Meet the Makers: The Crafts That Built the Past

Historic buildings are more than timber frames, old walls and impressive architecture. Look closely and they reveal the work of countless skilled craftspeople.

Brickmakers and bricklayers built walls and chimneys. Tilemakers created durable floors that could also be highly decorative. Metalworkers produced the practical objects used in homes and workplaces. Behind each finished building were people who understood their materials and knew how to shape them by hand.

In the second of our Meet the Makers series for our Made by Hand event on 26-27 September, we meet three makers working with crafts closely connected to our built heritage: historic brickworker William Cove, medieval tilemaker Tom Chamberlain, and tinsmith and coppersmith Robert Fuller.

Together, their work offers a glimpse into the skills behind the buildings and objects of the past – and the craftspeople keeping that knowledge alive today.

 

William Cove – Historic Brickwork and Building Conservation

For William Cove of W J Cove – Building Conservation, a career working with historic buildings developed from an initial training in brickwork. After studying brickwork at college, William began working with flint. It was this experience that started to lead him towards the conservation of older buildings. ‘After training in brickwork at college I began to work with flint,’ William explains, ‘which lead me towards working with historic buildings.’

Historic brickwork requires more than simply knowing how to build a new wall. Working with older buildings means understanding traditional materials and construction methods and applying those skills in a way that respects the surviving building. For William, there is also something appealingly straightforward about the practical nature of the work.

Asked why he wanted to pursue the craft, he points to the attraction of ‘working outside doing a physical job where everyday is different.’ Today, William runs his own building conservation business based in Chichester. Alongside his professional conservation work, he also tutors here at the Weald & Downland Living Museum, helping to share the skills and knowledge needed to care for historic buildings.

His work has taken him to some particularly remarkable places. Asked about his biggest achievement within the craft, William’s answer is an impressive one: ‘Building chimneys at Hampton Court Palace.’

It is a reminder that the historic buildings we admire today still require skilled craftspeople to understand, repair and conserve them. Traditional building skills are not simply a part of the story of how these places were originally constructed; they remain essential to their survival. William’s journey from learning brickwork at college to working on historic buildings demonstrates how traditional skills continue to have a very practical purpose today. 

 

Tom Chamberlain – Medieval Inlaid Floor Tiles

Look down when visiting a medieval church or historic building and you may discover another form of craftsmanship beneath your feet.

Tom Chamberlain specialises in medieval inlaid floor tiles, particularly those dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries. These tiles were part of the decorative character of medieval buildings, combining a practical building material with patterns and designs.

Tom’s craft therefore occupies an interesting place between construction and decoration. A floor needs to withstand people walking across it, but medieval tilemakers could also turn it into something visually striking. Rather than simply studying surviving examples, the process of recreating historic tiles allows traditional methods and materials to be explored through making.

Tom’s submitted Meet the Maker form identifies his particular area of craft as ‘Medieval (C13 – C16) inlaid floor tiles.’ He has provided his blog as the source for further information about his background and work, rather than completing the biographical questions on the form itself. 

That means we won’t put words into Tom’s mouth about how he discovered the craft or what inspired him to pursue it. Instead, visitors to Made by Hand will have the opportunity to discover more about the craft directly from the maker himself. His work also provides a fascinating contrast with William’s brickwork. Both crafts use materials that form part of a building, but they demonstrate the enormous variety of skills that could be involved in creating historic spaces.

Walls, chimneys and floors were not simply functional. They were the products of specialist craftspeople whose knowledge shaped the appearance and character of the buildings we now regard as part of our heritage.

 

Robert Fuller – Tinsmithing and Coppersmithing

For our third maker, heritage craft is quite literally a family tradition. Robert Fuller of J Fuller & Sons Ltd practises tinsmithing and coppersmithing – skills with a remarkable history within his own family.

Robert left school in 1980 and immediately joined the family business, where he worked alongside his father. ‘He passed on his tinsmithing skills to me,’ Robert remembers, ‘and taught me how to make the products we were selling back then.’ 

Robert went on to spend many years working in commercial industry and creating products using tinsmithing methods. But the craft was never restricted to his working life. ‘In my free time, I’ve always found great joy in making handmade items for my home and for my friends and family.’

Today, Robert is semi-retired, but his enthusiasm for tinsmithing and coppersmithing continues. In particular, he is passionate about ensuring that these traditional skills do not disappear. J Fuller & Sons dates back to 1892, when the company was founded in Clerkenwell, London, by Robert’s second great-grandfather. But the family’s connection with the craft stretches back even further. The two generations before the company’s founder were also coppersmiths and tinsmiths.

That makes Robert the seventh generation to continue the family’s tradition. ‘I’m passionate about keeping the traditional crafts of tinsmithing and coppersmithing alive,’ he says. ‘J Fuller & Sons has been around since 1892, and I’m dedicated to ensuring it continues for many more years to come.’

Robert learned tinsmithing directly from his father, but his journey into coppersmithing took a slightly different route. He describes himself as a self-taught coppersmith, with an important source of knowledge being The Art of Coppersmithing, written by John Fuller in 1894.

The connection is particularly special because John Fuller was Robert’s second cousin, four times removed. ‘It gives me a real sense of pride that a relative ‘taught’ me to make items like copper kettles, beer mullers and saucepans.’ Robert is also considering teaching in the future, providing another possible way for knowledge accumulated across generations to be passed on.

His story illustrates one of the most important aspects of heritage craft. Techniques survive because somebody teaches them to somebody else – whether that is a father working alongside his son, a tutor passing on practical skills, or even a craftsman recording his knowledge in a book more than a century ago. 

 

Keeping the Skills of the Past Alive

William, Tom and Robert work with very different materials, but each of their crafts helps us understand the skill that lies behind our built and material heritage.

William’s brickwork and conservation skills help historic buildings survive. Tom’s medieval tiles reveal the craftsmanship beneath the feet of people centuries ago. Robert’s tinsmithing and coppersmithing preserve a working tradition that has passed through his family for generations.

Most importantly, these are not simply historic techniques preserved behind glass. They are living crafts.

At our Made by Hand event, visitors can meet makers and craftspeople, watch traditional skills being practised and discover the knowledge, patience and experience behind handmade work.

Because our built heritage isn’t only about the buildings and objects that have survived. It’s also about the skills required to make them.