Beautiful double whirl leg crook from the Rural Historia Collection. It is from the 1800s with a deeply furrowed back. Hand forged by the local blacksmith in the village forge.
During the 1700s and especially during the 1800s the typical English crook often consisted of a wrought-iron head fitted to a long wooden shaft, usually ash or hazel. The iron heads were commonly forged by local village blacksmiths, often to the individual shepherd's requirements.
The Museum of English Rural Life specifically records that local blacksmiths copied established patterns while adding their own individual design details.
