Countryside Alliance Awards: Best Traditional Business
Best Traditional Business
Philip Holder, Wellington Carriage Company, Telford, Shropshire
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Philip Holder, who’s been in the business for 40 years, is one of the few wheelwrights left in England.
He makes wooden wheels for traditional horse drawn carriages, as well as doing repair and restoration work. He also builds full horse-drawn carriages.
Philip, a master wheelwright, only uses the best English ask, oak and elm and many of his carriages are used by people at the top of the driving world.
Inspired by an elderly wheelwright he knew as a boy, he’s now keen to pass on his knowledge and skills to the next generation and has trained local apprentices.
He’s been described as a “quiet, amazingly talented and incredibly humble man who puts smiles on all his local customers faces with his exquisite products”.
The judges commented: “This is a jewel of traditional skill and craftsmanship. Philip is keeping an age-old traditional craft alive and making top quality carriages using traditional and, where possible, local materials. This dedicated man deserves recognition for creating a thriving business based on traditional craftsmanship.”
Commended
- Lains Shooting School/Mullenscote Gundogs, Hampshire
- Jesse Smith Butchers, Gloucestershire
- Tom Ironside Furniture Group, Aberdeenshire
- SW Doughty Butchers, Sittingbourne, Kent
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