66/317

A wooden carcass hanger, sometimes called a 'gimble' or 'gamble', used as a yoke to hang a pig on after it has been killed, usually from a beam in a barn or outhouse. On each side of the yoke are three ridges to accommodate different sizes of pig. It was found on a farm near Shute, Devon, in 1965.

carcass hanger: wood

MERL Miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 5 March 2014 – The Burne-Jones collection of thatching and other tools was put together by the donor while living in Membury, Devon, some time prior to 1966. She had planned to open a private museum. The tools came from the workshop of Mr Spiller, a thatcher from Yarcombe, Devon, and were in regular use until his death in 1962. He had thatched in the area his whole life, and his widow passed on his tools. By 1966 the donor had moved to Oxfordshire and no longer had room for the Collection so donated it to MERL., MERL ‘Handwritten catalogue’ – ‘CARCASE HANGER // 66/317 // LIVESTOCK Pigs // ... // Carcase hanger used for pigs. Found on a farm near Shute, Axminster, Devon in 1965 // [pencil drawing]'