Further on down the lane from the Currier, I came across the buldings where the leather process begins. My photos really don't do the place justice and it has got to be seen...and heard...to be believed! It was total magic!
I had difficulty knowing where to place this one as it's rural, industrial, has derelict buildings and also a live, working site. Both the buildings and the working process are traditional, but it hasn't been tarted up like a heritage centre and is pretty much how it would have been during Medaieval times. I wandered around taking photos of as much as I could. I would have asked permission to go in further but everytime I spotted someone they were out of one door and into another with a wave and a cheery hello. I guess they're used to people just wandering in and having a mooch!
Unashamedly filched from their website...
"J & FJ Baker is Britain's only remaining traditional oak bark tannery... ...Devon river water, oak from renewable sources, and time dedicated to slow tanning preserve the natural weave of the fibres in each hide resulting in unique hardwearing luxury...
Hamlyns Colyton has been a tannery since Roman times. Rebuilt over the centuries, the current buildings are set among orchards, fields of grazing horses, and the gentle rolling hills of rural Devon countryside..."
http://www.jfjbaker.co.uk/
Weigh bridge and old site office.
The louvres on the top storeys control and facilitate air circulation for the drying process.
The raw hides are soaked in lime. This loosens the hair and opens the pores, and While still wet the remaining hair is scraped off.
More coming up in a mo.
I had difficulty knowing where to place this one as it's rural, industrial, has derelict buildings and also a live, working site. Both the buildings and the working process are traditional, but it hasn't been tarted up like a heritage centre and is pretty much how it would have been during Medaieval times. I wandered around taking photos of as much as I could. I would have asked permission to go in further but everytime I spotted someone they were out of one door and into another with a wave and a cheery hello. I guess they're used to people just wandering in and having a mooch!
Unashamedly filched from their website...
"J & FJ Baker is Britain's only remaining traditional oak bark tannery... ...Devon river water, oak from renewable sources, and time dedicated to slow tanning preserve the natural weave of the fibres in each hide resulting in unique hardwearing luxury...
Hamlyns Colyton has been a tannery since Roman times. Rebuilt over the centuries, the current buildings are set among orchards, fields of grazing horses, and the gentle rolling hills of rural Devon countryside..."
http://www.jfjbaker.co.uk/
Weigh bridge and old site office.
The louvres on the top storeys control and facilitate air circulation for the drying process.
The raw hides are soaked in lime. This loosens the hair and opens the pores, and While still wet the remaining hair is scraped off.
More coming up in a mo.
Last edited by a moderator: