Saddlers tools

An introduction to Mr E G Reynolds' saddlers tools (ref UXBLH : 7135).

One little known item in our museum collection is a large wooden box containing forty small saddlers tools, made of iron and still bearing an aroma which lies somewhere between oil, leather and creosote. They are marvellous, mysterious and very tactile objects.

They were owned by a Mr E G Reynolds, who worked at H Bernard (Leather) Ltd in Wealdstone until its closure in 1976. At the time, the store dealt in all kinds of leather repairs, but in its early years it was very much a saddlers, working on horse harnesses for local traders in a time before motor vehicles. Mr Reynolds himself learnt his craft as a saddler in Harrow.

Mr Reynolds' tools are a link back to an age of specialist rural crafts They include a set of measurers for marking out hides, punches (which would have been used with a large hammer or mallet), knives, and perforators (which would have prepared the leather for stitching).

Check our Local Studies Catalogue or contact Hillingdon Heritage if you are interested in viewing rural items from our holdings.