Research

Chopped straw This text can only be consulted in Dutch.

The MOT's collection What do we collect and preserve? The MOT’s collection of objects consists mainly of hand tools. We have deliberately not confined ourselves to acquiring specialised hand tools or beautifully decorated objects. Our aim is to build up a representative collection of tools that are actually used by men and women. We also collect the technical equipment associated with different trades or users, such as containers of all kinds, furniture (workbenches, lathes, carding stool etc.), ropes, workwear and measuring tools. To illustrate the importance of technology in everyday life, vehicles and household goods are also preserved, such as stoves, lighting fixtures, textiles and kitchenware. The MOT collection is not confined to a specific period, theme or place. It is an extensive and varied collection of technical objects ranging from the remote past, including in the form of archaeological finds, to the present day. We acquire both old and new pieces without restriction as...

This text can only be consulted in Dutch

Haf-timbered barn at the Tommenmolen Since when was there a barn on this spot? The mill building dates from the 16th century, but we do not know exactly when the first barn was built. The Ferraris map (late 18th century) shows for the first time a building on the exact site of the current barn. The barn is clearly depicted on maps and land register plans of the 19th century. What did the original barn look like? We know this thanks to paintings, etchings and photographs from the first half of the 20th century. It was a half-timbered barn with a thatched or straw roof. However, that barn has disappeared, perhaps in the late 1940s, early 1950s, presumably after a fire. Current half-timbered barn Until 1977, the current barn stood on a yard on Veldkant street, about 500 meters from the Tommenmolen. At the initiative of the municipal council of Grimbergen and with the help of the Bokrijk open-air museum, the barn was fully measured, photographed and dismantled. The wooden framework went to Bokrijk for restoration...

Lumberman's hammer bearing the stamp of the owner of the forest or of the timber merchant, serving to mark felled trees on the cross-section. The hammer may have a stamp on one or both sides, or there may be a metal wheel on the handle bearing several letters or numbers so that a combination can be stamped. The stamp hammer can be distinguished from the marking adze, as it has no axe. See also the marking hammer of a tanner and the striking punch. [MOT]

This text can only be consulted in Dutch