brigadier Biggles
01-19-2006, 09:46 PM
With traditional crafts on the wane there are fears that Britain's rural way of life is under grave threat. Now comes a £7m grant, designed to breathe new life into dying trades.
Norfolk Broads reed cutter Paul Mace and his younger brother Stephen followed three previous generations into the family trade.
"I learned with both my father and my grandfather, and also helped out when I was a child," Paul says.
"I still work with my grandfather every day. He's coming up for 75 years old."
Reed cutters produce the thatch used for roofing and need in-depth knowledge of tides, water levels, machinery and the often boggy land itself.
Mr Mace, 33, has been a "cutter" for five years now and says he's still improving. "It takes at least two seasons to become even competent," he says.
Handing down skills
While the passing down of skills and knowledge from father to son was a common story 40 years or so ago, it is now no longer the norm.
Rural crafts like reed cutting, dry-stone wall building and millwrighting are under threat because there are not enough trained workers in the country.
Mr Mace says the unreliability of seasonal employment and the option to work for steady wages in factories are to blame. The people who would have traditionally taken on this kind of work no longer do so.
The situation is so bad that the Heritage Lottery Fund is announcing on Wednesday the allocation of £7m for training and apprenticeships in 10 traditional building and restoration crafts around the UK, including the Norfolk Broads reed cutters.
The schemes will provide a mix of entry-level training and "top-up" training for those already in the industry.
Another Norfolk reed cutter Richard Starling, 54, says the bursaries will help enormously as the training and insurance cover for people starting out in labour intensive, low-pay jobs is too expensive.
"I started out looking after Marthan Broad Nature Reserve which is owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust back in 1986," says Mr Starling. "Reed and sedge cutting was part of the everyday management of the site.
"But I was taught by two older cutters who worked on the reserve too who are, sadly, no longer with us."
It's a similar story in Cornwall where landowners and heritage organisations cannot find skilled hedgers to build and maintain the West Country's famous traditional hedges.
Patrick Semmens, 60, from St Just in west Cornwall, became a fully-fledged Cornish Hedger more than 30 years ago after training with the Agricultural Training Board.
He says there is plenty of work maintaining Cornwall's 40-45,000 miles of hedging for the 40 trainee hedgers that the Heritage Lottery Fund will help sponsor. But he warns people must also be prepared to pay for quality work and not always plump for the cheaper options.
Conservation threat
It is not just the crafts themselves that are under threat.
Cornish Hedges are made from earth and specially shaped stones
Cornwall's stone "hedges" were falling down
Without skilled workers, conservation and heritage organisations can't restore and maintain the nation's buildings, gardens and rural environment.
Sharon Goddard, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, says conservation and restoration projects around the country have also been delayed.
"For example, on the Norfolk Broads there are only two millwrights to maintain 74 mills, and Cornish hedges were falling down because there were too few experienced hedgers to build them."
The funding aims to make it possible for heritage organisations and individuals to look after our buildings, environment and traditional crafts well into the future.
But Ms Goddard adds that this loss of national craftsmanship isn't just a rural problem.
She cites the example of Victorian terrace owners in towns who are unable to repair their homes appropriately.
"People have problems finding carpenters who can fix sash windows without making them draughty, so they put in PVC ones. Also, if a builder uses the wrong mortar it could lead to cracking, damp and can cause a lot of problems after a few years."
Pay and housing
Reed cutter Paul Mace bundling the water reed used for thatching roofs
Money isn't everything... you can't put a price on enjoying your work
Reed cutter Paul Mace
While the funding is welcomed by the various craftsmen, they all warn that pay and housing are still big factors in the decline of these traditional industries.
Mr Starling says: "It's no good training young people up in low-paid jobs if they can't afford to live in the area. This has to be addressed and it's not a problem that's unique to the broads."
But both reed cutters say the cash is an important step forward in reviving the country's ailing indigenous crafts, and say they have more confidence in the future of their trade.
Mr Mace adds: "Money isn't everything, it is not the greatest pay but I don't get office 'flu, you are your own boss up to a point and I'm out in the country every day which I enjoy.
"And you can't put a price on enjoying your work."
HERITAGE LOTTERY BURSARIES
Masonry conservation in NI and Scotland: £1m
Inst of Conservation: £1m
Traditional building skills for England and Wales: £900,000
Inst of Field Archaeologists: £730,000
Historic and Botanic Gardens Scheme: £721,000
Reeds, Sedge, Fens and Mills: £714,500
LEMUR Heritage Training: £704,000
Scottish and NI wildlife: £677,500
Transport Heritage: £360,500
Guild of Cornish Hedgers: £180,500
"And you can't put a price on enjoying your work." - totally agree, rather spend my years out in the field getting fresh air doing what my ancestors did than stuck in a dull office bound cubicle 9-5, 5 days a week...
government pull your finger out and save some real English heritage before it goes once and for all...
Norfolk Broads reed cutter Paul Mace and his younger brother Stephen followed three previous generations into the family trade.
"I learned with both my father and my grandfather, and also helped out when I was a child," Paul says.
"I still work with my grandfather every day. He's coming up for 75 years old."
Reed cutters produce the thatch used for roofing and need in-depth knowledge of tides, water levels, machinery and the often boggy land itself.
Mr Mace, 33, has been a "cutter" for five years now and says he's still improving. "It takes at least two seasons to become even competent," he says.
Handing down skills
While the passing down of skills and knowledge from father to son was a common story 40 years or so ago, it is now no longer the norm.
Rural crafts like reed cutting, dry-stone wall building and millwrighting are under threat because there are not enough trained workers in the country.
Mr Mace says the unreliability of seasonal employment and the option to work for steady wages in factories are to blame. The people who would have traditionally taken on this kind of work no longer do so.
The situation is so bad that the Heritage Lottery Fund is announcing on Wednesday the allocation of £7m for training and apprenticeships in 10 traditional building and restoration crafts around the UK, including the Norfolk Broads reed cutters.
The schemes will provide a mix of entry-level training and "top-up" training for those already in the industry.
Another Norfolk reed cutter Richard Starling, 54, says the bursaries will help enormously as the training and insurance cover for people starting out in labour intensive, low-pay jobs is too expensive.
"I started out looking after Marthan Broad Nature Reserve which is owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust back in 1986," says Mr Starling. "Reed and sedge cutting was part of the everyday management of the site.
"But I was taught by two older cutters who worked on the reserve too who are, sadly, no longer with us."
It's a similar story in Cornwall where landowners and heritage organisations cannot find skilled hedgers to build and maintain the West Country's famous traditional hedges.
Patrick Semmens, 60, from St Just in west Cornwall, became a fully-fledged Cornish Hedger more than 30 years ago after training with the Agricultural Training Board.
He says there is plenty of work maintaining Cornwall's 40-45,000 miles of hedging for the 40 trainee hedgers that the Heritage Lottery Fund will help sponsor. But he warns people must also be prepared to pay for quality work and not always plump for the cheaper options.
Conservation threat
It is not just the crafts themselves that are under threat.
Cornish Hedges are made from earth and specially shaped stones
Cornwall's stone "hedges" were falling down
Without skilled workers, conservation and heritage organisations can't restore and maintain the nation's buildings, gardens and rural environment.
Sharon Goddard, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, says conservation and restoration projects around the country have also been delayed.
"For example, on the Norfolk Broads there are only two millwrights to maintain 74 mills, and Cornish hedges were falling down because there were too few experienced hedgers to build them."
The funding aims to make it possible for heritage organisations and individuals to look after our buildings, environment and traditional crafts well into the future.
But Ms Goddard adds that this loss of national craftsmanship isn't just a rural problem.
She cites the example of Victorian terrace owners in towns who are unable to repair their homes appropriately.
"People have problems finding carpenters who can fix sash windows without making them draughty, so they put in PVC ones. Also, if a builder uses the wrong mortar it could lead to cracking, damp and can cause a lot of problems after a few years."
Pay and housing
Reed cutter Paul Mace bundling the water reed used for thatching roofs
Money isn't everything... you can't put a price on enjoying your work
Reed cutter Paul Mace
While the funding is welcomed by the various craftsmen, they all warn that pay and housing are still big factors in the decline of these traditional industries.
Mr Starling says: "It's no good training young people up in low-paid jobs if they can't afford to live in the area. This has to be addressed and it's not a problem that's unique to the broads."
But both reed cutters say the cash is an important step forward in reviving the country's ailing indigenous crafts, and say they have more confidence in the future of their trade.
Mr Mace adds: "Money isn't everything, it is not the greatest pay but I don't get office 'flu, you are your own boss up to a point and I'm out in the country every day which I enjoy.
"And you can't put a price on enjoying your work."
HERITAGE LOTTERY BURSARIES
Masonry conservation in NI and Scotland: £1m
Inst of Conservation: £1m
Traditional building skills for England and Wales: £900,000
Inst of Field Archaeologists: £730,000
Historic and Botanic Gardens Scheme: £721,000
Reeds, Sedge, Fens and Mills: £714,500
LEMUR Heritage Training: £704,000
Scottish and NI wildlife: £677,500
Transport Heritage: £360,500
Guild of Cornish Hedgers: £180,500
"And you can't put a price on enjoying your work." - totally agree, rather spend my years out in the field getting fresh air doing what my ancestors did than stuck in a dull office bound cubicle 9-5, 5 days a week...
government pull your finger out and save some real English heritage before it goes once and for all...