Carved With Love BBC Four

[Jacob]

A "woodworker" might at different times be carpenter, joiner, furniture maker, coach builder etc.
Chippendale was also an undertaker i.e. coffin maker and his original family firm probably did a range of stuff typical of a small-town woodworking business.
On the other hand a business might become specialised, there's no hard and fast about it.

NB Shuttering is skilled work done by 'shuttering joiners'. Scaffolders would have no idea!

 

[AndyT]

The (very minor) point I was trying to make was that (IIRC) the commentary referred to Chippendale and his father as 'carpenter' and 'joiner' interchangeably, so I was left not knowing what their trade was.
Maybe (in a rural area) the business did both, even if the men employed were specialists. I think it's an important distinction, but if it's often confused. US usage does not help!

 

[AndyT]

I've just watched the second episode - on Grinling Gibbons - and was most impressed. I thought it had just the right balance of:
- showing us the work
- having knowledgeable people enthuse about it
- a bit of historical background
- a glimpse of contemporary carvers inspired by him, showing what could be similar working methods.

You can watch it in HD on Sunday at 7.00 pm or Monday at 11.30 pm. I recommend it!

 

[Fromey]

What was most impressive to me in the second episode was how shiny and sharp those chisels were (oh, and there was that carvings stuff as well).

 

[jimi43]

It literally made me want to go out and dig out all my Addis chisels and get some limewood!

Simply astounding but gaudy work...you have to admire it but I don't particularly like that period.

But when it is "modernised" as the two carvers showed...it has its place in the grand halls of today....

Far better mix this week I thought.

Looking forward to the next one!

Jim

 

[Graham Orm]

It literally made me want to go out and dig out all my Addis chisels and get some limewood!

Jim

Incredible skill!!!

I have turned a bowl in Lime. Soft but firm is how I would describe it. Lovely to work with & ideal for carving I would guess.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I thought it was a good programme, that could have been even better if it were made shorter.

They began by telling us thet every schoolchild knows about the great fire of London - so why was it necessary to spend the next few minutes telling us all about it ? And why so many sequences of people walking around modern streets, going about their daily lives which had no relevance at all to the topic in hand ? There were quite long sections that would have been better suited to Radio 4.

Still, remarkable workmanship, and some splendid chisels !

 

[adzeman]

I have just returned from a 2 month tripback home in Chippedale country but forgot to take my laptop (only 10 miles from his birthplace) On returning and opening my laptop to my favourite web site I was delighted to read the posts on this BBC 4 programme which I have been watching with interest. Recorded and re-watched. Coming from the area and attending Leeds College we Chippendale was mentioned a lot and we visited Harwood House and Nostell Priory. The joiners shop in our village where I served my apprentiship would have been similar to that in Otley which was and is a small Market Town (good rugby team) Our shop was originally owned by the local Land Owner who lived in the big house. The shop Foreman learnt his trade from his father and so on back to as far as could be rememberd and his sons also learnt their trade During the 1st World War the joiners were called up or volenteered for duty as wheelwrights including the foreman. On returning at the end of hostilities all the men folk (landlords) at the big house had been killed leaving only the women. The estate was split up and sold the shop being bought by the shop foreman. I will be going back North in three weeks time and I will do a bit of digging around Otley to see if I can find out any more information.
The Grinling Gibbons episode was just as interesting, being a local authority surveyor based in Deptford makes a further connection. I just love this series,

 

[Eric The Viking]

I watched the first two on iPlayer in HD.

I was frustrated on two fronts:

Firstly the camerawork and editing was truly c**p. They went for a certain "style" that doesn't involve tripods nor proper focus, the lighting was bland, and the editing was rubbish too - clearly no sympathy for the subject matter, even if the cameraman had offered suitable shots. In many places the shots simply didn't match the voiceovers, and the cut away happened even before the comment had finished, never mind holding the shot so you could appreciate the detail being mentioned. All very annoying, given I'll never see the Gibbons carvings up as close as they could. Also there simply wasn't enough showing how it was done. Too many people going "Oh isn't Chippendale/Gibbons great!" and not enough of showing the detail of why and how things were done. There are good cameramen out there. Why not use someone good?

Secondly, on a personal note, There were so many "wow, I could have seen that!" moments. The Cosimo Panel we didn't see in Florence (OK, you need about a month to get round everything), and I used to play rounders in Petworth Park as a lad, but never visited the house. And, to add insult to injury, last year (2011) we were in Galloway, but missed Dumfries House - how did that happen??? Spot the long-term idiot!

Anyway, despite my irritation with the style, I'm glad the series has been made though. It was just about good enough to catch the interest of a new generation, and perhaps it has done so.

E.

PS: Contrast it with that RTE series on crafts - the Cavan furniture builders and the boat builder - far better made with a pace and style that suited the subject.