A FORGOTTEN Lake District craft is to be celebrated at the Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry in the new year.

Lorna Singleton is one of only four craftspeople in the world keeping alive the ancient tradition of "swilling", or making baskets from coppiced oak.

At her workshop in Burneside, she uses simple tools and age-old techniques to create beautiful baskets as well as contemporary products such as handbags and wall baskets.

The 35-year-old's work is to go on show at the Kendal venue from January 19 until May 6, 2019.

"My products are made using oak coppiced locally in south Cumbria, where I grew up," said Lorna.

"Oak is stronger than many materials. There is only so far that wood can be influenced, so you have to work with the material and it plays a part in deciding what I make.

“When I made my first swill in 2010 I was hooked. Since then I’ve put my heart and soul into making the baskets. It’s almost like my emotions are expressed in the finished product.”

Lorna graduated as an apprentice of the Bill Hogarth MBE Memorial Apprenticeship Trust following three years of intensive tuition in coppice woodland management.

Craft and conservation come together in her work, as she cuts and prepares the wood by hand, managing and restoring coppice woodland in a responsible and renewable way.

Swilled baskets can be seen in the illustrations of Beatrix Potter and were common until after World War Two, when plastics became popular.

In the 19th century the woodlands of South Lakeland were dotted with swill shops, and swill baskets were used across the UK in factories, mines, farms and homes.

The exhibition Lorna Singleton: Modern Basketry shines a spotlight on the history of swilling while displaying Lorna's work as an example of someone keeping this time-honoured craft alive.

“You can’t create swill baskets with machines," she said. "I use simple hand tools and techniques used by generations of swillers before me. The baskets are extremely durable.

“When I’ve made a basket I want people to use it and pass it down to the next generation, as they did in a bygone era.”

The museum display will gather together some of Lorna’s best pieces along with historic tools and a chance for visitors to try weaving themselves. Lorna is also to run basket-making workshops at the museum in spring.

For more, see www.lakelandmuseum.org.uk