HAYES IN THE HOUSE: Safeguarding our special character and culture
| Updated: 09:01, 09 April 2021
If asked to consider the sectors which drive our economy; food production, financial services and manufacturing all spring to mind.
But beneath the hum of these powerful engines of prosperity, a cacophony of quietly turning cogs make a pivotal, albeit often underappreciated, contribution to our communal wealth.
Amongst them, the heritage craft sector, with a turnover of £10.8billion, supports â directly or indirectly â more than 210,000 jobs.
Sir John Hayes.
However, craftsmen and craftswomen â in the absence of specific, fixed financial support from central government â face unprecedented Covid-19 related challenges. Research conducted by the Heritage Crafts Association reveals 70 crafts are in danger of extinction, with an additional 36 crafts now âcritically endangeredâ.
Fingers flying, needles clicking, the fishermen’s best friends – their ganseys – took shape; warm, weatherproof pullovers with distinctive patterns that, should the worst happen, might well help bring them home. For generations, the traditional hand-knitted sweater was the herring fisherman’s uniform. Knitted in fine yet deceptively tough navy blue, grey, dark red or cream fine 5-ply wool to defend against the biting wind and the sting of the sea spray, their elaborate patterns were not mere decoration. The lines of twisted cables reflected the ropes that hauled their nets, moss stitch added thickness, rows of ladders, herring bones, stars, tree branches, even zig-zags to reflect the ups and downs of the waves or, perhaps, married life; the gansey’s patterns told their own stories.
Veronica Main will receive an MBE The New Year’s Honours list revealed earlier this week saw a number of Buckinghamshire residents recognised for their outstanding work in supporting key services and communities. Charity stalwarts, Covid-19 heroes, healthcare champions, a councillor and volunteers were just some of the recipients of these prestigious awards. Among the more unusual efforts being honoured were those of Veronica Main, from Hazlemere, who will receive an MBE for services to Straw Hat Plaiting and Endangered Crafts Skills. Ms Main was nominated by the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) in this year’s New Year Honours, following 19 previously successful nominations since 2013, in recognition of a lifetime spent researching, practicing and teaching the craft of straw plaiting for the hat industry.