From Start to Finish

From tree to finished wooden horse carriage in 23 minutes. Veteran woodsman and part time coach builder Wilf Collingwood of Bentley, East Yorkshire, gives a demonstration of his many skills as he (almost) single-handedly builds a beautiful horse carriage, from chopping down a tree to riding it off. It’s 1981, and the great woodworking and blacksmith skills required in this dying craft are finely displayed in this film made by amateur filmmaker and art lover Roger Hateley.

This film is one of a sizeable collection of films made by Roger Hateley, from 1970 to 1983. At the time Roger was living in Walkington, near Beverley, and lecturing in Chemistry Education at Hull University. Wilf Collingwood left school aged 14 in 1939, worked on farms until called up into the Royal Marines, and ended the war in Germany. He then worked as a woodsman on the Risby & Bentley Estate (Walkington) until 1956, and then as a self-taught instructor in woodwork at Bishop Burton College. After 12 years he left and became a self-employed woodsman in Bentley, making horse-drawn vehicles, including this rully cart for the Bristol Cart & Wagon Company. Wilf now lives in Leconfield still making Windsor chairs.