History of our 18th Century Building

The front of The Old Joiners Shop in Tissington.

Tissington Craft Corner - The Home of Eazicraft is run from a truly beautiful old building in the estate village of Tissington. After 25 years of running On a Wick & a Prayer, The Candlemakers of Derbyshire, from The Old Blacksmith's Forge building in Tissington, Annie wanted another challenge and a dedicated space where she could run her amazing candle making workshops. It was always a squash and a squeeze hosting them at the On a Wick workshop. 

The old staircase, with the boards worn away and newer ones overlaid on top.

It would have been easy to look for modern premises to move the workshops into. However, Annie has always been passionate about keeping Tissington Village alive, and employing local people. So when Annie was approached by Sir Richard Fitzherbert, owner of Tissington Village, about an empty property, The Joiners Shop, at the other end of the village to On a Wick Annie decided to have a look at it.

The Old Forge and The Joiners shop are wonderful stone buildings built in the mid 19th Century, with traditional thick stone walls, stone floors and state roofs. The buildings have impressive large wooden doors where the horses and carts would have needed to enter.

An example of the enormous thick walls here at Tissington Craft Corner.

In The Old Forge building the metal wheel trims for cart wheels were made. These metal wheel trims then went down to The Joiners Shop to be attached to the larger wooden trim to complete wheels. These handmade cartwheels were then attached to the cart bodies. Both will have been very busy businesses in the heyday of horse drawn transportation! Annie was immediately drawn to the fact that the buildings shared a historical past and loved the idea of her two businesses being linked.

Looking up into the attic where the carts were lowered down onto the wheels.

The Joiners Shop has housed many businesses over its history. On occasions it has simply been used as a shop, but at times also maintaining its tradition in manufacturing.  Recently it was a busy sewing studio employing three seamstresses making curtains and soft furnishings. This business was run by Linda who now works at Tissington Craft Corner hosting workshops to pass on her seamstress skills and also advising customers in the shop.

In a past era the attic of Tissington Craft Corner as a working sewing studio.

The building has needed quite a lot of work to keep it going for over 150 years. The building used to flood due to the rise and fall of the underground springs and so has needed specialist flood defences! These are the springs that fill the wells Tissington is so famous for (this year the Well Dressing is from the 9th-15th of May 2024).

When Annie first viewed the shop it had stood empty for nearly two years! Windows needed replacing, electrics needed re-wiring and flooring areas needed a lot of attention. So over a period of several weeks with lots of redecorating and repurposing the building was transformed from unused and unloved to a bright and airy dedicated workshop space upstairs and a beautiful shop downstairs. A browse around the shop will show you lots of original features and signs of times gone by.