{"product_id":"very-rare-very-collectable-pyecombe-crook","title":"Very Rare, Very Collectable Pyecombe Crook","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere is an intriguing connection with the Napoleonic Wars. Old gun barrels were sometimes recycled into crook heads after the wars ended in 1815.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA section of barrel provided a ready-made socket for the wooden staff, while the remaining metal could be heated, hammered out and forged into the hook and guide. Museum of English Rural Life specifically records this practice in connection with Pyecombe-type crooks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Pyecombe crook, sometimes called the Pyecombe Hook, is one of the best-documented regional shepherd's crooks in England. It developed at Pyecombe, a small village on the South Downs just north of Brighton in Sussex, and became particularly prized by shepherds working the Downs.\u003cbr\u003eThis is one of them. You can still see the blueing of the barrel and the steel is heavy and hard as rock. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA wonderful piece of history on many levels. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLength - 140 cm\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Historia Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56873086517634,"sku":null,"price":299.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0628\/3205\/0423\/files\/IMG_7254.jpg?v=1787758160","url":"https:\/\/thehistoriashop.com\/products\/very-rare-very-collectable-pyecombe-crook","provider":"The Historia Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}