Theme: Challenges – for the shepherd and the housewife.
Two of the many, many challenges that would have face the shepherd, his wife and family who lived and worked at Hoar Oak Cottage would be – for the shepherd, protecting the sheep in winter and for the housewife, doing the laundry.
From ‘The Housewife’s Poem’ by Mollie Hawcutt, written about Dorothy Little of Hoar Oak we learn that “She washed clothes in a boiler tub down by the river” and others have described the task of washing including a dolly and tub to agitate the clothes once out of the boiler. Learn more here: Dorothy Little and The Hoar Oak Cottage Housewife’s Poem
The sheep stells seen on Exmoor, sometimes clearly visible, sometimes overgrown, were an introduction by Scottish shepherds to provide sheep with protection during the heavy snows of Exmoor. More here: Protecting sheep in winter – hoaroak (hoaroakcottage.org)
