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Kell horse drawn seed drill.

Kell, had factories producing farm machinery in Gloucester and Ross on Wye.
Listing a large range of cultivating equipment, they also manufactured horse drawn ploughs and drills.
This three row seed drill will be completely renovated to near original condition, probably taking about twelve months to complete. John M.

Refurbished Hand Operated Kell seed drill.

This hand operated machine has a metering disc and a rotating brush for accurately planting a range of seeds including beet, corn, mangels. The wheels can be adjusted to alter width of rows.

Old seed broadcaster, “Fiddle”.

Called a fiddle because it had a bow that spun a specially shaped wheel in alternate directions, onto which the seed dropped and was flung out, the rate and pattern could be adjusted. Distrubuting seed in this way allowed more accurate and economical sowing.
The seed fiddle was an improvement on original method of sowing using a “seedlip” this was a small sack of seed slung over a shoulder, broadcasting the seed by hand, it must have needed carefull hand and foot co-ordination to sow evenly.

Butter Churn in Johns workshop.

The Butter Churn

Up until the beginning of the last century, and even into the fifties, Farmers used this type of churn to produce their own butter. Cream was poured into the churn, sealed, and then agitated by turning the crank, until eventually butter was formed, leaving water and “buttermilk residue”, to be drained. Then the butter was washed with a weak salt solution, giving it a distinctive taste but prolonging its life. Next a piece of equipment called a “butterworker” was used. This was a fluted roller on a flat platform, using it on the butter until it had removed all water and whey. Finally the butter was made into blocks, using paddles; sometimes a mould was used for decoration, and to denote maker.