Discover Your Countryside – Traditional Rural Crafts

For centuries some of our most treasured rural crafts have been practised throughout our countryside, and today a variety of these highly skilled traditions are still very much alive in our villages and communities across the country.

Needless to say, without a core of dedicated and skilled people practising and promoting such traditions, many of our ancient practices would surely die out. Today we have many societies set up to help preserve our traditions and practises, and in line with the Countryman Fairs ethos of Celebrating the Countryside, here is a just a sample of what makes these rural traditions just so special…

Trug Making

A Trug is the delicate art of shaping willow boards from the marsh with a handle and rim coppiced from the wood, into a basket to gather flowers. Dating back to the 1500s, trug making found its wider recognition in the late 19th Century when a Thomas Smith became rewarded with a large order from Queen Victoria. Later on, trug making became more of an indispensable occupation, as trugs became utilised for harvest time and feeding livestock; those people making such an essential working item, were also excused from being called up for war time service.

Long Netting and Net Making

Primarily used for hunting, the effective methods of using nets to catch small animals goes back hundreds of years. As well as being used for helping to reduce populations of pests, the art of net making is also enjoyed by many country folk as a competitive sport.

Hurdle Making

Developed over thousands of years, hurdle making and hurdling techniques have long been adapted over the centuries, with history telling us how our ancestors used the techniques to build purpose built shelters for themselves and their livestock. Like many other rural practices, hurdle making is still around in more of our rural communities, but is a rare practice that is kept alive only by its people working these ancient skills.

Of course these are just three types of rural pursuits that are still worked out in our communities today. As witnessed at all of our game and country fairs up and down the country, there are many other types of rural crafts, like the examples above, that are still practised today; including everything from stickmaking, furniture making and basket weaving to wood turning, blacksmith work and bush crafts – all types of practises that are very much a part of the working rural community.

For a more in-depth look at these fantastic ancient arts, be sure to follow the links on the Rural Crafts page to discover more.

Countryman Fairs organise 5 award-winning Game and Country Fairs across the UK throughout the year, each showcasing the very best in country life. Browse our website for more information on all of Countryman Fairs award winning events and join us on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news and developments as they happen.