Day 66. Milk Churns

As discussed yesterday, most milk was sold from farms in liquid form by the late 19^th century, and taken by road or rail to the rapidly expanding towns and cities. It was also supplied free to schoolchildren from 1921 to combat malnutrition.

Milk was traditionally transported in pails fixed to a yoke, but a more efficient method was now needed. Steel containers were adopted from the mid 19^th century. These were easy to transport on rail wagons, caused minimal spillage, and their shape prevented the milk being agitated into butter by the jolting wagon. Each held ten gallons or eighty pints – around 50kg when full – so an easy lift for a working man of the time.  They were similar in shape to the vessels used for churning butter, hence they were named 'churns'.

The churns were left outside the farms for collection each day, and empties were left in their place. The milk was now passed through a cooling system to aid preservation, but several hours in the hot sun meant the milk could still be of dubious quality when it reached its destination.

In the 1970s, legislation prohibited the use of milk churns. Milk now had to be stored in a chilled bulk tank before collection from the farm by a tanker. The churns were sold for scrap or for any other use the farmers could think of.