Object number
51/159
Collection
Description
The mouldboard is the part of the plough which turns over the furrow slice and lays it alongside the preceding one. They can be metal or wooden and each one is designed for a particular type of work or soil. Wooden mouldboards were particularly suited to heavy clay soil as they were easier to clean than metal ones. This mouldboard has been cut from a piece of solid beech. It has never been used and was probably kept as a spare.
Physical description
1 Mouldboard: wood (beech); good condition. (Never used).
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘Although wooden mouldboards went out of general use early in the 19th century, they continued to be fitted by local ploughwrights until the beginning of the 20th century. This applied particularly on the heavy clay lands such as the lias or gault where wood was found to clean more easily than metal. The simplest wooden ones were cut from a flat piece of wood, others were steamed to a suitable shape and some were cut to shape. // This particular mouldboard is an example of the last type. It has been cut from a solid piece of beech, which must in the first instance have been approximately one foot square. The length of it is 40 inches and it varies in thickness from 2.5 inches to 1 inch. It is cut in two distinct planes, the dividing line between them being diagonal. The mouldboard has never been used and was doubtless kept as a spare. // Mr. Massingham was given it by a farmer who obtained it in a sale at Stadhampton (Oxon).’, MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/159 // NAME: MOULD BOARD // NEG NO.: 35/208 // STORAGE: '
Production date
1850-01-01 - 1899-12-31
Production period
Nineteenth century, second half
Object name
Material
Dimensions
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_208.tif - High resolution image