Ron Butterfield
One Touch Of Nature Makes The Whole World Kin
In the 1970s Ron Butterfield was engaged by the Sheffield Adult Education Department as tutor to a woodcarving class at Norton College. This continued until September 1986 when, having reached “retirement age”, Ron had to retire.
There was no replacement tutor available, and the class was threatened with closure. To keep going, Norton Woodcarvers was set up. Fortunately, a Senior School Inspector, Brian Harris, was its first Chairman. Knowing the senior staff at the college, he was able to arrange for the group to hire the workshop and retain Ron as its tutor in a private capacity. Ron continued in this role until 1996, when he was forced to give up due to chronic respiratory problems, caused by long exposure to wood and stone dust.
A new tutor, Andy Meakin, took over from Ron and continued with us until 2020.
Following the rebuilding of Norton College in 2006 the Club moved to the woodcraft room in Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School.
In 2016 the Club changed its name to Dronfield Woodcarving Club, to prevent confusion about its location when trying to attract new members.
The life of Ron Butterfield 4th May 1920 - 23rd April 2007
Ron’s artistic education began in the 1930s at the Sheffield Technical School of Art. He continued his studies whilst working as a ‘Junior Designer-Modeller’ for Mappin & Webb at their works on Queens Road, Sheffield. One of his first jobs was taking finished wax models for “Hollowware”, e.g. handles, figures and decorations, to the Benton Brothers’ foundry on Leadmill Road, for casting in silver or Britannia metal. In his spare time, he began to develop his skills as a sculptor, producing several noteworthy pieces such as a leaping fish carved in Hopton-Wood Stone.
During the war Ron was in the R.A.S.C. with a Tank Recovery unit and saw active service in North Africa, Sicily, Southern France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. He was a very talented artist and throughout his war service he kept sketch books and diaries recording his travels and observations.
After the war, Ron landed a job as a woodcarver with Gillam & Sons, a local firm of woodworkers and builders which specialised in church refurbishment. He worked there for the next three decades, producing work for churches and other institutions across England and Wales. Some of his carvings can be seen in the Cutlers Hall and in local churches, including Stannington and Bradwell. Other ecclesiastical pieces ended up as far afield as Nigeria and Canada.
Whilst working for Gillams, Ron also began to teach arts and crafts, starting at the Central Technical School then moving on to District Evening Schools, Boys Clubs and Youth Clubs. This included teaching a blind man, Brian Campbell, to carve. He found an odd shaped piece of mahogany and, after giving him time to explore it’s shape with his hands, suggested ways to modify it to give a pleasing result. Brian continued carving with Ron for two years before moving home brought it to an end.
In the 1970s Ron was engaged by the Sheffield Adult Education Department as tutor to a woodcarving class at Norton College. This continued until he retired in September 1986 and became the tutor for Norton Woodcarvers. Ron continued in this role until 1996, when he was forced to give up for health reasons, having chronic respiratory problems, caused by long exposure to wood and stone dust.
In 1987, soon after his retirement, the Guild of Master Craftsmen published Ron’s book “Wood-Carving, a complete course”, dedicated to his dear wife Audrey, “whose care and understanding has been my unfailing support over many years”. It was well received and reprinted in 1989 and again in 1992.