May 2026

Lewis Goldwater, Hazel Basket Maker

A working hazel basket maker in Turnham Green Wood, the Herefordshire coppice he established in 2011. One of a handful of working practitioners in the country making the traditional split-hazel Whisket of the Welsh Marches - a craft on the Heritage Crafts Red List of endangered crafts. Reads the stems before cutting (the knobs, the deer marks, the years), cleaves and shaves them into splints, weaves them into round-bottomed baskets that have been made in the same shape since the form was first made. Teaches the craft at venues across the country.