Not only a maker of wheels, but also of the whole wagon. He was of course a craftsman of the highest standard, after all, nobody wanted a cart or wagon that shook itself apart within weeks nor did they want the wheels warping or breaking. He had a vast knowledge of how best to season and to use different woods and it could take many months to make a wagon.
Up until the late 1800s the Wheelwright was never short of work….however along came the factories, and suddenly people could buy cheaper wagons with a much quicker delivery date. The craft of the Wheelwright went into something of a decline, but some survived and prospered by diversifying into carpentry.
News From the Past – Wheelwrights
In 1905 the house, workshops and buildings belonging to Mr. Thomas Garbett, Wheelwright and Carpenter, were burnt to the ground.
Although the Bromyard Fire Brigade and the Norwich Union fire engine from Worcester attended as quickly as they could, nothing of the buildings could be saved.
Valuables had been removed from the house, but £1000 worth of timber was destroyed – none of it was insured.
People who were Wheelwrights
Wheelwright bankrupts
| R. Percival Junior | September 1822 | Wheelwright | Eye, Herefordshire |
| William Barr | December 1861 | Wheelwright | Eyton, Herefordshire |
| J. Powell | October 1863 | Wheelwright | Brookfield, Herefordshire |
| C. Webb | July 1864 | Wheelwright | Garway, Herefordshire |
| George Maund | May 1866 | Wheelwright | Pembridge, Herefordshire |