[nb-NO]Object number[nb-NO]
58/69
[nb-NO]Description[nb-NO]
This wooden cheese press was probably made in the mid-nineteenth century and was used on Cwm Clyd Farm in Newton St. Margarets, Herefordshire, until 1946. It is a screw-type press made completely of wood. It consists of a bench-like stool with four legs and a circle cut into it to hold the cheese. Above this is a pressing plate attached to a screw which is turned by a two-handled winding wheel. Turning the screw pushes the plate down on the cheese to squeeze out the whey.
[nb-NO]Physical description[nb-NO]
1 cheese press: entirely of wood; good condition
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>5. <B>Cheese press</B><P>When full of curd the cheese mould would be placed in a press, the pressure applied compacting the curd and removing the last of the whey. This cheese press came from Cwm Clyd Farm in west Herefordshire and is considered to date from the mid-nineteenth century. It was last known to have been used in 1946 by the wife of a previous owner of the farm. The press is made entirely from ash wood. The pressing plate which is lowered and raised by the screw mechanism is situated to the right of the bench, the extra space to the left providing a place to put down utensils. The pressing plate provides all the pressure needed to press a cheese. The circular groove cut into the bench beneath the pressing plate held the new cheese in place while a small draining lip located at the front of the groove channelled any excess whey squeezed out by the press away from the cheese.<P>58/69</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV><DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>9. <B>Cheese press</B><P>When full of curd the cheese mould would be placed in a press, the pressure applied compacting the curd and removing the last of the whey. Cheese presses were originally locally made of wood and stone. Presses of cast iron were seen in dairies from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. Several types of cheese press have been used in Britain over the centuries. The oldest is the drop weight press which in its simplest form consisted of a large stone placed on top of the filled mould. Screw presses were also used and the press pictured above is an example of this type. Lever presses were operated as the name suggests, a weight being hung on one end of a lever in order to pull the bar or pressing plate down onto the mould beneath. The other end of the lever would be fixed to the press, or, in its oldest form, to a strong static object such as a nearby wall. In today's factories where great quantities of cheese are produced daily many filled cheese moulds are pressed together in large hydraulic gang presses. In the days of farmhouse dominated cheese making the new cheeses might remain in the press for a number of days. Only today are they pressed in a matter of hours.<P>This cheese press came from Cwm Clyd Farm in west Herefordshire and is considered to date from the mid-nineteenth century. It was last known to have been used in 1946 by the wife of a previous owner of the farm. The press is made entirely from ash wood. The pressing plate which is lowered and raised by the screw mechanism is situated to the right of the bench, the extra space to the left providing a place to put down utensils. The pressing plate provides all the pressure needed to press a cheese. The circular groove cut into the bench beneath the pressing plate held the new cheese in place while a small draining lip located at the front of the groove channelled any excess whey squeezed out by the press away from the cheese.<P>58/69</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
[nb-NO]Archival history[nb-NO]
MERL ‘History Artefacts’ card – ‘Description: A completely wooden press. It has a bench-like stool with 4 straight legs and the pressing frame is set to the right hand side of the stool leaving a vacant piece for standing things on. A circle is cut into the stool to hold the cheese and there is a draining lip at the front. The pressing plate is the same width as the frame and has four long guide pins which go through the stool (these are not the originals). The wooden screw passes up through the top bar and a 2 handled winding wheel is set above this. Pressure is applied purely by screwing the plate down. There are no levers or weights. // Use: For pressing cheese. // History: This press was last used by the wife of the previous owner of Cwm Clyd Farm who died in 1946 aged 80 years. // Conservation: Repaired and soaked in cuprinol.’
[nb-NO]Date[nb-NO]
1825 - 1874
[nb-NO]Production period[nb-NO]
Mid-nineteenth century
[nb-NO]Object name[nb-NO]
[nb-NO]Material[nb-NO]
