Living national treasure

The master arrowsmith

Lots of little boys—and, indeed, girls—make bows and arrows from sticks and pieces of string. However, not all of them turn it into a lifetime’s work. For Hector Cole, it led him to fashion his own longbows from pieces of yew and, eventually, arrowheads at his forge in Little somerford, Wiltshire.

‘When I started forging, I spent about four years researching and examining arrowheads, trying to work out the techniques that the original smiths used,’ recounts Mr Cole, who goes on to explain that, at first, it was very much a case of trial and error. ‘the main criterion is that, if you get the same results as the originals, you must be doing it the same way.’

Every single hammer blow affects the way the final product turns out, elaborates the master arrowsmith, who has been awarded an MBE for his efforts and takes on commissions for museums, historical societies, collectors and re-enactors determined to get it right.

‘the whole essence of the heads I make is that they’re historically correct. I will even forge with the iron of the period, if I can,’ emphasises Mr Cole, who makes it clear that his research is an ongoing labour of love. ‘I’m preserving a craft that really is a very important part of our heritage. Without arrowsmiths, there wouldn’t have been the Battle of Agincourt, in which the English archer reigned supreme.’ VM www.hectorcoleironwork.com; http:// heritagecrafts.org.uk