Iron from the end of a spreader

In amongst the box of metal items we are working through at Market Lavington Museum, we have this object. Despite the lack of information on its provenance, we are fortunate that it has some information with it. These days, most of us are not familiar with the tackle associated with horsedrawn machinery and wouldn’t have known what this was.

As the handwritten note explains, when a horse was attached to the chains on a plough or harrow, it was important that its legs didn’t get entangled with the chains. This was avoided by using an ash pole, called a spreader. The spiked ends of iron objects, like the one in our photograph, were poked into each end of the pole and the pole was strengthened and protected by iron ferrules. The chains were then attached to these irons, away from the horse’s legs.