Object number
53/94/1-3
Description
This ox yoke came from Devon but its origin in that county is unknown. It was used to connect oxen to a plough or cart by means of a long pole called a neb. The yokes are made of either oak or hornbeam, carved into shape.
Physical description
animal yoke: metal, wood
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ From remote ages the horse has been regarded as the noble animal of English tradition; the fighter and the hunter, whose flesh must not be eaten. Horses were used in the Middle Ages to draw vehicles and harrows, but only oxen were subjected to the drudgery of ploughing. By the mid-eighteenth century, however, horses were becoming quite general on English farms and in 1760 Arthur Young on his tour of England records that they were common as oxen. Both Young and William Marshall point out the merits of oxen over horses and for many years countrymen argued for one or the other. Oxen were said to be cheaper to keep; their harness and shoeing was much cheaper, while they could exist on straw in winter whereas horses had to have hay. In addition after a working life of twelve to fifteen years the oxen could be sold as beef. Despite these advantages by the beginning of the nineteenth century horses as almost completely supplanted oxen in the Midlands, East Anglia and the Home counties. Better breeds of horses and lighter ploughs were the main factors behind this disappearance. In other areas oxen continued to be used until the end of the nineteenth century, but they were gradually disappearing. The last ox team to be used in Cornwall for example was photographed at Bodrugan Farm, Gorran in 1896. Up to 1914 a few teams still lingered in the Cotswolds, the Sussex and Berkshire downs, - in hill country where their steady endurance was valuable. The last Sussex team passed out of use at East Dean in 1929, and the only team in the country in 1938 was the Earl of Bathurst's six ox team at Cirencester. This was kept as a curiousity. The main breeds used were the Welsh Blacks, driven on foot from the Welsh hills by the drovers, the Aberdeen Angus driven from Scotland, the Herefords and the much smaller Devon cattle. //
Production date
1800-01-01 - 1899-12-31
Production period
Nineteenth century
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_155.tif - High resolution image
