Object number
56/313
Description
This belt was given to the donor when he was working on an estate in Norfolk in the early 20th century, as a token of the approval of his fellow workers and an indication of his proficiency as a wagoner. Such belts were made by any of the workers, so did not conform to any particular pattern. The donor believed that the custom also prevailed on other estates in the county at the time. This belt is made of light brown plaited cord to which two pieces of dark brown leather are attached at either end for fastening.
Physical description
1 belt: leather; cord; metal
Label Text
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>WAGONER'S BELT // DETAILS // Categories A Year On the Farm // Theme(s) Arts and crafts, Farming and agriculture, People // Collection Wagons, carts and carriages // Date c.1900-1925 // Object number 56/313 // DESCRIPTION // This belt was given to a wagoner on his retirement, in recognition of his great skill. There was once a strict hierarchy on farms. Horsemen were at the top and worked with wagons and ploughs. Everyone knew their rank, referring to each other with terms such as ‘first man’ or ‘fourth boy’.</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'Belt (Wagoner's) ... // Early 20th Century // ... This belt was given to Mr Teulon Porter when he was working on an estate in Norfolk in the early years of this century as a token of the approval of his fellow workers and an indication of his proficiency as a wagoner. The belts might be made by any of the workers and so patterns varied considerably. The squire had nothing whatever to do with the award. Mr Teulon Porter believes that the same custom prevailed on other estates in the county. // This particular belt is 41 inches long and 1.75 inches wide. It is made of light brown plaited cord to which two pices [sic] of dark brown leather are attached at either end for fastening. The belt has a metal buckle and a brass ring to hold the flap in when the belt is worn.', MERL ‘Associated information’ form – 'Wagoner's qualifying belt awarded to original owner by his fellow workers on a Norfolk estate when he was considered to have reached certain proficiency. Belt made by a fellow worker.', Letter, N. Tuelon Porter to Mr Higgs, 20th June 1956 - 'Here in the meantime is the waggoner's qualifying belt... which, as I think I have told you, but may not, was in use, at any rate, on one estate in Norfolk, where they were awarded to those that met with the approval as waggoners and ploughmen of the rest of the estate men. The whole show there was an amazing piece of hangover from feudal times and I think has all got swept away now. By the way, the squire had nothing to do with the matter of the belt award. And the belts were made by any man who said he could. The result was that the weaving varied at times. All this happened to me just at the beginning of this century, and had been going on for God knows how long before...'
Production date
1900-01-01 - 1924-12-31
Production period
Early-twentieth century
Object name
Material
Technique
Dimensions
- Length 1040 mm
- Width 45 mm
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_1290.tif - High resolution image
