Utensils

HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS

George Paterson (Armachiana, Vol.18, pp.1-4) made an alphabetical list
of all the household and farming utensils he saw in country houses throughout
Armagh (from early in the twentieth century until his retirement in 1965). Here
is the list.

Implements, household utensils, etc. noted in houses in the district.

Ark – a chest for holding meal.
Bakeboard. Locally made. Baskets, Potato, Calf, Turf.
Besoms, Heather.
Barrows, Box and Turf. Locally made.
Beehives, Straw and modern.
Bellows, Fan and Hand.
Bings. Potato clamps.
Bowls, Wooden.
Bread Griddle, Pan and Oven.
Bullet Moulds.
Butter Prints.
Beetles, Potato also called Mashers.
Cams.
Candlesticks, Pewter, Plate, Brass, Iron, Rushlight and Weavers.
Cars. Side-cars. Carts, Farm, Spring-carts.
Chairs, With Rope and Straw Seats.
Chests, Meal.
Churns, Various types- some hand, some horse-driven Staff.
Clocks, Grandfather and “Wag at the Walls”
Cradles, Wood; many locally made.
Cow-chains.
Cranes, Various types in kitchens.
Creels, No longer in actual use but saw one in a small barn utilized as a hold-all
for various small implements. Few donkeys in district.
Creepie-stool. A small three-legged stool. “A crowl on a creepy stool looks
nothing”.
Dressers, Kitchen. Commonly called the shelf. A few hanging dressers also. Dibblers.

Drafts Cart traces made of chains.
Fields.
Forks. Saw some old smith~made implements also some Meat forks rather like modern
toasting forks.
Gates, Field, Garden and House. Some local smith work of about a century ago.
Few wooden gates.
Gate Pillars, Very plentiful. Mostly round.
Griddles.
Grinding stones, Circular.
Guns, Flint locks and modern.
Gigs, High-wheeled.
Hatchets.
Harrows.
Hooks, Reaping.
Horn, Powder Flasls, “Glasses”, Drenching horns, etc.
Horse charms.
Hems, Iron or wooden slips on horse’s collars.
Irons, Smoothing, Goffering.
Iron-rests or stands.
Keys Many of the older keys are ringed.
Kettles, Iron.
Knife-boxes, Wooden. Locally made.
Lantern; Candle, Oil.
Ladles, Old metal.
Ladles, Wooden. Old.
Lap Cocks.
Mantraps, Only saw one; interlocking teeth.
Meat Forks, Iron.
Mells Wood.
Noggin, Wood. Only saw one imperfect example.
Pans, Frying, Preserving.
Ploughs, Many types. Some old kinds lying around deserted farm houses. Saw no
wooden examples.
Ploughs, Toner’s story about ploughing with tow ropes.
Pokers, Iron, Smith made.
Pot Hooks, Iron.
Pot Sticks, Wood.
Pike, A large stack of hay.
Pottery. Figures of shepherds, dogs, cows, King William, Wesley, etc.
Powder horns.
Pins, Rolling.
Quilting Frame. Only heard of one recently broken up in Tullybrone.
Quilts, Patchwork.
Rolling pins; Locally made.
Rope Twisters.
Rollers, Wood and Metal. Horsedrawn.
Rippling Irons. For taking seed off flax.
Rushlights. Haughey’s description of making them. VOL.13.
Salt Boxes. Locally made.
Samplers, Many varieties.
Sand-glasses.
Scarecrows – beginning to disappear.
Scythes. Scythe blades, shafts, etc. Old types sometimes survive on roof ledges
in barns.
Settles, Box seat and bed types. Both becoming rare.
Side-cars.
Sieves. For straining the church milk.
Sieves, Corn.
Single trees. Parts of plough tackle.
Sharpening stones.
Skeps, Straw beehives.
Skillets, Iron.
Slim-cake, Potato bread.
Slipes, Wood with iron runners.
Sned, The scythe handle.
Snuff-boxes. Mostly horn.
Spades, Farming and turf.
Spancels, Ropes and chains.
Sowans.
Spinning wheels. Quite out of use.
Stools, Wood; three and four legs.
Stook – a number of sheaves.
Tally sticks. Story about Tally sticks.
Tea Caddies, Wood and tin.
Tea pots, Pottery and tin.
Thatching tools.
Thistle Pullers, Wood, Wood handles and iron grips.
Threshing machines, Horse driven, Disappearing.
Toasters, Iron.)
Toasting Forks.) Smith made
Trivets, Iron. )
Tubs, Local. )
Turnip cutters.
Watches, Fob and modern.
Weeders, See thistle-pullers.
Winnowing Fans. Disappearing.
Wool carders. Did not see one but was told of them at Tullybrone.
Wad of straw. A small handful used to close a hole.

Many of these items are no longer found in households. Visit Armagh County
Museum (where Paterson was curator) and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
to see examples of most.