51/134

This shepherd's crook or leg cleek may have been recycled from gunmetal. If it has been made from material repurposed in this way, the gun metal is liekly to have been sawn from an old gun barrel. There is no obvious rifling on the inside of the tubed section. The origins of this artefact are unknown but it is of a kind typical to Pyecombe, a village on the border of East and West Sussex known for its shepherding traditions and, in particular, for this style of crook. This socketed leg cleek would have featured a long handle, with the headpiece designed to hook sheep by the leg in order to catch them.

One crook: gunmetal, good condition

Object research project, Sue Spiller, November 2018 – ‘This metal crook measures 9cm (l: between curled end and barrel); 3cm (l: between barrel and the guide at its narrowest point); 16.5cm (l: of socket barrel).The shepherd's crook or leg cleek may have been recycled from gunmetal. If it has been made from material repurposed in this way, the gun metal is likely to have been sawn from an old gun barrel. At the end of the Napoleonic wars, it was the practice to recycle discarded guns into crooks for local shepherds. There is no obvious rifling on the inside of the tubed section. The origins of this artefact are unknown but it is of a kind typical to Pyecombe, a village on the border of East and West Sussex known for its shepherding traditions and, in particular, for this style of crook. It is believed to have been introduced in the first half of the 19th century by the village Blacksmith, Mr Berry, and this style of crook continued to be made there by his successor, Mr Charles Mitchell, who owned the forge from 1872 to 1946. A surviving Pyecombe hook is integrated into the Tapsel gate at the entrance to the Churchyard of Pyecombe church made in 1946 by Mr Sean Black, the last blacksmith at the forge. This socketed leg cleek would have featured a long handle typically made of Ash or hazel wood and occasionally Cherry or Holly, not less than 5ft long, with the headpiece designed to hook sheep by the leg in order to catch them. It is distinct in design from a similar Wessex version which is fitted into the crook stick with an iron spike. This Shepherd’s Crook belongs to The H.J. Massingham Collection, acquired in 1951. H. J. Massingham (1888 -1952) was one of England’s most prolific authors on English country life. His work has attracted newfound attention in recent years due to his early promotion of now-accepted topics such as organic farming and Social Credit. The collection contains other examples of tools associated with the work of a shepherd including Shepherd’s smock F4/22/1, a selection of sheep bells or Cluckets F5/11/8 and sheep shears F5/12/2.', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/134 // NAME: CROOK // NEG NO.: 35/21 // STORAGE: ', MERL miscellaneous note - Although origin not known similar to style of Pyecombe.