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Whittle

The timber framing and carpentry company from the Cotswolds building ecological,
traditional structures from locally sourced timber.

Welcome To WHITTLE


Whittle is a small band of creative, crafts-people that have a deep love of their rural environment. We believe that it should not cost the earth… in every sense of the sentiment.


BESPOKE

We design each item, big or small alongside the customer, based on their unique requirements. No off the peg designs that are recycled over-and-over.

ENVIRONMENT

We use only locally sourced, sustainably harvested, native and naturalised species of timber.

HOW WE WORK

Give us scribbles and sketches and/or let our minds create. Get involved in the actual fabrication and the frame-raising or leave it all to us!

COST

We only deal directly with local saw mills to ensure true value. A customer’s budget can be determined on their projects needs first by discovering which wood best suits it.


ETHOS


WHITTLER SPIRIT

The words of Grey Owl ring heavy in our ears each time we set to making something from natural materials; “Nature does not belong to us, we belong to it”. People like Grey Owl and Aldo Leopold had a deep understanding of a “land ethic” one they describe more lucidly than we Whittlers ever could. Like most environmentally conscious people we know that every aspect of our lands flora and fauna are intrinsically linked… and we do what we can to avoid impacting upon this balance, through careful product and process selection.

TO THE POINT

We work with local saw mills to ensure we use timber that’s not only native and naturalised to the UK, but is often timber that has been harvested locally from the surrounding Cotswold estates. Because we deal directly with sawmills, there is no “middle-man” or merchant, so in many cases we can specify a timber that is both more durable and infinitely more attractive than the more commonly used tanalised alternatives.

DESIGN

When we are designing something for a customer we are careful to balance the site location and orientation, with the customer’s budget, in order that the finished product is durable and aesthetically pleasing. The joy of living in a country that has such diverse woodlands is; there is seldom an application that can’t be matched with the perfect timber.

SEE US ON INSTAGRAM


@whittle.earth

MATERIALS


OAK

Character

Durability

Expense

Strength

Oak

Homegrown oak, ticks all the boxes but does cost the most due to its longer ‘harvest rotation’. We use English Oak, although not as always easy to work and some say not as strong as its continental counterpart, we believe it has got heaps more character and more importantly supports woodland management in Britain – something we are very passionate about and will happily bore you to death with. Click Oak

SWEET CHESTNUT

Character

Durability

Expense

Strength

Sweet chestnut

The most sustainable timber we use coming from the coppiced woodland. Sweet chestnut has a very thin layer of sapwood and therefore lends itself to Roundwood framing. Literally take a draw knife to it and peel the bark off and it’s ready to joint. This creates a very different look to a structure that you might fall in love with.

DOUGLAS FIR

Character

Durability

Expense

Strength

Douglas fir

The strongest of the softwoods, Douglas Fir is suited to structural timber framing as a great alternative to oak, much cheaper and much more stable. It does however love a roof over its head and then it will last indefinitely.

WESTERN RED CEDAR

Character

Durability

Expense

Strength

Western red cedar

The unsung hero of the softwoods, packed full of natural oils it is extremely durable. Surprisingly full of character, it is full of colour variation. It lends itself to outdoor garden structures, cladding and roof shingles. Western Red Cedar is however the weaker of the woods we use and dents / dings relatively easily so is definitely suited to certain applications.

LARCH

Character

Durability

Expense

Strength

Larch

A great all rounder and beautiful tree. The timber is strong, cheap, impact resistant and lasts well outdoors. Larch is highly suited to cladding and decking.in applications.

OAK

Homegrown oak, ticks all the boxes but does cost the most due to its longer ‘harvest rotation’. We use English Oak, although not as always easy to work and some say not as strong as its continental counterpart, we believe it has got heaps more character and more importantly supports woodland management in Britain – something we are very passionate about and will happily bore you to death with. Click Oak

SWEET CHESTNUT

The most sustainable timber we use coming from the coppiced woodland. Sweet chestnut has a very thin layer of sapwood and therefore lends itself to Roundwood framing. Literally take a draw knife to it and peel the bark off and it’s ready to joint. This creates a very different look to a structure that you might fall in love with.

DOUGLAS FIR

The strongest of the softwoods, Douglas Fir is suited to structural timber framing as a great alternative to oak, much cheaper and much more stable. It does however love a roof over its head and then it will last indefinitely.

WESTERN RED CEDAR

The unsung hero of the softwoods, packed full of natural oils it is extremely durable. Surprisingly full of character, it is full of colour variation. It lends itself to outdoor garden structures, cladding and roof shingles. Western Red Cedar is however the weaker of the woods we use and dents / dings relatively easily so is definitely suited to certain applications.

LARCH

A great all rounder and beautiful tree. The timber is strong, cheap, impact resistant and lasts well outdoors. Larch is highly suited to cladding and decking.in applications.

WHAT WE DO



HOW WE WORK


“At whittle we have designed some interesting and unique structures for a huge variety of customers. Every customers design requirements and aesthetic desires are different. Because every individual is so very individual, we are always careful to keep the customers needs at the fore of our minds.

Over the years we have had some very imaginative people ask us to include some awesome little details that really personalise their project. We have used recycled timber from a tumble-down barn, to build a huge table. That, for the customer evoked little nuggets of nostalgia. We have been given scribbles and sketches to turn into realities… and we have had quite a few people want to get involved in the actual fabrication and the frame-raising.

We know only too well that simply owning something, doesn’t mean you have ownership of it. For many people, immersion in the process gives them this priceless aspect.

What gives us that vital sense of job-satisfaction is a combination of doing the best quality work possible, and seeing the look on the customers face when it finally all comes together. So, whether you want to be fully involved and get your hands dirty, or if you lead a busy life and just want to give us a brief and let us get on with it, then we can accommodate you.”

CASE STUDIES


Farm Park Cabins

FARM PARK CABINS

This is what we love… making unique, but very practical little buildings. Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park gave us a tricky little brief; Must sleep Four, Must look Unique, Must fit in, in their agricultural setting, Must be portable! Portable!!…

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Campden Gates

CAMPDEN GATES

These gates were designed to be evocative of the Arts and Crafts era. The customer had a very keen eye for era-authenticity, design-detail and material choice. The seasoned oak is all beautifully figured and is from Whitney on Wye saw…

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Cotswold Farm Park

COTSWOLD FARM PARK

Themed tables, chair and signs. We were excited to be approached by Adam Henson’s, Cotswold Farm Park, to create some quirky items for a children’s area that was to have an Alice in Wonderland theme. The brief was to make…

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CONSERVATION


At Whittle we work with natural materials every day, when you spend your days working with your hands, cutting, chiselling and sawing through natures building blocks, it’s bound to affect you in a very profound way. The materials we use leave often leave indelible marks on our skin and souls… Dark indigo-stained fingers, from the Oaks tannins reacting with the steel of a chisel. The glistening claret of a slipped saw.

Each time we look in the mirror the accumulation of these little marks makes us contemplate our impact on the earth a little deeper. We try everything we can to keep our croc-print as shallow as possible.

As you would expect, we only use locally sourced, sustainably harvested timber. We may not be personally able to replace every tree we use, but since Rick has a background in arboriculture, he has planted a huge variety of different tree species around Whittle HQ. None of the trees will have a commercial value, we don’t intend to harvest any of them. They are there to provide homes and food for wildlife, a store for some carbon and… well… they look bloody lovely.

CONTACT


Rick Hartwell
RICK HARTWELL

TEL : +44 (0)7837 893 279
EMAIL : rick@whittle.earth
MORNING DRINK : Hot Water
SPECIALITY : Traditional Timber Framing

Adam Hartwell
ADAM HARTWELL

TEL : +44 (0)7834 829 480
EMAIL : adam@whittle.earth
MORNING DRINK : Black Coffee
SPECIALITY : Creative + Design

You can find us in WHITTLE HQ most of the time!