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Basket Weaving in Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire has a history of basket weaving and willow growing
going back to the year 1240. Alongside pottery, basket weaving is
the oldest craft known to man and during its heyday, traditional
English basket weaving required an apprenticeship of anything up
to a five years. For centuries basket weaving had been handed down
from father to son and professional craftsman to apprentice.
Baskets were used by every household for carrying coals and wood
for storage, for washing and fruit gathering, even for babies cradles.
Farmers used them extensively as did traders such as bakers, butchers
and grocers
In Bedfordshire there are written records of basket makers
from the seventeenth century onwards, but the trade was already
well established in Leighton Buzzard by that time.
The largest surviving firm after 1945 was James Robinson
& Sons who had a big basket weaving firm in Lake Street. The
army was one of the biggest customers during the 2nd World
War and basket makers throughout the county were commissioned
by the Government to make wicker panniers and shell cases
for the army.
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There are still local people practicing this ancient craft
and basket maker Paul Weir regularly demonstrates and exhibits
his work. The time taken for Paul to make a basket from scratch
can range from 45 minutes for a simple waste paper basket,
to 7 hours for a complicated linen basket.
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