Drainhead

This lead drainhead comes from a building in Vere Street, formerly just to the north of the Strand. It is dated '1723' and the letters 'S C M' probably stand for St Clement's, the local parish, or, less likely, Clare Market which was situated at the soutern end of Vere Street. Most of the area was cleared at the beginning of the 20th century for the Kingsway and Aldwych improvement scheme.

In the 18th century, many London buildings would have lead gutters and drain pipes. At the junction of the gutter and the down pipe, there would have been a drainhead or hopper head. These were sometimes decorated and commonly dated and carried the initial of the owner of the property.