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Luston Ring,

Lettice Sandford (Designer), Alec Coker (Maker)

This corn dolly, called a ‘Luston Ring’, was designed by Lettice Sandford and made by Alec Coker. It incorporated traditional elements from Worcestershire corn dollies, amongst other sources, and takes its name from the village of Luston in Herefordshire. It is made of rye straw. It consists of a central plaited core surrounded by three varied plaits in circles. There are three plaited knots at the sides, and a ring which has a bunches of rye at the top and bottom.

1 corn dolly: corn

MERL miscellaneous note Greta Bertram, 20 August 2013 – The 'Coker Collection' of corn dollies was bequeathed to the Museum by Alec Coker, who devoted his retirement from 1965 until his death in 1986 to spreading knowledge of and teaching the craft of corn dolly making. He first became interested in the craft when working at the BBC when he encountered dollies as props on the set of ‘Lorna Doone’ in the 1930s. ‘Corn’ is a term for the family of grains which includes barley, oats, wheat and rye. ‘Corn dolly’ is a wide-ranging term which includes figures, love tokens, crosses, Scandinavian star designs, and Far Eastern shrine dolls made from ‘corn’ straw. Techniques used in the craft include tying, plaiting, weaving and marquetry. The corn dolly was originally an object used in rites and rituals, and in many parts of the world it was believed that the ‘Corn Goddess’ lived in the crop and died when it was harvested. Images of the Goddess, or other talismans, were woven from the last sheaf to be reaped and carefully preserved to ensure an abundant crop the following year. By the twentieth century, corn dollies had lost their ritual associations, and from the 1950s there was a concerted effort to preserve the craft of corn dolly making., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: Luston Ring // Central plaited core surrounded by three varied plaits in circles. Three knotted plaits at sides and top of ring with bunches of rye pointing upwards. A bunch of rye at the bottom of the ring also. // Dimensions: 51cm x 18cm // Associated information: Made by Alec Coker from a design by Lettice Sandford. It incorporates traditional plaits and favours from Worcestershire and other sources. It is named after the village of Luston in Herefordshire. // References: L. Sandford. Strawwork and Corn Dollies p.60 // A. Coker’s Collection List of Corn Dollies no.26’