Collar, dog collar

Brass dog collar inscribed 'Francis Barber Esq, The Grange, Hampstead Heath'.

It is thought that the collar dates to the late 18th century, but that the inscription was added in the late 19th century.

Brass dog collars at this time primarily served as a means of identifying property. When marked or engraved with the dog owner’s name, the collar became the object that gave proof of ownership. The collar has three eyelet holes, and would have been fixed closed with a padlock to which the owner had the key. It also has a ring, which would have been used to chain the dog or attach the collar to a leash.

Barber was at one time the minister's churchwarden at the Parish of St John, and appeared in the rate books from 1861 to 1872. His house was called 'the Grange' from around 1870. From 1873 to 1889 the rate books record a Mrs Betsy Maria Barber living in the Grange, who is described in other sources as his widow. No more Barbers were recorded as living in the Grange after 1889.

Based at Childs House Corner, The Grange was a large house on the edge of Hampstead Heath, north of Branch Hill Lodge. A History of the County of Middlesex: thinks the Grange was probably built by 1834 on the site of a cottage called the 'Salt Box'. However the first record of the name 'The Grange' is in Stamford's Library Map of 1862.