- Sturt, George, The Wheelwright’s Shop
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Bennett, Eric, The Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights of the City of London 1670-1970
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Wright, John and Hurford, Robert, (1997) Making a wheel, how to make a traditional light English pattern wheel
The wheelwright’s craft is amongst the oldest known to humanity. Some of the earliest examples of solid wheels date back to 5000 BC, while spoked wheels were in existence in Asia Minor by 2000 BC. A complete wheel dating from the Bronze Age was discovered in Peterborough. Other ancient preserved specimens have been found in various parts of Britain, for example preserved in Irish bogs, and of Roman date from Somerset (where a wheelwright was active in the Glastonbury Lake Village) and Edinburgh. There are records of trade in wheel parts among finds at Vindolanda, a Roman fort and settlement near to Hadrian’s Wall.
In the nineteenth century almost every village had a wheelwright for he was essential to the movement of goods by cart, but with the advent of motorised transport and metal wheels the need for the craft declined. The craft has developed over time reaching the point in the Victorian era which furnishes most antique vehicles being preserved by wheelwrights today, and the designs upon which most modern wooden wheeled vehicles are based.
The basic wheel making technique now practised was developed in the mid-eighteenth century, using a tyre shrunk onto the wheel to hold it together by compression. This technique had previously been used by Celtic peoples but it disappeared in western Europe after the end of the Roman Empire. Late-nineteenth century developments include fitting solid rubber cushioning onto the iron tyres, which were formed into a channel shape to receive it.
A wide range of woodworking skills are used, as well as those of the blacksmith. The techniques differ in some details from other wood trades because of the forces acting upon wheels when in use. The wheelwright has to appreciate these forces fully, so it is desirable that he/she is familiar with the vehicle being worked on and seeing it in action.
The wagon and cart builders from one county to the next would have made distinct designs, which were locally acceptable. Coach builders within England tended to follow the example of London designs closely as they were a fashionable commodity. Slight stylistic differences can sometimes be detected between Scottish and English patterns, and from country to country across the Continent. This would be true of artillery pieces as well, but in all areas of the trade, such as guns, carriages, farm vehicles, still more distinct differences exist across time.
It should be noted that the wheelwright’s trade depends on other trades for the complete construction of vehicles. These include engineers (for axles and other parts), spring makers, foundrymen, coach painters, coachbuilders, upholsterers and coach trimmers.
At one time there were separate disciplines for making different types of wheels e.g. for carts, coaches/carriages and motor cars. Nowadays they are frequently made or repaired by the same person.
To enable new wheelwright apprentices to be trained the Charity of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights providing funding to support them. They are also arranging for the assessments, mentoring support and are working with the Livery Companies Apprenticeship Scheme Ltd to monitor progress and ensure that the apprenticeship is backed by an electronic log of evidence.
Within the Wheelwrights Charity a separate Craft Fund has been set up, with a view to that providing funding to support apprenticeship in the future. At the same time the Wheelwrights Livery Company has launched a 100 Club, (i.e. a small lottery) and monies raised from this will go towards the Craft Fund.
Apprenticeships – The only formal apprenticeship is that of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights https://wheelwrights.org/apprenticeships/
The Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights are planning for up to 20 apprentices over the next 40 years. This number of apprenticeships is believed to be sustainable and will maintain the current stable position of the craft – there is currently enough work for those in the trade, but too many new people entering the craft would mean less work for all and would be detrimental to the skills. While funding has been put in place for the current apprentices, there are no guarantees that sufficient funds will be available for future apprenticeships. It is also dependent on the Livery Companies Apprenticeship Scheme (LCAS) Ltd providing the administrative support needed to run the apprenticeship and the agreement with them continuing into the future. This is dependent on the extent to which Livery Companies in general use the services of LCAS Ltd. going forward.
Area craft currently practised: Wheelwrights are currently spread thinly across the UK in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As far as can be ascertained in England they are located in a number of counties including Bucks, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Shropshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Some are also based in our major cities, such as Birmingham, Durham, Sheffield and Southampton. That said many of them are approaching retirement age and some are not fully employed as wheelwrights.
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