An Old Mangle, Goatscliffe

This old Mangle is in the Laundry Room at Beningborough Hall, near York.

It is included here as an accompaniment to the story of Herbert Beresford.

The rollers were made of wood, and they were actually quite difficult to turn, as there was no ‘give’ in them, and in the hot and steamy conditions of a washing area, the handle would go rusty if not regularly maintained! But apply too much grease and the clothes were likely to get dirty!

The handle on top was for adjusting the distance between the rollers for different thicknesses of laundry, or if trying to turn them became over-taxing.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)