We have quite a few spindle whorls in our collection from the very plain and simple to some that are decorated but we have not recovered anything like this one before. It is highly decorated with hearts, flowers and the letter W.  It has been dated to AD1200-1500.

Spindle whorls were used for spinning wool or thread. A stick would be inserted into the centre hole and the stick spun with the wool or thread around the stick . The weight of the whorl gives momentum as the thread is spun onto the stick.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme suggest that this one is a personal token due to the decoration of flowers and hearts.

A beautiful little item.

The link to the database entry is below.
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1149342