The old besom-maker

SIr,—another—and very nearly the last—link with the old-time rural industry of besom-making, which used to thrive in the Yorkshire Dales, has been severed by the death of Mr Joseph Roe of Grange Cottage... a picturesque figure known to a wide circle of friends.

‘Every January or February, from a part of the moor which he alone knew, he gathered his harvest of ling, of especially fine quality, and stored it in the loft of his workshop. Not only the ling, but the wood for his broom handles, and for the bindings of the ling, was specially selected; only one sort and one method of treatment would do. With a heavy hammer he would beat the length of the trunk of an ash tree for quite a long time—probably 1,000 beatings—and then, with a chisel, he would remove layers of wood which he explained were equal to a year’s growth of the tree. These layers of wood were then split with a large knife into bindings or splints. In his day, when he had had ‘a big rush order on’ for a gross or two, Joe thought nought of turning out three dozen brooms a day, to sell at 10s a dozen wholesale, but he would make you one while you waited for 1s. 2d.

‘You could watch every move, twist, or turn, as the broom was built up, and then he would hand it over. ‘Now you know all there is to know about besom-making,’ Joe would say, with a twinkle of his kindly blue eyes, ‘but I hope you won’t pinch my trade!’ H. S. P. (Correspondence, January 13, 1934)