Country Relics
An Account of Some Old Tools and Properties Once Belonging to English Craftsmen and Husbandmen Saved from Destruction and Now Described with their Users and their Stories

This 1939 volume provides a rich and detailed description of traditional agricultural husbandry and the rural crafts inseparable from it.

H. J. Massingham (Author), Thomas Hennell (Illustrated by)

9781107600706, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 June 2011

256 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.4 cm, 0.36 kg

'One book that should not be missed by anyone even vaguely interested in tool history.' Craft Magazine

H. J. Massingham (1888–1952) was renowned as a prolific writer on matters relating to the British countryside. In this volume, which was originally published in 1939, Massingham provides a rich and detailed description of traditional agricultural husbandry and the rural crafts inseparable from it. Written in consultation with various practitioners of these crafts, the text reveals a subtle interrelationship between man and nature based on centuries-old processes. Rather than taking a nostalgic approach to these processes, Massingham regards them as the sensible alternative to the 'scientific agriculture' of mechanised farming. Numerous illustrations are included alongside the descriptions of various crafts. This is a fascinating volume that will be of value to anyone with an interest in British agriculture, traditional crafts, and the history of land use.

Preface
Part I. The Hermitage: 1. The hermitage
2. The thatcher
3. Thatching the hermitage
Part II. Stone-Work: 4. The kindest stone
5. Quarrying roof stone
6. Slatting the roof
7. Regional stone roofs
8. The quarryman
9. Dry stone-walling
10. Stone-breaking
Part III. Timber: 11. The hedger
12. A bodger of the beech-woods
13. The saw-pit
14. Adze, Axe and Auger
Part IV. The Life of the Fields - I: 15. Threshing
16. The waggon-team
17. Ploughing
Part V. The Life of the Fields - II: 18. Sowing
19. reaping
20. The cow-yard
Part VI. Shepherding: 21. Shepherd's gear
22. The shepherd's rise and fall
23. Sheep-shearing
24. The old shepherd
Part VII. The Craftswoman
Section 1. Lace: 25 The lace-maker
26. Bobbins and pillow
27. Making bucks point
Section 2. Gloves: 28. Gloveing
29. The glover
Part VIII. Straw and Basket Work: 30. The dolly
31. The deerhurst basket
32. A basket-maker and his family
33. Cultivating the rods
34. Making the basket
Part IX. The Fireplace: 35. Home-made
36. The kitchen
37. Sixty years ago
38. Kitchen things
Part X. Conclusion: 39. Rural regeneration
40. 'Bygones'
Inventory of the objects in the hermitage mentioned in the text
Index.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]