A Christmas Message from Chester Hope

When we planted the Chester Hope basketry willow site in 2020, the Purpureas, Dicky Meadows, Green Dicks, etc., were planted at a grid spacing of 30cm by 30cm, except for the Norbury cuttings, which were spaced at 50cm by 30cm, as the Norbury stools produce an abundance of rods. The plan was to grow long, straight rods. In 2024, it was evident that even this spacing for the Norbury stools was too tight, as the stools suffered a lot of die-back

Following the 2024 harvest, we removed every second row of the Norbury stools, creating a 50cm by 60cm grid. The attached image shows Jane Cheadle clearing debris from the area after removing the stools.

The Norbury harvest this year is prolific, with little die-back and long, fine rods. As of today, we have cut almost half of the stools, as shown in the attached image. The volume of rods per stool is astonishing, and I have attached two photos showing the development of the dome-shaped stools.

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas, and I hope you enjoy weaving with the Norbury rods in 2026.