A brief history of the British timber trade

Britain has been a trading area for many different items and products over the years, whether this has been sugar and tea or timber, the country has developed significantly in terms of the items that are produced in the country and those that are imported from elsewhere.

The timber trade was incredibly important to the country’s development and to the expansion of the materials that we have been able to use in the construction industry. Timber Merchants Southampton way will be able to provide people with timber from a variety of different trees thanks to the early timber trade that was established in the UK.

During the Middle Ages Timber was imported from the Baltic and then North America. As well as importing a variety of timber from other countries there was a thriving domestic timber trade in Britain which centred around the British oaks. There are many ancient oak trees that can still be seen in the UK today and most of these are subject to tree preservation orders so that they can be protected from being removed in order to make space for building works. Ship building was one of the industries that used large amounts of wood both from domestic plantations as well as those woods that were imported from abroad.

As other building materials were established and gained popularity such as metal and bricks, the need for wood changed and over the years less wood has been produced in the UK.