ENGLISH BASKETRY HERITAGE
STRAW PLAITING
Corn dollies are deemed to be a harbinger for a good harvest. Despite being easily recognised they are a craft form that sadly has nearly been assigned to history. Thanks to the ‘Red List’ of endangered crafts set up by ‘The Heritage Crafts Association’ this skill of straw plaiting has now been highlighted, and heritage basketmakers like myself are working to spread the knowledge about this craft, especially among a younger generation.
Long straw, which is a precursor to the modern day short- stemmed hybrids, is still used by thatchers today. Corn dollies using straw plaiting techniques during the harvest season, are a subject of great fascination and can be tailored made to suit all sorts of different circumstances.
WATTLE AND DAUB BEEHIVES
From a medieval design I reproduced some willow and daub beehives of the type that have been used for thousands of years and are still used today.
I have made these pieces for interpretive museum displays and school project work.
And it’s been a success! I was thrilled to learn that the working set of beehives made in collaboration with the Derbyshire Dry Stone Walling Association were colonised within months.
VOLUNTEERS AND FUNDRAISING
A few years ago I instigated an initiative to work with a group of employees of an international freight company in a community volunteering project. Together, we made a protective wildlife habitat edging for a local lake, using local willow. The work raised $18000 U.S. for new habitat creation and was welcomed as a successful sustainable project locally.
East Leake and Castle Donington projects
The area around Castle Donington is the historic heart of the willow industry in England but this heritage is little known about nowadays. Using grant money from an energy company, I planned and delivered a project based on my research into a now defunct local basket and willow growing trade in East Leake and Castle Donington.
The villages’ schools, old people’s homes, churches, museums history groups benefitted from events which I staged linking the heritage of their local trade to practical hands-on activities, displays in museums, the church, and a tea party for pensioners with a difference!
These projects have served to enhance the local history and tourism aspect of the East Midlands.
Hemington quarry Eel Traps
‘Digging for England’ was the remit of the lead archaeologist who invited me to cast an expert eye on a set of willow fish traps which were unearthed in a local quarry. I was able to contribute to the knowledge recorded in the University of Leicester’s recordings of the 1994 dig (ISBN 978 1 4073 1617 8). Over years of making different styles of fish traps, I have made samples of reproductions of the ones found in on the River Trent.
Image credit: L.P. Cooper and S. Ripper