41. Martin-Baker Ejection Seats

Martin-Baker supplies ejection seats for 93 air forces worldwide. The Martin-Baker company is the only company to offer a fully integrated escape system which meets the latest pilot operational capability and safety standards. Martin-Baker seats have been fitted into over 80 fixed-wing and rotary types with the most recent being the JSF F-35 programme.

Since the first live ejection test in 1946, 7,344 lives have been saved by Martin-Baker ejection seats. The company's headquarters are in Higher Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The factory is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world where precision engineering is absolutely key. Any mistake and the seat will be ineffective and with fighter jets becoming more and more sophisticated, the engineering behind the seats must always be ahead.

40. Moon Throws

Located in Yorkshire, traditional home of the English cloth mills, the company is unique in being a fully vertical mill, with dyeing, blending, carding, spinning, weaving and finishing processes all taking place on one site.

Throughout the world the name "Moon" has become synonymous with design and innovation.  For many years our ranges have continued to offer the assurance of luxurious quality and unique understanding of the ever changing needs of our customers.

Natural fibres predominate in our collection – wool, cashmere, silk, linen and others.   Where beneficial to the properties of the cloth, man-made fibres may be introduced.  Combining tradition and progress we produce  cloth of the highest quality.

State of the art manufacturing allied to a highly skilled workforce enable a wide diversity of fabrics to be manufactured at competitive price levels – a prerequisite to success in today’s market place.

39. Norris Bedding

Norris Bedding have been making mattresses using traditional methods since 1945, when they started trading as R. J. Norris, a small family firm. At that time materials were hard to come by so expertise in upholstery and refurbishing mattresses was essential.

From handmade divans to hand teased loose filling mattresses, every part of their beds is made by hand in London. Each bed is individually made to order, using no machinery. The end result is one of the best made beds that money can buy. Every part of the construction is done by hand by craftsman showing that quality and craftsmanship really do go hand in hand.

38. Canvas Wash Bag

Tusting is a family firm based in the heart of the English countryside, with its roots deep in the English leather and shoe trade. The fifth generation of the family is now at the helm, following a long line of Tustings who have been tanning, grading and trading the world’s finest leathers for over 130 years.

They now make a range of bags and leather goods from their workshop which lies close to the original tannery founded in 1875. It is home to a new generation of highly skilled craftsmen making bags for their own range as well as on behalf of others.

This wash bag is made from canvas with a waterproof nylon inner. The look fantastic and are brilliantly made.

37. Leather Games Set

Daines and Hathaway is still amongst the most prestigious traditional leather goods makers, producing products which continue to be quintessentially English in style. All of their products are made in England, combining the experience of the true craftsman, with the most beautiful leathers and superior quality fittings to create truly exquisite pieces to be cherished for years to come.

This leather covered games compendium is a particular favorite and is a good example of the quality on offer from British craftsmen.

36. Bellyboards

You would be forgiven for thinking that there are two types of surfing, standing up on fibreglass ‘surfboards’ or lying down on foam ‘bodyboards.’ However one innovative company in Devon has kick-started a revival in the original wooden bellyboards. For long before people stood up on ‘Malibu’ surf boards in Britain in the 1960’s, they surfed the Atlantic rollers lying down on thin flat wooden boards. The board design was based on the ancient Hawaiin Paipo boards (Paipo meaning short or small board). In Hawaii people learnt the art of riding prone on these short wooden boards before they attempted to stand up on the longer ‘alaia’ boards.

In Britain this type of surfboard was first used as early as the 1800’s, although it was not until after the First World War when veterans returned home in the early 1920’s that the sport of ‘surf riding’ on bellyboards started to become widespread.

The Original Surfboard Company hand craft their bellyboards in Britain from birch plywood. They individually cut and steam bend each board to give it a unique curve and nose. The boards are then either yacht varnished by hand or given a spray painted finish. The Original Surfboard Company are on a mission to preserve and revive traditional British made wooden surf boards and the art of surf riding. Hats off to them.

35. Wicker coffins

The commercial willow industry in Britain suffered catastrophically after the introduction of plastic alternatives in the 1950’s. However recently a strong recovery has been made as eco-conscious consumers flock back to this most traditional and green of sectors.  Willow is made into many products, including wicker baskets, hampers, furniture, artists charcoal and even coffins. The heart of British willow production is the Somerset Levels, whose rich wetlands provide the perfect conditions for rapid growth. A Somerset ‘withie’, the wicker variant of willow can reach over 8 feet in height in a well watered season.

The art of willow production has not particularly changed for hundreds of years, save for some mechanisation in the harvest. In England the largest commercial producer is PH Coate & Son who have been using the same techniques since 1819.

At P.H. Coate new willow beds are planted in the spring using pieces of willow from the previous crop. The new bed is mature after three years and with careful management can last up to 30 years. The crop is harvested each winter time after the leaves have died and fallen.  These leaves provide nutrients for the following years, eliminating the need for artificial fertilisers. Machines cut the willow and strip the bark. The withie rods are then dried, cut to the appropriate length and handmade into a plethora of wicker products.

34. Little Mester Pocket Knives

No more words needed from me today. Watch the fascinating video below to see a real craftsman in action. Trevor Ablett, 67, and showing no signs of retiring soon, is one of the dwindling number of original 'Little Mesters'; self-employed Sheffield craftsmen who were once the backbone of that city's world-beating cutlery industry. Trevor's speciality is pocket knives, for which there is currently a six month backlog.

33. Luxury motorboats

As an island nation Britain has long been known for its maritime prowess.  While sadly much of the larger shipbuilding industry has dissolved Britain is still renowned for its luxury yacht and motorboat builders. One such builder is Princess Yachts of Plymouth. They started life as Marine Projects (Plymouth) Ltd to fit out and charter the ‘Project 31’, the first boat to be built at the Company’s original factory at Newport Street, Plymouth. The success and sale of that one boat led to further orders and a continuous design and production effort. The current range is of sporting and flybridge motorboats between 44 and 95 feet in length, painted with Princess’s signature blue. By 2008 the company employed 2000 people at its 1 million sq ft factory in the Plymouth docks and the success and prestige of the brand resulted in it being bought by the global luxury goods company LVMH.

32. Ties

As Oscar Wilde once said, “A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.”  Nowhere is this maxim understood more than at the workshop of Drakes of London, nestled in the back lanes of Clerkenwell.  Drakes was founded in 1977 by Michael Drake, whose original collection comprised of men’s scarves. He quickly branched out into printed silk handkerchiefs and handmade ties and today Drakes is the largest independent producer of handmade ties in England. The original vision of the company was to retain design and manufacture of products in England but be truly international in terms of sales, with collections designed for a range of luxury shops from the most conservative to the most fashionable worldwide. Mr Drake makes ties but also dispenses his own distinct philosophy on gentlemen’s style. On ties Mr Drake says, “The tie is important not only because it's so much the focus of attention, but because it's more symbolic than utilitarian. The best ties are handmade, never stitched by machine.” He also believes that blue is the most useful shade of tie colour for gentlemen and therefore seventy percent of the ties at Drakes are different shades of the colour.

31. Whistling in the wind?

Acme Whistles is the world’s most prolific inventor and manufacturer of whistles. From humble beginnings in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham, Acme have innovated continually to hold their market leading position against less proficient imitators. The current management are firm exponent of the benefits of retaining manufacturing in Britain.

The company was founded by Joseph Hudson, a farm worker from Derbyshire, who moved to Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution and trained as a toolmaker. He converted the wash house at the side of his end-of-terrace, ‘back to back,’ house in St Marks Street into a workshop where he made many things to help increase his family’s income. His early products were snuff boxes, cork screws and whistles.

His whistle business was very small until in 1883 The London Metropolitan Police advertised for an idea to replace the policeman’s rattle (a cumbersome means of communication for the bobby on his beat’). Joseph invented a novel whistle for the purpose. It could be held in the mouth leaving the hands free a clear advantage over the rattle.

The police tested his whistle on Clapham Common and were delighted when it was clearly heard just over a mile (1.6Km) distance. They awarded a contract to kit out the whole force with Joseph’s whistles. Over the next 135 years Acme developed and patented over 40 different whistle designs. A few of their most famous are The Metropolitan Police Whistle, The Acme Thunderer, The Tornado and The Silent Dog Whistle.

Today, Acme’s modern whistles are used all over the world by sporting bodies, safety organisations and security groups including the NFL and NATO. Acme sell over 5 million whistles per year to 119 countries. They have manufactured over a billion whistles altogether from their Birmingham premises.

30. Penrith Fudge

The Toffee Shop opened in Penrith, Cumbria, just after the First World War by the Furnass family. It has remained under the ownership of three different families and is today owned by Neil and Pat Boustead.

Once inside the shop, you can't miss the rich sweet aroma of melting butter and boiling sugar from the toffee shop kitchen.

The same recipe has been used for over 90 years and has never been changed.

Fudge is made from butter, sugar and milk to a simple recipe and in small batches, so that it cooks evenly and thoroughly. There are always plenty of people to fuss over the 8 brass pans - stirring it when it needs stirring, and checking that it never boils over or catches in the pan. Once cooked, the fudge is poured into cooling trays and then cut by hand into slabs. As their name would suggest, they also make toffee although we will leave that for another time.

If you are passing Penrith - just off the M6 in Cumbria - be sure to drop in on this family business. The shop is a great survivor in an ever changing town and shows that the production of consistent quality is a simple and effective formula for success.

29. Cadman

Cadman furniture is based in Wales and has been designing and making bespoke furniture. They have built a reputation as accomplished designer makers and now receive many challenging commissions from home and abroad. Each piece is 'functional art' where sculpture meets practicality and function.

The founders aim to make unique items each time which will be a fantastic addition to your home whilst being an art form. Many of the items are made to order in close collaboration with the customer. They design each piece and then every bit of furniture is made from scratch in Wales. From selecting the specific timber at the sawmill through to the finished product, they put an immense amount of time, skill and precision that goes into everything that they do. Although a very small business, this is a fine example of the quality and craftsmanship on offer across Great Britain.

28. Caurnie Soap

Caurnie Soap has been serving the Scottish natural skin care market since 1922. They specialise in handcrafted cold process vegan soaps and cleansing products. Their unique nettle shampoo and nettle moisturiser products are especially sought out by many Eczema and Psoriasis sufferers after being bought at Scottish farmers markets or Country living shows.

Caurnie natural soaps are maturable which results in them being longlasting. You will notice they do not go musshy at the end of their lives. Each bar is handmade in blocks in Scotland. They still use the original wooden press to draw the soap blocks, a labourious task that takes many man hours and effort! The result is large blocks of soap that they cut into cheese-like pieces.

27. Emma Franklin Jewellery

Emma designs and hand-makes each individual piece, using traditional techniques at her Clerkenwell studio. One of her signature items is a pair of pheasant and shotgun cufflinks. Each set is made to order with discreet initials engraved by request. The cufflinks are solid cast gold which she then solders to a chain joining the two shapes.

Having studied at Central St Martins School of Art & Design, Emma has worked in the heart of the jewellery capital in London for a number of years. She works from her own studio which offers an inspirational workplace for Emma to design and make her stunning pieces of handmade jewellery.

Stockist: http://www.applebyparva.com/