The dialects in these parts reflect the farming practices that were at the heart of rural life for centuries. South-eastern dialects have incorporated many words relating to traditional methods of harvesting, haymaking and thatching. These are all well-documented in the Survey of English Dialects recordings. Raffling refers to a shock (group) of 10 sheaves of wheat, for example, and yielding is a word for a bundle of straw used to make thatched rooves like this one in Oakley, Hampshire:
Thatched hall from Boarhunt, Hampshire, reconstructed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum. The hall originally dates from the late 1300s.
'Haymaking: Wooden Hay Sweep'
( LAVC/SED/P1059 ) by Tony Marshall
For example, in 1959, Harry Prior from East Harting in Sussex describes making thatched rooves with spars and courses. He also talks about harvesting corn with a rake. Other informants explained the different implements used for mowing and cutting crops, including fag hooks (sickles) and leas (scythes).
Listen here:
Sound Recordings of West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and East Sussex. Harry Prior, recorded in East Harting (West Sussex) in June 1959, talks about harvesting, building and thatching a haystack.
‘Sound Recording - East Harting (West Sussex)’( LAVC/SRE/A806r ) by Michael Barry
A transcription for this audio can be found (here)
