Charles Hooper appeared in the BBC2 TV series ‘Mastercrafts’ with Monty Don. (BBC2 12th February 2010, 9pm). Charles spent 6 weeks as an apprentice with two other fellows learning the traditional skills associated with ‘Greenwood’.

View excerpts of Mastercrafts

The term ‘Greenwood’ describes the unseasoned nature of timber used in the production of furniture, equipment and utensils. The Chair ‘Bodgers’, responsible for making the much loved Windsor chairs, all but died out 1960’s. Modern furniture production methods along with the advent of flat-packed furniture meant that the traditional Chair Bodgers were no longer commercially viable. Charles learned the traditional techniques of making a chair from a tree and is keen to teach others about his new found passion.