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This dolly is a 'neck' of corn and is made of a long bundle of straw with a twisted and plaited covering which narrows at the top and turns back on itself to form a little crook. It was made by James Richardson of Saffron Walden, Essex, in 1935, when he was 93. Corn dollies originally had religious significance but by the twentieth century were made as ornaments.

1 corn dolly: wheat; fair condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This is a ‘neck’ of corn made by Mr. James Richardson of Saffron Walden (Essex) in 1935 when he was 93. He had been taught the craft when he was young by an old man, for straw dollies are still occasionally met with in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Essex. Where they are still made, it is as an ornament, with no religious significance. Originally, they were made from the last sheaf of corn, hung up in the farmhouse and kept until the following year to ensure the continuance of crops and seasons. They therefore fulfilled more or less the same function as the corn baby. // This dolly is made of a long bundle of straw with a twisted and plaited covering. It was probably wheat but the ears which originally fanned out at the bottom are now missing. The covering narrows at the top and turns back on itself to form a little crook. The dolly measures 22 inches in length.', No Lavinia Smith No. recorded.

Saffron Walden

1935 - 1935

Rippon, Miss Dorothy May Lyddon (Agent)