Hurdle makers
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Hurdles & spar makers.
It is said there were still fifteen hurdlemakers in the Cranborne Chase area
in the 1950's, and earlier there were many more. The chalk downlands close
by needed thousands of hurdles when they were covered in sheep.
Another coppice product produced by hurdlemakers, thatching spars
(hazel rods which were twisted to peg the thatch down like hair pins) were
required in vast quantities when they were used every year to cover corn
ricks.
The coppices also supplied the fuel to fite the pottery kilns, and
until the mid 19th century all domestic heating
and cooking.
Hurdle & spar makers
Len Lane, a lifetime of hurdle making.
Wilf Foster, a maker from Crendell.
Hurdles : Hurdle makers