Object number
55/191
Description
This drainage spade has a tapered blade and was used to cut the third and last spit (a spit being the depth of the spade) in a drainage trench intended for pipes. This spade belonged to John Anstee's great-grandfather,Thomas Hayden, a farm labourer of Great Canfield and High Roding, Essex, who died in 1890.
Physical description
1 spade: metal (iron); wooden handle
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This parallel sided draining spade was used by T. Hayden of High Roding, Essex. Surface drains are of two kinds – open and covered. Whatever the depth of the open variety they must be made with sloping sides in order to prevent the crumbling down or undermining of the sides. Covered drains on the other hand are trenches made to the depth of two or three feet, and then filled with stones or straw and other waste material within a foot of the surface. On the other hand draining tiles may be placed in the trench in order to carry away the water. While the open trench tapers almost to a point at the bottom, those intended for tiles must be more or less rounded at the bottom. // This type of spade was used for cutting the last spit in a drain intended for tiles. It measures a total length of 40.5 inches, the handle being 38 inches long and the blade 12.5 inches long and 2.8 inches wide. At the junction of the handle and the haft of the blade is an iron foot piece 4.8 inches long. The blade is fixed to the handle by a pair of large rivets.'
Production date
1850 - 1860
Object name
Material
Associated subject
Associated person/institution
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_866.tif - High resolution image
