Made to Mend
Darned sock on a mushroom
The heel has been rebuilt more times than we could count.
- Made by
- Ada Merrin
- Date
- 1940s
- Material
- Wool, turned sycamore
- Size
- Mushroom 13 cm tall
- Cost new
- The mushroom: fourpence
- Came from
- Dorothy Merrin’s house, 2009
On view Made to Mend, in the long case. Top floor, until 1 March 2027.
Ada Merrin darned on Sunday evenings, and this sock was on the mushroom when the house was cleared, as if she had put it down to answer the door. The darn on the heel is in three greys: three different winters, three different balls of wool.
Nell runs a darning table on the second Saturday of the month, using copies of this mushroom turned by a volunteer.
More from Made to Mend.
Dinner plate, riveted
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1900Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: threepence; the mend, a penny
Brown teapot, mended lid
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1935Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: tenpence
Cobbler’s last
Unknown foundry, about 1910Made to Mend, beside the bootsCost new: two shillings
Where to see it
Made to Mend, top floor.
You’ll find it in the long case. Made to Mend is on the top floor; the lift is by the front desk.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on Thursdays.