Object number
51/1245/1-3
Description
This is a plunger churn used for making butter from cream, with the cream being beaten up and down by the plunger until it turned into butter. It consists of an oak vessel with ash staves and a wooden cross-headed plunger with a long handle. This type of churn has been in use since the seventeenth century, if not earlier, and was commonly made by a cooper.
Physical description
1 churn [with lid and plunger]: wood [oak and ash]A conical wooden churn wider at the bottom than at the top. It is made of oak staves held together by ash bands. A substantial band at the bottom holds the base in position and a wider one at the top forms the neck. The four bands in between are narrower and two have been replaced by plywood. The lid fits into the neck and has a raised collar in the middle through which the pole of the plunger passes. The plunger consists of two crossed pieces of wood which have notches in the sides and ends. These are fixed to a long pole and the whole fits neatly inside the churn. This type of churn, in use since the 17th century and probably earlier, was generally made by a cooper.
Label Text
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>5.<B>Plunger butter churn</B> <P>In this example, the oak staves of the churn are bound by strips of ash rather than the iron hoops that were common on later examples. The raised lip at the top is also made from a thin piece of ash that would have been steamed to make it pliable enough to bend round into the required shape. It had the effect of holding the lid of the churn in position. This churn appears to date from the early nineteenth century but nothing further is known about its origins.<BR> 51/1245</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'The upright or dash churn has been in use since the seventeenth century and probably earlier. It consists of a tall, conical-shaped wooden vessel, narrower at the top than at the base and a perforated plunger with a long handle, which was beaten up and down through the cream. Such churns were made by coopers and were usually of oak. // This churn is made of oak, with staves of ash, two of which have been replaced by plywood. The plunger is formed of two cross pieces of wood, perforated at the ends and sides and a long pole measuring 51 inches in length. The barrel is 17.5 inches in height and 14 inches across the base.'
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External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_805.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_806.tif - High resolution image
