Card from 1700s found during naval building repair

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust says the Jack of Spades was discovered under the floorboards of the Commissioner's House during its restoration

During a major restoration at one of Kent's most well-known historic naval residence, workers were surprised to discover a 300-year-old Jack of Spades card under a floorboard.

The Historic Chatham Dockyard is undergoing several major restoration projects, one of them includes the Commissioner's House built in 1704.

It said this was a "beautiful playing card that has lain in the dark waiting to be found" underneath the mansion's first floor.

Conservator Alexandra Wade for the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust said the discovery was a "tangible reminder of the lives once lived here - a small, personal object that has survived nearly three centuries".

Alexandra Wade says the 300-year-old Jack of Spades is an exciting discovery for the trust

The trust said it contacted the Worshipful Company of Playing Card Makers in London to uncover the mystery of the card.

The company dated the Jack of Spades to between 1725 and 1750.

"While other similar examples do exist but this particular Jack of Spades is unique because of the way it has been altered," Ms Wade said.

She explained three of the corners have been cut off at uneven angles and believed this was done to repurpose the card.

Ms Wade believes the card was repurposed to be a brush, based on evidence of feathers being stuck to the top edge

"These cuts seem to be intentional and when the card was placed under the microscope, we could see evidence of feathers stuck in that top edge," Ms Wade said.

"The card is bent in a certain way and there are parts of the design that have worn away that suggest it may have been used as a brush."

Ms Wade said they believe the Jack of Spades fell through the thin gaps in the wooden floor by chance.

"There were some pretty big gaps in the original floorboards so it wouldn't be hard to lose a card down there. Their lost item has turned into a very exciting find for us," she added.

'Time capsule'

Following the discovery of the Jack of Spades, this inspired the trust to launch a call out to people to design their own unique set of cards featuring their memories of the dockyards.

The submissions will then be sealed in a time capsule and will be placed inside the rooftop of the Commissioner's House.

"As we restore Commissioner's House to safeguard it for the future, our time capsule will give the people of today the same chance to be remembered," Ms Wade said.

"Just as this card has sparked our curiosity, we hope our Dockyard Deck will one day inspire future generations to imagine the stories behind the objects we've left behind."

The trust says the Jack of Spades is now on display now at the dockyard.