APTGW - Essex Bodgers Meet Sat 7th December
Aten ladaw a shakram ga [Jingpo] - (Greetings of the season)
News - by Wendy of the Wool:
The weather at our recent meet up was wet and windy, so we stayed in the classroom where it was much warmer. David Wilkins continued working on the spoon he started at his lesson with Richard. He also showed us the latest Tomte’s he’s been carving too. Kirstie worked on a wooden puffin, Rich worked on a Damson spoon. It was lovely to see the progress Ranger Dave’s made with the Santa’s he’s been carving. Steve also continued working on the spoon he started on a lesson with Richard. We also welcomed Jamila back who brought along a spoon she started at a class at London Greenwood. Bob worked on a spoon and we were grateful for the fact that he knew how to use the heater (he is also one of the Walled Garden Volunteers) so we were nice and toasty (thanks Bob/Brian). Wendy continued felting a little dog, managed to only stab her finger once and didn’t break any needles this time. As always there was much talk of tools and methods, plenty of tea, chat and banter. We’re looking forward to some festive snacks at our next meet on 7 December which will be our last for 2024.
Word Of The Week: History of the Walled Garden
The name Bedfords is thought to derive from a John Bedford or Bedforde who owned land in the area in 1362. The tenement of Bedfords was acquired for the Gidea Hall estate in 1412 by Robert Chichele. The neighbouring tenement, Earles, was added to the Gidea Hall estate by the Cooke family after they bought Gidea Hall in 1652. In 1659 Bedfords and Earles were sold together to Joachim Matthews of Gobions. In 1688, Joachim's son, Sir Philip Matthews, sold Bedfords and Earles to Simon and Sarah Rogers.
A succession of London Merchants owned Bedfords from that point on, though none are thought to have lived there. It wasn't until 1771, when Nathaniel Houlton sold Bedfords to John Heaton, that Bedfords had a permanent resident and Lord of the Manor. Soon after buying the estate, John Heaton began rebuilding the house as a two storey brick mansion. It is assumed he erected the walled garden too, sometime between 1777 and the 1805 1 inch Ordnance Survey Map which shows the walled garden.
Nash's Seats (1819) describes "a well-stocked walled Garden with Greenhouses, Hot House, and a Pinery of considerable extent". The pineapple house and fernery were later additions, present by the 1860s. Heaton's 2 acre garden was enclosed in 12ft high brick walls and is aligned slightly east of south. This position offers a wide variety of growing conditions for example the south-facing walls are suitable for growing warmth-loving crops like peaches and apricots, whilst the cooler soil at the lowest part of the garden is more suited to moisture loving crops like cabbages and late peas.
In 1870 the estate was sold to Henry Stone. After Stone's death his widow sold Bedfords to Romford Urban District Council for £9,000 on the 31st of March 1933. The Council then opened Bedfords as a public park in 1934 with the mansion house being used as a museum and art gallery. Following serious deterioration the mansion house was demolished in 1958.
Members Services (See Listings at bottom of page)
A new section of our Newsletter where local members can offer charged services to other local members. For example: Craft Courses, Tool Repairs, Lathe building, Lathe for sale etc. If you have a service you would like offer here, please reply to this email.
Listings will be approved at our discretion and are limited to local sole traders. There are no listing fees. We do not take responsibility over any transactions, so please be mindful of where your money is going.
Regular Bits n Bobs:
If you have them, bring your lathe, shave horse, and any other fun equipment. We have a few chopping blocks and one kuksa horse, so if you can bring your own please do. Note for those with Lathes, our floor space is mostly concrete, so treadles may not be able to be pegged down.
Our meets don’t just have to be about making wood chips, we encourage members to bring other crafts to the meets, be that spinning a yarn, weaving a basket, making a tool sheath from leather or bark, and even decorative methods for our wooden items. Feel free to showcase your other craft skills as we are interested in sharing and learning a wider range of skills as we grow as a group. If any members would like to lead a session of various crafts for the group, possibly a paid one day course, please get in contact with me and we will see what we can arrange for the future.
About the venue:
The venue has toilets, kitchen, and is accessible to wheelchairs. I will supply teabags, coffee, sugar and cows milk. Please bring your own non dairy milk if needed. If anyone wants to bring biscuits, cake, snacks to share that would be nice, but bring your own lunch, bowl/plate, drinking vessel, and cutlery please.
Members have suggested a contribution for Tea/Coffee a few times, so I have decided to ask for a contribution of 50p. Obviously if you bring all your own bits, there is no need to chip in.
Free secure parking is available within the walled garden. Follow the main driveway all the way down, past the public car park and the “no unauthorised vehicles” sign, then the Walled Garden’s big gates will be on the left. Toot your horn to let us know you’ve arrived.
See site map, and map links near bottom of page.
Hope to see you there, and please email me at essexaptgw@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Richard Roberts - Group Coordinator APTGW Essex Bodgers
APTGW Membership:
Our meets are free of charge to members of the Association of Polelathe Turners and Green Woodworkers.
Non members are welcome to join us a few times to see if it’s something they’d like to pursue further. We then ask that folks join the APTGW. It’s only £20 per year and membership runs from January to December each year.
Join the APTGW here: https://www.bodgers.org.uk/joinus
For just £20 a year you get:
A quarterly Gazette with news views and articles on all aspects of green woodworking.
Attend the UK Bodger's Ball always held in mid-May (this is chargeable, but a bargain!)
Win prizes for your creations at the many craft competitions at the ball
Connect with other Green Woodworkers, tool makers, rural crafters.
Learn new skills in a variety of length courses.
Attend and participate in the Annual General Meeting which is held at the Bodgers Ball
Vote on how the organisation progresses and elect, or even stand for the committee!
Here is a "what 3 words" ink to the location: https://w3w.co/sizes.soup.puddles
Google maps link to location: https://goo.gl/maps/f6rYfb92p6n43Uz99
Members Services
Sharpening Service - R2 Wood
I’ve launched a sharpening service for greenwood carving tools, offering APTGW members a 5% discount. Covering Sloyd and Spoon knives, Axes, Adzes, Gouges and more. Please contact Richard at info@r2wood.co.uk to enquire.