Stony Jack & The Cheapside Hoard with Author Victoria Shepherd

Stony Jack & The Cheapside Hoard with Author Victoria Shepherd.

The Army & Navy Club, St James’s Square, 36 Pall Mall, London SW1.

Wednesday 18th March 2026 at 2pm.

Cost: £35; Guest price: £37 to include tea and coffee on arrival.

What a story! And how skilfully told! A tale about treasure, as twisty and thrilling as any of the adventures of Indiana Jones.’ (Lucy Worsley)

This talk is perfect for fans of London history and mudlarking, being the thrilling history of the underbelly of the Edwardian antiques trade with mudlarkers, charlatans, experts and chancers aplenty. In June 1912 a pair of workmen deposit a heavy ball of clay in the antiques shop of George Fabian Lawrence, or ‘Stony Jack’ as he's better known.

As Lawrence picks through the mud, a speck of gold catches his eye. A pearl earring tumbles into his hand, then another. A Burmese ruby follows; then Colombian emeralds, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and turquoise from Iran; tankards; watches; topaz; amazonite. Stony Jack has discovered the greatest single cache of Elizabethan treasure.

Victoria will be diving into London’s bustling antiques trade at the turn of the century and will provide a compelling portrait of the city at the height of empire. A thrilling ride through Edwardian London, from the marble halls of the British Museum to the East End's maze of tenements and alleyways, historian Victoria Shepherd will guide her audience through the transformation of an old city into a modern metropolis.

Image courtesy of Victoria Shepherd.

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