The shop contains literally hundreds of tools used by local carpenters/ wheelwrights. They have been collected from various sources, including Mr. Heady's shop at Linslade, Bucks.
We have all sorts of tools including common chisels, saws, planes and spokeshaves as well as the specialized tools used in the manufacture of wheels.
The village wheelwright was often the local carpenter and was expected to turn out almost anything that was made of wood.
One particularly interesting exhibit is a set of drawers containing pigments. These were ground up and mixed with oils to be used for painting the carts and wagons. Many farms or estates would have their own personalised colours, so identifying their equipment.
The spokes of the wheels were fitted into a central hub, with the rim of the wheel being made up of several sections, called fellows. The large hoops lying against the exterior walls of the shop were the steel tyres that were heated to expand them, fitted to the wheel and then by pouring on water, shrunk on to the wooden wheels to give them strength and protect the wooden wheel from the road surface.
