How do you clean the inside of these?

Warm water and a mild detergent handle most dusty interiors. Avoid abrasive scrubbing brushes, as they can scratch the glaze on ceramic antique water jugs or cloud the surface of glass examples. For stubborn marks inside a glass jug, a soak with white vinegar often helps. Swirl it around gently and rinse it out with clean water.

I bought a large floral jug at a boot sale and I am wondering if it is safe to use it to serve iced tap water at dinner parties now?

Most heavily glazed earthenware jugs from the late Victorian period onwards are generally stable enough for occasional table use. You should check the interior carefully for any deep crazing or flaking glazes before pouring drinks. If the interior glaze is missing or badly cracked, the porous clay body might harbour bacteria. In those cases, it makes a better display piece than a drinking vessel. Silver and glass examples present fewer issues for food safety. Just ensure they are washed thoroughly between dinner parties.

What does a pewter lid mean?

A hinged lid usually indicates a jug meant for hot water. The cover retained heat while someone carried the water from the kitchen range to the bedroom. Potteries frequently fitted stoneware jugs with simple metal mounts to keep steam in and dust out.

The handle on my heavy stoneware jug has a metal band wrapped around the top joint where it meets the rim, what is this for?

That metal band is a historic staple repair. When a handle snapped during domestic service, throwing the jug away was often too wasteful for a frugal household. Local tradesmen would fit a metal band or drill tiny holes to insert wire staples. This pulled the broken pieces back together tightly enough to restore the handle. These early repairs are part of the object's working life. They show how much people relied on their antique water jugs before mass production made replacing them easier.

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Antique Water Jugs

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Standing on washstands or dining tables, the antique water jug is a handled vessel with a broad body and formed lip, originally made to carry and pour fresh water before indoor plumbing became common.