Lost industry
I find that Lincolnshire is always a surprising place - although modern opinion is that we are a county of agriculture and not much else, through the ages there have been a wide range of industries which have contributed to our county's prosperity and popularity. In past centuries Lincolnshire Lincolnshire has been renowned for the manufacturing of salt, the landing of great quantities of fish, the production of wool and the smelting of iron and steel. We are a truly versatile county, but among our lost industries is one that has almost passed beyond knowledge. In 1926, the Agricultural Reseach Institute of Oxford noted 'the Valley of the Trent...is the most important district in England for both osier growing and basket making...and for the fineness of the basketry done there'.
Because much of Lincolnshire is low-lying, we had an excellent environment for the growing of osiers and other types of willow used for basket weaving. Large areas of marshy land were planted with willows just for this purpose. A willow growers manual of 1871 tells us that 'If the ground is in good condition, two active boys will plant 4000 cuttings in a day'
The use of wicker
It's hard for us, so used to our age of cardboard boxes and massed-produced plastic and metal containers, to realise the versatility and range of products produced using simple basket making techniques. A quick glance at the catalogues from the late 1800s shows a wide range of wicker articles including chairs, settees and armchairs, baby's cots and prams, horse-panniers, hampers, chests, boxes , creels and baskets of every size, shape and description. Even wheelchairs, or invalid chairs as they were known, for aged and infirm Victorians were woven from willow and early motorbike sidecars were made by basket makers.
Several centres
The industry had several centres in Lincolnshire, largely governed by the areas where willow could be grown. This was an industry based around the marshy land of river valleys and fens. Basket makers such as Marshalls at Sutton on Trent, Horace Mills of Newark, Thomas Miller of Gainsborough and Harrisons of Grantham sold their wares throughout the British Isles and the British Empire.
The process of basket making
The process started with the planting and growing of the willows or osiers. The young willows were planted as cuttings from November to March and each plant produced about 10 shoots or rods which grew very quickly and were harvested in October. A special knife, called a rod-hook was used and it was truly a back-breaking job. Great care is needed as the willows would die back if cut badly whereas cut properly, the willow holts would produce for thirty years or more.
The bark was stripped off the willow rods using devices known as hand brakes. The willow shoots were pulled through these strippers leaving a clean white rod ready for weaving. This work was often done by children and it brought in much needed seasonal family income, but reports from school log books show that it caused absenteeism in the classroom due to the demand for child labour. Schools often closed during the rod peeling season as so many children were sent off to strip the willow.
The decline of a skilled craft
Basket making was a skilled craft and apprentices trained for at least three years before they were considered competent. In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, the trade employed thousands of people, particularly for the seasonal rod harvesting and peeling work. Quite large factories grew up - Harrisons in Grantham was established in 1710 but did not expand significantly untli the late 1800s. In 1881 William Brewster Harrison was employing 40 men, 14 boys and 19 women plus over 100 seasonal workers making chairs and cots and prams. The trade prospered until the 1920s when the Depression and large scale imports of foreign basketry led to the decline of the Lincolnshire basket making industry.
Today all traces of this once important trade are lost. Even the simple tools of the basket-maker such as rod brakes, beaters, commanders, shaves and cleavers are unknown and unrecognisable to us.
Rodney Cousins, the retired curator of the Lincolnshire Life Museum has written a book about this lost industry. A Basketful chronicles the history and methods of willow growing and basket making in Nottingahmshire and Lincolnshire. Published by the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire County Council, this book contains the descriptions of the processes involved and of the many firms that produced baskets in the area.
See our Publications page for more details.
Dave Start
Director Heritage Lincolnshire
