MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Has Maz cracked both of them? If so come clean.
Sorry China no but you are thinking along the right lines!

[Gloria]

Is the circular stone a feed trough?
Is the other thing for dibbing holes to plant something?

[Stanley]

Ah Gloria, yes it is a trough for feeding an animal but it's shape is important, it was made round for a reason. Clue, the bottom of it is round as well.
The triangular shaped object is not a big dibber, not for planting at all......

[Wendyf]

Is it for a bull with a ring in it's nose, and the only thing that comes to mind for the triangular item is a garden roller.

[Gloria]

It's round so it can't tip right over?

[Gloria]

Is the triangular thing something to do with hay making?

[Tizer]

I think Gloria's right and it's round so that it always rolls back the same way.

[Stanley]

I think between you you have got it. The stone is a bull trough, made rounded so the bull could roll it round the pen or croft without damaging it.
The triangular object is a 'Donkey Rake' or 'Rover'.



I haven't got a pic of a donkey rake that's clear. Imagine a large wooden frame with curved teeth like this antique horse drawn rake and about half the size. It was dragged behind you to glean left over hay in a harvested field. When the tines were full you pushed it back which emptied the tines and dragged it round what you'd just gathered. Almost always used by women and girls. (The tines had a high polish on them because of use.)
Next one?

[Gloria]

Try this, the hand is there to give an idea of the size.

image.jpg

[Stanley]

I think I know what it is but where I would have to guess is what it was used for. Anything to do with boats?

[Gloria]

No Stanley not to do with boats really, maybe loosely.

[Stanley]

I'll keep stum for a bit Love. If I ask the questions I have about it's use it will give the game away. Technically it's still a mystery to me....

[Gloria]

I'll keep stum for a bit Love. If I ask the questions I have about it's use it will give the game away. Technically it's still a mystery to me....

[plaques]

Something Gloria put on just to wind people up.

[Gloria]

Stanley, you mentioned boats, are you going off what you see in the top right hand corner which looks like water? It's not, it's the corner of a building and its shadow.

[Stanley]

P has it as well!
No Gloria, just what I know is a common use for these artefacts.

[Tizer]

I thought it might be for pulling in the fishing boats on a beach somewhere but you say only loosely connected with boats - pulling a boat up a beach needs better than a loose connection!

Drawing out wire or rope?

[Gloria]

Not for pulling boats up a beach. More for lifting, but what?

[Stanley]

It seems to be accepted that it's a winch, which of course is correct. It has a brake on the drum for holding the rope in any position or controlling the rate of descent of whatever it was lifting. It's unusual in that there is only one place the crank handle can be used, for the highest lifting power. More common to have a square on the end of the secondary shaft as well to allow speedier lifting/hauling of lighter weights. The drum is designed for rope not chain and almost certainly fibre ropes and not wire. Is there a well or shaft in the vicinity?

[Gloria]

Not a well or a shaft, you're right it is to do with lifting. Think where I was on an earlier post I put on.

[chinatyke]

Winch for extracting the Sabden treacle miners?

[Stanley]

You've been to so many places Gloria!
Is it for lifting stuff to a height rather than from below ground level?

[rossylass]

Something to do with canals? Maybe to raise a plug, but it doesn't seem to be attached to anything?

[Tizer]

Not a well or a shaft, you're right it is to do with lifting. Think where I was on an earlier post I put on.

Something to do with Antigua. For winching Eric Clapton up the cliffs to his house?

[Gloria]

It is on Antigua Tiz, it's on Shirley Heights above English Harbour. Now have a think what it could be lifting. And no it's not Eric Clapton.