Evening Woodcarving Course: Four Weeks

A four-week evening ornamental woodcarving class.



4 x 2 hours Location Bloomsbury Class size 1 to 5 (public classes), 4 to 6   £220
London Activities
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Craft
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Woodworking
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Kids activities
This four-week evening introduction to woodcarving is perfect for those who want time to reflect on what they've learned between sessions. The weekly classes will give you a firm grounding in the basics of woodcarving in a relaxed, friendly environment, with time in between to absorb what you've learned and work on designs for the following class. This class will whet your appetite for learning this heritage craft and provide you with the resources you need to continue your practise. With no more than six students to a class, you’ll receive a high level of attention and guidance.
The course length is 2 hours a session, beginning at 6.30pm and ending at 8.30pm, on Wednesdays every week for four weeks.
The class takes place in Central London in a working carving studio with ongoing projects and commissions, giving you the opportunity to see the working practise of a professional carver.
Course Structure:
  • Week 1: The first evening will focus on the basics of woodcarving with an introduction to the tools, how to use them safely and effectively, the properties of timber including understanding grain direction, and a practical project focusing on chip carving.
  • Week 2: The second evening will build on the skills you’ve already learned. Having practised chip carving during the previous week, you will move on to shallow relief carving. During this session, you’ll work on drawing out a design suitable for shallow relief and begin creating a background.
  • Week 3: The third evening will focus on creating the surface and understanding the forms of the carving.
  • Week 4: The final evening will focus on finishing your shallow relief carving. During this session, you will move on from working on the forms and begin working on the finishing touches of your carving, which you can then take home to display or work on further in your own time.
What will I achieve? By the end of the course you will have covered:
  • Identifying suitable timber species for future carving projects
  • The correct way to safely use chisels and mallet
  • How to secure your work
  • How to lay out your design on timber
  • How to create a carving in relief
  • An introduction to historic ornament
Please note: if cancelling a place booked on this course, please give fourteen days notice in order to ensure you receive a full refund. If rescheduling, please allow seven days notice so that your place can be offered to other students. Late cancellations and refunds will be at the teacher's discretion.
What you'll get
  • Your completed carving projects
  • Wood suitable for your carving project
  • The use of carving tools
  • Focused personal tuition
  • A document detailing what was learned in the course, as well as tool and timber suppliers
  • The option to be notified of special discounted prices on upcoming courses, available only to previous students
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Knowledge required
No prior carving experience is necessary. Complete beginners will be guided through the basic techniques, while more advanced students will be given guidance on how to refine their skills further.
More experienced students wishing to focus on particular aspects of their practice will be accomodated, but if the area you wish to focus on is particularly specialist then you are encouraged to book a one-to-one master class, as we are unlikely to have time within the beginner-friendly class format to go into greater depth. If you are an advanced student wishing to be set a more complex project, please email well in advance of booking to discuss what might be possible within the time frame and class format.
Please note that the nature of woodcarving means that you will be working in a standing position during the course hours, which some people may find physically demanding. One stool is available on request - please make this request before booking, as it may already have been allocated to another student.
What to bring
  • Sturdy, covered shoes are essential for your safety, and you’re strongly encouraged to wear leather boots or a safety work boot for maximum protection. Students who wear open-toed shoes or sandals will not be allowed to take the course. Safety boots are available inexpensively from multiple suppliers online.
  • Any additional carving tools you may wish to use on the day (please ensure any tools you bring are clearly marked with your name).
  • Appropriate clothing for a workshop environment, which you don’t mind getting dusty, dirty, or covered in wood chips. If you would like the additional protection, please bring an apron.
  • A notebook and pencil.
Session repeats

This class series runs over 4 consecutive sessions, at the same time every week.

Suitable for

This class is great for a team building activity, Christmas party, birthday or hen do.

Suitable for adults, and kids (minimum 14 years old).

An adult must accompany any attending kids, and must pay for a separate ticket.


FAQ

Will I be seated during this course/is this course wheelchair accessible?
The course is conducted at the workbench, which requires standing during the course hours. One stool which can be used at the workbench is available on request, but please message prior to booking to ensure that it hasn't already been allocated to another student. This course is not wheelchair accessible due to access constraints in the building.
Location

Cockpit Studios, Cockpit Yard, London, WC1N 2NP, England

Cockpit Studios is in easy walking distance from Holborn, Russell Square and Chancery Lane underground stations.

Evening Woodcarving Course: Four Weeks location
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Recent reviews of Evening Woodcarving Course: Four Weeks

  • 5/5 from Madeleine Chapman, attended Oct 2025: This is a wonderful course and Clunie is a fantastic teacher - her skills leave me in awe but she is also incredibly welcoming, kind and encouraging. I did the four week course and went from nervously chipping at a block of wood to working on my own leaf carving and learning from Clunie the different kinds of cutting and carving this involves. I found myself falling in love with the whole process and feeling inspired to get my own chisels and clamps. One can proceed with a few tools at home, and that's a really lovely thing. Huge thank you to Clunie.
  • 5/5 from Sarah Goh, attended Oct 2025: Easily my favourite class I’ve been to all-year! Clunie’s an engaging, patient and encouraging teacher (which makes all the difference really), and it was such a meditative experience. I really loved getting to work with my hands.
  • 5/5 from Suzanne, attended Sep 2024: This is a fabulous class. I wanted to try wood carving having never picked up a chisel before and I am so pleased I chose Clunie Fretton. She is a kind, thoughtful and clear teacher who creates a relaxed learning environment in her studio. There were five of us in the class. We arrived to find chisels, mallet, ruler, pencil and a small block of lime wood laid out ready for us on benches. We were shown how to carve two shapes, using a rounded chisel for one and a straight chisel for another. Clunie circulates the class to give individual instruction and feedback and each person gets plenty of time and encouragement. She is a really excellent teacher, responsive to different students’ experience and needs. I found carving to be immensely therapeutic as you have to concentrate on what you are doing moment by moment. I have signed up for a four week course and am really looking forward to my next three.
Your teacher

Clunie Fretton
Clunie Fretton
(Fretton Handley)

5.0 (69)
female Women-owned

Clunie Fretton is an award-winning classically trained sculptor, master carver and gilder. After graduating from City & Guilds Art School in 2015 with a Distinction in Ornamental Woodcarving, she served as the Carving Fellow until 2016.
Her work is included in the collections of St. George's Chapel Windsor, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Houses of Parliament, the London Livery Companies, and churches and cathedrals around the UK. Clunie also featured as the master woodcarver on the Sky Arts television series Bill Bailey's 'Master Crafters'.
A member of the Master Carvers' Association, she was awarded the Master Carver Certificate by the Livery Companies Skills Council and the Taylor Pierce Drawing Prize for Carving and Conservation in 2015. Her first book, 'Ornamental Woodcarving' was published in 2024, and she now teachers workshops to budding woodcarvers from her central London studio.
London Activities
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Craft
•
Woodworking
•
Kids activities

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