Norfolk Country Life of Farming and country pursuits
- Hard work in the Fields
Working the land has always beenhard work - even today, But before the heavy duty agricultural machinery we have today most of the fell to either the horse or the farm labourers, At harvest time everybody had to join in with both women and children playing important roles. As well as the land there was also the animals to tend to with a wide range of support crafts providing diversity of labour with the only constants being long hours and low pay.
This appears to be brickmaking. The location is unknown but the Sprowston area of Norwich near the current Brickmakers pub was an established brick making area.
Mixing the clay for bricks with the horse doing the heavy turning
Could this be the kiln where the bricks were fired
A much more sedate craft
Barrel-making or cooperage was a much needed and common craft for storage of many products as well as beer.
No idea what presumeably father is teaching son but I wonder if it is an eel caught by the strange implement
There would be many tools on the farm needing sharpening which would have been done by the farm hands
A posed scene but a good view of the tools of the trade and necessary sustenance
harvesting any root crop was back breaking work for both men and women
Another posed scenebut suggest a slower pace of bringing in the harvest
Is this harvesting the reeds or keeping the waterways clear?
Flint knapping around brandon goes back millennium
Looks like a a successful dig for a great deal of flint
I suspect David Camerons shepherds hut is a bit different to this and has never come close to a lamb
This ewe seems to have a fine family of healthy lambs
The morning milk round
He seems to be selling something from a tank. Could it be parrafin?
Looks like a well earned break
This photo is clearly from a more recent timewith a tractor reaping the crop
Strawberries taste good but hard work to pick in quantity
Some prize specimens?
I doubt there is much real about this photo, but what would the strange scythe-like tool be used for?
Good Norfolk reed for the thatcher
Sawing by hand, or even two-handed, was extremely hard work that few could do today
The writing says sheep dippers although how all of this paraphernalia worked is not clear
All hands to fixing the breach.
