It was New Year’s Day 2020 – over a year ago that Radstock Museum Trustee, Martin Horler and his wife, Francis, were out for a walk near Faulkland when a cattle trough they had walked past many times revealed its significance as an historic artefact. Martin tells the story of the discovery, recovery and his plans to restore the artefact for Radstock Museum.

“When you drive from Terry Hill crossroads towards Faulkland, Haywood Farm is the farm on the left-hand side just after Ammerdown Terrace; the next house on the left against the road used to be the site of a coal depot.

“Coal would be brought up to the depot in tubs on a rail track from Foxcote Pit. The embankment on top of which the railway ran is still visible, but to my knowledge no rails can now be seen. One day I will find the time to go down into the wood where the rail tracks would have run to see if I can find any evidence of the rails.

“I have known the trough was there in mud and water for certainly forty years, but never realised the significance of it until Frances and I did a walk on New Year’s Day 2020; I took a closer look and thought: this must be a coal tub from Foxcote Pit! Frances took a photo of it and I informed Museum Trustees, saying I think this should be preserved and they all agreed.

“Sometime later I called into Haywood Farm and spoke to Stuart Perkins, as the tub is on his land; I suggested that it would be nice to have the tub in the museum. I asked Stuart if he knew anything about the tub which was being used as a drinking trough for the cattle – he didn’t, but phoned his father, Norman, who said he didn’t know either, other than it had been there since his childhood. Stuart said that once they had cut the grass and made silage, he would pull the tub out and bring it up into the farmyard.

“He phoned me in August 2020 saying he had now brought the tub into the yard. I went to see it with a view to how I could get it home to start restoration but very soon realised I was unable to move it, so, Stuart said when he could find the time, he would deliver it to me with the JCB!

“I thought originally that this tub was one of the tubs that ran on this rail track, but since it was lifted out of the mud, I discovered that it has two wheels at one end and a smaller jockey wheel at the other; the wheels are flat not flanged, therefore could not have run on the rails . The truck must have been used at the coal depot itself, meaning it hadn’t moved far from where it was originally used to move coal before its reuse as a drinking trough!”

Last week Stuart, the farmer, delivered the tub to Martin who is an expert in restoring artefacts. Once restored, the coal tub will have a new home in Radstock Museum.