I'm currently becoming rather involved in an eco-village project, and I got to thinking about all the rather "useless" skills I learned as a child, which I've never had the opportunity to use again, but would love to do.  I've learned how to card and spin wool, work a loom, churn butter, make cheese, and a host of other things.  With the village, there is an expressed interest in learning how to do these things, as well as potentially making a business venture out of it.  I was wondering if anyone in the UK knows of any "school of lost arts" or instructors for skilled crafts which could do with a bit of press, as there's some plans in the works for making this an integral part of the community?

For my part I'd love to spin wool again, I found it quite relaxing, but sheep are a bit thin on the ground in London, and gods knows where I'd find a wheel...

Cheers in advance.

If you google for the Association of Guilds of Weavers, spinners and dyers-you will find a list of all the guilds in the U.K. There is one in London and they will be able to help you .

Contact the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.

There's a membership subscription but most Guilds have a pool of wheels available to borrow.

Awesome, thanks, I'll get in touch!

Now I happened to read a book about the lost crafts last year, it had a preface by Prince Charles who is a big advocate of traditional rural crafts. can't for the life of me remember what it was called though. Good luck with your quest.

There is definitely a cry for these things, but they are so few and far between; I recall the Salisbury cathedral has only one stonemason working on the arches in the vestibule, because there are so few masons in the UK they were only able to get the one!

The same is true for thatchers, people who know how to make living hedges, and even spinning and dyeing is a bit thin on the ground, so we're trying to figure out how to promote ths.

We'll see what we manage to get sorted!

There are regular hedge-laying competitions - problem is it's expensive in man-power to be utilised on all hedges, as is dry stone-wall maintainance.

Back in the 1970s there were grants to be had for re-instating laid hedges.

Our local agri college has regular courses in hedge-laying and dry stone-walling.

Prince Charles is a great advocate for traditional crafts as I'mentioned before. It's worth taking a peek at his site. But I believe unless we keep these crafts alive we will be very sorry before too much longer.

There are certainly courses and working holidays in Scotland for dry stone walling, or as we call it dry stane dyking.

There have got to be people on Etsy who know about some of these thing. There are an awful lot of people into felting, for example. They are mostly in America, though...

Plenty of felters in the UK Abi.

Actually if you get out into places where there are moors and/or mountains and dales or lots of waterways there are quite a few traditional crafters around; we always find some when we're on holiday.

Events such as Woolfest, Woodfest, Potfest etc. attract large numbers

Sorry - meant to say that Etsy people in general are mostly in America - did not mean to make particular reference to felters.

I remember proper hedgelaying was part of the Countryside Management course when I went to college all those many years ago, I didnt realise it was becoming so scarce

I think the problem is that the crafts are time consuming, therefore costly and as the older crafters die off there are very few new apprentices to take their place. It is such a shame because a dry stone wall can never be replaced, a thatched roof can't either, stonemasons are needed to keep our churches, cathedrals and other ancient monuments etc in good repair. I think sooner rather than later people will realise that if these crafts are left to be come extinct it might be to the detriment of us all really. I have a theory but I'll keep that to myself. Just encourage everybody to take up a traditional craft of some sort. Off my soapbox now. Back into lurkdom for a while.  :mwaha:

Many crafts & trades are dyeing out.
My OH is an upholsterer. He uses traditional methods of tacks & hand stitching as did my father & grand father. He does not use not staples.
This seems to be a trade that is dying, but he has so much work. It did take him 10 years to learn and he still has jobs come in that are new to him. He is also a restorer of antiques that is again a dying trade.
Kim