LIFE IN A SOMERSET LANDSCAPE
An ongoing personal documentary project photographing the people, crafts, and characters of the Somerset landscape — herbalists, thatchers, sieve makers, artists, and more, each with their own story.
Jane Wallwork, The Exmoor Apothecary
A herbalist introduced to plants by her grandmother at nine years old, photographed one early morning at her home near Exmoor — shelves of hand-mixed herbs, glass jars, and a consultation room full of character.
Steve Overthrow, Sieve & Riddle Maker
River Parrett, Langport
In 2017, a newsletter from the Heritage Crafts Association declared sieve and riddle making extinct — the last maker had died a few years earlier, and all the tooling, patterns, and knowledge had been lost.
Steve set out to relearn the whole craft from scratch, piecing together fragments from an old audiobook and whatever scraps of information he could find. In March 2018 he made his first sieve.
A chance social media connection led him to the sister of Mike Turnock, the last person to run the family sieve-making business — and from there, to Mike himself, who filled in the details no book could teach him.
Every sieve is now made in-house from cutting to steam-bending to weaving — handmade in Somerset, 0% plastic, with a 15-year guarantee and an expected life of 60 to 80 years. Steve was later featured in Country Life magazine.
Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Creator
Photographed a few weeks before Glastonbury 2022 on his farm in Pilton — the man who put Somerset on the world map, shot together with the Pyramid Stage and Glastonbury Tor.
Matravers Master Thatchers
Reuben Matravers and his team, photographed across a hot summer harvest and a wet, misty combing session — traditional wheat reed growing, harvesting, and threshing using old-fashioned machinery.
George Hider, Metal Work Artist
Merriott, South Somerset
George is an established artist working with metal, much of it gathered from scrap. Based on his farm near Merriott, he’s a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen, and his love of animals runs through almost everything he makes.
He has no website and no time for social media, but is happy to talk about his work over a brew. Despite that, his pieces sell through galleries across the country — often as fast as he can make them.
Jonathan Hodgson, Fletcher & Artist
The Millhouse Arts Centre, Ilminster
Jonathan’s interest in archery and arrow-making started in childhood, growing up near Chard with an acre of overgrown orchard land to explore. He and his brother made bow staves from sticks and bamboo canes long before it became a trade.
Now working from his studio at The Millhouse Arts Centre, he builds custom arrows tailored to an archer’s bow, draw length, and preferences — and art arrows built for form over function, drawing on historic and fantasy influences.
Every stage is done by hand: carving the shaft neck, painting motifs in Indian ink and acrylic, fitting feathers bound in silk, linen, or kevlar thread, and fixing points in steel, brass, or hand-knapped semi-precious stone.
Legion of the Stag, Medieval Fighting Group
Formed in 1998, this Ilminster-based group re-enacts 12th–14th century combat. Shot on a frosty, mist-covered Somerset field — mercenaries resting on their journey home.
Chris Beck, Willow Weaver
An independent willow weaver working from his garden workshop in Stoke St Gregory, with 41 years’ experience making baskets, coffins, and furniture from locally grown Somerset willow.
Sarah Mooney, Storyteller
The 11th Bard of Glastonbury, photographed at a 14th-century Tithe Barn in Pilton. She discovered her calling as a storyteller mid-performance, delivering the line ‘Once Upon A Time.’
Melanie Deegan, Sculptor
A sculptor working from her studio — the converted rear of a commercial vehicle — outside an old chicken barn near Langport.
Manny, D-Day Despatch Rider
A WWII collector and re-enactor, photographed with his authentic 1943 Harley Davidson as a U.S. Army despatch rider resting mid-assignment in occupied France.
Adrian & Brendan Sellick, Mud Horse Fishermen
Two of the last Mud Horse fishermen on the Bristol Channel, photographed on the treacherous mudflats near Hinkley Point using wooden sledges that keep them from sinking into the mud.
Matthew Godfrey, Willow Weaver
Photographed at P.H Coate’s Willow & Wetlands Centre, skilfully weaving wicker fences in a dark, atmospheric workshop full of Somerset banter.
John Dyer & Malcolm Musgrove, Willow Harvest
Racing to harvest willow at P.H Coate & Son before it flowers, after severe flooding left the withy fields under two to three feet of water for weeks.
Gordon Rich, Cider Maker
A beloved Somerset cider maker at Rich’s Cider Farm, first photographed 25 years into Simon’s career. Gordon has since passed away, but the farm continues to thrive under his family.
Chris & Carole Brown, Crest Cyder Farm
A small family cider farm run from home in North Curry — the light was so good on the day of the shoot that Simon kept finding reasons not to leave.
Steve Rowe, Show Sheep Shearer
A shearer in Stembridge who has bred Coloured Ryeland sheep back from rare-breed status, photographed backlit at the entrance to his barn with his English Bull Terrier, Flynn.
Summer On The Moor
A composite image built around Burrow Hill in South Somerset, with a tawny owl named Bracken standing in as the scene’s focal point.
The Last Harvest
The very first image made for this project — a barn owl named Breeze, a maize field, and Glastonbury Tor rising through Somerset mist.
This project has been running since 2012 and continues to grow.