Wood, worked wood, spade

This spade is carved from a single piece of ash, with a handle made probably of walnut. The blade is off-set, providing a ledge for the digger's foot. Wooden spades were sometimes fitted with iron edges to reinforce the blade. This one was found in excavations in Southwark in 1998, in a badly drained area between Tooley Street and the river. It might have been used by a labourer digging drainage ditches. In 1356 the stock of an ironmonger, John Leche, in Cornhill, included a spadierne (spade iron) and two augers (drills) together valued at 12 shillings.