Stayed at a house recently that had this beam.
There is a peg /pin at each end and it has three different sized knobs at each side.
Are they just decorative or do they have a use?
John
I would suggest they are purely decorative.
Richard
Real wooden structural members in old houses would have been joined by a pe g banged tight into a drilled hole, rather than using a nail which would ha ve cost a lot more - ever see a video of a blacksmith hand making nails as were used for building ships in the 18th C: it's a slow job. These would us ually be sawn off flush for a neat finish in a settling like this, but not in a barn. So it suggests to me that the beam is decorative, and whoever pu t it up wanted to make it look like one they saw somewhere.
No idea about the knobs, perhaps for hanging something from a cord stretche d between them. They look like run of the mill machined knobs like you woul d get in B&Q these days.
It seems to be a modern house. I am currently sitting under an 18th century beam which has various rebates in it where once were fitted parts of a loom for weaving woolen fabric.
I bet a previous owner had a clever use for those, but I would not like to hazard a guess at what.
The symmetry of the arrangement suggests a decorative purpose. I cannot see how those knobs could be used to hang anything there are much better devices for that purpose, and why 3 different sizes of knob?
Richard
If they really were as old as they're supposed to look then they'd probably have hand cut threads on the screws behind the knoobs. If you unscrew one and its got a nice neat shiny machine cut thread then there would be your answer as to their age at least; if not to their purpose.
michael adams
...
Bondage? Seem very out of place and without any clear practical use (other than bondage). ;-)
Tim
I've got a better theory. The wood beam is an after thought, and they used an old cloakroom peg and rail to make it :-)
My set up refuses to locate that drop box address so... sight unseen.. could they be pegs to support a shotgun?
Common in rural houses; not just a farm. Out of easy reach for children and house maids. Ours were metal hooks but only dating from 1938. One set lower to receive the inverted stock.
Well the property is perhaps around fifty years old in Somerset.
I wondered if the pin at each end might have been some sort of hinge for a partition with the knobs as different sized 'stops' I'm from Lancashire 'n there's nowt like them in our 'ouses.
john
Sorry Tim (I have to change OS to see it as well) Beam set into the ceiling with a shallow corbel?? at each end with a short 'pin' like a piece of dowel, into the beam.
The three knobs each side are like door knobs about 2.5",
3.5" and 4.5" about 2 ft apart.John
er, bondage?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.