Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 70
———— TALKING HOMEGROWN TIMBER ————
UNDERSTANDING
our area is very varied, not
least because we have a
very mixed geology through
the Weald: you can go from
deep clay through greensand
to chalk in ten miles. That
encourages diverse tree
species,” Tom tells us. “We’re
blessed in our part of the
world with a high percentage
of woodland cover across
the region. It’s about 20%,
whereas the UK average is
around 13%. We have Scots
pine, spruce, Norway spruce,
Western Red Cedar, Douglas
昀椀r, larch, ash and oak - often
all in the same woodland.”
This makes management a
lot more challenging than it
would be for, say, an all-Sitka
spruce plantation.
“Our job is to help owners
with long-term planning – a
big part of that is bringing
round timber to market.
A Scots pine tree can be
broken down into three
di昀昀erent markets. The
bottom of the tree is for the
log market and will be used
for constructional timber. The
middle part of the tree could
be used for smaller sections
or, increasingly commonly,
it will be shaved to produce
horse bedding. And then
昀椀nally, there is the biomass
or chipwood market.”
As managers, English
Woodlands Forestry 昀椀nd the
right market for a timber
product in the most e昀케cient
way and return money to
the owners, who can then
reinvest it in the planting and
biodiversity management.
“It's a holistic management
of the woodlands – of which
timber is one output. But
there are other important
ecological outputs:
biodiversity, water 昀椀ltering
through to our aquifers
and carbon sequestration
– so there are multi-layered
bene昀椀ts.”
Knowing your wood
and where it excels
There is experience and skill
required to understand what
can be used. Within the
variety of grades within the
woodlands, only a certain
percentage of it will be
suitable for milling.
“When milling ash recently,
there were three logs
that showed a feature
called ripple,” Tom recalls.
“We know that musical
instrument makers love
ripple 昀椀gure: it’s what they
like in their end product.
Being able to apply
collective knowledge to 昀椀nd
uses for naturally occurring
qualities is one of the things
that makes hardwoods
fascinating.”
A reliable supply chain
In terms of procurement,
it’s of course important for
a speci昀椀er to know that
there is an established,
dependable supply chain
for homegrown timber. For
its part, EWT has recently
expanded, bringing Ben
Sutton (Timber) Ltd into their
fold. Ben Sutton (Timber)
Ltd is a highly respected
name in the hardwood and
timber 昀氀ooring industry,
and this move adds a
wealth of expertise in highquality hardwoods and
specialist timber 昀氀ooring
to EWT. Sutton Timber has
already relocated from
Sotterley Estate, Su昀昀olk, to
a new warehouse facility
DESIGNING TIMBER
70
NOV/DEC 2025
in Darsham, Su昀昀olk, where
all stock is now on hand and
easily accessible.
Certi昀椀ed and sustainable
EWT are proud holders of
both Grown in Britain (GiB)
and PEFC chain-of-custody
certi昀椀cation. That means
whether the timber is sourced
from a nearby estate in
Sussex or a European forest
under strict sustainability
controls, it’s certi昀椀ed legal
and sustainable. Each year,
independent audits validate
the strength of the company’s
provenance systems. Grown
in Britain certi昀椀cation has
recently been given equal
status alongside FSC and
PEFC by the UK government..
It requires traceability of the
wood products through a
third-party process - providing
reassurance to the customer
of the timber’s provenance.
Bringing wood home
“When we 昀椀rst started, we
were basically a shed on the
side of a hill,” Tom recalls.
“We wanted to make this
mysterious timber accessible
and visible, and we are happy
to welcome people in so
they can select their timber
in person. You get a better
conversation and therefore a
better relationship with your
customer that way.”
“I really enjoy meeting with
a customer on the shop 昀氀oor,
and being able to serve them
some wood that I found in a
particular place. There’s a little
bit of romance and magic
to the English supply chain:
we can connect people right
back to the source, and that
is our USP for many of our
customers. That is a powerful
connection.”
