51/26

Slat pick used for making the peg-holes in roofing slats. This was done once the slats had been made to the right shape and were ready for use.
This slat pick was used for making the peg-holes in roofing slats. This was done once the slats had been made to the right shape and were ready for use. Slat picks were once referred to as a 'pittaway' but this term is now obsolete.

1 slat pick; wood [ash] and metal; good condition

Citation in publication [H. J. Massingham, 'Country Relics' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1939)] – ' The slat-pick is a spike, sharpened at both ends, shaped like the head of a human tibia bone, trust at an acute angle into the mortised hole 2 in. [inches] below the [page break] top of a short handle of ash-wood and secured by a wooden wedge. So primitive is it that the reverse end of the spike projects beyond the handle just as does the mill-bill for grooving a millstone. It is used for pecking peg-holes into the dressed salt.' (pp. 18-19) [see also pp. 22-23], MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘PIT [‘(Slat)’ Scored through] // DATE ACQUIRED: January, 1951 // GROUP: CRAFTS- STONE- WALLS ['(Slats)' Scored through] // NEGATIVE: 35/113 // PERIOD: Unknown // PLACE OF ORIGIN: The H. J. Massingham Collection // NUMBER: 51/26M // DESCRIPTION: The slat pick is used for pecking the peg-holes in roofing slats. The holes are made after the slats have been dressed to the right shape. It consists of a wooden shaft through which a spike of steel is thrust at an acute angle. The spike projects on both sides of the handle and is held in place by a wooden wedge. It is set about 1.5 inches from the head of the handle. The handle is made of ash. An alternative name for the pick is PITTAWAY, but this term is not obsolete. // The pick measures 13.75 inches in length and the spike is 7.5 inches long. // Mr. Massingham obtained the pick from [the donor], a stone-slatter of Winchcomb, (Glos.).', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, circa 1951] - 'Museum of English Rural Life // Equipment to be loaned to the Cotswold Tradition Exhibition // Cat Ref. No.: // [tick] 51/26 M // [tick] Slat Pick [Cleaned] [tick] ...', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, circa 1951] - '[insert] MASSINGHAM FILE [end insert] // THE COTSWOLD TRADITION // AN EXHIBITION AT CIRENCESTER PARK // MAY-SEPTEMBER 1951 ... // RECEIPT. // Received with gratitude the following articles, collected from Reading University on the 29th April, 1951: // ...Slat Pick. ...// Loaned by The Massingham Collection.', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/26 // NAME: SLAT PICK // NEG NO.: 35/113 // STORAGE: P. Ex. [Permanent Exhibition] Stonemason.'

Wood, ash, Metal