Heritage Crafts: See Traditional Skills in Action

Heritage crafts in the UK are living links to the country’s social, rural, and industrial history, rooted in skills passed down through generations. Practices such as blacksmithing, spinning, bodging, spoon carving, and bucket making developed out of everyday necessity, using locally available materials and deeply practical knowledge. From shaping iron at the forge to turning green wood on a pole lathe, these crafts reflect a close relationship between people, landscape, and labour. They embody not only technical skill but also regional identity, storytelling, and ways of working that predate mass production.

Today, these crafts are valued not just for the objects they produce, but for the cultural knowledge they carry. In an age of industrial manufacturing and digital convenience, heritage crafts offer a slower, more mindful approach to making—one that prioritises durability, repair, and sustainability. Chiltern Open Air Museum showcases heritage crafts ensuring that these skills remain relevant and accessible for future generations rather than disappearing into history.

Heritage Crafts Demonstrations on Selected Dates

See our events calendar
  • A blacksmith attending the fire in a traditional Victorian forge at Chiltern Open Air Museum

    Blacksmithing

    Explore traditional ironwork skills in our Victorian Forge with expert blacksmith Mark Harding.

  • A rolled beeswax candle in the shop at Chiltern Open Air Museum

    Candle Making

    Visit our candle making shop and make a beeswax candle to take home.

  • A demonstration of a traditional tool that makes holes in amber pieces to make jewellery

    Amber Jewellery

    Archaeologist and Amber artist Vanessa Bunton demonstrates how amber jewellery has been made through time.

  • A man stands in a Bodgers camp in the woods surrounded by chair making tools

    Chair Making

    Known as Bodgers, skilled craftsmen would set up camp in woodlands and utilise natural resources to create chairs.

  • A man sits under a tree next to a table filled with carved wooden spoons

    Spoon Carving

    Watch local bushcraft expert, David Willis, spoon carving and find out about the history of this ancient craft.

  • A woman stands behind a group of pots holding different coloured dyes while another woman weaves wool on a traditional loom in the background

    Natural Dyeing & Weaving

    The Outside Dyers demonstrate the traditional practice of natural dyeing.

  • A close up of a man's hands holding together the wooden pieces that make a traditional bucket

    Bucket Making

    Watch multi-skilled heritage master craftsman, Alan Paulus, in action as he demonstrates traditional bucket making.

  • A woman dressed in 1940s style cloths sits by a table filled with rag rug scraps and tools

    Rag Rug Making

    Rag rugs were made using worn or surplus textiles—such as old clothing, sacks, and fabric scraps.

  • A family helps a man demonstrate how to make rope at Chiltern Open Air Museum

    Rope Making

    Watch multi-skilled heritage master craftsman, Alan Paulus, in action as he demonstrates traditional ropework.

  • Making lace using wooden bobbins

    Lacemaking

    Lacemaking is a delicate and highly skilled traditional craft with a long history in the Chilterns.

  • A close up on a man hitting a piece of flint rock with a hammer

    Flint Knapping

    Flint knapping is one of the oldest crafts in the Chilterns, where flint is naturally found in the chalk hills.

  • A traditional spinning wheel

    Spinning

    One of the traditional cottage industries - spinning using wool or flax has been part of Chilterns heritage for centuries.

  • A man and a woman in a woodland are gathering charcoal from a big pile and putting it into bags

    Charcoal Burning

    Charcoal burning was an important industry in the Chilterns for many years, supplying the essential fuel for Iron­working in the area.

  • A woman carving a tree branch into a smooth post using a hand saw

    Hurdle Making

    Agricultural workers would often make traditional fence panels called hurdles by carving branches and slotting them together.

  • A woman weaves wool on a peg loom

    Peg Loom Weaving

    Peg loom weaving is an ancient, simple, and portable method of creating textiles by weaving yarn or fibre through warp threads held by pegs on a wooden frame.

  • A round stone platform outside a brick building

    Wheelwrighting

    Wheelwrights were essential craftsmen, designing and repairing wooden wheels for carts, wagons, and carriages. They would use a Tyring Platform to put the iron rims onto wooden wheels.

Two women are building an outdoor kiln out of clay in the sunshine

Dacorum & Chiltern Potters Guild

The Dacorum & Chiltern Potters Guild have a base at the Museum where they can often be found preparing outdoor kilns for firing or emptying the kilns of their fantastic creations. They also run hands-on-clay workshops for families during our Terrific Tuesdays.

About the DCPG

Hands-on Heritage Craft Workshops

Workshops and Experience Days
A lady in a traditional outfit and straw hat is weaving on a page loom while a young girl watches

Heritage Craft Weekend

In July each year we showcase Heritage Crafts from around the Chilterns during our Heritage Craft Weekend. Bringing together makers of all kinds and celebrating their skills.

See Our Events Calendar

If you'd like to attend multiple Museum events and general admission days, you can save money by purchasing an Annual Membership

Learn more

General Museum Information

With 45 acres at your disposal, there is plenty to explore, including woodlands and an exciting adventure playground

Dogs on short leads are welcome but must not go inside residential buildings

Light lunches, drinks, cakes and snacks are available to purchase from our Skippings Barn

Sensory backpacks are available to borrow (subject to availability)

Mobility scooters are available to borrow (subject to availability - pre-booking is advised)

Lots of free parking

Photography and filming may take place during this event for the Museum archives and publicity. These photographs and video footage may appear in promotional or educational materials including on our websites, social media pages, newsletters, or in newspapers and magazines. If you do not wish to be photographed, please speak to the photographer.

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