South Western Region visit to Hooke Park

By Gil Carter, liveryman

About 25 members and guests recently took the opportunity to visit Hooke Park in Dorset. This is a large designated ancient woodland where liveryman, John Makepeace OBE, and the Parnham Trust established an education and research centre in 1982 to develop the sustainable use of forest products in architecture and design. Buildings on site were constructed using experimental timber construction techniques which are still in use today. The Architectural Association, current custodians of the site, continue to develop the campus and run courses for schools and graduates.

We met in the original Prototype House, now used as a refectory, where John gave a brief introduction to his original thinking, particularly the use of small diameter round timber, plentiful in the thinning of plantations but generally destined for non-structural applications such as firewood!

Here we were introduced to Emmanuel Vercruysse, director of the Design and Make post-graduate masters programme, who was our guide for the site tour. As we visited some of the many buildings we were introduced to a team of expert practitioners, craftspeople, engineers, roboteers and, indeed, the students themselves, in a working environment combining forest, studio, workshop and final construction. It was interesting to note how each building is modified during the construction as each cohort of students brings new ideas to the work. Emmanuel indicated that the work being carried out here is probably unique in the world and enthusiastically responded to our many questions.

At the end of a fascinating tour and thanking Emmanuel we were privileged to attend a reception at the home of John and Jenny Makepeace where excellent canapes were provided by our hosts. Here we were able to see and inspect at close quarters many samples of John’s world-renowned furniture, and hear from him a resume of the features of many pieces, narrated with his customary enthusiasm for the world of furniture and the use of timber.

The day ended with a summary by David Dewing, region chairman, of the South West Region’s successful year and a heartfelt vote of thanks to John and Jenny Makepeace.