Folk Life The Knitting Sheath

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The Knitting Sheath bj PETER C. D. BREARS

Reprinted from FOLK LIFE

A Journal of Ethnological Studies

Volume Twenty 1981-82

The Knitting Sheath by PETER C. D. BREARS

INTRODUCTION

In their introduction to European Folk Art, Robert Wildhabcr and Hans Jurgen Hansen stress the need for further studies into this most significant but neglected subject.1 They then proceed to reject totally the popular nineteenth-century view of folk art as an expression of nationalism, arguing that the arts of any region or state all follow great international stylistic movements, although their detailed application may vary consid­ erably even from one village to another. This paper seeks to illustrate and endorse these concepts through the study of the knitting sheaths of England and Wales, first defining their use, materials and distribution, and then discussing their significance within a European context. The history and development of hand knitting has been described elsewhere.2 In brief, this technique of making garments had spread through southern Britain by the late sixteenth century, often being promoted in urban areas where it provided suitable relief work for the poor. In the eighteenth century the craft was forced out of the towns by industrial framework knitters, and thus became firmly established in the relatively poor upland areas of Wales, northern England, the Highlands and Shetland. From the sixteenth to the early twentieth century, hand knitting organized under the domestic system provided a major source of income for these areas, its importance being indicated by the great value of its products, the stockings from Swaledale and Wensleydale in Yorkshire alone being worth at least £40,000 per annum in the 1820s.3 In Wales too, the knitting of stockings was an important cottage industry.4 Knitting was also practised around the coast of Britain, but here women tended to knit largely for the men of their own families.5 By the seventeenth century at the latest, knitting was being carried out on a number of curved metal needles, one of which was held rigidly between the right hand and a purposely made support or sheath secured at the side of the body between the waist and the armpit.* In 1844, William Howitt described the knitters of Dentdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire: their knitting goes on with unremitting speed, they sit rocking to and fro like so many weird wizards. And this rocking motion is connected with a mode of knitting peculiar to the place, called swaving, which is difficult to describe. Ordinary knitting is performed by a variety of little motions, but this is a single uniform tossing motion of both the hands at once, and the body often accompanying it with a sort of sympathetic action. The knitting produced is just the same as by the ordinary method. They knit with crooked pins called pricks; and use a knitting-sheath consisting commonly of a hollow piece of wood, as large as the sheath of a dagger, curved to the side, and fixed by a belt called a cowhand. The women of the north, in fact, often sport very

*Thc term sheath has been preferred to ‘stick1 or ‘needle support’ since it was used almost without exception up to the early twentieth century; sec Fig. 3, No. 7.

THE KNITTING SHEATH

17

curious knitting sheaths. We have seen a wisp of straw tied up pretty tightly into which they stick their needles; and sometimes a bunch of quills of at least half-a-hundred in number. These sheaths and cowhands arc often presents from their lovers to the young women. Upon the band there is a hook, upon which the long end of the knitting is suspended that it might not dangle.6 This technique survived almost up to the present day, its widespread use probably originating from the tuition provided at knitting schools such as those founded in York in 1590, or in Lincoln in 1591,7 At the York Spinning School in 1800, for example, each girl was allowed to have a ‘knitting sheath ; new set of Knitting Needles’ at Easter.8 During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries this method gradually fell out of use, education authorities considering it to be harmful to the posture, producing a weak chest and rounded shoulders. In its place, children were taught to knit without the sheath, in the modern manner.9 In preparing this paper, a full bibliographical survey was first completed, followed by visits to those museums known to hold sheaths within their collections. Museums either having well established social history collections, or being situated in areas where knitting formed part of the local economy, were next contacted, and visits made where appropriate (see Fig. 1). Only soundly provenanced examples were recorded, and from these a typological classification was established. A full list of the provenanced examples of each type has now been deposited with each of the museums holding type specimens. In the following pages, references to particular sheaths are given in the form of a prefix indicating the individual museum or source followed by the appropriate accession number (see Appendix). Great tribute must be paid to the collectors of knitting sheaths, especially Mr O. R. Whitehead of Bradford, for their scholarship and generosity, which have so enriched our public collections and made the present paper possible. Through their efforts many hundreds of sheaths have been preserved together with their detailed provenances, but thousands more must have lost their provenance or been destroyed prior to the late nineteenth century. It is probably for this reason that so few sheaths have survived from lowland Britain, where they were undoubtedly used in earlier times.

MATERIALS

Although a number of sheaths were made by professional woodworkers and turners, the majority of the finer and decorated sheaths were made by amateurs who might earn their living as shepherds, farmers, quarrymen or miners. Very few examples are closely provenanced with regard to their makers, but in some cases it is possible to trace a continuous tradition of woodcarving throughout several generations of the same family. In Middleton in Teesdale for example, Thomas Tarn was carving excellent stay-busks in the 1780s, his descendant Timothy Tarn producing some of the finest sheaths over a century later, a similar continuity being recorded for the Scott family of Walker Hill Farm in the same village.10 Usually the sheaths were carved as love tokens for the young man’s intended bride, but this practice was by no means universal, for men made sheaths for their daughters, or for other close members of their family.11

THE KNITTING SHEATH

19

The early sheaths sometimes bear simple incised inscriptions similar to those found on the slipwarcs and other decorative arts of the period, such as: BE FRIEND TO FEW BE FO TO NON BE KIND TO AL AND LOVE BUT ON

1688

The Gift is small But love is all 1728 WORK FROM HEAVEN PERFORMED BELOW MY FAITH IS GIVEN THIS PLEDGE DOTH SHEW PAM 1690

or more specifically: I am of box and brass within My place is on your apron-string 167912 The later examples range from the simple ‘A Present for a friend’ or ‘Forget me not’ to the loquacious: Art thou not dear unto my heart search that heart and see and from my bosom tear the part that beats not true to thee but to my bosom thou arc dear mor dear then words can tell & I but fault be cherished thare its loving the to well September th 23 1831 JR13 In contrast to these romantic sentiments, a number of sheaths have moralizing or religious texts, including: Remember thy creator in the days of thy youth (1843) Let virtue be thy guide (1854) ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL. THESS. V 22 MARY WAITE14

The materials used to form knitting sheaths were of the greatest possible variety, often being improvised from any available sources, ranging from goose-quills to bundles of twigs or rolls of straw, but the present article is solely concerned with purposely manufactured sheaths. In its simplest form, the sheath might be a twig bored out with a

Fig. 1. (opposite) Distribution of the major types ofknitting sheath in England, Northern England {top) and South Wales {bottom) H. South Wales Sheaths o. a. Airedale Hearts I. Eskdale Sheaths s. b. West Cumbrian Hearts j. ‘Triangle’Sheaths T. c. Clapham Sheaths k. Welsh Double-Ended Sheaths \v. d. Durham Sheaths l. Warwickshire Spindles • e. Eden Sheaths m. Cornish Sheaths F. West Cumbrian Sheaths n. North Yorkshire Hearts G. Dent Sheaths

Essex Sheaths Stepped Sheaths Teesdale Sheaths Weardale Sheaths Spindle Sheaths

233SO RP*> B E IFRS END nr O ■ FftyT g NJ^B&igND-TO-AL-AHD TPVg 16 g

)ZZ2% ____ (WfoeGift \Z Ira,ill But loUP

L)

&

18

Vi

insp »M**

■J

THE KNITTING SHEATH

21

piece of hot wire, while clothes pegs or pirns, the narrow bobbins used in textile mills, could also make efficient sheaths (Fig. 2, Nos 1-3). By far the most common material employed in making knitting sheaths was wood, virtually every native timber being used for this purpose, although an increasing number were made from imported woods, such as mahogany, from the early part of the nineteenth century. The crudest sheaths, roughly cut to shape and totally undeco­ rated, were in the minority, for the majority were carefully smoothed and enriched in a variety of techniques, including carving and inlaying with contrasting wood, bone, hard wax or pewter. It is suprising to find the latter so proficiently used in the northern counties, for, with the exception of lace bobbin decoration, its use in this manner is virtually unknown in either the polite or folk arts of this country (Fig. 2, No. 5). The surface of the sheaths might also be recessed to receive either small paintings or suitable inscriptions written by hand, printed, or even composed from individual letters obtained from newspapers, etc. (Fig. 2, No. 6). Some sheaths were either wax polished or perhaps varnished, whenever a high finish was required, although the majority were left quite plain. In exceptional examples, coloured paints and inks might be introduced to produce a highly decorative effect, this being seen to advantage when applied to the lighter toned woods (Fig. 2, No. 7), or when used to pick out the detail of the carving, where it produced an effect very similar to that of inlay. In addition to wood, the materials used included bone, leather and horn, the latter being conveniently shaped by heat and the knife in a similar manner to that employed to produce shepherds’ crooks. Sheet metal could be cut into small heart-shaped sheaths which, when sewn back on to a fabric backing, might be pinned, sewn, or placed into a purposely-made pocket on the dress of the knitter. In Cumbria and parts of North Yorkshire, these were usually of brass, filed and engraved to a high standard, while in West Yorkshire they were more crudely made from tinplate. Solid metal sheaths were also made, cast bronze and wrought iron examples being recorded, although these are very unusual (Fig. 2, No. 13). Ceramic knitting sheaths were probably produced more for their novelty value rather than for any practical use, but at least two of blown glass are known, one other being of white pottery decorated with blue and red colours, resembling the wares of the Sunderland potteries.ls

Fig. 2. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

(opposite) Materials, Techniques and Inscriptions

Twig, Devon, 1870 (lr 534/1968) Peg, Durham (b 1980/804/2) Pirn, Bradford5 (cm 106/67/1 3 1) Inlaid wood, Middleton in Teesdale (cm 106/67/90) Inlaid pewter Inlaid glass panel, Egglestone, Teesdale (b) Painted decoration (bm t 1345)

8.

Horn, Annficld Plain, Durham (b 1968/160/2) 9. Glass (h) 10 Leather (k) 1 1. Silk and sequins on wood, Ripon (cm 1156/50) 12. Bone, Middleton in Teesdale (b 1980/508/1) 13. Metal inlay, Wenslcydalc (b 1971/55/O

14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Iron, Llanclwedd, Radnor (sf 50/452/4) North Wales? 1690 (sf 40/190) Unprovenanced 1688 (bht 1322) Cambridgeshire 1728 (ah 79/13 5) Unprovenanced 183 1 (BMT1323)

THE KNITTING SHEATH

23

CLASSIFICATION

As the great majority of knitting sheaths were made by individuals who were not professional woodworkers, and who might only make two or three at most during the course of their lives, it is to be expected that the greatest variety of forms and decorations would be encountered. This is true to a certain extent, but by examining the largest possible numbers of provenanced sheaths in the museum collections of England and Wales it has been possible to establish a firm classification on a morpho­ logical basis. In the following pages each type is described in turn, the accompanying illustrations showing the simplest variety of the type, together with its variants. As will be seen from the maps of the major areas where sheaths were used, the various types arc quite restricted in their distribution, so that it is now possible to attribute unprovenanccd examples of the types to their probable areas of origin. Durham Sheaths (Fig. 3, Nos 1—7) These sheaths are rectangular in section, their slightly curving shafts tapering evenly in thickness from head to foot, while maintaining the same width across the face. Their feet are finished either with a straight-cut chisel-like edge, or with a neat scroll to the front, while a deep, square-cut slot for the cowband runs diagonally across the face. Many of the sheaths are quite plain, while others are neatly carved with inscriptions and with designs composed of incised triangles. Around the middle of the nineteenth century this traditional form of carving was entirely replaced by inlaid decoration, the native woods being largely superseded by finer materials such as mahogany, with its rich dark colour, or, more rarely, with ripple-grained maple. Simple shapes such as hearts and diamonds were the most popular, these being combined with lines and edgings of contrasting woods. The heads of these later sheaths were frequently decorated with inlaid rectangular panels of glass which covered slips of paper bearing either handwritten inscriptions or painted scenes, the paper itself often being pierced with triangles, diamonds or hearts to reveal a coloured paper or cloth backing. On these examples, the inlay is of the highest quality, the glass panels being framed with mahogany, ebony and harewood crossbanded between fine boxwood strips, the shaft being further inlaid with fine woods, bone, or coloured waxes rubbed into incised designs.

Fig. 3.

(opposite) Durham, Stepped and Weardale Sheaths

DURHAM

1. 2. 3. 4$■

6. 7-

Ncwton-on-the-Moor (b 1980/699/1) North Shields, 1849 (u 1966/179) Coxhoe (b 1980/557) Gateshead (u 1975/13^/1) Haydon Bridge (b 1961/73 a) Thornlcy 1854 (private collection) Consett, i8i2(b 1973/486/1)

STEPPED

8. Gayles. Richmond (» 1964/378) 9. Scorton, Richmond (b) 10. Castle Bolton (cm 106/67/99)

WEARDALE it. Ncnthead(cm 106/67/34) 14. West Blackdean (cm 106/67/39) 13. Weardale (cm 192/63) 14. Nenthead (CM 106/67/37) 15. Nenthcad (c 3/1967) 16. Alston 1S70 (cm 106/67/65)

24

FOLK LIFE

Most of these sheaths come from eastern County Durham, from the Tyne to tire Tees, a small number also being recorded from Wctrsleydale and Swaledale in North Yorkshire. Stepped Sheaths (Fig. 3, Nos 8-10) In their simpler and presumably earlier form, these sheaths were similar to those from County Durham, rectangular in section, with slightly curving shafts tapering in thickness towards the foot, but with a sharp-edged step running diagonally across the face, just below the head. The stylistically later sheaths, made from around 1850, are usually of finer woods, such as mahogany, their heads having concave sides, and their shafts adopting a serpentine form, with pronounced scrolling at the foot. Usually quite plain, these later sheaths were sometimes inlaid with small lozenges or hearts etc. either in bone or in light-coloured woods. Relatively few sheaths of this type are closely provenanccd. but their distribution appears to be restricted to the area of North Yorkshire lying between upper Nidderdale and the valley of the river Tees. Weardale Sheaths (Fig. 3, Nos 11-16) The Weardale sheaths are normally square in section, their hafts being straight-sided before merging into gently curving shafts. Frequently there are no grooves to receive the cowband, but where these do exist, they cut diagonally across the centre of the face of the sheath. The foot usually takes the form of a simple rounded terminal, perhaps with a horizontal straight-cut upper surface, but individual sheaths may have arrowshaped. spiral or violin-scroll ends. The decoration of these mahogany or native-wood sheaths is of the highest quality, their surfaces often being entirely covered with intricate designs composed of incised triangles and ‘X’ motifs. The haft may contain either a ball-cage carved from the solid, an ‘imitation cage' formed by a number of triangular-sectioned recesses cut into the haft, or even four small inlaid glass panels covering inscriptions on paper, while in exceptional circumstances, they might even have carved chain pendants. The initials of the owner may also be carved on to one of the faces of the sheath. This group originates from the hill country to the north of Cross Fell, including the upper valleys of the South Tyne, the East Allen, and the Wear. Cumbrian Hand Sheaths (Fig. 4, No. 1) This type of sheath is straight, rectangular in section, and has a diagonal cut across its face to receive the cowband. It is unique in having six separate needle holes in the head, and a hand with the forefinger extended carved at the foot. The illustrated example, the earliest yet recorded, is inscribed ‘Ann Read born 1773’. The hand device is also found on other artefacts from Cumberland, including an undated butter marker (cm 394/33). The 1900 gravestone of Henry Bell of Newbiggin, in the yard of Dacre Church, Cumbria, shows a similar hand reaping a spray of

THE KNITTING SHEATH

25

flowers, perhaps representing the hand of God reaping the souls of the departed (Fig. 4, No. 2)

West Cumbrian Sheaths (Fig. 4, Nos 3-7) The sheaths carved in Eskdale are square in section with either straight or slightly convex shafts tapering towards their feet. The head is either cut square, or has a square terminal knob, and includes a ball cage. From the face, an L-shaped slot is cut back into the sheath, the face maintaining the same line above and below the slot. The carved decoration is of incised triangles and ‘X’ motifs together with hearts, flowers, birds, and the initials or name of the owner. A wcll-provenanced group, all coming from the foot of Eskdale and the adjoining coastal area ofCumbria, was published by C. A. Parker in 1917, while R. S. Ferguson published a similar group from the Wigton area.16 One of the finest examples, dated 1777, has the head and tail of a mermaid.

The Claplumi Sheaths (Fig. 4, No. 8) The characteristic sheath of Clapham in north-west Yorkshire is square in section, with a straight shaft, carved terminal knob and a ball-cage. The lower section of the shaft is divided into a long, forked form by a central cut parallel with the face, the back ‘prong’ having a rounded terminal, while the slightly shorter front ‘prong’ terminates in a round or Y-shaped finial. The decoration is restricted to simple ‘X’ motifs or rosettes, together with the date and the initials of the owner. One unprovenanced example in Keighley Museum is dated 1777, but two further specimens (cm 106/67/8 and 106/67/6) are dated 1867 and 1871, both being made in

Clapham. South Wales Sheaths (Fig. 4, Nos 10—11) These sheaths have conical hafts tapering down to large square bosses and slightly concave leaf-shaped blades. This shape remained quite uniform from the time of the earliest dated example of 1750 (O. Evan-Thomas, Domestic utensils of wood (London, 1932), pi. 53) to at least 1838 (sf 53/101/56).17 The decoration of these sheaths is of the highest quality, being executed either in the form of incised lines or minute carved triangles. The Welsh Folk Museum holds two groups of these sheaths, one from Pontypridd and the other from Abergavenny.

Eskdale Sheaths (Fig. 4, Nos 12-13) Very few sheaths may be soundly provenanced to the Esk valley which runs westward from Whitby into the North Yorkshire Moors. Those which have been traced are square in section, their shafts being divided into a forked form which hooks on to the

f

n EBB

Wi

>- ■

re

THE KNITTING SHEATH

27

cowhand. The decoration of these sheaths is restricted to simple carved initials etc. perhaps with the addition of a ball-cage.

Cornish Sheaths (Fig. 4, Nos 15-17) Like the Eskdale sheaths, the published examples from Cornwall are square in section, straight-sided, and have forked shafts, one example from North Hill being similar to those from South Wales (cf. Nos 10, 1 1 and 17) with polygonal haft, tapering to a square boss. The carving of these sheaths is quite simple when compared to the examples from northern England, but includes the ‘X’ and heart motifs found in that region.

Chain Sheaths (Fig. 5, Nos 1-8) This most elaborate group presented the greatest opportunity for the display of technical proficiency and ingenuity, each sheath having a long chain terminating in a hook to support the weight of the knitting, all cut from a single piece of wood. The technique of carving wooden chains was already fully developed by the fifteenth century, although the earliest chain sheath is dated within the 1680s (Fig. 5, No. 1). Probably the most elegant chain sheaths were made in Middleton in Teesdale, as seen in the work of Timothy Tarn (Fig. 5, No. 2) and probably his predecessors (e.g., cm 106/67/87/ dated 19 January 1840). Here the sheaths are carved in spiral form, with a swivel-link in the chain and a two-pronged hook, the carved designs being picked out in dark ink. Further to the north, around Carlisle in northern Cumbria, the sheaths were of a coarser workmanship, but included the use of double chains and four-pronged hooks incorporating some three or four swivel movements down their length (Fig. 5, Nos 3-5). A single example from this area, carved with a pocket knife by Francis Mitchinson, a quarryman at Garthpool, Castle Carrock, about 1870. is much simpler in form, relying on elaborate surface decoration for its effect (Fig. 5, No. 6). The most delicate, complex, and highly finished of all chain sheaths appear to have been made by the shepherds of Essex. It is probable that they had already ceased to be

Fig. 4.

(opposite) Cumbrian, Clapham, South Wales, Eskdale and Cornish Sheaths

CUMBRIAN HANDS

i 2.

Cumberland 1773 (k06-353) Gravestone, 1900, Dacre, Cumbria

CLAPHAM

8.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Middleton in Teesdale (b 1980/508)

Calderbridge, 17S2 (c 7/1933/0 Eskdale, 1789 (a h 80/1S) Eskdale c. 1825 (ah 80/17) Unprovenanced 1777 (C. T. Clay Collection) Cumberland, 1831 (c 42-25)

ESKDALE

12. Glaisdale (bm 298/57) 13. Whitby (bm 300/57)

UNCLASSIFIED

9. WEST CUMBRIA

Clapham 1871 (cm 106/67/6)

SOUTH WALES 10. Abergavenny (sf 53/101/55) 11. Pontypridd (sf 63/445/3)

UNCLASSIFIED

14. Keighley (k Pres. 1928) 18. Tebay (cm 106/67/162) 19. Carmarthenshire (sf 58/470/1) CORNISH

15. St Ives (mw p. 17) 16. St Ives (mw p. 17) 17. North Hill (mw p. 18)

\ $ sa i

/ A if.

I

W^>Wi

1

THE KNITTING SHEATH

29

made before the active collection of such items commenced, but fortunately a single early provcnanced specimen remains to demonstrate their fine quality. Just before embarking for Canada on the ‘Caroline’ in early April 1835, James Bradford, a shepherd from Dibden near Saffron Walden presented this sheath, which he had carved with his pocket knife, to his local museum, where it still lies (Fig. 5, No. 8).

j

i

Teesdale Sheallis (Fig. 6, Nos 1-4) This group of sheaths made exclusively of native woods is characterized by a flat-faced blade, almost uniform in width, with a simple curved outline usually enriched with a border of small carved triangles around the back and top edges, this often being replaced by a scalloped border along the front edge. Both the head and the foot tend to have straight vertical edges, although these may be chamfered or scrolled respectively, in individual examples. The haft is normally carved to a square section, often tapering from the centre to the extremities, or is given an octagonal section. The chief decorative elements are carved, and include ‘X’ motifs, six-pointed rosettes, lozenges, and plant motifs, although individual examples may have pierced decoration (cm 106/67/89), incised snakes, names, or initials (c & w 15 and 17). Inlaid glass panels covering printed paper inscriptions are also to be found on isolated examples (e.g., b 1965/190, cm 106/67/82). This group is remarkable in that there are almost no elements of design or signs of wear to indicate the use of the cowband. It is recorded that the example made by William Scott senior for his wife Nancy (No. 1) was always simply gripped under the arm when knitting socks and scarves, and it appears probable that the thin, flat section of these sheaths was specifically designed for use in this manner. The distribution of these sheaths shows a remarkable concentration around Middleton in Teesdale, the largest centre of population in the upper Tees valley, and it is likely that those examples collected from North Yorkshire and the industrial areas of County Durham were produced by men from this area. Eden Vale Sheaths (Fig. 6, Nos 5-8, and Fig. 7, No. 1) The blades of the sheaths from Eden Vale have flat faces, broad at the head, but tapering to the foot in a graceful curve emphasized by a broad chamfer along the back edge. The

Fig. 5.

(opposite) Chain Sheaths and Other Carved Items

1. Unprovcnanced, 1680s, with nine-men’s morris carved on back (dm t/ i 304) 2. Middleton in Tcesdale, carved by Timothy Tarn, May 1892 (b 1980/525/1) 3. North Cumbria (c) 4- North Cumbria, 1896 (c 81/1962/3) 5. North Cumbria (c 27/1926) 6. Castle Carrock, North Cumbria, carved by Francis Mitchinson c. 1870 (c 59/1933)

7. Bury St Edmunds, 1767 (cm 1086/4/50) 8. Saffron Walden, carved by James Bradford. 1835 (Saffron Walden Museum No. 1835/85) 9. Stay busk, carved by Thomas Tarn, Middleton in Teesdale, 1784 (cm 106/67/127) 10. Snuffbox, northern Pennine's (cm YM/404) 11. Snuffbox, northern Pennines (cm) 12. Snuffbox found in Settle, North Yorkshire, 1981 (Private collection)

THE KNITTING SHEATH

31

top edges arc decorated with further chamfers or scallops, with deep grooves in front of the haft to receive the cowhand. The hafts are lathe-turned (or carved to resemble lathe turning) to a variety of complex baluster forms, which are frequently enhanced by additional carving. The plainer sheaths may be decorated with pricked geometric designs, or with floral motifs or initials shallowly incised across the upper section of the face. Further examples have either initials or a full name incised diagonally across the face, with an ornamental frame, the perimeter of the face being marked by a border of incised triangles. The finest sheaths of this type, however, have the entire area of their faces and chamfers covered with carved decoration of the highest quality, with elaborate initials, floral and geometric motifs, and even applied panels of bone carved with portrait busts picked out in black ink (No. 6). These sheaths originate from the upper section of the Eden valley from Appleby, towards Kirkby Stephen, and then along its tributary, the Scandal Beck to Ravenstonedale.

Dentdalc Sheaths (Fig. 7, Nos 2-3) The chief characteristic of the Dentdale sheaths is the pronounced step or ledge which cuts diagonally across the broad upper section of the face. In comparison with the Eden Vale sheaths, their blades are short and broad, ranging from smoothly modelled, serpentine outlines to severe, almost straight forms. In the finer examples, the hafts are lathe-turned balusters,, but many are either carved to give a similar appearance to lathe turning, or are given a simple cylindrical or slightly conical shape. The standard of workmanship of these sheaths tends to be mediocre, and decoration is virtually unknown, with the exception of the occasional notching of the upper edge of the step, or, extremely rarely, the use of incised floral motifs and borders of incised triangles (No. 3). Sheaths of this type originate chiefly from Dentdale, and Garsdale, the adjacent area of the Lune Valley, and upper Ribblesdale.

'Triangle' Sheaths (Fig. 7, No. 9) This small group of sheaths is similar to those from Eden Vale and from Dent, but the lower right-hand area of the upper section of the face is recessed to reveal either a

Fig. 6.

(opposite) Tccsdale and Eden Vale Sheaths

TEESDALE

EDEN VALE

1.

5. 6. 7. 8.

2. 3. 4.

Middleton in Tecsdale (B 1980/558/2) Middleton in Tecsdale (cm 106/67/86) Tccsdale(n 1961/51/2) Baldcrsdalc, 1855 (ca w, 1917 fig. 15)

Warcop (cm 106/67/33) Wigton (c 115/1960) Appleby (l 2/104/54) Eden Vale (CM 107/67/18)

«F> KK

£_ i.

* V"!-

P

/

THE KNITTING SHEATH

33

parallel scries of gouge-cut grooves, or a number of curved steps carved as a scries of triangles. The remainder of this area is decorated with chamfers and simple incised designs. The distribution of these sheaths is restricted to the northern part of the Yorkshire Dales, from Darlington to Lcyburn and Castle Bolton in Wensleydalc. Spindle Sheaths (Fig. 7, Nos 4-8, 10—21) Knitting sheaths in the form of spindles were probably the first to be used in this country, most of the oldest dated sheaths, including one inscribed ‘ano 1628’ (No. 4) being of this type.17 Although few provenanced examples have survived, it would appear that these sheaths were most common in the lowland areas of Britain, being made either on the lathe, or, more usually, being carved in imitation of turning and subsequently decorated with incised designs, sometimes enriched with wax inlays (Fig. 2, No. 15, and Fig. 7, No. 6). Carved spindles remained in use until the end of this technique of knitting (Nos 10, 11 and 15), even though turned spindles became increasingly popular from the start of the nineteenth century. The earlier turned spindles were relatively simple in form, but more complex and elegant designs were made from the 1850s, many being produced in the bobbin-mills which manufactured pirns and bobbins for the textile mills of northern England. Made in large numbers and in the widest variety of designs, these sheaths are extremely difficult to classify, but some small groups made in Haworth (No. 16) in West Yorkshire and in the bobbin mills of Cumbria and northern Lancashire arc identifiable (Nos 18-19). Welsh Double-ended Spindle Sheaths (Fig. 7, Nos 10-13) The number of provenanced Welsh knitting sheaths is quite small, but the Welsh Folk Museum holds examples collected from a variety of sources. Of these, the most

Fig. 7.

(opposite) Eden Vale, Dent, ‘Triangle’ and Spindle Sheaths

EDEN VALE 1. Penrith 1820 ( c & w, 1917, fig- 13) DENT

2. 3.

Dent (cm 106/67/13) Dent (cm 106/67/12)

SPINDLES

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Unprovenanccd (lr 10/1950/69) Bigbury, Devon (lr 55/1967) Chalcombc, Oxon, 1750 (bm f 142/70) Silsden, 1751 (k 40/68) Pen-y-Fai, Glamorgan (sf 69/58)

‘triangle’ 9. Castle Bolton, 1S30 (cm 449/41 A)

WEST YORKSHIRE SPINDLES

16. Oxenhope, West Yorkshire (cm 106/67/57) 17. Bradford (cm 106/67/55)

WELSH DOUBLE-ENDED SPINDLES

10.

Ysbyty Ystwyth, Cardigan (sf 36/421) 11 Llanwrtyd Wells, Brecon (SF33/72/21) 12. Maespoth, Brecon (sf47/81 /6) 13. Pen-Uwch, Cardigan (sf 68/412) [4. Tregaron, Cardigan (SF62/132/2)

CONICAL 15. Unprovcnanced (sfoo/110)

CUMBRIAN SPINDLES

18. Caldbeck, Cumbria (c 27/1905/3) 19. Mealsgate. Cumbria (c 6-1895) 20. Penny Bridge. Cumbria (c 26/1940/4) WARWICKSHIRE

21. Coventry (cy Fretton Collection /4)

34

FOLK LIFE

significant group is unusual in that the sheaths are double-ended spindles, being symmetrical about the centre of their shafts. Carved specimens of this type are usually quite plain, their shafts belling outwards slightly at both ends (No. i o), although others may have long tapering terminals incised with triangular motifs and the owner’s initials (No. 11). The lathe-turned double-ended spindles may be simply divided into two groups, those with acorn-shaped terminals (No. 12) and those with wide cup-shaped terminals (No. 13). The distribution of these sheaths shows a pronounced concentration in mid Cardi­ ganshire, with a few outlying examples from Llanwrtyd Wells and Glamorgan. Single-ended spindles with wide cup-ended terminals identical to those of the double-ended variety share a similar concentration in mid Cardiganshire (No. 14).

Welsh 'Conical' Spindle Sheaths (Fig. 7. No. 15) This small group is characterized by having its shafts carved to resemble a series of cones nesting one within the other, as is seen both on spindle-shaped sheaths from Carmarthen and Cardiff (sf 36/656 and 27/336/2) and on a ‘goose-wing’ sheath carved by a shepherd at Longtown. Monmouthshire (sf 49/233/1).

West Yorkshire Spindle Sheaths (Fig. 7, Nos 16—17) Of the numerous spindle sheaths made and used in West Yorkshire, one group is recognizable, having pronounced rounded heads, a series of bold, rounded mouldings, and a full baluster-shaped shaft terminating either in a simple rounded foot or an acorn knob. An example identical to No. 16 was found in Emily Bronte’s sewing box at Haworth Parsonage. These sheaths have all been collected within the vicinity of Haworth, Shipley and Bradford in West Yorkshire.

Cumbrian Spindle Sheaths (Fig. 7, Nos 18-19) The most characteristic group of sheaths made in the bobbin mills of north Cumbria and north Lancashire have deep cylindrical heads, baluster-shaped shafts, and rounded

Fig. 8.

(opposite) Representations and Hearts

REPRESENTATIONS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

TccsdalefB 1961/51/1) Muker, Swalcdalc (cm 1197/76) Wcardale (b 1976/678) Ncwsham (b 1977/55) Pelaw i 893 (b 1980/806/2) Crosby Ravensworth (ah 74/395) Blanchland? (b 1976/96/46) Stanhope (b 1972/83 1)

HEARTS

9.

14.

10.

West Cumberland (cr 1921 p. 33) West Cumberland (CR I9O9 p. 42) 11. West Cumberland 1785 (cr 1921 fig. xx) 12. St Bees, 1801 (c 27/1921) 13 West Cumberland (cr 1909 p. 42)

15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Unprovenanced (cr 1909 p. 41) West Cumberland (cr 1921 fig. xvi) Shipley c. 1835 (cm 106/67/51) Middleton in Teesdale (cm 106/67/80) Darlington (sf06/341) Low Row, Swaledale (cm 106/67/46)

31-ROM AU. SiMTEAimncf:

36

FOLK LIFE

terminals. They also have one section of their length decorated with a scries of narrow convex bands. These sheaths have been collected throughout western Cumbria, from Carlisle and Wigton in the north to Gosforth in the south. A further group from this area (Fig. 7, No. 20) is rather more elegant with a bone top, finely-cut mouldings including convex, concave and baluster elements, and a long baluster-shaped shaft terminating in a conical knob (Fig. 7, No. 20).

Warwickshire Spindle Shafts (Fig. 7. No. 21) In the middle of the nineteenth century Mr W. G. Fretton was headmaster of a Coventry charity school, the spindle sheaths he turned perhaps being used within that institution. A group ofhis sheaths in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry shows that they have long, convex heads, a number of raised grooved bands spaced down the shafts, and round, rather flat terminals.

West Cumbrian Heart Sheaths (Fig. 8, Nos 10-15) This group of sheaths is made up of small heart-shaped panels of wood, brass or leather secured back to a tape or other textile foundation by which they were pinned in place on to the clothing. The traditional heart shape is most common, although it may be abstracted to resemble a pear in outline. The wooden examples are usually carved with incised triangles and ‘X’ motifs, with the owner's initials and perhaps the date, or else with incised linear designs including plant motifs or inscriptions. Those of brass are neatly engraved with inscriptions, names, initials and dates, while those of leather have simple designs executed in stitching.

Airedale Hearts (Fig. 8, No. 16) These sheaths, made from tinplate, galvanized iron, or, more rarely, from sheet brass, have a simple heart-shaped outline, pierced around the perimeter to permit them to be sewn back to a pad of cloth, which might then be sewn or pinned on to the clothing, or held in place by a tape tied around the body. The hafts take the form of cylinders of the basic metal, their tips often being strengthened either with rings cut from sheet metal, or with thick bands of solder. Although the owner’s name or initials may be stamped on to the face of these sheaths, further enrichment or decoration is extremely rare, only one example (cm 106/67/50) being recorded with an embroidered linen heart sewn across its face. Their use is restricted to the industrial area of the Aire Valley between Keighley and Bradford, and it is likely that they came into common use here early in the nineteenth century, replacing the wooden spindles traditional to this area. Certainly no example has been recorded prior to c. 1830 (cm 106/67/51).

THE KNITTING SHEATH

37

North Yorkshire Hearts (Fig. 8, Nos 17-18) Unlike the Airedale sheaths, these hearts have their pointed bases extended to the left in the form of rounded scrolls. The finest are made of brass, either beaten to a shallow convex form and pierced with scrolled designs or cut from flat plate, one example made from part ofa grandfather clock face still exhibiting the winding-hole (Fig. 8, No. 19). Further sheaths of this type were cut from thin boards of oak, and it is recorded that they were accommodated in small pockets stitched on to the side of the dress solely for this purpose (cm 106/67/80). The distribution of these sheaths is relatively widespread, extending southwards from the Tees valley to include Penrith, Horton in Ribblesdale, and Low Row, Swalcdale. DISCUSSION

A number of significant features emerge from this study of knitting sheaths, the most notable being the regional differences in form as described in the classification. This was predictable in such areas as these where there was little movement between one community and another, and where each valley tended to develop its own particular characteristics. In contrast, the style of chip-carving was surprisingly uniform, the use of zig-zag lines being common to most parts. Similarly, there was a widespread use of three distinctive symbols, the rosette, the heart and the diagonal cross. Although these are well known in the carved folk art of continental Europe, it is perhaps worth considering them individually in a British context.18 The rosette, occasionally appearing as a formalized ‘daisy’ head, is known on gravestones,19 date stones and signs on buildings,20 and on vernacular furniture21 up to the early eighteenth century, but from that time it tended to fall out of use except on the sheaths carved in Teesdale (Fig. 6, Nos 2 and 3) and on the love-spoons from Wales. The use of the heart as a symbol of love, or of the soul, has been widespread at least from the medieval period on valentines, bridal garters,22 love spoons, gravestones,23 and witchcraft charms.24 Heart-shaped sheaths, or sheaths incorporating hearts in their decoration, are comparatively common in West Cumberland, West Yorkshire and Durham, while in Cumberland (Fig. 4, No. 7, and Fig. 5, No. 3) a double-heart is also used, a similar device being employed on the carved furniture and the stay-busks ol this region from the early seventeenth century.25 The diagonal cross appears to be one of the most potent protective symbols, the earliest example from these islands being a partly-burnt rush cross which had been deposited beneath a megalith in Co. Limerick.26 Bridget’s crosses are well known in Ireland, while in England crosses of hazel or birch twigs are known both from early medieval graves and from the cow houses of north-east Yorkshire, where the ritual for their preparation is still remembered.27 In north-east Yorkshire, too, diagonal crosses were cut into witch-posts to guard the fireplace and entrance door of the region’s long houses.28 This is perhaps the single most common device to be found on carved utensils used by the individual, appearing on snuffboxes,29 apple-scoops and even pipe cases from the seventeenth century,30 in addition to sheaths from Cornwall in the south, to those of the Pennine dales to the north.

38

FOLK LIFE

Considering both the recorded antiquity of these symbols, and their widespread use throughout both continental Europe and these islands, it is interesting to consider the probability of their having a common source. The zig-zag lines and diagonal crosses still common in the folk art of nineteenth-century Europe are identical to those incised into the beaker ware which characterized the culture which spread throughout Europe early in the second millenium b.c. The spread of the Indo-European languages is generally attributed to this explosion of cattle-herding nomads who burst out from Russia some four thousand years ago. and it is suggested that the incised decoration under discussion formed part of this same movement. It is significant that, almost within living memory, the use of this traditional form of carving was still restricted to those communities whose lives were based on cattle and sheep. As Charles Holme noted in Yugoslavia in 1909, it flourished in the hands of the inhabitants of the mountain districts, especially the herdsmen of North Dalmatia and Bosnia, but was rarely used by regular craftsmen.31 Similarly, in Britain, it was most widely and proficiently practised in the high Pennines, and the hills of South Wales where pastoral farming had been continuous from the Bronze Age, but it declined or even disappeared in more urban conditions, such as existed in County Durham. The decline of the knitting sheath at the end of the nineteenth century marked the end of a tradition of carved decoration much older than the sheath itself, for. as has already been stated, the technique of knitting was not commonly practised in this country before the sixteenth century. It is therefore most likely that the knitting sheath replaced some other form of carved love token, such as the spoon. Certainly its value as a love token often exceeded its practical value, for like the Welsh love-spoon, it might be made in such a delicate or elaborate fashion as to render it virtually useless. It is recorded that the sheath carved by Timothy Tarn for his cousin’s wife always hung on the wall in Egg Pot Farm. Middleton in Teesdale (b i 980/525/1), for example, while the condition of many others shows that they were never used. Although elaborate knitting sheaths were made in expensive and rare materials for the upper classes in continental Europe, they do not appear to have been made by the peasantry. Instead, other decorative items based on other practical utensils, such as hoe-scrapers or mangle-boards, etc., fulfilled the same ritual function. Using existing museum collections, this paper has attempted to trace the develop­ ment and regional distribution of the knitting sheaths of England and Wales, and to place them within a European context. The study of the decorative and symbolic elements of our folk culture is still in its infancy, but it is hoped that further work, either on relevant collections or perhaps entering the field of archaeology, will enable its origins and significance to be fully elucidated. Certainly it must be in this direction that progress is most likely to be made, for the popular American-based view that folk art sprang up magically after 1776 and is to be considered largely in aesthetic terms, is surely quite sterile. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the preparation of this paper, I have received the most generous help and assistance from colleagues in numerous museums m both England and Wales, who have always granted ready access to their collections and provided working space in their often overcrowded stores and

THE KNITTING SHEATH

39

offices. Particular thanks arc also due to Mr and Mrs Alan of Carlisle, and Mr and Mrs T. Dimond of St Fagans tor their most excellent hospitality during museum visits. I wish to acknowledge the great help of Mrs A. K. Robinson, Honorary Curator of Bycgoncs at the Whitby Museum, who prepared a full descriptive list of their collection of sheaths, and Mrs M. Wright of Launceston for her helpful advice and the gift of her fine book on knitting in Cornwall. Sincere thanks are also due to Mrs Irene Rhodes, for the care with which she has translated my scrawl into readable typescript. ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations (used in the text, the captions to Figs 2-8, and the references) indicate the museum or bibliographical source consulted in preparing the typology. AH P

BM C CM

CR CY C& W H

H & I K L LR MW SF

Abbot Hall Museum of Lakeland Life, Kendal, Cumbria. Beamish North of England Open Air Museum, Co. Durham. Birmingham City Museum, Pinto Collection. The City Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria. Castle Museum, York (largely Whitehead and Kirk Collections). The Connoisseur, September 1909, pp. 41-45 and September 1921, pp. 25—34. Coventry City Museum. Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian Society xvn (1917), pp. 88-97. Bankficld Museum, Halifax, West Yorkshire. Hartley and Ingilby, The Old Hand Knitters of the Dales (Clapham via Lancaster, 1950. PP- 93-99Chffc Castle Museum, Keighley. Luton Museum & Art Gallery, Beds. Ncwarke Houses Museum, Leicester. M. Wright, Cornish Guernseys and Knit-frocks (London and Penzance, 1978). Welsh Folk Museum, St Fagans, Cardiff.

REFERENCES 1 H. J. Hansen, European Folk Art (London, 1968). 2 M Hartley, andj. Ingilby, The Old Hand-Knitters ofthe Dales (Clapham via Lancaster, 1951). 3 Ibid p. 33. 4 S. M. Tibbott, ‘Knitting stockings in Wales’, Folk Life 16 (1978), 61-73. 5 G. Thompson, Patterns for Guernseys and Jerseys (London, 1969); M. Wright, Cornish Guernseys and Knit-frocks (London and Penzance, 1978). 6 W. Howitt, Rural Life ofEngland (London, 18 44). 7 Flartley and Ingilby, op. cit., p. 9. 8 C Cappe, An Account of w t o Charity Schools (York, 1800). 9 Willans, Proceedings ofthe Society ofAntiquaries ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne 9 (1920), 259. 10 cm 106/67/127, h 1980/525/1, and d 1980/558/1 and 2. 11 For example cm 106/67/19 and 20, and b 1967/474. 12 cr 1921, p. 27. 13 b 1977/1007, cm 106/67/65, and bm t 1323. 14 b 1967/171, Private collection, and cr 1909, p. 42. 15 Agar Collection, Upper Dales Folk Museum, Hawes, North Yorkshire. 16 C. A Parker, ‘Knitting Sticks’, Transactions ofthe Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian Society (1917). P- 9C R S. Ferguson, Journal ofthe British Archaeological Association 37, 262. 17 Lot No. 88, Bidwcll Collection Sale, London, 3 July 1906. 18 Numerous European examples occur in: J. Cuisenier, French Folk Art (Tokyo, 1977); H. J. Hansen op. cit.; T Flot'er and K. Csillery, Hungarian Peasant Art (London, 1971); T. Hofer and E. Fel, Hungarian Folk Art (Oxtord, 1979); C. Holme, Peasant Art in Austria & Hungary (London, 1911); A. & 13. Pronin, Russian Folk Arts (London, 1975)-

40

FOLK LIFE

19 For example in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire; they were largely replaced by ‘heart’ gravestones in the later seventeenth century. 20 For example date stones in the Scarborough Museum, orj. Ayres, British Folk Art (London, 1977), p • 30 21 A. Wells-Colc, Oak Furniture (Leeds. 1973), and Oak Furniture from Gloucestershire and Somerset (Leedss, 1976). 22 G Home, The Evolution ofan English Town (London. 190s). p. 219. 23 P Brears, ‘Heart Gravestones in the Calder Valley’, Folk Life 19 (1981), 84. 24 Home. op. cit., p. 209 25 Wells-Cole. 1973, op. cit., and collections of Carlisle City Museums. 26 S. P. O’Riordain, North Munster Antiquarian Journal 1 (1936), 36. 27 J. C. O’Sullivan, ‘St Brigid’s crosses’. Folk Life 11 (1973), 60-81; E. Estyn Evans. Irish Folk IVays (London, I957)< P 268; also W. G. Colfingwood, Early Sculptured Crosses in the Diocese ofCarlisle (Kendal, 1899), p. 119; and information from Mr P. Brocklehurst. Stonchouse, Bilsdalc. See also T. Davidson, ‘Cattle Milking Charms and Amulets’, Gwerin 2 (195S-59). 22-37. Also compare with the grave posts from Kalotaszeg, Transylvania in Holme op. cit. Figs 703-19). 26 M Nattrass, ‘Witch Posts'. Gwerin 3 (1960-62), 254-67. 29 For example Castle Museum, York. YM 404 30 A. Peacey, Clay Tobacco Pipes in Gloucestershire (Bristol. 1979). 31 Holme, op. cit , p. 23.

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