Western Morning News (Saturday)
Unique stone items are great for the garden
ON Sunday week, July 12 at 10am. Philip & Robert Pyle will be conducting their annual summer catalogued auction of 1000 lots of Architectural Salvage, Granite and Farming Bygones at Hatherleigh.
From a museum in Moretonhampstead comes a pony trap/governess cart with a difference.
Room behind the seats for taking produce to market so probably a local Westcountry farm trap. £400£500.
Something spectacular for the garden? From a country house in Helston, West Cornwall, comes this spectacular bird bath, 30” diameter supported on three turned granite pillars. £250- £300.
From a farm in South Cornwall comes a Georgian granite trough, measuring 49” x 31”. Probably originally quarried by prison labour from Princetown or Cornish quarries, now popular for gardens.
There are still many fine examples in the Westcountry and when farmland was “enclosed”, they all had to have separate field cattle drinking troughs before steel invented. Guide £400- £500.
Lots 123/124 are two massive Bath stone mushrooms, 26” diameter. Now popular in lots of gardens as “gnome” decorations, their original purpose was to prevent rats climbing up into the corn rick.
Their true name is “staddle” stones and they were arranged in squares with timbers running across the tops and so raising the whole rick. Guide £150 each.
Lot 171 is a large terracotta strawberry pot. So called because the pit can be planted so that strawberry plants can produce fruit from each hole. A picturesque delight, £40£50.
Lot 172 is a 32” length pig salter. Before refrigeration, most farmsteads would have a large pig killed for their own consumption. One method of preserving so much pork was to pickle it in brine in the above tub. The salter had to be glazed on the inside to prevent the pickle/salt eating into the clay body. £50-£70, okay for flowers!
For the garden, an 8’ circular flower trough is hand cut from granite and comes in sections for moving. £2000 plus is the guide. Further entries can be added to the sale all next week.
From Monday, you can view the sale on ‘easy live auction.com’ or take a trip to Hatherleigh next Friday and Saturday to view in person a 1000 lots of yesteryear.
PG & RJ Pyle, Hatherleigh;
Tel: 01837 810088 pylesauctions.co.uk