Archival history
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 – ‘This billhook shows the same interesting feature which may be seen in numbers 60/519 and 60/520 in that the steel hook has been reforged from an old rasp. The example is noted as a “chopping down billhook” in the British Council catalogue. // The blade is 2 3/8 in. wide and the distance from the farthest point of the hook to the end of the handle is 16 1/4 in. The beech handle is shaped to fit the hand. // The blade bears the mark, “Willis, Bramley, Hants.” // From: A.J. Willis & Sons, Bramley, Hampshire.’, 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, ‘Hooks and Slashers’, p.6 – ‘At one time almost every parish had its own distinct type of hook for reaping or hedging. The chief distinguishing features are the weight, shape and length of the blade, and the shape of the handle. Manufacturers still produce many different patterns for local requirements.’, MERL ‘Country Craftsmanship’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2 May–31 October 1961, p.6 – '39. Billhook forged from an old rasp which provided good steel for a durable cutting edge (see also 40,41). The handle is made from beech instead of the more usual ash. // (Items 39–41 by A. J. willis & Sons, Bramley, Hants.)', 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, ‘Screen G. Small Implements’, p.14 – ‘Shapes exactly suited to their purpose have been evolved from generations of use. It will be noticed that some of the tools are made from old rasps. The steel from which these are made, when reforged, gives a particularly good and lasting edge.’, British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, p.15 – 'G.5 Chopping-down Billhook. A. J. Willis & Sons, Hampshire.', British Council Ref. No. NZ G5., From accession file 85/16–85/20 – Report of interview: Dr E. J. T. Collins with Herbert Alfred WILLIS, Old Forge, Bramley, Hants, 5 March 1985. Born 1901, aged 83, retired blacksmith and edge-tool maker – ‘His father, a shoeing and general smith, moved to Bramley forge in 1900 from Whitchurch, Hants. HAW began work with his father in 1914 and in the early 1920s experimented with the making of edge-tools in which he became very proficient. His father could make a hoe but not hooks. // HAW was not a full-time tool-maker. He relied, as had his father, on shoeing and general work for most of his income. He made tools mainly in the summer when the hunters were on grass and shoeing was slack. As it took two men 3–4 hours to make one tool for selling for only a few shillings it was barely profitable, and in the 20s and 30s paid only £20–30 a year. Tool-making was a not very remunerative by-employment. HAW continued to make tools until the early 1960s. // Products: A fairly wide range of edge-tools including fish-gutting knives, shaves, and spar hooks, but mostly bill hooks (chopping-down with short nose and ‘swiddin’ (making up), with long nose), slashers, reap hooks (for grass) and fag hooks. Hoes were also made, but the frame only, the blades being bought in. Father used to make large half-moon bean hoes. // Design: Most tools custom-made to individual orders and customers’ special requirements. The bill hooks and fag hooks, though, were essentially Berkshire and North Hampshire designs. Seldom ever asked to copy a tool by one of the national makers such as Brades and Elwell. // Raw materials: Used exclusively old rasps, (used for shaving horses hooves), 14–15” long, acquired from other blacksmiths or scrap dealers. Medium-hard steel, high-grade but cheap. File steel too hard, liable to break. // Method of manufacture (bill hooks) // (1) heated in fire and ‘bumped up’ – reduced to about 12’ and the weight pulled forwards to form the head. Done with small 2–3lb hammer. // (2) with HAW holding the bar with his tongs and waving it about on the anvil, his father or brother used a sledge hammer to beat out the shape. // (3) tang drawn out // (4) the tool finished with a file. // (5) the hardening: most crucial operation requiring fine judgement. Tool heated to a white-red heat and doused in warm water. In the early days, before he had mastered the art, many tools spoilt. They tended to bend when dowsed and, if the metal was too hard, to break when straightened out. // (6) edge ground on a grindstone. // The entire process took 3–4 hours. Tools were made individually or in small batches. // Output and marketing: About 125–150 tools were made each year. They enjoyed a high reputation locally and were reckoned the Tadley workmen as the best on the market, a well-made tool with a sharp, very durable edge. Most were sold within a radius of 8–10 miles of Bramley. Bill-hooks were the single most important product and there was a steady demand for them in this centre of the coppice and underwood trades – the bill hook – ‘chopping-down’ and ‘swidden’ – being the standard tool the demand for fagging hooks feel off from the 1920s. Through the agency of the Rural Industries Bureau orders were secured for reed-thatching hooks from Norfolk (used for splitting spars). // prices were approximately the same as shop prices of branded tools. Direct sales only. Did not sell through ironmongers. // HAW won several prizes for his tools: Royal Show at Kenilworth c.1960 (1st prize for slasher, 2nd prize for bill-hook); Paris exhibition 1937; Exhibition in Copenhagen; R I B ‘Certificate of Merit for hand forged tools and fag hooks’ exhibited at Royal Counties Agricultural Show, Reading 1930. He made tools for RIB which showed them all over England. // Summary: HAW was a blacksmith who developed a sideline in tool-making to supplement his income in what was, after 1920, a shrinking trade. Hand-forged tools could not pay by themselves. His market, small and declining, depended on personal service and making to customers’ requirements. // Apart from the Moss brothers at Liphook and Pike at Thatcham (who had an excellent reputation for bill hooks made in the traditional manner of forging a steel blade between plates of soft iron) – both of whom had ceased production by 1918 – Willis was the last manufacture of hand-forged agricultural edge tools in central Southern England. Few blacksmiths, it seems, were skilled in making edge-tools, and those that could were undercut by the factory firms employing mass production techniques. The hand process was very laborious. // EJTC // 6 March 1985’, Object history research, December 2022 -'How can this object be described? This billhook has a wide steel blade that curves at the end. It is socketed into a wooden handle. The handle is made of beech. The surface of the metal has a pattern because it is made from a rasp. It is stamped ‘Willis, Bramley, Hants’. // What is a rasp? A rasp is a smoothing tool. It is a rod of metal with coarse individually cut teeth. Once the teeth have been worn down, it can be recycled for a new use. // MERL P FS PH1/K45334 Photograph of Hedging in Hertfordshire, 1951 // What was this object used for? This billhook is described as a ‘chopping down billhook’. Billhooks are used in hedging, coppice work and other woodland trades. Manufacturers still produce many different patterns with different shape and length of the blade and shape of the handle. // How old is it? It was made by A. J. Willis & Sons, a blacksmith in Bramley, Hampshire, about 1945–6. // Why is the billhook in the MERL collection? The British Council sold its collection of almost 400 crafts products (including this billhook) to the MERL in 1960. // Why did the British Council have a large collection of traditional craft products? After the Second World War the British Council wanted to promote traditional crafts of Britain around the world. They gathered a collection and took it to Australia and New Zealand to display. // Which other objects in the collection relate to the billhook? When using hand tools it's important to wear gloves. This photograph from Farmers Weekly shows the tools used when hedge laying. It shows a long handle hedging hook, billhook, a pair of gloves and an axe. // MERL P FW PH2/T35/21 Black and white photograph of hedging tools from Farmers Weekly, 1950s'