Rachel trained in furniture design, construction and restoration at Hereford Technical College, qualifying with distinctions in 1995, and set up a workshop near Ledbury in Herefordshire, making fine furniture for private commissions. For four years, Rachel also taught the City and Guilds 'Furniture Design and Construction' course at Hereford Technical College.
In 2014, she scaled down to a new workshop in Ledbury town, where she now concentrates on restoring and conserving antique and ancient furniture. In 2018, she completed a joint Art and Archaeology Degree at the University of Worcester, finishing with First Class Honors. In 2021, Rachel gained Distinction for her Masters by Research in Archaeology, with her thesis, 'Medieval Dug-out Church Chests in Herefordshire and Worcestershire: A Systematic Archaeological Study'. Rachel is now the Furniture Consultant for the Herefordshire Diocese, writing significance and conservation reports about church furniture for Faculty applications.
Rachel's articles about Medieval church chests appear in 'Historic Churches', 'The Mortimer History Society' and 'The Regional Furniture Society'. Her joint paper on dug-out church chests appears in The Society of Church Archaeology Journal (Volume 22).
In 2014, she scaled down to a new workshop in Ledbury town, where she now concentrates on restoring and conserving antique and ancient furniture. In 2018, she completed a joint Art and Archaeology Degree at the University of Worcester, finishing with First Class Honors. In 2021, Rachel gained Distinction for her Masters by Research in Archaeology, with her thesis, 'Medieval Dug-out Church Chests in Herefordshire and Worcestershire: A Systematic Archaeological Study'. Rachel is now the Furniture Consultant for the Herefordshire Diocese, writing significance and conservation reports about church furniture for Faculty applications.
Rachel's articles about Medieval church chests appear in 'Historic Churches', 'The Mortimer History Society' and 'The Regional Furniture Society'. Her joint paper on dug-out church chests appears in The Society of Church Archaeology Journal (Volume 22).