Farm Epic
Anthony Bernard Lees, Farm Epic (circa 1951) This small booklet provides an account of mid-century farm mechanisation using the patented ‘Ferguson System’. This equipment was widely promoted during the early 1950s, when it was displayed at the Festival of Britain and advertised prominently in the Southbank exhibition guide. The ‘System’ comprised the TE20 tractor with its […]
Scythe
Scythes were used to manually cut crops or grass at harvest time. They replaced sickles and bagging hooks which required the user to repeatedly bend down low to cut the crops. Scythes themselves have now been largely been replaced – firstly by horse-drawn and more recently tractor machinery and then combine harvesters, but they are still […]
Barley fork
This is a three-pronged barley fork made of ash. It was used for ‘pooking’ – turning over mown barley as it lay in ‘windrows’ (rows) and stacking it into sheaves. This fork is over 100 years old and probably closer to 200 years old – made before iron was used widely in farm tools. It […]
Death to Pests
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Death to Pests poster, 1951 This poster was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It was printed for H. M. Stationary Office by J. Howitt and Son Ltd, Nottingham, and released in 1951. It was intended to encourage British growers to combat common vegetable pests. This postwar period was still […]
The Tractor Whisperers (an April Fool’s)
Written by Tim Jerrome. In the first half of the 20th century, Britain was home to myriad secret agricultural societies, such as Horseman’s Word. Yet there was one society which, for many, was only a myth. Known as the Tractor Whisperers, the secretive Order of Credulum tilled the shadows of 20th century rural England, achieving […]
51 Voices: Digging Deeper
This January, The MERL embarked on 51 Voices, a new year-long project celebrating the Museum’s seventieth anniversary in 2021. Throughout the year, we will be working with a range of writers, artists and different communities to give contemporary voice to fifty-one objects and archives in The MERL collection connected in myriad ways to our founding year. In this […]
The Country Year
Barry Evans and William Kempster, Designs for The Country Year, 1951 The MERL holds five of these preparatory artworks, originally part of a wider set. The series was reproduced at a larger scale in a ‘merry-go-round’ structure called The Country Year. This sat between exhibits focused on Country Life and Rural Crafts in the Country Pavilion of the […]
Groundnut Film
Colour film, The Groundnut Scheme at Kongwa, Tanganyika, 1948 The East Africa Groundnut Scheme was a disastrous attempt by the British Government to cultivate enormous tracts of land in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania). Work commenced in 1947 and was abandoned in January 1951. This short film forms part of the archive of agricultural engineering firm Ransomes, […]
Horse Brass
Armac Brassworks, Festival of Britain horse brass, 1951 This horse brass is in the shape of the Festival of Britain logo designed by Abram Games. It was one of many popular items sold to commemorate the event, from tea caddy spoons to teapots, badges to biscuit tins. Brasses like this were originally made to adorn […]
Splint Basket
These splint baskets were highly popular in North Devon before World War 2. They were used for a wide variety of purposes, such as feeding cattle, and carrying apples and potatoes. This specific basket would not have used in the field. Instead, it was made and sold by Jack Rowsell, who made around 25 – […]