Wood Experts

WOODEXPERTS

Specialist Timber Consultancy and Training since 1991

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TFT Woodexperts Blog

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Wedded to Wood

Guests and participants at this month’s Royal wedding in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, will perhaps be unaware of the great craftsmanship and understanding of working with wood that went into the making of the misericords, which a select few will be utilising during the service for the happy couple. The skills and lively imaginations of medieval wood carvers, who depicted both everyday and divine subjects, have been well recorded for posterity – rather than for the posteriors (however noble) who may now be resting upon them! – in G L Remnant’s 1969 volume: A Catalogue of British Misericords, published by Oxford University Press. Interestingly, what is thought to be Britain’s oldest misericord, dating from the 13th century, has been found in Ripon Cathedral – which is not very far from TFT Woodexperts’ office.


About a month before the Royal wedding, back in April, Woodexperts’ director Jim Coulson, led a group of his fellow members of the UK Wood Committee of ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) on a tour of Ripon Cathedral;but most specifically to look at the misericords, most of which date from the 15th century.


Consultancy work on preserving the built wooden heritage of sites, monuments and historic locations is part of TFT Woodexperts’ input to Britain’s valued past. Other projects which Woodexperts have been involved with include such nationally important heritage objects as HMS Warrior, and also buildings of regional historic value, such as Skidby Windmill in Beverley, East Yorkshire. Woodexperts also provided valuable technical input to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, including researching and then obtaining the wood for the production of historically accurate pine seating in the galleries.


Britain is a country wedded to its history, but also wedded to wood. One of the most prevalent materials of the past, which will last for centuries if properly used and cared for, wood is now enjoying a resurgence as the material of choice in modern architecture. This is largely due to its carbon capture and storage, but also due to its good strength, combined with its natural aesthetic appeal. TFT Woodexperts’ consultancy services play a role at both ends of the timeline of wood: conserving the past and advising on the right timbers and timber detailing for today’s architecture, house-building and interior design. And Woodexperts are now passing on that knowledge to the next generation through a range of training courses: from Level 2 to Level 6 (Masters equivalent). Maintaining that knowledge of the material is integral to the business, as it is to the continuing importance of wood as a material for the ancient and modern worlds.


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1 May 2018