Welcome to the home of

Ben Law

Woodsman, author & natural eco-builder

Ben Law, woodsman, author and natural eco-builder lives and works at Prickly Nut Wood in West Sussex, UK.

Apart from making a living from coppicing, Ben runs courses on Sustainable Woodland Management and eco-building using Roundwood Timber Framing.

In roundwood timber framing Ben has developed specialist jointing techniques for the architectural style of building he creates. These, he passes on through his flagship course. The building of his house was filmed for Channel 4’s Grand Designs program and was voted the most popular Grand Design ever by viewers.

“Ben Law is an extraordinary man. Not exactly a warrior for his cause, more the quiet victor.”
Kevin McCloud

Ben is also a prolific author having written many books.

Ben’s most recent book is ‘Woodlander’ which details Ben’s experienced approach to managing a small woodland.
Translations of Ben’s book ‘Woodland Craft’ are available in French and German. Roundwood Timber Framing is also available in French.

“His writing, just like his handiwork, is a joyful celebration of wood, in all its flexibility, beauty, colour and strength. Woodland Craft is at once traditional and forward-looking. Ben reminds us what craft truly is. It’s not just skill in the making of something, but a knowledge and love of one’s materials and understanding of how the finished piece of work will be seen, appreciated and used: in short, how it will speak to the world.“
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

View Ben’s books available to purchase here

Ben Law, Roundwood Timber Building Pioneer

For over thirty years I have lived and worked at Prickly Nut Wood, our lives are symbiotically entwined.
Ben Law

The Woodland House

“Here is a house so ecologically sound, it breathes in time to the trees around it.“
Kevin McClooud

Roundwood Timber FRaming

Ben runs a 4 day Roundwood Timber Framing course at Prickly Nut Wood, suitable for all levels of skill.

Unique, bespoke, ecological builds

Speckled Wood

Built entirely from timber grown on the National Trust’s Blackdown Estate near Haslemere, Surrey. Read more.

Roundwood Timber Framing
Specialist Courses

Roundwood Timber Framing Pioneer

Ben Law has pioneered roundwood timber framing in the United Kingdom, through his passionate desire to see buildings constructed from local, sustainable materials. Ben set up and directed ‘The Roundwood Timber Framing Company’, and has built houses, shops, school buildings all from a local supply of renewable timber. Ben uses natural materials from the foundations through to the roof and manages much of the resource he builds from through coppice management and continuous cover forestry techniques.

Because Ben’s main focus is on training others in roundwood timber framing and keeping his building projects local, he specialises in unique bespoke small builds, garden retreats, studios, tree houses, outdoor kitchens and natural swimming pools.

View Ben’s building projects

Based in beautiful West Sussex

Prickly Nut Wood is part of 100 acres of ancient woodland and a site of special scientific interest for its bryophyte community (mosses, lichens and ferns.)

Ben has been managing Prickly Nut Wood and two adjacent woodland areas for over 30 years, and looks after nearly 100 acres of woodland. The woodland is primarily coppice woodland of sweet chestnut and some mixed coppice – hazel, ash and field maple with oak standards.

Find out more about Ben’s Sustainable Woodland Management course here.

Discover Prickly Nut Wood through the seasons.