Taylor Headstocks

[Mike Chester]

A rope broke just before the end of a QP of London Royal last night 
at Chilvers Coton and we removed it, spliced it and replaced it.

What interested me on doing this process were the headstocks on the 
3rd and 4th, (naturally it was the 3rd rope, that went - in the 
corner and on the upper tier, rope through a chute, pulley too 
narriow to get the sally down through it!).

They appear to be the original headstocks from the hanging of the 8 
in 1904(?) (the trebles' headstocks are dated 1947) but were VERY 
different from the back 6. They were small and very thin in profile, 
slightly curved with the stay simply bolted through the bottom and 
held by a bracket for the upper bolt. I surmise that they were also 
solid in construction.

Are they common? Why would they be used?

Mike