Object number
56/187/2
Creator
Description
This is the paddle from a coracle and paddle set made for the museum by Harry Rogers, a coracle maker in Ironbridge, Shropshire. It measures 54 inches in length.
Physical description
1 paddle; wood metal and green paint; good condition
Label Text
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Severn (Ironbridge) coracle</B><P>Both coracle and paddle were made by Mr Harry Rogers of Ironbridge, Shropshire, during the 1950s. The wooden framework of coracles made in Britain would originally have been covered with animal skins, but today a cover such as canvas is generally used, this being made waterproof with a tar paint. The leather strap attached to the seat would be used to carry the coracle over the shoulders.<P>56/187</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV><DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Severn (Ironbridge) coracle</B><P>Both coracle and paddle were made by Mr Harry Rogers of Ironbridge, Shropshire, during the 1950s. The coracle is 152 centimetres long and 107 wide. The length of the paddle is 137 centimetres. It is made from a framework of sawn ash laths that are woven together and which are then curved upwards to join the gunwale, that is the upper edge of the side of the craft. In the past this framework would have been covered with animal skins, but today calico or canvas are used with a bitumastic paint to make the whole waterproof. The leather strap seen attached to the seat is used when carrying the coracle, the strap fitting over the carrier's shoulders. One end of this strap is firmly fastened to the seat's underside, the other end is adjustable making the task of carrying easier. The paddle is made from three separate pieces of timber secured together. A period of about two years is the usual life span of a coracle.<P>See Jenkins, J.G., <I>The Coracle</I>, 1988.<P>56/187</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Production place
Ironbridge
Production date
1956 - 1956
Object name
Material
Associated subject
