Richard is a member of Sherwood Foresters Longbow Club and has a lifelong passion in the longbow and its history. He's experimented with hand making traditional yew bows and laminated bows alike, learning how to perfect the draw weight of the bow with different woods and laminations.
Due to his knowledge and expertise Richard was invited by the Mary Rose Trust to take a personal look and handle the 137 longbows retrieved from the Mary Rose which had been lost since 1545, and from this trip he was inspired to make a re-curve longbow, which increases the power without increasing the draw weight. Traditionally this method is achieved by steaming the end of a bow and bending the tips back outwards, but over time the tips straighten and need re-steaming. However because Richard made it on a laminated bow the tips will never need to be steamed again. The bow was a success. It worked perfectly and has a stunning shape which always gets attention.
To date Richard has made bows for himself, family and friends, but our hope is to one day create our own custom longbows to sell.