51/82

This is a straw roller, used in the straw plaiting industry. It is a splint mill, made of beechwood, for softening the straw splints before plaiting. The cavity between the rollers can be adjusted by a wooden screw at the side of the mill. Straw plaiting was a very common domestic industry and mills like these were often fastened to the jambs of cottage doors. Luton, Bedfordshire, was the centre of the straw plaiting industry and in the past it was common for the cottagers of Bedford and Hertfordshire to plait straw in their homes and sell it to the Luton hat manufacturers.

1 straw roller; wood [beechwood]; good condition

MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/82 // NAME: STRAW ROLLER // NEG NO.: 35/7 // STORAGE: ', Straw rollers, or straw-plaiting mills are of two types, a splint mill for softening the straw splints before plaiting, and a box mill for flattening the finished plait. The box mill differs from the splint mill in having grooved rollers, made in different patterns to take all width of plait. After the straw had been steamed and bleached, they were passed through the rollers of the of the splint mill several times. Straw plaiting was a very common domestic industry and these mills were often fastened to the jambs of cottage doors. Luton, Bedfordshire was the centre of the straw plaiting industry and in the past it was common for the cottagers of Bedford and Hertfordshire to plait straw in their homes and sell it to the Luton hat manufacturers. In the 18th century, Dunstable was also a centre of the straw plaiting industry and the cottagers manufactured a large variety of articles of different coloured straws. The straw plaiting industry suffered a great set back during the Napoleonic Wars when French prisoners confined in the prison of Norman cross, near Peterborough began milking and selling straw plaits at much lower prices. In the 19th century the English industry rapidly declined. It was common for all sorts of boxes to be ornamented with straw marquetry and plait work.