There are a few others besides him who still ply the ancient trade, notably Mr James Fox, of Kettering, who specialises in fishing baskets, but to hear the complete story of the business, from the cultivation of the willow sticks, to harvesting them and preparing them for use, Mr Shaw is the man to visit.

Osiers, he explained, are a superior type of willow, and just as various kinds of corn are grown for particular qualities, so are the osiers. The variety he mostly uses was brought out in his own lifetime, and is one of the best, being tough and firm, and a good producer in quantity as well as quality.

Some of his osiers are in the Raunds meadows, but others grow in Nether Dean, near Kimbolton, for it is a mistake to imagine that the best willow sticks come necessarily from the river bed. In fact, the more water there is the lighter is the stick.

The sticks are harvested in May, the two-year-olds having to have their tops trimmed off. They are left in water, in dykes or pits, for a month or two, to get ready for peeling, only the very early varieties being peeled as they are cut.

Peeling begins by running each stock smartly through iron pincers, which crack the bark ready for peeling off. After peeling, the sticks are set out in the open and dried, and then bundled together and stored away ready for use.

Boiled With The Bark On

Some of the sticks, however, are boiled with the bark on, in huge boilers several yards long, and then peeled afterwards, the boiling process being called “buffing” as it stains the sticks a brownish hue throughout.

Thousands of sticks are stored away every year, all bundled according to their different thicknesses, and then, as they are required, they are taken to the workshop and soaked several hours before use, to make them pliable.

The Basketmaker’s Tools

Among the tools of the basket-maker are a “commander”, which straightens out the bends in the sticks where necessary, a cleave to split sticks into skeins when thin pieces are required, a shaver to smooth the inside of the skein, and an upright which cuts off any bits left on the sides.

The sticks having been prepared for use, there begins the actual making of the baskets—an art in itself.

At one time Mr Shaw had two daughters and a son working with him. That was when Army boots were sent away in hampers. In the last war, however, manufacturers changed to boxes, and the hampers have not been used since. However “skeps” are still very largely used in various departments of boot and shoe factories, while chaff carriers for farmers are another particularly good line.

“I used to attend Thrapston market regularly”, remarked Mr Shaw, “and meet all the farmers in that locality, but I have got plenty to do without that now.”

Among his principal jobs at present is the making of baskets for the conveyance of Saxby’s pork pies and sausages.

Thus an ancient art helps a modern industry. And as Mr Shaw nimbly bends the willows to his “will”, tracing a pattern that is simple yet strong, he can feel that not only is he a living link with dim centuries poetically termed The past, but also that he fills no mean place in the all-important Present.