Sep 4 2005
A major regional two-day festival of all things wooden is scheduled for Saturday/Sunday 10 & 11 September at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex.
The Wood Show celebrates the beauty and versatility of wood from renewable sources, made into all manner of objects, both useful and decorative. From the Museum’s own historic timber-framed buildings, to a wide variety of products from traditional woodlands – there will be plenty of opportunities for visitors to watch and learn, and many high quality items to browse and buy. The many items on offer will include furniture, fruit bowls, baskets, tools, toys, gifts and spinning wheels, and wood products such as charcoal and besom brooms.
Wood is at the heart of the award-winning museum – England’s leading museum of historic buildings – so it is a natural home for this bi-annual Show which this year is sponsored by Chantry House Oak & Rugs of Chichester, who specialise in solid oak furniture and handwoven rugs. With a shop in North Street, Chichester, the company has a reputation for beautifully made oak furniture, much of it handcrafted locally in the time-honoured way.
As well as an enticing choice of items for sale, a number of demonstrations are planned including a “half-an-hour challenge” pole lathe turning competition by the Sussex Group of the Association of Pole Lathe Turners. In addition, there will be demonstrations of longbow making, walking stick making, rake making, cane chair and basket making. Visitors will be able to join the daily tour of the award-winning Downland Gridshell, the first timber gridshell in the UK and home to the Museum’s conservation workshop and collection of rural artefacts.
Currently undergoing extensive restoration in the Gridshell is a very rare example of a hand powered timber crane dating from around 1900. This crane was used to transfer or unload timber from wagons and will be around 6.5m high when returned to full working order. It will be located eventually in the Museum’s wood yard as part of a historic working environment, which will demonstrate the sequence of timber production and conversion from managed woodland.
The Museum, set on a beautiful 50-acre site in the South Downs has 45 historic buildings including timber-framed houses dating from medieval times to the 19th century. During the Show, the Museum’s woodland crafts area will host of a range of demonstrations based on products traditionally made from coppiced woodland.
James Ward, Managing Director of Chantry House Oak & Rugs, is proud to sponsor the Wood Show: "We're pleased to support the Weald & Downland Museum and feel that the Show provides an excellent fit with our own ethos of celebrating the beauty of wood."
"The Wood Show is a fantastic event for us with our focus on timber,” says Museum Director Richard Harris – the author of the best-selling Discovering Timber-Framed Buildings. “It provides a wonderful opportunity to discover exciting wooden products for homes and gardens – and find out more about the woodlands which provide us with this remarkable material."
The Museum is open for The Wood Show on 10 &11 September from 10.30 am - 6.00 pm. Admission is adults £7.70; over 60s £6.70, children £4.10, family £21.