Ferndown

Ferndown is a handmade briar pipe brand founded in the early 1980s by English silversmith Leslie "Les" Wood and his wife Dolly Wood. It takes its name from the house the master lived in. The brand is generally known for its large-scale bodies, its distinctive rustic surface called "Bark," and the sterling silver bands individually fitted to each pipe.

The Dunhill Years

Les Wood began working in the silver-mounting department of the Dunhill factory in March 1963, a few weeks after turning fifteen. When the head of the department left within two years, he took over the responsibility; during the same years he spent five years studying silversmithing three evenings a week at the Sir John Cass school in London. His wife Dolly also worked in the same factory's finishing department. Wood's nineteen years at the firm ended amid a dispute that arose after Dunhill's management banned silver mounting for Charatan, which it had acquired.