Examples of preserving traditional craftsman skills will be on show at Snowshill Manor and Garden in the Cotswolds with many workers demonstrating some traditional skills on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17

Craftsmanship celebrated at Snowshill

Examples of preserving traditional craftsman skills will be on show at Snowshill Manor and Garden in the Cotswolds with many workers demonstrating some traditional skills.

In the first of a planned series of occasions to showcase the work of present day craftsmen, the National Trust has teamed up with the Society of Designer Craftsman for the celebration event on Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17.

Fascinating journeys from raw materials to finished objects will unfold in the craft village ranging from a glass specialist and woodworkers to a blacksmith who will set up in the car park.

All are members of the society and will be inviting people to watch the works taking shape and showing the techniques and materials involved in making them. Stone, wood, clay, metal and textiles will be transformed using methods similar to those used to make many of the extraordinary objects that can be seen in Snowshill Manor.

Christine Dove, Chairman of the Society of Designer Craftsmen, says ‘I believe that the skills and attention to design and craftsmanship of the work of our members compliments that of the artefacts in the Wade Collection. It is entirely appropriate that members of the Society are able to help forge a link with the past to demonstrate that those principles of design and skills in craftsmanship are just as relevant today’.

Craftsmanship is at the very heart of Snowshill Manor. From Samurai armour to penny farthings, silk fans to tin soldiers, the rooms of the Manor are filled with surprising treasures. They were collected by Charles Paget Wade over his lifetime until he gave the collection and its home to the National Trust in 1952.

Wade was himself a skilled craftsman and took great pleasure in restoring items in his workshop and he also designed and created objects for the Manor.

Visitors will be encouraged to discover some of the secrets of the Wade Collection by exploring the detail of specially chosen objects in the Manor.

There will also be an opportunity for people to start or add to their own collections of craftsmanship with members of the Society of Designer Craftsmen selling their works on both days.

Art of Craftsmanship will be the first event in a series of projects and occasions at Snowshill Manor and Garden that will aim to link contemporary craftsmanship with the legacy of Charles Paget Wade and the extraordinary collection he amassed.

Open 11am-5pm each day.

Normal admission prices apply. National Trust members free.

More information is available on www.nationaltrust.org.uk/snowshillmanor