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This is a black cast iron cauldron, measuring 10x 8½ inches. Presumably used for domestic cooking over an open fire. No further information is known of this object.

1 cauldron: iron

Object research project, Anne Latto, April 2019 – 'This is a cast-iron cooking pot, measuring 10x 8½ inches, and most likely used for cooking over an open fire. It is made of iron. Cooking pots such as this are made of cast-iron, a very heavy material that would have been able to stand the intense heat of the fire in the kitchen. The iron used to make this pot would have been mined straight out of the ground as a rock. This is known as Iron Ore, which is then melted using fire. This is done in a foundry where a hot furnace is burning: the iron is heated and smelted (otherwise known as melted), and is then poured into a mould to make an array of items, including this pot. The fires in a foundry would have reached 3,000 degrees Celsius and would have burned for 24 hours a day to keep their heat. The handle of the cooking pot meant it could be hung over the fire, or it could be placed on a trivet. A Trivet is a three of four-legged stand, commonly made of iron, which stood beside a fireplace. This stand allowed any pots removed from the fire to be placed on a stable surface that could withstand the heat of the pot. Trivets were also used to prevent pots sitting on the coals in and open fire. The stand would have elevated the pot allowing the food inside to cook more evenly and the pot to stand more securely.' , MERL ‘Handwritten catalogue’ - ‘CAULDRON // Domestic Cooking // Mr G Saunders, Reading // [pencil drawing].’