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Probate Query from 1700's

Lady Penelope

Lady Penelope

master brummie
This is the probate form for Methuselah Whitehouse who lived in Court Lane Erdington. I'm having trouble with the entry underlined in red. Could someone have a go at reading it for me please?

Many thanks.

Whitehouse query probate.jpg
 
If I can remember correctly what my husband said - they are/were the wooden racks that a wooden barrel lies on. Nowadays only used for real ale. I am sure he said (when he first worked in a pub 50 years ago) they had to throw the barrels onto the thrawls. Leave them to settle and then tap and vent them before the beer could be served.
 
Yes Mike. Brilliant news. I've been puzzling over that line for quite some time and it means that I'm edging forward to confirming that this was the site of the original Greyhound in Court Lane.
 
Right - Mike was correct and I was wrong. Thrawls were brick built permanent fixtures on the floor of the cellar. They were, however, used to hold wooden barrels allowing them to be tapped and vented. Today a metal rack is used which is no longer fixed to the cellar floor.
 
Thank you Janice. I wonder if they're still there? I want to pop in at some point and I'll ask while I'm there.

On a another, very small note, I think the last word on that line is 'bench' rather than beer, unfortunately. The same word appears in the kitchen section and the parlour together with 'tables and chairs'. However, the fact that there is 'thrall' and 'barrels' still give me cause to hope!
 
Lady Penelope said:
Thank you Janice. I wonder if they're still there? I want to pop in at some point and I'll ask while I'm there.

On a another, very small note, I think the last word on that line is 'bench' rather than beer, unfortunately. The same word appears in the kitchen section and the parlour together with 'tables and chairs'. However, the fact that there is 'thrall' and 'barrels' still give me cause to hope!
Click to expand...
 
So it reads:
Barrels 4s, thrall and bench 1/6 giving the total of 5/6
Pen - if there are brick thralls they could be more modern. Paul used brick thralls when he worked in pubs in the 70s. Nowadays barrels are smaller so they don't use brick thralls. It also gives more flexibility in cellar space as the metal racks now used can be easily moved.
 
Thralls and bench. The barrels were placed on a bench, so that they were waist-high off the floor - easier to access. If a round barrel is placed on a flat bench, it would roll off. So a thrall would be placed between the barrels, to hold them still. Wooden ones were used long before brick ones came about. You've heard the phrase 'held in thrall'? Usually nowadays refers to someone who is under the spell, or influence, of another. So, beer barrels were 'held in thrall' to stop them moving about.
 
pjmburns said:
So it reads:
Barrels 4s, thrall and bench 1/6 giving the total of 5/6
Nowadays barrels are smaller so they don't use brick thralls. It also gives more flexibility in cellar space as the metal racks now used can be easily moved.
Click to expand...
Hi Janice,

I worked at the Toby Jug in Castle Bromwich in the 1970s, and we used metal thralls
for both aluminium and wooden hogsheads. Those old wooden ones were a weight.

Kind regards
Dave
 
Thanks to everyone for their input. I've been fascinated by the information that you've all supplied regarding the structure but also about the origin of the word 'thrall'. Apparently it meant 'in slavery or bondage' which would mean that the barrels were kept in place and also adds weight to the 'enthrall' explanation. Brilliant stuff!
 
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