The process of hammering gold into extremely thin sheets (‘gold leaf’).
EXTINCT
Status
Extinct
Craft category
Metal
Current No. of professionals (Main income)
0
Current No. of professionals (Side income)
0
Current No. of trainees
0
Current total No. of serious amateur makers
0
Current No. of leisure makers
0
History
n/a
Techniques
n/a
Sub-crafts
n/a
Issues affecting the viability
Foreign competition: The UK monumental mason market (the biggest market) was swamped with imported Chinese leaf, cheaper than it was possible to supply UK-beaten gold.
Foreign competition: Gold beating is essentially a hands-on craft and labour is significantly cheaper in China.
Recruitment issues: W Habbersley Meadows Ltd, the last UK gold beater, tried for some years to recruit an apprentice some years before but found that no-one was willing to take on the long learning process and stick at it.
Market issues: The market for gold leaf has declined in recent years. Pub signs were one of the largest users of gold leaf but many pubs have either closed or have had a makeover (the makeovers don’t tend to include gold pub signs, or notices painted in gold on windows by signwriters). Gravestones, another market, have got smaller and so fewer have gold text. The monumental mason market has also declined.
Support organisations
n/a
Training organisations
n/a
Craftspeople currently known
Former craftspeople:
W Habberley Meadows Ltd – based in Birmingham. The last gold beaters in the UK, stopped beating several years ago rendering the craft extinct in the UK. Today, Habberley Meadows supply gold leaf but do not beat it themselves.
