The Search for the Axeheads
In 1986, Tim Stead made a series of 365 wooden axe heads, one for each day of the year. Each was signed and dated, and made from native timber. The exchange of these works contributed to the planting of trees, forming part of what is now Wooplaw Community Woodland, the first community woodland in the UK.
In 2016, Donald McPhillimy initiated a proposal to locate as many of these axe heads as possible. The search set out to reconnect the works with the Trust, inviting owners to share information about where their axe head is held, its date and timber (where known), alongside photographs and personal reflections. The intention was to build a collective record and map the distribution of the works over time.
A number of axe heads have been located and documented through this process, each contributing to a growing archive on the Trust’s website. The search has helped re-establish connections between the objects, their holders, and the wider story of the woodland and the Steading.
Alongside the 2016 search, a small exhibition was presented by Maggy Stead to mark thirty years since Axes for Trees. The exhibition brought together a selection of axe heads and related works, creating a space to revisit the project and its ongoing relevance.
Running in parallel with this, the search for the axe heads was activated publicly, inviting visitors and wider audiences to come forward with information. This dual approach, exhibition and outreach, helped surface a number of axe heads that had remained out of view for many years.
The exhibition also included the first public showing of Tim Stead Works with Wood, a film made in 1992 by David Peat and later digitised and edited for presentation.
Though modest in scale, the exhibition played an important role. It created a physical point of return for the work, while also extending the search beyond existing networks. As with the wider project, this work remains open ended, with further axe heads still to be located and documented.
The search remains open. Many axe heads are still unaccounted for, and we continue to welcome information from anyone who may hold one. Each contribution adds to a shared understanding of this work and its ongoing relevance today.
