Margaret Ray, collections volunteer, takes us on a quick journey through our historic hand tools collection, many of which came to us from Cornish farms across the Duchy. You can see many of these on display in the Meat Market gallery.

The hand the rocks the cradle rules the world but the hand that wields the farm tools feeds the world.

That could have been the mantra of farming until the late 19th century. Most farming depended on human labour and the tools invented and created by that labour to complete whatever tasks were required in an easier and more comfortable manner.

Whilst mechanical tools were introduced in the 19th century many smaller farms continued to use hand tools. New machinery was expensive but human muscle was cheaper. Even larger farms relied mainly on human workers until after the second world war. Animals such as horses, donkeys and oxen were also needed to pull or push larger farm implements. Certain tasks however, such as hedge laying, continued to require human skills ensuring that the need for hand tools continued although the rising costs of manpower following the war and the speed at which the machine could work, resulted in greater use of mechanisation.

Some are very familiar; sickles developed into scythes to enable cutting of grass and grain without the need to bend low. The cradle scythe found on the wall of the old Meat Market, was a further development. The cradle, fork like prongs, grain stalks to be caught and bundled the grain stalks so that they could be laid down quickly and cleanly for sheaving and threshing.

A plough is a familiar sight traditionally seen pulled by an ox, horse or donkey. Ploughs were adapted and changed for specific crops or conditions. The Cornish swing plough was used for ridging or banking in Cornwall and Devon. The breast plough or broad share however was operated by the farm worker. It has a T-shaped handle that was pushed against the user’s chest or thighs and has a triangular blade with one side bent up to provide a cutting edge. These were in use until the early 20th century to level ground or clear stubble.

Other items, less familiar outside of farming communities, include a hummeller, also known as an awner or piling iron. This has a square grid like head which was used to remove beards from barley.
A flail removed the grain from the husk. Its alternative name of threshel was derived from the Saxon word Therscol (threshing).

A flail removed the grain from the husk. Its alternative name of threshel was derived from the Saxon word therscol (threshing).

The ‘arrish or ‘errish rake displayed on the farming wall, is a large rake pulled by hand or horse, its frame being reinforced by a steel strip. The word is used across Cornwall and the South West as dialect for corn (cereal crop) stubble.

Planting seeds was originally done by hand. The furrows were cut with a plough and seeds were broadcast by hand which was wasteful as seeds often landed outside of the furrows. There are a variety of seed boxes also known as seed lips.

A further development was the seed fiddle or fiddle drill which was much faster than hand sowing. The seed bag was housed in a small box frame with a horizontally mounted fanned disc which was rotated by moving a bow. As the user walked, he moved the bow from side to side a regulated amount of seed dropped from the bag onto the disc and was scattered in a wide arc. The rate of feed could be adjusted. The Aero brand of seed fiddle made in Kilmarnock is on display. The seed drill, which dropped seeds into the soil at a specific depth was pulled by animals but later became motorised.

The “evil” “eval” or hevval is a Cornish dialect word for fork was used to spread manure. Quite where the word came from is unclear. Possibly from “hebbal” meaning a small mow of corn left in a field. More fancifully here may be a link to the belief started in the 10th century, that forks, newly introduced to Europe, were the work of the devil as not only did they resemble the Devil’s horns but they were artificial hands and as such a rejection of God’s design.

By Margaret Ray.