Crawley College Students Step Back in Time for Heritage Carpentry Training

Students from the college recently joined others from the Chichester College Group for a fascinating training day covering traditional carpentry & joinery techniques.

The two-day course was organised for students from Brighton MET, Crawley and Chichester College by the Sussex Heritage Trust.

It was held at the same site as the hit BBC TV show The Repair Shop, and utilised the skills of specialist lecturers at the Weald and Downland Living Museum.

It was designed to give students who attended a taste of classic carpentry techniques, using the same tools they would have utilised roughly 300 years ago.

The day began with a tour of the museum, including a viewing of some original 300-year-old timbers that were taken from an old house.

After the tour, students were challenged to recreate this element by constructing a wall plate – a horizontal, load‑bearing timber used in traditional frameworks to support the structure of a house roof.

This proved particularly challenging, as students were not allowed to use nails or screws. Instead, they had to rely solely on hand‑cut joints, meaning every piece had to fit together with absolute precision.

Bethany, a student from the college who took part in the day, summed it all up, saying:
“I wasn’t totally sure what to expect at first, but it ended up being so interesting and way more hands-on than I imagined. The setting is beautiful and being surrounded by historic buildings made learning traditional timber framing feel really special and authentic.

“I learned so much in a short space of time and gained loads of confidence with practical skills. Our teacher, Joe, was genuinely brilliant – he explained everything so clearly, was really patient, and made everyone feel comfortable asking questions.

“You could tell he’s really passionate about what he does, which made the whole course even better. It was really well organised, fun, and such a worthwhile experience, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone thinking about trying something new or getting into heritage crafts.”

To learn more about some of the Building Services & Construction courses available at the college, please click here.