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This bark hook was used for cutting smaller branches from trees and peeling bark so that tannin could be extracted for use in leather making. The hook part was used for cutting the branches, and the flat top was used to peel off the bark. It was found in a barn at Playden, East Sussex.

1 bark hook: metal (iron); wood; fair condition- wooden handle broken off

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ When bark was bringing a good price, the stripping of a tree was carried as far as thin branches, 1 inch in diameter. A other times, only the thicker branches were stripped, usually with a barking iron of a different type. // The wooden handle of this tool has been broken off but it would have projected only about 6 inches beyond the iron work... // See also 51/244M. //, Object research project, Further Afield, February 2024 - Correspondence within the accession file, from the National Agricultural Advisory Section, casts doubt on the hook's use. They suggest it may have been used as a hop hook, given its origins close to Kent.

Wood, Metal, iron