2004/12

Isaac Nash & Sons (Manufacturer)

This caving, or 'keeving', fork is a tool used in threshing to remove the cavings - stalks which are somewhere in length between straw and chaff - when using a threshing machine. It has a four-pronged iron head and a straight wooden handle. A strap on the handle is stamped 'I Nash & Sons'. It was acquired by the donor in 1952 from the village blacksmith at Tidmarsh, where it had been left to be fitted with a new handle but was never collected. It was used at Chamber House Farm, Thatcham, until 1954, when the farm got its first combine harvester.

1 caving fork; iron, wood; good condition

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'FORK, CAVINGS // Description // 1 Cavings fork. // Four-pronged iron head. Straight, wooden handle fitten into iron straps of head and held with two rivets. // 'I Nash & Sons, Stourbridge' stamped on strap. // Dimensions // 162 x 38cm (total length x width of head) // Associated information // Donor acquired the fork in 1952 from the village blacksmith at Tidmarsh (it had been left at the blacksmiths to be fitted with a new handle but was never collected. // Used at donor's Chamber House Farm, Thatcham, until 1954 when the farm got its first combine harvester.', Donor acquired the fork in 1952 from the village blacksmith at Tidmarsh (it had been left at the blacksmiths to be fitted with a new handle but was never collected). Used at donor's Chamber House Farm, Thatcham, until 1954 when the farm got its first combine harvester

Stourbridge

1952

Wood, Metal, iron