The jeweller, the baker, the bicycle maker

How many times have we repeated the phrase ‘Buy British’ on these pages? Here, the COUNTRY LIFE team recommends its 66 favourite makers and businesses

- Julie Harding

CRAFTSMANSHIP names an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake,’ wrote the American sociologist Prof Richard Sennett in his book The Craftsman. Artisan producers of quality British-made wares will no doubt agree and so, too, will countless consumers, many of whom are weary of the cheap, mass-produced, throwaway culture that began to ramp up several decades ago, when imports from far-flung lands started flooding Britain’s shores—and still do.

Nowadays, British-made products are fighting back, with ever more purchasers willing to meet a higher price tag to buy into quality, character, craftsmanship and longevity, not to mention eco-friendliness and a lower carbon footprint.

Pashley has made bicycles in Britain for almost a century and is only one of the 66 great British companies profiled here. As brand manager Chlöe Williams says: ‘We are a nation with such a glorious wealth of heritage and that shouldn’t be underestimated or forgotten. It is part of our makeup that adds to our uniqueness. It is important to look to our own and, where there is opportunity, invest our wealth where we live.’

1) Bicycles (left)