Easter hunt for Britain’s master craftspeople

While the rest of the country is hunting for Easter eggs this weekend another search is being launched for England’s disappearing craftspeople. The recently-formed Heritage Crafts Association is putting out a call for all those woodturners, weavers and wheelwrights to join together and fight for this threatened part of our heritage. Its founders would like the public to search out and tell them about people practicing rare and endangered crafts. They are afraid that the centuries of knowledge that helped create the crafts for which Britain was once renowned are in danger of disappearing forever.

The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) has been formed to preserve the traditional skills that have been passed on through generations. Some of these craftspeople, like sievemaker Mike Turnock, are the last surviving practitioners of trades that take years to learn and perfect.

“Sieves like Mike’s products may be mass produced in plastic or metal for sale in kitchen and garden shops,” says HCA Chair and co-founder Robin Wood, “but they’re generally poor imitations of an original that was woven by hand into a steam-bent wooden frame that will last a lifetime and be a joy to use. If the knowledge behind those techniques is allowed to die with Mike I think we’ll lose something quintessential about what it is to be British.”

Robin wants everyone who practises or cares about traditional crafts to join the Association so they can present a united front to fight for the survival of these skills. “There must be dozens of people out there, working in isolated workshops in villages and cities, knowing they’re the last of the line,” he says. “But they needn’t be the last and it’d be a disaster if they were.”

Robin and his colleagues argue that the current economic downturn is a perfect time to nurture traditional skills which form a vital part of Britain’s heritage. Many of those artisans who do survive have thriving businesses and products that are valued at home and abroad. For example, Robin, who makes hand-turned wooden bowls, has a healthy trade with America, as well as providing the genuine article for living history exhibitions and domestic dinner tables.

The HCA will be campaigning for greater support so the current masters can pass on their knowledge. It wants more help to create the conditions necessary to maintain Britain’s reputation for a ‘living heritage’ that is practised in the midst of our communities. “We have English Heritage to look after our old buildings and Natural England to care for the landscape,” says Robin. “Who will nurture the skills and occupations that are our living heritage and could form the bedrock of a resurgence of a creative and profitable cottage industry?”

The HCA has launched a website at www.heritagecrafts.org.uk for anyone wanting to pledge their support for traditional crafts and as a showcase for these crafts. They’re encouraging anyone who cares about or practices traditional crafts to join the campaign for the benefit of their own industry – and the country’s cultural heritage.

Note to Editors:

The HCA can suggest some craftspeople they have already found who are willing to be interviewed and photographed in their workshops.

For further information please contact:
Robin Wood (HCA Chair): 01433 670321
www.heritagecrafts.org.uk