The Triangle, Knapp

Image: © Derek Harper Taken: 11 Feb 2006

The Triangle, the house on the left, occupies a triangular site bounded by lanes in the scattered hamlet of Knapp, on a hill overlooking the Tone Valley. The brick building beyond is a withy boiler, apparently still in use (certainly in 1998, according to http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=43340 .) An explanation is at http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/cultureheritage/heritage/info/monumentandartefacttypes/MonumentArtefactTypesW.cfm - as that link no longer works, here is its text, from http://web.archive.org/web/20040105170034/http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/cultureheritage/heritage/info/monumentandartefacttypes/MonumentArtefactTypesW.cfm : "A device used for boiling sections of willow in order to increase its pliability, so that it can be woven to make such items as baskets. Withy boilers are common in wetland areas, such as Somerset, where willows grow and the industry flourished. Willow rods (withies) were cut in the winter and boiled for a day before they could be used. Often the boilers were built of brick with a chimney, the boiler being a metal container. A brick built example survives at Knapp in North Curry and was still in use as recently as 1998"

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