THE work of expert woodturner Roger Marwood can be seen everywhere from the All England Club, hosts of the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament, to the skittle alley of the humble pub.

Roger, who has a workshop at Morrishes Farm, West Buckland, makes net posts used on tennis courts in the UK and around the world, as well as skittle balls and pins found on alleys in Somerset, and croquet balls, among many other items.

His work has even found its way to the Vatican after the world’s biggest church supply company, Wippell’s, based in Exeter, ordered a procession staff.

The deluxe posts used at Wimbledon were ordered as a component for nets supplied by Bridport sports equipment firm Edwards.

The posts, which take about two-and-a-half hours to make, are made of Ash. They include a slot for the pulley wheels in the top, a mortice joint for the winding mechanism and holes for securing the net. They are turned to shape top and bottom and have two coats of varnish.

Roger, 58, who lives in Courtland Road, Wellington, attended what is now the Brymore Academy at Cannington as a youngster. He says he was the top woodworker in his year group but did not touch wood for 15 years after he left.

He said: “I got back into the world of wood when I was bought a lathe and a day’s woodturning course.

“The instructor told me I had natural ability and now, self-taught and 28 years later, I am one of only three specialist woodturners in Somerset.

“I love what I do, it is very satisfying. I am a modest man but I feel quietly chuffed as I have a high reputation in the trade.”

Roger, a member of the British Woodturners’ Association who was at Fox Brothers’ former buildings in Tonedale, says turning dates back 3,000 years and that the first object turned was stone.

“Among the equipment in my workshop is a copy lathe which enables me to do high volume work as the piece being turned follows a template piece of wood,” he said.

“My two-ton, 60-year-old pattern maker’s lathe is the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of lathes, enabling me to turn wood 3.3m long.”

He said the principle is the same with the lathe providing the power and the craftsman with chisel or gouges producing the detail.

Roger added: “I undertake work throughout the UK for the trade, kitchen makers, builders, furniture makers, antique restorers interior designers and the general public.

“I make, match and repair a wide range of furniture, curtain poles, finials, stair spindles, plinths, columns, architectural features and reproductions.”