Country crafts is a term used in Ireland and the United Kingdom to describe old, traditional activities, such as weaving and spinning, and the small country industries that have developed from them. Country craftworkers make high-quality goods based mainly on traditional designs. But their work sometimes falls below the standard of design required in modern manufactured goods. There are thousands of prosperous small country industries in all parts of the United Kingdom. They include small factories employing several local people and the homes and small workshops of self-employed craftworkers.
Some rural industries operate in a particular place for a specific reason. For example, the basket making industry of Somerset, England, is centered near the osier (willow) trees that thrive locally and that provide the raw material for the baskets. Farming and many other industries depend on the services of skilled local craftworkers.
To keep up with the needs of modern life, country craftsmen and craftswomen have had to develop their skills and adapt themselves to new methods. They have also had to become accustomed to using new materials.
Kinds of country crafts
Country craftworkers may be divided into three categories. Service craftworkers, such as blacksmiths, provide a repair service for farm machinery. Producer craftworkers, such as potters, make goods for sale in their own country and in others. Artist craftworkers make a limited number of articles of especially high quality. Some craftworkers, such as saddlers, are both producer and service craftworkers.
Farriery
is the craft of shoeing horses. It was once the main task of blacksmiths, who form the largest number of country craftworkers. Today, most blacksmiths are skilled agricultural engineers. They repair and maintain the complex machinery used on modern farms. Machines that have taken the place of the hand-operated bellows and the anvil that characterized the village smithy of the past. As a result of the decrease in numbers of farm horses, few blacksmiths shoe horses today. But some blacksmiths are engaged entirely in farriery work, particularly those near racetracks.
Saddlery
is the craft of making saddles and harness for horses. Few saddlers today make harness. This craft is carried on by a small number of large firms in industrial areas. Most saddlers today repair saddles and other leather goods.
Basket making
is carried on mainly in Somerset and other areas where the osier beds flourish, such as the eastern counties of England, and southern and western Ireland. Some cane is imported, and basket makers work in many counties. Basket makers face competition from cheaper but well-made baskets imported from other countries. British craftworkers make some of the finest heavy industrial baskets and hampers used in the agricultural and fishing industries.
Hedging and walling
involve the installation of barriers that provide windbreaks and shelter for game and livestock. In hedging, trees or shrubs are staked and bound together into a sturdy structure. In walling, dry stones are piled up to form a wall. These crafts have declined as a result of the use of hedge-cutting machines and the mechanization of agriculture, which favors the cultivation of large unenclosed areas. However, young farmers’ clubs in many areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland still give instruction and arrange competitions in hedging and walling. Mainly as a result of the work of these clubs, these crafts have survived in many areas of England, Wales, and western Ireland.
Pottery and brickmaking
are also known as clay industries, because, in them, clay is used to craft various articles. Heavy clay industries include the making of handmade bricks and tiles. Small country brickyards specialize in making facing bricks for the outsides of buildings. Studio potters make handmade decorative articles and useful household items. Horticultural potters generally use molds to cast ceramic articles. The work of local potters is in great demand. See also Pottery ; Porcelain .
Textile making
was carried on many years ago in all parts of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, particularly in areas where sheep were reared and in areas where Flemish refugees settled in the 1600’s. Little remains of this early craft except in parts of Wales, Scotland, the Scottish islands, and the Republic of Ireland, particularly County Donegal. In these areas, small but thriving mills make distinctive tweeds and flannels of high quality.
Thatching
involves the use of straw or grasses as a building material—usually for roofing. It is practiced in country districts in the Republic of Ireland, and several hundred full-time thatching businesses operate in the United Kingdom today. Thatchers use three types of roof-covering: long straw; combed wheat reed; and Norfolk or water reed, which is the most durable of the three.
Wheelwrighting
once referred specifically to wheel making. Today, wheelwrights manufacture trailers, cattle transporters, and such portable buildings as poultry houses. Like most other craftworkers today, the wheelwright uses modern machines and materials.
Other country crafts
include gate making, hurdle making, furniture making, and boatbuilding. Hurdle making involves crafting barriers of woven willow, hazel, or other flexible natural materials. Boatbuilders working in coastal areas and inland waterways have a high reputation for all kinds of small boats. Some craftworkers specialize in wrought-iron work. They make various items, such as large, ornate gates and railings. Others make goods in copper, steel, and precious metals.
Historical development
During the Middle Ages, craftworkers were encouraged to form guilds to guard their high reputation for honesty and fine work. Many old craft guilds exist today, but few are concerned with the crafts that gave them their name. See Guild .
The Industrial Revolution of the 1700’s was a difficult time for country craftworkers. Thousands of skilled men, women, and young people in Britain left their homes and work to get easier employment, and often more pay, in the mills and factories in the towns. Many villages and small towns that had developed small workshops were left without skilled craftworkers. See Industrial Revolution .
After World War II (1939-1945), country craftworkers enjoyed increased prosperity. The improvement resulted from great demand for their services, new patronage from various sources, and the desire of many people to live and work in the country. Craftworkers in the United Kingdom have also been aided by such organizations as the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas, which is financed by the government; the Crafts Centre of Great Britain; and the Council of Industrial Design.
In the Republic of Ireland, a government-sponsored organization called Gaeltarra Eireann encourages weaving and other industries in areas where Irish is spoken. The prosperity of country areas today depends upon maintaining a balance of industry and employment between them and the towns.
