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Pembroke chandelier,

Doreen Walmsley (Designer), Alec Coker (Maker)

Corn dolly is ‘Pembroke chandelier’, made by Alec Coker, to a design by Doreen Walmsley of Pembrokeshire.
This corn dolly is ‘Pembroke chandelier’. It was made by Alec Coker, an experienced corn dolly maker, to a design by Doreen Walmsley of Pembrokeshire. It consists of a spirally woven square structure as a base, with bunches of corn ears at each corner. Four plaited bands from the central hanging structure, holding two bunches of corn ears and with a lantern hanging from each corner.

1 dolly: straw

MERL miscellaneous note Greta Bertram, 20 August 2013 – The 'Coker Collection' of corn dollies was bequeathed to the Museum by Alec Coker, who devoted his retirement from 1965 until his death in 1986 to spreading knowledge of and teaching the craft of corn dolly making. He first became interested in the craft when working at the BBC when he encountered dollies as props on the set of ‘Lorna Doone’ in the 1930s. ‘Corn’ is a term for the family of grains which includes barley, oats, wheat and rye. ‘Corn dolly’ is a wide-ranging term which includes figures, love tokens, crosses, Scandinavian star designs, and Far Eastern shrine dolls made from ‘corn’ straw. Techniques used in the craft include tying, plaiting, weaving and marquetry. The corn dolly was originally an object used in rites and rituals, and in many parts of the world it was believed that the ‘Corn Goddess’ lived in the crop and died when it was harvested. Images of the Goddess, or other talismans, were woven from the last sheaf to be reaped and carefully preserved to ensure an abundant crop the following year. By the twentieth century, corn dollies had lost their ritual associations, and from the 1950s there was a concerted effort to preserve the craft of corn dolly making., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: Pembroke Chandelier // The chandelier square base is made up of four spirally woven ‘necks’ of corn. At the four ends there are bunches of corn ears. Four plaited corn bands form the central hanging structure, holding two bunches of corn ears. At each corner of the chandelier hangs a lantern. // Dimensions: 35cm x 24cm // Associated information: The Pembroke Chandelier was made by Doreen Walmsley of Pembroke. // References: L. Sandford. Strawwork and Corn Dollies p.66 // A. Coker’s Collection List of Corn Dollies no.77.’

Pembrokeshire [unitary authority]