Abstract
AbstractThistle tongs were used on the Upper Lias clays of the Welland Valley until the 1930s, and in some cases more recently on gardens and similar small patches of cultivation. Five pairs from the collection of the late Mr. E. G. Bolton are now in the Rutland County Museum, and it is highly probable that further examples lie in barns and outhouses of the area.Unlike those described by S. Pilling (‘Folk Life’, Vol. 7, 1969, p. 119), these examples are of iron with wooden handles. In spite of greater sophistication and ubiquity there are no signs of mass-production; the considerable variations in size and detail would indicate their having been custom-made by the local blacksmith in accordance with a generally-known pattern. The total length of each implement is about three feet of which a little over two-thirds is taken up by the wooden handle. These handles are shaped and smoothed to about one inch diameter, one pair (B 1969167) terminating in small bulbs for ease of grip.
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