Objektnummer
87/11
Beskrivning
A wooden signboard from the wheelwright's shop at Beech Hill, Berkshire, painted cream with greenish-black lettering. The sign advertises the services of W. Wheeler, carpenter and undertaker. The business was established in 1835, and premises were demolished in 1987.
Fysisk beskrivning
1 signboard: wood; good conditioninscription: 'Phone Reading 883323, W. WHEELER, Estd. 1835, CARPENTER & UNDERTAKER, Building Repairs & Decorating, Funerals and Cremations'.
Arkivhistorik
MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – 'Standard museum name: SIGNBOARD // Accession number: 87/11 // … // Recorder: JMB // Date: 19.2.87 // Description: Wooden signboard made of three planks strengthened at the back with five struts (one missing). It is finished off with edging pieces. // Painted cream with green lettering. The name letters are edged with red. // Dimensions: Length: 230 cm // Height: 83 cm // Associated information: See 91/57 – this board has been accessioned twice. // Inscription: // Phone Reading 883323 // W. WHEELER // Estd. 1835 // CARPENTER & UNDERTAKER // Building repairs & decorating Funerals & Cremations // This signboard came from the wheelwrights shop at Beech Hill, Berks.’, MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – 'Standard museum name: SIGNBOARD // Accession number: 91/57 // … // Recorder: JMB // Date: 27.1.92 // Description: Large wooden signboard from the Wheelwrights Shop at Beech Hill. Consists of 3 planks joined together – it has a wooden rim all round. Painted cream colour with Black lettering. The name W. WHEELER has red edging to the lettering. // Double Accession See 87/11 // Dimensions: Length: 230 cm // Height: 83 cm // Associated information: The signboard was collected in 1987. The premises were demolished soon after. There are now houses on the site. // Inscription: Phone Rdg. 883323 // W. WHEELER // Estd. 1835 // CARPENTER & UNDERTAKER // BUILDING REPAIRS & DECORATING // Funerals & Cremations // References: Kelly’s Directories have an entry for W. WHEELER, Wheelwright’, MERL Miscellaneous Note, February 1987 – ‘Wheelwright’s Shop, Beech Hill, Berks. // Visited and Photographed: 5:2:1987 // Owner: Bernard Kimber … // Mr. Kimber began work at the shop as an apprentice in 1944 aged 14 under the owner Mr. Wheeler, who lived in the house next door. The Wheeler family had been wheelwrights then for a number of generations, going back at least to the first half of the nineteenth century (1835). // Mr. Kimber was trained in all kinds of work: his first job was to help with the making of a coffin, and then later that same day, help take the coffin away to a house in the village and put the body in it. Mr. Wheeler operated as an undertaker in addition to everything else, and they would deal with about one death a month. When necessary, a coach and horses for the funeral service was hired. // Wagons and carts were made and repaired in the shop. In fact, in the 1950’s some wheelwrighting work was done on MERL wagons. There was also an enormous variety of other work: repairing and overhauling threshing machines; making new paddles for waterwheels (e.g. for the mill at Sherfield-on-Loddon); making ladders. The latter included making long fruit picking ladders – local farms would send their ladders along once a year for checking and repair. // Gradually as the wheelwrighting work dropped off so other work was taken on, e.g. making pig huts, general carpentry etc. Mr. Wheeler packed up c. 1971 and Mr. Kimber took over the business from him; by that time though there wasn’t much work so he got a full time job with the Ministry of Defence and thereafter did odd jobs in the weheelwright’s shop. // The Site // Workshop at right angles to the road is of late 19th c. date (earlier workshop and stable for the horses lies beyond at the bottom of the side). Paint shop at end nearest the road. Machinery inside the workshop comprises a jig saw, planer and mortising machine drawn through belting and line shafting from a Pelter oil engine, sited in a room at the back. // Originally, according to Mr. Kimber, the machinery was driven by a small horse gear which was outside, opposite the workshop door. The horse worked round and round, turning a shaft that, through gearing, ran the machinery. When the man stopped the saw from operating (i.e. pushed a simple clutch device to throw the strap out of gear) the horse stopped walking immediately. The horse died shortly before Mr. Kimber began work at the shop and was never replaced. // The wheels were tyred on a small piece of open ground beyond the older wood working shop. The trying plate is still there but now covered by the undergrowth. Completed wheels were dropped in the adjacent stream to cool off. // There is now no lathe in the workshop. There used to be a large one of the traditional type, driven through a large flywheel that was in turn turned by the horse gear. For some reason, this was removed and one of Mr. Kimber’s jobs as a boy was to take a couple of large, heavy elm blocks into Reading on a bike to get them turned into wheel hubs by the wheelwrights there. This he might have to do once a week. // Wheeler’s name board, which used to be on the gable end of the workshop, facing the road, has been removed to MERL, together with a spoke bridle’
Objektnamn
Material
Teknik
Dimensioner
- Length 2300 mm
- Width 830 mm
Digital referens
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\Documents\Scans\87_11_doc_01.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\Documents\Scans\87_11_doc_02.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\Documents\Scans\87_11_doc_03.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\Documents\Scans\87_11_doc_04.tif - High resolution image