The green painted wooden chop machine was used to chop hay for the pit ponies at Cortonwood Colliery. This award-winning belt-driven cutter combines a large propeller blade with grinding wheels. It was made by John Crowley and Co. of Sheffield.
Ponies needed food little and often, so there would be food in the stables and where they were working. Food included hay, maize, oats, beans, peas and barley. This was nicknamed ‘choppy’ as it was cut into small pieces to make it easier to dish out in the stables
