CARVING A TRADITION
On the edge of the East Riding of Yorkshire, a dedicated team works hard to preserve the time-honoured art of rocking-horse making
On the edge of the East Riding of Yorkshire, a dedicated team works hard to preserve the time-honoured art of rocking-horse making
“YOU HAVE TO BE IN THE RIGHT FRAME
of mind for dappling,” says Michael Wem, as he dabs at a grey-painted rocking horse using a little sponge on a stick. “It requires intense concentration because you can’t rub it out if you get it wrong – this bit’s bugging me.” He tuts at an imperceptibly small smudge in the honeycomb pattern that he is applying with black acrylic paint, one of the finishing touches that will transform this horse-shaped piece of wood into a graceful, animated creature. “This is one of the nicest I’ve worked on,” he continues, admiring the late 19th-century F H Ayres model, whose restoration is nearly complete. “I like to imagine the craftsman who made it, standing in a dimly lit workshop, smoking a pipe, ankle-deep in wood shavings. And, I think, this horse will still be here in another hundred years, long after I’m gone.”
Longevity is part of the everlasting appeal of the rocking horse. It is the ultimate heirloom toy, passed down through generations. Originally designed not for play, but as a means of teaching riding skills to the sickly child who would one day be King Charles I, they soon became must-have nursery showpieces in well-to-do Victorian homes. By the early 20th century, they were being produced by several specialist UK factories, flying out of department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges at Christmas. “Everyone has a memory of a rocking horse, whether it was at school, in the local toy shop or at their gran’s house,” says Jane Cook, owner of The Rocking Horse Shop near York, where Michael is master carver. “That’s what keeps the craft alive. Many customers once dreamed of having a rocking horse and now they want to buy one for their children or grandchildren.”
Because Christmas morning is the traditional moment to unveil such generous gifts, Jane, Michael and associate carver Karl Barker work flat out between September and December. While much of their day is spent restoring old horses and supplying handmade accessories – from hand-stitched leather saddles to ribbon rosettes – to enthusiasts around the world, this time of year is all about new ones. Michael and Karl annually hand-carve up to 50 in different sizes and models, often helped by Sam Glass, who was previously master carver there for more than 20 years. The more affordable horses are simpler, with less definition in the face and fewer details in the painting. Top-of-the-range thoroughbreds have intricately carved cheekbones, nostrils and teeth; their necks turn, forelegs kick, and
muscles seem to tense. “The slight, subtle lift of an eyebrow or the drop of a cheekbone makes such a difference,” Karl says. “The final goal for a carver is to produce something lifelike, something that has movement.”
Karl inherited his love of wood from his father, who restored furniture as a hobby, and joined The Rocking Horse Shop five years ago as an apprentice, straight out of college. Now he’s well on his way to becoming a master carver, learning from Sam and Michael in their large workshop next to Jane’s farmhouse in the village of Fangfoss, a small cluster of houses on the edge of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Over the festive jingle of carols, the room resounds with the percussive rustle of shaving, planing and sanding. “We use power tools to cut out the basic shapes, but the character is added by hand,” Michael explains, while using a mallet to tap gently on the handle of a gouge that is scooping out tiny curls along the edge of a head-shaped block of wood: “The next thing I’ll do is carve the teeth. They’re the key to getting the face right.”
Across the room, Karl is finely sanding the neck of an almost-finished design. He explains that, like all traditional rocking horses, it started life as 24 separate blocks of wood, the body glued together to make a hollow wooden box, with the head and legs attached before the final carving. “They’re like time capsules,” he says. “When old ones come in to get restored, we find original newspapers, marbles, even knitting needles stuffed inside them.” Once this one has been lacquered or hand-painted, it will be led into the adjacent workshop, where another team of elves – Julie Turner, Barbara Brown and Jayne Pope – add the hand-stitched leather saddle, bridle, stirrups, mane and horse-hair tail. Then it will join its stable mates to await collection or delivery.
Anthony Dew, who founded The Rocking Horse Shop in the late 1970s, well remembers the Christmas buzz: “I used to deliver them all over the country in a horsebox. One year I carried a horse into a house – wrapped in a blanket because it was a surprise – and we discovered that its ear had snapped off. I glued it back into place and wrapped a bandage around the wound, promising the parents that I’d be back. On Christmas morning, the little girl received a note from Father Christmas, explaining that her horse would get well soon. Two weeks later, after I’d delivered a replacement, she came home from school to find another note, instructing her to remove the bandage. Her mother wrote to say that her daughter’s face was a picture when she took it off.”
When Anthony, a former woodwork teacher, first established the business, inter-war recession and post-war competition from mass-produced and imported toys had taken its toll on the
craft and very few traditional makers still existed. He sought these out, determined to stop the practice disappearing. He succeeded and more recently, in 2003, was joined by then-manager Jane Cook, who, in an increasingly difficult market, kept the shop going by promoting not only its products but its skills. A wide range of plans and makers’ kits are now sold via the internet, and Jane and the team run carving courses. “We often see people talking to their horses’ heads as they take shape,” she says. “I tell them that they know they’ve really cracked it when the horse starts talking back to them.”
Karl Barker’s horses started talking to him long ago. Now, they’re starting to whinny and flutter their eyelashes, too. “I love seeing my craft progress to the point where I can carve faces that have detail and expression,” he says. “But what’s so satisfying is to see a child enjoying something I’ve made. That’s what it’s all about, really. Knowing that when they grow up, they’ll give it to their own children, and one day someone like me will be restoring it. It’s rare these days to make something that is treasured for so long.”
The Rocking Horse Shop, Fangfoss, York, North Yorkshire (01759 368737; rockinghorse.co.uk).