Write a commentBeing a Master Saddler makes you a member of a very exclusive club, with only three in the province. One of them, James Adair plies his trade from his workshop in WIN Business Park, Newry.
Adding to his RDS Award in 2014, James has just had a hat trick in London, winning three prizes for his side saddle in the Society of Master Saddlers National Saddlery Championships. He took the Societies First Prize for side saddle, Premium Award for having over 85% of the marks and the Side Saddle Association Trophy, a trophy that has never made it out of England … until now.
Other competitors in the prestigious competition included the King and Queen of Denmark’s saddler and harness maker, the King and Queen of Sweden’s harness maker and Queen Elizabeth’s harness maker, so top competition indeed.
On Easter Monday next month you will find James demonstrating his saddlery work at Smithfield in Dublin as part of the Easter Rising Commemorations, thanks to an invite from RTE. He is also demonstrating at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May.
James is married to a Newry woman and is originally from near Cloughy on the Ards pennisuala. He is a registered member of the Society of Master Saddlers, Qualified Master Saddler and Side Saddle specialist and Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Scholar.
When he was 12 or 13 he had a friend that kept greyhounds. Every dog had his own collar and lead and with 70 dogs that was a lot of collars that needed work done to them so a young enterprising James looked for a way to get them fixed.
“I remember taking a bag of collars into a local shoe mender in Newtownards one day in all innocence and I opened the bag and he came round and literally chased me down Regent Street in Newtownards, and I didn’t know what I’d done!
“It turned out another Greyhound man - his dogs killed his cat. He just seen Greyhound collars and I was going to get the brunt of it”
Not to be put off James then went to a local saddler, but he was up to his eyes so he started fixing them himself and as they say the rest is history.
A friend Joe Garvey a saddler in the Blues and Royals from the Household Cavalry came home and they got working together. James went to a Saddlery school in Salisbury. He had no notion of doing exams but his teacher had other ideas and forged his signature and James sat his first exam whether he wanted to or not.
James got his Master Saddler’s qualification and with the notion of doing side saddles, started repairing a few of them as well as taking on many other related jobs.
“I fix anything at all that goes on to a horse - collars, straddles, harness, all the bridle work, saddles, I’ve made saddles, all that sort of stuff”
On working on side saddles James says “I tend to get a bit lost in them, time disappears. This one took six weeks solid work to make it from scratch, and they’re not all eight hour days!
“When I do them they are 100% hand stitched, there’s no machines at all, and even some of the threads I make by hand”
With customers as far away as Cork and London, word of mouth is what usually takes them to him or sometimes they discover him on the Society of Master Saddlers Website or his own thejourneymansaddler.com site.
Over the years as well as equestrian items James has made thousands of belts, dog collars, cattle halters, Briefcases and bags, muzzles, prosthetics for Vets, even boots for cats and dogs.
While his main work is repair, since moving to WIN he has made numerous bespoke bridles including one for the Garda Síochána.
On sourcing his raw materials James reflects “We’ve no Tanneries in Ireland anymore unfortunately. For saddlery leathers you can’t really beat English leather for that. My doeskin comes from Germany for the seats in the Side Saddles. Linen, I can get here. Linen Threads, most of my threads were made in Hilden Mill
“There were Tanneries in Newry at one stage, The Tan Yard would have been up near Bagenal’s Castle and the hides would have been shipped out on the boats”
The last Newry Saddler who worked in Canal Street closed down in 1964!
“I think it was Kelly his name was” James remarks “At one stage leather would have played a big big part in Newry, you had leather sellers, you had boot makers, shoe makers, collar makers, harness makers and saddlers, it was a big big thing.”
Roll the clock forward half a century and the Journeyman Saddler is now established in Newry. The business is three years at Unit 2 RDC in WIN Business Park. Hours are usually 9-4ish, unless he is out fitting a saddle.
James runs regular workshops with a maximum of five students per course at their premises in Newry.
James can be contacted by email at enquiries@thejourneymansaddler.com or Telephone 077 4712 9161
