What does arrowsmithing, coppersmithing, and straw hat making have in common? They are three of the eleven heritage crafts that have been newly classified as “critically endangered” in the UK, meaning that those craft skills could disappear in a generation.
Sights such as Cornish coppersmith Francis Cargeeg working in his workshop in 1951 are now rare in the UK, as coppersmithing is critically endangered. (Pipsqueak2000/CC BY-SA 3.0)
On May 11, a total of 146 “endangered” and “critically endangered” heritage crafts were announced, when an updated version of the 2021 “Red List of Endangered Crafts” was published. The updated list is the fourth edition published by the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA), commonly known as Heritage Crafts….