Lug & Hole Trammel

Dateca.1750-1800

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County

MediumWrought iron

DimensionsBar hook (upper): 31 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 4 3/4in. (80 x 4.4 x 12.1cm) Rod hook (lower): 2 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 28in. (5.4 x 5.7 x 71.1cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1971-103,A&B

DescriptionTwo-piece wrought iron trammel composed of a perforated bar with a square sectioned hook at its top, and a movable rod having a flat hook at its bottom and a right-angle bent lug at its top. Designs hot chiseled into the bar, and the bottom hook, include borders along the sides and lozanges surrounding the adjustment holes.
Label TextSet unseen above the fire in the early American kitchen was a wooden "lug pole" or an iron "trammel bar," spanning the width of the chimney's opening and acting as the primary support for the variety of cooking wares in use. Some sort of adjustable iron device was needed to hand the vessel from, and creative blacksmiths forged a variety of devices to fit the bill. While simple chains and hooks would work perfectly well, better devices called trammels were a popular and more convenient alternative, providing easier control over the height of the cooking vessel.

Typical of the trammels produced in southeastern Pennsylvania, this type is basically a pair of interlocking hooks made with a “lug & hole" provision allowing for a great range of height adjustment. Its deeply incised decoration was created while the iron was hot, and was chiseled in by the blacksmith who made the piece.

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