Pyecombe hook

Last updated

A Pyecombe hook is a distinctive shepherd's crook crafted in the old forge at the village of Pyecombe in Sussex, England since the 19th century. The Pyecombe hook was perfectly balanced with a twist that allowed shepherds to easily catch the hind leg of a sheep without injuring the sheep. Its use is described by Charles Mitchell: "the curve is made so that the shepherd can hook it around the sheep's leg, slide it up, give it a slight twist, and the sheep is caught fast without being in the least hurt." [1] It was often made out of old gun barrels. [2]

Tapsel Gate, Pyecombe Church Pyecombe Church, The Tapsel Gate and Pyecombe Hook.jpg
Tapsel Gate, Pyecombe Church
The old forge, Pyecombe Pyecombe village, the old forge.jpg
The old forge, Pyecombe
Pyecombe Hook at the Priest House, West Hoathly The Priest House, West Hoathly, Shepherd's Crook.jpg
Pyecombe Hook at the Priest House, West Hoathly

Pyecombe village stands on an ancient drove road on the South Downs and has a long shepherding history. The Pyecombe hook was very popular amongst shepherds in Sussex for about 200 years.

A surviving Pyecombe hook is integrated into the Tapsel gate at the entrance to the Churchyard of Pyecombe church. It is illustrated on the Pyecombe village sign. [3] There is an example in the Sussex Archaeological Society's Museum at Lewes and at The Priest House, West Hoathly. The painting of the Nativity at St Michael and All Angels, Berwick, East Sussex, by Vanessa Bell includes shepherds holding the Pyecombe hook. [4]

It was made in the first half of the 19th century by Mr Berry, the blacksmith, in the old forge, now a private house, just opposite the entrance to the church. It continued to be made there by his successor, Mr Charles Mitchell, who owned the forge from 1872 to 1946. [5] The church has a ceremonial Pyecombe hook made by Mr Sean Black, the last blacksmith resident at the forge from 1946. [6]

The hook is celebrated in song:-

THE PYECOMBE CROOK

Hefty of arm he hammered it out,

in clangour of forge and flame of fire;

Red it rolled on the anvil's bosom,

Bent and bowed to the smith's desire;

He laughed as he lifted it, laughed and sang

The song that is older than ink or pen:

"O well I know,

Who knows no book,

Where'er you go

Is never a crook,

Can better the crooks of the Pyecombe forge,

The crooks of the Pyecombe men." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crozier</span> Ceremonial staff in Christianity

A crozier or crosier is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and some Anglican, Lutheran, United Methodist and Pentecostal churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Grant</span> Scottish painter and designer

Duncan James Corrowr Grant was a Scottish painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets, and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Travers</span> British-American actor (1874-1965)

Travers John Heagerty, known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor who specialised in portraying slightly bumbling but amiable and likeable older men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charleston Farmhouse</span> Historic house museum

Charleston, in East Sussex, is a property associated with the Bloomsbury group, that is open to the public. It was the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and is an example of their decorative style within a domestic context, representing the fruition of more than sixty years of artistic creativity. In addition to the house and artists' garden, Charleston hosts a year-round programme of Bloomsbury and contemporary exhibitions in a suite of galleries designed by Jamie Fobert Architects which opened in September 2018. Two restored barns are home to The Threshing Barn café and The Hay Barn where events and workshops are held throughout the year. The Outer Studio at Charleston hosts a permanent display of Bell and Grant's Famous Women Dinner Service, and there is also a shop selling Bloomsbury-inspired art, homeware fabrics, fashion, books and stationery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colkirk</span> Village in Norfolk, England

Colkirk is a village situated about two miles south of Fakenham in the county of Norfolk, England. Dating from at least the time of the Domesday Book. The village including Oxwick, Pattesley and South Raynham currently (2011) has 588 inhabitants living in 266 dwellings. The village has a church,, in the north west corner of the village, a Village Hall, a church pond, a Camping Land. There is also a thriving village school for students from the age of four to eleven, a lively village Pub called "The Crown" and a playing field for soccer, cricket, rounders and school sports days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berwick, East Sussex</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Berwick is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex in England. The village lies immediately to the south of the A27 road between Lewes and Polegate, about three miles (4.8 km) west of the latter. The parish is located in the River Cuckmere floodplain, north of the South Downs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyton</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Greyton is a small town in the Overberg area in the Western Cape, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catsfield</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Catsfield is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located six miles (9.7 km) north of Bexhill, and three miles (5 km) southwest of Battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulking</span> Human settlement in England

Fulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies wholly with the South Downs National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyecombe</span> Human settlement in England

Pyecombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. Pyecombe is located 7 miles (11 km) to the north of Brighton. The civil parish covers an area of 887 hectares and has a population of 200, increasing at the 2011 Census to a population of 237.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuthurst</span> Human settlement in England

Nuthurst is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The north of the parish borders Horsham town, with Nuthurst village 3 miles (5 km) south from the border. Within the parish is the estate and largely 19th-century country house of Sedgwick Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Stephenson</span> British stage and film actor

Henry Stephenson was a British actor. He generally portrayed amiable and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Mr. Brownlow in Oliver Twist (1948).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of sheep husbandry</span>

The raising of domestic sheep has occurred in nearly every inhabited part of the earth, and the variations in cultures and languages which have kept sheep has produced a vast lexicon of unique terminology used to describe sheep husbandry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Nicolas Church, Portslade</span> Church in England

St Nicolas Church is an Anglican church in the Portslade area of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has 12th-century origins, and serves the old village of Portslade, inland from the mostly 19th-century Portslade-by-Sea area.

"By hook or by crook" is an English phrase meaning "by any means necessary".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Transfiguration, Pyecombe</span> Church in West Sussex , England

The Church of the Transfiguration is the Church of England parish church of the village of Pyecombe, in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The mostly 12th- and 13th-century building, in an isolated setting facing the South Downs, has been designated a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapsel gate</span> Type of wooden gate

A Tapsel gate is a type of wooden gate, unique to the English county of Sussex, which has a central pivot upon which it can rotate through 90° in either direction before coming to a stop at two fixed points. It was named after a Sussex family of bell-founders, one of whom invented it in the late 18th century. Only six examples survive, all within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of Lewes, the county town of Sussex. Tapsel gates have the dual advantage of keeping cattle out of churchyards and allowing the efficient passage of coffins carried to and from the church during burials. The name sometimes is used more generally to describe swivelling gates of a similar design elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelwood Gate</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Chelwood Gate is a small village within the civil parish of Danehill in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. Its nearest town is Uckfield, which lies approximately 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south-east from the village, just off the A22 road. The village is near the West Sussex border.

Cox & Barnard Ltd was a stained glass designer and manufacturer based in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The company was founded in Hove in 1919 and specialised in stained glass for churches and decorative glass products. Many commissions came from Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in the English counties of East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent. The company was also responsible for six war memorial windows at an Anglican church in Canada, made from shards of glass collected from war-damaged church windows across Europe.

"The Good Shepherd" is the 5th episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 27th overall, which premiered on September 28, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Dan E. Fesman, and was directed by Steven DePaul. The series returned to its normal Friday timeslot beginning with this episode.

References

  1. Adams, Beatrice (1929). "Where Pyecombe Crooks are made". Sussex County Magazine. III (6): 375–376.
  2. BROKE, ARTHUR (24 April 1920). "THE LAST OF THE SOUTHDOWN SHEPHERDS". The Spectator: 9.
  3. "Welcome to Pyecombe, West Sussex". Pyecombe Parish Council website.
  4. "The Nativity by Vanessa Bell". Berwick Church. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  5. Spiro, Ann. "Sussex Blacksmiths". The Blacksmiths Index.
  6. Church of the Transfiguration, Pyecombe, The Shepherds' Church information board
  7. "The Pyecombe Crook". Worthing Herald. 25 July 1925. p. 23 via British Newspaper Archive.