Richard, take a bow... (From Wiltshire Times)

Richard, take a bow...

11:46am Monday 24th December 2007 in Melksham By Wiltshire Times Reporter

RICHARD Head was captivated by the adventures of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood when he was a child.

When he was glued to the telly longing to be one of the dashing outlaws of Sherwood Forest, the young Richard never dreamed he would go on to become one of the UK's few masters of the ancient craft of making the English long bow.

"I did watch the Robin Hood TV series in the 1960s but it was later when I practised archery, with the modern equivalent made of fibreglass, that I became interested in actually making bows," said Richard.

He now has his own family business in Spa Road, Melksham, which caters for archers from all over the world as well as re-enactment societies and even the odd theatrical or film company.

But it all started when Richard entered various archery contests.

"I fancied having a go at shooting the traditional longbow, but it was hard to get hold of, so I decided to have a go at making my own," he said.

The bowman belonged to the Bath Archers group and some of his colleagues asked him to make a traditional bow for them.

Gradually his hobby grew into the thriving business it is now.

Richard made his first bow 30 years ago but only went into the business full-time when he was made redundant from his job as a quantity surveyor for the building industry.

Now 15 years down the line he has his son Phillip and his wife Lindsay working with him in Richard Head Longbows.

Both Richard and Phillip have received the silver award for craftsmanship in Bowyery from the Master of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers.

Father and son both visit various re-enactment events up and down the country selling not just their bows but all traditional archery accessories.

The company make bows for the Royal Company of Archers who are the Queen's Ceremonial Guard when she is in Scotland.

Other bows are reproduced by Richard in the style of those found in the 16th century warship, Mary Rose, which is on display in Portsmouth.

"We have done a few TV things such as a Yew Tree programme, an Open University programme and one for the Discovery Channel on wood.

"We were also asked to make bows for some obscure film, more Bollywood than Hollywood," he said.