51/14

This shovel is carved out of a solid piece of wood for strength. It would have been in continuous use in a barn to turn threshed grain and to mix caustic lime with the grain ready for sowing.

1 grain shovel: wood

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘GRAIN SHOVEL [‘(Wooden)’ Scored through]// DATE ACQUIRED: January, 1951 // GROUP: THRESHING // NEGATIVE: 35/219 60/361 // PERIOD: Unknown // PLACE OF ORIGIN: The H. J. Massingham Collection // NUMBER: 51/14M // DESCRIPTION: The origins of the wooden barn shovel are unknown. It is carved out of a solid piece of wood as a jointed shovel would be liable to break with weight and cahnges of temperature. Wooden shovels are in continuous use in the barn to deal with the threshed grain, one of its uses in the past being to mix caustic lime with the grain ready for sowing. // This shovel which has a hollowed out handle, measure a total of 39 inches, the handle being 26 inches in length and the blade being 13 inches long. This blade is 11.5 inches in width at the top and 10 inches wide at the tip., MERL list / description [MASSINGHAM FILE // MUSEUM OF ENGLISH RURAL LIFE // CONSERVATION RECORD // 5/8/1982] 'Class Threshing // Conservator Ann Moores // Name Shovel // Date 5/8/1982 // No 51/14 M // ... // treatment // Washed with water only // Rentokil QD // method // hand // brush // ... // reapair // reinforced beetle damage with thinned P.V.A., MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/14 // NAME: WOODEN SHOVEL // NEG NO: 60/361, 35/219 // STORAGE: '

Massingham, H. J. (Harold John) (Donor)