Not such a basket case
Devon Life|June 2020
SUE CADE discovers the traditional craft of stave baskets is alive and well on Dartmoor
SUE CADE
Not such a basket case

Devon stave baskets are a rare thing, it seems, requiring a visit to Burnicombe Wood near Bridford to talk with John Williamson of Dartmoor Woodcrafts, one of a handful of people still making them.

John and his partner Clare have ten acres of ancient woodland here that they work with their two horses: Jens, a stunning Belgian Brabant heavy draft, and Louis, a handsome gypsy horse.

They have a long term aim to bring these woods back to their ancient state through coppicing, allowing more light in and encouraging a wide range of flora and fauna. It’s where they crop ash to make the stave baskets. “Ash bend well and is tough; a young ash tree gives enough wood for a couple of baskets,” John explains.

These unusual baskets are made from wooden splints of fir or pine attached to a wooden base, held together by nails and ash bands, with two end staves for the handles. John says: “Traditionally they were used to carry produce like potatoes or apples from the harvest. The size of basket told the farmer how much had been collected.”

Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de Devon Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de Devon Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE DEVON LIFEVer todo
Legends Of Lockdown
Devon Life

Legends Of Lockdown

A new online exhibition features an array of Devon’s lockdown legends exploring their lives and communities during the pandemic restrictions

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Look Out For Intelligent Slime!
Devon Life

Look Out For Intelligent Slime!

Think you know your waxcaps from your dog vomit slime mould? Exmoor’s conservation team needs our help to record the pretty and the not-so-pretty wildlife living in this unique national park. finds out more

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
Retirement redefined
Devon Life

Retirement redefined

Millbrook Village’s Leah Jackson talks to AMELIA THURSTON about how wellbeing and quality of life are at the heart of the later living community

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2020
Look to the future
Devon Life

Look to the future

SU CARROLL talks to Sir Antony Gormley about his contribution to Devon’s artistic life

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Natural beauty
Devon Life

Natural beauty

Working with nature and the cycle of seasons, a new flower farm is blossoming in a fold of the beautiful River Teign valley

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2020
THE DIARY
Devon Life

THE DIARY

SU CARROLL recommends the best events across the county this month

time-read
10+ minutos  |
November 2020
My kinda city...
Devon Life

My kinda city...

With the perfect balance of country and city life, Exeter still shines as the jewel of the West. STEPHANIE DARKES shares her insider insights into the city that stole her heart

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
Letting themselves in for hard work...
Devon Life

Letting themselves in for hard work...

Renovating your entire house is tough. Renovating someone else’s seven-bedroom Grade-II listed Georgian farmhouse and turning it into a high-end holiday let is even trickier. CHRISSY HARRIS went to Kingston see how it’s done

time-read
6 minutos  |
November 2020
Lessons from history
Devon Life

Lessons from history

History author Ian Mortimer has taken readers on travels through time from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution. STU LAMBERT asks him how our country and our county changed in Regency times

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020
A Reform character
Devon Life

A Reform character

The owner of North Devon’s longest standing brewery is about to take on a new challenge, as CATHERINE COURTENAY discovers

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2020