BBC film crews returning for a third year this year to uncover more tales from the famous Royal Botanic Gardens in Surrey have confirmed the age of one of the key finds from series one of “A Year at Kew” - a SPA water bottle dating back to the early 18th century.
Experts have identified the blazon (a “cachet” stamped into the glass from 1634 onwards, which acted as a seal of authenticity) on the bottle as that of Georges Louis des Comtes de Berghes, who was Price Bishop of Liege from February 1724-December 1743. The bottle is one of only 250,000 exported during this era; only six have ever been found in the UK, of which the one discovered at Kew is the only intact example.
The water from Spa, in Belgium’s Ardennes, was highly valued at the time for its perceived health-giving benefits and was believed to cure all sorts of ailments. The bottle at Kew was found during an archaeological dig beside the palace on the site of a lost wing where King George III was at one stage kept in close confinement when many thought he had gone mad.
The 18th century bottle is glass and rounded in shape. Although its form has undergone many changes over the years, SPA says this has now “come full circle”, with today’s 3-litre SPA Reine rolling bottle shape (the container is now PET in the UK, although glass variants are available in mainland Europe) having much in common with its Baroque predecessor.
SPA bottles old (above) and new (below) SPA_Bottle_round_view SPA2