60/461

John Singleton & Son (Manufacturer)

This potato basket is an oak spale basket made by John Singleton and Son of Wray, Lancashire. These baskets were sold to Scottish farmers who used them for planting and lifting potatoes. They were also known as a ‘spelk’ in Lancashire and a ‘speel’ in Shropshire. It is a frame basket, made of woven slats of oak, and is oval in shape, with two handle-spaces left at either end of the rim. The basket is part of a large collection of traditional craft products acquired from the British Council.

1 basket: wood (oak spale)

MERL Miscellaneous note - In the course of a research visit to the Museum, during which the basket maker Lorna Singleton examined this basket, she identified it as having most likely been made by a left-handed maker (3 May 2024)., MERL miscellaneous note, B. L. 22 March 1961 – ‘The British Council collection. // This collection of material which is covered by the accession numbers 60/430 to 60/791 contains examples of craft products made in the British Isles. The major part of the collection was prepared immediately after the Second World War for a travelling exhibition which was sent to Australia and New Zealand. // The collection was purchased for a nominal sum by the Museum in two portions, the one in the summer of 1960 and the other in February 1961. // For further details see the individual catalogue cards and the catalogue prepared for the temporary exhibition of the collection.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'The oak spale basket shown in this example is made by John Singleton and Son, Wray, Lancashire. There is an edited letter from John Singleton in the Classified Information file under Crafts – Wood – Baskets, in which he gives an account of spale basket making, of sources of raw materials and of sales. // See also general card on basket making. // This oak spale potato basket was sold to Scottish farmers who used them for planting and lifting potato crops. The oval “bole” or rim has a major axis of 23 ½ inches and a minor axis of 17 inches. The bodywork is of woven oak slats. // Compare 60/462 and 60/463.', MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: BASKET, Potato (J. Singleton & Son) // Acc. No.: 60/461 // Group: HARVESTING. Roots // Neg. no.: 60/3688 & 60/3317 // Place of origin: Lancashire. Wray. // Period in use: Pre-1945 // DESCRIPTION // Materials: Oak spale. // Shape and construction: Oval with two handle-spaces left at the ends of the rim. 15 spelks approx 1 1/2” wide woven with 27 crossings 1/2” at rim to 2” at centre // Dimensions: Dia. 17” x 23 1/2”. Depth: 9” // Use: Made for Scottish farmers who used this basket for planting & lifting potato crops. // Dialect names: Spelk (Lancs [Lancashire]). Speel (Shropsh [Shropshire]). // Distribution: // Additional notes: Photo. Whisket maker. Bewdley. Worcs [Worcestershire]. (in large envelope MERL)', MERL ‘Country Craftsmanship’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2 May–31 October 1961, ‘Introductory Note’ by Andrew Jewell – ‘The objects shown in this Exhibition of Country Craftsmanship were originally purchased by the British Council in 1946. They were selected for exhibition in Australia and New Zealand as samples of traditional handcrafts which were then being practised in the British countryside. The Museum of English Rural Life was fortunate to acquire this valuable collection from the Council and to have the opportunity of displaying such a wide variety of skills. // Almost all the crafts shown are still to be found in this country although, in the intervening fifteen years, many of the small firms and individual craftsmen whose products are represented in the Exhibition, have given up working. The number who now remain to carry on these particular traditional crafts continues to decline with the growth of mechanization, the obsolescence of their products and the difficult of finding apprentices to follow them. // All the objects on display have one characteristic in common – they were made to be used. Any aesthetic qualities which the craftsman achieved grew without self-consciousness. Over long years of apprenticeship the craftsman developed an intimate knowledge of the raw material at his disposal and its peculiarities. He acquired by inheritance the methods of his craft which may have had a continuous tradition over centuries of time. And he was quite familiar with the way in which his product was to be used. // We can derive pleasure simply by looking at the shapes and decorations. Both, however, are inseparable from function and environment, and the objects can only be most fully appreciated by an understanding of the purpose for which each was intended. // This, then, is an exhibition of everyday things, made by men and women who might not think of themselves as artists, but whose work, nevertheless, has enriched the daily life of those who live with their products.’, MERL ‘Country Craftsmanship’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2 May–31 October 1961, p.20 – ’231–4. [234] Spale Baskets. These baskets are made of coppice oak and had a wide variety of uses, for example carrying bobbins (231), as a seedlip for broad-casting corn (232), for feeding farm livestock (233), or for planting potatoes (234). // (John Singleton, Wray, Lancs.)', British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, ‘Introductory Note’ – ‘This exhibition contains only examples of handicrafts that are still being practised in the British Countryside. It is confined to the work of our traditional craftsmen and women who, with very few exceptions, would not think of themselves as artists or designers but whose work, nevertheless, so greatly enriches the daily life of those who live with and use their products. The work of these craftsmen, too, provides the basis from which many artist-craftsmen gain technical knowledge and inspiration. // Included with these rural crafts are eight screens showing handicraft processes which can be undertaken by schools or adults who wish to practise a craft at home. In this way we hope these examples of Britain’s country crafts may be related to a practical aspect of present day life in the Dominions and meet the increasing need to find satisfying ways of using the leisure which machinery now makes available to us. // Along with her traditional rural crafts Great Britain seeks to employ all the resources of modern agricultural science and engineering. We have therefore included with this exhibition some photographs showing examples of recent developments in agricultural machinery.’, British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, p.42 – ’24. Potato Basket, oak spale, 22 inches long. made for the Scottish farmers for use in planting and lifting potato crops. J. Singleton & Son, Lancashire.', British Council Ref. No. NZ 24.

Wray

1945 - 1946

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)