I love trees and timber. I firmly believe that this brilliant, renewable, natural resource ought to play a far greater role in our buit environment and our everyday lives. The benefits of trees to human and environmental health are well known. The beneficial potential that things made from trees can have on our everyday lives is less obvious.

Consumer consciuousness of issues relating to sustainabilty in food production is steadily growing as we strive to eat more locally and more seasonally. Timber, which is a crop like any other, ought to be thought in the same way. We can make a positive impact by choosing to make things from locally sourced, sustainably harvested timber.

I'm privileged to work alongside a community farming project in Cambridge called Co Farm. With a small dedicated team of professional growers and enthusiastic volunteers the farm produces fruit and vegetables on an impressive scale to supply local food banks and restuarants. I have been involved in creating some of the infrastructure for the farm, from gates and fencing to a sheltered work area, and there are more plans to create more exciting additions to the farm, showcasing the potential of local timbers and communal effort.

The main timber I work with is sweet chestnut. I was introduced to this wonderful tree in 2020 when I spent a year as apprentice to Ben Law. Ben is well known for his books which have shone a light on traditional woodland management practices and our relationship to timber in the built environment. Ben is perhaps best known for building himself a house almost entirely from sweet chestnut in Prickly Nut Wood, West Sussex where he still lives and works.

Chestnut is a strong and highly durable timber which can be split with ease, making it ideally suited to making a wide array of products for outdoor use. Like other broadleaf trees, chestnut coppices; that is to say it sends up new shoots from the cut stump or stool. In fact it coppices with more vigour than any other tree in this country except willow. This means that within 30 years, the new shoots have reached a size which can yield high quality timber, and in another 30 years will do so again. Coppiced timber is a genuinely renewable resource.

Shelter at Co Farm, Cambridge.

The shoots from newly cut coppice resemble bushes in their first few years of growth and absorb far more carbon dioxide than newly planted trees. The light that is let in by cutting encourages the growth of wildflowers, an important food source for butterflies and other pollinators. Ground nesting birds also welcome the creation of a habitat suitable for their needs. A well managed coppice woodland has a varied age structure which provides a range of different habitats, resulting in a more biodiverse woodland. By choosing chestnut over an imported exotic hardwood or treated softwood, you are making a positive choice with tangible benefits for wildlife and the environment.

In previous years I have cut my chestnut during the winter months on estates in North Kent and East Sussex in woods with a long history of chestnut cutting. Being involved in the whole process from felling the trees to installing the finished product is hugely satisfying and the seasonal, varied nature of the work is a great privilege. For 2024 I have sourced chestnut harvested by Hawkins Forestry, a small family business based near Bury st Edmunds in Suffolk. Bradley and Josh have been restoring derelict and overstood chestnut coppice near Ipswich. Their work has improved the longterm health and biodiversity of the woodland while providing me with excellent material for all sorts of exciting projects. This is a partnership I hope to continue in years to come, as well as continuing to cut some of my own timber as well.

The products that I make are rooted in traditional techniques and designs. I work predominantly with hand tools. I enjoy combining the skills associated with chestnut coppice work, such as splitting laths and shakes alongside traditional mortise and tenon joinery usually associated with oak timber framing. My design process is led by the material first and foremost. The shape and character of the tree will always inform the shape and character of the finished product.

Freshly felled chestnut poles ready for extraction, Mereworth, Kent, winter 2023.

Mayfield, East Sussex, winter 2022.

Cleft rails ready to be worked up in the wood, Mayfield, East Sussex, summer 2022.