2019-20 Annual Report Final - Flipbook - Page 42
Peter Castles
To learn the finer points of the
English Saddle, Harness and Collar
making - UK
My aim in applying for a Churchill
Fellowship was to learn new skills
in the saddlery trade. I had been
making Australian stock saddles
for over forty years and had always
wanted to broaden my horizons to
gain knowledge in other areas.
The saddlery world is a very
specialised one. It is very rare to
meet anyone who is capable of
working across the broad range of
the saddlery trade. As time ticks by,
there are very few of us left who have
had actual training for years on the
bench. Most saddlers of today have
picked it up here and there.
An example of these specialised
skills is collar making. There are
perhaps no more than four persons
in Australia currently who could
confidently make a collar to order.
The loss of skills and knowledge has
been dramatic in the Western world,
in my own trade, and no doubt, in
many others as well.
I wish to offer training to people,
and to do that, I thought that I could
broaden my knowledge by learning
the rarer facets of the trade.
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2019-20 Annual Report
I travelled to the UK for eight weeks
with a clear objective – to learn the
finer points of English saddle, collar
and harness making.
I spent five weeks of my eight-week
trip actually on the bench, learning
from two of the best tradesmen that
England had to offer. I was interested
to observe that the skill set of the
old-time English tradesman, was
remarkably comparable to those I
had observed whilst doing my trade
in Brisbane.
There are some differences between
English and Australian saddlery. The
most obvious one to me is their use
of leather to line a saddle whereas we
use serge. Leather can be quite hot,
which is why we use a fabric lining
here in Australia for coolness and
also for ease of manufacture.
We also counterline our saddles
here, when the original panel has
settled down hard to shape. When
counter-lining, the Australian saddler
always uses curled hair. Curled hair is
made from the tail hair of a bullock,
although horsehair can be used as
well.
Once again, the heat aspect of
working in Australia, comes into play
here. The curled hair is the coolest
medium that one can use on a
horse’s back.
Unfortunately, one cannot obtain
curled hair commercially anymore,
making counter-lining a very difficult
process for anyone wishing to work
traditionally. I was trained to make
my own curled hair, and I have
demonstrated this skill at the Lost
Trades Fairs here in Toowoomba.
My personal vision has always been
to make a product to the best of my
ability and to do so, I feel duty bound
to use the tried and true techniques
of old.
To disseminate and implement the
knowledge I have gained during
my Fellowship, I plan to continue to
teach students in saddlery schools
and volunteer at various related
institutions. I will continue to be
involved with Lost Trades Fairs and
the Whip Maker’s Club of South East
Queensland. I also plan to collate
knowledge in both written and video
form to help students learn the craft
in their own time and increase the
longevity of my findings and prior
knowledge.
After finishing my Fellowship in late
2019 and following the usual end of
year festivities, I wrote my Fellowship
report but this pandemic has been
challenging to say the least. I am
however pleased to report that I
have two candidates discussing
saddle-making courses with me at
present.
Download Peter’s
Churchill Fellowship report at
churchilltrust.com.au