Focus
MAY - The beginning of May has been celebrated for thousands of years, for the Celts it was Beltaine (the return of the sun) when fires marked ceremonies of purification to mark the coming of summer and the end of a long winter.
The May Day celebrations probably spread from Rome where Florialia honoured Flora, the goddess of flowers. A procession of dancers and singers carried her decorated effigy passed a sacred tree in blossom. May 1st is half a year away from All Saints Day on November 1st. The Middle Ages saw the height of these celebrations in Britain. At dawn villagers would go out gathering flowers and branches of blossom to decorate their homes. A tall pole, symbolising rebirth; usually of Birch, Hawthorn or Oak was set up in the centre of the village and covered with flowers. People then sang and danced around this maypole and the prettiest girl was crowned May Queen, a symbol of the stillness of nature around which everything revolves; embodying purity, strength and the potential for growth. In 1644 the puritans tried to ban the often raucous festivities but the maypole dance plaiting ribbons of today did not begin until the nineteenth century.
Although the rhyme sang 'here we go gathering nuts in May' it was probably a corruption of the knots of blossom as of course there are no nuts until the autumn. The tree blossom gathered came to be known as May - the month in which the Hawthorn flowered and is the most common folk name.
Tree profile - Hawthorn
Mythology says that Olwen, goddess of the hawthorn left a trail of white petals wherever she went - once walking the empty universe, the blossom becoming the Milky Way.
Today the hawthorn blossom in the hedgerow looks like a white trail long field edges and lanes. It's a deciduous shrub or small tree of the rose family growing up to 30 feet high ( but usually fifteen). It was widespread in Britain before 6000 BC and is common throughout Europe but not the north of Scotland. Growing for over four hundred years it has the capacity to flower twice a year and the trunk becomes very gnarled and twisted often leaning with the prevailing wind. Pale green leaves open in April. By autumn the berries will have ripened and turned red, hanging in long-stalked bunches; a favourite with birds.
The hawthorn was a symbol of fertility, used at marriages to reflect the union of the forces of nature. As a tree of protection it often grew by habitation especially wells and springs but taking May blossom into the home was considered unlucky.
A sixteenth century story tells of Joseph of Arimathea resting and leaning on his staff on Weary-all Hill at Glastonbury after he travelled to Britain shortly after Jesus' crucifixion. During the night it rooted into the ground and became a blossoming hawthorn tree. Following this sign, Joseph and his twelve disciples built the first Christian chapel there. It is said that the Glastonbury Thorn blossoms on Christmas day in honour of Christ's birth.
A sixteenth century story tells of Joseph of Arimathea resting and leaning on his staff on Weary-all Hill at Glastonbury after he travelled to Britain shortly after Jesus' crucifixion. During the night it rooted into the ground and became a blossoming hawthorn tree. Following this sign, Joseph and his twelve disciples built the first Christian chapel there. It is said that the Glastonbury Thorn blossoms on Christmas day in honour of Christ's birth.
Hawthorn has long been used to mark boundaries, distinguishable from its companion the blackthorn by flowering later as its leaves are emerging. As a result of the Enclosure Act it is thought that over 200,000 miles of hedge was planted, mostly Hawthorn, a thick and prickly barrier. The flowers and berries have been used to make jellies and wine. As a possible herbal remedy it was used to regulate blood pressure. It was often known as the bread and cheese tree as its leaves were said to give as much sustenance as a plate of bread and cheese. Its green wood burns even hotter than Oak. Its bark will dye wool black and was often used as stock tree for fruit wood to be grafted on to it. The wood was used for handles and walking sticks to bring luck, printing blocks and its roots turned to make combs and boxes. The wood is very hard and even-grained.
It's very important to wildlife, providing habitat for 50 species of insect life as well as birds and small mammals. It has a small rooting system and modest need for nutrients allowing many other plants to grow nearby. Although prickly, cows and horses love to eat its leaves.
Maker profile - JOHN BROWN
To compliment our woodwork and further to our 'something different - just because we like' we are hugely pleased to be able to show a little of the work of John Brown, a natural history and documentary cameraman and stills photographer living in Oxfordshire.
John has always been interested in art and science and his career as a wildlife film-maker and photographer gives him the perfect blend of these two passions. He left Oxford University in 1993 with a biology degree having specialised in animal behaviour, neurobiology and entomology; invertebrate and vertebrate biology. He undertook large mammal research for the WWF in Zimbabwe and was conservation consultant for the Save Valley Conservancy in the south of Zimbabwe and took part in the WWF Black Rhino dehorning and relocation programme.
After a spell working with Oxford Scientific Films he became freelance as directing and producing his own films also provided the opportunity to try to tell compelling stories about the natural world. He has over 50 film credits, many as principal cameraman, and a whole host of awards and nominations including EMMY, BAFTA, Royal Television Society and Wildscreen 'Panda' awards for cinematography. He has filmed, directed or produced several films for the BBC's Natural World , and has worked on many of the BBC Natural History Unit's major series over the last 8 years. Credits include 'Meerkat Manor', 'Moose on the Loose' and 'Ganges' to name a few. He is currently chairman of the International Association of Wildlife Film-makers.
John prefers to work with natural light for his stills photography, and is interested in trying to represent the natural world in abstract, rather than figurative, ways. He is increasingly working with black and white and panoramic images. As a photographer He has reached the finals of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition on five occasions including 2007 with over 20 different images. His work has also been used to illustrate a wide variety of articles, calendars and books.
Craftsmen and women currently making for Burford Woodcraft
Colin Gosden - Alan & Claire Englefield - Martin Jones - John Brown -Tim Atkinson - Phil Irons - Beamers - Phil Jackson - In House - Ray Key - Gary Rance - Jason Breach - Ian King - David Richfield - Alec Garner - Arboretti - Broadleaf Toys - Graham Lane - Peter Ridley - Stephen Broadley - Stewart Langworth - Jim Brown - Robert Lewin - Will Sumner - Greg Ryder - Peter Camus - George Luck - Chris Seathard - Booth Design - Ian Clarkson - Nigel Lucraft - Glynn Sheppard - Mike Clempson - Anna Davies - John Mainwaring - John Skelton - Roger Gluyas - Brian Dawson - Margaret's Dolls - Philippine Sowerby - Robert Delves - Randal Marr - Spinney Craft - Rod Dunworth - Bert Marsh - Richard Forgan - Robin McEwen - Max Suffield - Dennis French - Peter Moss - Jules Tattersall - Gecko - Miranda Roberts - Luke Mulley - Metal Planet - Sue Navin - Justin Duance - Grain Waves - Will Witham - Lawrence Neal - Andrew Tilley - Bob Neill - Toys for Children - Ray Griffiths - Lawrence Oldfield - Peter Tree - Dennis Hales - Helen Osborne - Grahame Tucker - Rosie Hallam - David Owen - Christopher Vickers - Hero - Roger Copple - Keith Parker - Judith Waywell - Mary Howard - Martin Pidgen - Don White - Jack in the Box Company - Franco Pierro - Gordon Wight - Helen Johnson - Plane Delight - Ralph Williams - Petra Johnson - Plate Rattle and Bowl Co - Young Jones - Tom Leask - Ian Grey - Dominck Cumming - Cornish Pixie company - Rock Paper Scissors -
Cards and stationery by : Blue Eyed Sun - Alex Clark - Bug Art - Archivist - Beamers - Little Acorns - Two Bad Mice - Metal Planet - Artysmith - Ronin - Rhyme with Reason - Trumpers World - Janet Whitehead - Heritage Art - Miranda Roberts - Laser Press - Greg Ryder - Young Jones