Sussex trug

A Sussex Trug is a wooden basket mainly used for gardening. Construction is a framework comprising a handle and rim of coppiced sweet chestnut which is hand cleft and shaved using a drawknife. The body of the trug is made of five or seven boards of cricket bat willow, also hand shaved with a drawknife. Rough forms of trugs have been made for hundreds of years, often by farmers for their own use or by woodsman or 'bodgers'. They are probably made in Sussex because of the abundance of chestnut coppice and willows found on the marshes. In the early nineteenth century the Sussex Trug developed into quite an important industry, most of this happening in the village of Herstmonceux where there is still one producer. Shapes and sizes became standardised, the most well known shape being the 'common or garden' trug ranging in volume from one pint to a bushel. Sussex Trugs were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where they were admired by Queen Victoria who purchased several for members of the Royal family. Since then they have always been sought after as the quintessential garden basket. They are renowned for their strength and durability.