Product Description
Bill Hogarth MBE Coppice Merchant. A Life in the Woodlands of the
Bill Hogarth worked as a coppice merchant in Cumbria for 56 years, learning the trade from his father from the age of 14 . Bill saw many changes over his lifetime with the gradual demise of the industries which had relied on coppiced wood. By the 1960’s many markets had dried up. Bill weathered the lean years, peeling oak for rustic furniture and making besom brooms. As the renaissance of green living began in the 1980’s Bill generously shared his skills and experience with anyone who showed an interest. In 1995 he was awarded an MBE for his services to the coppice industry. This is the story of a unique and fulfilled life.
I had the priviledge of knowing Bill for the last few years of his life and much of the interest and passion for the sustainable management of small native woodlands that I have came from time spent with him