Keith Grimwade, chair of the Friends of Holt Island Nature Reserve, describes how its willow-weaving origins can be traced today.
Nestled beside St Ives, Holt Island is a tranquil spot with a rich heritage rooted in willow-weaving.
The name ‘Holt’ itself refers to a plantation, particularly of osier willows (Salix viminalis), prized for their pliable stems, which have long been used in basket-making.
Historical records trace the island’s origins as a willow-growing centre back to 1724, when Edmund Pettis’s map referenced ‘Picket’s Holt. Enclosed 1724 & planted and not before’.
The eastern side was meadow, but by 1808 had also been given over to osiers.
Osiers thrive in the island’s damp conditions, with regular flooding never hampering their growth.
Archival photographs reveal distinctive planting in straight lines along ridged soil, separated by furrows.
One idea is that this method kept workers’ feet dry, but those of us who’ve worked on the island can confidently say it doesn’t!
Professor Ian Rotherham, an expert on willow landscapes, suggests it was more likely to protect the plants from becoming completely waterlogged - possibly a unique local adaptation.
From 1877 until 1970, J.
Harrison & Sons operated in St Ives, producing a wide range of baskets for bicycles, laundry, potatoes and the Post Office, for example.
The process was a communal effort: men would coppice the willow (cut it to the ground), while women stripped off the bark, a task immortalised in the phrase "stripping the willow" - also familiar to many from traditional country dances.
However, the rise of inexpensive plastics eventually forced the closure of the local trade.
In the 1990s, Huntingdonshire District Council transformed Holt Island into a nature reserve, reviving the ancient craft by planting two new osier beds.
Today, dedicated volunteers maintain these beds using traditional techniques, with a modern twist: the willows are pollarded, not coppiced, to protect new shoots from hungry muntjac deer.
The resulting "willow wands" grow over two metres in a season and are harvested every winter.
Local weavers are the grateful recipients, and sometimes local schools.
Visitors are warmly invited to witness the timeless art of willow-weaving during demonstrations held two or three times a year.
For upcoming dates and further information, explore the island’s website at: www.holtisland.org.
Share