In the year 1827 a journeyman travelling through the Devil's Gorge towards the village of Drift Bardon in the lost county of Hookland made camp for the night in a sheltered overhang by the side of the road. Whilst gathering wood for his fire he noticed that a recent rockslide had exposed the mouth of a small cave.

 

Using a flint and steel he lit a candle  and ventured into the cave where to his astonishment he discovered hundreds of tiny alcoves carved into the walls. In each alcove was a small figure, carved or formed from clay. Some appeared to be forms of poppets placed in wool lined caskets, others fetishes or idols in the shape of animals, mythical creatures or gods. One particular figure drew his eye more than the others and he picked it up gently to admire it before carefully placing it back in it's alcove.

 

Despite knowing that they would bring him great fortune if he sold them to one of the museums In Ashcourt or Hook or even to the Archaeology Department at the University in Weychester he sensed strongly that they should not be disturbed.

 

By the dim light of his remaining reserves of candles he took out his notebook and pencil and sketched the shape of every figure in the cave counting 723 of them as he made his way around the alcoves. As dawn broke he had recorded them all and exhausted he made his way back to his campsite where he climbed into his bedroll and fell fast asleep.

 

The sun was already high in the sky when he awoke, realising how vulnerable the cave would be to robbers he made his way back intending to block up the cave mouth forever. To his astonishment when he arrived back at the place where the cave had been he found no sign of it at all, just a solid rock face. Wondering if the whole experience had just been a strange dream he wandered back and began breaking camp. As he went to pack his bed roll into his backpack he felt something wrapped up inside, carefully tipping it out he found the figure that had first drawn his attention the night before.

 

That figure has been handed down through generations of my family as has the knowledge of how to recreate all 723 of the curios figures that my ancestor the Journeyman discovered that night 194 years ago.

​

You can purchase your own curiosity from my shop at www.rocktroll.co.uk along with fine silver jewellery.

​

I have been fascinated by the nature, mythology, folklore, magic and spirituality of the British Isles all my life. My work is inspired by nature, the art passed down by our ancient ancestors and those who have settled in Britain. In particular I am drawn to the inscriptions found on British Iron and Bronze Age metalwork, the art of the Celts the Picts and Vikings and the rock art of our prehistoric ancestors.

I am lucky enough to have lived in Kent, Wiltshire and Dorset surrounded by some of the most important and sacred ancient monuments in Britain.

I first began sculpting in clay and combining art and metalwork over 30 years ago when I gained an A' Level in art sculpture.

I now create fine silver pieces suitable to be worn by both Men and Women using PMC (Precious Metal Clay)* and Poppets and pendants made from (CPC), a type of clay used by doll and puppet makers**.

*The PMC I use for my silver is a medium in which fine silver particles are suspended in an organic binder. It can be worked much like any other clay. Once a piece is complete and has been left to dry I fire it by hand at a very high heat. When the piece begins to glow orange the binder burns away and the silver particles fuse to each other. The final product is a piece of fine silver, or 99.9% silver. (PMC also contains a high percentage of reclaimed and recycled silver!)

Each piece is then cleaned and tumbled before being burnished by hand to highlight individual detail. Finally it is polished to give a high quality finish.

Each piece of jewellery is completely unique, no two pieces will ever be the same. Rock Troll fine silver is hand crafted by me in my studio in the wilds of Dorset.

Every silver pendant comes with a choice of a 925 sterling silver plated or black waxed cotton necklace.


**My Poppets and clay sculptures are made from CPC It is non-toxic and the main ingredients are paper pulp and a specially processed volcanic ash that makes it unique to sculpt and provides for a lightweight, durable finished product.

My Poppets and clay sculptures are not designed for outdoor use as the holes will allow water in which may expand when frozen.

The wooden boxes for my poppets are made from recycled wood where possible and the insert is real sheep's wool.

​Pins are rusted using a secret non-toxic process.

I try to use recycled or partially recycled packaging for posting items as far as possible.

If you have any questions at all about my jewellery or Poppets please don’t hesitate to contact me.