However, why is the support for holding the sack square rather than circular? What is the function of the ornate curly tail? And why are the prongs so long, suggesting a need for very firm anchorage, and yet not pointed for ease of pushing it into the ground?
The square I can't explain but the prongs would need to be long for heavy things like spuds. The curlicue may be the Smith's 'signature'. On metal gates it was tradition here for each smith to design his own individual style of latch.
The chaff chutes on some old threshing machines were square rather than round (made from wooden boards) so anything holding a sack neck open at the chute would need to be square to avoid spillage.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Son has just suggested that it could be a sort of stand for a fishing rod so that the fisherman could sit in a deckchair and wait for the fish to bite … he suggests someone sea fishing for cod off the beach … that’s why the prongs would have to be so long … to go down into the sand and/or shingle deep enough to gain purchase and be firm enough to withstand the pressure of a running tide and possibly a large fish.
As he said, that’s the sort of thing a village blacksmith or even a competent farm worker could have constructed back in the day.
My problem with that is that it would be tricky to transport, but if the fisherman lived closer to his chosen beach … ?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Mellors is not only a retired farrier/smithy but also a keen angler. (I say keen...🤯 He fished for Ireland! No he didn't. He fished on the Irish team 🥱🥱🥱) My hopes are pinned on him hazarding a decent guess. He's also old and knows stuff. 🤣
If it’s been at your grandparents house for decades ,I wonder why you never asked the what it was . I certainly would have ! Did you never observe it in use?
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However, why is the support for holding the sack square rather than circular? What is the function of the ornate curly tail? And why are the prongs so long, suggesting a need for very firm anchorage, and yet not pointed for ease of pushing it into the ground?
I would call it a/an ( insert appropriate adjective e.g. metal) effort as in What's that metal effort over there used for?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My hopes are pinned on him hazarding a decent guess. He's also old and knows stuff. 🤣