Members of the Dorset Coppice Group produce a wide and varied range of sustainable wood products. Each member has signed a declaration that they only use ‘local sustainable wood’, giving the customer the re-assurance that the product they purchase is helping to retain Dorset’s woodland, as well as the ancient skills of these crafts.
The following will give you an insight into some of the most important products of coppicing in Dorset. Click on the links or scroll through the whole page. Look out for links to the page for more photographs...
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Hedge Laying & Restoration
Since
World War II various incentives and agricultural up-heavals
have seen miles of hedgerow destroyed or neglected.
They are now recognised as vital wildlife refuges that
have real benefit to agriculture through natural pest
control and providing shelter for livestock. They also
contribute to Dorset's unique beauty and should be
cherished for all these reasons.
A number of grants are available to assist with the cost of restoring
neglected hedgerows and also for their maintenance. Restoring and maintaining
hedgerows requires real skill that is available through a number of our
members. Landowners and farmers are also advised to get information from
the FWAG and English Nature offices on flailing regimes etc.
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Besoms
Commonly
made from Birch or heather, the heads are renowned for
pulling moss from lawns and clearing wet leaves, an ideal
gardener’s companion. Swales (i.e. Besoms without
handles) were also used by a wide variety of industries
and these days it is still used by some steel workers for
cleaning scale from red-hot steel (it also somehow improves
the quality of the steel) and also clarifying vinegar. |
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Wattle Hurdles
Hurdles
have been found on the Somerset levels where they were
used to cross the wetlands. Wattle & daub huts were
used by many of our ancestors from the Iron Age through
to the Middle Ages were they were widely used for fencing.
There was a huge demand for hurdles for folding the sheep,
and were used extensively throughout Dorset with the
flocks of Dorset Down Sheep. They provided a portable
fencing panel, that was light enough for the shepherd
to carry four at a time. They were used for folding or
penning the sheep when grazing, being dipped or sheared.
They also provided shelter for the ewes and lambs at
lambing time, as they gave protection from the wind and
rain. Today’s farming methods have replaced the
wattle hurdle with lambing sheds and electric fencing.
In the garden they provide shelter without creating turbulence
and eddies associated with other boundaries. |
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Charcoal
Charcoal is carbonised wood, made by “charring” wood with
reduced air. Charcoal burns with approximately twice the heat of wood,
and with little smoke, which unique characteristics make it ideal for
cooking and iron working. It is very porous and is used in filters; it
is also a basic component in gunpowder. Unlike
many imported brands of charcoal (that often come from tropical rainforests
or mangroves) coppice charcoal is made only of pure lumpwood.
As a result, you get a charcoal with the following advantages:
- Easy to light
- No need for firelighters
- Ready to cook in 10-15 minutes
- Burns hotter and longer than many imported brands
- Promotes the sustainable management of your local woods
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Faggots
Traditionally
used by bakers to fuel their ovens, faggots (bundles
of brash tied in lengths of 3-10 feet) are now being
used by a number of conservation bodies in riverbank
and coastal protection. This 'soft' approach to bank
repair has numerous advantages over 'hard' solutions
such as steel and concrete revetment because it allows
the bank to stay alive with wild-life, uses natural materials
(and so benefits the coppice and river ecosystems simultaneously)
and dissipates the energy of the river/ocean. Some members
are able to provide this service for private landowners
and homeowners to stop rivers eroding gardens or fields
at a reasonable cost. |
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Firewood
A
natural bi-product of woodland work, buying firewood
from your local coppice merchant has the following benefits.
The material is of higher calorific value than many softwood
firewood’s i.e. they burn hotter and longer. You
are contributing to the sustainable management of Dorset's
woodlands. Dealing directly can save costs whilst supporting
the local economy |
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Furniture
There is a wide range of styles of furniture available
from coppice craftsmen that combine traditional skills
and modern designs to provide you with a high quality finished
product. Be it bent-wood chairs, garden arbours or stools
and chairs made by bodgers you can find something for every
taste and style which will be unique to your garden or
conservatory.
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Green-Wood
Turning/Bodging
Although
the last full-time bodger stopped working in the 1950's
the craft remains alive through a large and growing number
of pole-lathe turners. In addition to stools and chairs
the pole lathe can also be used to make rattles, honey
sticks, dibbers and bowls etc. Because each piece is
hand turned every piece of work is unique and of the
highest quality, reflecting the turners skill and the
intrinsic qualities of the wood used. |
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Hay Rakes
Made
from ash a hay-rake is light, durable and stylish. Another
craft that used to be essential for agriculture that
is showing a revival in the modern garden. |
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Cleft Gate Hurdles
Traditionally
used by farmers for penning their livestock, Cleft Gate
Hurdles are becoming increasingly popular in gardens
for they’re aesthetic qualities as well as their
strength and durability. |
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Walking Sticks
The
raw materials for the sticks are cut out of hedge and
coppice and must be hung to dry for two years before
any fashioning can begin.
DIFFERENT
SORTS OF WALKING STICKS
1. WALKER – a
stick that comes up to your hip joint.
2. MARKET STICK – a stick that is taller than “a
walker”. It is one you can rest and relax on by leaning on it with
your hands or lower arm. Good for when you are watching something or
having a natter.
3. HILL STICK - this is a longer stick as a support
and used by hikers. You put the shank in front of you and use the stick
as a support until you are going past it. Then you use it to push yourself
along.
WORKING
STICKS
1. CROOK -
A shepherd’s crook is designed to fit around
the neck of a sheep. But there are also crooks designed
for working with chickens, geese and swans.
2. THUMB STICK - this stick has a v shape or hole for
your thumb
*
Taken from “ A little book of walking sticks” by
Trevor Harries.
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