The 'centrepiece' of the King's coronation is revealed to have been crafted by a local woodturner.

King Charles was hidden from view as the customary anointment in oil took place. The anointment is said to be the mos sacred moment of the ceremony, and sees oil poured upon the hands, chest and head of the new monarch.

Shielding the king from view was an historic anointing screen, which the Wellington Weekly can now reveal was built in large part by a local craftsman.

Roger Marwood, who operated a workshop in the old Fox's factory before moving to West Buckland, crafted the wooden poles which gave structure to the tapestry. Mr Marwood turned the poles in his workshop, before they were seen by the world, standing proud at the heart of Westminster Abbey.

When he was first contacted to take on the job by another firm Mr Marwood didn't know what the poles were for.

Mr Marwood said: "They phoned me up and sent over some drawings and I priced for it. I didn’t know what it was for otherwise I would have charged more. 

“They supplied the timber, which came from an oak tree in Windsor Park. I turned it according to the drawings and handed it over, that's when I found out it was for the coronation."

For the ceremony, Roger's poles were topped with gilded bronze eagles and assembled around the king. Mr Marwood said the work would stand as a great legacy:

"I certainly did watch the coronation. I believe it is going to be on display in Westminster Abbey and everyone who had some involvement with it, they’re all going to be listed. It’s a great legacy.

 “I think eventually it will go over to the Tower of London. No doubt it will be used again when William becomes king. I felt pleased that I was involved and I have had a lot of response from friends. But it’s another job, the next job comes in and you get on with it.

“My friends said it was magnificent and I should be very proud. I watched it with a friend of mine who was very interested in the royals. I was lucky to share the moment with someone who was interested. It was a positive event. 

But Mr Marwood is no stranger to working with royalty. Just recently he took on a job to craft a 'special knob' for the King of Jordan. The wooden door knob is set to be fixed to the Jordanian king's 'escape room.'

He has also crafted a procession pole for Pope Benedict XVI, made tennis nets for Wimbledon and helped restore the official Westminster Abbey model.

Mr Marwood's well honed craft is the result of 34 years of hard work, and a 'natural talent.' Mr Marwood said after taking a one day course, his tutor told him he had a natural gift, and so he set about starting the journey to become an expert woodturner. He said:

"I’ve been turning wood for 34 years, I’m 65 on May 19. I did a days course with a professional woodturner called John Sanders who was a very good teacher who inspired people. I was told that I had a natural gift for it and one day I could making a living from it. I took his word for it and he was right."

Mr Marwood didn't undergo a conventional woodturning education. Instead he taught himself by watching VHS tapes, pre-empting the YouTube tutorial craze by a several decades:

“In one day you won’t learn very much, but you can get a taste for it. From then on I was on a roll to teach myself. I did it by watching videos on VHS tapes. The video world was just starting where you could buy a video and teach yourself something. I was on a mission and I really enjoyed it, and I really wanted to make a go of it.

“I started off by doing craft fairs and then I was doing work for the trade, cabinet makers, kitchen makers, antique restorers that sort of thing. It just went from strength to strength until I couldn’t do both so I made a decision to drop the craft fairs and I never looked back. Now work comes from all over the country."

Mr Marwood now works from his West Buckland workshop, where he has been based for 15 years. He estimates he is one of as few as 40 individuals in the country who can complete this kind of high level work and expressed concern over the skill dying out.

"There's around 40 of us at this level, and we're a bit long in the tooth. That number is dwindling. I'd like to take someone on so they can take over this place one day."

He is keen to pass on his skills to the next generation, to see that his craft lives on into the future. As part of that mission Mr Marwood is set to take up a new part-time teaching role where he will be sharing his talents to young people in the area.