The Sussex Trug
In the days before plastic containers, the “trug”, a wooden basket, was the common way of carrying and measuring. They came in every size, from tiny up to a bushel. Although they were found all over the country, nowadays they are particularly associated with Sussex and Thomas Smith of Herstmonceux who “reinvented” this ancient style of basket in the 1820s using local materials. Queen Victoria made the distinctive, shallow garden baskets we are familiar with fashionable when she bought some at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Making a trug involves traditional woodworking skills. The handle and rim pieces are split from sweet chestnut using a cleaving axe (or froe). Held in a shaving horse (a kind of wooden-framed vice), the pieces are smoothed with a drawknife and then steamed and shaped around a former. The handle and rim are set at right angles to each other and nailed into place to make the framework of the basket.
The boards for the body of the basket are cut from willow (sometimes off-cuts from cricket bat willow). The thin boards are shaped and slightly tapered at the ends and then soaked in water or steamed to make them pliable. Then, like a clinker-built boat, the boards are overlapped and nailed into place in the frame. The result is a very strong and durable basket. The final touch is some feet nailed in place on the bottom. It is a clever bit of practical, traditional design that is also very pleasing to the eye.
You will often see them for sale at Wood Fairs, but there are courses available which will teach you the skills if you would like to have a go at making your own trug.
http://www.underwoodsman.co.uk/html/courses_in_detail.html
http://www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk/4NovMakingSussexTrugs18-19April2009.php
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4 comments so far
Andy
17 December, 2008
Thank you
Sussexite
4 November, 2010
Good to see you highlighting an ancient Sussex skill that is holding on by the skin of its teeth thanks to a few craftspeople.
I’m worried that Sussex trug making might go the same way as hurdlemaking and coppicing as a basic countryside skill that will be lost in fifty years or so.
Alan
27 March, 2012
Nice little article Catherine, I worked at Thomas Smith’s for a while making Trugs. I also offer Trug courses if anyone is interested.
http://www.ajscrafts.co.uk/courses/CourseList.aspx
Hurdle making, Coppicing & Trug making are all still practiced by a number of craftsman Sussexite, so no need to worry about the skills been lost…Although we really shouldn’t call them ‘Sussex’ trugs as they were made in numerous places both before & after Thomas Smith came along.
Sussexite
27 March, 2012
That’s good to know Alan. I take the point about “Sussex” trugs, but every county’s entitled to be slightly kleptomaniacal when it comes to claiming bits of culture.