Crafted in Britain

Crafted in Britain is a celebration of Britain's traditional crafts and industries that have survived into the modern world, not as museums but on their merits. In an age of increasing automation and standardisation, it is a joy to find such places, where craftsmanship and personal skills are still valued.
Their world is recreated in Rob Scott's dramatic photographs, while the processes and history of the different industries is described in the accompanying text by Anthony Burton. They have travelled the country from the Spey valley in Scotland, where they recorded the workers in a traditional distillery and a cooperage, to Cornwall and the studio of a specialist pub sign painter. They have gone underground with a Free Miner of the Forest of Dean and seen molten metal being poured to create majestic church bells.
The book delights in the variety and individuality of the different industries. For both author and photographer it has been a revelation to see some of these processes at work: to watch a craftsman take a strip of silver and work it by hand into a spoon, or to find clocks being made in a workshop that looks as if it has scarcely changed for a hundred years. Now readers have the opportunity to share these experiences and delight in the discovery of these magnificent survivors.

Anthony Burton is a regular contributor to the BBC's Countryfile magazine, and has written various books on Britain's industrial heritage, including Remains of a Revolution and The National Trust Guide to Our Industrial Past, as well as three of the official National Trail guides. He has written and presented for the BBC, acted as historical adviser for the Discovery series Industrial Revelations and On the Rails, and has appeared as an expert on the programme Coast.