Image ID: 14247

Preparing willow for basket making

Bole meadows
Bole
England

Willow trees are not harmed by regular cutting. If they are cut back to the ground they readily sprout up and produce many long thin very bendy shoots. These wands or 'withies' are cut either at ground level, which is 'coppicing', or cut at the top of the trunk, which is 'pollarding'. They are then dried and bundled ready for basket making (seen here). Next year new wands will grow up from the old willow stool. Withies can be used with or without the thin bark, depending on the desired appearance of the finished article. The willow withies seen here appear very light in colour and the women look as though they are stripping the bark. When the basketmaker needs withies to make a basket, they must first soak the withies to make them soft enough to bend easily.

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Keywordswillowwithiesbranchesruralharvestbarkstrippingmenwomenfieldtreeschurchtowerworklabourworkersagricultureclothes

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