51/489

Tongs used by blacksmiths to hold pieces of metal in the fire, to hold metal which is being worked and to carry hot metal.
Tongs such as these are used by blacksmiths to hold pieces of metal in the fire, to hold metal which is being worked and to carry hot metal. Nothing is known about the origins of these tongs.

1 pair of tongs: metal (wrought iron); good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'Tongs are used in smithing to hold pieces of metal in the fire, to hold metal which is being worked and to carry hot metal. They have variously shaped jaws. When the tongs themselves become hot they are dowsed in a trough of water, usually near the hearth. // This pair of tongs, the origin of which is not known, has one three-sided jaw and one flat jaw. The two pieces of the tongs are rivetted together in the normal manner. The piece with the three-sided jaw is 27 inches long, the other is 26 inches long. The three-sided jaw is 3.25 inches across while the flat jaw is only 1 inch across. This is a fairly large and heavy pair of tongs. // See also 51/107M, Blacksmith’s hammer.', Lavinia Smith No. 178, Lavinia Smith Catalogue (D60/28) - 'A list of the contents of the East Hendred museum. July 5 1940 // Heating and Cooking // 177-178. AN [sic] old forge tongs and shovel', Heritage of the Hendreds Exhibition 1969 - 'Catalogue of Exhibits // Number 61 // Tongs // Lent by Museum of English Rural Life'

Rippon, Miss Dorothy May Lyddon (Agent)