N° d'objet
52/212
Description
This spade, made of willow, was used for digging clay, and originally came from Northumberland. Such spades can also be called 'mud stuppets' (in Suffolk) or 'willow spades', since willow is the most common material of manufacture. In digging clay soils, wood had an advantage over iron, as the clay did not stick to the blade to the same extent. In addition, wood is lighter, so made it easier to lift the heavy clay soil.
Description physique
1 clay Spade; wood (willow): metal (steel)
Historique d'archive
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ This clay spade which is made of willow shod with metal came from Northumberland. As recently as 1914 spades of this kind were advertised in trade catalogues under the heading ' Shod Tools and Clay spades'. They are also known as Mud Stuppets (Suffolk) or as Willow Spades, since willow was the wood most frequently used in their manufacture. In digging clay soils, wood has an advantage over iron, in that the clay did not stick to the blade to such an extent as it would to metal. In addition, wood being lighter in weight, it was more effective in lifting the very heavy clay soil, than metal. Spades such as this were cut from one solid piece of wood, and after the woodworker had made a wooden spade he would send it to a blacksmith to be shod, with a fillet of steel at the tip and sides of the blade. The edge is 'fish-railed' so as to facilitate penetration into the soil. One reason why clay spades were cut from the solid was the fact that they were used for wet work. If they were jointed they would crack on drying or the water seeping into the joints would soon make them fall to pieces. //
Nom d'objet
Matériel
Document électronique
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_245.tif - High resolution image
