Heritage In Our Hands

Many of the nation’s heritage crafts are in danger, threatening traditions and livelihoods. Claire Saul studies the ‘Red List’

- Claire Saul

We could be forgiven for an inability to define the art of passementerie or to explain the specifics of orrery making, but in the context of a long list that includes clay pipe making and clogs making, they are more readily identified as traditional crafts. Specifically, these are UK ‘heritage’ crafts, those which have been practiced across generations and which require high levels of skill, manual dexterity and an understanding of traditional materials, design and techniques.

Unfortunately, this particular list is the Heritage Crafts Association’s ‘Red List’ of Endangered Crafts, itemizing those in danger of petering out altogether. The HCA seeks to highlight the issues affecting the viability of such crafts, to avoid their cultural loss and to support their craftspeople by, as the association’s president, HRH Prince Charles resolves, “protecting and passing on legacies of knowledge and skill that will, with hope, be treasured and put to good use by succeeding generations.”

In the association’s original 2017 survey, crafts were assessed to determine which were ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’ and ‘currently viable’. Over 200 such crafts appear on last year’s Red List, representing a significant 25 per cent increase in the two-year interim. Four at the head of the list – cricket ball making, gold beating, lacrosse stick making, and mold and deckle making – have now been designated as ‘extinct’ in the UK.

BE CRAFTY