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This blacksmith’s hammer was used by the donor, Mr T. Harris, in his forge at Witheridge Farm in Hailey, Oxfordshire. The head has an octagonal face on one side and a pane on the other. The wooden handle, the end of which is very worn from use with a mallet, has been shaped with a drawknife.

1 hammer: wood, metal

MERL miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 10 January 2013 – Mr T. Harris had a smithy at Witheridge Farm in Hailey, Oxfordshire. Upon his death in February 1960, his daughter, Mrs M. K. Fenn, donated a large number of his tools to the Museum. Mr Harris had previously donated a number of objects to the Museum in 1952 and 1956., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Standard museum name: … // Accession number: … // Classification: … // Negative number: … // Acquisition method: … // Acquired from: … // Date: … // Store: … // Condition: … // Recorder: … // Date: … // Description: Thick shaft of wood, tapering towards one end. Other end is battered. Shaft shaped by a draw knife with a nick out of its blade, resulting in ridges. On narrow ends is fixed the hammer head. The wedge holding the head in place is battered below the shaft end. One end of the head is square, with the corners cut away. The other end tapers to a narrow curved edge. // Dimensions: Length, 28.5cm. Width of shaft at handle end 2.4cm x 3.8cm. Width of head 13.3cm. Depth 4cm. // Associated information: (1) The blacksmith has a variety of hammers, each suited to a particular use. // (2) it is no fanciful exaggeration to state that a blacksmith’s hammer is really an extension of his right hand. His hammer is the tool most constantly in his grasp. Examine a number of blacksmiths’ hammers of the same apparent length and weight and you will find if you look at the handles closely that no two of them are identical. // MERL acquired after the death of Mr. T. Harris, Mrs. Fenn’s fatherm from his smithy at Witheridge, 46 Cumnor Hill, Oxford. // References: (1) The Village Blacksmith: Jocelyn Bailey (Shire Album 24). // (2) Hammer & Tongs: Gary Hogg (Hutchinson of London).'

Metal, Wood

Fenn, M. K. (Agent)