Straw splint mill

Straw splint mill, English, nineteenth century.

A splint mill is a roller for straw, used in the straw plaiting industry -to make straw hats, for example.The gap between the rollers can be adjusted using the wooden screw on the side of the mill. Straw was steamed and bleached, and then passed through the splint mill several times, where it was squeezed to make it suitably soft for plaiting. Straw plaiting was a common domestic industry in rural areas - Luton in Bedfordshire was an important centre, and people from the surrounding area would plait straw at home and sell it to hat makers there. It is possuble that this splint mill comes from that area.