Back in the 1980’s, when I worked for J T Stanton & Co, based in King’s Lynn, we had many customers in Yorkshire and they would call in with their orders, often with that strong accent and dry wit.
Sometimes it would take me a couple of attempts to understand exactly what they wanted but usually I was about right. However, on one occasion I got asked for a considerable amount of ‘Spouting’ and this puzzled me. I asked them to repeat this a couple of times (“Shouting? Scouting?) until the chap explained that it’s the expression for wooden guttering.
I was fascinated by this and went across to the mill, to see some being machined, from a very large section of pine, scalloped out to form a gutter section. It’s still used to this day, but mainly for restoration purposes, but back in the 1980’s it was mainly for repairs to industrial and other buildings. Totally untreated, it was fixed on site and presumably withstood a considerable amount of exposure.
Just the other day my sister sent me some photos and videos of their trip to Kathmandu, high up in the mountains, heading for Everest. Lo and behold, one clip showed hollowed out logs being used as irrigation channels. Presumably they had been there for a considerable time as well, working very satisfactorily.
Timber is an amazing substance; it’s so versatile. What’s more we often underestimate its ability to withstand all sorts of climatic and physical pressures, with ease.