MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Gloria]

I would never have got that. A very good one.

[chinatyke]

I would never have got that. A very good one.

Neither would I without some major clues. But when the penny drops it is so obvious!

[Stanley]

That's what I kept thinking, "Surely they'll see through this one!"
Someone bring the next one up?

[Stanley]

You appear to be waiting for manna from heaven... See whether this will do.



What can you tell me?

[plaques]

That we've had it before. Is that good enough?

[Big Kev]

Is it for oiling up jobs on the lathe? Used as a brush?

[chinatyke]

That we've had it before. Is that good enough?

Me too! I'll keep quiet.

[Stanley]

Now, some guesses/answers?

[Stanley]

You need a clue. Sometimes chain is better than string.

[plaques]

Now, some guesses/answers?

Stanley has spoken now get weaving.

[Stanley]

He knows you know...... A Good Clue!!

[Gloria]

Is it for dusting bits off a loom?

[Stanley]

Sorry Gloria but no. Think of them as individual chains and look at what P said!

[Wendyf]

Something to do with heddles?

[Stanley]

I think that's near enough but perhaps you'd better spell it out or Gloria might shout foul! (She'd be right to actually)
So, exactly what?

[Wendyf]

I don't know!

[Stanley]

'Used instead of string'?

[Stanley]

I think we need to hit this one over the head.
If you look at the picture above you'll see that these are sets of healds and reeds, some call them heddles, waiting to be married up to a weaver's beam. Notice the strings hung down from the top stave of the healds. These were used for attaching the head to the loom. At Bancroft we always used string but in mills where more modern healds were used chains were used instead. The mystery object is a bunch of these chains ready for use.
So the answer is they are heald chains and Wendy got there but didn't know exactly. I reckon she was good enough, it was a hard one.
Next for shaving?

[Stanley]

Can you tell me why Ernie Roberts, tackler and gent at Bancroft Shed in 1978, is fooling about with this fur hat?

[Gloria]

Something to do with power cuts?

[Tizer]

Was it a cold winter in 1978, perhaps?

[chinatyke]

A small piece of fur was used inside shuttles so maybe that was the reason he had it in the stores.

[Stanley]

Ah China has it! He's right, a small piece of fur was used inside the nose of the shuttle to but a brake on the yarn as it came off the cop. This stopped it from 'ballooning' and snarling up. Mill providers used to sell rabbit fur but Bancroft were too mean to spend the money and so weavers brought in old items of fur clothing. A weaver has just brought this hat in....
Next one?

[plaques]

By-the -way we've had it before. Always reminds me of the joke of when Prince Charles arrive at the Burnley steam engine renovation project in a Davy Crockett hat. "why are you wearing that he was asked". "Well I asked Camilla what I should wear when I go to Burnley and she said Wear the Fox Hat"!

[Stanley]

Oh dear P...... My mind is so pure that it took a minute or two for it to dawn on me.... .