Object number
53/635/1-2
Description
This cooking pot was found in the loft of an old barn in Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset. The barn was originally part of a farm which dates back to at least 1818. Cooking pots of this type have been used since at least the 15th century, and were made of either bronze or iron. This pot is made of iron, has three legs, a half hoop handle, and a lid with a handle on top.
Physical description
1 cooking pot with lid: metal (iron); good condition
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ Cooking pots of this type have been in constant use since the 15th century at least. Sometimes they were made of bronze, more often of iron. They were suspended from a hanger on a chimney crane or from a tripod over an open fire. Sometimes they were very large indeed, sometimes quite small (as in this case). Meat was often bolied in them, instead of being roasted, and a common method of cooking among cottagers was to hang the various kinds of vegetables and meat round the inside of the pot in nets. They were also used as ovens for baking cakes or game, either inverted with the ashes heaped round, called "upset bread", or standing upon the hearth with the top closed by a lid or iron plate, called "pot oven bread". //
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External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_748.tif - High resolution image
