Description

Summary: Early 19th century two-handled cider mug from Roundway Hill Farm, near Devizes. It was a symbol of the contributions made by the farming community. One side features an image of a farmer and his wife, alongside various farming implements, crops and animals – with the phrases “Trust in God” and “The Husbandman's Diligence Provides Bread”. The other side of the mug features an extract of the poem ‘God Speed the Plough’, which was written in the early 1600s and is a satirical complaint about lazy members of the clergy who demanded a share of the ploughman’s harvest. The verse reads: Let the wealthy and great Dwell in splendour and state I envy them not I declare it I eat my own lamb My own chickens and ham I shear my own fleece and I wear it I have lawns, I have rowers I have fruit, I have flowers The lark is my morning alarmer So jolly boys now Here's God speed the plough Long life and success to the farmer.