A STEP BACK IN TIME

The “trog” was a wooden vessel hewn from solid timber in the shape of the round coracle boat that the Anglo Saxons used for their daily business. Because of the way these “trogs” were made they were very heavy. They were used by Sussex farmers to measure grain and liquids and were made in several sizes for different measures. They continued in use in this form until the mid-1600’s and we have been able to uncover an inventory from a farm in Newhaven, East Sussex at about that time where there were recorded “a dozen of trogs in the milking parlour”.

Thomas Smith re-invented the “trog” carefully designing a lightweight basket using Sweet Chestnut (Castanea Sativa) and Cricket Bat Willow (Salix Coerulea). He moved his lounge and kitchen to the first floor of his home, Hormes House at Windmill Hill, Herstmonceux, and converted the ground floor to his workshops. Hormes House can still be seen on the main road through the village – sporting the Royal Warrant Crest on its eastern face.

The Romans introduced Sweet Chestnut (also known as Spanish Chestnut) into Southern England from Spain and the climate in Sussex and Kent was ideal for its rapid growth. Thomas selected the Chestnut to make his handles and rims as it splits easily and, being a hardwood, is resistant to rot. He selected true straight poles of Chestnut (known as Cooper Poles or Trug Bats) and cleaved (split) these in half down their length using a Cleaving Axe. The axe is placed on the top of the pole and hit with a wooden mallet to start the split and is then worked through the wood by placing the pole in a “brake” and working the axe by hand to finish the split. The Chestnut is then cleaved down again to more manageable pieces before being hand shaved on one side by a craftsman sitting astride a Shaving Horse and using a Draw Knife to produce a smooth comfortable handle and rim. These handle and rim pieces are steamed to make them supple before being bent round formers to produce the finished handles and rims which are then nailed together to produce the frame.

MODERN TIMES

After the Second World War things altered and traditional farms underwent a massive change with mechanisation. Hence Trugs were no longed needed to collect eggs, sow grain or pick up vegetables because this was now done by machine. The Trug Makers were undeterred by these changes and adapted their marketing tactics to push for more sales in the garden industry.

In the 1950’s two brothers Laurence & Dudley Hide were running a business in the market town of Hailsham (about 4 miles away from Herstmonceux). They were making and selling top quality cedar greenhouses, summerhouses and sheds and, in their trade catalogue, they included locally produced Trugs. Because they could not buy enough Trugs to satisfy their customers, they decided to make their own version from plywood. It took them a year to develop the new Trug using weatherproof Israeli and Far Eastern plywoods that they softened using boiling water in order to bend the ply around the formers. From these ply woods they made the handles, rims and the boards and a new tradition was born!
Time marched on, Trug Makers decreased in number and the Trug Industry retreated to its original home in Herstmonceux. This is the way things stayed for many years with two Trug Makers in Herstmonceux and one in the nearby village of East Hoathley. But things were about to change again!

Peter Tuppen wanted to change direction in his life and, with his wife Angela, decided to make Trugs. They enlisted the help of Peter’s brother Robin, and between them they formed South Down Trugs & Crafts to make a new generation of ply Trugs which they called the South Down Range. This time they carefully selected the best plywood in the World – Finnish Birch, using 4mm ply for the handles and rims and 1.5mm ply for the boards. They started their business in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex (about 10 miles from Herstmonceux) upon winning a competition for a free factory for 18 months, fighting off stiff competition from high-tech projects. Here they commenced business in April 1983 and found almost instant fame by attending the Garden & Leisure Exhibition in Birmingham, England in the September where they were spotted by Peter Seabrook the famous television gardening presenter. Peter Seabrook featured the brothers’ new Trugs on his gardening programme and, like Thomas Smith, the Tuppen brothers had that leap to fame! They also found Royal patronage from the Royal Estate at Windsor Castle and continue to supply the Estate to this day!

To make their Trugs the brothers cut the 4mm ply into 1″ (24mm) strips and then placed them in boiling water in order to soften them sufficiently to bend round formers to make the handles and rims of the Trugs. The strips are laminated in three layers, using solid brass pins, to make strong handles and rims. These were then allowed to dry before being sanded and then placed in a box to be screwed together and have the boards and feet fixed to them using again solid brass screws for the feet and solid copper tacks to secure the boards to the end of the rim. (Note: Did you notice that we use the term “legs” for the traditional Trugs but “feet” for the ply Trugs as nothing was changed when the two companies merged). After assembly the Trugs were allowed to dry and were then checked for nails, levelled and hand sanded before being sent out to customers. Many were, and still are, hand painted using good quality, weather resistant stains.

Our Trugs are almost completely HAND-MADE in the traditional ways.