Object number
60/40
Exhibition
Description
Bird clappers were used for protecting crops from birds, making a noise when waved which scared them away. This bird scarer is made from soft wood, and consists of two shorter pieces attached to a longer piece by a boot lace. The handle has been chamfered out and rounded. It came from Witheridge Farm in Hailey, Oxfordshire.
Physical description
1 bird scarer: wood (soft); fair condition- woodworm
Label Text
Bird Scarer // used to scare off any birds that got too close to the crops. Children would have to stand in the fields for eight hours a day and shake the clacker. When they shook the crow clacker it would make a loud sound that would scare off the crows. It shows how important the crops were in Medieval farming. // [MERL 60/40] [Text authored by students in UIII H at The Abbey School]
Archival history
MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Standard museum name: … // Accession number: … // Classification: … // Negative number: … // Acquisition method: … // Acquired from: … // Date: … // Store: … // Condition: … // Recorder: KCS // Date: 23/3/94 // Description: Made from soft wood. Rather worm eaten. One long piece of wood, two shorter. All are same width. Shorter pieces are attached to either side of one end of long piece, by a piece of string which is looped through two holes in each section of wood. The other end of the long piece is narrowed and then widened again, with curved edges to form a comfortable handle. // Dimensions: Length – 41.4cm. Lengths of shorter section – 16.7cm & 15.7cm. Width 6.6cm. // Associated information: // References: …'
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_3549.tif - High resolution image
