By Dan Thompson
From people making lobster pots from withy in Devon to scissors hand-crafted in Sheffield, and from huge church bells cast in Loughborough to the most delicate hand-made watches on the Isle of Man, James Fox has mapped the UK’s crafts for his new book, Craftland.
And now the writer, art historian, and broadcaster will discuss the book, and the state of the nation’s craft landscape, in an event with The Margate Bookshop.
The book is subtitled ‘A journey through Britain’s lost arts and vanishing trades’, but it finds a surprising number of people keeping them alive. Just a few years ago the art of making crab pots from withy cane was nearly extinct, for example, but now Fox finds there are thirty makers in one Devon village alone. Across the country Fox finds blacksmiths and wheelwrights, cutlers and coopers, bodgers and badgers, all still practicing a richer, more connected way of life that is endangered but not yet lost.
That rise can be mapped elsewhere, too: in the rise of pottery since it was made popular by TV series The Great Pottery Throw Down, and in the resurgence of interest in patchwork and quilting. And it’s not just about individual makers, working from home, either – the clothes for Patrick Grant’s label Community Clothing are spun, woven, dyed, knitted and sewn in factories in 49 towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales.
Fox finds towns whose identity is built around what they have made, and he says that the tradition of making and building things by hand was one of the cornerstones of the British identity – suggesting it might be more important than ever in our digital age. ‘If this book is nostalgic,’ he says, ‘it’s nostalgic for the present – for the skills and traditions we think we have lost but are actually all around us.’
James Fox is an art historian, writer, curator and multi-award-winning broadcaster, known for his many acclaimed BBC documentaries. He is Director of Studies in History of Art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Creative Director of the Hugo Burge Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting the arts and crafts across Britain. He is also the author of 2021’s celebrated The World According to Colour: A Cultural History.
He will be discussing all things Craftland with the most excellent Dan Thompson, a writer, curator, social artist and director at Marine Studios in Margate. Dan has been part of a number of events at Marine Studios exploring lost and endangered crafts, as well as celebrating local makers, and in making his own work has collaborated with quilters, flag-makers, heritage paper makers, and TV potter Keith Brymer Jones.
The Craftland event is on Thursday 2nd October, from 7.00pm-9.00pm, at Fort Road Bar, Margate. Entry is free and tickets can be booked at CRAFTLAND WITH JAMES FOX Tickets, Thu 2 Oct 2025 at 19:00 | Eventbrite. The event is organised by The Margate Bookshop, and more details can be found at www.themargatebookshop.com/events.
