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Following the tremendously successful Basketry for Beginners workshop in May 2004, master craftswomen and charming tutor, Andrea Bonacker, will be running a special Christmas Basketry course on 4 Nov (0930-1530) at Wall Village Hall
Our first courses in February 2004 were a great success with lots of laughs and many delighted new basketmakers taking their triumphs home.
In recent years there has been a tremendous revival of interest in basket making. According to the Basket Makers’ Association, the reasons for this upsurge in interest are many - the reaction against mass produced items, the irresistible feel and scent of willow and other weaving materials and the desire to take part in one of the oldest crafts known to man - are just some of them.
At our one-day Christmas workshop, you will learn the basics of basket making in a relaxed atmosphere by making a round willow basket to take home.
- Materials will be supplied
- Please wear ‘old/working clothes’ (working with willow is not dangerous but can snag and stain clothes).
- Please bring a pair of secateurs and a pruning knife if you have them
A new 5 day traditional hooky mat making course is scheduled by popular demand over five weeks during September and October to enable students to develop their skills from beginner onwards. A special one-day course on proggy Christmas wreaths is also scheduled for November 17th.
The classes will be taught by the delightful and dexterous Sheila Wilson, who regularly plies her traditional craft as part of the Woodhorn Mat-making Group (left) who meet and can be see working every Thursday and Sunday at the Woodhorn Colliery Museum & Gallery in Ashington. She also tutors classes at a variety of venues with tremendous enthusiasm.
The Gallery also houses this wonderful painting - Progging the Mat 1938, by Oliver Kilbourn – which shows pre-war women working collectively on the progging frame. You can see this and many other paintings of mining village life by The Ashington Group.
Proggy and hooky are two techniques that don't involve weaving or plaiting. In the proggy style of mat making, short strips of fabric are pushed through hessian. The hooky style, which originated in Europe and was taken to the USA and Australia, involved hooking strips of fabric through the harn or backing cloth. Women from all social classes recycled mostly woollens, and progged or hooked rugs into old hessian sacks as an economical way to add warmth and comfort to a home.
The beauty of clippy mats is that anyone can make one and the result will be effective and satisfying, with each mat a unique expression of the maker. Because materials are recycled, costs are minimal. These days, the variety and availability of materials ensures the mats can be as bright and as colourful as you like. Most mat makers use cotton knits from old T-shirts and track-suits, which are good for wall hangings, cushions and bags etc, but wool is better wearing for floor coverings. Materials are readily available from charity shops or by collecting discards from family and friends. Some modern matters approach their mat making in the tradition of quilting, where the mat has a story to tell from the materials used (the family's old blankets, a daughter's first coat; a son's football jumper). Even without a frame, it's easy to prog a small rug or cushion cover on your knee as they do in some areas eg Yorkshire, but in the north east, frames are traditionally used.
Horse owners and livery managers have a burning desire to learn and understand every detail about a horse’s physical structure and care. This was the overwhelming response from delegates at the TRAC Livery Management training course in late November / early December.
“Maybe having a tame vet on the spot for a day prompted the response”, said Colin Mitchell, Course Tutor, “but I was surprised and pleased to see the serious level of interest. We’ll certainly be running this course again in 2004, and in response to the enormous number of questions posed, we will also be running one specifically on diseases of the horse’s hoof and lower limb.”
January at Wall Village Hall and Green saw an enthusiastic group learning to make willow structures for the garden. Some excellent domes and wigwams were achieved showing students just what can be done with willow. Tutor and artist, Ruth Thompson makes many large and complex creations such as seats and tunnels, and some which will root and grow if desired. Willow crafts are a regularly on the TRAC course list.
A new TRAC course for 2004 provided essential basic training in the safe use of farm chemicals during the sheep dipping season. Supported by Schering Plough and J S Hubbock, each delegate was given vouchers for dip to the value of the course.
This course is a must for all farm staff and freelancers likely to be dipping sheep in spring – to ensure staff health, the health of the stock and to limit professional liability.
Professional dry stone waller, John Wilson, runs a range of TRAC courses at levels from “beginner” to “seriously hooked”. It looks a tough job to build a wall, but courses attract a surprising number of women and older leisured people determined to make an impact on land boundaries and in gardens. If you take it easy and remember to lift properly, almost anyone can build a decent stretch of wall, and even learn to turn corners.
Apart from the economic value of being able to repair farm walls before they deteriorate, dry stone walling is a soothing and satisfying past-time for anyone with a creative inclination – or a passion for jigsaws.
The Value and Future of Walls & Walling
We have lost more than 5,000 miles of dry stone walls in England and Wales since 1947, mainly due to neglect after damage by livestock, dogs and walkers dislodging capping stones, and vibration damage from heavy vehicles. Walls are important habitats, offering food, shelter and nesting sites to a wide range of species. It is also essential to maintain the craft of walling.
Dry stone walls are ancient boundaries of archaeological value and part of the landscape - a fact which contributes to their decline. Attractive, weathered stone often 'disappears' from roadside sites for garden rockeries. Some landowners, attracted by the high price of weathered stone have sold whole walls for garden centre resale or to building contractors.
The gradual loss of skilled dry stone wallers is a real problem. Since the mid 19th Century there has been little need for new wall building, only repairs and realignment. As a result there are fewer fulltime craftsmen. But recent interest in traditional countryside crafts has led to opportunities for volunteers to learn the skills of dry stone walling on training courses or working holidays. The number of professional wallers has also increased. The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain lists over 160 certified professional wallers, including John Wilson, of whom 60 are Master Craftsmen.
Dry stone walls are the original 'green' field boundaries. Local materials are used and if the wall is damaged the stone can be reused. Walls can be built in areas where trees and hedges do not grow well, where it is too rocky for fence posts to be driven in or where fence posts would quickly rot in the wet climate. If built properly, they can last for generations and require a minimum of maintenance. They also provide much needed shelter for live- stock in the winter and shade in the summer.
A 1994 survey estimated the total length of dry stone walls in England to be 70,000 miles, of which only 13% were in good condition. The remainder ranged from remnant walls, to those showing major signs of deterioration. Only about 50% are stock proof. The situation in the rest of Britain is thought to be similar.
The sooner a wall is repaired after being damaged the better because animals and people enlarge gaps quickly and a derelict wall costs much more to repair than a damaged wall.
The cost of repair and replacement is generally high. A metre of post and wire fencing can cost as little as a tenth the price of a metre of dry stone wall built by a professional waller. The costs rise even more if the wall is remote and if there is no readily available supply of graded stones. But if this cost is viewed over say a minimum life expectancy of 100 years for a dry stone wall then it becomes much more attractive to the landowner. Defra, the Countryside Agency and National Parks all offer grant subsidies for walling.
Look out for the new TRAC course on hedge laying coming up in 2004. The perfect complement to our Dry Stone Walling courses, hedge laying can be a useful skill with long-lasting benefits.
Hedge laying is a traditional method of hedge management and has been practised for hundreds of years. It involves cutting nearly all the way through the base of the stems and laying them over at an angle of about 35 degrees.
Hedges serve to keep stock in a pasture and out of crop fields. They also provide shade for stock, protection from the wind for crops and stock, guard against soil erosion and provide both a valuable wildlife habitat and corridor, not just in the hedge itself but also any associated ditch and bank.
Hawthorn is the most common hedgerow shrub, prized for its hardiness and its dense thorns. Blackthorn is the second most common hedgerow shrub. In spring blackthorn puts out its white blossom before its leaves whilst hawthorn is the other way round. Other typical hedgerow plants are hazel, elm, ash and field maple.
The oldest hedges are normally the most varied and these are typically found alongside old green lanes and parish boundaries.
Where the cycle of laying and trimming is repeated hedges can thrive for hundreds of years. The cost of maintaining hedges is broadly equivalent to that of fencing which has to be completely replaced periodically.
n an effort to counter the loss of thousands of miles of hedges every year, DEFRA can provide grants for hedge laying and hedge planting under one of the categories covered by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme to promote the long term maintenance and upkeep of hedges.
Ancient and/or species rich hedges are supported by English Nature under its Biodiversity Grant Scheme which can support hedge planting and hedge laying. English Nature can provide up to 50% of the cost of approved projects, between £250 and £5,000 and anyone can apply. The page linked to below also includes information about other sources of grants available.
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