Shandy Barrow or Shardy Barrow? Assistance needed

[sprayerman]

Hello Folks,

I have a question for you and would appreciate some help on the below.

Last year an organisation of which I am a member acquired an item that we understand is known as a Shandy Barrow, one of those seed spreaders with a timber framed chassis like a wheelbarrow and a seed distributing hopper mounted at right angles across the chassis with a geared drive from the front wheel to the hopper to spread the seed, you’ll likely know what I mean. This particular example was built by R & J Reeves at Bratton in Wiltshire, spent all its life on a farm near Wroughton and the hopper is nearly 14 feet across.

One of our other members has today suggested that actually it isn’t known as a shandy Barrow but is in fact a Shardy Barrow, well according to a book he has!

Now my knowledge level of pedestrian operated machines is not quite as good, pretty non existent truth be told, as my knowledge of garden sprayers and the like so I thought I would ask the thoughts of folk who would likely know more than me as to what it’s supposed to be known as. I suspect that it might be down to regional interpretations but I may be wrong here to.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Many thanks

Sprayerman

• This topic was modified 6 months ago by sprayerman.

[alan]

Hello Sprayerman,

I’ve done some research and the evidence points to it being called a Shandy Barrow. I cannot find any reference to Shardy Barrow – but, as you mentioned, that may be a regional name.

Archive newspaper articles and adverts in the late 1800s and through the 1900s show the use of the name ‘shandy barrow’ across the country and even in Ireland.

There’s a 1960 reference in Farm Implement and Machinery Review which says the shandy barrows were made and sold in this country from ‘About 100 years ago’ – their reckoning is that they were from the mid-1800s. Has anyone got any earlier references?

Also, why is it called a shandy barrow? References do indicate a possible reason. Any thoughts on the name?

[will-haggle]

Shardy looks looks a typo to me. Reeves of Bratton, Nr Westbury in Wiltshire made a lot of ploughs, seed drills and other items such as hen houses, horse rakes etc. I enclose a brochure page showing your equipment and they describe it as a Grass and Clover Distributor, avoiding the Shandy or Shardy term altogether!

• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by will-haggle.

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[sprayerman]

Hi both,
Thanks for your replies.

My first thought was that Shardy appeared as a typographical error, the book that has the reference was produced some time ago,1982 to be precise, and it occurred to me that the letter n when written at speed in notes, could perhaps be misinterpreted later as an r. Thought here was that perhaps any initial notes might have been written down rather than in electronic form, also no www then, to double check!

However it was useful to ask the question and thank you will-haggle for the image of the seed Barrow.

I am down that way this coming weekend, south Cerney tbp, so if I remember I might have conversations on the matter with other like minded folk too.

Thanks again

Sprayerman

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