Material Culture

One girl wrote about The Churn. She began (p. 362): ‘The kind of churn we have is a hand churn.’ She described its use in butter-making and had this to say about the left over buttermilk: ‘Then the butter-milk is put into other milk for feeding calves and often used for making bread.’ She mentioned that the butter-making process would take a quarter of an hour. If a stranger came in he would be asked ‘to make a dreas (turn) of the churn and he wouldn’t be let out if he wouldn’t.’ Churning did not always guarantee butter-making. Sometimes the churning failed. Many charms and superstitions are associated with the whole process. [24]. This topic ends with a story where a hazel rod solved the problem of milk not turning. Hazel was considered as protection against fairies, spirits and evil generally. [25].

On the subject of Clothes, travelling and home-based tailors were written about. The spinning and weaving of wool and linen in the home was also discussed as an activity of the past. On the business of dying these materials moss was used for green dye. Black mud, which was available under water in one particular area, was used locally as a black dye.

A short section on Bread by one female writer relates details about bread ‘long ago’ from wheat, oats and barley (p. 354). ‘They used grind it themselves with a quern stone.’ ‘Stampy,’ also called ‘boxty,’ which included potatoes as an ingredient, was made in the locality. Related to this topic is Food of Old Times. The opening sentence of the male writer begins (p. 371): ‘Long ago people used to use different kinds of food…’ He mentions sorrel, pignuts and bog berries. Vegetables and herbs were used for medicine and for health. The importance of the potato was stressed.