Replies

1. 
   john | Jun 29, 2003 12:13am | #1

   England is a nice place, I should know, I live here. I'm unable to think of anything here that would interest a woodworker from the US. There's plenty of old furniture in antique shops and museums, but as far as active woodworking goes it's mostly softwood joinery for buildings and some custom furniture making. The place to see really interesting woodworking stuff, as far as I can tell from what I read on this and other forums, is America

   John

1. 
   rslatm | Jul 03, 2003 08:38pm | #24

   What about John Makepeace's school for furniture making or the London College of Furniture.  I also recall that Grinling Gibbons, the master carver was English so that would be a treat to see some of his work up close.

2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 29, 2003 12:49am | #2

   There is a famous gallery there that was featured on the back of one of the FWWing issues I believe.  My employee is from England and she brought it to my attention.  I'll ask her and get back to you, in the next couple of days.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   Shep | Jun 29, 2003 02:58am | #5

   FG-- Thanks, I'll go thru my back issues of FWW. I appreciate your help and quick response.

1. 
   GregB126 | Jun 29, 2003 05:19am | #9

   Shep,

   This might interest you.  http://www.barnsley-furniture.co.uk/

   Cheers,

   Greg

3. 
   fdampier5 | Jun 29, 2003 01:18am | #3

   Be sure to bring some wood with you..

          

1. 
   Shep | Jun 29, 2003 03:03am | #6

   frenchy-- I hope to find some wood ( and tools, and books ) to bring home. I do some woodturning, so I don't need large pieces. Maybe I should start thinking about a second suitcase <G>.

1. 
   fdampier5 | Jun 29, 2003 06:23pm | #10

   Don't go to the desert to find wood..

           England is a crowed nation where trees are valuable more valuable than here in America..

     If you want wood go where there is a lot of it standing around..  Minnesota is such a place.. we have a super abundance of wonderful hardwoods as do many places like the upper pennsula of Michigan, or  a lot of the North east United States..

      Make no mistake, I envy your trip to England.. I'd love to go there,  I just don't believe I'd go looking for a lot of fresh new wood..

     

1. 
   john | Jun 29, 2003 07:03pm | #11

   Frenchy is right. Over here we have things called TPO's. Tree preservation orders. Felling is closely controlled. Indigenous hardwoods such as Oak, Ash and Chestnut are easy enough to come by, but much of the wood used in furniture making in this country is imported. The place I like to go to buy hardwood is Moss and Co in Hammersmith in west London. What do they mostly sell? North American hardwoods.

   Tools in the UK? The mechanical stuff is virtually all imported. There are some nice handtools, and of course Record vices etc.

   If anyone is interested in antique furniture there is plenty of that to look at, and some of the timberwork in old churches and cathedrals is amazing.

   John

1. 
   Malcolm2 | Jun 30, 2003 08:16am | #12

   This is a bit dated, but I don't think things will have changed much: The UK is full of great woodworkers (I know, I made furniture for a living in Wales for 6 years). There will be someone worth talking to in any decent-sized town, and in many townships and villages, and out in the country-side. Contact the craft guilds, the tool and timber retailers, ask at the local pub - you'll find all the `woodwork' you can handle. Lucky you!

4. 
   10fingers | Jun 29, 2003 02:05am | #4

   Hello,

   Try to find a copy of an Englich woodworking mag such as FURNITURE & CABINET MAKING.  The ads in there will give you an idea of where some WW dealers are.  They might be able to give you an idea of what you might want to  see.  Check out the Robert Sorby website.  You might want to purchase some tools over there.   Don't put a chisel in your carry on unless you want some unwanted excitement in your life.

   I took my family over there about 8 years ago.  We rented a van with a tour guide for about the same price as it would have been to take a tour bus with 60 people.  We got the same tour: Stonehendge, Bath, the cathedrals, etc. but the driver answered our questions.   I took my daughter to Hard Rock cafe for her 16th birthday (actually 2 weeks later).   She thought it was cool anyway.

   England is a really neat place.  My uncle that lives there rented us a furnished flat (apartment) for a week.  It was much easier to do some of our cooking ourselves.  Get a bus pass for a week and enjoy.   I would not recommend the blood pudding or blood sausage.

   have a safe trip,

   Chuck

1. 
   Shep | Jun 29, 2003 03:05am | #7

   Chuck-- I happened to stop at Border's Books today, but they didn't have any of the English woodworking magazines. I'll have to try other places. Thanks for your help.

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 29, 2003 03:34am | #8

   Shep

      Might ask the folks at Borders if they were just out of the Furniture & Cabinet-Making. That's where I buy them.

   Regards...

   sarge.jt

5. 
   lenshorey | Jul 01, 2003 12:04am | #13

   Hi Shep, If you plan to include London on your trip try geffrye+furniture on your

   search engine ( I used Google )

                        The Geffrye-Museum is worth a visit.

                         Hidden London, has an article on " The American Connection "

                         amongst other interesting Items.

                         Modern Furniture Design may be more your cup of tea ?

                        The Geffrye also has listings for over 100 design studios

                       & workshops within the area

                                         Regards Len

1. 
   Shep | Jul 01, 2003 01:47am | #14

   Thanks to all who have responded to my post. I've always been impressed with the willingness of everyone here to help out when asked! There have been some great ideas for me to check into. I've still got 4 months before we go, so I have plenty of time to plan for my trip ( I hope).

1. 
   GregB126 | Jul 01, 2003 07:50am | #15

   Shep,

   Here's another thing to consider.  It's the Celebration of Craftsmanship main page.  Click on the Makers link.  There are links to a lot of different makers, some quite famous and others not so much yet.  You'll probably have heard of Martin Grierson, Robert Ingham, John Makepeace.  There are several makers with shops dotted around the country.  Maybe a style will catch your eye and you would be interested in visiting an individual shop.  Who knows?  I don't know what is possible, but would consider it a great honor to meet Mr. Ingham, would love to see the Barnsley workshop, am interested in Andrew Lawton and Waywood Designs, and would like to see Andrew Crawfords shop, because I particularly like boxes.  Just some scattered thoughts.

   Cheers,

   Greg

   http://208.55.76.102/index.html

   edited to include the above link, which was the main idea in the first place!

   Edited 7/1/2003 12:51:50 AM ET by GregB

1. 
   Shep | Jul 03, 2003 04:03am | #19

   GregB-- I took a quick look at that link you provided. There's a lot of good stuff there to go through when I get a little more time.Thanks!

6. 
   macallan3 | Jul 01, 2003 02:32pm | #16

   Dear Shep,  So far you have only mentioned visiting England,  why not  come farther north and visit us in Scotland.

   Home of  Scotch  Whisky, Haggis , Robert Burns,  etc.

   I would recommend a visit to Glasgow to see the Hunterian museum, one of the finest exhibits of Charles Rennie Mackintosh  furniture and design  in the country!

   Edinburgh Castle  is also really worth a visit,   check out  http://www.visitscotland.com

   Think of your favourite  Whisky,  log on and pay them a visit.

   Scotland and the Scots would give you a Great Welcome!

1. 
   Shep | Jul 03, 2003 03:58am | #18

   macallan-- my better half and I have talked about visiting Scotland; we're not entirely sure about what we're going to do on this trip. I do like Scotch and Robert Burns, but I 'm not so sure about the haggis <G>

1. 
   stancalow | Jul 03, 2003 04:03am | #20

   Shep

   forget the haggis -  the women are beautiful.  Go see the Hebrides islands, St ANdrews Golf Course, and Ben Nevis, the mountain.  Hiking, Loch Ness, bagpipes in the morning - great trip.   Only wood I remember was the smoked paneling in the pubs.

1. 
   Shep | Jul 03, 2003 04:10am | #22

   stantheman-- I would like to see St. Andrews. I'm not so sure if my wife would like me to see the beautiful women!

7. 
   mmww | Jul 01, 2003 05:26pm | #17

   I just recently visited the Victoria & Albert Museum and was quite impressed. Between the collections and the study/reference areas I managed to spend the better part of two days there. They have some incredibly beautiful pieces on display, one in particular that left an impression was an ebony and inlay cabinet on stand by Henri Auguste Fourdinois which won the Grand Prize at the 1867 Paris Exposition. The carvings and unique inlay technique was mind numbing. Also the Grinnling Gibbons carving of "The Stoning of St.Stephen" was incredible. I took quite a few photographs while there and studied their vast collection of reference books. There is no charge for the museum, I would bring a light lunch and some bottled water, or they have an outdoor cafe in the central courtyard which is very nice (but pricey). Someone also had mentioned the Geffrye Museum of Woodworking. It was a bit of an adventure to find, definitely not as central as the V&A. Keep that in mind if you are pressed for time as it is very much off the beaten path. I must say it was a bit of a let down, very small. Set up over maybe 15 small rooms with examples spanning around 12th century to the present with a childrens project center in the new wing downstairs. Both museums have gift shops with some great books for sale, I waited till I got back to the States and found the books I wanted much, much cheaper online. Hope you have fun.

1. 
   Shep | Jul 03, 2003 04:08am | #21

   stevemac-- I visited the V&A museum on a previous trip 25 yrs. ago. I do remember it being rather overwhelming in size and scope, but that's about all. To be honest, I have a hard time remembering what I had for dinner two nights ago, so I guess I'm lucky to recall anything. The previous trip was also sort of my honeymoon, so you might say I was a little distracted<G>

1. 
   mmww | Jul 03, 2003 06:01am | #23

   Shep...If you are interested in Scotland there are many great places to see. A few years ago (I think it was in September) I took my wife to Scotland to visit my family. (I lived just outside Glasgow until I was eight). We rented a car and stayed with family in Glasgow for a few days before we headed out on a week and a half road trip. We originally had planned to follow the Whiskey Trial but quickly decided to wing it. We stayed in B&B's most of the time, we didn't book ahead because we never knew where we would be. (Don't know how well that would work in high season). Highlights were (in order of our trip as I remember it)...Sterling Castle & Wallace Monument. Edinburgh Castle (Edinburgh Tattoo is Aug. 1-23), Aberdeen (Dunnottar Castle), Inverness, Loch Ness, Culloden (battlefield), Isle of Skye (Eilean Donan nearby), Oban (great distillery, fantastic malt whiskey, Castle Stalker) Ft. William, Ayr (Burns Cottage, Brig O Doon) After that we took a ferry to Ireland (another great trip!) We had such a wonderful time and met so many great people.Tons of great photos and hours of video. With all the castles and historic places there was plenty of great woodwork to be seen. I don't think we would have had the same experience had we stuck with a structured tour. There is a great travel diary of used tool shops of Scotland and England on the Shepherd Tool Company website. It's very well written, I will most likely refer to it for my next trip to the UK. They also sell beautiful wood plane kits! Here is the link...

   http://www.shepherdtool.com/Story%20Doug%20Brit%20Preamble%20WillNimmoFrankNice.htm

   All the best...Stevemac