Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside: Treasure and Ghosts in the London Clay

by Victoria Shepherd

A thrilling history of mudlarkers, charlatans, experts and chancers – the underbelly of the Edwardian antiques trade.

'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

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.

Diving into London’s bustling, sometimes lawless, antiques trade at the turn of the century, Victoria Shepherd provides 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, Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside oversees the transformation of the city into a modern metropolis.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

400 pages, Hardcover

Published July 15, 2025

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's the golden gleam of a good story in here somewhere, but there's also a lot of dross. I didn't have the time to sift through it all. If the author had more focus on her story I would have kept going. As it was, I got halfway and then went and did something else.

[Karen Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a fascinating read! I was captured by the history and characters and the author has done a brilliant job of taking you back in time and giving you a real insight into this amazing discovery in the Cheapside area of London.

Back in 1912, workers digging beneath an area of London discovered a huge haul of treasures and this is the story of that haul and how they ended up at the shop of 'Stony Jack'. He was a well known antique dealer of the time, and also worked for the London Museum so he was the man to know to acquire special artefacts for various museums.

I loved the story of Jack and his family, how they took great care of the antiques as they arrived at his shop, dealing with the workers who could have very easily just made them all disappear!! There's also a real sense of the other history going on at the same time looking at the discovery of other amazing treasures, and how the Cheapside hoard grabbed the attention of everyone, including royalty! It even explores the curses that many fear when handling antiquities.

it's also amazing to see some of the treasures in photographs in the book, and it's also inspired me to search out more about the hoard via Youtube so it has really sparked my interest and made for such an absorbing read!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've only got through the prologue and first chapter and I'm finding it really difficult to read. It's very disjointed and keeps going off on a tangent. It includes information that isn't necessary to the story so the editing could have been much better to reduce the dialogue and keep the story on track. I'm sure the actual story is really interesting but this book isn't for me.

[Jo Temple-Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stony Jack - what a fascinating, twisty-turny tale and cast of unforgettable characters.