SK8608 : Cake breaking machine, default hopper position
taken 8 years ago, near to Oakham, Rutland, England
This device is standing in a corner of the County museum in Oakham. I chose to photograph it because it was astonishingly similar to NJ8243 : Unidentified machine of yesteryear - a shredder perhaps?.
This is for breaking up cattle cake, a hard biscuit-like object used as winter feed for cattle.
The hopper at the top is adjustable, but it has a parallel setting to support flat slabs of cake for breaking up.
The old Rutland County Museum survived the brief extinguishment of the parent county, and since it was reformed is still a major repository of the local culture.
Most of the exhibits concentrate on the 19th and early 20th century farming economy, because apart from a canal and railway connection the county remained an agricultural economy.
The museum is housed in the former riding school of the Fencible Cavalry, an 19th century volunteer militia group raised by the Earls of Nottingham and Gainsborough.
The museum has its own web site, Link and is run by a volunteer group.