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The Somercotes Crest is believed to be a model of a furnace from the Ironworks owned by James Oakes & Co., although no information is available on its history.

It is seen here on a piece of Goss pottery that is a model of an Army Water Bottle as used by soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The original water bottle would have been made from oak bound with brass.

Legend has it that soldiers, returning from the battle, disembarked at Portsmouth and stopped at a public house in a village named Wait Lane End in Hampshire to celebrate their famous victory over Napoleon. The Pub was renamed “Heroes of Waterloo” in their honour and the village and surrounding area became known as “Waterlooville”. The Army Water Bottle was said to have been left there by a soldier, and copied by Goss Pottery as a souvenir. It was usual to include a towns crest or emblem as a way of boosting sales, but how Somercotes got to be included is not known. This piece of pottery with the Somercotes Crest is rare, if not unique.

Troops in the early 1800s were known to be housed at Lower Somercotes in a place called Barrack Yard.