English: An iron trigger mechanism and attached hammer of a large flintlock pistol, possibly a Brown Bess lock (Noel Hulme, 1969, fig. 214, fig. 69, no. 5). The trigger mechanism is formed of two parts, the body of the trigger and a jaw screw, both of which survive. The terminal of the mechanism has two horizontal plates, the jaws, which would have held the flint. The jaws are connect together and to the hammer by a vertical bar running down one side. The screw runs vertically through the jaws adjacent to the side fixed by the vertical bar and would have tightened to hold the flint in place. The flint is missing but would have projected beyond the open side of the baws - opposite the vertical bar and screw. The lower jaw forms the top of a S shaped hammer with a hole for the screw which would have attached the trigger mechanism to the barrel. The mechanism is 79.6mm long, 32.3mm in width, 18.6mm thick and weighs 52.68g. The mechanism is showing signs of active corrosion.

Similar mechanisms are also found on flintlock muskets, however the size and parallels suggest this trigger is from a pistol although a smaller musket or rifle cannot be ruled out. It is possible that the trigger mechanism dates to the Civil War period, however flintlock mechanisms were in use between 1620 and 1850 and changed very little during this period. As well as on military weapons they were also widely used as sporting guns. An almost identical mechanism can be seen in the Royal Armouries collection, object number XII.4241 which dates to 1744 and in Noel Hulme (1969, pg 214) fig. 69, no. 5 dated from the early t mid 17th century. A parallel, <a href="http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/397870">BERK-4E24C3</a>, on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database is a part of a similar firing mechanism.