Once upon a time in Woodchester

We live in Woodchester in the Nailsworth Valley, just outside Stroud and also not far from the little town of Nailsworth. As designers and manufacturers at Woodmancote Retro, we’re always intrigued to learn more about the social history and industrial past of our patch. So earlier this year we were fortunate to visit a wonderful exhibition in our local village hall about Woodchester’s past.

This area was an absolute hive of activity and employment from the 1800’s and included a large sawmill, famous piano manufacturer and a printing press amongst many other businesses. Woodchester also proudly had its own bustling railway station. Significant in the area was Henry Workman Ltd - sawmills, timber merchants, turners and general woodworkers. With Andy’s arboricultural work and our use of sustainable wood, we’ve always been quite fascinated with Workman’s. Established in 1862 and closing in the 1950s, in its time it was a significant employer occupying large premises in buildings long since demolished. Workmans harvested wood from local estates and woodlands, and today for our table tops and seats we partner with an ethical sawmill for wood from forestry management and estates like Badminton, not far from us.

Arthur’s Press Ltd, a prominent printing and publishing company, was another big local employer particularly in the 60s and 70s. Running from the 1920s to the 70s they produced catalogues, booklets, letter heads, cards and more with expert knowledge of papers and printing techniques. We love studying the history of print and design and how looking at print archive items, the language in text, designs and typesetting styles reflect the period and evolving tastes.

All over Britain so many towns and villages have a fascinating industrial past, employing the local population and shaping a place. Much evidence of this may be long gone, so we’re very grateful to those who are collecting memories and preserving artefacts to remember the incredible history of the Woodchester area. We hope with Woodmancote Retro we’ll leave a positive mark of our own too.