SouthwoldArt: a nice clean victorian cork press, stamped on the reverse with the makers name, A Kenrick and Sons, and the model number.  Dating from about 1850 to 1890, the cork press is in cast iron, with floral motifs to the handle and base.  This example will take four different sized corks and is very decorative, both the top and base are covered in deep relief detail of acanthus leaves.

This cork press (or cork squeezer) would have been bolted or screw fixed to a counter top, enabling the compression of corks for insertion in ceramic or glass bottles.  These devices were used by wine bottlers, phamacists, and anyone bottling anything.  They make a nice decorative item, and can be up-cycled as nut crackers, and even door knockers. 

Archibald Kenrick & Sons started life as an iron founder in 1791, manufacturing buckles and livery fittings from their site in West Bromwich. Over 200 years later they still manufacture from the same site.  The 1840 Kenrick catalogue included door furniture, saucepans, a waffle iron and a humane man trap.