Sussex Trug

This trug was a Christmas present to my wife from her brother and sister-in-law.

A trug, a wooden basket, was the common way of carrying and measuring before plastic materials became available. Trugs were common all over the country, but nowadays they are particularly associated with Sussex, and my wife and her family come from Sussex (where I, too, was born).

Traditional woodworking skills are required to make a trug. The handle and rim pieces are formed from sweet chestnut, while the boards for the body of the basket are cut from willow. As with a clinker-built boat, the boards are overlapped and nailed into place in the frame. The result is a very strong and durable basket that is also very pleasing to the eye.

Our basket has been filled with produce from Saturday's market. The Seville oranges (Savile oranges according to the greengrocer's sign...) will soon become excellent marmalade, I hope. The peppers are not too vicious. Deseeded, the flesh cut into strips nicely enhances a ham-sandwich or the like.