LAST week’s Craven Curiosity, pictured below, was one of those items that appears as if it could have have had any number of applications - which perhaps explains why no one came close to identifying it.

A good guess came from Stephen Lodge, of Threshfield, who considered: “Could it be a protector/cushion for the threaded end of a steel water pipe when being installed with the aid of a hammer?”

It is, in fact, the wheel hub of a ‘penny farthing’ bicycle from the later years of the 19th century.

Anne Read, of The Museum of North Craven Life at The Folly in Settle, explains: “Penny Farthing bicycles were very popular in the 1870s and 1880s.

“The large ‘penny’ wheel meant that they were capable of much faster speeds than their predecessors in the cycling world and, as would be expected, were very popular with young men. Mounting and dismounting was an acquired skill, as both saddle and pedals were attached to the front wheel.

“They were fitted with solid tyres and although they gave a smoother ride over rough surfaces, if the unlucky rider hit an obstacle in the road he was liable to be pitched straight over the handlebars. Broken bones were a common hazard.

“Sadly we don’t have a complete penny farthing in our museum collection, but the brass hub pictured here, spotted by one of our eagle-eyed volunteers in a Settle charity shop, perfectly illustrates their high standard of engineering.”

This week’s Craven Curiosity is pictured above. Please send suggestions to: news@cravenherald.co.uk by 8am on Monday.