Ridging grubber
Date made: 19th century
Maker: Oates, F.
Description: This object is a ridge grubber, used at The Friary, Ballabeg, in the parish of Arbory. It belonged to the Cringle family who have farmed there since the twentieth century. The grubber was made in a smithy, by Frank Oates of Ballasalla, a well known local blacksmith.
Made of wrought iron, this grubber has a series of long blades known as tines. Broad wheels enable it to roll over broken ground. A horse or horses would have been yoked to the front to draw it along.
Originating in Scotland, the grubber was often used as a substitute for the plough. It works the ground to the depth at which it has been previously ploughed. By using a grubber to go over ground ploughed earlier in the year, a second crop might then be planted, the grubber having pulled out weed roots and such like which might be lurking in the soil.
Materials: iron
Object name: grubber
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1970-0136