Bishop’s Castle
Bishops Castle
Before clocking-on there was no need to know the time to the minute. Before the railways there was even local time. Until 1680 most clocks were happy with one hand. The clock on St. John’s Church is one of the few remaining one handed clocks in the country. Even for an abbreviated tour of the town, we should take our time from this relaxed timepiece.
Putting back the clock
If you spot someone unloading tree trunks half way up the hill – it may well be chair maker Stuart Carroll. Very few people in Britain make such individual chairs in such time-honoured fashion. Stuart and his wife Jane have taken nine years to put back the clock a hundred years or more. They talk of their work as re-introduction not reproduction. The coppiced ash trees of the South Shropshire Hills provided the wood for chair-making here for over two hundred years until the late 1800s.
Bishop
The traditional Clun Forest chair was made of green ash. As the ash was split along the grain, releasing the stress in the wood, the chairs were strong. They were made without glue, being pegged in the traditional way.
The chairs are all made to order – numbered and signed on the seat bottom – so don’t expect to take half a dozen with you when you leave. The Carrolls are founder members of the Bishop’s Castle and Clun Valley Real Furniture and Craft Group, where you will also find ceramics,leather, musical instruments and other beautifully made furniture from talented local craftsmen.
Walkers Are Welcome in this town
Bishop’s Castle has also become a Walkers Are Welcome award winning town along with it’s South Shropshire neighbour Church Stretton.
For more information on Bishop’s Castle please visit www.visitsouthshropshire.co.uk.