I’m forever diving down research rabbit holes, immersing myself in new and unexpected subjects. This year, one of those holes led me deep into the world of walking aids. In Pole Position, I explored the pros and cons of using walking poles, while Match Stick looked at the art of stick making and the many forms these can take. Along the way, I also stumbled upon a fascinating piece of local walking stick history – and, even better, found someone with a personal connection to the story, willing to share it.
I met Cathy at the Milland Community Store & Café, where a friend and I had stopped for refreshment midway through a walk. She was at the next table, enjoying a drink before starting her shift behind the counter. I can’t quite recall how our conversation began, but within minutes we had discovered that her father had once owned and run one of the largest walking stick businesses in the UK, and that it was close by on the Sussex-Surrey border. Intrigued, I suggested we meet again to learn more about her family’s tale.
From the Coppice
To fully appreciate Cathy’s story it helps to understand the history of the area northeast of Haslemere, on the edge of the Weald. Today this is a highly desirable place to live with house prices to match, but not that long ago the area’s woodlands echoed with the steady rhythm of copse cutters at work. They cut wood on behalf of families that included the Coopers and Lintotts, two long-established local names in the walking stick business. They also cultivated ash in special plantations, in order to naturally grow sticks with crosshead handles – a level of detail that seems unimaginable today.
Founded in the mid-1800s, the Cooper and Lintott businesses both became household names in the early 1900s supplying walking sticks at cost to soldiers wounded in World War I. They were also once described as “serving the world with walking sticks.” At their height, records suggest that nine-tenths of Lintott’s sticks were destined for export, finding their way into the hands of fashion-conscious gentlemen and military officers in Australia, New Zealand, India, Africa & the USA. Yet despite this international demand, their operations remained strikingly simple, rooted in traditional processes, shaped by the hands of old craftsmen in small rural workshops as demonstrated in this video.
Breathing New Life Into A Traditional Craft
Despite employing over 100 people from woodland to workshop, the industry’s reliance on ageing craftsmen and traditional techniques ultimately led to its decline after World War II. Yet where there’s weakness, there’s often opportunity. An opportunity that Cathy said her father, Arthur Barnett, spotted in the mid-1960s, when he decided to buy Coopers, just outside Witley.
Cathy explained that her father was a skilled mechanical engineer, so saw the potential to use his skills to modernise the walking stick manufacturing process and improve efficiency. He applied his expertise not only to Coopers, but also to Lintotts, eventually bringing both companies under one roof. Cathy holds fond memories of the factory, which, she recalled, functioned much like a small village just south of Wormley, complete with housing and community facilities for the workers. She particularly remembers the distinctive smell of the lacquer room — a sensory detail that, like so many others, has the power to transport us back to our youth.
…..To the Crutch
During my research, I came across a mention of a local walking stick manufacturer that had once been a major supplier to the NHS. Curious, I asked Cathy whether this might have been her father’s business. She confirmed that it was — though not for the traditional wooden sticks we might have expected. True to his background as a mechanical engineer, her father had reimagined the classic design, creating an adjustable aluminium crutch. Remarkably, it’s the very same versatile design still in use today whenever a leg injury calls for one.
I naturally hope that no Rural Strider ever finds themselves in need of an adjustable crutch — but if you do, take comfort in knowing that your recovery is being supported by a small yet remarkable piece of Western Weald history. It’s a quiet reminder of how one man combined his love of innovation with the area’s tradition of walking stick craftsmanship.
Read Match Stick to learn more about traditional walking sticks
