A leather tenderiser made by Sparrows of Martock

This information has been extracted from SIAS Bulletin 109, researched by DIAS and the Casteton Waterwheel Museum in Sherborne

Maurice Clark started work as an apprentice aged 14 years in 1932 with Sparrows of Martock, serving a 7 year apprenticeship. During this time he remembers making and fitting spare parts for machines like this at Atherton & Clothier and Pittards Leatherworks in Yeovil. His comments on this machine were:

“This machine used to make glove material so it was soft to handle. It was constructed of cast iron, the inside surfaces were covered in sheet brass, two hardwood blocks also covered with brass were fitted to the cross beam and sitting inside the box crushing the material against the back of the box.

The wheel on the right hand side of this picture was made of compressed paper and was used as a polisher using fine abrasive.”

Photo by Peter Stainer..