Crafted in Britain: The Survival of Britain's Traditional Industries

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Description

Crafted in Britain is a celebration of Britains traditional crafts and industries that have survived into the modern world, not as museums but on their merits. In an age of increasing automation and standardisation, it is a joy to find such places, where craftsmanship and personal skills are still valued.

Their world is recreated in Rob Scotts dramatic photographs, while the processes and history of the different industries is described in the captivating text by Anthony Burton. They have travelled the country from the Spey valley in Scotland, where they recorded the workers in a traditional distillery and a cooperage, to Cornwall and the studio of a specialist pub sign painter. They have gone underground with a Free Miner of the Forest of Dean and seen molten metal being poured to create majestic church bells.

The book delights in the variety and individuality of the different industries. For both author and photographer it has been a revelation to see some of these processes at work: to watch a craftsman take a strip of silver and work it by hand into a spoon, or to find clocks being made in a workshop that looks as if it has scarcely changed for a hundred years. Crafted in Britain gives you the opportunity to share these experiences and delight in the discovery of these magnificent survivors.

Reviews

A delightful journey through our incredible creative heritage -- Hilary Clothier * BBC Countryfile *
Impossible to resist ... a pure shot in the arm for those of us feeling jaded by our increasingly automated modern world * Saga Magazine *
So many interesting crafts and their histories. A fully illustrated celebration ... hurray! -- Bruce Kemble-Johnson * Let's Talk *
A truly beautiful book with some awe-inspiring photography * Cotswold Life *
A magnificent piece of work, visually stunning and profoundly moving. The images burn themselves on the mind and stir a response in the soul. -- Pat Ashworth * Church Times *
A beautiful homage to how the past is remaining relevant in the present * LandScape *

Author Bio

Anthony Burton is a regular contributor to the BBC's Countryfile magazine, and has written various books on Britains industrial heritage, including Remains of a Revolution and The National Trust Guide to Our Industrial Past, as well as three of the official National Trail guides. He has written and presented for the BBC, acted as historical adviser for the Discovery series Industrial Revelations and On the Rails, and has appeared as an expert on the programme Coast.

Rob Scott has worked as a photojournalist and editorial photographer for 30 years. His portraits of celebrities such as BB King, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Simon Rattle, David Beckham and Sir Richard Branson have been published all over the world and his work regularly appears in UK magazines including the BBC's Countryfile, Music and Wildlife, as well as LandScape, National Trust and English Heritage magazines. In recent years he has specialised in documenting Britains surviving traditional industries.

www.robscottphotography.com