Richmond Court Dig Up a Piece of History

Richmond Court held their second metal detecting day recently to give their tenants a chance to try this new activity.

Staff member Matthew Beharrell brought in his metal detector and tenant Ben tried his luck this time.

On the first occasion in March, they used the detector and found only an old rusty spanner, but this time they struck lucky.

After scouring the grounds, the detector beeped and as they dug up their haul they found some old iron work, a chisel and what looked to be an old badge.

Matthew took the items home to clean them up and brought them back in to show the tenants and, much to their surprise, they found what looked to be a WW1 Royal Air Force Cap Badge buried in the garden.

Andy Rawlings, Registered Manager at Richmond Court, said, “We had another great day with the metal detector and to find something of this nature was just brilliant. Everyone was so excited when Matthew brought in the cleaned up item and it led to some very interesting conversations as to how this managed to get in the garden.

“We may now look to speak to a local history group about the item and its historical meaning, but all-in-all everyone had a great day and we can’t wait for our next one to see what else we can find.”

The activity has proved such a hit that the home is now planning excursions away from Richmond Court to see what other treasures they can find.

Activities like this help our residents and tenants and provide them with an interesting outdoor hobby to take part in, whilst helping them learn about any historical items they find.