The street
Dolly pegs and their bag
Four hundred washdays on the line across the yard.
- Made by
- Pegs bought from a hawker; the bag sewn by Ada
- Date
- 1930s
- Material
- Willow, cotton ticking
- Size
- Pegs 11 cm long
- Cost new
- A penny for a dozen
- Came from
- Dorothy Merrin’s house, 2009
On view The street, in the back yard. First floor.
One-piece wooden pegs were sold door to door by travelling hawkers, who cut and shaped them by hand from willow. They have no spring to break, which is why so many outlived the washing lines they hung on.
The bag is made from the ticking of an old mattress. The line in the yard ran from the scullery window to the works wall, and on Mondays the grinders had to duck under the sheets to get to the privy.
More from the street.
Donkey stone
Unknown quarry works, Manchester, about 1950The street, on the front stepCost new: two for a jam jar, from the rag man
Hand brace
Unknown maker, Sheffield, about 1920The workshop, on the wall rackCost new: seven and six
Wooden spoon, worn to an angle
Probably home made, about 1940The kitchen, in the jar by the rangeCost new: nothing
Where to see it
The street, first floor.
You’ll find it in the back yard, on the first floor. The lift is by the front desk.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on Thursdays.