the display so that people who are interested in the history can see it," said Cynthia, 68, who inherited the family heirloom following the death of her aunt and uncle.
James and Emily Bowers, Cynthia's grandparents, were two of many workers on the Marks Hall estate during the war before their home at Purley Farm was demolished in a bombing raid in 1940.
Onlookers believed the couple, who were trapped in the building, were dead until they heard a faint scratching from inside the wreckage and sons, Jack and Harry, pulled their parents from the rubble.
The only other item to be pulled from the flattened farmhouse was a teapot, slightly cracked but still intact which has remained with the family for seven decades.
"After my aunt and uncle died we were clearing out their home and found the teapot still there, I just decided to bring it home as I believed it was special," added Cynthia, who lives in Coggeshall with her husband of 46 years, Stephen.
"It hasn't ever actually been used for pouring tea, it's more of an ornament really sitting on a side table."
Now the battered trinket will be preserved for posterity as part of a collection looking to re-ignite the history of the Coggeshall mansion and it's estate, which was demolished in the 1950s.
"We have had a tremendous response from the public, which shows the mansion has a very special place in the hearts of many people," said knowledge exchange officer, Ian Yearsley.
"This has been a collaborative project and everyone has been very supportive. The archaeological team has been so enthusiastic and they worked through the winter as they just wanted to keep digging and finding things. We have also been able to bring a lot of experts to the site to discuss conservation."
Individual artefacts have been found, including the remains of a pot thought to date back to the 13th century, a ceiling rose, the servant bell system and an iron fire guard.
The project team hope their work will eventually be used to establish a museum and interpretation centre to tell the story of the lost mansion and the people who lived and worked there.
