The Wheelwright's Shop

by George Sturt

This volume contains a detailed insight into the life and work of the wheelwright. The object of “The Craftsman Series” is to make this literature available in a form convenient for school use. The series consists entirely of books in which the craftsman speaks for himself, and in every volume the text is solely that of the author. George Sturt, the author of this volume, was a lover of the English countryside. Before the publication of 'The Wheelwright’s Shop' in 1923 he had written several other books on rural topics, including 'The Memoirs of a Surrey Labourer', 'The Bettesworth Book', and 'A Farmer’s Life'. The chapters of this book 'The Wheelwright’s Shop', 'Timber – Buying', 'Timber – Carting and Converting', 'The Sawyers', 'Timber – Seasoning', ''Wheel-Stuff'', 'Hand-Work', ''Bottom-Timbers'', 'Wagons', 'Learning the Trade', 'Wheels – Spokes and Felloes', 'The Smith – ''Getting Ready''', et cetera. This volume is being republished now complete with a specially-commissioned biography of the author.

Genres: History, Woodwork

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 2, 1934

Reviews

[Koen Crolla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hoped this would be the wheelwright and cartwright equivalent to Kenneth Kilby's excellent The Cooper and His Trade . It's not. Sturt was a boss,† not a craftsman, and the book is much more about the changing nature of running (and, eventually, not running) a rural wheelwright's shop during a time of increasing globalisation and industrialisation than it is about building wheels, carts, or wag(g)ons from the ground up—a subject on which Sturt is by no means ignorant, having spent time at least helping out, but which he did not really know or care to communicate systematically.
Which isn't to say you won't learn meaningful things about the crafts—I certainly did, and I already probably knew more than most—or that it's in any way not a substantial work. I just wish it had been written by one of his employees.

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† He was also a socialist, which the foreword, not by Sturt, makes a bigger deal of than he did. Because he was a boss first, the only material time it came up was when he wished a strong wheelwright's trade union existed in his area because his attempt at price-fixing backfired and cost him a customer.

[David Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never see a wood wagon the same way as before reading this book. In this modern world, I did what I suspect so many might do when looking at a display in a museum or a rotting heap in a field. I saw antiquity and decay ... oh so wrong! The details of manufacturing opened my eyes to a whole different level of respect. I built and drove race cars for years (years ago) and if I had built even one of them using the exacting methodology of the wagon makers, I might have won far more races.
In my hiking along the Sierras of California, I frequently come to the point where cross country travelers in the very early days of moving westward, pulled their wagons up a near cliff face, emptied and with block and tackle, to continue their journey to the West Coast. Now, thinking back, I realize that if you dragged one of today's vehicles up that same route, they may never run again. The wagons did and that is testament to their incredible construction. If you love things mechanical, this book will give you a new outlook, I assure you of that!

[Matt]

Fascinating. I can see why Albert Borgmann found this book to be insightful in thinking about modern technology. There is a huge difference between the work that Sturt did here and even a modern carpenter would do. Sturt had to have a mastery of his craft and a deep understanding of his local area as well. For example, he had to know the kinds of local roads and the land where different trees would grow. There is much to ponder over here.

[William Alan House · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lost ways

An interesting historical account of aspects of life in a wheelwright's yard by a participant and observer of the various skills needed to make wooden wheels with incites into the relationships between the craftsmen. Many of these skills have now been forgotten as they were mostly learned by proper apprenticeships and passed down by watching, doing and making mistakes.

[Jeff Heal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, dragged in a few spots.

[Dan Carey]

Not that interesting in terms of the craft.

[Mike Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a decent look at rural England (in one county) for the period 1884 to 1922 from the prospective of the owner of a rural wheelwright shop. George Sturt assumed the reins of a 3rd generation family business.

The impacts of the Industrial Revolution and World War I can be seen as he describes his business. George Sturt was a literary man and published under a different name while running the family business.

If I recall correctly, his prose at the beginning of Chapter 2 describing the change that came over rural England (written circa 1921) is strangely similar to the tone J. R. R. Tolkien uses in describing the passing of the elder ages. I do not know if they were in the same literary circles or not. I am more inclined to believe that both are reflecting a wider sense of loss felt in post WW-I England.

If you look for this book, try to get an earlier unabridged version. Some of the later ones do not have full descriptions of the workers and their perceived attitudes.

[Jude Brigley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Important in giving a history of working lives.