The Red List
of Endangered Crafts
From blacksmithing to basketry, from weaving to woodturning, we have an incredible range of heritage craft skills in the UK and some of the best craftspeople in the world. But many of these skills are in the hands of individuals who have been unable to make provision to pass them on.
The Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts, first published in 2017, was the first report of its kind to rank traditional crafts by the likelihood they would survive to the next generation, based on intangible cultural heritage safeguarding principles, led by Heritage Crafts, the only UK UNESCO-accredited NGO working primarily in the domain of traditional craftsmanship.
Donate to save an endangered craft (£5 for the 5th edition)
The list attracted extensive media coverage both in the UK and abroad, shining a light on heritage craft practices under threat from a number of identifiable issues. It is our hope that this research will act as a call to action to those who have it within their power to resolve or alleviate these issues, and that this project will mark the start of long-term monitoring of heritage craft viability and a shared will to avoid the cultural loss that is borne each time a craft dies.
Heritage Crafts is committed to updating the list on a regular basis, and so, with support from the Pilgrim Trust, over 900 organisations and individuals were contacted directly by email and telephone and invited to contribute to the research between September 2024 and May 2025. Participants were asked to provide background information about each craft, such as its history, techniques and local forms, as well as current information relating to the number of skilled craftspeople and trainees, and the ongoing issues affecting the viability of the craft, including the effects of the current energy crisis.
Each craft was then classified into one of four categories of endangerment using a combination of both objective criteria (such as numbers of crafts people and trainees) and subjective criteria (issues affecting the future viability of the craft including training opportunities and market trends). Issues affecting the viability of heritage crafts vary on a craft-by-craft basis, though many can be grouped, and possible solutions devised that will help many crafts practices become more viable.
For the purposes of this research, a heritage craft is defined as ‘a practice which employs manual dexterity and skill and an understanding of traditional materials, design and techniques, and which has been practised for two or more successive generations’. The research focuses on craft practices which are taking place in the UK at the present time, including those crafts which have originated elsewhere, and on those aspects of each craft with a high reliance on hand-work and which involve high levels of hand skill.
If you have any queries about the research, are aware of a heritage craft that is not listed, or have further information to add about any craft, please contact [email protected].
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Craft skills under threat with 17 additions to the Red List of Endangered Crafts
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We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award supported by @marshawards. 🧶✂️🪚
• Dr Tanya Harrod MBE – one of the UK’s premier craft historians, art critics and authors, Tanya was educated at Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her groundbreaking 1999 book ‘The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century’ established the definitive academic framework for modern British studio craft. Tanya has spent four decades documenting craft history and curating major exhibitions.
• Jim McCormack @jims_shoeworkshop – a master bespoke shoemaker with over forty years of experience in high-end shoemaking, Jim has worked with prestigious West End houses like Lobb and Foster & Son before operating as an independent master craftsman, creating fully hand-stitched, bespoke footwear. Winner of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, Jim is deeply committed to passing on hisskills, having trained numerous apprentices and delivered international masterclasses.
• Marsh Charitable Trust – founded in 1981 by its current Chairman Brian Marsh OBE, the Trust supports over 500 charities every year through its grants and awards programmes, celebrating the outstanding contributions of people committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.
Do you know a master craftsperson whose dedication has stood the test of time? This award recognises a heritage craftsperson who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to their specific craft over 25 years or more. It celebrates a lifetime’s dedication to a particular traditional skill, resulting in a practitioner operating at the highest level, having made a significant impact on the continued high-esteem in which their craft is held.
There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November.
📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)
➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/lifetime-achievement-award/
📷 2024 finalist Kevin Gauld by Euan Myles
Three-day Polishing Masterclass with Stephen M Goldsmith @goldpolisher — amazing opportunity! 🩶💛
📍 Where: Sappho Rocks, Little Mollands Farm, Mollands Lane, Essex RM15 6RX
⏰ When: 21 to 23 September OR 23 to 25 September 2026
💰 Cost: £300 (three free bursary places available for those from under-represented communities or facing financial hardship – subject to availability)
Join the Heritage Crafts 2025 Precious Metalworker of the Year Stephen M Goldsmith for this three-day intensive training course aimed at intermediate metalworking practitioners, supported by @goldsmithsfoundation.
With over 50 years experience in the silversmithing allied trades, Stephen M Goldsmith has a unique affinity for metal, especially gold. He has elevated the endangered craft of polishing beyond recognition and his skills are widely considered unparalleled in the precious metals world.
Taking place at @sapphorocks Jewellery School in Essex, students will learn the fundamentals and advanced techniques of metal polishing, how to make the most of their bench tools, which materials to use, and how to reclaim precious material from the workshop environment.
This course is not intended as an ‘experience’; it is for working practitioners who intend to incorporate these skills into their metalworking practice. Both masterclasses cover the same areas and each have five places available, providing a focused and supportive learning environment.
To ensure equitable access to this vital training opportunity, we are providing three free bursary places for individuals from under-represented communities or facing financial hardship – subject to availability.
Please note, places will be allocated based on suitability. Please fill in the application form and Heritage Crafts will contact you with news of whether you have been accepted onto the course.
📲 For more details and to apply, please visit the linktr.ee in our bio or https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-stories/polishingmasterclass/.
We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Trainee of the Year Award supported by @marshawards. 🛠️
• Ash Appadu @ash.appadu – woodcarver, marionette maker and 2025 winner of the Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award, Ash was trained in scenic arts, and went on to complete a master-led puppet making apprenticeship specialising in traditional wooden marionettes. Ash advocates for equitable entry routes into heritage crafts, drawing on personal experience to champion alternative learning pathways, apprenticeships and hands-on skill transmission.
• Jonathan Reid @jontmandaniel – scissor putter-togetherer and Trustee of Heritage Crafts, Jonathan is Production Manager at the historic Ernest Wright workshop in Sheffield. Over the past decade, he has played a pivotal role in the company, leading to a President’s Award for Endangered Crafts. He is deeply committed to vocational training, personally mentoring new apprentices and passing on precise, hand-tool skills to the next generation of putters.
• Marsh Charitable Trust – founded in 1981 by its current Chairman Brian Marsh OBE, the Trust supports over 500 charities every year through its grants and awards programmes, celebrating the outstanding contributions of people committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.
Nominees could be on a formal apprenticeship scheme, a less formal traineeship, an institution-based course with a high degree of practical training, or even be pursuing ‘portfolio-style’ training comprising of short-courses and workshops.
There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November. Plus, we will award a Trainer of the Year Award for the best teacher, also currently open for nominations.
📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)
➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/trainee-of-the-year/
📷 2025 finalist Toby Britton-Watts
Over seven posts we are profiling the recipients of our recent Endangered Crafts Fund round.
Caroline West @englishlacemaker, from Tyne and Wear, and the grassroots collective Lacemakers of Tomorrow, have been funded to launch a vital national mentorship programme for bobbin lace teachers.
Bobbin lace was added to the Heritage Crafts Red List in 2025. The single greatest threat to the craft is not a lack of public interest, but a rapidly shrinking and ageing pool of teachers. Many aspiring teachers want to pass on the craft but feel isolated, under-confident and unsure of how to structure their lessons.
This project directly tackles the bottleneck by pairing 15 aspiring teachers with highly experienced mentors for structured skill-sharing over six months. The grant provides a small honorarium to recognise the invaluable time and expertise of the mentors, many of whom are retired. Supported by peer-support sessions and a digital web platform, this initiative will preserve decades of teaching wisdom and build a confident, diverse network of lace instructors across the UK.
This round’s grants are funded by the Julia Rausing Trust and a private donor.
Caroline said: “Being awarded this funding is an exciting opportunity for the UK lacemaking community. It will enable our most experienced and skilled lacemakers and teachers to mentor and support the lace teachers and specialists of tomorrow, helping to secure the future of bobbin lace for generations to come.”
We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Community Catalyst of the Year Award supported by @marshawards. 💪
• Lauren Broxton @lauren_broxton – award-winning leatherworker, designer and community leader, Lauren won the Community Catalyst of the Year Award in 2025. She operates from her studio in Walsall’s historic leather district, where she works to reconnect local people with the town’s rich industrial heritage. Lauren works extensively with schools, youth clubs and marginalised groups, providing accessible hands-on workshops in leather crafting that boost wellbeing, combat social isolation and foster pride in regional identity.
• Jeanette Sloan BEM @jeanettesloan – renowned textile designer, author and diversity advocate with over three decades of experience in the craft sector, Jeanette trained at Brighton Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. She launched the BIPOC in Fibre initiative to increase the visibility, representation and financial support of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour working in the fibre arts industry, and was awarded a BEM in 2023 for services to hand knitting and diversity.
• Marsh Charitable Trust – founded in 1981 by its current Chairman Brian Marsh OBE, the Trust supports over 500 charities every year through its grants and awards programmes, celebrating the outstanding contributions of people committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.
Community catalysts are those who go above-and-beyond to promote the benefits of craft within their community, whether that be a local community or a community of interest. Typically, they will be committed to widening participation, and their way of working will create a groundswell of enthusiasm that brings others along with them.
There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November.
📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)
➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/community-catalyst-of-the-year/
📷 2025 finalist Razwan Ul-Haq
On the BBC News website yesterday: ‘Meet the people keeping endangered skills alive’
“[M]any traditional crafts are now on the brink of extinction, as advances in technology render them obsolete and valuable knowledge fades into the past.”
But with our help and growing public awareness these crafts have an exciting future! Support us by becoming a member or making a donation.
Featuring @theletterpresscollective @artfulcharlie @cotswold_dry_stone @tworiverspaper
Read the full article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0vvyzp7g5o or via the linktr.ee in our bio.
We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Trainer of the Year Award supported by @marshawards. 🛠️
• Sarah Cant @sarahcantmillinery – acclaimed couture milliner, author and educator with over two decades of teaching experience across all skill levels, Sarah originally trained at Kensington and Chelsea College. Since leading the world-renowned HNC in Millinery at Morley College, she currently serves as a lead tutor on The CHANEL and King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship. Sarah was named Heritage Crafts Trainer of the Year in 2025.
• Delyth Done MBE @del.done – Delyth is Head of the School of Materials and Design at Hereford College of Arts and Course Leader for the BA and MA blacksmithing programmes. Widely regarded as a global leader in craft education, Delyth has transformed training standards over the past decade, ensuring graduates are sought after by master blacksmiths worldwide. She was awarded the MBE in 2023 for services to blacksmithing and heritage crafts.
• Marsh Charitable Trust – founded in 1981 by its current Chairman Brian Marsh OBE, the Trust supports over 500 charities every year through its grants and awards programmes, celebrating the outstanding contributions of people committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.
This award celebrates the incredible individuals who dedicate their time to training the next generation of UK makers. We are looking for anyone who shares their expertise, including those running everything from beginner taster sessions to professional traineeships and apprenticeships.
There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November. Plus, we will award a Trainee of the Year Award for the best learner, also currently open for nominations.
📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)
➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/trainer-of-the-year/
📷 2024 winner Emma Brackenbury
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Trainee Dressmaker (part time)
Where: Swindon
Dressability is a local charity that helps people with disabilities, limited dexterity and long-term health conditions by adapting clothing to make it more comfortable, practical and accessible. They are looking for a Dressmaking Trainee to join their friendly team and learn the specialist skills needed to transform lives through sewing.
You’ll receive structured, hands-on training from experienced dressmakers, learning a wide range of specialist alteration and adaptation techniques. You’ll learn specialist skills, working with adults and children with a wide variety of needs. As your skills and confidence grow, you’ll transition to take on client work under supervision. On successful completion of the training programme, you’ll receive certification and progress into a Dressmaker role within the team.
Find out more including how to apply at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/matchmaker.
#matchMAKER is the online platform for work-based training and entry-level employment opportunities hosted by @heritagecrafts and supported by @soanebritain.
