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THE  SILK   INDUSTRY   OF 
THE   UNITED   KINGDOM. 

Its   Origin    and    Development. 


Plate  I. 


H.M.   The  King  in  Coronation  Robes. 


Vv  £L5LI  ^  jc, 

THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  OF 
THE     UNITED    KINGDOM. 

Its   Origin    and    Development. 


BY 

Sir   FRANK    WARNER,    K.B.E. 

in 


LONDON : 
DRANE'S 
DANEGEIvD  HOUSE, 
82A,  Farringdon  Street,  B.C. 


DRANE'S,   Farringdon  Street,   Condon,    E.G. 


NOTE    BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


It  was  originally  intended  that  this  work  should  be 
entitled  "  The  History  of  the  Silk  Industry  of  the  United 
Kingdom,"  and  it  was  believed  that  quite  a  small  volume 
would  suffice  to  contain  all  the  information  procurable, 
but  enquiries  begun  in  the  early  months  of  the  year  1911 
have  resulted  in  establishing  the  fact  that  the  Silk  Industry 
was  at  one  time  and  in  one  form  or  another  carried  on  in 
a  very  wide  area  and  at  places  hitherto  unsuspected  of 
having  had  any  connection  with  it. 

Seeking,  as  was  natural,  in  the  early  days  of  its  develop- 
ment localities  which  provided  water  power  and  a  supply 
of  cheap  labour,  the  industry  became  scattered,  and  it  has 
remained  so  ever  since. 

How  far  this  disintegration  and  consequent  lack  of 
cohesion  and  unity  of  effort,  political,  economical,  technical 
and  educational,  has  led  to  the  decline  of  the  industry  in 
this  country  it  is  impossible  to  estimate,  but  it  is  un- 
doubtedly a  source  of  weakness,  whether  judged  relatively 
to  the  prosperity  of  silk  workers  in  other  countries  or  to 
those  engaged  in  the  other  branches  of  the  textile  industry 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  this  work  to  attempt  to  prove 
that  our  past  or  present  fiscal  policy  has  been  either  the 
salvation  or  the  ruin  of  the  silk  industry  in  this  country. 
The  facts  must  be  left  to  speak  for  themselves.  The 
author  has  no  intention  other  than  to  provide  for  the  lovers 
of  silk,  and  they  are  universal,  and  for  those  who  take  an 
interest  in  its  welfare  in  this  country,  and  they  are  many, 
a  book  which  is  a  record  of  the  origin  and  development 


6  NOTE    BY   THE   AUTHOR. 

of  the  silk  industry  in  the  United  Kingdom,  as  far  as  it 
has  been  possible  to  collate  it,  in  the  hope  that  its  publica- 
tion may  be  the  means  of  eliciting  much  more  fully  facts 
which  are  not  here  recorded,  and  of  substantiating  others, 
concerning  which  there  is  an  element  of  doubt.  The  main 
part  of  the  book  was,  it  should  be  mentioned,  written  during 
the  early  part  of  the  War  period,  but  for  reasons  which  will 
be  readily  appreciated  its  issue  has  been  deferred  until  now. 

For  all  failings  both  of  omission  and  commission  the 
author  takes  the  fullest  responsibility,  for  the  rest,  all  the 
credit  is  due  to  those  who  have  collaborated  with  him  ; 
and  it  is  his  desire  to  place  on  record  his  deep  indebtedness 
to  Mr.  Luther  Hooper,  Mr.  J.  A.  Hunter  and  Mr.  H.  A.  Slack, 
who,  from  the  first,  have  borne  the  main  burden  of  the  vast 
amount  of  work  which  the  production  of  this  volume  has 
entailed.  Valuable  assistance  has  also  been  rendered  by 
Miss  M.  F.  Billington,  Mr.  W.  H.  Manch6e,  Mr.  R.  Snow, 
Major  Geoffrey  R.  Y.  Radcliffe,  Mr.  Fred  Richards  and 
others,  amongst  whom  Mr.  James  Cramp  for  the  chapter  on 
"  Coventry,"  Mr.  Walter  R.  Rudd,  Hon.  Secretary  of  the 
Norfolk  and  Norwich  Archaeological  Society,  for  "  the  History 
of  the  Old  Norwich  Silk  Industry/'  and  Mr.  R.  S.  Swirles, 
who  contributed  the  chapter  on  "  Ireland,"  are  especially 
worthy  of  mention. 

The  colour  prints  of  the  Coronation  of  the  King  and 
Queen,  reproduced  from  the  original  drawings  by  Mr.  S. 
Begg,  appear  in  the  book  by  Royal  permission.  The  author 
respectfully  acknowledges  his  gratitude  for  the  gracious 
assent  to  his  request,  and  takes  this  opportunity  of  expressing 
his  thanks  for  the  deep  interest  which  Their  Majesties  have 
ever  taken  in  silk,  and  their  kindly  solicitude  that  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  textiles  should  become  a  great  and 
prosperous  industry  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 

Clwpter.  Page. 

1.  BEGINNING  OF  INDUSTRY            13 

2.  IMMIGRATION  FROM  THE  NETHERLANDS 24 

3.  THE  HUGUENOT  IMMIGRATION             35 

4.  ORIGIN   OF  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY         44 

5.  FOUNDATIONS   OF  THE  LONDON   SILK  TRADE      ..         ..  53 

(THE   STORY   OF   SPITALFIELDS.) 

6.  A  TYPICAL  SILK  MASTER             67 

7.  PICTURES   OF  THE   VICTORIAN  AGE 74 

8.  EFFECTS   OF  FRENCH  TREATY   OF   1860        78 

9.  LEGISLATION  AND  THE  FACTORY  SYSTEM            ..         ..  91 

10.  SPITALFIELDS   OF  TO-DAY            95 

BOOK  II. 

11.  THE  COVENTRY   RIBBON  TRADE         107 

12.  MACCLESFIELD           ..         ..  127 

13.  LEEK 138 

14.  CONGLETON                 146 

15         MANCHESTER              149 

16.  LANCASTER 170 

17.  NOTTINGHAM               174 

18.  DERBY ..  198 

19.  LEICESTER        212 

20.  BRADFORD        218 

21.  HALIFAX            ^235 

22.  BRIGHOUSE 247 

23.  HUDDERSFIELD          ..         ..  252 

24.  SHEFFIELD,   LEEDS,   LOW   BENTHAM            257 

25.  ROCHDALE,  TODMORDEN,   RIPLEY,   SKIPTON       ..         ..  262 

26.  NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH           265 

7 


8  CONTENTS. 

Chapter. 

27.  ESSEX                 -%         ••  297 

28.  KENT        312 

29.  OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES  318 

30.  SCOTLAND         343 

31.  IRELAND            ....  371 

BOOK  III. 

32.  SILK  FROM  INDIA ..                    ..  378 

33.  WASTE   SILK  ;     ORIGIN  AND   USES    . .         . .                     . .  390 

34.  VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE    ..         ..  440 

35.  THE  DESIGNER  AND  DESIGNING— 18TH  AND  19ra  CENTURIES  451 

36.  THE  MANUFACTURER— NEW   SYSTEM           457 

37.  THE   OPERATIVE  SILK  WEAVER— OLD  STYLE  AND  NEW  462 

38.  PARLIAMENT  AND   SILK  MANUFACTURE 468 

39.  TRADE  UNIONS  AND  ASSOCIATIONS             494 

40.  THE  SMUGGLING  TRADE . .  519 

BOOK   IV. 

41.  ROYAL  PATRONAGE            534 

42.  THE       WEAVERS     AND      OTHER      KINDRED      LIVERY 

COMPANIES          554 

43.  THE    SILK    ASSOCIATION     OF     GREAT    BRITAIN    AND 

IRELAND 571 

44.  THE  EXHIBITION   OF   1851           582 

45.  THE    ARTS  AND  CRAFTS    MOVEMENT  IN  RELATION  TO 

BRITISH   SILK  MANUFACTURE 599 

46.  TECHNICAL  SOCIETIES  AND  THE  INDUSTRY       ..         ..  619 

APPENDICES. 

A.  BRITISH  TARIFFS  ON  SILK          623 

B.  WAGES  RECORDS,  NORWICH  AND  THE  LINCOLN  FAMILY  624 

C.  SILK  TRADE  LEGISLATION,   PATENT    SPECIFICATIONS, 

OLD      ADVERTISEMENTS,     QUOTATIONS,      BRITISH 

MUSEUM  AND  GUILDHALL  RECORDS 626 

INDEX  659 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Plate. 

1.  feC.M.  The  King  in  Coronation  Robes    ..          ..          ..        Frontispiece. 

Page. 

2.  H.M.  The  Queen      „  „  13 

3.  Specimen  of  Old  English   Embroidery,   the  Syon  Cope  in  South 

Kensington  Museum  . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  15 

4.  Primitive  Weaver — from  MSS.  in  British  Museum  . .          . .     20 

5.  Mediaeval  Silk  Weaver — from   an  Early   English   MSS.   belonging 

to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge       . .          . .          . .          . .          . .     22 

6.  Indenture    of   Apprenticeship,    dated   February,    1519 — from    the 

original  in  the  British  Museum    . .          . .          . .          . .          . .     23 

/  Houses  in  Spital  Square  . .          . .          . .          . .          . .     53 

7- 

( Church  Passage,  Spital  Square  . .         . .         . .     53 

[  Pelham  Street,  Spitalfields  . .         . .  \ 

8.  From  Knight's  "London,  "1842     56 
( House  in  Booth  Street,  Spitalfields  j 

9.  Indenture     of     Apprenticeship,     dated     August,     1799 — In     the 

possession   of  the  Author    . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .     57 

10.  Weavers'  Houses  in  Menotti  Street,  Bethnal  Green          . .         . .     60 

11.  Wm.  Anthony,  50  years'  night-watchman  in  the  Neighbourhood 

of  Spital  Square,  Norton  Folgate.     "  The  Last  of  the  Charlies  "     62 

12.  Christ  Church,  Spitalfields     . .          . .   (  From  Photographs  in  the  ]     64 

<  possession  of  the  Rector,  1 

13.  Interior  of  Christ  Church,  Spitalfields  I      the  Rev.  C.  H.  Chard      j     65 

14.  A  Typical  Spitalfields  Silk  Weaver,  George  Doree,  at  work         . .     74 

15.  Hand  Loom  in  Workshop  at  Foleshill,  Coventry     . .          . .          . .   110 


10  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plate.  Page. 

16.  Weaving  Room  at  the  Coventry  Technical  School..          ..          ..  124 

17.  A  View  of  Macclesfield 127 

18.  Memorial  to  Charles  Roe  in  Christ  Church,  Macclesfield  . .          . .  131 

19.  Silk  Weaving  by  Power  in  Macclesfield        . .          . .          . .  135 

20.  Park  Green  Mills,  Macclesfield             . .  136 

21.  St.  Edward's  Church,  Leek,  dating  back  to  the  year  1400           . .  138 

22.  Sir  Thomas  Wardle         ..142 

23.  William  Lee,  thinking  out  his  problem  of  a  Knitting  Frame         . .  175 

24.  A  Modem  Knitting  Frame  (Cotton's  System)          185 

25.  Leaver's  Lace  Machine  making  Lace  260  inches  wide          . .          . .  189 

26.  Lombe's  Mill,  Derby.     The  first  Silk  Mill  erected  in  England,  1717  198 

27.  Lord  Masham 226 

28.  View  of  Halifax               . .          235 

29.  Silk  Shawl  in  the  Museum,  Norwich              265 

30.  Braintree  Market  in  the  Olden  Days — from  an  old  print. .          . .  299 

31.  Weaving   the   Cloth   of   Gold  for  the  Coronation  Robes  for  King 

George  V 308 

32.  Figured  Velvet  Looms  at  New  Mills,  Braintree 310 

33.  The  Old  Weavers'  House,  Canterbury           314 

34.  The  Canterbury  Weavers'  Pattern  Book,  dated  1685        . .          . .  316 

35.  Cottage  Velvet  Weaving,  Sudbury,  Suffolk              318 

36.  Tring  Mill             322 

37.  Old  Silk  Mill,  Malmesbury        331 

38.  John  Heathcoat.     (See  half  torn  block)  341 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  11 

Plate.  Page. 

39.  The  Huguenot  House,  Sweeney's  Lane,  Dublin       . .          . .          . .  372 

40.  Hand-loom  Poplin  Weaver,  who   wrought   for   over  60   years  at 

the  Craft,  chiefly  for  Atkinson  and  Co.,  in  whose  service  he  died  374 

41.  Tapestry  Portrait  of  George  II.  by  John  Vanbeaver         . .          . .  376 

42.  Weavers'  Hall,  Coombe,  Dublin          377 

Silk  Spinning,   Receiving  and  Opening  Raw  Material — Silk  Waste  403 


43.,. 

Boiling  or  De-gumming — Silk  Waste         . .         . .  403 

Combing— Silk  Waste            409 

44. ; 

Dressed  Silk  Spreading — Silk  Waste          . .         . .  409 

Drawing  Preparatory  for  Spinning — Silk  Waste    . .  412 

45. ; 

119 

J>                                         »                               JJ                          5J                               »5                     J>                   •    •  ^KJ-A/ 

Spinning  Silk  Waste 416 

46., 

Gassing  and  Cleaning  Yarn — Silk  Waste     . .         . .  416 

47.     Weaver  of  Narrow  Webs           . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  449 

(Figured  Velvet  Loom,  worked  by  draw  boy,  before  the  invention 

of  the  Jacquard  machine             . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  453 

Loom  for  weaving  Silk  Brocade,  worked  by  the  same  method      . .  453 

49.  The  Weavers'  Flag         509 

50.  Loom    at    the    Silk    Exhibition,    Knightsbridge,     1912 — Weaving 

Brocade  63in.  wide  for  H.M.  the  Queen            550 

51.  Charter  granted  to  the  Weavers'  Company  by  Henry  II.  about  1155  556 

/  Staircase  in  the  Hall  of  the  Weavers'  Company      . .          . .          . .  564 

52. 

( Interior  of  the  Hall  of  the  Weavers'  Company          . .          . .       .   . .  564 

53.  William  Morris. .              601 

54.  Benjamin  Warner  ..          ..          ..          ..          ..          ..          ..611 


Plate  II. 


H.M.  The  Queen  in  Coronation  Robes. 


BOOK    ONE. 

CHAPTER    I. 

BEGINNING  OF  INDUSTRY. 

Except  for  the  most  primitive  arts  of  life  Great  Britain   The 
owes  to  foreigners,  who  have  chosen  or  been  compelled   Origii 
by  various  circumstances  to  settle  on  her  shores,  almost   of  Arl 
all   the  numerous  branches   of  Industry   and   Commerce   and 
which  she  has,  in  the  course  of  time,  been  able  to  develop.   Craft. 
Amongst   the    occupations    thus   introduced    to    England 
by  Alien  artists,  artificers  and  merchants,  the  manipulation 
of  Silken  Thread,  Silk  Weaving  and  Commerce  in  Silken 
Fabrics  rank  with  the  most  important. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  further  than  the  Norman 
Conquest,  in  the  eleventh  century,  to  find  England,  as 
the  invaders  did,  inhabited  by  a  primitive  people  chiefly 
employed  in  agriculture,  and  intermittently  engaged  in 
warfare  of  more  or  less  importance  and  extent.  The 
simple  life  led  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  did  not  call  for  any 
high  degree  of  perfection  in  the  handicrafts  which 
ministered  to  their  daily  needs.  Objects  of  great  excellence 
of  design  and  workmanship  or  richness  of  material, 
such  as  gauzy  silken  robes  or  sumptuous  embroideries, 
elaborately  wrought  gold  or  silver  ornaments,  or  highly 
tempered  steel  weapons,  were  almost  unknown,  but  when 
occasionally  seen  or  told  of,  were  popularly  supposed  to 
be  the  work  of  fairies  and  necromancers,  or  made  by 
artificers  under  some  kind  of  supernatural  influence. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  religious  houses,  where  learning  The 
was   so   much   cultivated    that    several   English   scholars  Mona 
attained     European     fame     and     became     friends     and   teries 
councillors   of  popes  and  kings,   some  knowledge  of  art  and 
and    craft    was    not    uncommon :     but    it    was,    for    the   Artis' 
most  part,  confined  to  such  institutions.     There  is  good   Hand 
authority  for  stating,  that,  in  every  region  where  a  religious   crafts 

13 


14 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  order  wanted  a  new  church  or  convent,  it  was  an  ordinary 

Monas-      thing  for  the  Superior,  the  Prior,  the  Abbot,  or  even  the 

teries          Bishop  himself,  to  give  the  design,  and  for  the  monks  to 

and  fulfil,    under    his    direction,    every    department    of    the 

Artistic      execution  of  the  work,  from  the  meanest  to  the  highest.* 

Handi-       Illuminated  writing  and  needlework  were  also  practised 

crafts.        in  the  monasteries  and  convents  by  the  monks  and  nuns. 

These  works  were,  however,  mostly  for  church  use,  and 

were  designed  and  executed  by  the  religious,  who  from 

time  to  time  were  sent  from  Rome  to  prevent  the  people  of 

England  from  relapsing  into  paganism.      These  works  were 

at  first,  therefore,  quite   distinct   from   the  ordinary  life 

and   occupations   of  the  English  people,  and  until  they 

came  to  be  practised    by    native  artists   and    artificers, 

as  they  eventually  did,   cannot  be  considered  as  English 

art,  craftsmanship  or  manufacture. 

In  times  of  peace  the  chief  occupations  of  the  common 
people  were  husbandry,  the  breeding  and  tending  of 
animals,  the  making  of  farming  implements  and  rude 
domestic  furniture,  the  preparation,  spinning  and  weaving 
of  wool  and  flax,  and  a  limited  amount  of  local  and 
export  trading. 

Wool  the       The  chief  product  of  the  country  was  wool,  which  very 
Chief          early   became   an   article    of    commerce    especially   with 
Product.    Flanders.     To    that    country   it    was    exported    in    con- 
siderable  quantities,    in    exchange   for   finer    and   better 
finished    cloth   than  the  less  skilful  English  weavers  of 
that  time  could   produce,  as   well   as   for   other   foreign 
goods. 

Except  at  the  Royal  Court,  and  even  there  only 
occasionally,  luxury  or  refinement  were  entirely  absent 
from  secular  life.  The  nobles  "spent  jjtheir  time  in  hunting 
and  rough  hospitality,  ^whilst  their  ladies  (convent  taught) 
busied  themselves  with  simple  embroideries,  useful  needle- 
work or  domestic  duties.  The  dress  materials, 
embroideries  and  household  textiles  of  flax  and  wool, 
for  daily  wear  and  decoration,  were  made  of  homespun 
thread,  whilst  the  festival  garments  were  fashioned  from  cloth 
woven  and  dyed  in  Flanders.  Silk  and  cotton  were  rarities, 

*  Hope's  Historical  Essay  on  Architecture,  chapter  21, 


Plate  III.          Specimen  of  Old  English  Embroidery, 
the  Syon   Cope,   in  South  Kensington 

Museum. 


BEGINNING   OF  INDUSTRY.  15 

unknown  except  as  royal  treasures,  or  in  the  embroidery 
on  some  of  the  most  precious  vestments  of  the  clergy. 

One  of  the  earliest  records  of  silk  mentioned  in  the  Silk  in 
Saxon  chronicles  is  that  "Offa,  Bang  of  Mercia,  received  Saxon 
a  present  of  two  silken  vests  from  the  Emperor  Charle-  Times, 
magne  in  790."     King  Alfred  also  is  said  to  have  had 
amongst  his  royal  treasures  a  few  garments  embroidered 
with  silk,  or  woven  of  that  material. 

It  kis  often  erroneously  supposed  by  students  of  the 
poetry  and  romance  of  antiquity  and  the  Middle  Ages, 
that  the  glowing  descriptions  of  the  dress  and  decoration 
of  these  periods  are  to  be  taken  as  literally  true.  A 
modern  author,  to  quote  one  example  out  of  many  which 
might  be  chosen,  contrasting  the  present  time  unfavour- 
ably with  the  past,  says  :  "  The  love  of  beauty  among 
the  early  races  was  not  a  narrow  cult,  nor  was  it  the 
exclusive  possession  of  a  privileged  few.  It  was  the  native 
gift  of  every  human  being."  In  proof  of  this  assertion 
the  author  cites  a  passage  from  an  ancient  romance  which, 
though  very  beautiful,  is  manifestly  misleading  as  a 
picture  of  real  life.  "  It  is  recorded  in  the  history  of 
Cuchulain  that  when  a  certain  King  Eochaid  was  going 
one  day  over  the  fair  green  of  Bri  Leith  he  saw,  at  the 
side  of  a  well,  a  woman  with  a  bright  comb  of  silver  and 
gold,  and  who  was  washing  in  a  silver  basin  having  four 
golden  birds  on  it  and  little  bright  purple  stones  set  in 
the  rim  of  the  basin  ;  a  beautiful  purple  cloak  she  had 
and  silver  fringes  on  it,  and  a  gold  brooch  ;  and  she  had 
on  her  a  dress  of  green  silk  with  a  long  hood  embroidered 
in  red  gold,  and  wonderful  clasps  of  gold  and  silver  on 
her  breasts  and  on  her  shoulders.  The  sunlight  was  Literary 
shining  on  her,  so  that  the  gold  and  the  green  silk  were  License, 
shining  out.  Two  plaits  of  hair  she  had,  four  locks  in 
each  plait  and  a  gold  bead  at  the  point  of  every  lock,  and 
the  colour  of  her  hair  was  like  the  yellow  flags  in  summer 
or  red  gold  after  it  is  burnished." 

This  description  is  as  beautiful  as  a  design  by  the  late 
Sir  Edward  Burne-Jones,  which  it  suggests,  but  all  that 
the  sober  historian  can  gather  from  it  is,  that,  at  the  time 
the  story  was  written,  gold  and  silver  combs  and  brooches. 


16 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


silver  fringes  to  purple  garments,  green  silken  webs,  gold 

embroidered,    and    beautiful    women    with    golden    hair, 

Influence  which  it  was  customary  to  wear  in  plaits,  were  to  be  seen. 

of  the        But  to  suppose  that  at  the   time  to  which  the  legend 

Norman     refers    women    exquisitely     clad     were     commonly    seen 

Conquest,  washing  themselves  by  the  roadside  or  that  the  materials 

and  details  of  such  dresses  as  that  described  were  the 

productions  of  local  handicraft,  or  that  the  whole  scene 

ever  existed  except  in  the  imagination  of  the  romancer, 

is    absurd.       Such   theories,    moreover,    are    contradicted 

by  the  actual  specimens  of  handicraft  which  have  been 

preserved.     The  few  really  fine  works  which  remain  are 

of  periods,   and  by  artists,  belonging  to  peoples  known 

to  have  attained  a  high  degree  of  culture. 

After  the  Norman  Conquest,  delicacy  and  richness, 
both  of  material  and  workmanship,  seem  to  have 
characterised  the  dress  and  furnishings,  not  only  of  royalty 
but  of  the  nobles  and  gentry.  Chronicles  of  the  twelfth, 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  abound  with  graphic 
descriptions  of  sumptuous  pageants  and  elegant  banquets, 
in  which  gorgeous  clothing  of  silk  and  cloth  of  gold,  and 
flashing  jewels,  as  well  as  delicately  prepared  food  and 
ingeniously  decorated  dishes,  are  described  in  minute 
detail  and  with  evident  appreciation.  These  things  are 
set  forth,  not  only,  as  hitherto  they  had  been  in  fiction, 
by  poets  and  romancers,  but  as  sober  descriptions  of 
actual  fact  by  veracious  historians.* 

Oriental         Several  centuries  elapsed,  however,  before  the  articles 

Silk  of  luxury  thus  described  came  to  be  of  English  manu- 

Weavers.   facture.    Such  wares  were  mainly  introduced  into  Northern 

Europe  by  foreign  traders,   who  brought  them  from  the 

East  by  way  of  Italy  and  Spain.     In  the  twelfth  century 

the  settlement  of  Oriental  silk  weavers  in  Italy  and  Sicily 

took  place,  and  rendered  that  country  not  only  the  market, 

but  the  manufactory,  of  silken  webs  for  the  rest  of  Europe.f 

The   account   by   Matthew   Paris   of  the   festivities   at 

the  marriage  of  the  daughter  of  Henry  III.  to  Alexander, 

*  Even  in  these  descriptions  much  allowance  must  be  made  for  rhetorical  exaggeration. 

t  It  is  necessary  to  note  here  that  the  work  of  embroidery,  as  distinguished  from  woven 
fabrics,  must  be  excepted.  A  great  deal  of  embroidery  was  no  doubt  executed  during  the 
twelfth,  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  in  England,  but  the  materials  on  which  it  was 
wrought  were  imported  :  and,  moreover,  the  names  of  the  artists  recorded  are  mostly  of 
foreign  origin,  such  as  Cheiner,  Fitzode,  Courteray  and  others. 


BEGINNING    OF   INDUSTRY.  17 

King  of  Scotland,  in  1251,  shows  that  the  wearing  of  silk  had 
then  become  general.  He  states  that  a  "  thousand 
knights  appeared  in  vestments  of  silk.  These  were  changed 
on  the  following  day  for  similar  garments  of  different 
colours."  Also  that  "  even  citizens  were  present  wearing 
cydades  worked  with  gold  over  vestments  of  silk." 

One  of  the  provisions  of  the  Great  Charter,  made  by   The 
Henry  III.  in   1225,   and  confirmed  by  Edward  I.   and   Great 
several  succeeding  monarchs,    deals  with  the   treatment   Charter, 
the  purveyors  of  foreign  goods  were  to  receive  in  order 
to  encourage  them  to  bring  their  costly  wares  more  con- 
fidently   to    the    English    market.     The    section    of    the 
Charter  referred  to  is  as  follows  :— 

Cap.  xxx. 

"  Merchant  strangers  coming  into  this  realm  shall  be 
well  used. 

"All  merchants  (if  they  be  not  openly  prohibited  before) 
shall  have  their  safe  and  sure  conduct  to  depart 
out  of  England,  to  come  into  England,  to  tarry 
in  and  go  through  England,  as  well  by  Land  as  by 
Water,  to  buy  and  sell,  without  any  manner  of  evil 
tolls,  by  the  old  and  rightful  customs  except  in 
time  of  War.  (2)  And  if  they  be  of  a  Land  making 
war  against  us,  and  be  found  in  our  Realm  at  the 
beginning  of  the  wars,  they  shall  be  attached, 
without  harm  of  body  or  goods,  until  it  be  known 
unto  us,  or  to  our  Chief  Justice,  how  our  merchants 
be  intreated  there  in  the  Land  making  war  against 
us.  (3)  And  if  our  merchants  be  well  intreated 
there,  their's  shall  be  likewise  with  us." 

There  is  ample  evidence  to  prove  that  these  travelling  Protec- 
merchants  found  a  ready  sale  for  their  attractive  goods  tive 
in  the  various  parts  of  the  country  they  visited.     Most  Laws 
of  them  were  no  doubt  small  dealers  who  carried  their  for 
stock   of   goods  in   a  pack,   whilst   the  more  important  Aliens, 
retailers  opened  shops,   and  had  warehouses  in  London 
and  the  principal  seaport  towns. 

There  is  extant  a  tax-gatherer's  account,  of  the  time 
of  Edward   I.,   giving   an  inventory   of  the  stock   of   a 


18  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

mercator,  most  likely  one  of  these  travelling  merchants, 
but  whether  English  or  foreign  does  not  transpire. 

£    s.   d. 

Item.  A  piece  of  woollen  cloth  . .         . .  070 

,,      Silk  and  fine  linen  [probably  thread] .  100 

,,      Flannel  and  silk  purses        . .          . .  140 

„      Gloves,  girdles,  leather  purses,  and 

needlework  . .         . .         . .  068 

„      Other  small  things 030 

£308 


The  fact  that  it  was  considered  necessary  in  1225  to 
make  a  law  for  the  protection  of  the  merchant  strangers 
suggests  that  a  considerable  number  of  English  people 
had  by  that  time  themselves  become  dealers  in  these  foreign 
commodities,  and  that  they  were  disposed  to  quarrel  with 
the  strangers  and  prevent  their  doing  business.  This  is 
the  more  probable  as  the  different  types  of  tradesmen 
and  handicraftsmen  were  generally  adopting  the  custom 
of  gathering  themselves  together  into  trade  guilds  and 
fraternities  for  mutual  protection  and  benefit. 

Statutes         A  perusal   of  the  English  statutes   from  the  time   of 

Regula-      Henry   III.    forward   demonstrates   how   curiously   Royal 

ting  and  Parliamentary  opinion  fluctuated  between  protection 

Trade.        and  freedom,  both  as  regards  trading  and  manufacture. 

Although  in  a  subsequent  section  these  statutes  will  have 

to  be  considered  in  detail,  it  is  necessary  here  briefly  to 

notice  those  which  bear  particularly  on  the  matter  of  the 

immigration  of  foreign  workers  in  silk,   such  as  thread 

twisters   or   throwsters,    embroiderers,    braid   and   ribbon 

makers   and   broad   silk   weavers,    as   well   as   merchants 

dealing  in  all  these  costly  wares.     There  can  be  no  doubt 

that  by  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  a  considerable 

number  of  foreigners  who  dealt  in  and  manipulated  silk 

had  settled  in  England. 


BEGINNING   OF  INDUSTRY. 


19 


During  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  more  than  a  hundred  Acts 
of  Parliament  were  passed  for  the  purpose  of  regulating 
manufacture,  trade  and  commerce.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  these  statutes  dealt  with  textile  manufactures 
and  raw  materials,  and  although  silk  is  but  rarely 
specifically  mentioned,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  silk 
workers,  embroiderers,  throwsters,  cord  and  braid-makers, 
if  not  weavers,  would  be  included  in  such  statutes  as 
Cap,  v.,  11  Ed.  III.  It  is  entitled  :- 

"  Clothworkers  may  come  into  the  king's  dominions 

and   have   sufficient  liberties.''" 

"  Item. — It  is  accorded  that  all  clothworkers  of  Strange 
Lands  of  Whatsoever  Country  they  be,  which  will 
come  into  England,  Ireland,  Wales,  and  Scotland, 
within  the  King's  power,  shall  come  safely  and 
surely,  and  shall  be  in  the  King's  protection  and 
safe  conduct,  to  dwell  in  the  same  lands  choosing 
where  they  will.  (2)  And  to  the  intent  the  said 
clothworkers  shall  have  the  greater  will  to  come 
and  dwell  here,  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  will 
grant  them  Franchises  as  many  and  such  as  may 
suffice  them." 
Then  again  in  1344*  :- 

"  The  sea  shall  be  open  to  all  manner  of  merchants  to 
pass  with  their  merchandise  when  it  shall  please 
them." 
And  in  1353f  :— 

"  Merchant  strangers  shall  be  taken  in  the  King's 
protection  for  their  wrongs  shall  receive  double 
damages." 

This  last  statute  seems  to  suggest  that  the  strangers 
still  met  with  determined  opposition,  in  their  trading 
journeys  or  settlement,  from  the  already  established 
tradesmen. 

The  first  actual  reference  to  silk  in  the  statute  book 
is  in  1363,1  when  it  was  enacted  that  :— 

"  Handy  craftsmen  shall  use  but  one  mystery,  but  handy- 
workmen  may  work  as  they  did." 

*  Cap.  iii.,  18  Ed.  III. 
t  Cap.  xx.,  25  Ed.  HI. 
J  37  Ed.  III.,  Cap.  VI, 


Regula- 
tion of 
Trade  in 
Reign  of 
Edward 
III. 


20  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Begin-  By   this   Act   the   different   artificers,   merchants,    and 

nings  of      retail  tradesmen  were  forbidden  to  deal  in  or  work  at 

Silk  more  than  one  particular  class  of  goods  or  manufacture. 

Weaving    They  had  to  make  their  choice  and  declare  it  before  a 

Industry.  Justice  of  the  Peace  by  a  specified  time,  the  penalty  for 

neglecting  to  do  so  was  imprisonment,  or  a  fine,  at  the 

discretion  of  the  judge.     The  exceptions  to  this  rule  were  : 

"  female  brewers,  bakers,  weavers,  spinsters  and  other  women 

employed  upon  works  in  wool,  linen,  silk  or  embroidery,  etc." 

It  is  added  that  "the  King  and  Council  had  no  intention 

to  hinder  these  persons  working  as  they  will." 

Although  not  impossible,  it  is  improbable  that  broad  silk 
weaving  was  practised  in  this  country  at  an  earlier  period 
than  the  fourteenth  century.  In  fact,  were  it  not  for 
the  evidence  of  a  single  drawing  in  a  manuscript  of  that 
period,  in  which  a  weaver  is  depicted  at  work  weaving 
a  web  which  in  the  text  is  described  as  silk,  it  might  be 
supposed  that  the  art  was  not  introduced  till  the  fifteenth 
century.  But,  whether  there  were  few  or  many  weavers 
of  silk  then  at  work  in  England,  it  is  certain  that  they 
were  only  employed  in  weaving  the  plainest  kind  of  fabrics, 
for  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  rich  velvets,  figured 
silks  and  damasks,  on  which  the  embroiderers  exercised 
their  skill,  were  imported  from  Italy  by  the  merchant 
strangers  so  often  mentioned  in  the  statutes.* 

It  would    appear  that    very  little  broad  silk  weaving 

was    attempted,    but    there    is    evidence    that    spinning 

thread  from  raw  silk,  twisting  and  plaiting  the  threads 

together,  and  preparing  gold  and  silver  threads  for  the 

use   of  embroiderers,   as  well   as  the  twining   of  braids, 

ribbons,  cords,  purses,  girdles  and  trimmings  of  all  sorts, 

Employ-    were  done  by  English  workers,  and  that  their  goods  were 

ment  of     in  very  great  demand.     This  branch  of  silk  manufacture, 

Women,     as  well  as  the  embroidery  itself,  gave  employment  to  a  large 

number  of  persons,  particularly  women  and  children,  and  had 

done  so  increasingly  from  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest.f 

*  2  Rich.  II.,  Cap.  i.  Aliens  may  sell  wholesale,  where  they  will,  cloth  of  gold  and  silver, 
silk,  sendal  napery,  linen  cloth,  canvas,  and  other  such  great  wares  etc.  See  also  note  in 
Appendix,  where  the  whole  of  this  important  act  is  transcribed. 

^t  Silk  weaving  has  always  been  divided  into  two  distinct  branches,  the  Broad  and  the 
Narrow.  All  dress  and  furniture  fabrics  belong  to  the  Broad  branch,  whatever  their  width 
may  be,  whilst  all  braids,  ribbons,  cords,  galloons,  etc.,  belong  to  the  Narrow  branch.  These 
latter  gave  employment  in  the  Middle  Ages  to  vast  numbers  of  people,  as  all  braids,  ribbons 
and  narrow  goods  were  made  in  single  widths. 


Plate  IV.  Primitive  Weaver,  from  MSS. 

in  British  Museum. 


BEGINNING  OF  INDUSTRY.  21 

At   first,   no   doubt,    English   embroidery   consisted   of  Begin- 
rude  designs  in  outline,  worked  quite  simply  in  coloured  nings  of 
wools   on  plain  linen  grounds.     Precious  threads  of  silk   Silk 
and  gold  were,  later  on,  sparingly  used  for  very  special   Weaving 
works,  on  the  fine  cloth  obtained  from  Flanders.     Hardly  Industry, 
ever,  if  at  all,  were  silken  fabrics  used  as  grounds  until 
the  eleventh  century,  and  it  was  not  until  the  fourteenth 
century  that,  as  revealed  by  the  concise  and  formal  entries 
in  the  Exchequer  accounts,  the  embroiderers  of  apparel 
and  furniture  revelled  in  the  use  of  cloth  of  gold  and 
silver,  curiously  prepared  threads  of  precious  metal  and 
silk,  gems  and  pearls,  and  the  woven  silks,  satins,  damasks 
and  velvets  of  Italy,  Spain  and  the  Orient.* 

In  1455  the  second  reference  to  silk  is  found  in  the 
recorded  statutesf  :— 

"No  wrought  silk  belonging  to  the  mystery  of  silk 
women  shall  be  brought  into  this  realm  by  way 
of  merchandise  during  five  years." 
"It  was  shewed  in  the  said  Parliament  by  the  Silk 
Women  and  Spinsters  of  Silk  within  the   City  of 
London,  that  divers  Lombards  and  other  Aliens, 
Strangers,   imagining  to   destroy  their  Crafts  and 
all  such  virtuous   occupations   for   Women  within 
this  land,  to  the  intent  to  enrich  themselves  and 
put  such  occupations  into  other  lands,  daily  bring 
into  this  realm  wrought  Silk,  Wrought  Ribbands 
and  Laces,  falsely  and  deceitfully  wrought,  corses  { 
of  silk  and  all  manner  of  other  things  touching  the 
same  mysteries   and   Occupations   ready  wrought, 
and  will  not  bring  in  any  unwrought  Silk,  as  these 
were  wont  to  do,  to  the  final  destruction  of  the 
said   mysteries    and    occupations.     It   is   therefore  Protec- 
ordained   and   established  that  all  such  goods,   if  tion  of 
brought  in,  shall  be  forfeited,  and  that  every  seller   English 
of    them    shall,     for    every    default,     forfeit    ten    Workers, 
pounds   (x  £)." 

*  See  Extracts  from  the  Issue  Rolls  of  the  Exchequer  from  King  Henry  III,  to  King  Henry  VI., 
ed.  F.  Dixon  ;  also  Catalogue  of  English  Embroidery  exhibited  at  the  Burlington  Fine  Arts 
Club,  A.  F.  Kendrick. 

t  33  Henry  VI.,  Cap.  v. 

J  Generally  supposed  to  signify  stay  laces.     Original  Document  in  Record  Office,  London, 


22  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Protec-          This  Act  was  extended  eight  years  later  (1463),   and 
tion  of        again   in    1482,    when   the   prohibition    of   wearing   such 
English      foreign  wrought  small  silk  goods  was  added. 
Workers.       Bacon,  in  his  History  of  Henry  VII.,  says  that  all  these 
small  articles  "  the  people  of  England  could  then  well 
skill  to  make,"   but  that   all   other  silken  fabrics  were 
permitted  unrestricted  importation,  "  for  that  the  realm 
had  of  them  no  manufacture  in  use  at  that  time." 

This  statement  is  correct  in  the  main,  but  that  there 
were  more  exceptions  than  the  following  single  instance 
which  is  recorded  in  the  Proceedings  in  Chancery  in  the 
Reign  of  Edward  IV.,  1461,  cannot  be  doubted  :- 

"George   Damico,    an  Italian,  v.  John  Burdean  and 

others." 

"  Plaintiff,  because   he   exercises  the  art  of  weaving 
cloths  of  damask,  velvets,  cloth  of  gold  and  silver 
and  other  cloths  of  silk,  by  the  King's  high  com- 
mandment in  a  house  assigned  to  him  at   West- 
minster, and  instructs  others  in  the  same  mystery, 
is  arrested  on  several  feigned  actions  of  debt  and 
trespass  taken  out  against  him  by  certain  merchant 
Strangers,  wherefor  he  prays  a  Corpus  cum  causa 
to  be  directed  to  the  Sheriff  of  London." 
It  is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  above  plea  that  the 
Italian  weaver  under  the  King's  protection  at  Westminster 
not  only  practised  his  trade,  but  claims  to  have  instructed 
others    in    the    same. 

Introduc-       The  introduction   of   broad   silk  weaving  into   France 

tion  of       took  place  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  event  recorded 

Broad        above  shows  it  to  have  been  practised  in  England.     The 

Silk  secrets   of   sericulture   and   the  handicraft  of  broad  silk 

Weaving,  weaving    seem    to    have    been    successfully    retained    in 

Italy  for  more  than  three  centuries  after  being  brought  to 

that  country  from  the  East.     It  is  said  that  attempts  to 

induce  silk  weavers  to  remove  from  Italy  to  France  were 

made  as  early  as  1480,  but  that  the  establishment  of  the 

manufacture  was  not  really  successful  until  1521,  when 

noblemen,   returning  from  the  conquest  of  the  Duchy  of 

Milan,  brought  with  them  not  only  the  Silk  Weavers,  but 

persons  having  a  knowledge  of  sericulture.     Towards  the 


.    j  \BH\5 
:1  LJtK&si 


P/a/e 


Medieval  Silfy    Weaver — /rom    an   Early  English 
MSS.  belonging  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 


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^fcsJSS&a^^aptssa 


! 

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K7. 


Indenture    of    Apprenticeship,     dated     February, 
1519 — from  the  original  in  the  British  Museum. 


BEGINNING  OF  INDUSTRY.  23 

end  of  the  century  sericulture  became  acclimatised  in 
France,  but  that  country  has  always  to  a  great  extent, 
as  England  has  altogether,  depended  on  Italy  and  the 
Orient  for  her  chief  supply  of  raw  silk. 

Whether  the  Italian  silk  weaver,  Damico,  was  successful 
in  obtaining  protection  against  his  enemies,  and  was  able 
to  continue  his  handicraft  in  Westminster  is  not  revealed  ; 
but  there  is  a  further  record  that  cloths  of  gold,  silver 
and  silk,  were  being  woven  in  London  in  1473.*  As 
the  mystery  was  also,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  introduced 
from  Italy  and  Spain  into  the  Netherlands,  where  it  was 
quickly  developed  into  an  important  branch  of  manu- 
facture, it  is  probable  that  from  this  time  forward,  seeing 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  intercourse  between  England 
and  Holland,  an  increasing  number  of  handicraftsmen, 
both  native  and  foreign,  found  remunerative  occupation 
in  the  art  and  mystery  of  Broad  Silk  Weaving  in  Great 
Britain. 

*  Barton's  History  of  Weaving. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IMMIGRATION  FROM  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

Rise  of         At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  manu- 
British     facture  of  all  kinds  of  textile  fabrics  had  attained  to  a 
Textile     very  important  position  in  England.      She  not  only  supplied 
Industry,  the  greater  part  of  the  home  demand,  but   provided   a 
large    quantity    of    goods    for    exportation.     This    was 
especially    the    case    as    regards     the     manufacture    of 
linen    and    woollen  stuffs.     The    weaving    and    finishing 
of  the  latter,  in  particular,  had  been  carried  to  such  per- 
fection, that,  not  only  was  English  wool  preferred  to  that 
of  any  other  country,  as  heretofore,  but  the  wool  dyed 
and  woven  into  cloth  by  the  English  manufacturers  was 
acknowledged  as   the   best   obtainable,    and   was  readily 
purchased  in  all  the  markets  of  Europe. 

The  first  improvements  in  the  primitive  manufacture 
of  woollen  cloth  in  England  are  said  to  have  been 
owing  to  the  methods  of  weaving  introduced  by  a  party 
of  Flemish  immigrants,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  their 
own  country  by  an  inundation  of  the  sea  in  the  time  of 
William  the  Conqueror.  They  craved  the  protection  of 
the  Queen,  who  was  their  countrywoman,  and  the  King, 
influenced  by  her,  permitted  them  to  settle  at  Carlisle. 
There  they  and  their  successors  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  woollen  cloth  weaving  trade  of  Great  Britain,  which, 
during  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  became  localised 
in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

This  development  was  assisted  from  time  to  time  by 
further  immigrations  of  alien  craftsmen,  and  more  and 
more  proficiency  in  the  art  was  made.  Sometimes 
these  foreign  weavers  came  in  response  to  invita- 
tions of  royal  or  noble  patrons,  and  sometimes  they  were 
influenced  by  the  spirit  of  mercantile  adventure  ;  but, 
whatever  the  cause  of  their  advent,  it  was  generally 
opposed  by  previous  settlers  or  the  native  weavers,  who 

24 


IMMIGRATION  FROM  THE   NETHERLANDS.    25 

regarded  them  as  objects  of  hatred  and  malice,  and  in  their  Import- 
short-sighted  ill-will  dubbed  them,  as  is  recorded,  "  cursede   ance  of 
f  orrainers. ' '  *  British 

It  has  been  shown  that  during  the  five  centuries  sue-  Textile 
ceeding  the  Norman  Conquest,  in  which  the  manufacture  Industry, 
of  woollen  cloths  was  being  developed,  the  art  of 
embroidering  in  silk,  the  manufacture  of  silken  thread, 
the  twisting,  twining  and  weaving  of  cords,  ribbons  and 
braids  of  silk,  and  broad  silk  weaving  had  been  introduced 
and  improved  intermittently  by  missionaries,  traders, 
artists  and  craftsmen  coming  from  Italy.  The  result  was 
that  all  these  branches  of  silk  manufacture  had  become 
British  industries  of  greater  or  less  importance.  The  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries  are  however  distinguished 
by  two  events  which  did  more  than  all  else  to  establish  the 
manufacturing  arts,  particularly  that  of  silk  manufacture 
and  broad  silk  weaving,  in  Great  Britain.  These  events 
were  the  immigration  and  settlement  of  great  numbers 
of  skilful  handicraftsmen  from  the  Netherlands  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  from  France,  in  even  greater 
numbers,  in  the  seventeenth. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  first  of  these   Indus- 
important  events  and  justly  to  estimate  its  effect,  it  is  trial 
necessary  to  make  a  brief  enquiry  into  the  history,  con-   Suprem- 
dition,   industry,    and   politics   of   the   confederate   cities   acy  of 
and  States  of  the  Netherlands  ;    this  confederacy  being  the 
at  that  time  the  busiest  and  most  prosperous   country   Nether- 
in  the  whole  of  Europe.     The  early  history  of  the  portion  lands, 
of  Europe  now  known  as  Holland,  but  anciently  called 
Batavia   and   Friesland,   lying   beyond   the   boundary   of 
the  Roman  Empire,   and  washed   on  the  north  by  the 
North    Sea,    furnishes    a    remarkable    instance    of    the 
supremacy  of  man  in  conflict  with  nature  and  circum- 
stance.    This  enthralling  story  has  been  told  by   other 
modern  authors,  and  need  not  be  repeated.!    It  cannot 
be  doubted,  however,  that  the  indomitable  spirit  of  the 

*  "  John  Kempe,"  Barlow's  History  of  Weaving.  John  Kempe  and  his  company  of 
cloth  workers  established  a  manufactory  of  fine  woollen  cloth  in  1369.  They  were  bitterly 
opposed  by  native  cloth  weavers,  and  had  to  be  taken  under  the  special  protection  of 
Edward  III. 

f  Rite  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  Motley. 


26 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Industrial 
Suprem- 
acy of  the 
Nether- 
lands. 


ancient  people,  whose  laws  declared  that  "  the  race  should 
be  free  as  long  as  the  wind  blows  out  of  the  clouds  and 
the  world  stands,"  survived.  After  centuries  of  develop- 
ment, the  united  cities  and  provinces  of  the  Netherlands, 
having  become  supreme  in  Europe  in  art,  science,  manu- 
facture, and  commerce,  made  their  gallant  fight  for  civil 
and  religious  liberty  against  royal  prerogative,  and 
religious  intolerance.  At  the  time  when  the  long  and 
bitter  conflict  of  the  Netherlands  with  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.*  and  his  son  Philip  II.  commenced,  a  con- 
flict which,  in  1509,  left  Holland  free  and  victorious  and 
the  centre  of  European  commerce  and  finance,  the 
Netherlands  consisted  of  the  Flemish  and  Walloon 
provinces,  now  known  as  Belgium,  as  well  as  those  of 
Holland  and  Friesland.  These  provinces  contained  about 
three  million  inhabitants,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
had  gathered  themselves  into  fortified  cities.  The  cities 
were  independent  of  one  another  and  were  governed  by 
local  municipalities,  the  officers  of  which  were  usually 
elected  by  the  deans  or  wardens  of  the  various  guilds  of 
Freemen  of  the  town.  The  numerous  dukes  and  counts, 
who  had  been  nominally  their  rulers,  had  from  time  to 
time  granted  charters  of  privilege  to  the  municipalities 
in  exchange  for  a  fixed  rent  charge,  or  special  subsidies, 
secured  on  the  revenues  of  the  city  and  the  goods  of  the 
citizens.  These  overlords  were  not  slow  to  discover  that 
the  prosperity  of  their  subjects  was  a  matter  of  profound 
interest  to  themselves,  and  that  the  concession  of 
privileges  to  the  cities  was  a  plentiful  source  of  riches 
and  strength.  In  this  manner  the  communities  had 
practically  become  little  republics.  In  provincial  matters, 
the  towns  took  common  council  together,  and  their 
deputies  met  the  nobles  in  the  assemblies  of  the  general 
government.  Thus  the  free  cities  of  the  Netherlands 
had  gradually  become  familiarised  with  Parliamentary 
action,  f  It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  Netherlands' 
Parliament  the  clergy,  as  clergy,  had  no  part.  The 

*  Born  in  1500,  in  1606  he  became  Count  of  Flanders  and  Duke  of  the  Netherlands,  in 
1516  King  of  Spain,  in  1519  Emperor  of  Germany  and  afterwards  King  of  Jerusalem,  and, 
by  the  grant  of  Pope  Adrian  the  Sixth,  lord  of  the  whole  new  world. 

f  History  of  Holland,  Professor  Thorold  Rogers. 


IMMIGRATION  FROM  THE  NETHERLANDS.    27 

Netherlands  did  not  intrust  their  liberties  to  the  Church. 
They  were  however  quite  devout  and  built  magnificent 
churches  and  decorated  them  most  lavishly,  as  indeed 
they  did  the  streets  of  their  cities  and  both  public  and 
private  buildings. 

By  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  cities  of 
the  Netherlands  not  only  rivalled  but  surpassed  those 
of  Italy  as  manufactories  and  markets  of  commodities 
of  artistic  merit  and  intrinsic  value.  The  merchants  of 
Bruges,  Ghent,  Brussels,  Mechlin,  Ypres,  Mons,  Amsterdam, 
Leyden,  Haarlem  and  other  cities,  but  above  all  others 
Antwerp — whose  port  received  two  thousand  five  hundred  The  Rise 
ships  at  one  time — gathered  into  their  warehouses,  and  of 
distributed  to  all  parts  of  Europe,  the  richest  raw  materials  Antwerp, 
and  artificial  productions  from  near  and  far.  Raw  and 
manufactured  silks  and  sparkling  jewels  came  from  the  East, 
spices  and  rare  woods  and  precious  metals  from  the  West, 
wool  and  hides  from  Britain,  and  furs  from  the  North, 
as  well  as  all  the  raw  materials  for  the  use  of  their  native 
craftsmen  and  the  necessaries  of  life  for  their  teeming 
populations.  The  painters  of  pictures,  the  architects, 
and  the  engineers  of  the  Netherlands  equalled  in  design, 
whilst  they  surpassed  in  technique  and  invention,  the 
artists  of  Italy  and  Spain  ;  the  schools  of  tapestry  workers 
wove  gorgeous  sets  of  hangings  and  carpets  excelling 
any  that  had  been  previously  wrought ;  the  goldsmiths 
and  workers  in  less  costly  metals  were  second  to  none 
in  Europe.  The  weavers,  the  most  numerous  and 
powerful  of  all  the  craftsmen  in  the  Netherlands,  who 
had  always  been  famous  for  the  fine  weaving  and  finishing 
of  woollen  cloth  and  the  strength  and  delicacy  of  their 
linen  fabrics,  had  at  length  learned  from  Italy  and  Spain 
the  mystery  of  manipulating  silk,  so  that  in  Mons,  the 
capital  of  Hainault,  as  well  as  in  Mechlin,  Bruges  and 
other  cities,  silk  weaving,  probably  in  all  its  branches, 
was  practised  on  a  very  large  scale.  The  fact  that 
Mons  was  a  great  silk  weaving  centre  is  established  by 
the  town  records  referring  to  a  revolt  of  the  city,  in 
which  it  is  stated  that  "  many  of  the  rich  proprietors 


28 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Mons  a 

Weaving 

Centre. 


Grant  of 
the 

"  Great 
Privi- 
lege." 


of  the  great  cloth  and  silk  manufactories,  for  which  Mons 
was  famous,  raised  and  armed  companies  of  volunteers 
at  their  own  expense."  Also  that  "  De  Leste,  a  silk 
manufacturer,  who  had  commanded  a  band  of  volunteers, 
and  sustained  during  the  siege  the  assaults  of  Alva's 
troops  with  remarkable  courage  at  a  very  critical  moment, 
was  one  of  the  earliest  victims  to  be  executed  by  order 
of  the  commission  of  troubles  after  the  recovery  of  the 
city  by  the  Spaniards."* 

To  return  to  the  circumstances  leading  to  the  revolt 
of  the  United  Provinces.  Early  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
Philip — surnamed  the  Good — partly  by  purchase  and 
partly  by  inheritance,  had  acquired  the  position  of  over- 
lord of  the  seventeen  States  of  the  Netherlands.  He  at 
once  endeavoured  to  curtail  their  liberties,  although  he 
had  previously  sworn  to  maintain  them.  Philip  died 
in  1467,  and  his  son,  Charles,  succeeded  in  completing  the 
work  begun  by  Philip,  and  made  himself  absolute  monarch, 
forcing  many  of  the  Flemish  cities  to  resign  their  municipal 
rights.  At  the  death  of  Charles  in  1496,  his  daughter, 
Mary,  succeeded  him  in  the  Netherlands,  and  the  Nether- 
landers  seized  the  opportunity  of  her  need  for  their  help 
in  defending  her  inheritance  against  Louis  XL  of  France, 
to  obtain  from  her  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  Netherlands 
called  the  "  Great  Privilege."  It  was  this  constitution 
which  Mary's  grandson,  Charles  V.,  violated,  and  for 
the  recovery  and  maintenance  of  which  the  Netherlanders 
took  up  arms  against  him  and  his  son,  Philip  II.  f  Charles  V. 
succeeded  his  father,  Philip,  as  Count  of  Flanders  in  1506. 
In  1516  he  became  King  of  Spain,  and  when  only  nineteen 
years  of  age — 1519 — he  was  elected  Emperor  of  Germany. 

The  points  of  the  charter  which  the  Emperor  Charles 
sought  to  over-ride  were  two,  viz.,  that  providing  for 
the  popular  control  of  taxation,  and  the  freedom  of  religion. 
During  the  revolt,  which  lasted  fifty  years,  thousands 
of  the  most  learned,  respected  and  industrious  inhabitants 
of  the  dismayed  provinces  fell  victims  to  the  gallows, 

*  Mons  :  sous  lea   Rapports   Hietoriques  et  Statistiques,   etc.,  par.   F.   Paridaens.      (Mons, 

t  The  fifty  years'  struggle  and  its  result  is  graphically  told  by  Motley  in  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic  and  The  History  of  the  Netherlands. 


IMMIGRATION   FROM   THE   NETHERLANDS.     29 

the  sword,  the  stake,  the  living  grave,  unmentionable 
horrors  of  torture  and  banishment.*  The  number  of 
victims  can  never  be  accurately  known,  as  it  far  out- 
stripped the  possibility  of  record.  Some  of  the  per-  The 
petrators  of  these  crimes  have  an  unenviable  reputation  Crime 
such  as  Alva,  who,  after  his  administration,  which  only  of  Alva. 
lasted  five  years,  boasted  that  he  had  caused  eighteen 
thousand  six  hundred  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  to 
be  executed  ;  and  Noircarmes,  President  of  the  Blood 
Council,  who  condemned  victims  to  torture  and  execution 
in  batches  of  fifties  and  hundreds  at  a  time  without  trial, 
and  enriched  himself  with  their  confiscated  property. 
During  this  period  of  revolt  and  persecution,  thousands 
of  Netherlanders  came  to  England  for  sanctuary.  They 
brought  with  them  their  several  arts,  many  of  which  had 
been  little,  if  at  all,  practised  in  England  before  that 
time.  The  drawloom  for  silk  and  linen  pattern  weaving 
is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Norwich  by  Nether- 
landish refugees.  It  is  certain  that  many  of  the  lighter 
kinds  of  silk  mixed  fabrics  were  almost  unknown  previous 
to  the  immigration  of  the  Flemings  and  Hollanders. 
Although  they  were  not  always  made  welcome  by  native 
craftsmen  or  previously  established  settlers,  or  allowed 
to  begin  work  without  opposition,  the  municipal  records 
of  the  principal  towns  on  the  Eastern  seaboard  of  England 
bear  witness  to  the  benefits  conferred  on  the  country  of 
their  adoption  by  the  industrious  refugee  craftsmen. 
For  instance,  it  is  recorded  that  the  trade  of  Norwich 
at  the  time  of  the  immigration  was  in  a  very  depressed 
state,  as  owing  to  the  decay  of  the  worsted  manufacture, 
many  weavers  had  been  forced  to  leave  their  homes  and 
go  into  the  country  to  earn  their  bread.  The  Mayor  and 
Corporation,  being  anxious  to  restore  the  prosperity  of 
the  community,  waited  upon  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who 
was  then  at  his  palace  in  that  city,  and  it  was  decided 
to  invite  to  Norwich  some  of  the  strangers  of  the  Low 
Countries,  who,  by  leave  of  the  Queen,  had  come  to  Refugees 
Sandwich  and  London  for  refuge  from  Alva's  persecution,  invited  to 
Upon  application  to  the  Queen  by  the  Duke,  she  gave  Norwich. 

*  See  note,  Appendix,  Motley,  p.  489. 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Refugees    letters  patent  to  thirty  master  weavers,   each  with  ten 

invited  to  servants,  to  settle  in  the  city  of  Norwich.     These  weavers 

Norwich,    set   up   the   making   of   baises,    serges,    arras   mochades, 

curelles  and  such  like  goods,  mingled  with  silk  and  linen 

yarn,  which  gave  employment  to  a  great  many  hands. 

Houses  which  had  fallen  into  decay  were  now  repaired 

and  inhabited,  and  both  the  city  and  the  country  grew 

rich — the  latter  by  the  great  demand  for  farm  produce, 

and  the  former  by  the  profits  from  this  new  introduction 

of  manufactures."* 

The  baises  and  serges  mentioned  in  the  above  record 
were  light  woollen  materials,  and  probably  only  an 
improvement  of  stuffs  already  made  in  England,  but  the 
arras  mochades  were  a  fabric  unknown  to  English  weavers 
although  probably  familiar  to  the  drapers  or  mercers. 
Mochado  or  mockado  is  frequently  mentioned  in  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  century  literature,  and,  from  this  source, 
we  learn  that  it  was  a  material  woven  of  silk,  and  wool, 
linen,  or  cotton,  having  a  design  woven  in  tufts  and  cut 
in  imitation  of  silk  figured  velvet.  The  name  often 
appears  in  inventories  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  later, 
as  in  the  following  :— 

"  A  piece  of  redd  mockadowe  21.5. 
iiij  yeards  of  duble  redd  mockadowe  6.s. 
vj  yeards  of  mockadow,  black  and  redd  9.s.  6.d. 
xix  yeards  of  mockadow,  blewe  and  browne." 

Some          The  two  latter  items  suggest  a  figured  material  in  two 

new  colours ;    the  former  might  be  either  plain  or  self-coloured. 

Fabrics.      Pattern  is  suggested  in  a  curious  quotation.     "  My  dream 

of  being  naked  and  my  skin  all  overwrought  with  works 

like  some  kind  of  tuft  mockado,  with  crosses  blew  and 

red."f     Curelles,  currelles  or  carrells,  are  mentioned  with 

bays,   fustians,    and   mockadoes   as    "  works   mixed   with 

silk,  worsted  or  linen  yarn,"  in  the  Book  of  Drapery,  1570, 

belonging  to  the  hall  at  Norwich. 

We  also  learn  that  Bombazines, %  were  first  made  in 
this  country  at  Norwich,  for,  "  In  1575  the  Dutch 

*  Blomefield's  History  of  Norfolk. 
f  Doctor  Dee's  Diary. 

j  Dress  material  having  a  silk  warp,  and  cotton,  linen,  or  woollen  weft ;   similar  to  Irish 
poplin,  but  thinner  and  lighter.     It  became  very  general  for  summer  wear. 


IMMIGRATION   FROM   THE   NETHERLANDS.    31 

Elders  presented  in  Court  a  new  work  called  Bombazines,  Intro- 
praying  to  have  the  '  search  and  seal '  of  them  to  their  duction  of 
use,  exclusive  of  the  Walloons,  who  insisted  that  all  white  Bomba- 
works  belonged  to  them  ;    but  the  Dutch,   as  the  first  zines. 
inventors,    had    their   petition   granted."     Pepys,    in   his 
Diary,  May  30,   1668,  writes  :     '  Up  and  put  on  a  new 
summer    black     bombazine     suit."       Bombazine,    spelt 
Bombazeen,  is  quoted  in  a  weaver's  list  of  prices  printed 
in  London  1821. 

In  the  year  1570  the  Bailiffs  of  Colchester,  in  Essex, 
wrote  to  the  Lords  of  the  Privy  Council  as  follows  : — 
"  Whereas  of  late  a  number  of  Dutchmen  have  come 
to  this  town  of  Colchester,  about  eleven  households,  to 
the  number  of  fifty  persons,  small  and  great,  where  they 
made  their  abode  longer  than  other  strangers  have  been 
accustomed.  We  therefore  called  the  best  of  them  to 
know  the  cause  of  their  coming,  who  answered  they  were 
a  part  of  the  dispersed  flock  of  late  driven  out  of  Flanders, 
for  that  their  consciences  were  offended  with  the  Masse, 
and  for  fear  of  the  tyranny  of  the  Duke  of  Alva — they 
came  into  this  realm  for  protection,  and  that  there  were 
more  of  them  at  Sandwich,  who  wished  to  be  permitted 
to  come  also — with  such  sciences  as  are  not  usual  with  us, 
but  weave  sackcloth,  make  needles,  parchment,  weavours, 
and  such-like,  so  that  they  shall  not  be  any  hindrance 
to  any  man  or  occupation  here.  We  dare  not  presume 
to  give  them  license  of  ourselves,  but  great  profit  might 
arise  to  the  common  estate  of  this  town,  greatly  decayed, 
etc.,  and  therefore  we  have  given  them  friendly  enter- 
tainment until  we  might  signify  the  same  to  your  Honours.  Col- 
And  we  cannot  but  greatly  commend  them — to  be  very  Chester 
honest,  godly,  civil,  and  well-ordered  people  not  given  wel- 
to  outrage  or  excess,  etc."  comes 

To  this  a  reply  was  given  (24th  March,  1570)  : — "  As   Alien 
ye  do  acknowledge  your  towne  to  be  benefited  by  their    Weavers, 
being  there,  we  are  right  glad  that  we  first  commended 
them  unto  you,  and  cannot  but  allow  their  conformity, 
your  gentle  handling  of  them,  and  the  concord  betwixt 
you,  the  which  we  trust  God  will  increase  with  benefits 


32 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


towards  you,  etc."     Signed  by  N.  Bacon,  O.S.,  T.  Sussex, 
R.  Leicester,  and  dated  from  Greenwich.* 

Norwich        In   1570,   Norwich  was   disturbed  by   a  conspiracy   of 

con-  John  Throgmorton  and  others  to  drive  out  the  Flemish 

spiracy       weavers.     The  plot  was,  however,  discovered,  and  several 

to  persons  were  arrested  and  condemned.     It  was  the  inten- 

banish        tion  of  the  malcontents  to  proceed,  after  collecting  forces 

Flemings,  at  Harleston  Fair,  Bungay  and  Beccles,  "  to  Norwiche  in 

such  a  sodeyne  as  at  the  Mayre's  feaste  to  have  taken  the 

whole  cupborde  of  plate  to  have  mayntayned  the  enter- 

pryse  and  by  sound  of  trumpet  and  beat  of  tabour  to  have 

expelled  the  strangers  from  the  city  and  realm." 

In  1578  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  Norwich,  and  a  pageant 
was  arranged  in  her  honour.  In  the  procession  various 
looms  were  "  pourtrayed  "  :  "  Looms  for  worsteds,  for 
russets,  for  darnix,f  for  mockads,  for  lace,  for  caffa,  J  and 
for  fringe  ;  and  upon  a  stage  at  one  end  stood  eight  small 
women  children  spinning  worsted  yarn,  and  at  the  other 
end  many  knitting  worsted  hose." 

Other  records  speak  of  "  the  perfection  obtained  in 
weaving  tufted  taffeties,  cloth  of  tissue,  wrought  velvets, 
branched  satins,  and  other  kinds  of  curious  silk  stuffs  "  ; 
also  of  cloths  called  mildernix  and  powledavis,§  and  the 
statement  is  made  that  these  were  "  altogether  brought 
out  of  France  and  other  parts  beyond  the  sea,  and  the 
skill  and  art  of  weaving  the  cloths  was  never  known  or 
used  in  England,  until  about  this  year  (1587),  when  perfect 
art  was  attained  thereto."|| 

Royal  Most  of  the  English  monarchs  appear  to  have  had  a 

Patron-      lively  appreciation  of  the  advantage  the  introduction  of 

age.  new  arts  and  improved  methods  of  manufacture  would 

be    to    their    realm.     With    the    exception,    perhaps,    of 

*  Morant's  History  of  Essex. 

t  Durnix,  darnex,  dornex,  darnec,  dornock,  darness.  Table  damask  of  checker  and  other 
patterns  for  which  Tournay,  or  Dorneck,  which  was  the  Dutch  name  of  the  city,  was  famous, 
and  from  whence  it  was  brought  to  Norwich. 

%  Caff  a.  In  a  cotton  MS.  of  the  16th  century,  "  caffa  damask  "  and  "  caffa  diaper  "  are 
spoken  of.  Also  in  Cavendish's  Negotiations  of  Thomas  Woolsey  (pub.  1641)  is  a  description 
of  a  gallery  where  "  There  wes  set  divers  tables,  whereupon  a  great  number  of  rich  stuffs  of 
silk,  in  whole  pieces  of  all  colours,  as  velvet,  satin,  damask,  caffa,  grograine,  sarcenet,  and 
of  others  not  in  remembrance." 

§  Linen  sail  cloths,  first  manufactured  in  Brittany,  introduced  into  England  in  the  time 
of  Elizabeth. 

||  That  this  is  not  altogether  true  is  proved  by  evidence  in  the  preceding  chapter,  but  the 
statement  clearly  shows  the  rarity  of  broad  silk  weaving  before  tliis  time. 


IMMIGRATION   FROM   THE   NETHERLANDS.     33 

Edward   III.,   Queen   Elizabeth  was   the   most   eager   of   Royal 
all  the  sovereigns  to   foster  British  industry.     As  soon   Patron- 
as  the  troubles  began,  many  merchants  and  manufacturers    age  en- 
of  the  Netherlands,  who  had  agents  and  business  correspon-   courages 
dents  in  this  country,  left  the  disturbed  provinces,  and,   immi- 
bringing  their  households  and  servants  with  them,  took  gration. 
up  their  abode  in,  and  transferred   their   businesses   en- 
tirely to  England. 

By  .the  third  year  of  Elizabeth's  reign  (1561),  there  had 
grown  up  a  large  colony  of  Flemish  textile  manufacturers 
at  Sandwich,  then  a  seaport,  and  the  Queen  caused  "  letters 
patent  to  be  passed,  sealed,  and  directed  to  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation  of  that  town,  to  give  full  liberty  to  the 
strangers  to  inhabit  the  place,  for  the  purpose  of  exer- 
cising their  manufactures,  which  had  not  before  been  used 
in  England."  It  was  to  Sandwich,  therefore,  that  the 
fugitives  from  Alva's  persecution  came,  in  increasing 
numbers,  as  it  grew  more  and  more  fierce.  Some  of  those 
exiles  were  able  to  bring  much  of  their  wealth  with  them, 
but  great  numbers  found  it  barely  possible  to  escape 
with  their  lives.  From  Sandwich  they  were  drafted,  as 
invitation  or  convenience  prompted,  to  London,  Maidstone, 
Colchester,  Ipswich,  Norwich,  Manchester,  and  many 
other  town  and  country  districts. 

But  the  most  important  immigration  from  the  Nether-   The 
lands  took  place  in  1585.     Its  immediate  cause  was  the   Sack  of 
infamous  sack  of  Antwerp  by  the  mutinous  Spanish  troops.   Antwerp. 
The  soldiers  had  received  no  wages  for  three  years,  so, 
electing  a  leader,  they  marched  to  the  city  of  Antwerp, 
purposing  to  help  themselves.     Their  action  was  connived 
at  by  the  Spanish  authorities.     In  this  event,  justly  known 
in    history    as    the    Spanish    Fury,*    the    most    fearful 
atrocities  were  committed,  no  less  than  eight  thousand 
unarmed  people  were  slaughtered,  four  millions  in  hard 
cash   stolen,    an   incalculable   amount    of   valuable   mer- 
chandise carried  off  and  wasted,   and  irreparable  injury 
done  to  all  the  public  and  private  buildings.     In  addition 
to   this   about   a  third   part   of   the   manufacturers   and 
merchants  are  said  to  have  fled  to  England  and  other 

*  Motley's  Dutch  Republic, 


34  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

The  places  of  refuge.     Many  of  these,  like  their  predecessors, 

Sack  of      were  most  skilful  weavers  of  damasks,  and  all  varieties  of 

Antwerp,   silk,   linen,   and  woollen  fabrics,   so  that  all  chroniclers 

agree  in  ascribing  the  great  development  of  the  textile 

arts  in  Great  Britain  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  the 

early  part  of  the  seventeenth,  to  their  immigration. 


CHAPTER   III. 
THE  HUGUENOT  IMMIGRATION. 

The  arts  of  sericulture  and  silk  weaving  were  slowly   Italian 
but  steadily   developed  and  carried  to   a  high  pitch  of   Influence 
perfection  in  France  after  their  first  introduction  from   on  Lyons 
Italy  at  the  end    of  the  fifteenth  century.     In  several   Industry 
districts    mulberry    trees    were    planted    and    cultivated 
successfully,  and  the  rearing  of  silk  worms,  as  well  as  the 
reeling  and  manipulation  of  silken  thread,  suitable  for  the 
different  processes  of  silk  manufacture,  formed  the  principal 
occupation  of  large  numbers   of  the  inhabitants   of  the 
southern  provinces  of  France. 

Many  refinements  of  texture,  richness  and  permanence 
of  dye,  and  grace  of  design  in  the  webs  produced,  also 
improvements  in  the  mechanism  of  the  loom  and  the 
various  appliances  for  silk  weaving,  were  devised  by 
the  French  craftsmen  and  manufacturers  during  the  two 
centuries  which  followed  on  the  setting  up  of  a  few  looms 
by  the  fugitive  Italian  silk  weavers,  who,  in  1480,  settled 
in  France  either  at  Tours  or  Lyons.  The  unremitting  care 
and  attention  to  minute  details,  necessary  for  the  culture 
of  silk  and  its  use  in  textile  art,  made  the  manipula- 
tion of  the  gossamer  yarn  a  task  well  adapted  to  the 
genius  of  the  artificers  of  France,  who  have  always  been 
notable  for  delicacy  of  hand  and  aptitude  of  invention, 
both  artistic  and  mechanical. 

For  a  considerable  time  after  the  industry  was  com- 
menced at  Lyons  by  Italian  weavers,  the  silken  webs 
used  as  well  as  the  appliances  for  weaving  them, 
naturally  continued  to  be  similar  to  those  of  Italy  ;  in 
fact,  until  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  the 
silk  textiles  of  France  cannot  be  distinguished,  with 
certainty,  from  those  of  Italy.  By  that  time,  however, 
the  French  webs  began  to  vary  considerably  from  the 

35 


36 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Perfec-  Italian  type,  both  in  design  and  elaboration  of  texture, 
tion  of  The  improved  technique  gives  evidence  that  the  looms, 
French  on  which  they  were  woven,  had  been  rendered  more 
Work.  perfect  in  their  mechanism,  and  that  their  capacity 
for  varying  the  interlacements  of  the  fine  threads  of 
warp  and  weft  had  been  much  improved.  It  is  the  fact 
that  the  silken  webs  of  France  woven  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  seventeenth  century, 
surpass  for  intricacy  of  technique,  perfection  of  texture, 
purity  of  dye,  harmony  of  colour,  and  gorgeousness  of 
general  effect,  all  the  most  notable  works  of  silk  weaving 
of  any  previous  or  succeeding  age.  It  was  in  the  southern 
provinces  of  France  that  silk  weaving  and  sericulture 
were  first  introduced,  and  it  was  there  also  that  these 
industries  were  developed  into  proportions  giving  occu- 
pation to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  population. 

It  was  also  in  that  French  province  that  the  reformed 

religion,  Calvinistic  in  its  doctrines,  took  root  and  flourished ; 

it  was  consequently  amongst  the  workers  in  the  sericultural 

and  silk  manufacturing  industries  that  the  tragic  effects 

of  the  persecutions  of  Protestants  were  most  likely  to  be  felt. 

The  first  persecution  of  the  Huguenots,  as  the  French 

Protestants  were  called,   culminated  in  the  massacre  of 

St.  Bartholomew,  in  1572,  and  continued  intermittently 

until  1599,  when  Henry  of  Navarre,  notwithstanding  the 

fact  that  he  had  for  political  reasons  become  a  Roman 

Catholic,  promulgated  his  famous  Edict  of  Nantes.     By 

this  Edict,  comparative  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom 

of  worship  were  allowed  to  all  French  subjects.     From 

the  date  of  this  Edict  until  it  was  revoked  by  Louis  XIV. 

in  1685,  persecution  for  religion,  was  less  in  evidence,  and 

the    various    arts,    crafts    and    manufactures    of    France 

revived  and  made  extraordinary  progress.     It  was  during 

this  period  that  the  great  industry  of  silk  weaving  reached 

the  perfection  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

States-  In   1622  the  young  King,   Louis  XIII.,   called  to  his 

manship     councils  Armand  Duplessis  de  Richlieu,  who  had  recently 

of  been  made  a  Cardinal  by  the  Pope.     He  soon  became 

Richlieu.    supreme  in  the  affairs  of  Government,  and  succeeded  in 

breaking  the  power  of  the  various  political  factions  by 


THE   HUGUENOT  IMMIGRATION.  37 

which  the  realm  of  France  had  been  disturbed  for  many  States- 
years.     Under  his  regime  the  Huguenots  ceased  to    exist  manship 
as  a  political  party,  and  as  soon  as  this  end  was  attained  of 
he  advised  the  King  to  issue  the  "  Edict  of  Pardons."  Richlieu. 
By    this    Edict,    which    was    promulgated    in    1629,    the 
Protestants   were   confirmed   in   liberty   of   worship    and 
equality  with  other  French  subjects  before  the  law. 

Although  these  liberties  had  been  amongst  the 
provisions  of  the  "  Edict  of  Nantes,"  and  had  not  been 
revoked,  Protestantism  and  political  parties  had  got  so 
inextricably  mixed  that  the  Huguenots  were  punished 
partly  as  political  rebels  and  also  on  account  of  their 
religion.  Richlieu  was  wise  enough  to  realise  that  the 
merchants,  manufacturers  and  skilled  artisans  of  France, 
who  were  for  the  most  part  Protestants,  were  necessary  to 
the  well-being  of  the  State.  When,  therefore,  all  armed 
rebellion  was  overcome,  Richlieu  advised  the  King  to  grant 
religious  toleration  by  issuing  the  "  Edict  of  Pardons."  Car- 
dinal Mazarin,  Richlieu' s  successor,  favoured  the  same  policy, 
and  during  his  ministry  also  the  Protestants  had  liberty 
and  rest.  After  his  death  however  persecution  was  again  in 
evidence  although  Colbert  did  his  best  to  prevent  its  revival. 

Louis  XIV.,  at  the  commencement  of  his  reign,  formally 
thanked  the  Protestants  for  the  consistent  manner  in 
which  they  had  withstood  the  invitations  of  powerful 
chiefs  to  resist  the  royal  authority,  and  confirmed  them 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  freedom.  They  also 
found,  until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1683,  as  stated 
above  a  protector  in  Colbert,  the  powerful  and  liberal 
minister  of  Louis  XIV. 

During  these  years  all  historians,  even  their  enemies,  French 
agree  in  describing  the  French  Protestants  as  the  best  Protest- 
agriculturists,    and    the    provinces    chiefly    inhabited    by  ants  and 
them   as    the    best    cultivated    and   most   productive   in  Trade 
the    land;    the  Protestants    of    the    towns  were  equally  Expan- 
industrious  and  enterprising.     At  Tours  and  Lyons  they  sion. 
practised    silk    manufacture    with    great    success.      They 
made  taffetas,   velvets,   brocades,   ribbons,   and   cloth   of 
gold  and  silver,  of  finer  qualities  than  were  produced  in 
any  other  European  country.     They  also  carried  on  the 


38 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


French       weaving   of  fine  cloth  in   various  parts   of  France,   and 

Protest-     exported  their  production  in  large  quantities  to  Germany, 

ants  and    Spain     and     England.     They     established     linen     manu- 

Trade         factories   at  Vire,   Falaix,   and  Argentine  in  Normandy  ; 

Expan-      manufactures  of  bleached  cloth  at  Morlaix,  Landerman, 

sion.  and  Brest,  and  of  sailcloth  at  Rennes,  Nantes,  and  Vitte, 

in  Brittany — the  greater  part  of  these  latter  productions 

being  exported  to   Holland   and   England.     Baville,   one 

of    the    Huguenots'    bitterest    enemies    and    persecutors, 

wrote   of  them :     "If  the    Nismes    merchants    are    bad 

Catholics,  they  at  any  rate  have  not  ceased  to  be  good 

traders,"  and  to  be  as  "  honest  as  a  Huguenot "  passed 

into  a  proverb.* 

The  enlightened  minister,   Colbert,   died  in   1683,   and 

Louis   fell   more   and   more   under   the   influence   of   his 

numerous  courtesans  and  the  ingratiating  Jesuit  fathers 

who  surrounded  him  and  flattered  and  threatened  him 

by    turns.      By    their    advice,     constantly    given,     the 

Revoca-     forcible  conversion  of  the  Protestants  to  the  King's  religion 

tion  of        was    resolved,    and    the    Edict    of    Nantes    was    finally 

Edict  of     revoked.     This  took  place  in  1685,  and  the  most  stringent 

Nantes.      period  of  persecution  followed  immediately.     At  this  time 

notwithstanding   the   severity   of   enactments   against  it, 

the   most   extensive   emigration   took   place.     Multitudes 

escaped,  and  the  fugitives  found  their  way  to  Switzerland, 

England,  Holland  and  even  to  America. 

This  persecution  in  France  of  the  most  skilful  and 
industrious  element  of  her  population  continued  with 
more  or  less  severity  until  1775,  when  the  last  two  victims 
of  religious  bigotry  were  released  from  the  galleys  owing 
to  the  influence  of  Voltaire.  There  is  good  authority 
for  stating  that  during  that  time  more  than  a  million 
persons  either  left  the  kingdom,  or  were  killed,  imprisoned 
or  sent  to  the  galleys  for  life,  whilst  incalculable  numbers 
suffered  the  indignity  of  forcible  conversion.  The  brutal 
Dragoons  of  Louis  were  the  missionaries  who  effected 
these  conversions.  They  suspended  their  victims  with 
ropes,  blowing  tobacco  smoke  into  their  eyes  and  nostrils, 
and  practised  upon  them  a  variety  of  nameless  tor- 

*  Smiles. 


THE  HUGUENOT  IMMIGRATION.  39 

tures   until    the   sufferers    promised    everything   required  Revoca- 
in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  their  persecutors.     Louvois,  tion  of 
the  commandant,  in  September,  1685,  reported  to  head-  Edict  of 
quarters    that    "  sixty    thousand    such    conversions    had  Nantes, 
been  made  in  the  district  of  Bordeaux  alone." 

A  pleasanter  phase  of  the  subject  is  the  reception 
accorded  to  the  homeless  refugees  who  sought  asylum  on 
British  ground.  The  first  incursion  of  the  French 
immigrants  to  Great  Britain  took  place  a  year  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Flemings  at  Sandwich.  One  day  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  little  seaport  of  Rye,  on  the  Sussex  coast, 
were  thrown  into  a  state  of  commotion  by  the  sudden 
arrival  of  a  large  number  of  destitute  French  people  from 
the  opposite  shore  of  the  Channel.  Some  of  them  came 
in  open  boats,  others  in  sailing  vessels.  They  were  of 
all  classes  and  conditions,  and  amongst  them  were  many 
women  and  children.  They  had  fled  from  their  country 
in  great  haste,  and  were  nearly  all  destitute.  They  were 
followed  daily  by  others,  who,  braving  the  winter  storms, 
crossed  the  Channel,  and  when  they  reached  the  English 
shores  would  often  fall  upon  their  knees  and  thank  God  for 
their  deliverance.* 

In  May,  1562,  the  Mayor  of  Rye  wrote  to  Sir  William  French 
Cecil,  Queen  Elizabeth's  chief  secretary  : — "  May  it  please  immigra- 
your  honour,   there  is  daily  great  resort  of  Frenchmen  tion  to 
here,  insomuch  as  already  there  is  esteemed  to  be  500  England, 
persons  ;    and  we  be  in  great  want  of  corn  for  their  and 
our  sustentation  by  reason  of  the  country  adjoining  is 
barren  .....  Also   may   it   please   your   honour,    after 
night  and  this  day  is  come  two  shippes  of  Dieppe  into 
this  haven  full  of  many  people,  "f 

During  the  following  summer  and  for  many  years  there 
were  successive  landings  of  immigrants  at  Rye.  In  1572, 
between  the  27th  of  August  and  the  9th  of  November, 
the  Mayor  wrote  to  Lord  Burleigh  informing  him  that 
"  641  Frenchmen  had  landed."  The  town  records  of 
the  period  are  full  of  references  to  the  landing  of  the 
more  or  less  destitute  refugees,  and  the  charitable  arrange- 

*  The  Huguenots  ;    Smiles. 

f  Domestic  State  Papers,  Elizabeth,  1562,  No.  35. 


40  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

First          ments  made  for  their  sustenance  and  comfort.     Not  only 

French       at   Rye,    but    at    Sandwich,    where   their    co-religionists, 

immigra-    the   Flemings,   were   already  flourishing ;    at  Winchelsea, 

tion  to       at   Dover,    and    all   the   southern   seaports,    the    French 

England,    immigrants  from  time  to  time  landed  in  large  or  small 

parties,  until  the  Edict  of  Nantes  gave  the  Protestants 

a  breathing  space  for  a  time. 

Most  of  the  immigrants  settled  down  at  once  to  the 
practice  of  their  several  avocations,  and  soon  became 
self-supporting,  useful  citizens  of  their  adopted  country. 
Very  few  seem  to  have  returned  to  France,  especially  of 
those  belonging  to  the  industrial  classes,  although  for 
half  a  century  after  the  Edict  of  Nantes  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  them  doing  so. 

These  pioneer  immigrations  fall  into  insignificance,  how- 
ever, when  compared  with  that  which  immediately  followed 
the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685.     In  spite 
of  the  severe  measures  which  were  taken  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  fugitive  Protestants  from  France,  immediately 
after    the    renewed    persecutions    began,    vast    numbers 
succeeded  in  getting  away.     Within  the  next  two  years 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  immigrants  of  all   classes 
Cordial      found   refuge   in   England   alone.     They   were   welcomed 
Welcome    with   extraordinary   cordiality,    although   in   many   cases 
in  they  arrived  quite  destitute  of  money  or  goods.     Being 

England,  for  the  most  part  industrious  and  skilful  artisans,  well 
practised  in  the  manufacture  of  goods  for  which  there 
was  a  great  demand  in  Britain,  these  immigrants  soon 
became  self-supporting,  and,  greatly  prospering,  assisted 
materially  in  founding  or  developing  the  various  industries 
which  eventually  placed  Great  Britain  in  the  supreme 
position  in  manufacture  and  commerce  which  she  attained 
in  the  nineteenth  century. 

It  is  gratifying  to  record  that  the  immigrants  on  their 
arrival  were  treated  most  generously.*  Sums  of  money 
were  voted  by  Parliament  for  their  assistance,  and  private 
subscriptions  amounting  to  over  £200,000  were  made  and 
administered  for  their  benefit.  Within  a  year,  as  shown 
by  the  accounts  of  the  funds,  fifteen  thousand  persons  had 

*  See  Appendix,  Assistance  to  Destitute  Huguenots. 


THE  HUGUENOT  IMMIGRATION.  41 

been  helped  to  settle  in  London,  and  a  proportional 
number  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  help  given 
to  the  refugees  was  only  required  at  the  outset,  owing  to 
the  vigorous  efforts  they  made  to  help  themselves  and 
each  other.  They  sought  about  in  all  directions  for 
employment ;  and,  being  ingenious,  intelligent  and 
industrious,  generally  obtained  it  very  readily.  Those 
who  had  been  able  to  escape  with  money  or  goods,  started 
large  or  small  manufactories  or  workshops,  and  employed 
as  many  workpeople  as  they  could.  Several  districts  of 
London  became,  and  remained  for  many  years,  more 
French  than  English.  French  was  spoken  in  the  work- 
shops, in  the  schools,  churches  and  streets. 

This  was  particularly   the   case  in   Spitalfields,   where  Settle- 
many  houses  were  specially  built  for  the  accommodation  of  ments  in 
the  silk  weavers.     Other  districts  in  which  the  immigrants  London, 
settled    were   Aldgate,  Bishopsgate,   Shoreditch,    Thames 
Street,  Broad    Street,  Long  Acre,  Seven   Dials,  and  the 
network  of  streets  about  Soho.     Some  opened  retail  shops, 
such  as  Le  Mann,  the  famous  biscuit  baker   of  CornMll. 
There  were  also  immigrants  in  the  Strand,  near  Temple 
Bar,  who  made  and  sold  mathematical  and  surgical  instru- 
ments,  as  well  as  Bothers  who  sold  clocks,  watches,  and 
jewellery,  made  by  their  compatriots  in  Clerkenwell. 

At  the  time  of  the  immigration,  France  had  long  been 
the  leader  of  fashion,  and  all  the  world  bought  dress,  and 
articles  of  virtu  in  Paris.  It  was  a  saying  of  Colbert's 
that  "  the  Fashions  were  worth  more  to  France  than 
the  gold  mines  of  Peru  to  Spain."  The  English  customs 
reports  of  the  time  show  that  two  and  a  half  millions 
sterling  worth  of  goods  of  this  description  were  annually 
imported  from  France,  and  that  owing  to  the  immigration 
of  the  Huguenots,  the  greater  part  of  this  business  was 
henceforth  retained  in  London. 

The    principal    articles    imported    from    France   before  Import- 
the    revocation    were    velvets    and    satins    from    Lyons ;  ance  of 
silks   and   taffetas   from   Tours ;     silk   ribbons,    galloons,  French 
laces,  gloves,  and  buttons  from  Paris  and  Rouen ;    serges  Imports, 
from    Chalons,    Rheims,    Amiens    and  various  towns    in 
Picardy ;    beaver  and  felt  hats  from  Paris,  Rouen,  and 


42  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Import-      Lyons ;     paper    of    all    sorts    from    Auvergne,    Poitou. 

ance  of       Limosin,     Champagne,     Normandy ;      linen     cloth     from 

French       Brittany  ;   and  feathers,  fans,  girdles,  pins,  needles,  combs 

Imports,     and  many  other  household  requisites  from  other  places. 

As  soon  as  the  French  craftsmen  were  settled  in  London, 

they   began,    therefore,    to   make   and   introduce   all   the 

manufactures  connected  with  the  fashions,  so  that  English 

customers   became    supplied    with    French-made    goods 

without  having  to  send  abroad  for  them.     A  writer  of  the 

time  observed  that  "  the  English  have  now  so  great  an 

esteem  for  the  workmanship  of  the  French  refugees  that 

hardly  anything  now  vends  without  a  Gallic  name."* 

The  French  beaver  hats,  which  had  before  been 
imported  from  Caudebec,  were  now  made  in  the  borough 
of  Southwark,  and  at  Wandsworth  several  hatmakers 
commenced  operations  on  a  large  scale,  and  obtained 
almost  a  monopoly  of  a  trade  which  for  forty  years 
remained  dormant  in  France.  So  much  was  this  the 
case  that  all  persons  making  pretensions  to  dress,  even 
to  the  French  nobility,  and  the  Roman  Cardinals,  obtained 
their  hats  from  the  celebrated  factory  at  Wandsworth. 
Manufactories  for  making  silk  and  metal  buttons,  the 
printing  of  calicoes,  the  weaving  of  tapestry  and  many 
other  articles  for  dress  and  furniture  were  started  by 
the  immigrants,  but  the  most  important  of  all  branches 
of  manufacture  to  which  they  devoted  themselves,  and 
in  which  they  achieved  both  fame  and  wealth,  was  the 
working  and  weaving  of  silk  in  all  its  branches. 
Begin-  The  English  Government  had  long  envied  France  her 

nings  of  possession  of  the  silk  manufacture,  which  gave  employ- 
English  ment  to  large  numbers  of  people,  and  was  a  source  of 
Silk  much  wealth  to  the  country.  Many  attempts  had  been 

Manu-  made,  especially  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and 
facture.  James  I.,  to  establish  it  on  a  large  scale  in  England,  but 
it  was  not  until  the  fugitive  Protestant  silk  weavers  of 
Tours  and  Lyons  brought  with  them  the  skill  in  the  arts— 
which  had  raised  the  textile  manufacture  in  France  to 
such  a  height  of  prosperity — that  silk  weaving  in  England 
became  a  great  industry.  They  erected  their  looms  in 

*  History  of  Trade  in  England  ;   London,  1702. 


THE   HUGUENOT   IMMIGRATION.  43 

Spitalfields,    and   introduced    their   superior    methods    of  Begin- 
weaving.     They  turned  out  large  quantities  of  lustrings,  nings  of 
velvets,  brocades,   damasks,   and  delicately  woven  stuffs  English 
of  finest  silk  in  infinite  variety  and  of  such    excellence  Silk 
as  to  insure  them  a  ready  sale  everywhere.     From  this  Manu- 
time  forward  Spitalfields  enjoyed  a  very  large  share  of  facture. 
the  trade  which  Lyons  and  Tours  had  hitherto  almost 
monopolised. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Founda- 
tions laid 
in  China. 


Italy 

the 

Pioneer 


in 


Europe. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE   SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  Alien  Immigration,  and 
its  effect  on  the  British  silk  manufacture,  it  will  be 
interesting,  and  is  indeed  necessary,  to  take  a  general 
survey  of  the  arts  connected  with  silk,  and  briefly  to 
describe  their  ancient  origin  as  well  as  their  introduction 
to,  and  development  in  the  countries  whose  emigrants 
brought  the  several  branches  of  the  trade,  at  various 
times,  to  England. 

In  the  first  place,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  original 
discovery  of  the  utility  of  silk  and  the  practice  of  silk 
manufacture  took  place  in  the  ancient  Empire  of  China. 
From  China  it  was  communicated  to  Persia,  India,  Japan, 
and  to  the  East  generally.  In  the  sixth  century  seri- 
culture and  silk  weaving  were  practised  in  the  Byzantine 
Empire  ;  and  in  the  ninth  century  the  Moors,  when  they 
conquered  Spain,  carried  with  them,  together  with  many 
other  ingenious  Arabian  arts,  a  knowledge  of  sericulture 
and  silk  weaving.  In  the  twelfth  century  Oriental  silk 
weavers  and  silk  farmers  settled  in  Italy,  and  that  country 
became  the  chief  source  of  supply  of  silken  thread  and 
wrought  silk  of  all  kinds  for  the  rest  of  Europe  for  three 
centuries.  Afterwards,  as  occasion  served,  returning 
soldiers,  travellers,  and  wandering  merchants,  brought 
silk,  both  wrought  and  raw,  from  the  East  direct  to  other 
countries  of  Europe,  especially  to  England  and  Flanders. 

Probably  a  knowledge  of  the  processes  of  throwing, 
doubling  and  twisting  silk  into  thread,  and  silk  weaving 
both  broad  and  narrow,  only  came,  in  early  times,  by 
way  of  Italy  ;  but  the  importation  of  raw  silk  and  manu- 
factured silken  goods  direct  from  the  East  certainly 
took  place  in  England  and  Flanders,  with  increasing 
frequency,  from  the  thirteenth  century  onwards.  The 


44 


ORIGIN   OF   THE   SILK  INDUSTRY.  45 

ancient  form  in  which  raw  silk  was  universally  sold  by  Founda- 
the  producers  was  that  of  skeins  reeled  from  the  cocoon  tions  laid 
as  soon  as  the  silk  worm  had  finished  spinning,  and  before  in  China, 
the  emergence  of  the  moth  from  the  chrysalis.  It  is 
customary  now,  in  countries  where  sericulture  is  practised 
commercially  to  fumigate  the  cocoons  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  kill  the  moth,  before  it  is  ready  to  emerge,  and 
then  to  sell  the  cocoons  in  bulk  to  dealers,  who  convey 
them  to  factories  where  they  can  be  reeled,  with  great 
exactitude,  under  strict  supervision.  This  insures  more 
evenness  and  uniformity  in  the  size  of  the  thread  than 
it  is  possible  to  guarantee  by  domestic  reeling.  A  great 
deal  of  Chinese  silk  is  still  reeled  by  the  silk  farmer  from 
live  cocoons  ;  it  is  said  to  be  on  this  account  that  China 
silk  is  generally  more  brilliant  in  lustre  than  European 
silk,  which  is  reeled  from  dead  cocoons. 

The  Moors,  when  they  established  sericulture  in  Spain, 
used  the  simple  methods  of  throwing  and  weaving  thread 
which  they  had  derived  from  Arabia.  They  seem  to 
have  communicated  little,  if  any,  knowledge  of  the  art 
or  results  of  their  labour  to  the  rest  of  Europe.  Specimens 
of  their  weaving  may  have  been  occasionally  carried  to 
other  countries,  but  there  is  no  record  of  this  being  the 
case.  It  is,  therefore,  certain  that  Spain  had  little,  if 
any,  direct  influence  on  the  development  of  silk  weaving 
in  Great  Britain.  The  later  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
manufacture  probably  owes  as  much  to  Italy,  as  do 
other  European  countries,  for  improvements  in  the  pre- 
paration of  silken  thread  and  the  mechanism  of  the  loom 
for  weaving  it,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  certain 
characteristics  of  Spanish  design  are  traceable  to  early 
Moorish  traditions. 

In  Italy,  on  the  contrary,  soon  after  its  introduction  Italy  and 
from  the  East,    silk  weaving  became  quite  assimilated,  the  Art 
Oriental     and    Mediaeval    ideas    of     design    were    fused  of 
into   a   characteristic   original   style,    and   the   technique  Sericul- 
of  silk  manufacture  rapidly  advanced  as  various  inventions  ture. 
and  improvements  were  made  in  the  loom  and  in    the 
appliances    for    weaving.     The    Italians    proved    to    be 
particularly  successful  in  the  culture  of  mulberry  trees, 


46 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


[taly  and 
bhe  Art 

Df 

Sericul- 
bure. 


the  leaves  of  which  were  required  as  food  for  the  silk- 
worms, as  well  as  in  the  rearing  of  the  worms  themselves, 
and  the  manipulation  of  the  fine  lustrous  thread  which 
they  produce.  They  devised  new  methods  of  reeling 
silk  from  the  cocoons,  and  invented  complicated  machinery 
for  throwing  silk  of  any  desired  size  and  twist.  By 
these  means  they  advanced  the  arts  of  sericulture  and 
silk  weaving  far  beyond  the  primitive  stage  to  which 
they  had  been  previously  carried.  In  short,  Italy  attained 
during  the  twelfth  century,  and  retained  for  about  three 
hundred  years,  supremacy  in  the  art  of  silk  manufacture, 
and  most  jealously  guarded  the  secrets  of  its  technique. 

It  was  not  until  the  eighteenth  century  was  well  advanced 
that  the  scientific  methods  of  throwing  silk,  invented 
by  the  Italians,  became  known  out  of  Italy,*  and  similar 
machinery  for  the  purpose  was  successfully  erected  in 
England.f  Previously,  all  organzine—SiS  the  fine,  hard, 
twisted  silk  used  for  warp  is  called— had  to  be  imported 
from  Italy. 

The  throwing  of  the  looser  kinds  of  silk,  suitable  for 
twisting  into  embroidery  thread  and  for  wefting  silk 
mixed  goods,  had  been  practised  in  England  in  quite 
early  times.  The  first  silken  thread  used  in  English 
embroidery  came  from  Italy  ;  also  the  raw  silk  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  methods  of  twisting  and  doubling  it, 
which  make  it  into  practical  thread.  It  appears  certain 
that  some  persons  connected  with  the  monasteries,  which 
the  Italian  missionaries  founded,  first  brought  the  raw 
material  and  communicated  the  methods  of  preparing 
it  to  their  British  pupils.  At  a  later  period,  however, 
the  knowledge  of  Eastern  methods,  and  even  Eastern 
practitioners  themselves,  may  have  been  brought  into 
England  by  returning  travellers  or  merchants  from  the 
Orient.  More  and  more  frequently,  no  doubt,  small 
quantities  of  both  raw  and  wrought  silk,  the  latter  of 
brilliant  Eastern  dye,  would  be  in  the  same  manner 
imported  and  eagerly  purchased  by  the  members  of  the 
"  Mystery  of  Silk  Women,"  so  frequently  mentioned 
by  the  old  chroniclers. 

*  Even  the  French,  who  became  the  most  advanced  practitioners  in  the  art  in  the    l?th 
century,  obtained  their  best  organzine  silk  from  Italy. 

f  The  story  of  its  discovery,  by  John  Lombe,  is  told  in  the  chapter  on  Derby. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   SILK  INDUSTRY.  47 

Until  near  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  is  certain  English 
however  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  raw  silk,  and  reliance 
what  thrown  silk,  of  the  finer  sorts,  was  required,  came  on 
into   England  from   or  by  way   of  Italy.*    It  is   clear,  Italian 
then,    that    to    occasional    immigrants     and     merchant  Supplies, 
strangers  from   Italy,   Great   Britain  was,   for  the  most 
part,  indebted  for  the  knowledge  of  the  art  of  silk  throwing, 
and   the  interesting   and   extensive   manufacture   of   silk 
into,  twists  for  embroidery,  cords  for  girdles,  braids  for 
trimming,    and    small    silk    goods    of    all    kinds,    which 
employed  no  inconsiderable  number  of  persons  from  the 
time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  onwards.f 

The  extensive  manufacture  of  silken  webs,  both  plain 
and  ornamental,  which  must  have  been  carried  on  in 
the  Netherlands  during  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  has  been  overlooked  by  historians  of  the  textile 
industries.  The  splendour  and  interest  of  the  world- 
famous  Flemish  tapestries  of  that  period  have  perhaps 
prevented  a  due  amount  of  attention  being  given  to  the 
less  striking,  but  equally  excellent,  productions  of  the 
more  mechanical  art  of  the  hand-loom  weaver.  The  vast 
extent  also  of  the  woollen  cloth  manufacture,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  is  probably,  in  a  measure 
a  cause  of  this  oversight  with  regard  to  silk  weaving. 
The  great  similarity  of  the  details  of  Flemish,  Italian, 
and  Spanish  design  at  that  time  may  also  be  a  contributing 
cause  of  this  oversight.  Although,  however,  there  is  not 
much  direct  reference  to  silk  weaving  in  the  records  of 
Flanders,  there  is  sufficient  to  show  that  it  was  a  very 
important  branch  of  manufacture  and  that  it  gave 
employment  to  a  great  number  of  people.  There  are  Nether- 
numerous  references  to  silk  manufacturers,  who  raised  lands 
from  their  own  workpeople  companies  of  volunteers  for  Industry, 
military  service  at  the  time  of  the  revolt.  The  ordinary 

*  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  trade  in  silk  from  China  and  India  gradually  increased 
in  importance  and  became  very  considerable.  As  the  demand  increased,  the  "  Book  of 
Rates"  shows,  that,  not  only  from  Italy  and  the  East  was  raw  and  wrought  silk  imported, 
but  from  Granada,  Spain,  Bruges,  France,  and  Poland.  It  also  states  that  English  thrown 
silk  of  a  coarse  kind  was  exported. 

t  By  1661,  the  trade  of  silk  throwing  had  so  greatly  increased  in  England  that  according 
to  the  preamble  of  an  Act  of  Parliament,  no  less  than  "  40,000  men,  women  and  children 
were  employed  in  the  work."  This  is  probably  an  exaggeration,  but  it  shows  that  a  very  large 
number  of  persons  found  employment. 


48 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


dress  of  the  prosperous  burghers  of  the  cities  of  the 
Netherlands  is  said  to  have  been  of  silk  and  velvet,  and 
it  seems  probable  that  the  output  of  the  silk  manufactories 
was  disposed  of  mostly  for  local  use.  Works  of  tapestry 
were  however  in  great  demand  for  exportation  to  the 
Royal  Courts  of  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and,  con- 
sequently, won  greater  notoriety. 

Commerce  The  magnificence  of  the  Free  Cities  of  the  Netherlands 
in  the  in  the  fifteenth  century  has  already  been  the  subject  of 
Nether-  comment.  All  historians  agree  in  according  to  Antwerp 
lands.  the  first  place,  commercially,  amongst  the  cities  of  Europe, 
and  there  is  ample  evidence  that  its  public  and  private 
buildings,  as  well  as  their  decorations  and  furnishings, 
were  unsurpassed  by  any  of  the  world-renowned  cities  of 
Italy,  where  art  had  flourished  when  almost  the  whole 
of  Europe  was  steeped  in  comparative  barbarism.  Nor 
were  Bruges,  Ghent,  Brussels,  Ypres,  Louvain,  Mechlin 
and  other  cities  far  behind  Antwerp  as  centres  of  art  and 
commerce.  The  chronicles  of  the  Netherlands  teem  with 
descriptions  of  the  beauty  and  wealth  of  the  cities,  the 
pomp  of  their  civic  and  religious  pageants  and  functions, 
as  well  as  with  details  of  the  extravagant  richness  of  the 
costumes  and  domestic  arrangements  of  the  wealthy 
Flemish  burghers.  The  same  chronicles  are,  however, 
singularly  reticent  regarding  the  arts  and  crafts  which 
were  carried  on  in  their  midst.  It  is  only  incidentally, 
therefore,  that  certain  cities,  such  as  Brussels,  Mechlin, 
Bruges,  Valenciennes,  and  particularly  Mons,  the  beautiful 
capital  of  Hainault,  are  referred  to  as  notable  local  centres 
of  silk  manufacture  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Silk  With  regard  to  the  various  kinds  of  silk  manufactures 

Manufac-  practised  in  the  Netherlands,  at  the  time  the  Confederated 

ture  in       Provinces  were  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity,   it  is 

Con-  impossible  to  write  with  certainty;    but  there  are  certain 

federated  probabilities  which  may  be  pointed  out  and  which  further 

Provinces,  research  may  confirm  or  refute,  as  the  case  may  be.     No 

doubt   the   greatest   number   of   persons   were   employed 

in  the  throwing   and   doubling   of  silk  by   hand,   as  in 

England,   and   in   the  plaiting   and   weaving   of   "  small 

wares,"  as  the  ribbons,  braids  and  cords,  so  much  in  use, 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   SILK  INDUSTRY.          49 

were  named.     The  special  spinning  and  dyeing  of  waste  Silk 
silk  for  the  use  of  the  weavers  of  the  Arras  tapestries,  Manufac- 
in  which  it  was  mixed  with  wool  in  order  to  add  brilliance  ture  in 
to   the   colouring,    must   have   employed    a   considerable  Con- 
number  of  people.     It  was  probably  however  in  the  weaving  federated 
of  plain  and  ornamental  fabrics,  for  their  own  domestic  Provinces 
and  ceremonial  use,  that  the  most  prosperous  handicrafts- 
men, who  wrought  in  silk,  were  occupied.     An  examina- 
tion of  the  pictures  and  figure-subject   tapestries  of  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  will  show  that  a  certain 
class  of  fabrics,  woven  of  silk,  mixed  with  other  thread, 
was  commonly  worn.     Such  stuffs  as  these  pictorial  designs 
represent  are  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  supplied 
from  Italy  ;    but  as  the  materials  indicated  are  such  as 
are  usually  woven  of  mixed  thread,  and,  moreover,  as  the 
silk  in  them  need  not  be  of  the  finest  thrown  quality, 
it  seems  likely  that  they  were  of  home  production.     The 
designs  of  these  fabrics  were,  for  the  most  part,  inspired 
by  those  of  Italy  and  Spain,  as  was,  indeed,  most  of  the 
Flemish  art  work  of  the  period. 

Velvets,  with  cut  or  uncut  pile,  both  plain  and  figured, 
are   often   represented   in   the   pictorial   designs   referred 
to,  as  are  also  brocades  of  silk  and  linen,  or  wool,  or  metal 
covered  thread.     Heavy  stuffs  of  plain  weaving,  falling 
in  stiff  folds,  and  having  a  sheen  of  silk  interwoven  in 
their    woollen    texture,    are    also    shown.      Many    other 
varieties  of  fabric  are  depicted  in  use,  but  seldom,  if  ever, 
are  such  stuffs  indicated  although  pure  silks  were  then 
being  woven  in  France.      It  seems  probable  that  many 
of  the  specimens  of  Renaissance  weaving,  which  in  the  Flemish 
National  and  other  collections  of  textiles  are  attributed   Velvets 
to  Italy  and  Spain,  are  of  Flemish  workmanship.      This   and 
probability  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  many  of  the   Mixed 
ornamental  fabrics,   especially  of  a  large  class  of  tissue    Goods, 
woven  stuffs,  made  of  linen  and  red  and  gold  silk,  which 
are  usually  labelled  Spanish,  have,  worked  in  their  designs, 
features  and  emblems  peculiar  to  Flanders  and  Germany. 

This  evidence,  together  with  the  records  of  the  kinds 
of  textile  fabrics  introduced  into  England  by  refugees 
from  the  Netherlands,  seems  to  prove  that  it  was  to  the 


50 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Flemish 
Velvets 
and  Silk 
Mixed 
Goods. 


Charac- 
teristics 
of 

French 
Goods. 


manufacture  of  silk  mixed  goods  that  the  Flemish  weavers 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  chiefly  devoted 
their  skill  and  energy,  and  that  it  was  to  their  initiative 
that  the  cities  of  the  East  coast  of  England,  at  the  head 
of  which  stood  Norwich,  owed  the  success  in  the  silk- 
mixed  branches  of  the  textile  trades  for  which  they  became 
famous  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

With  regard  to  the  characteristics  of  the  silk  manu- 
factures of  France,  there  can  be  no  uncertainty.  After 
the  firm  establishment  of  sericulture  and  silk  weaving  at 
Lyons  and  other  cities  in  the  Southern  provinces,  refine- 
ment of  design,  improvements  in  weaving  technique,  and 
in  the  preparation  and  dyeing  of  the  thread,  gradually 
took  place.  This  progress  was  largely  due  to  the  fostering 
care  and  patronage  given  to  the  industry  by  the  Govern- 
ment, as  well  as  to  the  natural  aptitude  which  the  French 
operatives  seem  to  have  had  for  this  delicate  work  in  all 
its  branches. 

Nearly  a  century  elapsed  before  the  French  so  far 
developed  the  art  of  silk  weaving  as  to  give  evidence  in 
the  character  of  their  work,  of  an  advance  in  the  methods 
of  technique,  improvements  in  weaving  appliances,  and 
freedom  of  design,  on  those  derived,  in  the  first  instance, 
from  Italy.  At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  how- 
ever, such  evidence  is  given  by  the  many  specimens  of 
French  silk  textiles  which  have  been  preserved  and  may 
be  studied  in  the  National  Collection  at  the  Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum,  where  the  superb  and  unequalled  work 
of  the  French  silk  weavers,  both  of  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries,  is  particularly  well  represented. 

These  examples  of  pure  silk  weaving,  with  the  descrip- 
tions and  beautiful  illustrations  of  weaving  appliances 
contained  in  the  elaborate  technical  books,  so  many  of 
which  were  published  in  France  when  the  craft  was  in 
its  prime,  bear  out  the  assertion  already  made,  that  the 
art  of  pure  silk  weaving  in  France  at  that  time  reached 
the  highest  pitch  of  perfection  it  has  attained  at  any 
previous  or  subsequent  period.  It  was  when  the  art  was 
thus  in  its  prime  that  the  great  exodus  from  France  of  her 
most  skilful  artisans  which  has  been  described,  took  place. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   SILK  INDUSTRY.  51 

It  was  this  which,  extended  and  firmly  established  the 
silk  manufacturing  industry  of  Great  Britain,  and  which 
gave  such  an  impetus  to  the  advance  of  all  branches  of 
textile  and  kindred  manufactures. 

Thus,  entirely  as  the  result  of  Alien  immigration,  by  English 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Silk  Industry  Debt  to 
became  one  of  Great  Britain's  most  flourishing  trades.  Alien 
Sandwich,  as  well  as  Canterbury,  had  become  the  home  Immi- 
of  many  weavers,  but  as  numbers  increased  they  gathered  grants, 
more  and  more  to  the  great  centre  of  commerce,  the  City 
of  London.  The  suburban  district  of  Spitalfields  was  made 
prosperous  and  cheerful  by  the  great  and  thriving  settle- 
ment of  the  enterprising  and  ingenious  French  Protestants 
and  the  professors  of  the  different  branches  of  handicraft 
which  assisted  in  and  depended  for  their  occupation  on  the 
silk  weaving  industry.  It  was  at  Spitalfields  that  the  pure 
silken  fabrics,  then  so  much  in  fashionable  demand,  were 
woven  and  all  authorities  agree  in  commending  the 
excellent  character  of  the  operatives  themselves,  their 
refined  tastes  and  thriftiness,  the  beauty  and  purity 
of  the  fabrics  produced  by  them,  and  the  great  advantage 
and  profit  their  settlement  had  proved  to  the  city  of  their 
adoption.  Contemporary  estimates  of  the  number  of 
silk  looms  in  Spitalfields  at  this  time  vary  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  thousand.*  In  a  petition  presented  to 
Parliament  by  the  Weavers'  Company  in  1713,  the  silk 
trade  of  London  was  affirmed  to  be  twenty  times  greater 
than  it  was  before  1664,  and  it  was  also  stated  that 
in  the  black  silk  branch  alone  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds'  worth  of  goods  were  made  at  home  which  had 
hitherto  been  imported  from  France.  Amongst  the 
pure  silk  goods  then  made  in  Spitalfields  mention  is 
made  of  satins,  alamodes,  lustrings,  black  and  coloured 
mantuas,  black  and  coloured  paduasoys,  ducapes, 
watered  tabbies,  plain  and  figured  velvets,  satin  damasks 
and  brocades,  and  cloth  of  gold  and  silver  plate. 

Outside    Spitalfields    the    largest    settlement    of    silk   Canter- 
weavers  from  France  had  taken  place  at  Canterbury,  where   bury 
practically  the  same  classes  of  silk  textiles  were  produced.    Weavers, 

*  Each  loom  giving  employment  to  three  or  four  persons. 


52 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Canter- 
bury 
Weavers. 


The  number  of  looms  in  that  town  increased  at 
one  time  to  about  a  thousand,  but  as  the  demand  for 
weavers  in  London  became  urgent,  the  settlement  of 
silk  weavers  in  Canterbury  dwindled  and  finally  became 
extinct. 


Houses  in  Spital  Square, 


Plate  VII. 


Church  Passage,  Spital  Square. 


CHAPTER   V. 

FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  LONDON  SILK  TRADE. 

The  Story  of  Spitalfields. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  In  the 
of  the  silk  trade  than  that  which  tells  the  story  of  Spital-  Eliza- 
fields  and  its  long  association  with  the  industry,  a   con-  bethan 
nection  which  has  been  maintained  in  unbroken  sequence  Age. 
down  to  the  present  day.     The  writer  will  at  the  outset 
endeavour  to   draw  a  pen  picture  of  Spitalfields   as  it 
appeared  in  that  stirring  period  of  our  island  history — 
the  Elizabethan  Age.     In  subsequent  chapters  the  history 
of  this  famous  silk  manufacturing  district  will  be  carried 
down  to  the  present  time. 

It  is  clear  from  descriptions  and  plans  of  London  in 
the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  that,  on  stepping  out  of  the 
east  gate  of  the  City,  called  Bishopsgate,  the  traveller 
found  himself  at  once  in  pleasant  fields,  with  trees  and 
hedgerows,  where  the  city  lads  and  lasses  went  a-Maying 
in  the  springtime,   and  where  sportsmen  amused  them- 
selves with  fowling  in  the  autumn.     This  was  Spitalfields. 
The  actual  boundaries  of  the  old  parish  are  not  easy  to 
determine.     It  is  known  to  have  formed  part  of  Stepney — 
a  district  which  was  linked  to  both  town  and  country,  and 
which  was  likened  by  Stow  to  "  a  province  rather  than  a 
parish."     Bethnal  Green  and  Mile  End,  the  former  once 
a  part  of  the  great  forest  of  Epping,  may  also  be  included 
in  the   district  of   Spitalfields.     It  was   at  once   city  and 
country.     Near  the  city  gate,  both  outside  and  within, 
were  large  and  imposing  houses,  built  and  inhabited  by 
nobles  and  gentry,  or,  as  Stow  calls  them,  "  worshipful 
and  honourable  men."     These  included  Lord  Bolingbroke 
(who  had  a  residence  in  Spital  Square  itself),  Lord  Morley, 
Lord  Powis,  the  Countess   of  Dudley,  and   Sir  Thomas 

53 


54  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

* 

Gresham  at  Bethnal  Green,  where  the  Bishop  of  London 
also  had  a  rural  seat.     To  these  may  be  added  the  name 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  lived  at  Mile  End,  and  that 
of  the  Marquis  of  Worcester,  who  had  a  house  in  Stepney. 
Ancient      Stow,    in   his   Survey,  mentions    an   ancient   Priory   and 
Priory        Hospital  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  which  stood  near 
and  to  the  City  gate  of  the  district.     It  was  founded  in  the 

Hospital,  year  1197  by  Walter  Brune,  citizen  of  London,  and  his 
wife  Rosia,  and  this  foundation  was  afterwards  called 
St.  Mary  Spittle.  Various  references  in  early  chronicles 
show  that  the  hospital  was  also  for  the  purpose  of 
sheltering  poor  travellers  and  other  persons  in  sickness 
and  distress.  In  the  year  1534  the  hospital  was  dis- 
solved by  Henry  VIII,  and  it  is  recorded  that  besides 
ornaments  for  the  church,  and  other  goods,  there  were 
found  standing  one  hundred  and  eighty  beds,  well- 
furnished,  for  the  use  of  the  poor  in  charity,  "  for,"  says 
the  chronicler,  "  it  was  a  hospital  of  great  relief." 
The  Spitalfields  area  was  a  fashionable  suburb,  and  it 
may  be  recalled  in  this  connection  that  Devonshire  Square, 
Bishopsgate,  acquired  its  name  from  the  town  house  of 
that  distinguished  family.  It  was  in  the  Spitalfields 
district,  at  a  later  period,  that  David  Garrick,  himself  of 
Huguenot  descent,  achieved  his  early  success.  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  also  acquainted  with  Spitalfields,  it  being 
recorded  that  she  went  to  visit  the  Spanish  ambassador  on 
April  5,  1559,  he  being  at  that  time  lodged  in  one  of 
the  mansions  of  the  district.  She  was  accompanied, 
says  the  old  record,  by  a  large  train  of  "  gentry,  masquers, 
morris  dancers,  and  two  bears  in  a  cart."  There,  too, 
the  Lord  Mayors  and  City  Fathers,  with  many  noble 
guests,  proceeded  in  great  pomp  and  ceremony  at  Easter 
Memories  to  listen  to  the  Spital  sermon.  This  sermon,  which  was 
of  preached  from  an  open  air  pulpit  standing  in  the  space 

Queen        now  occupied  by  Spital  Square,  is  now  preached  every  year 
Elizabeth,  in  Christ  Church,  Newgate  Street,  and  is  still  attended  in 
state  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen. 

Queen  Elizabeth  preserved  the  amenities  of  the  district, 
and  it  was  not  until  1660  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  was 
obtained  at  the  instance  of  Sir  William  Wheeler,  granting 


FOUNDATIONS   OF  LONDON   SILK  TRADE.     55 

permission  for  him  to  build  on  the  east  of  Spital  Square, 
an  enactment  which  probably  marks  the  beginnings  of 
the  quarter  which  formed  the  settlement  in  later  years 
of  the  French  silk  weavers.  At  various  times  during  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  while  excavations  were  being  made 
for  the  houses,  some  of  which  still  remain  in  and  about 
Spital  Square,  portions  of  the  priory  ruins  were  dis- 
covered, as  well  as  Roman  and  other  remains. 

The  street  now  called  Middlesex  Street,  formerly 
Petticoat  Lane,  leading  from  Spitalfields  to  Whitechapel, 
was  originally  known  as  Hog  Lane  ;  and  Maitland,  writing 
in  1755,  says  of  it : — "  In  ancient  times  this  lane  was 
bordered  on  both  sides  by  hedgerows  and  elm  trees,  with 
pleasant  fields  to  walk  in,  insomuch  that  gentlemen  used 
to  have  their  houses  there  for  the  air."  He  also  says 
that  "  Many  French  Protestants  fled  their  country  for 
their  religion  and  planted  themselves  here,  living  in  the 
part  of  the  lane  near  Spitalfields,  to  follow  their  trade 
being  generally  broad  weavers  of  silk."  He  also  speaks 
of  "  Wide,  or  Whitegate,  Street  as  being  inhabited  by 
substantial  tradesmen  and  dealers,  chiefly  in  the  silk 
way." 

Apart  from  the  fact  that  there  was  a  large  weaving  A 
colony  in  the  neighbourhood,  there  are  other  good  reasons  Colony 
for  the  settlement  here  of  the  refugees.     It  was  a  Non-  of 
conformist  quarter,  and  it  was  not  unnatural  that  these  Noncon- 
Dissenters,    who    in    spite    of    the    sympathy    of    local  formists. 
constables,  wardens,  and  beadles,  had  been  fined  for  the 
practise  of  their  religious  belief,  should  give  a  welcome 
to  refugees  who  were  also  victims  of  religious  persecution. 
Further  than  this,  Frenchmen  had  already  settled  in  the 
locality,  and  it  is  believed  that  one  of  the  several  places 
in   London  including  a  Westminster  area  called  "  Petty 
Fraunce  "  for  this  reason,  was  on  the  site  of  the  modern 
New  Broad  Street.     The  Hall  of  the  Weavers'  Company 
was    situated  in   Basinghall    Street,    and  the   district  to 
Bishopsgate  and  beyond  was  mostly  occupied  by  weavers 
and  other  tradesmen,  whose  work  depended  on  them,  such 
as  dyers,  thread-makers,  throwsters,  and  dealers  in  weavers' 
materials  of  finished  woven  goods,  who  were  at  that  time 


56 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


A  called    mercers.     It   was   natural,    therefore,    that   when 

Colony       the  Huguenot  silk  weavers  arrived  in  London  they  should 
of  be  attracted  to  the  weavers'   quarters  and  settle  there. 

Noncon-  The  demand  for  house  accommodation  in  this  district, 
formists.  at  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  became  so  urgent  that 
all  the  open  ground  near  Bishopsgate  and  beyond  became 
covered  with  a  network  of  streets,  courts,  and  alleys, 
specially  built  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  industrious 
immigrant  weavers,  embroiderers,  and  craftsmen  of  kindred 
trades.  The  more  or  less  complete  maps  of  the  period  show 
this  development  distinctly.  The  names  of  many  streets 
suggest  the  nationality  and,  it  may  be  added,  the  refined 
tastes  of  the  first  occupants.  Fleur  de  Lys  Street,  French 
Court,  White  Rose  Court,  Greenwood  Alley,  Swallow 
Alley,  Fashion  Street,  Sweet  Apple  Court,  Blossom  Street, 
Flower  and  Dean  Street,  Rose  Alley,  Mermaid  Alley  and 
Pearl  Street  are  a  few  of  the  names  which  occur  to  the 
writer.  There  is  also  evidence  that  this  silk  weavers' 
quarter  was  then  a  pleasant  place  in  which  to  live,  and 
carry  on  the  exquisite  handicraft  with  wrhich  its  denizens 
had  enriched  the  country  of  their  adoption. 

The  kind  of  houses  of  which  the  first  streets  in  Spital- 

fields  were  composed,  and  in  which  the  weavers  dwelt, 

may  be  seen  in  the  two  illustrations  taken  from  Knight's 

History  of  London  (1842).      A  few  indeed  of  such  houses 

still  stand  but  not  very  many  remain  unaltered.     A  portion 

of   one  of   these  may  be  seen  in   Pelham  Street,  and  a 

fine  specimen  is  to  be  seen  inMape  Street,  Bethnal  Green. 

Weavers    In   this    case    the   characteristic   upper   floors  have  been 

Quarters    weather-boarded,   whilst  the  more   ordinary  lower  floors 

in  remain  the  same.     All  these  houses  necessarily  had  their 

London,     workshops  at  the  top,  and  these  had  double  floors  to  keep 

the  noise  of  the  work  from  reaching  the  domestic  rooms 

below.     Pleasant  gardens  were  attached  to  these  houses 

in  which  mulberry  and  other  fruit  trees  grew,  and  flowers 

and  vegetables  were  cultivated  by  the  cheerful  inhabitants. 

This  garden  suburb  was  close  to  the  open  fields  of  Bethnal 

Green,   Hackney  and   Old  Ford,   and  was  freshened  by 

the  cool  breezes  from  the  meandering  River  Lea,  the  Essex 

Marshes,  and  the  reaches  of  the  Thames  beyond.     The 


Plate  IX 


Indenture  of  Apprenticeship,  dated  August  7799— 
zn  f/ie  possession  of  the  Author. 


FOUNDATIONS  OF  LONDON  SILK  TRADE.    57 


conditions  under  which  the  original  Spitalfields'  weavers 
pursued  their  handicraft  were  as  idyllic  as  their  domestic 
surroundings.  The  householders  were  for  the  most  part 
small  master  weavers.  They  sold  the  productions  of  their 
looms  to  the  mercer  or  draper,  who  in  his  turn  retailed 
them  to  his  private  customers  in  his  City  shop. 

Each  master  weaver,  who  had  served  the  legal  seven 
years'  apprenticeship,  was  entitled  to  keep  two  or  three 
journeymen  weavers,  engaged  by  the  year,  who  seldom 
left  his  workshop  for  another  unless  it  were  to  set  up  in 
business  for  themselves.  In  cases  of  dispute  the  rates  of 
wages  would  be  fixed  by  the  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
were  supposed  to  be  regulated  from  time  to  time  according 
to  the  cost  of  living.  When  unmarried  the  journeyman 
usually  formed  part  of  the  master's  household  together 
with  the  proportional  number  of  apprentices  which  the 
master  was  legally  allowed  to  keep.  The  quality  of  the 
webs  produced  was  examined  into  and  guaranteed  either 
by  the  officer  of  the  Livery  Company  of  the  craft  or  by 
officers  appointed  by  the  Government. 

Each  master  weaver  had  his  own  traditional  designs, 
and  his  goods  would  naturally  display  special  personal 
qualities.  The  elaborate  brocades,  damasks,  velvets  and 
other  rich  fabrics  produced  in  Spitalfields  were  in  great 
demand  for  furniture  and  costume.  The  mercers  who 
sold  these  goods  were  in  direct  touch  with  the  weavers 
themselves  and  could  order  at  first-hand  exactly  what 
was  required.  At  this  time  there  was  little  competition 
with  France,  but,  if  at  any  time  it  was  anticipated, 
temporary  Acts  of  Parliament  were  passed  to  prohibit  the 
introduction  of  foreign  goods  into  Spitalfields,  Canterbury 
or  elsewhere. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  operative 
weavers  in  the  East  of  London  had  largely  increased  in 
number.  Various  estimates  are  given  by  old  writers 
of  this  increase,  but  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  there 
were  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  persons  engaged  in 
the  work.* 

*  The  population  of  London  in  1801  was  958,863,  Census  of  Great  Britain,  Population 
Table,  1851.  "  The  advance  of  some  200,000  beyond  the  estimated  population  of  1699— 
which  the  Census  of  1801  showed — had  probably  been  made  in  great  part  after  1790  when 
the  health  of  the  Capital  began  to  improve  and  the  births  again  to  exceed  the  deaths." — 
C.  Creighton,  London  Pamphlets,  1890. 


Old 

Customs 
of  the 
Craft. 


Increase 
in 

number 
of  Opera- 
tives. 


58 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Exten- 
sion into 
Bethnal 
Green. 


The 

Evidence 

of 

Old 

Maps. 


In  order  to  provide  house  accommodation  for  this 
increased  number  of  inhabitants,  the  weavers'  quarter 
had  been  gradually  extended  outward  from  Spitalfields 
into  Bethnal  Green,  a  hamlet  of  the  large,  thinly- 
populated  parish  of  Stepney.  The  houses  provided  for  the 
weavers  in  this  quarter  although  built  on  French  lines  were 
of  a  much  meaner  description  than  those  of  Spitalfields, 
and  matched  the  less  prosperous  condition  to  which  the 
majority  of  the  silk  weaving  operatives  had  undoubtedly 
fallen  at  the  time  of  their  building.  This  lamentable 
decline  in  the  status  of  the  operative  weaver  at  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  was  owing  to  two  causes  :- 

(1)  The  increase  in  the  number  of  workers  was  out  of 
proportion  to  the  demand  for  silk  fabrics  and  although 
silk    weaving    continued    to    be    one    of    the   best    paid 
branches  of  industry,  the  workers  could  not  obtain  full 
employment.     This   naturally   gave   rise   to    competition 
amongst  the  weavers  themselves  for  what  work  there  was, 
and  the  result  of  this  was  a  gradual  lowering  of  the  price 
of  labour,  especially  in  the  simpler  branches  of  the  craft.* 

(2)  The  inevitable  tendency  then,  as  now,  in  all  branches 
of  industry  for  mastership  and  capital  to  be  acquired  and 
monopolised  by  the  few  most  capable  persons  in  the  trade. 
Both  these  causes  of  depression  were  in  active  operation 
in  the  silk  trade  during  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  they  were 
augmented  by  two  others  ;   the  competition  of  the  cheaper 
labour  of  Macclesfield  and  other  provincial  towns,  and  the 
utilisation  of  steam  power  in  the  lower  branches  of  silk 
weaving. 

Maps,  drawn  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
show  the  Bethnal  Green  Road  closely  built  as  far  as  the 
Green,  where  the  Church  of  St.  John  was  afterwards 
erected.  It  was  connected  with  the  parish  of  Spitalfields 
on  the  one  side,  and  Shoreditch  on  the  other. 

The  Act  of  Parliament  for  constituting  the  hamlet  of 
Bethnal  Green  a  separate  parish  and  building  the  parish 
church  of  St.  Matthew  supplies  a  reliable  estimate  of 


*  Some  believe  that  it  was  the  Spitalfields  Act  of  1773,  repealed  in  1824,  which  drove  the 
skilled  artizan  to  where  there  was  no  limit  to  wages. 


FOUNDATIONS  OF  LONDON  SILK  TRADE.    59 

the  population  and  throws  some  light  on  its  character.* 
The  number  of  houses  is  estimated  at  1,800,  and  the 
population  at  fifteen  thousand.  The  most  thickly  popu- 
lated portion  of  the  district  is  spoken  of  as  "  immoral  and 
dissolute,  especially  as  regards  the  younger  and  poorer 
sort ;  insomuch  that  many  of  the  better  sort  of  people 
have  removed  from  their  habitations  in  the  said  hamlet 
to  the  great  impoverishment  thereof."! 

During  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  almost  Weavers' 
all   contemporary  references  to  Spitalfields  and   Bethnal  descent 
Green   are   of   a   pitying    or    derogatory    character,    and  into 
represent  the  operative  weaver  as  poverty-stricken,  im-  poverty, 
provident  and  riotous,  and  the  district  in  which  he  lived 
and   worked    as    squalid,    over-crowded  and   unsanitary. 
The  plight  of  the  operative  weavers  became  gradually  more 
distressing,  and  at  the  same  time  their  numbers  continued 
to    increase.      "  All   witnesses    concurred,"    as   a   Parlia- 
mentary report  states,  "  in  representing  the  houses  and 
streets  occupied  by  the  East  London  weavers  as  of  the 
poorest  and  most  unwholesome  description.     The  small 
houses  are  generally  of  two  storeys,  built  of  brick,  and 
have  damp  foundations.     The  streets  are  mere  unpave.d 
roadways,    composed    of   earthy   and   soft   rubbish,    and 
destitute  of  common  sewers  or  drains."     The  report  goes 
on  to  say  that,  "  living  in  such  places  and  insufficiently 
fed,  the  weavers  of  Spitalfields  exhibit  a  physical  condition 
marked  by  general  feebleness  and  liability  to  disease." 

An  early  Victorian  writer,!  describing  his  walk  through 
the  weavers'  district,  says  :    "On  passing  through  most 
of  the  streets  a  visitor  from  other  parts  of  the  town  is 
conscious  of  noiselessness,  a  dearth  of  bustle  and  activity. 
The  clack  of  the  looms  is  heard  here  and  there,  but  not 
to  a  noisy  degree.     It  is  evident  at  a  glance  that  in  many   An 
of   the   streets   all   the   houses   were   built   expressly   for   Early 
weavers  ;    and  in  walking  through  them  we  noticed  the  Victorian 
short  stature  and  not  very  healthy  appearance  of  the   record, 
inhabitants.     It  was  rather  painful  to  remark  the  large 
number  of  '  Benefit  Societies,'  '  Burial  Societies,'  '  Loan 


*   13th  year  George  II.  (1740). 

t  Maitland's  London,  page  1275. 

j  Knight's  London,  1842.— Chap,  xlix.— Spitalfields. 


60  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

An  Societies/   etc.,  whose  announcements  are  posted  down 

Early         the  streets  ;  for  it  is  well-known  to  those  who  have  studied 
Victorian   these  subjects  that  the  poor  generally  pay  ruinous  interest 
Record.      for  any  aid  which,   as  generally  managed,  they  receive 
from  societies  of  this  kind.     Here  and  there  we  met  with 
bills  announcing  that  coals  were  to  be  had  at  twelve  pence 
per  cwt.  at  a  certain  place  during  the  cold  weather  ;     and 
at  some  of  the  bakers'  shops  were  announcements  that 
'weavers'3    tickets  were  taken  in  exchange  for  bread" 
(an  allusion  to  tickets  given  out  by  a  benevolent  institution). 
"  In  one  street  we  saw  a  barber's  shop,  at  which,  in  addition 
to  the  operations  usually  conducted  in  such  places,  persons 
could  have  '  a  good  wash '   for  a  farthing.     In  another 
street   a   flaming   placard   announced   that   at   a   certain 
public-house  the  advertiser  would  attend  every  evening 
to  match  his  bird  against  any  linnet  or  goldfinch  in  the 
world  for  a  '  thousand  guineas.7     Here  we  espied  a  school 
at  which  children  were  taught  to   '  read   and  work  at 
two  pence  a  week '  ;  there  a  chandler's  shop,  in  which 
shuttles,  reeds,  quills  and  other  smaller  parts  of  weaving 
apparatus  were  exposed  for  sale  in  a  window,  together 
with  split  pease,  bundles  of  wood  and  red  herrings.     At 
another  place  was  a  bill  announcing  that  the  inhabitants 
were  liable  to  a  penalty  if  they  kept  their  houses    dirty 
and   unwholesome.     In    one  little   shop  patch  work  was 
sold  by  the  pound  ;  and  in  another  astrological  predictions, 
interpretations  of  dreams  and  nativities  were  to  be  pur- 
chased '  from  threepence  upwards,'  as  also  extracts  from 
'  Moore's  Almanack  '  for  the  last  seventy  years.     In  very 
many  houses  the  windows  exhibited  more  sheets  of  paper 
than  panes   of  glass,   and  no  inconsiderable  number  of 
houses  were  shut  altogether." 

The  same  author  gives  the  following  sketch  of  the 
average  home  and  general  circumstances  of  the  operative 
silk- weaver  of  his  time  :— 

"  In  my  visits  to  the  districts  inhabited  by  the  weavers 
with  an  endeavour  to  view  the  processes  of  the  manu- 
facture, our  enquiries  were  too  often  met  by  the  sad  reply — 
'  I  have  no  work  at  present,'  but  at  one  house  we  mounted 
a  dark  staircase  to  the  upper  floor  occupied  by  an  elderly 


Plate  X. 


Weavers'  Houses  in  Menotti  Street,  Bethnal  Green. 


FOUNDATIONS   OF   LONDON   SILK  TRADE.     61 

weaver  and  his  wife.  The  room  formed  the  entire  upper 
storey  and  was  approached,  not  by  a  door,  but  by  a  trap 
in  the  floor,  opening  a  communication  with  the  stairs 
beneath.  At  each  end  of  the  room,  front  and  back,  were 
windows  of  that  peculiar  form  so  characteristic  of  the 
district,  and  which  are  made  very  wide  in  order  to  admit 
light  to  all  parts  of  the  loom  adjacent  to  them.  At  each  A 
window  was  a  loom,  the  husband  being  at  work  at  one,  Weaver's 
and  the  wife  at  the  other.  Near  the  looms  were  two  quill  Home, 
wheels  used  for  winding  the  weft  or  shoot  on  to  the  quills 
for  filling  the  shuttles.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  was 
a  stump  bedstead,  covered  with  its  patchwork  quilt, 
and  near  it — some  on  the  floor,  some  on  shelves  and  some 
hanging  on  to  the  walls  of  the  room — were  various  mis- 
cellaneous articles  of  domestic  furniture,  for  the  room 
served  as  parlour,  kitchen,  bedroom,  workshop  and  all. 
A  few  pictures,  a  few  plants  and  two  or  three  singing  birds, 
formed  the  poetical  furniture  of  the  room.  The  man 
was  weaving  a  piece  of  black  satin,  and  the  woman  a 
piece  of  blue.  In  reply  to  enquiries  on  the  subject,  we 
learned  that  they  were  to  be  paid  for  their  labour  at  the 
rate  of  sixpence  and  fourpence  halfpenny  per  yard 
respectively.  This  at  close  work  would  yield  about  seven 
or  eight  shillings  per  week  each.  The  man  was  short  in 
stature,  as  most  Spitalfields  weavers  are,  grey-haired, 
depressed  in  spirits,  but  intelligent  and  communicative. 
When,  after  descending  from  the  room,  we  looked  around 
at  the  mass  of  weavers'  houses  in  the  vicinity,  we  could 
not  but  feel  that  most  of  them  bore  a  saddening  similarity 
to  that  which  we  had  entered." 

During   the   first   quarter   of   the    nineteenth    century  Spital- 
the  plight  of   the  Spitalfields  silk- weaver  seems  to  have  fields  a 
been  at  its  worst,  and  the  degradation  of  the  district  at  Century 
its  lowest  point.    The  average  weekly  earnings  of  a  weaver,  ago. 
according  to  evidence  contained  in  Parliamentary  reports, 
did  not  exceed  five  shillings,  if  periods  of  waiting  were 
taken  into  account.     At  the  same  time,  the   number  of 
persons  employed  in  the  handicraft  was  at  its  highest 
between  1820  and  1830.     In  the  evidence  taken  before 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  silk  trade 


62 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Spital-  in  1831-2,  it  was  stated  that  "  the  population  of  the 
fields  a  districts  in  which  the  Spitalfields  weavers  resided,  corn- 
Century  prising  Spitalfields,  Mile  End  New  Town,  and  Bethnal 
ago.  Green,  could  not  be  less,  at  that  time,  than  one  hundred 

thousand,  of  whom  fifty  thousand  were  entirely  dependent 
on  the  silk  manufacture,  and  the  remaining  moiety  more 
or  less  dependent  indirectly."  Mr.  Porter,*  writing  on 
the  subject,  estimated  that  there  were  17,000  looms  at 
work  in  the  East  of  London.  The  same  authority,  speaking 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  manufacturer,  claims  that  the 
silk  trade  in  England  was  then  in  a  more  flourishing 
condition  than  it  had  ever  been  before.  He  supported 
this  claim  by  giving  statistics  of  the  importation  of  raw 
and  thrown  silk  from  the  year  1819  to  1828,  during  which 
period  the  figures  rose  from  1,782,578Z&$.  weight  per  annum, 
to  4,547,812Zfe. 

A  survey  taken  in  1830-40  would  have  shown  not  only 
Spitalfields  and  Bethnal  Green,  but  the  whole  district 
between  Shoreditch,  Hackney  Road,  to  the  point  where 
it  is  intersected  by  the  Regent's  Canal,  the  course  of  the 
canal  itself  as  far  as  the  Mile  End  Road,  Whitechapel  Road, 
Aldgate,  Houndsditch,  Bishopsgate  Street  Without  and 
Norton  Folgate,  chiefly  occupied  by  operative  weavers, 
a  large  percentage  of  whom  were  in  abject  poverty, 
and  were  herded  together  in  the  meanest  of  habitations. 
In  striking  contrast  to  these  were  the  houses  of  the  weavers' 
employers,  the  manufacturers,  who,  not  only  had  their 
offices,  but  lived  in  good  style,  like  most  city  merchants  of 
the  time,  in  and  about  Spital  Square,  Devonshire  Square, 
Great  St.  Helen's,  White  Lion  Street,  Norton  Folgate 
and  the  main  road  of  Bethnal  Green  or  in  the  more 
suburban  neighbourhoods  of  Bishop  Bonner's  Fields  or 
Old  Ford. 

Occupying  a  position  between  the  wealthy  manufacturer 
and  the  indigent  operative  weaver,  there- was  a  numerous 
class  of  persons  who  maintained  a  prosperous  position 
as  long  as  the  district  continued  to  be  the  headquarters 
of  the  silk  trade.  These  were  the  makers  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  weaving  apparatus  such  as  loom  mountings, 

*  "  Silk  Manufacture  in  England,"  Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopaedia  of  Useful  Arts,   1831. 


Plate  XL       Wm.   Anthony,   50  years  night-watchman  in  the 
Neighbourhood  of  Spital  Square,  Norton  Folgate, 
'  The  Last  of  the  Charlies." 


FOUNDATIONS   OF  LONDON   SILK  TRADE.     63 

Jacquard  machinists,  designers,  draughtsmen,  Jacquard  A  well- 
card  cutters,  as  well  as  warpers,  turners  on,  winders,  pre-  to-do 
parers  of  yarn,  dyers  and  others.  There  was  also  a  small  Middle 
number  of  operative  weavers  who  were  able  to  maintain  Class, 
the  traditional  position  of  the  original  craftsmen,  owing 
to  their  ability  to  manage  the  Jacquard  machine  and  to 
weave  on  handlooms,  by  its  means,  high-class  furniture 
silks,  which  have  always  continued  to  be  in  more  or  less 
demand,  and  which,  even  to  the  present  time,  have  not 
been  successfully  woven  by  power.  The  foremen,  clerks 
and  other  permanent  employees  of  the  manufacturers, 
who  of  course  lived  in  the  neighbourhood,  also  added  to 
this  well-to-do  middle-class,  whose  livelihood  depended 
on  the  silk  industry.  During  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  this  middle-class  maintained  their 
position  in  spite  of  the  prevailing  distress  of  the  ordinary 
weaver.  It  was  amongst  this  class  that  many  of  the 
pleasant  traditional  manners  and  customs  of  the  Huguenot 
silk-weavers  still  lingered.  It  was  also  amongst  this 
aristocracy  of  the  district  that  so  many  families  bearing 
distinguished  French  surnames  were  to  be  found. 

Still  another  class  of  persons  who,  in  circumstances, 
were  above  the  level  of  the  operative  weaver,  and  whose 
livelihood  was  earned  in  the  neighbourhood,  consisted 
of  the  retail  dealers  in  provisions,  clothing  and  other 
domestic  necessaries,  whose  shops  were  located  in  the 
main  streets.  These  tradesmen  supplied  the  well-to-do 
inhabitants,  while  the  mass  of  the  people  bought  their 
provisions  in  minute  quantities  of  the  itinerant  dealers 
who  hawked  their  wares  from  door  to  door  or  at  the  tiny 
general  shops,  one  or  two  of  which  were  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  lane  or  alley. 

The    retail    dealers    purchased    their    goods    wholesale   Shops 
from  the  three  local  markets,  one  of  which  was  situate   and 
at  Mile  End,  one  at  Spitalfields,  and  one  which  was  said  Markets, 
to  be  the  most  important  market  in  London,  in  Leadenhall 
Street.     These  markets  were  of  very  ancient  foundation, 
and  are  known  to  have  existed  in  pre-mediaeval  times. 
Leadenhall   Market   was   the   oldest,    and   was   originally 
founded  for  the  sale  of  canvas  and  sailcloth  and  woollen 


64 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


goods  of  various  kinds.  It  was  afterwards  enlarged  and 
utilized  for  the  sale  of  all  kinds  of  provisions  and  household 
goods. 

Some  Of  public  buildings,   with  the  exception  of  those  for 

Archi-        religious  worship,  the  district  was  singularly  devoid.     Two 

tectural      hospitals,    one   French   and    one    English,    two    endowed 

Features,   schools,  six  Church  of  England  schools,  two  French  and 

two   Dissenting   charity   schools,    and   twenty   groups   of 

almshouses,    mostly   very   small,    seem   to   comprise   the 

whole. 

Three  large  and  two  small  buildings,  of  which  the 
newly  erected  Christ  Church,  Spitalfields,  was  the  largest 
and  finest,  represented  the  Church  of  England.  Nine 
meeting-houses  had  been  erected  by  the  French  refugees, 
and  were  still  in  use.  One  of  these  is  said  to  have  been 
capable  of  seating  1,500  worshippers.  But  with  the 
lapse  of  years  the  congregations  had  become,  for  the  most 
part,  very  meagre,  although  it  was  the  custom  for  many 
of  the  well-to-do  inhabitants  to  attend  one  service  in  the 
French  meeting-house  and  one  in  the  parish  church 
regularly  every  Sunday. 

With  the  exception  of  the  churches  and  chapels,  the 

only  meeting  places  of  the  inhabitants  for  public  or  social 

purposes  were  the  taverns  or  public-houses,  as  they  were 

beginning  to  be  called.     There  were  a  great  number  of 

these  in  the  Spitalfields  district,  and  they  were  largely  used 

by  the  weaving  fraternity  for  the  various  trade  societies, 

benefit  clubs*  and  clubs  for  social  amusement,  which  were 

constantly   being   formed   and   dissolved   amongst   them. 

The  more  thrifty  of  the  operatives  formed  Box  Clubs; 

of    these,    Maitland    gives    an    interesting    description. 

Weavers'    "  These   clubs,"    he   says,  "  erected   by  mutual   consent, 

Benefit       are  supported  by  an  amicable   contribution   of  two,   or 

Clubs.         three,   or  more  pence  per  week,  by  each  member,  who 

weekly  or  monthly  meet  at  a    certain    ale-house,   when 

they  spend  twopence  or  threepence  each  ;    and,  wherein 

*  England  has  just  cause  to  be  grateful  for  the  many  things  introduced  by  the  Huguenots, 
and  particularly  the  introduction  of  the  present  Benefit  Society.  Its  formation  among  the 
refugees  was  due  to  its  members  being  of  foreign  birth,  and  thus  having  no  claim  to  pensions 
from  the  poor  rates,  thereby  giving  rise  to  the  foundation  between  themselves  of  societies 
for  their  mutual  relief  in  sickness  and  old  age.  Memories  of  Spitalfields,  by  W.  H. 
Manch6e,  published  in  the  Huguenot  Society's  Proceedings. — Vol.  x,  No.  2,  p.  333. 


Plate  XII. 


Christ  Church,  Spitalfields . 

From  Photographs  in  the  possession  of  the  Rector,  Rev.  C.  H.  Chard. 


Plate  XIII.  Interior  of  Christ  Church,  Spitalfields. 

From  Photographs  in  the  possession  oj  the  Rector,  Rev.  C.  H.  Chard. 


FOUNDATIONS   OF  LONDON   SILK  TRADE,     65 

they  have  Rules  for  their  better  regulation,  and  a  strong 
Box  or  Chest,  with  divers  locks,  for  the  conservation  of 
their  books,  cash,  etc." 

The  mass  of  operative  weavers  were,  however,  too  poor  Recrea- 
to  be  able  to  combine  for  purposes  of  thrift,  but  a  far  tions 
larger    number    belonged,    more    or    less    intermittently,  and 
to  the  trade  societies  formed   on  much  the  same  plan,  Amuse- 
and  meeting  in  the  same  places  as  the  Box  Clubs,  for  the  ments. 
regulation  of  prices  and  the  betterment  of  their  position. 
The  working  and  effect  of  these  societies  will  be  discussed 
in  a  succeeding  chapter,  but  it  may  be  noticed  here  that 
they  were,  for  the  most  part,  very  short-lived,  and  probably 
the  persons  who  benefited  mostly  from  both  clubs  and 
trade  societies  were  the  tavern-keepers   in   whose  houses 
they  were  held.* 

In  their  amusements  and  recreations  the  original  French 
settlers  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the  neighbour- 
hood. Floriculture  and  gardening,  the  breeding  and 
training  of  singing  birds,  natural  history  and  the  more 
or  less  abstruse  sciences  have  always  characterised  the 
Spitalfields  weaving  population,  and  even  to-day  traces 
of  these  refining  recreations  are  to  be  found  in  the  district. 
The  "  bloody  sports  "  of  pugilism,  cudgelling,  bull-baiting, 
bear-baiting  and  cock-fighting,  throwing  at  cocks  and 
duck-hunting,  were  according  to  Maitland,  although  his 
testimony  is  not  unimpeached,  almost  unknown  in  the 
East,  but  were  popular  in  West  and  South  London. 

The  chronic  distress  of  the  weaving  population  provided 
an    unlimited    field    for    the    exercise    of    charity.     We 
accordingly  find  that  in  no  part  of  London,  in  the  early 
part  of    the    nineteenth    century,    were   there    so    many  Charity 
benevolent  doles  and  charity  societies  as  in  Spitalfields  Organisa- 
and  its  district.     These  charity  distributions,  although  to  a  tions. 
small  extent  alleviating  the  distress  of  the  weavers,  for 
whom  they  were  intended,  had  the  effect,  according  to 
a    Parliamentary    report,    of    "  attracting    to    the   neigh- 
bourhood a  large  number  of  casual  dock  labourers   and 
vagrants    of    no    occupation,    who    added   to   the   mass 

*  The  taverns  and  alehouses  at  this  time  were  very  numerous  and  badly  managed.  It 
was  not  until  1752  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  for  limiting  their  number  and  to  a 
certain  extent  controlling  them. 

E 


66  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

of  poverty  and  in  a  measure  defeated  the  work  of  the 
charitably  disposed." 

In  Porter's  book  on  silk,  already  referred  to,  the  writer 
describes  the  interior  of  a  small  house  and  its  busy 
occupants,  who  were  all  engaged  in  the  silk  manufacture. 
A  family  The  picture  is  in  singular  contrast  to  most  of  the  gloomy 
of  Silk  "  ones  of  the  time,  and,  although  evidently  true  to  life,  was 
Weavers,  such  as  could  have  but  rarely  been  found  at  the  time  he 
wrote.  He  says  :  "  It  once  occurred  to  the  author  of 
this  treatise,  in  the  course  of  his  visits  among  the  operative 
weavers  of  Spitalfields,  to  visit  a  family  consisting  of  a 
man,  his  wife,  and  ten  children,  all  of  whom,  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  youngest  girls,  were  engaged  in 
useful  employments  connected  with  the  silk  manufacture. 
The  father,  assisted  by  one  of  his  sons,  was  occupied 
with  a  machine  punching  card  slips  (certain  pieces  of 
apparatus  in  Jacquard  weaving)  from  figures  which  another 
son,  a  fine  intelligent  lad,  was  '  reading  on/  Two  other 
lads,  somewhat  older,  were  in  another  department,  casting, 
drawing,  punching,  and  attaching  to  cords  the  leaden 
plummets  or  '  lingoes '  which  form  part  of  the  harness 
for  a  Jacquard  loom.  The  mother  was  engaged  in  warping 
silk.  One  of  the  daughters  was  similarly  employed  at 
another  machine,  and  three  other  girls  were  at  three 
separate  looms,  weaving  figured  silks.  An  air  of  order 
and  cheerfulness  prevailed  throughout  this  busy  establish- 
ment that  was  truly  gratifying ;  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  plummet  drawers,  all  were  clean  and  neatly  clad. 
The  particular  occupation  wherein  each  was  engaged 
was  explained  most  readily,  and  with  a  degree  of  genuine 
politeness  which  proved  that  amid  the  harassing  cares 
attendant  on  daily  toils  of  no  ordinary  degree,  these 
parents  had  not  been  unmindful  of  their  duty  as  regarded 
the  cultivation  of  their  children's  minds  and  hearts." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A  TYPICAL  SILK  MASTER. 

Before  describing  the  changes  which  took  place  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Spitalfields  during  the  second  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  which  proved  to  be  such  an  event- 
ful period  in  British  silk  manufacture,  it  will  be  interesting 
to  give  a  detailed  sketch  of  a  typical  master  silk- weaver 
of  the  old  school  in  his  daily  life  and  surroundings.  Very 
few  examples  of  this  class  of  manufacturer  survived  the 
first  half  of  the  century,  but  the  one  here  described  is 
representative  of  these  substantial  English  tradesmen. 
He  had  been  apprenticed,  worked  as  journeyman,  became 
foreman,  and  finally  succeeded  his  master  in  a  silk- weaving 
business.  This  business  he  carried  on  during  the  first  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and,  without  change  of  method, 
well  into  the  second  half.  There  was  much  to  admire 
in  this  truly  dignified  but  unaffected  master-weaver,  who 
had  the  portly  personality  and  manners  of  a  dean,  or  an 
archdeacon  at  the  least. 

The  dress  in  which  he  was  generally  seen  was  an  ample 
suit  of  black.  The  swallowtail  coat  and  trousers  were 
of  the  best  broad-cloth,  and  the  vest  of  the  richest  satin. 
Around  his  neck,  in  place  of  the  stiffened  silk  stock  of 
his  younger  days,  which  had  been  discarded  with  his 
bottle-green  coat  and  brass  buttons,  several  yards  of  the 
finest  cambric,  spotlessly  white,  were  wound,  and  his 
gold  watch,  carried  in  his  trousers  fob,  had  attached  to 
it  a  bundle  of  seals.  He  had  one  son  and  seven  daughters, 
all  of  whom  were  brought  up  to  some  branch  of  the  silk 
business,  which  they  industriously  practised  till  they 
were  married  and  left  their  father's  home  for  their  own. 

67 


A  Manu- 
facturer 
of  the 
old 
School. 


An 

Aristo- 
crat of 
In- 
dustry. 


68 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


A  Manu- 
facturer 
of  the 
old 
School. 


A  Spital- 
fields 
business 
house. 


At  the  time  in  question  between  the  years  1860  and  70 
the  household  consisted  of  the  son,  who,  like  his  father, 
was  a  widower,  his  two  children,  and  the  eldest  daughter, 
who  remained  unmarried.  She  had  been  a  skilful  velvet 
weaver,  but  now  superintended  and  assisted  the  labours 
of  an  Irish  maidservant,  who  had  grown  middle-aged 
in  her  first  and  only  situation,  and  who  always  spoke 
with  deepest  reverence  of  "  the  master."  The  son  managed 
the  routine  warehouse  work,  weighed  and  gave  out  raw 
silk  to  the  dyer,  dyed  silk  to  the  winders  and  warpers, 
and  warps  and  wefts  to  the  weavers,  received  them  back 
again  when  woven,  kept  the  books,  served  customers, 
and  attended  to  all  matters  connected  with  the  ware- 
house, seldom  leaving  it  during  business  hours.  The  old 
gentleman  attended  the  silk  market  and  silk  sales,  and 
made  purchases  of  raw  silk,  selected  designs  and  gave 
instructions  to  the  draughtsmen  for  carrying  them  out, 
called  on  furnishers  and  mercers,  who  were  his  friends  and 
customers,  saw  important  visitors  at  home  in  his  private 
office,  fixed  prices,  settled  all  disputes  and  generally  directed 
the  business,  every  detail  of  which  was  familiar  to  him. 

The  firm  had  always  been  noted  for  doing  the  best  and 
richest  work,  and  had  made  a  speciality  of  damasks  and 
brocades  for  church  furnishing.  Some  of  these  fabrics 
of  special  design  were  in  constant  demand.  One  small 
design,  known  as  "  The  Bird,"  kept  two  weavers  always 
at  work  weaving  it,  and  when  at  last  they  were  too  old 
to  continue  their  occupation,  they  had  saved  enough 
money  to  purchase  four  houses  near  the  new  Victoria  Park, 
so  that,  living  together  in  one  house,  they  had  the  rent 
of  the  three  others  to  maintain  them. 

It  is  pleasant  to  recall  the  well-ordered  appearance  of 
the  old  house  in  White  Lion  Street,  Spitalfields,  in  which 
this  solid,  steady  business  was  developed  and  carried  on. 
The  exterior  of  the  house  is  shown  in  the  photograph 
reproduced,  and  it  was  easy,  on  visiting  it  recently,  for 
the  memory  to  recall  in  each  separate  room  vivid  pictures 
of  the  past.  The  house,  like  those  of  Spital  Square, 
which  are  of  a  rather  earlier  date,  was  panelled  throughout, 
the  woodwork  being  painted  white.  The  ground  floor 


A   TYPICAL  SILK  MASTER.  69 

and   basement   were   used    exclusively   for   the   business.  A  Spital- 
The    basement,    which    in    earlier    times    had    been    the  fields 
kitchen,    was   utilised  for   the  storage  of  machinery  and  business 
cumbrous  appliances  not  actually  needed  on  the  moment,     house. 

The  ground-floor  rooms  were  fitted  up  as  a  warehouse— 
the  walls  being  lined  with  shelves  and  bunkers.  The 
former  were  filled  with  rolls  of  various  kinds  of  woven 
silks,  and  the  latter  with  raw  material,  designs,  drafts 
and  'other  things  required  in  the  different  departments 
of  the  work.  There  wras  a  mahogany  counter,  a  desk,  a 
safe  for  the  account  books,  and  a  large  pair  of  scales  of 
the  kind  used  for  accurately  weighing  silk  in  its  various 
forms.  Over  the  carved  "  Adam "  mantelpiece  hung  a 
piece  of  brocaded  silk,  framed  and  glazed.  It  was  a 
carefully-preserved  relic  of  the  material  from  which  the 
Coronation  robe  of  Queen  Victoria  had  been  made,  and 
had  been  woven  by  the  firm  for  a  West-End  house.* 
The  Spitalfields  firm  also  supplied  the  draperies  for 
Westminster  Abbey  on  the  occasion  of  Queen  Victoria's 
Coronation. 

There  were  usually  standing  about  a  few  baskets  con- 
taining bobbins  of  shining  silk,  and  on  the  counter  two 
or  three  hand  sticks,  with  their  coils  of  brilliantly-coloured 
or  jetty  black  warps  waiting  for  the  warper  or  weaver  to 
call  for  and  carry  off  to  his  domestic  workshop.     There 
were  also  rolls  or  neat  bundles  of  finished  webs  ready  to 
be  examined  and  booked  to  the  credit  of  the  weavers. 
All    was    order,   and    an    almost    sacred    quiet    generally 
pervaded  the  warehouse.     Business  was  transacted  there   Methods 
in   a   leisurely   manner,    almost    as    a   religious   function,    of 
and  the  demeanour  of  even  the  ancient  porter,  who  had  Trading, 
been  a  soldier  in  his  youth,  was  as  imposing  and  self- 
important  as  that  of  a  verger  at  St.  Paul's. 
^  In  the  hall,  or  passage,  which  was  of  less  ample  dimen- 
sions than  those  of  similar  houses  in  Spital  Square,  there 
were  usually  seated,  on  a    movable    form,  two  or   three 
weavers,  or  members  of  weavers'  families,  waiting  their 
turn  to  receive  or  deliver  work.     On  Saturdays  a  constant 

*  The  Coronation  Robes  of  Queen  Victoria  were  to  be  seen  at  the  London  Museum,  and 
were  there  inspected  by  the  writer.  This  was  before  the  Museum  was  removed  from 
Kensington  Palace.  The  Coronation  Silk  was  made  by  Messrs.  Stillwell  &  Sons,  of  White 
Lion  Street. 


70  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Old  stream  of  weavers  passed  in  and  out  of  the  warehouse, 

Business  carrying  little  memorandum  books  and  prepared  to  give 
Customs  the  best  account  they  could  of  the  progress  of  their  work, 
described,  and  take  their  weekly  draw  of  wages,  or  it  might  be 
occasionally  a  balance  due  to  them  on  finishing  a  job. 
These  humble  visitors  were  strictly  marshalled  and 
admitted  in  due  order  by  the  stately  porter.  A  door  at 
the  end  of  the  passage  admitted  the  visitor  into  a  rather 
wider  hall  where  there  were  three  other  doors  and  a  wide- 
balustered  staircase,  which  led  to  the  upper  floors  of  the 
house.  One  door  opened  into  the  inner  sanctum  of  the 
warehouse,  another  to  the  basement  stairs,  and  a  third  gave 
access  to  a  freestone-paved  yard,  having  on  one  side  a 
broad  border  of  earth,  in  which  lilac  trees  grew  and 
flowered  in  the  spring-time,  and  where  such  hardy  plants 
as  will  live  between  close,  high  walls  were,  with  more 
or  less  success,  coaxed  to  grow  and  blossom. 

At  the  end  of  this  yard,  facing  the  house  and  connected 
with  its  first  floor  rooms  by  a  covered  gallery  supported 
on  posts,  there  was  a  building  of  two  floors,  which  in 
earlier  days  of  the  business  had  been  a  domestic  weaving 
house.  The  lower  floor  of  this  out-building  was  now  a 
store  place  for  rough  lumber,  and  the  upper  floor,  which 
had  previously  been  filled  with  looms,  was  now  the  kitchen 
of  the  house,  where  Biddy,  the  Irish  maidservant,  reigned 
supreme. 

A  The  furniture  of  the  chief  room  of  the  private  part 

Victorian  of  the  house,  which  it  will  be  sufficient  to  describe,  was 
interior      of  the  kind  usual  in  the  early  Victorian  period.     It  con- 
in  Spital-   sisted    of    a    heavy    mahogany    sideboard    and    table, 
fields.         mahogany-framed  sofas  and  chairs,  of  ample  dimensions 
but  clumsy  design,  upholstered  in  slippery  black   horse- 
hair,   stools   and   small    occasional   chairs,    covered   with 
cross-stitch   needlework,    a   card-table,    a   what-not   with 
many   shelves,   and   a  lady's   work-table.     The   windows 
had  deep  window-seats  and  were  curtained  with  hangings 
of  green  silk  and  wool  repp,  while  the  floors  were  covered 
with  Brussels  carpets  of  a  large  floral  design  of  many 
colours.     Between  the  three  windows,  in  the  front  room, 
were  two  tall  pier  glasses  surmounted  by  carved  eagles, 


A  TYPICAL  SILK  MASTER.  71 

and   over   the   mantelpiece   there   was   a  heavy  Empire   A 
gilt  frame  of  three  compartments,  which  were  filled  with  Victor- 
looking-glass.     In  the  summer-time,  white  netted  curtains    ian 
replaced  the  winter  use  of  green  repp,  and  white  "  anti-   interior 
macassars "   of  crochet- work  adorned  the  backs   of  the   in  Spital- 
sofas  and  chairs.  fields. 

On  the  walls  were  hung  characteristic  pictures.  The 
chief  amongst  these  were  portraits  in  oil  of  the  master 
and  his  wife,  painted  when  they  were  middle-aged,  and 
a  large  wool-work  picture  of  "  Rebecca  at  the  Well," 
framed  in  rosewood.  The  portraits  were  in  highly 
ornamental  gilt  frames  and  hung  above  two  cupboards, 
one  on  either  side  of  the  fireplace,  on  which  were  baskets 
of  wax  fruit  and  flowers  under  glass  shades,  together  with 
Chelsea  china  figures  of  Britannia,  Falstaff  and  sundry 
shepherdesses.  There  were  several  old  copper-plate 
engravings  in  black  frames,  the  subjects  being  Italian 
classical  landscapes,  with  ruins.  There  was  also  a  framed 
photographic  transparency  on  glass  of  the  master's  seven 
daughters  standing  in  a  row,  taken  in  the  crinoline  and 
side-spring  boot  period,  and  another  of  the  son  holding 
a  violin,  on  which  instrument  he  was  an  expert  performer. 
The  "  what-not "  with  many  shelves  was  ornamented 
on  the  top  by  a  china  figure  of  General  Abercrombie, 
surrounded  with  various  emblems  and  small  allegorical 
figures,  whilst  on  the  lower  shelves,  as  well  as  on  the  large 
centre  table,  were  elegantly  bound  Books  of  Beauty,  Ladies' 
Annuals,  and  the  Art  Journal  Illustrated  Catalogue  of  the 
International  Exhibition  of  1851. 

The   latest    addition    to    this    characteristic    bourgeoise   Typical 
ensemble  was  a  tall,  upright  piano  with  a  highly  ornamental   "  Gen- 
front  of  fretwork  and  green  silk,  the  latter  arranged  in   tility." 
pleats,   which  radiated   from   a   centre  rosette.     On  this 
instrument  the  granddaughter  of  the  master  accompanied 
her  father  when  he  played  the  violin,  she  being  the  first 
of  the  family  to  take  lessons  in  piano-playing,  and  also  the 
first  from  whose  education  some  one  branch  of  the  silk- 
weaving  business  had  been  omitted. 

Outside  his  business,  which  absorbed  the  largest  portion 
of  his  time  and  attention,  the  master's  interest  did  not 


72 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Recrea- 
tions 
of  the 
Victorian 
Silk 
Master. 


An 

Interest- 
ing 
Survival. 


widely  extend.  He  was  churchwarden  and  guardian  of 
the  poor  in  his  district,  and  discharged  his  duties  in  these 
offices  with  great  seriousness.  He  was  also  on  the  com- 
mittees of  many  of  the  various  benevolent  societies  with 
which  the  district  abounded,  nor  were  his  sympathies  in 
this  direction  at  all  narrow  or  bigoted,  for  one  of  his  chief 
favourites,  amongst  the  charitable  institutions  to  which 
he  belonged,  was  one  for  the  assistance  of  the  poor  Jews, 
who  were  then  becoming  very  numerous  in  the  parish. 
He  imbibed  his  politics  from  his  weekly  Tory  newspaper, 
and  the  Times,  a  copy  of  which  he  and  other  tradesmen 
subscribed  for.  The  former  he  read  on  Sundays,  and 
the  Times,  wiiich  came  to  him  in  the  evening,  divided 
his  attention  with  the  management  of  a  long  church- 
warden clay  pipe  for  an  hour  or  two  by  his  fireside  after 
the  labours  of  the  day.  His  interest  in  politics  was,  how- 
ever, but  slight  in  comparison  with  that  which  he  took 
in  his  business  and  local  affairs. 

His  recreations  were  bi-weekly  attendances  at  the 
Tradesmen's  Social  Club  and  a  summer  holiday.  The 
club  was  held  at  a  well  known  tavern,  situated  at 
the  corner  of  Fleur  de  Lys  Street.  Of  this  club,  he  was, 
by  virtue  of  his  great  dignity,  perpetual  chairman. 
Punctually  at  each  meeting,  after  a  sitting  of  two  hours, 
the  club  broke  up  as  the  watchman  proclaimed  the  hour 
of  ten.*  In  the  summer-time  the  master  took  his  family 
to  Margate  for  a  fortnight.  For  many  years  they 
invariably  stayed  in  the  same  lodging-house,  kept  by  the 
same  landlady,  on  the  sea  front.  He  enjoyed  his  holiday 
in  the  same  serene  manner  as  that  in  which  he  discharged 
the  business  and  parochial  duties  to  which  he  returned  with 
renewed  vigour  on  the  appointed  day. 

Dignified,  leisurely,  solid  and  respectable,  he  was  a 
survival  from  an  earlier  time,  and  the  last  representative 
of  a  class  of  master  silk-weavers,  which,  at  his  death  in 
the  year  1871,  became  extinct.  The  business  of  this 
firm  being,  as  has  already  been  stated,  of  a  specially  high 
class,  only  the  best  silk  goods  being  dealt  with,  it  will 

*  Norton  Folgate  liberty  retained  the  services  of  a  night  watchman,  by  private  subscrip- 
tion, to  proclaim  the  time  and  the  state  of  the  weather  long  after  other  districts  had  abolished 
the  office. 


A  TYPICAL   SILK  MASTER. 


73 


readily  be  understood  that  it  was  not  a  large  one.     Probably    Two 
not  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  weavers  were  "  on  the  books/'    Classes 
but  these  were  all  kept   in  regular  employment  and  were    of 
of  a  superior  class  to  those  of  the  manufacturers  who    Opera- 
were  concerned  with  the  lower  branches  of  the  handicraft,    tives. 
The   contrast   between   these   two    classes    of    operatives 
was   most    observable   when    on    Saturdays,    the   general 
pay-day,  they  were  to  be  seen  waiting  about  the  doors 
of    the    various    manufacturers'    offices    to    receive    their 
weekly  "  draw  "  of  wages. 

There  were  in  London,  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  a  very  large  number  of  silk  manufacturing  firms 
who  had  offices  in  Spitalfields,  and  each  employed  several 
hundred  families  of  operative  weavers.  The  weavers 
worked  under  the  system  described  in  a  subsequent 
chapter.  Some  of  these  manufacturers  had  also  branch 
establishments  in  Essex,  Suffolk  and  other  places,  and 
many  acquired  large  fortunes  during  the  early  half  of 
the  century,  the  majority  being  in  the  height  of  their 
prosperity  in  1850-60.* 

*  It  is  common  in  stories  and  plays  of  the  Georgian  and  Early  Victorian  periods,  both 
in  England  and  France,  to  find  the  expression,  "  His,  or  her,  father  had  made  a  fortune  in 
the  silk  trade."  It  may  also  be  added  that  the  same  system  of  manufacture  was  in  operation 
in  France  as  in  England  at  that  time. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
PICTURES  OF  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE. 

The  During   the   first   half   of   the   nineteenth   century   the 

growth       population  of  London  is  said  to  have  doubled  itself.     The 
of  maps  of   1850-60  show  the  various  main  roads,   closely 

London,  built,  stretching  out  into  the  country  like  the  tentacles 
of  an  octopus,  and  the  spaces  between  them  being 
gradually  filled  in  with  smaller  streets  and  lanes.  Many 
of  the  suburban  villages  had  now  become  indistinguishable 
from  the  town  itself.  In  the  East  of  London  this  was 
particularly  the  case.  Between  the  parishes  of  Spital- 
fields,  Bethnal  Green,  Hackney,  Whitechapel,  Globe  Town 
and  Mile  End  New  Town  very  few  open  spaces  were  left, 
and  those  which  did  remain  were  given  over  to  neglect  and 
abomination.  There  are  persons  living  who  remember 
the  dreadful  plight  of  the  poor  in  these  new  "jerry-built " 
streets  and  lanes.  One  witness,  George  Doree,  a  weaver, 
still  living,  who  was  born  in  the  year  1845,  in  a  street  near 
the  Globe  Road,  distinctly  remembers  his  birthplace  and 
its  miserable  surroundings.  His  father  was  a  weaver  of 
Huguenot  descent,  as  his  name  testifies,  who  moved,  with 
his  numerous  family,  out  from  Spitalfields  to  a  new  cottage, 
one  of  a  row  specially  built  for  weavers,  in  Globe  Town. 
At  the  time  they  moved  the  neighbourhood  was  pleasantly 
rural.  The  cottages  stood  in  an  open  space  divided  up 
into  small  gardens,  which  were,  for  the  most  part,  hired 
by  Spitalfields  weavers  who  lived  and  worked  in  the  close 
streets  of  the  town,  but  spent  their  leisure  time,  of  which 
they  had  too  much,  in  gardening  and  other  rural  pursuits. 
Many  of  them  had  built  quaint  summer-houses  in  their 
gardens,  in  which  they  always  spent  the  week-ends  when 


74 


Plate  XIV. 


A  Typical  Spitalfields  Silk  Weaver, 
George  Doree,  at  work- 


PICTURES  OF  THE  VICTORIAN  AGE.       75 

the  weather  was  favourable.     As  new  cottages  encroached  The 
more  and  more  on  the  open  space,  the  gardens  were  given  growth 
up   and  became  mere  rubbish  heaps  ;    the  few  tenants  of 
that  were  left  took  to  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  fowls  London, 
and  pigs    in  place  of  vegetables,   flowers  and  canaries. 
The  unpaved  streets,  in  the  winter,  became  sloughs  of 
foul  mud,  for  there  was  no  drainage,  and  all  house  refuse 
was  thrown  into  the  road  to  rot. 

Although  the  district  was  in  this  manner  being  built 
over  and  becoming  more  and  more  thickly  populated, 
it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  was  now  (1850)  exclusively 
inhabited  by  weavers.  On  the  contrary,  by  that  time  the 
number  of  operative  weavers  employed  in  the  East  of 
London  had,  from  various  causes,  begun  to  decrease. 
Foreign  Jews  were  gradually  ousting  the  weavers  from 
Spitalfields,  and  various  manufactories  were  being  built 
hard  by  in  which  hundreds  or  thousands  of  workpeople 
were  employed  on  regular,  but  poorly  remunerated  work, 
as  well  as  large  works  where  unskilled  labour  was  in 
demand  more  or  less  intermittently.  The  number  of 
operative  weavers  in  the  district  at  this  time  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand.  Another 
cause  for  the  decline  in  number  of  the  silk- weaving  popula- 
tion of  London,  was  the  development  of  the  railway 
system,  which  enabled  weavers  who  had  no  work  or 
were  dissatisfied  with  London  trade  methods  and 
restrictions,  to  remove  at  little  cost  to  one  or  other  of  the 
provincial  districts,  which  had  become  great  centres  of 
silk  manufacture,  where  work  was  reported  to  be  plentiful, 
where  there  were  fewer  trade  restrictions,  and  also  where, 
in  many  cases,  the  factory  system  was  in  full  operation, 
in  which,  though  at  low  wages,  regular  employment  was 
offered,  especially  to  children  and  young  people. 

In   the   meantime   the   factory  system,  which  had,    in  Intro- 
the  provinces,  gradually  superseded  that  of  the  domestic  duction 
workshop  in  the  cotton  and  woollen  industries,  and,  to  a  of 
certain  extent,  in  the  silk  industry,  had  been  introduced  Factory 
into  East  London.  System. 

Between  1820  and  1830,  two  firms  had  established 
factories  in  London  for  weaving  the  lower  grades  of  silk 


76 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Intro-         dress   goods,    and   by   the   year    1850   there   were   seven 

duction      factories  of  a  similar  kind  in  operation,  as  well  as  two 

of  or  three  for  making  narrow  braids  etc.     But  these  were, 

Factory      for   the   most   part,    only   subordinate   establishments   to 

System,      others  which  the  same  firms  had  already  in  operation  at 

Sudbury,    Kettering    and    other    provincial    towns    and 

country  districts.     The  factory    system    for    silk-weavers 

does  not  seem  to  have  taken  root  very  kindly  in  the  East 

of    London,    except   in    one   case,    later   in   the    century, 

when,  owing  to  the  pluck  and  energy  of  one  master  weaver 

a  factory  for  the  weaving  of  the  very  highest  class  of 

furniture  silks  was  started,  and  carried  on  in  such  a  manner 

that,  in  spite  of  the  rapid  decline  of  the  handicraft  which 

was  taking  place  in  the  district  at  the  time  of  its  founding, 

it  became  the  foremost  firm,   in  its   particular  class  of 

work. 

A  description  of  Spitalfields  in  the  mid-Victorian  period 
would  be  incomplete  without  mention  of  the  Government 
School  of  Design  which  had  been  started  in  Crispin  Street, 
and  was  afterwards  moved  into  White  Lion  Street,  Spital 
Square.  It  lingered  there,  but  cannot  be  said  to  have 
flourished,  for  some  twenty  or  thirty  years.  It  is  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  object  of  establishing  a  School  of 
Design  in  the  silk-weaving  district  was  to  train  students 
to  produce  suitable  designs  for  the  local  handicraft,  so 
that  it  should  be  no  longer  necessary  for  manufacturers  to 
depend  so  entirely  on  foreign  artists  for  the  supply  of  such 
designs  as  they  required,  and  for  which  they  had  to  pay 
Govern-  exorbitant  prices.  This,  however,  if  such  was  the  original  in- 
ment  tention  of  the  promoters  of  this  school,  was,  in  this  particular 
School  of  case,  forgotten,  for  witnesses  before  a  Parliamentary 
Design.  Committee  of  Enquiry,  made  in  1849,  alleged  that — (1) 
"  The  headmaster  of  the  Spitalfields  School  of  Art  is 
not  at  all  conversant  with  the  silk  processes.  (2)  The 
school  has  made  very  little  progress  in  the  art  of  designing 
for  silks.  (3)  The  instruction  has  not  had  sufficient 
relation  to  the  requirements  of  the  silk  manufacture. 
(4)  The  designs  made  are  not  capable  of  being  executed.7' 
It  requires  little  imagination,  in  view  of  such  evidence, 
to  credit  the  statements  of  persons  who  remember  the 


PICTURES   OF   THE   VICTORIAN   AGE.         77 

school  and  its  management  that  "  it  had  very  little,  if  Govern- 
any,  effect  for  good  or  ill  on  the  manufacture  of  silk  in  ment 
Spitalfields."  School  of 

The  year  1851  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  opening  Design, 
of  the  first  great  International  Exhibition  of  Art  and 
Industry.  It  was  promoted  by  the  Society  of  Arts,  of 
which  Society  H.R.H.  the  Prince  Consort  was  the 
President,  and  in  which  he  took  the  greatest  interest. 
The  -  silk  manufacturers  of  Spitalfields  held  aloof  from 
the  Exhibition  until  considerable  pressure  had  been  brought 
to  bear  upon  them  not  only  by  the  Society  of  Arts,  but 
by  some  of  their  best  customers  amongst  the  mercers 
and  upholsterers  of  the  City  and  West  End  of  London. 
They  seem  to  have  had  the  idea  that  the  exhibition  of 
their  best  efforts  in  design  and  manufacture  would, 
instead  of  benefiting  themselves,  assist  their  rivals  at 
home  and  abroad  in  competing  with  them.  The  difficulty 
was,  however,  overcome,  and  allowing  themselves  to  be 
persuaded  to  exhibit,  a  collection  of  Spitalfields  silks  was 
made  which,  though  small,  in  comparison  with  the  import- 
ance of  the  industry,  was  creditable  and  representative, 
if  we  may  rely  on  the  evidence  of  the  Press  reports  of  the 
time. 

The  catalogue  of  the  Exhibition  shows  a  good  list  of 
leading    Spitalfields   firms   who    sent    specimens    of   their 
silk- weaving.      It   confirms  the  statement   already  made 
that  most  of  the  silk  manufacturers  had  their  warehouses 
or  offices  in  or  near  Spital  Square.*     It  is  interesting  also 
to  note  that  it  contains  the  names  of  many  firms  who  The 
have   since   established   and   carried   on   large   businesses  Exhibi- 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.     They  left  Spitalfields  at  tion  of 
the   time   of    the   great   downfall   of    the   local   industry,  1851. 
which  took  place  during  the  next  decade,  the  story  of 
which  now  claims  attention. 

*  For  list  of  exhibiting  firms,  see  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
EFFECTS  OF  FRENCH  TREATY  OF  1860. 

Death-  The  Royal  Speech  at  the  opening  of  Parliament  on 

blow  to      January  25th,   1860,  contained  a  paragraph  announcing 

Spital-       the    conclusion    of    a    commercial    treaty    with    France, 

fields          which,    after   being   debated   and   confirmed    during   the 

industry,    course  of  the  Session,*  practically  struck  the  death-blow 

to  the  local  industry  which  had  been  carried  on  in  the 

district  of  Spitalfields  for  nearly  two  centuries,  and  had 

given  employment  of  a  more  or  less  remunerative  kind 

to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  operative  silk  weavers  during 

that  period. 

This  fateful  paragraph  was  as  follows  : — 

"  I  am  in  communication  with  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  with  a  view  to  extend  the  commercial 
intercourse  between  the  two  countries,  and  thus 
to  draw  still  closer  the  bonds  of  friendly  alliance 
between  them." 

A  perusal  of  the  rather  inconsequent  and  uninteresting 
debate  which  followed  the  announcement  of  the  treaty 
shows  that  there  was  very  little  opposition  in  Parliament 
to  its  terms  on  commercial  grounds.  The  leaders  of  the 
political  party  then  in  opposition  complained  of  the 
preliminary  methods  used  in  preparing  the  new  arrange- 
ment, as  well  as  of  the  innovation  of  making  use  of  a 
treaty  for  a  purely  commercial  agreement.  The  pro- 
visions and  details  of  the  treaty  itself  were  very  little 
discussed.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  prevailing 
opinion  in  Parliament  and  in  the  country,  at  the  time, 

*  Lord   Palmerston,   the  Frime  Minister,  announced  on  January  28th  that  the  Frenoh 
Treaty  had  been  signed,  and  only  required  the  confirmation  of  Parliament. 

78 


EFFECTS  OF  FRENCH  TREATY  OF  1860.     79 

was  strongly  in  favour  of  Free  Trade,  and  consequently   Death- 
in  harmony  with  the  terms  of  the  proposed  treaty.  blow  to 

The  Times,  in  leading  articles  on  the  subject  of  the  Spital- 
treaty,    as   explained   by   Mr.    Gladstone   in   his   Budget  fields 
speech,    had    the    two    following    sentences    which    are  industry, 
significant  of  the  trend  of  public  opinion  at  the  time. 
"  Protection,  expelled  from  palaces,  has  been  lurking  in 
comfortable  corners,  among  people  who  are  '  Free  Traders 
with  -exception,'  standing  out  each  for  his  own  little  craft. 
A  crowd  of  small  manufactures  and  petty  produce,  from 
silk  to  eggs,  are  to  be  admitted  duty  free,  and  henceforth 
we  must  equal  our  neighbours  if  we  would  shut  them  out."  * 

Again,  commenting  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  explanations  : 
"  It  was  a  long  argument  against  the  doctrine  of  pro- 
hibition, which  we  may  pass  over,  since,  to  English  readers, 
it  is  like  reasoning  against  witchcraft,  or  the  Ptolemaic 
system."f 

The  text  of  the  treaty  was  published  in  full  in  the 
Times  in  the  same  issue  in  which  Mr.  Gladstone's  intro- 
ductory speech  was  reported  and  commented  on — 
February  llth,  1860. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  opposition  to  the  treaty 
from  any  of  the  great  industries,  except  that  of  the 
brewers,  who  objected  to  the  reduced  duty  on  French 
wines  ;  but  there  were  several  deputations  and  petitions 
to  Parliament  against  it  from  smaller  and  struggling 
trades,  especially  from  the  silk  industry,  and  particularly 
from  Spitalfields  and  Coventry.  The  terms  of  the  treaty, 
as  regards  the  textile  trades,  with  which  only  we  are 
concerned,  were  as  follows  : — cotton,  woollen  and  silk 
goods  manufactured  in  France,  were  to  be  admitted  Treaty 
into  this  country  free  of  duty,  whilst  English  goods  of  with 
the  same  nature  were  to  be  subject  in  France  to  a  duty  France, 
not  exceeding  30  %,  ad  valorem.  Hitherto  English  textiles 
had  been  strictly  prohibited  in  France.  The  Free  Traders 
argued  that  this  was  a  great  concession  on  the  part  of  the 
French,  which  would  be  of  much  advantage  to  the  British 
manufacturers.  { 

*  Times,  February  llth,  1860. 
t  Times,  February  12th,  1860. 

J  There  was  a  great  deal  of  opposition  to  the  Treaty  in  France,  where  it  was  generally 
considered  that  too  much  concession  was  made  to  England. 


80 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Effects  Early  in  the  debate,  Mr.   Bright,  who  had  presented 

of  the         a  petition  from  the  silk  manufacturers  of  Manchester  in 

French       favour  of  the  treaty,   said  that  "  Communications  were 

Treaty.       made  by  some  of  the  leading  commercial  men  of  France 

to  Mr.  Cobden  and  himself  in  reference  to  his  proposition, 

made  in  a  speech  the  year  before  ;    the  result  of  which 

was   this    commercial   treaty,    which   he   considered   was 

one  of  the  best  measures  which  had  ever  been  effected 

for  the  benefit  of  both  countries." 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  in  the  above  quotations 
from  the  Times,  silk  is  classed  with  the  "  small  manu- 
factures." That  it  was  small,  in  comparison  with  the 
thriving  cotton  and  woollen  industries,  which  had 
developed  so  enormously  in  the  North  of  England,  cannot 
be  denied,  and  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  not  only 
was  it  a  comparatively  small  industry,  but  a  sadly 
demoralised  one.  Then,  again,  it  was  thought  by  many 
manufacturers  that  the  power  loom  could  never  be  adapted 
successfully  to  the  weaving  of  silk,  and  for  this  reason 
the  silk  industry  was  not  worth  consideration.  English 
policy  at  that  time  tended  to  substitute  handicraft  by 
machine  work  wherever  it  was  possible.  It  was  to 
be  expected,  therefore,  that,  outside  the  silk  trade  itself, 
very  little  consideration  would  be  given  to  its  welfare  in 
comparison  to  that  claimed  by  the  more  important  and 
prosperous  industries  in  which  most  of  the  leading  states- 
men of  the  time  were  interested. 

Mr.  Cobden's  scornful  reply  to  an  advocate  for  the 
exemption  of  silk  goods  from  the  treaty  list :  "  Let  the 
silk  trade  perish  and  go  to  the  countries  to  which  it  properly 
belonged,"  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the  general 
feeling  in  regard  to  it. 

Attitude         Such  references  as  the  following  are  frequent  in  books 

of  and  newspapers  of  the  time  : — "  The  fourteen  thousand 

Free  hand-loom  silk-weavers    of    Spitalfields  still  struggle  on, 

Traders,     and  in  much  suffering  and  privation  maintain  a  feeble 

competition  with  the  power-looms  of    the    North.     This 

belongs   rather   to   handicraft   branch   of   trade   than   to 

manufacture."* 

*  A  Survey  of  London's  Trade  and  Manufacture,  1863,  published  by  John  Weale. 


EFFECTS   OF  FRENCH   TREATY   OF   1860.     81 

During  the  course  of  the  debate,  the  probable  effect   Unavail- 
of  the  treaty  on  the  silk  trade  was  barely  mentioned,    ingpro- 
but  on  March  2nd  the  clause  relating  to  it  came  up  for   test 
approval   in   Committee.     In    accordance   with   a   notice   by  the 
he   had   previously   given,    Sir   J.    Paxton,    member   for   Industry 
Coventry,  proposed  as  an  amendment,  "  that  the  present 
duty  on  imported  silk  manufactures  should  be  retained." 
Mr.  Ayrton,  member  for  the  Tower  Hamlets,  supported 
the   amendment  in   an   interesting   and   pathetic  speech. 
Mr.    Bright    and   Mr.    Gladstone   followed   with   popular 
Free  Trade  arguments,  and  further  discussion  was  vetoed 
by  223  against  28.     The  amendment  was  then  put,  and 
lost.     The  majority  against  it  being  122. 

The  next  day  a  motion  was  submitted  that  the  duty 
be  retained  till  October  1st,  1861,  but,  after  a  short  dis- 
cussion, this  also  was  negatived  by  a  majority  of  128. 

The  clause  of  the  treaty  relating  to  silk  was  then  allowed 
to  stand.  In  a  few  days  the  debates  were  concluded, 
and  the  French  Treaty,  without  alteration,  was  approved 
by  Parliament  and  came  into  operation  at  once. 

Before  attempting  to  describe  the  effect  of  this  measure 
on  the  district  of  Spitalfields,  it  is  necessary  to  realise 
clearly  the  actual  state  of  the  silk-weaving  industry  at 
the  time  the  treaty  came  into  force. 

As  the  enthusiasm  for  Free  Trade  has,  of  late,  to  some   Effect 
extent  diminished,  and  the  event  in  question  has  become   of 
one  of  ancient  history,  it  has  been  assumed  by  the  occa-   Treaty 
sional  writers  and  speakers  who    have  dealt  with,   and   on 
been   interested    in,    the    more    recent    revival    and    new   Spital- 
developments  of  the  silk  industry  in  Great  Britain,  that   fields, 
the  East  London  silk-weaving  trade  was  in  a  flourishing 
condition  in  1860,  and  that  it  was  suddenly  ruined  by 
the  operation  of  the  Free  Trade  Treaty.     The  number  of 
silk- weaving  operatives  employed  in  London  at  that  time 
has  however  been  much  exaggerated.     Thirty  thousand, 
fifty  thousand,  or  even  a  hundred  thousand  weavers  are 
often   spoken    of    as   having   been    "  busily   and   happily 
employed  in  this  delightful  handicraft  at  the  time  the 
disastrous  treaty  with  France  was  concluded,  which  at 
once   left    them   without    occupation."     That  neither  of 


82 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


these  assumptions  is  correct,  but  that  they  are  gathered 
from  the  biassed  impressions  and  reports  of  both  manu- 
facturers and  weavers,  many  of  whom  suffered  bitter 
hardships  at  the  time  of  the  collapse  which  immediately 
took  place  when  the  treaty  came  into  operation,  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  available  records  of  the  time  clearly 
demonstrates. 

In  the  first  place,  as  to  the  trade  itself,  it  has  already 

been  shown  that  it  had  for  many  years  been  in  a  declining 

condition,     and    all    contemporary     accounts    agree    in 

Public        representing   the   distress   of   the   operative   silk  weavers 

Ignor-        as  chronic,  and  as  having  become  acute  in  1860.     At  the 

ance  of       time  the  treaty  was  being  discussed  in  Parliament,  the 

Silk  Rector  of  St.  Matthew's,  Bethnal  Green,  wrote  a   piteous 

Trade         letter  to  the  Times  about  his  difficulties  in  dealing  with 

Condi-        the  desperate  poverty  of  his  parish,*  which  was  chiefly 

tions.          occupied  by  poor  silk  weavers. 

Briefly  summarised,  the  case  may  be  stated  thus. 
The  operative  weavers  were,  with  few  exceptions, 
desperately  poor  and  only  employed  intermittently.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  London  Silk  Manufacturers, 
whose  names  appeared  in  the  Directory  as  such,  had  no 
interest  in  or  knowledge  of  the  technics,  aesthetics  or 
economics  of  the  silk  trade.  They  relegated  all  the  details 
of  production  to  managers  and  foremen,  who  frequently 
farmed  out  the  work' — which  was  mostly  of  a  low  grade — to 
petty  master-weavers.  These  made  their  own  terms  with 
the  hands  they  employed  in  their  crowded  cottage  work- 
shops.f  Many,  therefore,  who  posed  as  manufacturers 
were  merely  warehousemen,  exploiting  the  sweated  labour 
of  helpless,  impoverished  weavers,  and  in  many  cases 
growing  wealthy  on  the  profits.  To  such  "  manu- 
facturers "  the  proposed  change  would  really  prove  an 
advantage,  for  they  would  be  able  to  fill  their  warehouses 
with  low-priced  goods  from  France,  at  even  less  cost, 
trouble  and  risk  to  themselves  than  they  had  hitherto  had. 

*  Times,  17th  February,  1860. 

t  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  was  an  immense  amount  of  sweated  labour  in  the  silk 
trade  in  its  lower  branches.  It  was  a  common  practice  to  give  out  work  to  petty  masters, 
who  employed  several  women  and  young  people,  and  sometimes  even  men — so  scarce  was 
work — at  half  or  even  one-third  the  agreed  rate  of  wages.  Children  were  also  often  taken 
off  the  parish,  for  a  consideration,  and  set  to  work  in  these  sweaters'  dens.  It  is  well  known 
that  many  of  these  petty  masters  saved  money  and  became  independent  in  this  manner, 


EFFECTS   OF  FRENCH   TREATY   OF   1860.     83 

The   minority,    the   genuine   manufacturers    of    Spital-  Public 
fields,*  had  been  struggling  against  adverse  circumstances  Ignor- 
and  competition  between  each  other  for  many  years,  and,  ance  of 
like  the  weavers,  had  become  demoralised  and  dispirited.  Silk 
It  was  by  this  class  that  what  opposition  there  was  to  Trade 
the  Treaty  was  made.     A  few  large  firms,  who  had  adopted  Condi- 
the  factory  system,  and  some  few  small  firms  who  did  tions. 
very  special  and  high-class  work,  and  were  not  so  likely 
to  be  -affected,  were,  for  the  most  part,  neutral  in  attitude, 
although  some,  especially  in  the  Midlands  and  North  of 
England,    were   believers  in  Free    Trade    for  themselves 
as  well  as  for  others. 

Then,  again,  it  is  very  difficult  to  estimate  correctly 
the  number  of  Spitalfields  weavers  working  at  the  trade 
in  1860,  but  it  is  certain  there  were  not  so  many  as  is 
usually  supposed.  In  1838  the  distress  in  Spitalfields 
amongst  the  weavers  had  been  very  great,  and  a 
Dr.  Mitchell  was  deputed  to  investigate  and  report  to 
Parliament  on  the  matter.  His  report  was  most  carefully 
prepared,  and  was  very  thorough  in  detail.  The  number 
of  families  employed,  according  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  was  just 
under  five  thousand,  and  the  number  of  looms  at  work 
ten  thousand  five  hundred.  If  all  the  persons  employed 
in  the  business,  as  w^ell  as  the  weavers,  are  included, 
it  would  be  quite  reasonable  to  estimate  that  each  loom 
gives  employment  to  two  persons,  and  this  would  make 
a  total  of  twenty  thousand  operatives,  all  told.f  In  Census  of 
the  year  1853,  the  writer  of  the  Survey  of  London's  Employ- 
Trade  gives  fourteen  thousand  as  the  number  of  hand-  ment. 
loom  weavers  in  London,  and  the  census  of  1851  shows 
that  130,723  persons,  53,936  of  whom  were  males  and 
76,787  females,  reported  that  they  were  engaged  in  the 
silk  trade  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

Both  Mr.  Cobden  and  Mr.  Gladstone  have  been  credited 
with  the  heartless-sounding  phrase  already  quoted,  "Let 
the  silk  trade  in  England  perish,  etc."  Yet  when  speaking 
thus  they  only  voiced  the  almost  universal  opinion  held 

*  Spitalfields  being  under  consideration  in  this  section,  the  local  industry  only  is  referred 
to,  but  similar  economic  conditions  prevailed  in  the  provincial  centres  of  the  trade. 

t  Dr.  Mitchell  estimates  the  number  of  weavers  employed  to  be  the  same  as  the  number 
of  looms.  It  is  probable  that  the  total  number  of  operatives  dependent  on  the  trade  was 
about  midway  between  10,000  and  20,000,  as  the  business  was  in  a  depressed  condition. 


84 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Prohi-  by  the  public  of  their  time.  Long  years  of  prohibition  or 
bition  protection  had  not  only  fostered  a  belief  in  the  public 
and  mind  that  French  silk  goods  must  in  the  nature  of  things 

Pro-  be    superior    to  those    of  English   manufacture,   but,  by 

tection.  preventing  healthy  rivalry  and  comparison  by  the  manu- 
facturers and  weavers,  had  gradually  rendered  the  English 
weavers  inferior  to  the  French  in  artistic  expression. 
There  were,  no  doubt,  other  causes  contributing  to  this 
result,  but,  whatever  these  may  have  been,  a  comparison 
of  the  pattern  books  of  French  and  English  silk  textiles 
of  the  mid-Victorian  period,  demonstrates  the  decided 
superiority  of  the  French  goods  in  design  and  colouring, 
though  not  in  perfection  of  weaving  or  purity  of  silk; 
for  even  at  that  time  the  French  had  become  past  masters 
in  the  art  of  adulterating  and  degrading  silk  in  the  process 
of  dyeing. 

The  immediate  result  in  the  East  of  London  of  the 
completion  of  the  Treaty  and  its  approval  by  Parliament 
was  helpless  despair  and  a  deeper  depth  of  distress  than 
had  even  formerly  prevailed.  Business  in  the  silk  trade 
was  at  a  standstill.  Many  firms,  some  of  whom  had 
hundreds  of  weavers  on  their  books,  had  given  notice 
to  their  employees  that,  if  the  Treaty  became  law,  they 
would  cease  to  give  out  work,  as  they  would  be  able  to 
purchase  foreign  silks  at  a  cheaper  rate  than  they  could 
manufacture  them.  The  retail  dealers  bought  up  entire 
stocks,  which  had  been  accumulated  by  French  manu- 
facturers and  warehousemen,  as  well  as  those  of  many 
Spitalfields  firms  who  felt  it  impossible  to  go  on  manu- 
facturing under  the  new  conditions,  and  advertised  them 
for  sale  at  half  their  reputed  value.*  New,  attractive, 
Despair  low-grade  silk  goods,  made  in  haste  for  the  purpose,  poured 
in  into  the  English  market,  with  the  result  that  the  local 

Spital-        manufacture  of  the  lighter  and  cheaper  kinds  of  silk  webs, 
fields.         which  had  for  many  years  occupied  the  vast  majority  of 
Spitalfields  silk  weavers,  was  entirely  wiped  out. 

Two  brief  stories,f  one  of  an  exceptionally  thrifty  family, 

*  The  advertising  columns  of  the  newspapers  of  the  time  are  filled  with  such  notices  as 
those  given  in  Appendix,  Note  2. 

t  These  stories  are  not  given  in  the  actual  words  of  the  weavers  themselves,  but  are  sum- 
maries of  conversations  in  which  the  facts  set  down  were,  more  or  less,  clearly  related  to  the 
author. 


EFFECTS  OF  FRENCH  TREATY  OF   1860.      85 

and  the  other  of  a  family  of  a  more  average  kind,  as  told  Despair 
by  survivors,  are  typical  of  hundreds  of  weaving  families  in 
who  were  at  their  wits'   end  in  that  time  of  upheaval.  Spital- 
It  has  already  been  shown  that,  owing  to  the  fact  that  fields, 
children  and  very  young  persons  could  do  a  great  deal 
of  the  work  of  the  loom,  families — especially  where  there 
were  several  children — could,  by  their  combined  efforts, 
earn  sufficient  for  a  moderate  subsistence,  notwithstanding 
the  low  average  of  individual  earnings.     It  was  to  such 
families  that  the  narrators  of  these  stories  belonged.     The 
narrator  of  the  first  story  was  still  working  at  his  trade  in 
Bethnal  Green,  and  was  eighteen  years  of  age  in  1860. 
The  second  account  is  by  a  clever,  shrewd,  aged  weaveress, 
who  was  a  young  woman  at  the  time  in  question.* 

The  first  story  was  prefaced  by  the  remark,  "  You 
don't  see  such  velvets  now  as  we  used  to  weave  when  I 
was  young."  The  family  described  were  engaged  in 
velvet  weaving. 

"  The  richest  and  closest  black,  cut  pile  silk  velvet 
was  used  for  gentlemen's  coat  collars,  and  my  father  was 
one  of  the  very  few  weavers  who  could  make  it.  It  was 
very  hard  work,  but  by  working  long  hours,  if  the  silk 
was  good,  he  could  make  five  yards  a  week.  The  price 
paid  for  weaving  and  finishing  this  kind  of  velvet  was 
5s.  9d.  a  yard.  The  city  firm  for  which  he  worked 
usually  kept  two  looms  going  for  weaving  this  velvet  all 
the  winter  and  spring,  but  there  was  a  good  deal  of  waiting 
in  the  summer,  so  that  to  fill  up  his  time  my  father  took 
work  of  a  lower  class  from  another  firm,  and  this  my 
mother  and  aunt  kept  going  on,  under  his  superintendence, 
when  he  was  busy.  There  were  several  looms  in  our 
workshop,  and  we  children — I  was  the  eldest  of  five — 
all  learnt  to  weave  when  we  were  quite  young.  We  all  Stories 
went  to  school  till  we  were  eleven  years  old,  and  then  of  the 
left  in  order  to  help  in  the  workshop.  My  father  had  past, 
taught  me  to  make  velvet,  and  on  my  eleventh  birthday 
I  finished  my  first  yard,  of  which  I  was  very  proud,  and 
so  was  he.  By  the  time  I  was  sixteen  I  was  able  to  take 
on  the  same  kind  of  work  as  my  father.  When  I  was 

*  The  notes  for  this  story  were  taken  in  1895. 


86 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Stories       eighteen  we  had  five  looms  going  at  home  pretty  regularly, 

of  the         and  the  family  earnings  amounted  to  from  two  pounds  to 

past.  two  pounds   ten  shillings   a  week,  if  we  had  not  much 

waiting.     But  it  was  hard  work,  and  when  we  were  busy 

enough  to   earn  so  much  money  we  had  no  playtime. 

My   father   never   stopped   on   week-days   when   he   had 

work,  except  to  eat  and  sleep.     On  Sunday  we  all  went 

to  Church,  for  my  father  and  mother  were  very  religious 

and  particular. 

"  All  our  relations  were  weavers  and  belonged  to  an 
old  weaving  family.  Our  name  shows  that  we  were 
connected  with  the  French  Protestant  weavers  who  came 
over  in  1685  and  settled  in  Spitalfields. 

"  As  long  as  I  can  remember,  my  father  had  made  the 
best  velvet  for  the  firm  that  regularly  employed  him. 
My  weaving,  too,  soon  became  good  enough  for  them 
to  employ  me  also  ;  I  have  worked  for  them  ever  since, 
as  they  are  one  of  the  firms  which  have  continued  to  give 
out  work  in  the  East  of  London,  and  still  have  a  good 
deal  of  silk  woven  in  England  at  their  suburban  and 
provincial  factories,  although  of  course  since  1860  they 
have  bought  from  abroad  a  good  deal  of  what  they  sell, 
especially  of  the  cheap  kind.  At  the  time  the  French 
Treaty  was  first  talked  about,  we  were  working  for  a 
Spitalfields  firm,  who  gave  out  lower  class  velvets,  as 
well  as  for  the  firm  who  kept  my  father's  loom  and  mine 
nearly  always  going.  Of  course  it  soon  became  generally 
known  that  a  calamity  was  threatened,  and  all  was  excite- 
ment amongst  the  weavers.  The  Spitalfields  firm  sent 
us  notice  that  if  the  Treaty  was  passed  by  Parliament 
they  would  give  out  no  more  work  in  London.  This 
was  because  they  would  be  able  to  buy  the  kind  of  velvets, 
and  other  cheap  goods  they  sold,  at  less  cost  and  trouble 
than  they  could  get  them  made  for  in  England.  It  did 
not  make  much  difference  to  the  better  classes  of  work, 
Politics  so  my  father  and  I  felt  pretty  sure  that  the  city  firm 
and  would  keep  us  on.  But  my  father  at  once  set  about 

Trade.  getting  something  else  for  my  brothers  and  sisters  to  do. 
The  Telegraph  Company  were  advertising  at  the  time 
for  messenger  boys  :  two  of  my  brothers  applied  and 


EFFECTS   OF  FRENCH  TREATY   OF   1860.      87 

got  taken  on  there.  Another  got  into  the  Post  Office. 
The  girls  found  other  sorts  of  work  to  do,  and  so  we 
managed  pretty  well.  In  fact,  for  my  brothers,  the  turning 
out  was  certainly  for  the  best,  as  they  are  all  in  far  better 
positions  than  would  have  been  possible  if  they  had  kept 
on  with  the  weaving.  I  am  sorry  to  say  there  were  very 
few  families  came  out  of  the  trouble  as  well  as  we  did." 

The  second  narrative,  that  of  a  woman  weaver,  is  not 
such  a  cheerful  one,  and  is  no  doubt  typical  of  a  much 
larger  number  of  families  than  the  first. 

"I   was   about   sixteen,    I   think," —the   narrator,   like 
so  many  illiterate  persons,  did  not  know  her  own  age— 
"  when  the  duty  was  taken  off  French  silk.     I  well  remem- 
ber the  time  of  excitement,  and  how  frightened  everybody 
was  that  we  should  all  be  thrown  out  of  work. 

'( I  never  went  to  school,  and  cannot  remember  beginning  How  the 
to  wind  and  weave.     I   always  had  to  work  and  sleep  poor 
among  the  looms  in  my  father's  workshop.     There  were  lived, 
six  of  us  children,  and  we  were  all  taught  to  wind  quills 
for  the  shuttles  as  soon  as  we  could  talk,  and  to  weave 
as  soon  as  we  could  sit  in  the  loom.     My  mother  used 
to  weave  as  well,  and  only  left  off  to  bring  up  our  food 
to  us,  so  that  we  should  not  lose  more  time  than  could 
be  helped  in  eating.     We  always  had  a  holiday  on  Sundays, 
and  mother  used  to  clean  up  the  house  while  we  played 
about  outside.     On  Sundays,  too,  we  had  a  cooked  dinner, 
but  on  other  days  we  had  only  bread  and  perhaps  a  red 
herring  or  a  piece  of  cheese. 

'  My  father  hardly  ever  did  any  work  himself  after 
he  had  taught  me  to  weave  fancy  silks  with  a  Jacquard 
machine.  When  I  was,  I  think,  about  twelve,  I  could 
do  the  work  as  well  as  he  could.  He  used  to  come  in  and 
put  the  machine  right  when  a  needle  got  bent  or  anything 
else  went  wrong,  but  mostly  he  was  out  talking  with 
other  men.  He  used  to  pick  and  look  over  all  our  work 
when  it  was  finished,  and  take  it  to  the  warehouse. 

'  My  mother  used  to  make  plain  satins,  and  the  younger 
children  used  to  weave  low  quality  plain  silks. 

"  Sometimes  I  used  to  get  fidgety  and  want  to  get  up 
and  move  about.  To  prevent  this,  father  used  to  tie 
me  to  the  loom  in  the  morning,  before  he  went  out,  and 


88  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

How  the    dare  me  to  leave  it  till  he  came  back.     I  have  often  been 

poor  tied  in  the  loom  all  day  and  eaten  my  meals  as  I  sat  there. 

lived.          When  I  was  so  tied,  mother  had  to  pick  the  porry  and 

move  the  rods  if  father  did  not  happen  to  be  about.     When 

I  was  not  tired  I  used  to  be  fond  of  weaving  and  proud 

of  my  work,  which  was  generally  of  pretty  colours,  and 

every  one  used  to  say  I  was  clever  at  it. 

"  When  the  duty  was  taken  off  silk,  my  father  had 
notice  that  no  work  would  be  given  out  for  a  long 
time,  if  at  all.  As  he  was  already  in  debt  on  the  books 
of  his  master,  he  could  not,  of  course,  draw  any  more 
money  so  we  were  in  great  distress.  My  brother  and 
I,  who  were  the  best  weavers  of  the  family,  except 
father,  got  the  offer  of  work  at  a  factory  which  had 
not  long  been  started.  My  aunt,  my  mother's  sister, 
was  forewoman  of  the  winders  there,  and  recommended 
us.  She  also  said  we  could  go  and  live  with  her.  In 
the  factory  we  had  regular  wages,  which  made  us  feel 
very  proud. 

"  My  father  had  heard  of  some  work  at  a  place  near 
Sudbury,  and  some  kind  person  gave  him  money  to  go 
there  and  take  my  mother  and  the  younger  children. 
He  worked  there  at  his  trade  for  a  little  while,  then  my 
mother  and  two  of  the  children  were  taken  ill  and  died 
quite  suddenly.  After  mother's  death,  father,  who  had 
often  said  he  would  like  to  go  to  Australia,  joined  a  party 
of  emigrants,  which  the  Government  were  sending  out, 
and  took  the  two  remaining  children  with  him.  They 
did  not  start  from  London,  so  of  course  we  could  not 
afford  to  go  and  see  them  off.  We  just  heard  that  they 
got  to  Australia  safely,  but  that  was  all.  I  have  never 
heard  from  father  or  my  sisters  since. 

Dispersal        "  My  brother  got  to  be  very  clever  at  weaving,   and 
of  Spital-  could  always  get  work.     But  he  soon  got  tired  of  London, 
fields          and  went  to  the  North,  where  he  thought  he  could  get  on 
workers,     better.     There   he   caught   cold,    and,    as   his    chest   had 
always  been  delicate,  it  turned  to  consumption,  and   he 
never  got  well  again,  though  he  was  able  to  work  for  some 
months  in  his  new  place.     He  died  in  1870. 

Soon  after  my  brother  died,  the  factory  in  which  I 


C( 


EFFECTS  OF  FRENCH  TREATY  OF   1860.      89 

was   moved  into   the   country.     Several   of   the   weavers  Dispersal 
and  winders  went  too,  so  as  to  keep  with  the  firm,  who  of  Spital- 
treated  them  well.     Just  at  that  time  I  was  offered  some  fields 
good  work  on  a  Jacquard  loom  standing  in  a  friend's  workers, 
house.     So,  although  my  aunt  was  leaving  London  with 
the  other  winders,  I  accepted  the  offer  and  have  been 
working  for  the  same  firm  in  White  Lion  Street  ever  since, 
weaving  some  of  the  best  figured  silks  for  church  work. 
The  firm  say  they  will  soon  have  to  give  up,  for  the  trade 
is  getting  worse.     But  we  must  hope  for  the  best."* 

The  cases  in  which  the  sudden  stoppage  of  silk  weaving 
in  Spitalfields  proved  most  pitiable  were  such  as  that  of 
the  elderly  weaver  and  his  wife.  Such  poor  people  as 
these,  friendless  and  alone  as  they  were,  could  have  no 
chance  of  taking  up  a  new  occupation,  when  the  one  they 
had  been  bred  to,  poor  as  it  was,  failed  utterly.  They 
were  without  help  in  the  present,  and  could  have  no  hope 
for  the  future.  Many  industrious  aged  operatives  must 
have  suffered  in  silence  and  perished  in  the  general 
wreck,  for  they  were  just  such  as  private  benevolence 
and  official  charity  were  certain  to  overlook. 

One  result  of  the  commercial  treaty  which  cannot  be 
regretted  was,  that  many,  if  not  quite  all,  of  the  petty 
masters    who    employed    sweated     labour    could    get    no 
more   silk   given   out   from   the   manufacturers   for   their 
victims    to    weave.     They    accordingly    quickly   gave   up 
the  business  and  sought  profit  in  other  directions.     The 
older  people,  who  had  worked  for  these  sweaters  unhappily 
shared   the   dismal    fate   of    the   other    hapless    weavers 
who   could   not   take   up   other   occupations,    whilst   the 
younger  people  and  children,  many  of  whom  had  been 
apprenticed  by  the  parish,   were  set  free,   and  in  time 
found  occupation  in  the  various  factories  and  workshops  The 
of  new  trades  which  had  been  started  in  the  locality,  and  blow  to 
brought   new   activity   and  life  into   what   had   hitherto  Sweated 
been  the  silk  weavers'  special  district.  Labour. 

Some  extra  attention  was  given  during  1860-61  to 
the  emigration  scheme,  promoted  by  the  Government 
and  various  private  benevolent  societies,  which  had  been 

*  This  was  told  in  1895.     The  narrator  only  lived  for  a  few  months,  and  died  in  the  London 
Hospital.     The  firm  did  not  give  up  before  she  was  taken  ill,  although  it  did  soon  after. 


90 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Emigra-     in  operation  intermittently  for  several  years.     The  weavers, 
tion  however,  who  were  distinguished  by  neatness  and  dexterity 

Societies     of  hand  and  love  of  home,  rather  than  muscular  strength 
a  failure,   and   adventurous   character,   were   not   as   a  rule  either 
willing  or  hopeful  emigrants. 

After  the  downfall,  the  aspect  of  Spitalfields  and 
Bethnal  Green,  but  especially  the  former,  began  imme- 
diately to  change  for  the  worse.  This  was  particularly 
noticeable  in  the  region  of  Spital  Square  and  Devonshire 
Square,  where  the  manufacturers  had  their  offices,  and 
in  many  cases  their  residences.  The  offices  and  ware- 
houses were  given  up.  Many  of  the  manufacturers 
could  not  meet  their  liabilities,  and  were  ruined ;  some, 
who  had  succeeded  in  surviving  the  debacle,  took 
warehouses  and  showrooms  in  the  city,  to  deal  in  goods 
made  in  the  provinces  or  abroad,  and  removed  their 
private  residences  to  the  suburbs  or  the  West  End ; 
some  retired  from  the  business  altogether  with  more  or 
less  handsome  fortunes  ;  a  few,  more  enterprising,  built 
factories  in  the  provinces  and  transplanted  to  them  the 
most  skilful  of  the  hand-loom  silk  weavers  who  still 
remained,  and  whose  work  was  yet  worthy  of  the  best 
traditions  of  old  Spitalfields.  There  had  always  been 
a  nucleus  of  such  weavers,  the  aristocracy  of  the  handi- 
craft, for  whose  work  there  continued  to  be  a  certain 
demand.  *  It  was  from  this  class,  as  they  became  gathered 
Aristoc-  into  factories,  either  in  London  or,  as  was  more  generally 
racy  of  the  case,  in  the  provinces  that  the  British  silk-weaving 
Handi-  trade  in  its  higher  branches  was  to  experience  its 
craft  renaissance,  and  to  rise,  like  a  Phoenix,  from  the  ashes 

saved.         of  the  decayed  system   of   domestic  manufacture  which 
had  long  outlived  its  time  of  prosperity. 

*  These  were  mostly  weavers  of  rich  furniture  and  dress  silks.  Such  works  then  continued, 
and  still  do  so,  to  be  made  on  Jacquard  mounted  hand-looms.  Power-loom  weaving  of  this 
kind,  even  if  successful,  is  more  expensive  than  that  of  the  hand-loom. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LEGISLATION  AND  THE  FACTORY  SYSTEM. 

A  survey  of  London  taken  during  the  decade  of  1880 —  Legisla- 
1890  would  show  the  satisfactory  effects  of  much  of  the  tion 
social  legislation  which  had  been  forced  on  the  considera-  and  the 
tion  of  Parliament  by  partially  educated  public  opinion.  East  End, 
The  problems  to  be  faced  resulted  chiefly  from  the  unpre- 
cedented increase  of  the  population,  new  ideas  of  social 
responsibility,    and    the    practical    application    of    much 
scientific    discovery    and    many    mechanical    inventions. 
Between  the  years  1848  and  1890  Parliament  had  dealt 
in  a  more  or  less  satisfactory  manner  with  sanitation  and 
public  health,  the  regulation  of  the  factory  system,  the 
definite  legal  standing  of  trade  unions  and  other  industrial 
combinations,    the    civil    and    municipal    government    of 
Greater  London,  the  lighting,  paving  and  keeping  clean 
of  the  vastly  increased  urban  area,   and  the  education 
of  children. 

In  concluding  this  description  of  the  weavers'  quarters 
of  the  past,  it  is  necessary  to  note  briefly  the  effect  this 
legislation  had  on  the  densely  populated  district  of  London 
east  of  the  City. 

The  late  Sir  Walter  Besant,  who  probably  knew  this   Besant's 
district    better    and    has    more    graphically    described    it   descrip- 
than  any  of  his  contemporaries,  speaks  of  it  in  1880  as   tions  of 
"  a  town  of  two  million  inhabitants,  separated  by  speech,   East 
manners  and  interests,  and  almost  unknown  to  the  rest   London, 
of    London."*    The   broad    highways    and   main   streets 
in  which  the  best  houses  of  the  district  were  situated, 

*  All  Sorts  and  Conditions  of  Men,  Besant  and  Rice,  1882. 


91 


92  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Besant's  had  become  lined  with  shops  that  had,  for  the  most  part, 
descrip-  been  built  on  the  long  front  gardens  which  had  originally 
tions  of  intervened  between  the  roadway  and  the  houses  them- 
East  selves.  The  smaller  streets  consisted  of  narrow  avenues 

London,  of  mean  dwellings  all  of  one  pattern,  unlovely  and 
monotonous.  Churches,  chapels,  gin  palaces  and  humble 
taverns,  with  here  and  there  a  large  factory  or  a  small 
workshop,  a  large  brand-new  board  school,  or  a  barrack- 
like  block  of  workmen's  dwellings,  varied  the  monotony 
of  the  dismal  streets.  If,  however,  we  may  believe  Besant's 
assertion,  there  were  no  places  of  amusement  or  recreation, 
except  a  theatre  and  a  music-hall  in  the  Whitechapel  Road, 
in  the  whole  district.* 

Although  thus  cheerless  and  dull,  the  district  had,  in 
many  respects,  very  much  improved  from  the  condition 
in  which  it  was  steeped  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th 
century.  In  the  first  place  the  population,  taken  as  a 
wholer  was  comparatively  well-to-do.  Instead  of  all,  or 
nearly  all,  being  engaged  in  one  occupation,  silk  weaving, 
of  which  there  was  enough  to  give  constant  employment 
to  only  one-third  of  the  large  number  of  operatives  wanting 
work,  there  were  now  a  great  variety  of  industries,  alto- 
gether new  to  the  district,  in  which  workers  could  engage. 
There  were  half  a  dozen  breweries,  several  large  chemical 
works,  sugar  refineries,  tobacco  factories,  clothing 
factories  and  the  vastly  extended  docks.  There  were 
also  rope  makers,  sail  makers,  jute  weavers  and  mat 
makers  ;  there  were  cork  cutters  and  firework  makers, 
sealing-wax  makers,  workers  in  shellac,  workers  in  zinc, 
sign  painters,  heraldic  painters,  makers  of  iron  hoops, 
combs  and  sunblinds,  pewterers,  turners,  feather  dressers, 
ship  modellers  and  many  others.  Numbers  of  petty 
trades,  at  which  whole  families  could  work,  had  come  into 
Influence  existence,  such,  for  instance,  as  cardboard-box  making 
of  for  wholesale  houses,  pill  boxes  for  chemists,  ornamented 

industrial  boxes  of  all  kinds  for  confectioners,  druggists,  drapers 
diversity  and  stationers.  It  is  true  that  many  of  these  occupations 
factor.  were  but  poorly  remunerated,  but  generally  there  was 

*  There  were,  at  this  time,  two  theatres  in  Shoreditch  and  one  in  Hoxton.     These,  although 
on  the  border,  were  not  actually  in  the  district. 


LEGISLATION  AND  THE  FACTORY  SYSTEM.     93 

no  lack  of  work,  and  on  Sundays  and  other  holidays  the  Influence 
crowds  of  people  thronging  the  new  Victoria  Park  and  of 
the  principal  thoroughfares  were  by  no  means  ill-dressed  industrial 
or  unhealthy  in  appearance.  diversity 

At  this  time — 1880-90 — the  number  of  operatives  still  factor, 
following  the  occupation  of  silk  weaving  in  the  East  of 
London  is  shown  by  Charles  Booth*  to  have  fallen  to 
little  more  than  two  thousand.  These  were  employed 
by  about  sixteen  firms  who  had  succeeded  in  surviving 
from  the  upheaval  of  1861,  and  were  able  to  adapt  their 
products  and  their  methods  of  manufacture  and  com- 
merce to  more  or  less  modern  conditions.  The  names  of 
these  firms  appear  in  the  London  Directory  for  1890,  f 
under  the  heading  of  "  Silk  Manufacturers."  The  whole 
long  list  of  names  there  given,  however,  may  be  misleading, 
for  many  of  the  firms  mentioned  were  merely  those  of  foreign 
agents,  provincial  silk  manufacturers  with  showrooms 
in  the  City  of  London,  or  warehousemen  dealing  in  silken 
goods  but  having  no  work  carried  on  in  East  End  factories 
or  domestic  workshops. 

In  common  with  the  rest  of  London,  this  extensive 
district  had  greatly  benefited  by  the  sanitary  arrangements 
which  had  resulted  from  the  Sewerage  Commission  of 
1848.  The  main  roads  and  most  of  the  smaller  streets, 
courts  and  alleys,  had  been,  or  were  being,  connected 
with  the  main  drainage  system,  also  the  collection  of 
house  refuse  and  periodical  street  scavengering  were  in 
process  of  being  systematised.  All  the  roadways  had  been 
either  paved  with  pebbles  or  granite  blocks,  or  had  been 
macadamised,  and  the  footways  paved  with  flat  slabs  of 
stone. 

There  was  also  a  general  system  of  street  lighting  by 
gas,    and    experiments    were    being    made    in    the    main 
thoroughfares    in    electric    lighting.     In    1870    the    first  Sanita- 
elections  for  the  London  School  Boards  were  held.     The  tion  and 
Boards  and  their  various  committees  soon  got  to  work.  Educa- 
Large  picturesque  school  buildings  were  erected  in  every  tion. 
district,  and  teaching  staffs  were  organised,  so  that  by 

*  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People  of  London,  Charles  Booth.     London,  1891.     2nd  Edition. 
f  Post  Office  Directory,  London,   1890. 


94 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Sanita-       1880  many  Board  Schools  were  in  full  operation.     Previous 

tion  and     to  the  School  Board  Act,  in  Bethnal  Green  alone,  ten 

Educa-       thousand    children    of   school    age   were   totally   without 

tion.  provision  for  education  of  even  the  most  elementary  kind. 

Although  East  London  as  a  whole  is  thus  seen  to  have 

been  at  this  period  more  prosperous  than  it  was  in  the 

beginning  of  the  last  century,  the  section  of  the  silk- weaving 

industry    left    after    the    downfall    of    1860  has   steadily 

declined  in  importance  until  only  a  very  small  remnant 

remains.     However  hopeful,   therefore,   the  prospects  of 

silk  manufacture  may  be  in  other  British  centres,  it  cannot 

be  expected  that  in  the  Spitalfields  district  any  real  revival 

of  silk  weaving  can  ever  take  place. 


CHAPTER   X. 

SPITALFIELDS  OF  TO-DAY. 

In  spite  of  all  the  chances  and  changes  of  commercial   The 
fortune,  the  name  of  Spitalfields  still  stands  for  the  purest   home 
and   most   skilful    productions   of    the   silk-weaver's    art.    of  good 
At  the  present  day,  however,  the  parish  of  Christ  Church,   work. 
Spitalfields,  is  connected  but  slightly  with  the  silk  manu- 
facturing  industry.     There   have   been   but  few   changes 
in    the    parish    itself.     It    retains,    for    the    most    part, 
the   general   plan   and    topography   shown   in   the  maps 
of   Strype's   Editions   of   Stow's   Survey,    and   Maitland's 
Description  of  London.     These  books  were  published  in 
the  early  part  of  the  18th  century.     Spital  Square,  which 
was  known  as  Spital  Yard  until  the  year  1722,  was  the 
centre  of  the  district,   and  that  fact  is  evident  to-day, 
the  Square  being  remarkable  in  the  metropolis  owing  to 
the  existence  of  posts  at  either  end  to  keep  out  the  wheeled 
traffic.     These  will,  however,  disappear  in  the  Spitalfields 
improvement.     As  late  as  the  year  1700  the  Square  con- 
tained the  house  of  Lord  Bolingbroke,  and  there  are  still 
to   be   seen   many  beautiful  old   Georgian  houses,  which 
were  built  by  the  master  weavers,  and  in  one  of  which 
George  IV   is   known  to  have  dined.     At   the  backs   of 
some  of  the  houses  even  to-day  there  are  good  gardens  with 
mulberry  trees.     Christ  Church  itself  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent   features  of   the  district,  its  spire    dominating   Memo- 
the  neighbourhood.     It  was  designed  by  one  of   Wren's  rials  of 
pupils,  and  one  of  the  first  additions  to  it  after  building   Christ 
was  a  big  tenor  bell,  which  in  accordance  with  a  custom,    Church 
not  confined  to  Spitalfields,  was  rung  from  a  quarter  to   Parish. 

95 


96 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Memo-  six  until  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  for  the  purpose  of 
rials  of  calling  the  weavers  to  work.  It  was  also  used  as  a  curfew 
Christ  beU. 

Church  The    interior    of    the    church    contains    tablets    to    the 

Parish.  memory  of  several  Huguenot  families.  It  was  in  this  church 
that  the  Limborough  lectures  were  delivered  in  place 
of  evening  service,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  house  of 
the  founder,  Mr.  James  Limborough,  was  afterwards 
used  as  the  head-quarters  of  the  Spitalfields  School  of 
Design.  Included  in  the  district  over  which  Christ  Church 
held  sway  was  the  Church  of  La  Patente,  which  is  now 
employed  as  a  Church  Room,  arid  the  visitor  will  find 
the  old  building  practically  unaltered  except  as  regards 
the  front.  The  Royal  Arms,  which  were  put  up  in  the 
church  in  the  reign  of  James  II  as  a  sign  of  the  authority 
under  which  it  was  built,  still  remains,  and  a  portrait  of 
Charles  Dickens  has  been  placed  in  the  church  by  the 
Kyrle  Society. 

The  existing  association  of  the  parish  with  the  silk 
industry  are  (1)  its  name,  (2)  the  Silk  Conditioning*  Office 
of  the  Port  of  London  Authority  is  still  located  there,  (3)  a 
few  small  tradesmen  called  job  dealers,  who  retail  trim- 
mings for  tailors  and  other  oddments  of  silk  goods,  still 
linger  there,  (4)  the  magnificent  parish  church,  built  in 
1715,  and  its  churchyard  which  contains  several  monu- 
ments bearing  inscriptions.  These  tell  of  the  virtue  and 
respectability  of  former  parishioners,  many  of  whom 
were,  in  one  way  or  another,  connected  with  the  fascina- 
ting handicraft  for  which  the  artificers  of  Spitalfields 
were  pre-eminent  in  the  18th  century.  (5)  Amongst 
the  distinguishing  signs  of  the  numerous  public-houses 
in  the  parish  may  be  found  the  "  Crown  and  Shuttle,"  the 
'  Weavers'  Arms,"  and  others  which  indicate  the  occupa- 
tion of  most  of  their  former  patrons. 

The  population  of  the  district  of  Spitalfields  has  shown 
no  falling-off  in  point  of  numbers,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has 
greatly  increased.  It  is  also  still  mainly  of  alien  origin. 
In  place,  however,  of  the  French  Protestant  refugees, 
who  formerly  settled  there  and  almost  exclusively  formed 

*  Silk  conditioning  is  described  on  page  441. 


SPITALFIELDS   OF   TO-DAY.  97 

its  population,  there  are  now  Jews  of  various  nationalities.   Charac- 
There  they,  with  their  swarms  of  children,  practise  their  teristics 
religion,    and    seem    very    much    at    home.      They    are   of 
busy,  happy,  and  astonishingly  healthy,  notwithstanding  Present 
the  unsavoury  and  over-crowded  state  of  the  tenements   Popula- 
in  which  they  live.     The  peculiarly  constructed  weavers'   tion. 
houses,  each  with  a  well-lighted  family  workshop  on  its 
upper  floor,  which  used  to  form  a  distinctive  architectural 
feature  of  the  Spitalfields  streets,   have  almost  entirely 
given  place  to  blocks  of  dreary,  meanly-built,  industrial 
dwellings,  which  exhibit  all  the  squalor,  but  none  of  the 
picturesqueness,  of   the   ancient   houses.     A   few    of   the 
substantial  dwellings  of    the  master-weavers  and  manu- 
facturers,   with    their    imposing    doorways,    ample    stair- 
cases, panelled  rooms,  and  fine  carving,  still  remind  the 
visitor  of  the  prosperity  of  the  past.     But  these  are  now 
most  generally  let  out  in  several  apartments.     Frequently 
a  whole  family  and  sometimes  two  families  are  crowded 
into  a  single  room. 

Instead  of  the  skilful  weaving  of  precious  silken  fabrics, 
these    later    denizens    of    Spitalfields    deal    in    made-up   Second- 
textiles    at    second-hand,    or    are    employed    in    making   hand 
garments  of  shoddy*  material  for  the  cheap  ready-made   Clothing 
clothing  shops.     To  Spitalfields  most  of  the  "  old  clo' '     Trade, 
which  are  collected  from  all  parts  of  London  are  brought, 
and  sold  again  for  renovating,  or  translating,  as  it  is  called. 
After  this  process  they  enter  upon  a  new  course  of  service 
in   a   humbler   sphere   than   that   for   which   they   were 
originally  made.     There  is  in  Petticoat  Lane,  or  Middlesex 
Street,   as  it  is  now  called,   a  regular  exchange  having 
subscribing  members,  f  where   this   eager   and   absorbing 
traffic  is  carried  on  with  as  much  fervour  and  excitement 
as  may  be  witnessed  on  the  London  Stock  Exchange,  the 
Paris  Bourse,  or  in  Wall  Street,  at  times  of  crisis  or  panic. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  fact  that  in  the  actual 
parish  of  Christ  Church  no  silk-weavers  are  left,  the 
Spitalfields  weaving  industry  is  not  quite  extinct.}  In 

"  Shoddy  yarn  is  made  from  worn-out  materials  torn  to  shreds  and  re-spun. 
t  The  subscription  is  £d.  per  day. 

J  Since  this  chapter  was  written  Messrs.  B.  Cohen  and  Sons  have  started  a  factory  in 
Fashion  Street,  Spitalfields,  for  the  manufacture  of  furniture  silks. 

G 


98 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Hem-         their  most  prosperous  days  the    silk-weaving    fraternity 

nants  of     overflowed  into  the  parishes  of  Bethnal  Green,  Shoreditch, 

Silk-  Whitechapel  and  Mile  End  New  Town.     But  at  the  same 

weaving     time    they    were    universally    known    as   the    Spitalfields 

industry.    Weavers,  and  the  entire  district  inhabited  by  them  was 

popularly    known    as    Spitalfields.     It    is    accordingly    in 

certain    parts    of    this    extended    district    that    the    few 

remaining  Spitalfields  silk-weavers  are  to  be  found. 

A  very  great  number,  probably  the  greater  number, 
of  the  houses  in  this  extensive  district  show  by  their  large 
upper  rooms  with  long  workshop  windows  that  they 
were  specially  built  for  weavers,  who  always  had  their 
looms  in  the  upper  storeys  of  their  houses.  Often  when 
these  long  windows  are  not  to  be  seen  in  front  they  will 
be  found  at  the  back  of  the  dwellings.  Very  few  of  these 
domestic  workshops  are  now  furnished  with  looms  or  other 
weaving  appliances,  and  the  merry  clatter  of  the  weaver's 
shuttle  is  seldom  to  be  heard  by  the  wayfarer  in  the  busy 
street.  There  is,  however,  one  little  group  of  such  houses 
which  still  serves  its  original  purpose,  and  here  every 
upper  floor  is  a  silk-weaver's  workshop.  This  little  weaving 
colony  occupies  the  greater  part  of  Alma  Road  and 
Cranbrook  Street,  Bethnal  Green.  There  is  no  thorough- 
fare through  these  streets,  as  their  ends  are  blocked  by 
the  Regent's  Canal,  and  from  their  workshop  windows 
the  weavers  can  see,  and  eagerly  point  out  to  the  visitor, 
the  perspective  of  the  Canal  and  the  nearest  green  country 
beyond  it.  They  can  also  sometimes,  especially  in  the 
springtime,  inhale  the  freshness  of  that  East  End  Paradise, 
Victoria  Park,  which  is  close  at  hand. 

As  it  is  only  too  probable  that  in  a  few  years,  at  most, 

the  silk-weaving  industry  in  London  will  become  extinct 

for  lack  of  weavers,  and  as  nothing  quite  like  the  methods 

and   traditional   arrangements    of   Spitalfields    are   to   be 

found  elsewhere,   it  will  be  useful  to  give  a  somewhat 

detailed  description  of  a  typical  weaver's   dwelling  and 

workshop,  and  also  to  explain  the  methods  of  carrying 

Links          on  the  work.     These  have  remained  the  same  for  a  century 

with  the     and  a  half  in  this  interesting  part  of  London. 

past.  There  are  forty-six  workshops  in  this  neighbourhood 


SPITALFIELDS   OF   TO-DAY.  99 

still  occupied  by  weavers,  thirty-eight  being  in  the  group    Links 
just   referred   to.     At   No.    42,    Alma   Road,    a   strange-   with  the 
looking  object  is  hung  out  as  a  sign.     It  is  what  is  called   past. 
by  weavers  a  Hand  Stick.     This  implement  is  used  for 
winding  the  coil  of  warp  upon,  when  it  is  ready  to  be 
transferred  from  the    Warping   Mill  to  the   Turning-on, 
or     warp-spreading      machine.*      This      sign      therefore 
indicates    that    warp-spreading    is    done    here.     To    this 
house  the  weavers  bring  their  prepared  warps,  in  order 
to   have   them   evenly   spread   out   on   the   back   rollers 
belonging   to   their  looms.     Fifty   years   ago   more   than 
60  of  these  signs  might  be  seen  in  the  neighbouring  streets, 
but  this  is  now  the  only  one  remaining. 

The  warp-spreaderj*  in  Alma  Road,   a  descendant   of 
an   original  Huguenot   craftsman,   is   cheerful,   alert   and 
courteous.     He  is  looked  upon  as  the  representative  and 
champion  of  the  remnant  of  the  Spitalfields  silk-weavers.    Modern 
Before  the  Union  of  London  Operative  Silk  Weavers  was   Weaver's 
finally  given  up,  for  lack  of  subscribing  members,  he  was   dwelling 
its  secretary.     Moreover,  when  in  1900  the  little  colony    and 
was  threatened  with  destruction  in  order  to  make  way  for   work- 
an  Electric  Power  Station,  he  it  was  who  represented  the    shop, 
case,  for  himself  and  his  neighbours,  to  a  Committee  of 
the    London    County    Council,    and    succeeded    by    his 
representation  in  averting  the  impending  calamity.     This 
successful  championship  was  gratefully  acknowledged  by 
the  colonists,   as  is  recorded  in  an  illuminated   address 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  little  parlour  of  this  typical 
weaver's  dwelling. 

The  house  contains  four  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  and 
a  passage  from  front  to  back  divides  it  in  the  centre. 
As  one  enters  this  passage,  there  can  be  seen  through  the 
open  door  at  the  opposite  end  of  it,  a  small  back-yard,  gay 
with  flowers  in  bloom  and  furnished  with  a  large,  neat 
aviary,  in  which  a  few  specimens  of  a  delicate  prize  breed 
of  pigeons  coo  and  strut  in  the  summer  sunshine  in  all 
the  pride  of  their  pencilled  iridescent  plumage. 

*  For  a  description  of  the  process  of  warping  and  beaming  or  warp -spreading,  see 
Handloom  Weaving,  by  Luther  Hooper. 

t  Mr.  George  Doree — velvet  weaver  and  warp-spreader.  This  description  was  written  in 
1914.  Mr.  Doree  died  in  1916. 


100 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Modern          Besides  the  illuminated   address,   already  referred  to, 

Weaver's   the    weaver's    little    parlour    contains    many    objects    of 

dwelling     interest.     There  is,  for  instance,  a  small  case  in  which 

and  are  preserved  three  samples  of  rich  velvet  made  by  the 

work-         warp-spreader  himself,  who  was  originally  a  velvet  weaver. 

shop.          Two  of  these  samples  are  cuttings  from  the  velvet  made, 

in   this   very   room,    for   the   Coronation   robes   of   King 

Edward  VII.     The  third  cutting  is  from  a  piece  of  crimson 

velvet  made  for   His  Highness  the  Rajah  of  Jhalawar, 

who,  one  day  descended  on  the  weaver,  accompanied  by 

his   gorgeous   suite,    and    seeing   the    Coronation    velvet, 

desired  a  length  exactly  like  it  for  his  own  use.     After 

some  negotiations  with  the  weaver's  employers,   a  City 

firm,  His  Highness  was  able  to  have   the    velvet   made 

and  sent  to  him,  greatly  to  his  satisfaction. 

Referring  to  these  pieces  of  velvet,  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox 
and  Company,  than  whom  there  could  be  no  better  judges, 
A  Master  certified  in  a  letter  to  the  weaver  that  in  their  opinion 
of  his  these  webs  were  the  richest  and  most  perfect  specimens 
Craft.  of  the  art  of  velvet  weaving  that  had  ever  been  made. 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  latest  productions  of  the  velvet 
weaver's  craft  in  London  should  thus  be  adjudged  the 
best  ever  woven,  and  that  such  is  the  case  goes  to  prove 
that  though  the  London  silk  industry  is,  to  a  certain 
extent,  a  decayed  business,  the  English  weaver's  art  is 
not  by  any  means  a  decadent  one.  Examples  in  other 
branches  of  silk  weaving  might  be  also  instanced  to  prove 
the  same  fact,  and  it  may  be  affirmed  that,  whatever 
may  have  contributed  to  the  piteous  plight,  first  of  the 
operative  weavers  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  19th  century, 
and  of  the  manufacturers  afterwards,  want  of  mechanical 
skill  in  the  handicraft  was  not  the  cause. 

On  the  walls  of  the  parlour  in  Alma  Road  is  also  dis- 
played a  framed  certificate  on  which  the  Coat  of  Arms 
of  the  Weavers'  Livery  Company  of  London  is  emblazoned. 
This,  dated  1893,  certifies  that  Mr.  George  Doree  was 
awarded  a  medal  in  a  weaving  competition  promoted  by 
the  Company,  and  that  he  was  made  a  Freeman  of  the 
Weavers'  Company  at  the  same  time.  This  achievement 
also  constituted  him  a  Freeman  of  the  City  of  London. 


SPITALFIELDS  OF  TO-DAY.  101 

On  leaving  the  parlour,  by  ascending  a  short  but  steep   A  Master 
flight  of  stairs,  the  visitor  emerges,  through  a  trap  door,    of  his 
on  to  the  upper  floor,  and  finds  himself  in  a  large  work-    Craft, 
shop,  flooded  with  light.     This  light  is  admitted  through 
a  casement  window  which  extends  across  the  whole  width  of 
the  room  at  the  back,  and  from  three  ordinary  windows 
at  the  front.     In  most  of  the  similar  workshops  of  Bethnal 
Green  and  the  district,  the  whole  available  space  is  filled 
with  looms  fitted  up  for  various  kinds  of  work,  and  often, 
when  the  weaver's  family  is  large,   a  bed  or  two  may 
even  be  seen  squeezed  into  a  corner.      In   the   present 
instance,  however,  the  front  half  of  the  shop,  near  the 
three   windows,    is   fitted    up    with   the    warp-spreading 
machine. 

As  the  warp-spreading  machine  occupies  so  much  space 
in  this  particular  workshop,  there  is  only  room  for  two 
looms  to  be  kept  in  working  order.  At  one,  Mrs.  Doree, 
whom  a  newspaper  interviewer  once  likened  to  a  Dresden 
china  figure,  may  generally  be  found  weaving  a  rich, 
black  silk  of  an  extraordinary  solid  texture.  The  tops 
of  the  looms  are  lumbered,  in  true  weaver's  fashion, 
with  parts  of  various  machines  and  mountings  for 
different  classes  of  work,  which  may  be  required  at  any 
time  to  take  the  place  of  those  in  the  loom  frames. 
The  looms  and  machines  for  this  class  of  work  in  all 
its  branches  remain  practically  the  same  as  have  been 
in  use  in  Spitalfields  for  a  hundred  years  or  more. 

A  brief  reference  must  be  here  made  to  the  method  of  Domestic 
carrying  on  the  business  of  silk  weaving  which  has  been   System 
in  vogue  in  London  for  more  than  a  century.     It  has  been   of 
already  mentioned  but  may  now  be  discussed  so  that  it   Manu- 
may  be  compared  with  the  system  which  it  followed,  as   facture. 
well  as  that  by  which  it  has  been  superseded  in  the  silk 
trade  generally. 

The  manufacturer,  as  he  was  by  courtesy  called,  had 
an  office  and  a  warehouse,  but  no  factory.  He  had  a 
certain  number  of  weavers  on  his  books,  that  is  weavers  who 
worked  exclusively  for  him.  Each  of  these  weavers,  or 
family  of  weavers,  had  a  domestic  workshop  as  already 
described.  Any  expensive  fittings  or  mountings  for  the 


102  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  loom  were  supplied  by  the   manufacturer   who   usually 

Domestic  charged  the  weaver  for  the  hire  of  them  when  in  use. 

system       When  a  certain  length  of  silk  had  to  be  made,  the  manu- 

explained.  facturer  calculated  the  quantity  of  silken  thread  of  two 

sorts,    organzine   and   tram,*  required  for  the  warp  and 

weft  respectively.     He  then  weighed  and  gave  them  out 

to  the  dyer  and,  subsequently,  to  the  winder ;   the  former 

to  dye  them  while  in  skein  form,  and  the  latter  to  wind 

them  on  to  reels  of  convenient  shapes  for  the  warper's 

and  weaver's  use. 

The  dyed  organzine,  after  being  wound,  was  sent  to 
the  warper,  who  had  to  lay  the  threads,  of  the  exact  length 
required  for  the  piece  of  silk  to  be  woven,  in  regular  order, 
and,  by  a  clever  device,  which  is  a  prehistoric  invention, 
so  arranged  them  that  they  could  not  easily  get  entangled 
no  matter  of  how  many  threads  of  finest  silk  they  con- 
sisted. This  length  of  threads  was  called  a  warp,  and  was 
next  wound  off  the  warping  mill  on  to  a  hand  stick  already 
referred  to  on  page  99. 

In  this  state,  on  the  hand  stick,  it  was  given  out  to 
the  weaver  after  being  carefully  weighed,  with  the 
instructions  necessary  for  making  the  kind  of  web  required. 
The  weft,  wound  on  bobbins,  was  also  weighed  out  to 
him  at  the  same  time.  The  weaver  next  took  the  warp 
on  the  hand  stick,  carefully  protected  by  a  large  blue 
handkerchief,  and  a  roller,  from  the  back  of  his  own  loom, 
to  the  warp-spreader,  who  returned  it  to  him  smoothly 
spread  out  and  tightly  wound  on  to  the  roller.  The  warp 
was  now  ready  to  be  placed  in  the  loom  and  joined,  thread 
by  thread,  to  the  ends  of  silk  left  for  the  purpose  from  the 
last  piece  woven. 

The  The  cost  of  warp-spreading,  the  joining  the  threads  of 

Domestic  the  new  warp  and  winding  the  quills  or  spools  for  the 
system       shuttles,    are    some    of    the    little    expenses    which    the 
explained,  weaver  had  himself  to  pay  out  of  the  arranged  per  piece 
price  he  was  to  receive  for  the  completed  work. 

When  woven,  the  weaver  took  the  length  of  material 
to  the  warehouse  of  his  master,  who  measured  and 

*  Organzine  and  tram.  Organzine  is  hard,  twisted  silk,  and  is  used  for  making  the  longi- 
tudinal threads  of  a  web  called  warp.  Tram  is  the  same  silk  fibre  more  loosely  twisted,  and 
is  for  the  weft  or  lateral  intersecting  thread.  See  Silk,  by  L.  Hooper,  Pitman,  London. 


SPITALFIELDS  OF  TO-DAY. 


103 


examined  the  work,  weighed  it,  together  with  the  surplus 
weft  which  the  weaver  returned  at  the  same  time,  and 
settled  the  amount  of  wages  due  to  the  workman. 

Under  this  system,  as  the  weaver  only  worked  for  one 
master,  the  latter,  in  order  to  retain  his  full  complement 
of  weavers,  allowed  each  man  to  draw  a  small  amount  of 
wages  weekly,  although,  too  often,  he  had  no  work.  This 
weekly  draw  was  debited  to  the  weaver's  account,  and 
he  had  subsequently  to  work  it  out  and  make  his  book 
balance.  The  invariable  effect  of  this  arrangement  was 
that  each  manufacturer  had  on  his  books  a  great  many 
more  hands  than  the  number  for  which  he  could  find 
employment,  and  the  majority  of  operatives  only  had 
sufficient  work  to  occupy  a  portion  of  their  time. 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth,  this  system  was  in  full 
operation,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  one 
of  the  causes  of  the  extremely  low  average  of  the  Spitalfields 
weaver's  earnings  during  that  period.  Authorities  differ 
as  to  the  average,  some  placing  it  as  low  as  4s.  per  week, 
and  none  higher  than  8s.,  even  when  the  upholstering  and 
other  elaborate  branches  of  the  figure-weaving  trade,  for 
which  very  high  wages  were  paid,  were  included.* 

It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  exact  statistics  of  the  number 
of  weavers  and  other  operatives  employed  at  the  present 
time  in  the  silk  industry  of  East  London  ;  but  a  careful 
enquiry  has  resulted  in  the  following  figures  : — There  are 
now  engaged  in  weaving  silk  on  hand-looms  76  males  and 
54  females,  in  all  130.  Of  these,  16  work  in  factories, 
under  factory  conditions.  Two  factories  employ  six  and 
two  2  hand-loom  weavers.  One  hundred  and  fourteen 
silk  weavers  still  continue  to  work,  more  or  less,  under 
the  system  already  described  as  prevailing  in  Spitalfields 
for  over  a  century  and  practically  at  the  same  rate  of 
wages.f  This  would,  of  course,  be  impossible,  were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that,  silk  weaving  being  a  home  industry, 
at  which  both  men  and  women  can  work  and  in  which 
children  can  largely  assist,  the  combined  earnings  of  a 
family  may  average  from  20s.  to  25s.  per  week.  This 

*  See  Note  1,  in  Appendix. 

|  See  list  of  prices  issued  in  1821. 


Masters 
and 
Work- 
men. 


Employ- 
ment 
Statistics 


104 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Employ- 
ment 
Statistics. 


SilkWeav- 
ing  in 
London. 


however  depends  on  the  class  of  work  and  if  done  for  a 
manufacturer  or  a  middleman. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  East  London  hand-loom 
weavers  are  elderly  and  old  people,  and,  as  there  are 
practically  no  learners,  when  they  die  off,  or  become 
incapacitated  for  work,  there  will  be  none  to  take  their 
places.  The  word  "  dispirited  "  used  by  Matthew  Arnold 
in  his  Sonnet  on  East  London,  written  in  the  mid-nineteenth 
century,  is  quite  as  applicable  to  the  Spitalfields  weaver 
to-day  as  it  was  then. 

"  'Twas  August  and  the  fierce  sun  overhead 

Smote  on  the  squalid  streets  of  Bethnal  Green, 
And  the  pale  weaver,  through  his  windows  seen 
In  Spitalfields,  looked  thrice  dispirited." 

The  114  silk  weavers,  who  work  in  their  own  homes, 
are  employed  by  six  City  firms,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
only  manufacture  a  proportion  of  the  goods  in  which 
they  deal.  Some  have  power  looms  in  factories,  one 
in  Bethnal  Green,  and  others  more  or  less  distant  from 
London,  but  most  of  them  buy,  in  the  general  market, 
finished  goods  either  of  British  or  foreign  weaving,  and 
merely  take  a  profit  for  handling  them  in  their  course 
from  the  manufacturer  to  the  consumer. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  operatives 
employed  in  the  different  branches  of  silk  weaving  in 
East  London  :— 

TABLE   I. 


MALES. 

FEMALES. 

TOTAL. 

Plain 
Harness 

Fancy 
Harness 

Figured 
Jacquard 

Plain 
Harness 

Fancy 
Harness 

Figured 
Jacquard 

7 

6 

64 

2 

3 

48 

130 

Of  the  112  weavers  employed,  as  shown  above,  in  figure 
weaving,  very  few  now  make  furniture  silks,  which  is  the 
best  paid  branch  of  the  trade.  A  good  furniture  silk- 
weaver,  employed  in  regular  work  in  a  well-organised 
factory,  can  earn  as  much  as  the  best  paid  skilled 


SPITALFIELDS  OF  TO-DAY. 


105 


mechanics  in   other  trades.     Most   of   the   East  London  Silk 
figure  weavers,   however,   now  weave   handkerchiefs,   tie  Weaving 
silks,    scarves   and   wraps   of  rich  quality  which  sell  for  in 
a  high  price  when  retailed  as  Spitalfields  silk,  but  their  London, 
earnings  are  small  owing  to  the  frequent  delays  between 
orders  which   are  common  to  this  class  of  trade. 

Of  the  various  trades  depending  on  silk  weaving,  which 
used  to  be  carried  on  and  give  occupation  to  great  numbers 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  East  of  London,  but  very  few 
are  left.  Their  present  number  is  shown  by  Table  2  : — 

TABLE  II. 


no 

00 

ta 

T3 

PS  in  Factorie 

1 

49 

03 

1 

C3 
J 

PSJ 

£ 

o 
W 

t| 

£ 
<o 

-d 

& 

GQ 

<D 

ss  makers  an 
Lnterers. 

,ure  Builders. 

Cutters  and 
aughtsmen. 

g  Machine  an 
btle  Makers. 

1 

"<B 

1 

4 

1 

1 
fee 

I 

I 

1 

i 

1s 

ija 

r 

1 

32 

5 

11 

4 

1 

8 

2 

2 

i 

66 

So  far  consideration  has  only  been  given  to  the  weaving   The 
of  broad  silk,  as  it  is  called,  in  order  to  distinguish  it  from   Narrow 
the  narrow  webs  used  for  dress  and  upholstery  trimmings,    Branch 
etc.,    to   which   the   French   gave   the   general   name    of   of  Silk 
passementerie.    In   this   narrow   weaving,    owing   to    the  Weaving, 
fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  trimmings  made, 
especially  in  the  upholstery  branch  of  the  trade,  are  for 
special  purposes,  and  are  usually  ordered  in  short  lengths, 
the  hand-loom  and  the  hand- winding  wheels  and  appliances 
still    hold    their    own    against    power-driven    machinery. 
The  making  of  laces,  galloons,  gimps,  fringes,  braids,  etc., 
is,  however,  no  longer  a  home  industry,  but  is  carried 
on  in  factories  under  ordinary  factory  conditions,   not- 
withstanding that  many  of  the  looms  in  use  are  of  exactly 
the  same  construction,  and  the  weaving  is  identical  with  the 
looms  and  methods  of  the  passementerie  weavers  of  the 
eighteenth  century.      In  some  cases,  indeed,  the  actual 
looms  in  use  at  that  time  are  still  at  work.     On  these 


106 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Narrow      ingenious    structures    of    string    and    wood,    the    weaver 
Silk  himself  ties  up  the  design  and  weaves  it  without  the  use 

Weaving    of  the  Jacquard  or  any  other  machine, 
in  There  is  a  characteristic  difference,  however,  between 

London,     the  eighteenth  century  narrow  weaving  and  that  of  the 

E resent  time.  This  consists  in  the  kind  of  materials  used, 
n  this  respect,  modern  work  compares  unfavourably 
with  that  of  former  years ;  weavers  now  use  all  kinds  of 
threads,  cotton,  jute,  imitation  silk  and  other  materials, 
some  of  which  by  various  processes,  whilst  new,  appear 
even  brighter  and  more  attractive  than  genuine  silk. 
Real  silk,  although  still  used  for  the  best  work,  only 
forms  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  material  employed 
in  the  weaving  of  modern  passementerie. 

The  narrow  weaving  industry,  in  its  best  branches, 
is  almost  peculiar  to  London.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  work  is  of  a  special  character,  so  that  the  weaver 
needs  to  be  in  touch  with  the  upholsterer  who  requires  the 
product  of  his  skill.  It  is  true  that  there  are  factories 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  for  making  narrow  braids, 
cords,  etc.,  but  these  seldom  have  occasion  to  use  much 
silk.  They  only  produce  narrow  webs  by  the  mile,  or 
hundreds  of  miles,  and  weave  less  expensive  threads 
than  silk  for  common  coach  and  dress  trimmings,  lamp 
wicks,  etc. 

The  factories  for  weaving  both  broad  and  narrow  silk 

by  power  in  other  places  will  be  described  in  their  due 

order,  but  at  present  we  are  only  dealing  with  London. 

Here   there    are  four   large,   and   a   few   small,  factories 

where   more    or    less    silk    is    used,    and    where    several 

hundreds   of   hands — mostly   young   girls — are   employed 

in  the  work.     The  conditions  of  labour  in  these  factories, 

which  are,  of  course,  under  Government  inspection,  are 

Number     about  on  a  level  with  those  of  other  trades  where  young 

of  people   are   employed,    and   where   a   certain   amount   of 

Factories,  manual  dexterity  is  required. 


BOOK    TWO. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON  TRADE. 

Coventry  industry  has  up  to  the  present  date  undergone 
so  many  metamorphoses  that  it  may  be  rather  expected 
to  undergo  others.  Of  its  relations  with  watches,  bicycles, 
motor-cars  and  aeroplanes,  the  writer  is  not  now  concerned, 
but  the  frequent  references  to  Coventry  and  its  ribbons 
in  literature  gives  assurance  that  the  association  of  the 
city  with  ribbon  weaving  will  not  readily  be  overlooked, 
be  the  further  changes  in  the  industrial  progress  of  Coventry 
what  they  may. 

While  it  is  for  ribbons  that  the  Coventry  trade  was   Broad 
famous,   it  should  be  mentioned  that  before  its  manu-   Silk 
facture  of  narrow  goods  the  manufacturers  of  the  city   Manu- 
had  won  a  reputation  for  the  production  of  broad  silks,    facture 
These  varieties  were  being  manufactured  in  the  year  1627,   in 
and  upon  a  scale  which  warranted  the  Manorial  Court   Coventry 
by  an  Act  of  Leet  to  order  the  formation  of  the  silk- weavers 
into    a    distinct    company.     The   trade    survived   in    this 
distinct  form   certainly  until   1672,   when   an   order  was 
issued  which  may  be  read  to  denote  some  shortage  of 
employment.     The  order  forbade  any  silk-weaver,   unless 
he  had  been  a  freeman  of  the  Company  for  two  years  at 
least,  to  take  a  second  apprentice  until  the  first  apprentice 
had  served  seven  years.     At  a  subsequent  date,   which 
cannot  be  fixed  with  accuracy,  the   silk- weavers   appear 
to  have  united  themselves  to  an  older  body,  the  worsted 
weavers.     This    association    continued   for    a   number    of 
years,  but  in  1703  it  was  agreed  that  the  silk  workers 
should  again  form  a  distinct  Company. 

107 


108  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

In  1680,  according  to  Alderman  Hewitt,  who  was  Mayor 
of  the  city  in  1755,  cloth  was  the  principal  production  of 
Coventry.  The  cloth  in  question  was,  at  all  events,  some- 
thing other  than  silk,  but  was  not  necessarily  made  wholly 
of  wool.  The  manufacture  of  mixed  wool  and  cotton 
stuffs  is  an  old  one,  and  the  local  tammies  (linings  for 
women's  dresses)  were  doubtless  of  this  composition. 
In  the  Coronation  procession  of  George  III.,  the  tammy- 
weavers  took  precedence  even  of  the  silk-weavers,  an 
incident  which  suggests  the  relative  importance  of  their 
trade  at  that  date — 1761. 

Effect  The  ribbon,   or — as  it  used  to  be  called — the  riband, 

of  trade  of  Coventry  did  not  emerge  until  after  the  revocation 

French       of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.     French  influences  are  to  be  traced 

Immigra-  in    several    directions,    including    the   lineaments    of    the 

tion.  people.     In  bygone  days  a  strong  facial  resemblance  could 

be  found  in  many  silk-weaving  families  to  the  people  of 

south-eastern  France.     The  family  names  of  the  district 

are  reminiscent  of  France  ;    "  Beaufoy,"   or    "  Beaufoi," 

for    example,     is     common,     and     still     commoner     are 

Anglicised  forms  of  French  names.     " Burgess,"  "Weir," 

"  Cockerell,"   "  Higgins,"   quoted  by  Smiles  as  instances 

of  French  family  names  in  an  English  form  are  all  found  in 

Coventry.     The  immigrants  in  some  cases  boldly  translated 

their  names  into  the  English  equivalents  :    "  L'Oiseau  " 

becoming  "  Bird  "  ;   "  le  Jeune,"  "  Young  "  ;    "  Leblanc," 

"  White  "  ;     "  Lacroix,"    "  Cross  "  ;     "  Leroy,"    "King," 

and  so  forth,  and  all  these  are  familiar  local  names  to  this 

day.     Going  back  to  the  early  days  of  the  French  immi- 

French       gration,  records  show  that  sixteen  years  after  the  date 

descen-       of  the  Revocation  occurs  the  name  of  the  Mr.  Bird,  who 

dants  in     manufactured  ribbons  in  Coventry  in  1701.     In  1705  he 

Coventry,  finds     his     place     among     the    list    of     Mayors,     and 

The  Coventry  Mercury,  of  January  13th,  1756,  stated  :- 

'''  On  Monday  last  died  at  his  house  in  this  city,  Thomas 

Bird,  Esquire,  one  of  the  most  eminent  silk  manufacturers 

in  England,  in  which  branch  of  business  he  daily  employed 

over  two  thousand  workpeople."     It  is  safe  to  assume 

that  this  was  the  son  of  the  Mayor  ;   and  probably  the 

pioneer  of  the  industry.     Whether  the  first  Mr.  Bird  was 


THE   COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE.          109 

a  M.  L'Oiseau,  who  had  translated  his  name,  it  is  Hand 
impossible  to  decide,  nor  is  it  possible  to  tell  the  history  loom 
of  the  trade  through  the  eighteenth  century  with  any  work 
high  degree  of  accuracy.  For  seventy  years  after  the  in 
introduction  of  the  industry  all  ribbons  were  made,  as  modern 
many  wider  goods  are  woven  to-day,  in  looms  that  only  era. 
weave  one  breadth  at  a  time.  Here  is  the  explanation 
of  the  statement  that  Mr.  Bird  employed  2,000  hands. 
These  old  looms  still  exist  in  considerable  numbers,  and 
although  they  become  fewer  year  by  year,  there  are  still 
several  hundreds  in  the  villages  to  the  north  and  north-east 
of  this  city.  In  1861,  when  the  census  was  taken,  there 
were  2,469.  As  late  as  1886  one  Coventry  firm  employed 
between  four  and  five  hundred  of  these  so-called  "  single- 
hand  looms,"  though  "  single-space  looms  "  would  be  a 
more  exact  description.  Rudimentary  in  form  and  con- 
struction, they  have  considerable  utility,  as  the  weaver's 
whole  attention  is  given  to  the  manufacture  of  one 
article,  and  the  weft  can  be  manipulated  with  the 
fingers  to  any  extent.  In  these  looms  bead  work  was 
largely  made,  as  also  were  chenille  fringes,  both 
impracticable  in  the  ordinary  power-looms,  or  even  in 
a  hand-loom  of  more  than  one  space,  for  the  weft  or  shute 
requires  placing  or  adjusting  with  the  fingers  every  time 
the  shuttle  crosses.  Forty  years  ago  the  whole  of  the 
so-called  Petersham  belt  ribbons  were  made  in  these 
looms.  The  goods  being  woven  with  eight,  ten  or  twelve 
ends  of  cotton,  the  shuttle  in  the  large  looms  could  not 
contain  sufficient  quantity  of  weft,  and  neither  were  the 
shuttle  springs  strong  enough  to  pull  it  up  into  its  place 
and  make  a  good  edge.  These  two  difficulties  have 
been  overcome  by  looms  specially  constructed,  but,  although 
perfect  goods  are  now  made  by  power,  they  cannot 
surpass  the  article  woven  in  a  single  hand-loom  by  a 
skilled  hand.  This  branch  of  the  business  has  always 
been  managed  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  under- 
takers. The  "  undertaker "  comes  to  the  warehouse, 
receives  instructions  from  the  manufacturer,  takes  away 
the  materials,  agrees  as  to  price — then  winds,  warps, 
prepares  the  loom,  sees  the  pattern  properly  started, 


110 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Hand         collects   the   work,   brings   it   in    and  draws  the  wages, 
loom  His   remuneration   used   always   to   be  one-third  of  the 

work          price  paid  at  the  warehouse,  and  in  view  of  the  nature 
in  of  his  services  being   properly  taken  into  account,  the 

modern      division  was  fair.     As  of  late  years  much  has  been  written 
era.  in  the  Press  respecting  cottage  industries,  it  may  not  be  out 

of  place  to  call  attention  to  the  value  of  the  single  hand- 
loom  for  employment  of  this  character.  The  loom  itself 
occupies  but  a  very  small  space,  scores  of  women  can  spare 
from  two  to  four  hours  per  day  from  their  domestic  work, 
and  the  employment  can  be  discontinued  or  resumed 
without  any  detriment  to  the  article  produced.  The  work 
is  cleanly  and  almost  noiseless,  it  entails  no  physical 
stress  upon  the  weaver,  and  a  very  sensible  addition  can 
be  made  to  the  weekly  earnings  of  a  cottage  household 
by  adopting  this  form  of  employment. 

The  hand-looms  making  more  than  one  breadth  were 
introduced  about  1770,  and  were  first  called  "  Dutch 
Looms,"  but  whether  they  came  from  Holland  there 
is  no  evidence  to  show. 

"  Dutch  engine  loom  "  is  the  name  given  to  them  by 
Porter,  who  further  describes  them  as  "  worked  by  the 
hands  and  with  treadles  for  the  feet,  in  the  same  way  as 
a  common  loom  ;  each  warp  occupies  a  separate  shuttle, 
which,  unless  the  weaver  were  furnished  with  as  many 
arms  as  Briareus,  cannot,  it  is  evident,  be  passed  from  hand 
to  hand.  The  apparatus  for  impelling  the  shuttle  to 
and  fro  is,  owing  to  a  resemblance  in  its  form  to  the 
implement,  called  a  ladder.  This  ladder  slides  horizontally 
in  a  groove  made  in  the  batten  ;  and  the  whole  being  put 
in  motion  by  the  reciprocating  action  of  a  handle  situated 
near  the  middle  of  the  lay-cap,  each  cross-bar  of  the  ladder 
is  made  to  strike  in  the  manner  of  a  driver  alternately 
right  and  left,  upon  one  of  the  two  shuttles  between  which 
it  is  placed  .  .  .  With  one  of  these  looms  a  diligent  work- 
man may  weave  one  yard  in  an  hour  of  as  many  narrow 
ribands  as  the  loom  is  qualified  to  produce  at  the  same 
time." 

Hewitt  has  a  few  more  lines  in  his  journal  concerning 
the  trade.  Following  some  interesting  particulars 


Plate  XV. 


Hand  Loom  in  Workshop  at  Foleshill,  Coventry. 


THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE.          Ill 

relating  to  his  first  period  of  office  as  Mayor,  he  says  : — 
"  At  this  time  I  gave  out  some  ribbons  to  be  made,  and  I 
also  sent  materials  to  undertakers,  both  in  Congleton 
and  Leek,  to  be  made  up  into  ribbons."  This  would  be 
in  about  1760,  or  perhaps  a  little  earlier.  Enquiries  made 
in  Staffordshire  have  failed  to  elicit  any  information  as 
to  former  industrial  relations  between  Coventry  and  the 
towns  named. 

Before  commencing  the  story  of  the  development  of   Fashion 
the    trade     in    the    nineteenth    century,    a    few    general    and  the 
observations  may  be  made.     Firstly,  the  manufacture  of   Ribbon 
ribbons  has  perhaps  been  more  influenced  by  fashion  than    Trade, 
any  other  great  industry.     This  arises  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence from  the  fact  that  the  article  is  almost  exclusively 
employed    in    articles    of    millinery,    which    are    subject 
to  greater  variations  in  shape,   material   and   ornament 
than  any  other  portion  of  feminine  attire.     Fluctuations 
in  demand  were  accordingly  both  frequent  and  consider- 
able.    When    fashion    was    in    its    favour,    consumption 
became  very  large,  prices  rose  quickly,  and  money  could 
be  made  easily.     The  converse  of  this  was  also  true.     No 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  to  produce  cheaper 
goods,  no  skill  in  designing  or  colouring,  could  assist  the 
sale  of  the  article  if  the  fiat  of  the  fashionable  world  had 
gone  forth  that  ribbons  were  not  to  be  worn. 

It  was  in  its  very  essence  a  "switchback"   trade — a 
ribbon  could  never  be  a  necessity.     In  course  of  time, 
various  substitutes  have  appeared  competing  for  public 
favour,   and  as  a  consequence,   the  periods  of  alternate 
inflation   and   depression   have   become   more   and   more 
pronounced.     The    question    of    tariffs    has    also    largely 
influenced  the  industry.     From  1765  to  1826  the  importa- 
tion of  silk  goods  woven  abroad  was  prohibited.     In  the 
history  of  the  Birmingham  hardware  district,  edited  by 
Samuel  Timmins,    1866,   the  writer  says  that   "  So  long 
as  French  ribbons  were  admitted  into  this  country,  the    Foreign 
Coventry  manufacturers  maintained  a  very  high  degree    Competi- 
of    excellence.     From    1765,    when    the    importation    of  tion  and 
French    ribbons    and    silk    fabrics  was  again   prohibited,    Home 
a  marked  decadence  is  perceptible,  both  in  quality  and   Industry 


112  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Foreign     taste ;    and  it  was  not  till  1826,  after  which  year  foreign 
Competi-    competition    was    again    partially    permitted,    that    the 
tion  and     Coventry  fabrics  regained  their  former  standard." 
Home  Little  importance  can,  we  think,  be  attached  to  this 

Industry,  statement,  and  the  writer  gives  no  clue  to  his  authority. 
"  One  of  the  most  eminent  manufacturers  of  that  city ' 
is  said,  however,  by  Porter,  to  "  have  declared  that  he 
should,  at  this  day,  blush  for  the  work  that  even  his  best 
hands  used  to  furnish  "  in  the  times  before  the  legalised 
importation  of  foreign  manufactured  silks.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  technical  excellence  improved  under 
the  spur  of  emulation  and  competition,  and  this  manu- 
facturer was  satisfied  that  by  1831  or  earlier  Coventry 
patterns  and  productions  were  fully  equal  to  those  of  the 
foreign  rivals,  and  "  qualified  to  come  in  successful  com- 
petition with  the  most  beautiful  ribands  wrought  by  the 
Lyonnaise  weavers." 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  Jacquard  machine  the 
limitations  were  so  great  that  no  great  skill  in  designing 
could  be  shown,  and  patterns  produced  in  Coventry 
thirty  years  before  the  withdrawal  of  prohibition,  and 
still  extant,  exhibit  very  considerable  ingenuity  on  the 
part  of  the  weaver. 

Popula-          In  1801  the  population  of  Coventry  numbered  16,049 

tion  inhabitants,  residing  in  2,930  houses.     In  the  next  decade 

in  the  increase  was  barely  1,200,  a  slow  growth  not  indicating 

1801.          prosperous    commercial    conditions.     All  the  goods    were 

still  produced  by  hand-looms,  which  were  also  plain  looms, 

in  which  any  pattern,  however  simple,  was  made  by  an 

arrangement    of     the    shafts    and    leases,     which     was 

technically   called   "  tieing   down."     The   alteration   of   a 

loom  took  from  four  to  six  weeks,  and  in  consequence 

the  power  of  variation  was  confined  within  very  narrow 

limits. 

In  1801  Jacquard  completed  his  great  invention  ;  but 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  states  that  even  in  1823  there  were 
only  five  of  these  machines  in  Coventry.  The  number 
had  increased  to  six  hundred  in  1832.  By  this  beautiful 
machine  every  lease  was  lifted  independently ;  the 
question  whether  it  should  be  raised  or  not  was  decided 


THE   COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE.          113 

by  a  perforated  card  upon  a  four-sided  wooden  cylinder,    Jac- 
and  the  whole   of   the  preparatory  process   was   under-    quard's 
taken  by  a  draughtsman  and  his  ally  the  card-stamper.    Inven- 

A  bouquet  of  flowers  could  now  be  woven  with  far  less  tion. 
expenditure  of  time  than  a  simple  geometrical  figure 
could  be  "  tied  down  "  in  the  plain  loom.  Mr.  Timmins' 
remarks,  quoted  above,  as  to  the  influence  of  the  tariff, 
may  explain  in  part  the  apathy  of  the  manufacturers  in 
availing  themselves  of  the  invention,  but  it  is  only  fair 
to  add  that  the  machine  was  useless  until  a  foreign 
draughtsman  could  be  obtained,  or  a  native  instructed  in 
this  preliminary  art.  During  the  years  1813  to  1815, 
the  ^frade  experienced  one  of  those  fortunate  periods  which 
recu'red  from  time  to  time.  It  was  known  as  "the  big 
purl  Yime,"  and  was  still  often  referred  to  in  the  boyhood 
of  t*Ee  writer.  A  purl  is  simply  a  loop  formed  on  the 
edge  of  the  ribbon  by  the  weft  passing  round  horse-hairs 
or  cottons  outside  or  beyond  the  natural  edge.  The 
Coventry  Mercury  says  that  the  fashion  lasted  from 
February,  1813,  to  the  autumn  of  1815.  Manufacturers 
could,  during  this  period,  obtain  almost  any  price  that 
they  chose  to  ask  for  their  goods,  and,  as  they  competed 
against  each  other  for  the  available  labour,  wages  rose 
to  an  extraordinary  level.  The  prosperity  of  the  silk- 
weavers  was  great  and,  according  to  a  story  current  half 
a  century  ago,  the  weavers  advertised  for  fifty  poor  watch- 
makers to  come  and  shell  peas  for  them  on  Saturday 
night. 

The  story  of  the  trade  in  the  ensuing  thirty  years  makes 
a  somewhat  melancholy  history.  It  was  a  time  of  strikes 
and  troubles,  of  attempts  to  introduce  uniform  lists  of 
weaving  prices,  and  of  efforts  to  repair  the  dissatisfaction 
that  these  measures  caused.  One  list,  the  first  of  its  kind, 
was  made  in  February,  1813,  and  it  was  succeeded  by 
various  amended  lists,  the  last  one  to  be  published  being 
that  of  1859,  carrying  82  signatures.  The  lists,  it  is  clear, 
served  no  useful  purpose.  The  simple  fact  is,  that  the 
variations  in  the  article  are  so  numerous  and  diverse  that  a 
list  is  of  no  value.  The  quality  of  the  silk  employed  may 
increase  or  diminish  a  weaver's  power  of  production  from 


114 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


Coventry 
and  pro- 
hibition 
policy. 


33  to  50  per  cent.  Every  price  should  have  been  settled 
by  discussion  between  manufacturer  and  weaver,  and 
this  was  the  arrangement  eventually  adopted.  Following 
infractions  of  lists  or  disputes  about  wages,  there  were 
strikes  in  1822,  1831,  1834  and  1835.  The  first  strike 
recorded  was  in  1819,  and  was  occasioned  by  the  employ- 
ment of  a  woman  upon  a  hand-loom,  it  having  been  the 
trade  custom  for  women  to  work  only  upon  "  single " 
hand-looms. 

It  is  pertinent  to  point  out  that  the  industrial  miseries 
of  this  period  were  by  no  means  confined  to  Coventry 
or  to  the  trade  in  silk.  The  reversion  from  a  long  war 
to  a  state  of  peace  and  the  badness  of  harvests  conspired 
to  aggravate  the  lot  of  working  people  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  The  contemporary  investigations  by  Parliament 
show  that  the  expansions  of  trade  did  not  provide  for  all 
who  needed  work  during  the  seasons  in  which  consumption 
of  silk  was  increasing.  When  full  of  work  the  weavers 
were  embarrassed  by  want  of  money,  and  under  the  necessity 
of  working  exorbitantly  long  hours  in  order  to  keep  body 
and  soul  together.  This  condition,  general  throughout 
the  country,  was  accentuated  in  the  silk  ribbon  trade  by 
the  adversities  peculiar  to  itself.  Coventry  trade  was 
dependent  upon  the  home  market,  and  followed  its  ups 
and  downs,  lacking  alternative  branches  of  trade  to  which 
to  turn  in  periods  of  short  demand. 

In  the  years  intervening  between  1823  and  1827,  the 
industry  went  through  a  troublous  period,  in  many  ways 
analogous  to  that  experienced  in  later  times.  In  1824 
it  became  known  in  the  City  that  Government  intended 
to  remove  the  prohibition  excluding  foreign  silk  goods  of 
all  kinds  from  the  English  market.  During  this  and 
the  following  year  there  was  a  constant  succession  of 
appeals,  memorials  and  petitions  addressed  to  the  House 
of  Commons  or  to  Government  Departments.  Mr.  Ellice, 
and  later  Mr.  Fyler,  the  Members  for  the  City,  came  before 
the  House  on  several  occasions  to  advocate  the  claims  of 
their  constituents  for  consideration.  A  public  meeting 
of  the  manufacturers  drew  up  a  memorial  to  the  Board  of 
Trade,  asking  that  entire  prohibition  should  be  continued. 


THE   COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE. 


115 


The    memorial     stated    that    there     were    9,700   looms    Coventry 
employed  in  Coventry,  of  which  7,500  were  the  property    and  pro- 
of  the   weavers.     The   prayer   of   the   memorialists   was   hibition 
refused.  policy. 

In  1826  the  distress  appears  to  have  become  so  severe 
that  in  May  the  Mayor  convened  a  meeting  to  consider 
means  of  relief.  At  this  meeting  Alderman  Whitwell 
stated  that  "  the  scenes  of  distress  which  he  had  witnessed 
were  really  appalling  and  almost  beyond  conception." 
The  result  of  the  meeting  was  the  opening  of  a  subscription, 
the  Corporation  heading  the  list  with  fifty  guineas,  while 
Mr.  Ellice,  the  Member,  subscribed  one  hundred  guineas. 
In  1828  a  petition  carrying  five  thousand  signatures  was 
presented  to  the  House  of  Commons,  asking  the  House 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Act  passed  in  the  last  Session  of 
Parliament,  forbidding  candidates  to  give  ribbons  to 
their  friends  at  elections.  Mr.  Fyler,  who  presented  it, 
only  had  the  support  of  nine  members  in  a  House  of  a 
hundred.  In  1828,  one  of  the  petitions  to  the  House 
assumed  a  singular  form.  The  weavers  at  a  large  meeting 
unanimously  agreed  to  ask  the  House  of  Commons  to  pass 
what  they  called  a  "  Wages  Protection  Bill."  This 
measure  was  to  make  a  scale  of  prices  agreed  upon  b 
weavers  and  manufacturers  legally  binding  upon 
employers.  The  constant  stream  of  appeals  and  petitions 
seem  to  have  reached  a  climax  in  1829,  when  a  deputation 
which  waited  upon  the  Board  of  Trade  was  plainly  told 
that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  Government  to  receive 
any  more  communications  on  the  subject  of  the  silk  trade. 

It  may  be  interesting  here  to  quote  from  some  of  these   Statistics 
petitions  a  few  particulars  as  to  the  number  of  persons    of 
employed   in   the   industry.     For   instance,  in    1826,  the   Employ- 
number  of  manufacturers  in  the  City  is  given  as   120,    ment. 
finding   employment   for  20,000   people,    and   this   figure 
is  to  a  certain  extent  confirmed  by  a  directory  for  1822, 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Andrews,  which  gives  the  number 
of  manufacturers  as  95. 

Assuming  these  statements  to  be  correct,  it  is  manifest 
that  men  with  a  comparatively  small  number  of  looms 
supplied  goods  directly  to  the  trade.  And  that  this  was 


aU 


116 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


Statistics  the  case  is  known  from  records  of  manufacturers  who  were 
of  living    in  the  middle   of    the    last   century.     The  writer 

Employ-  was  personally  acquainted  with  a  manufacturer  of  this 
ment.  type  who,  having  two  large  shops  containing  some  ten  or 
twelve  looms,  employed  no  assistants  in  the  warehouse 
except  his  own  family,  and  saved  eventually  a  very  con- 
siderable fortune.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  in  connection 
with  these  statements  that  the  trade  was  carried  on 
principally  with  shops,  the  exclusively  wholesale  houses 
not  then  having  been  established. 

From  the  outcry  that  the  proposal  of  the  Government 
had  raised,  it  might  be  assumed  that  they  were  going  to 
ante-date  the  removal  of  Protection  altogether.  Such, 
however,  was  far  from  being  the  case,  as  a  very  con- 
siderable duty  was  still  levied  on  all  silk  goods  made 
abroad.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  state  with  accuracy 
what  the  percentage  of  the  duties  levied  on  the  value 
of  the  goods  amounted  to,  as  the  import  duty  was  charged 
on  the  weight.  After  the  admission  of  the  goods  in  1826 
figured  satin  ribbons  were  rated  at  eighteen  shillings 
per  pound,  and  four  years  later  this  was  reduced  to  fifteen 
shillings.  This  would  seem  to  be  a  very  adequate  pro- 
tection, because,  assuming  the  weight  of  a  piece  of 
ribbon  three  inches  wide  at  about  eight  ounces,  even 
reckoned  on  the  lower  scale,  this  would  yield  a  tax  of  7s.  6d. 
per  piece  of  36  yards,  or  2  Jd.  per  yard  in  addition  to  freight. 
The  actual  amount  of  the  duty  abolished  in  1860  remains 
nebulous  for  the  same  reasons.  Mr.  Alderman  Andrews, 
a  good  authority,  says  that  it  was  believed  at  the  time 
to  have  amounted  to  15  per  cent,  but  it  will  be  evident 
from  the  method  of  collection  that  an  absolutely  precise 
estimate  is  impossible. 

Discon-          During  the  whole  of  the  period  briefly  reviewed,  there 
tent  was  continued  uneasiness  and  discontent  among  weavers, 

among        This     led     several     times     to     outbreaks     very     nearly 
the  approaching  riot,  but  the  magistrates  of  the  day  behaved 

Weavers,    with  commendable  tact  and  vigour,  and  no  great  harm 
resulted. 

The  year  1831  marked  the  first  appearance  of  steam  power 
in  the  trade,  and  its  introduction  was  attended  by  circum- 


THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON  TRADE. 


117 


stances  which  had,  for  some  concerned,  consequences  almost 
tragic.     Mr.  Josiah  Beck  was  a  competent  manufacturer,  Advent 
and  the  inventor  of  what  was  known  as  the  "  peg  batten,"  of  power 
a  method  of  driving  the  shuttles  by  upright  iron  pegs,  looms, 
which  was  in  almost  universal  use  until  it  was  superseded 
by  the  rack  and  pinion  brought  from  the  Continent. 

Mr.  Beck  erected  a  factory  in  New  Buildings,  filled  it 
with  looms,  and  put  down  an  engine  to  drive  them.  On 
November  7th,  after  an  earlier  meeting  in  the  morning, 
the  weavers,  at  about'  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
rushed  down  to  the  new  factory,  forced  their  way  in, 
brutally  treated  Beck,  cut  out  the  warps,  threw  the  silk 
into  the  river,  commenced  at  once  to  demolish  the 
machinery,  and  ended  by  setting  fire  to  the  building. 
In  those  days,  in  an  emergency  like  this,  the  authorities 
were  rather  helpless ;  there  was  no  police  force  and 
no  effective  means  of  extinguishing  fire.  St.  Michael's 
parish  had  an  old  hand-engine,  which  was  sent,  but  though 
it  arrived  in  the  afternoon,  the  report  states  that  it  was 
not  put  to  work  till  about  eight  o'clock,  after  the  roof  had 
fallen  in  :  it  seems  to  have  been  used  principally  to  cool 
the  embers.  Luckily  there  were  detachments  of  two 
light  cavalry  regiments  in  the  city,  and  they  quickly  made 
their  appearance  and  cowed  the  rioters. 

A  guard  was  mounted  at  the  Gas  Works,  and  the  streets   Hostile 
patrolled  most  of  the  night.     The  mob  appears  to  have   attitude 
met  with  no  sympathy  from  the  citizens  generally,   as   of 
we   are   told   that   when   a   detachment   of   the   cavalry    Workers, 
appeared  to  protect  the  premises  of  another  manufacturer, 
believed  to  be  obnoxious,  they  were  loudly  cheered.     The 
crier  was  sent  out  asking  citizens  to  present  themselves 
to   be  sworn  as  special   constables,  and   the  magistrates 
were  busy  till  eleven  o'clock  at  night  administering  the 
oath  to  the  stream  of  volunteers.     No  one  appears  to  have 
been  arrested  on  that  day,  but  eventually  some  five  or 
six  ringleaders  were  tried,  three  of  whom  w^ere  convicted 
and    sentenced  to   death,   a  sentence   commuted   at  the 
solicitation  of  Mr.  Ellice,  the  Member,  to  transportation 
for  life.     The  destruction  of  Beck's  factory  had  serious 
consequences  for  the  trade.     Mr.   Timmins  says  that  it 


118 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


Hostile       put  back  the  employment  of  power  in  Coventry  for  five 

attitude     years.     In   1832,   and  again  in   1838,  it  was  confidently 

of  asserted  that  steam  power  could  never  be  economically 

workers,     applied  to  the  manufacture  of  good  ribbons,  and  it  was 

not   until   Coventry   felt   the   competition   of   Congleton, 

Leek  and  Derby,  where  steam  power  had  been  employed, 

that  the  manufacturers  began  to  use  it  generally. 

Commencing  from  the  date  1838,  Coventry  may  be  said 
to  have  followed  a  normal  course  for  the  next  twenty 
years,  and  the  city  was  well  established  as  the  "  Ribbon 
Market "  of  England.  The  towns  to  the  north-east, 
already  mentioned,  could  never  claim  such  a  position. 
Many  minor  improvements  in  looms  were  introduced, 
and  not  only  were  factories  built  and  equipped,  but  the 
looms  were  continually  being  increased  in  size,  so  that 
sixteen,  eighteen  and  even  twenty  ribbons  of  the  width 
known  as  "  24  dy  "  (about  2J  inches)  were  made  at  once. 
In  private  houses,  where  the  machinery  generally  belonged 
to  the  weavers,  steam  was  applied  by  placing  an  engine 
in  the  rear  of  houses  built  in  rows  or  blocks.  The  charge 
for  power  was  collected  weekly  with  the  rent ;  at  one 
time  the  rate  was  as  low  as  two  and  sixpence  per  loom 
per  week,  but  after  considerable  advances  in  the  price 
of  fuel  this  was  increased  to  three  and  sixpence  and  some- 
times four  shillings  per  week. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  actual  return  in  the  most 
prosperous  years  of  the  industry  ;    it  certainly  exceeded 
one   million,    and   probably   reached   nearly   two   million 
pounds.     It  is  known  that  in  one  year  a  single  manu- 
facturer delivered  to  a  London  wholesale  house  a  hundred 
thousand  pounds'  worth  of  plain  ribbons,  and  there  were 
High          at  least  five  or  six  other  firms  whose  productions  would 
water         reach   similar   figures.     The   years   of   the   Russian    War 
mark  of      (1854 — 1856)    were    times    of    prosperity.     A    check    was 
pros-  experienced  in  the  Autumn  of  1857  due  to  a  financial  panic 

perity.  following  grave  American  losses,  but  this  passed  away 
in  the  following  Spring,  and  up  to  the  close  of  1859  no 
commercial  cloud  darkened  the  prospects  of  the  trade. 
This  year  may  be  regarded  as  the  culminating  point  in 
the  industry,  and  the  population  of  the  city,  which 


THE   COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE.          119 

numbered  47,000  in   1851,   must  have  risen  to  at  least  High 
50,000  in  1859.  water 

The  news  that  a  commercial  treaty  with  France  was  mark  of 
in   course   of   preparation   broke   somewhat   abruptly   on  pros- 
the  world   early  in   1860.     When  its  provisions  became  perity. 
fully  known,   the   announcement   that   all  manufactured 
silk  goods  were  to  come  into  England  duty  free  created 
something  like  a  panic  in  this  neighbourhood.     Appeals 
for  reconsideration,  and  for  delay,  were  of  no  avail,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  Treaty  was  signed. 

Taking  a  calm  retrospect  of  the  measure,  and  its  various 
consequences,  it  may  be  urged  with  justice  that  Coventry 
was  treated  with  a  lack  of  consideration  which  was  most 
unstatesmanlike.  This  statement  is  based  on  a  know- 
ledge of  the  system  on  which  the  trade  was  worked,  and 
of  the  losses  which  the  sudden  announcement  of  the  free 
entry  of  foreign  goods  caused  the  manufacturers.  Before 
the  passing  of  the  Treaty,  the  trade  was  to  a  great  extent 
speculative.  Goods  were  very  largely  prepared  in 
anticipation  of  customers'  wants,  and  a  rough  census  taken 
at  the  time  showed  that  something  like  £1,000,000  worth 
of  ribbons  was  ready  for  the  Spring  trade.  With  the 
prospect  of  foreign  ribbons  entering  untaxed,  no  buyer  Effects 
would  operate  freely,  small  purchases  only  were  made  of  the 
to  cover  immediate  needs,  and  a  few  weeks'  delay  in  French 
selling  articles  for  fashionable  wear  may  mean  goods  Treaty, 
reduced  to  half  their  price.  If  the  wider  interests  of  the 
nation  demanded  that  the  silk  trade  should  be  sacrificed, 
common  justice  should  have  delayed  the  free  entry  until 
the  commencement  of  the  Autumn  season,  say  October 
the  1st.  A  motion  to  this  effect  was  made  by  one  of  the 
Members  for  the  county  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but 
was  defeated.  Only  the  houses  with  considerable  capital 
could  stand  the  losses  that  ensued.  Stock  after  stock 
was  tendered,  failure  after  failure  announced,  until  thirty 
to  forty  firms  had  succumbed  in  the  terrible  depression 
that  followed.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  French 
statesmen  would  have  made  the  immediate  admission  of 
their  goods  a  sine  qua  non,  and  failing  that  condition,  the 
course  taken  by  the  Government  appears  indefensible. 


120  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Coventry  manufacturers,  by  subscribing  to  a  Paris  firm, 
obtained  packets  of  French  patterns  several  times  yearly. 
The  cuttings  showed  evidences  of  design,  colouring  and 
production  beyond  the  power  of  the  Coventry  manufacturer 
to  achieve,  and  the  fear  was  that  the  goods  finding  their 
way  to  the  market  at  a  reduction  of  15  per  cent  must  monopo- 
lise the  trade.  This  was  an  erroneous  inference  resulting 
from  a  too  limited  view  of  the  circumstances,  and  showed 
that  the  home  manufacturers  had  not  yet  realised  the  real 
source  of  their  coming  danger.  It  must  be  considered 
unfortunate  that  their  inability  to  compete  with  their 
foreign  rivals  was  so  loudly  proclaimed.  The  Silk  Manu- 
facturers' Association  held  frequent  meetings  in  the  Spring 
of  1860,  and  it  was  eventually  decided  to  send  a  deputation 
to  the  Continent  to  visit  the  leading  centres  of  the  silk 
manufacture  and  to  report  upon  machinery  and  methods. 
Superi-  Members  of  this  deputation  were  furnished  with  intro- 
ority  of  ductions,  both  official  and  personal,  and  from  their  own 
Conti-  account  their  reception  everywhere  was  cordial  in  the 
nental  extreme.  Journeying  first  to  Paris,  they  had  an  inter- 
Industry,  view  with  Mr.  Cobden,  the  leading  negotiator  of  the 
Treaty.  Reading  the  report  after  the  lapse  of  half  a 
century,  one  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  their  account 
of  what  took  place.  Not  a  word  appears  respecting  the 
continuance  of  any  duty  on  French  silks  exported  to 
England,  but  there  was  insistence  on  the  injustice  of  the 
imposition  of  any  tax  on  their  own  goods  sent  to  France. 
Mr.  Cobden  is  reported  to  have  said  that  "  He  quite  fell 
in  with  our  views  and  thought  the  visit  a  wise  and  proper 
one,  as  it  would  enable  us  to  speak  from  facts  and 
observation,  and  when  the  settlement  of  the  silk  duties 
came  before  the  French  Government,  we  should  be  able 
to  show  the  many  advantages  which  France  possesses, 
and  the  impolicy  of  retaining  any  portion  of  the  duty 
unless  they  are  prepared  to  declare  themselves  to  the 
world  as  being  worse  manufacturers  than  we  are,  to  the 
extent  of  the  duty  they  are  determined  to  impose." 
French  manufacturers  might  well  have  permitted  the  duty 
to  lapse,  but  they  could  not  be  led  to  agree  to  this. 
Considered  in  conjunction  with  the  English  fear  of  foreign 


THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON  TRADE.          121 

competition  at  home,  the  urgent  demand  of  the  deputation  Superi- 
for  remission  is  so  incongruous  that  it  is  not  devoid  of  ority  of 
humour.  Conti- 

St.   Etienne,  St.   diamond,  Lyons,  Zurich,  Basel  were  nental 
visited  in  turn,   and  methods,  machinery,   wages,   hours  Industry, 
of  labour  carefully  noted  and  described. 

The  summary  of  the  report  shows  that  in  system, 
machinery,  trained  labour,  the  Continental  industry  was 
far  in  advance  of  anything  existing  in  England,  and  the 
competition  which  had  to  be  faced  on  equal  terms  was 
really  formidable. 

Soon  after  the  passing  of  the  Treaty,  or  even  before 
it  was  an  accomplished  fact,  disputes  between  the  manu- 
facturers and  their  workmen  commenced.  There  were 
constant  complaints  of  infractions  of  the  list.  As  early 
as  March,  1860,  meetings  were  held  to  discuss  these 
complaints,  and  after  several  abortive  attempts  to  effect 
a  settlement,  the  masters  threw  down  the  gauntlet  by 
issuing  an  address  signed  by  forty-four  firms,  of  which 
the  following  is  an  extract : — "  In  consequence  of  the 
recent  remission  of  the  duties  on  foreign  ribbons,  and 
the  altered  position  of  the  trade  from  this  and  other 
causes,  we  find  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  maintain  the 
lists  of  prices  to  which  our  names  are  attached,  and  we 
hereby  withdraw  our  names  from  those  lists."  On  the 
following  Monday  morning,  July  9th,  I860,  a  large  body 
of  weavers  met  on  Greyfriars  Green  and  passed  a 
resolution  requesting  the  manufacturers  to  consider  a 
revision  of  the  list ;  in  case  of  refusal  the  meeting  pledged 
itself  to  strike. 

The  masters  refused  to  consider  the  question  of  revision, 
and  on  Tuesday,  July  17th,  the  strike  commenced.     It 
was  to  continue  until  the  masters  should  sign  a  uniform 
list  for  both  the  factory  and   out-door   trade,  but   from 
the   first   the   men   were   beaten.     The   time   was    most 
inopportune,  and  a  large  number  of  the  manufacturers 
were  determined  to  be  relieved  altogether  of  the  incubus  Trade 
of  a  list.     As  already  pointed  out,  the  articles  woven  had  disputes 
so  many  and  such  minute  variations  that  uniformity  in  and  a 
the  price  for  weaving  was   well-nigh  impossible.      The  strike. 


122 


SILK  INDUSTRY, 


most  serious  consequence  that  ensued  from  the  strike 
was  not  felt  till  some  years  had  passed. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  Coventry  in  1860  did  not 
recognise  where  her  real  danger  lay.  Those  leading  the 
industry  failed  to  show  that  it  was  the  plain  ribbon  that 
must  always  be  the  backbone  of  the  trade.  It  is  true 
that  St.  Etienne  was  at  the  forefront  of  the  figured  and 
fancy  department  (though  to-day  Basel  is  sharply  dis- 
puting this),  but  the  fancy  trade  is  casual  and  ephemeral ; 
a  good  demand  for  one  year  and  stagnation  for  three 
describes  the  situation  in  a  single  phrase,  while,  if 
ribbons  are  fashionable,  plain  satins  or  taffetas  or  gros- 
grains  often  sell  well  for  five  or  six  seasons  in  succession. 
In  the  plain  article  the  competition  with  St.  Etienne 
has  never  been  acute,  as  the  French  goods  are  mostly  of 
the  better  class,  and  below  a  certain  price  Paris  provides 
herself  from  Basel.  Before  the  year  of  the  strike  the 
Swiss  ribbons  were  for  the  most  part  light,  flimsy,  gauze 
textures,  that  had  a  place  in  the  market  but  did  not 
seriously  compete  for  the  great  middle-class  English  trade. 
During  the  delay  caused  by  the  strike,  cuttings  of  Coventry 
productions  were  sent  to  Basel  for  quotation  ;  sample 
orders  were  placed,  and  a  start  made  in  a  competition 
that  destroyed  the  trade  in  England.  The  strike  lasted 
until  the  end  of  August  and  during  the  time  it  continued 
£3,460  was  withdrawn  from  Savings'  banks.  It  was 
settled  by  a  resolution  appointing  a  committee  of  arbitra- 
tion composed  of  employers  and  weavers,  to  whom  any 
offer  of  employment  was  to  be  submitted  and  without 
whose  approval  the  work  was  not  to  be  accepted.  Not 
only  was  the  so-called  settlement  clumsy  and  unworkable, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  manufacturers  ever 
consented  to  take  a  share  in  the  decisions.  It  may  truly 
be  described  as  still-born. 

For  the  next  three  troublous  years  a  few  lines  must 
suffice.  They  were  periods  of  sadness,  depression  and 
gloom,  attended  by  the  ruin  of  manufacturers,  the  breaking 
up  of  homes,  the  expatriation  of  workmen,  and  the  sale  of 
thousands  of  looms  for  less  than  the  cost  of  the  wood 
and  iron  used  in  their  construction. 


THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON  TRADE.          123 

The  population,  which  was  47,000  in  1851,  would  at  A  futile 
the  normal  rate  of  increase  have  reached  52,000  in  1861  ;  settle- 
it  had  decreased  to  41,638.     The  depression  was  greatly  ment. 
increased     by     the     trouble     in     America,    which     first 
diminished  the  power  of  the  United  States   as  a  large 
purchaser,   and  then  caused  her  to  raise  her  duties  on 
imports  to  the  point  of  prohibition.     This  again  injured 
the  English  trade  indirectly,  throwing  upon  this  market 
a  heavier  weight  of  Continental  competition  from  manu- 
facturers deprived  of  American  export  trade.     As  early  as 
April,   1861,  relief  committees  were  formed,   and  in  the 
autumn  a  national  subscription  was  opened  ;   people  were 
assisted    both    to    emigrate    and    immigrate ;     and    the 
sufferings  of  destitution  relieved  as  far  as  possible. 

Enterprise   in   the   shape   of   new   industries   was   also 
abundantly  shown.     The  weaving  of  elastic  webbing,  the 
manufacture  of  woollen  materials,  the  building  of  a  mill 
for  spinning   and   weaving   cotton,   the  manufacture     of 
cotton  frillings,  the  weaving  of  ornamental  book-markers, 
portraits,  etc.,  all  took  their  rise  at  this  time,  and  last 
and  greatest,   a  small  factory  was  started  to   construct  Estab- 
sewing   machines,   which   proved   the   commencement   of  lishment 
the   very   considerable   cycle   and   motor-car  industry   of  of  New 
to-day.  Indus- 

The  older  trade  was,  however,  by  no  means  yet  dead,  tries. 
Towards  1863  Coventry  settled  down  to  the  new  condi- 
tions,  and  from  that  time  forward  the  business   again 
increased. 

One  important  determination  was  rigidly  adhered  to 
by  all  manufacturers,  and  that  was  that  no  coloured 
goods  should  be  made  without  a  definite  order  and 
sufficient  time  for  delivery. 

Coventry  had  still  circumstances  in  its  favour  that 
secured  the  old  industry  for  a  time  from  a  complete 
collapse.  Perhaps  the  most  important  was  that  five 
leading  wholesale  houses  still  maintained  a  "  Coventry 
Ribbon  Department/'  with  a  buyer  and  a  complete  staff, 
and  these  departments  had  to  justify  their  existence 
solely  by  the  sale  of  Coventry  goods,  as  side  by  side  with 
them  was  a  foreign  ribbon  buyer,  prepared  to  contest 


124 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


Estab-        their  right  to  purchase  anything  abroad.     This  assured 

lishment    to  the  city  five  large  and  regular  customers. 

of  New  Again,  the  city  had  a  great  advantage  in  her  power 

Indus-        of  quicker  delivery.     This  arose  partly  from  the  system. 

tries.  The  Swiss  method  of  thoroughly  cleansing  the  silk,  tying 

out  all  defective  threads,  getting  rid  of  knots,  etc.,  takes 

some  days  longer  than  the  old  Coventry  plan.     This  fact, 

added  to   a  shorter  time  required  for  transit,   and  the 

power  to  send  small  quantities  urgently  wanted,   every 

few  days,  was,  in  the  case  of  a  fashionable  article,  a  very 

great   help   to   business.     Every   season,    the   purchasers 

from  abroad  (allusion  is  made  to  the  houses  with  single 

departments)  found  themselves  short  of  some  colour,  and 

very    frequently    of    some    particular    design,    and    they 

hastened  to  avail  themselves  of  the  home  production  to 

supply  immediate  needs. 

One  old  Coventry  plain  ribbon  had  a  long  life,  and  for 
some  reason  was  never  seriously  interfered  with  abroad. 
This  was  the  "  Coventry  Souple  Oriental."  For  years 
every  house  made  a  staple  of  this,  and  a  large  and  regular 
trade  was  carried  on.  It  gave  way  at  last,  and  was  super- 
seded by  a  brighter  article,  and  although  never  attaining 
to  its  old  dimensions,  the  business  again  flourished,  and 
gradually  increased,  until,  from  1865  to  1874,  a  very 
considerable  turnover  was  effected,  a  good  deal  of  money 
saved,  and  several  large  fortunes  made. 

The  This  period  includes  that  of  the  Franco-German  War, 

hold  on      and  Coventry  shared  to  the  full  the  general  prosperity  of 
home         the  country. 

trade.  In   1872 — 1875   watered   goods   were   in   demand,    and 

this  proved  a  very  useful  freak  of  fashion,  clearing  out 
a  large  quantity  of  stock  in  the  hands  of  the  dealers,  and 
making  room  for  newer  goods. 

The  year  1876  provided  an  opportunity  of  earning  a 
little  money  in  fancy  ribbons.  For  some  years  after 
there  was  no  special  demand  to  chronicle  ;  manufacturers 
probably  held  their  own,  but  fashion  provided  no  chances 
of  increased  trade.  In  1884  a  Technical  School  was 
started  with  a  well  equipped  textile  department,  which  is 
still  providing  instruction  for  those  desirous  of  competent 


Plate  XVI. 


Weaving  Room  at  the  Coventry  Technical  School. 


THE  COVENTRY  RIBBON   TRADE.         125 

training  in  the  industry.     The  last  really  good  spell  of  Wane 
business  was  from  1886  to  the  autumn  of  1889,  the  latter  of  the 
being  a  specially  good  and  profitable  season.     Meantime,  in  Industry, 
the  period  from  1880  to  1890  the  Coventry  Ribbon  Depart- 
ments had  one  by  one  been  given  up,  the  last,  that  of  the 
Fore  Street  Company,  disappearing  in  1890.     From  1890 
onwards  the  trade  every  year  showed  signs   of  decay  ; 
there  were  a  few  months  of  good  business  in  1892  and 
1895, 'and  a  short  demand  for  fancy  ribbons  in  1896.     The 
hopes  held  out    of    business  in  the  Jubilee  year  of  1897 
proved  a  delusion,  and  by  1903  every  manufacturer  remain- 
ing had   sought   some   other  means   of   employment   for 
his   capital   and    his    industry :    the    ribbon    trade    was 
dead. 

It  might  lead  to  erroneous  impressions  if  this  record  Survival 
failed  to  add  that  the  Coventry  textile  trade  generally  of  certain 
must   not   be   confounded   with   the   special   branch   for  branches, 
ribbons.     The    former    is    still    a    considerable    industry, 
looms  can  be   counted  by  hundreds,   and   many  woven 
articles  of  utility  are  produced  in  Coventry.     Coventry 
frillings,  Navy  hat  ribbons,  Masonic  ribbons,  woven  labels 
of  many  kinds,  elastic  webs,  and  brace  webs  are  still  made, 
and  there  is  no  probability  of  any  decrease  in  the  demand 
for  these  articles. 

Coventry  does  not  however  now  make  millinery  ribbons 
properly  so-called,  and  it  is  the  production  of  these  goods 
that  has  always  been  understood  as  a  "  ribbon  trade." 
Competition  was  intensified  by  the  successful  introduction 
of  weighting  coloured  silk.  This  process,  discovered  some 
ten  or  fifteen  years  ago,  has  been  exclusively  used  abroad, 
and  now  the  prices  at  which  ribbons  are  sold  reveal  the 
presence  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  material  other 
than  silk.  The  ribbon  loses  nothing  in  lustre,  and 
durability  is  not  demanded. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  the  writer  would  like  to 
record  his  opinion  of  the  Coventry  weavers  as  he  knew  them 
personally  for  many  years.  Alderman  John  Gulson  truly 
said :  c  The  old  Coventry  weaver  was  a  gentleman," 
and  there  was  no  exaggeration  in  the  statement.  Not 
one  of  these  men  would  come  to  the  warehouse  without 


126  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Refining  having  first  washed,  shaved  and  donned  his  black  Sunday 
influence  coat.  Nearly  all  wore  the  tall  silk  hat,  often  somewhat 
of  threadbare,  but  always  neatly  brushed.  They  were  all 

artistic       small   capitalists ;   two   or  three  large  power-looms  well 
employ-     mounted  (often  four  or  five)  were  to  be  found  in  their 
ment.         shops,   representing  an  average  value  of  eighty  pounds 
each.     Steam  power  having  in    many    cases   been   with- 
drawn as  unremunerative,  some  of  them  towards  the  close 
of  the  century  possessed  their  own  gas  engines.     When 
properly    treated,    they    were    courteous    and    respectful, 
civil  and  obliging  ;    in  short,  excellent  types  of  the  class 
of  workman  that  a  thriving  silk  industry  tends  to  draw 
towards  itself. 


Plate  XVII. 


A    View  of  Macclesfield. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MACCLESFIELD. 

Macclesfield,  the  town  that  has  the  best  claim  to  be  Capital  of 
regarded  as  the  present  headquarters  of  the  British  silk  British 
industry,  was  called  by  a  topographer  of  the  mid-sixteenth  Silk 
century  "  one  of  the  fairest  towns  in  Cheshire  "  and  its  Trade, 
surroundings  are  still  beautiful.     In  his    Vale  Royall  of 
England  the  Herald,  William  Smith,  said  :    :{ It  standeth 
upon  the  edge  of  Macclesfield  forest,  upon  a  high  bank, 
at  the  foot  whereof  runneth  a  small  river,  named  Bollin." 
Its  associations  with  the  manufacturing  industry  date  from 
1756,  the  year  in  which  its  first  silk-throwing  mill   was 
started,  but  before  that  date  the  town  had  an  intimate 
connection    with    silk.     The    epitaph    upon    the    founder 
of  the  first  mill  sets  forth  that  he  had  previously  carried 
on  the  button*  and  twist  manufacture  in  the  town,  and 
accounts  agree  that  the  making  of  fancy  buttons  was  the 
staple  occupation  of  the  inhabitants  in  times  earlier  than  The  old 
the  mid-eighteenth  century.  Button 

Dr.  Aikin,  in  A  Description  of  the  Country  from  Thirty  Trade. 


*  A   will   dated    1573,    in    which    the    testator    leaves    "  unto    Strowde    my    frize   jerkin 
ith  silke  buttons,"  and  unto  Symonde  Bisshoppe,  tl 
one  buttons,"  is  cited  by  Beck  in  The  Draper's  Di 
inventory  of  equal  period  in  which  there  are  detailed  : 


with  silke  buttons,"  and  unto  Symonde  Bisshoppe,  the  smyth,  my  other  frize  jerkin  with 
stone  buttons,"  is  cited  by  Beck  in  The  Draper's  Dictionary.     The  same  work  quotes  an 


s.    d. 
V  grosse  of  sylke  buttons  ...          ...          ...          ...          ...          ...     8     3 

iiij  sylke  buttons       ...          ...          ...          ...          ...          ...          ...     0  20 

iiij  grose  of  sylke  buttons  ...          ...          ...          ...         ...          ...     5     8 

Quick  sylver  and  brase  buttons     ...          ...          ...          ...          ...     0     6 

iij  grose  of  sylke  buttons    ...          ...          ...          ...          ...          ...     4     6 

half  grose  of  glasse  buttons  ...          ...          ...          ...          ...     0     ' 

Silk  buttons,  it  will  seem,  were  not  expensive  articles.     Some  light  may  be  thrown  upon 
the  nature  of  the   "  stone  "  or  "  glass  "  buttons  by  a  quotation  from  Ephraim  Chamber's 
Cyclopaedia.     It  is  there  said  that  the  name  Button -stone  was  given  "  to  a  peculiar  species  of 
slate  found  in  the  marquisate  of  Bareith  in  a  mountain  called  Fichtelberg ;   which  is  extremely 
different  from  the  common  sorts  of  slate,  in  that  it  runs  with  great  ease  into  glass  or  other 
foreign  substance,  to  promote  its  vitrification  as  other  stones  require  ....    The  Swedes 

and  Germans  make  buttons  of  the  glass  produced  from  it,  which  is  very  black  and  shining." 

127 


128  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

The  old      to  Forty  Miles  around  Manchester,  published  in  1795,  gave 
Button       clear  evidence  upon  the  point,  writing : 
Trade.  "  With  respect  to  the  trade  of  Macclesfield,  that  of 

wrought  buttons  in  silk,  mohair  and  twist  is 
properly  its  staple.  The  history  of  this  button 
trade  affords  some  curious  particulars.  The  use 
of  them  may  be  traced  150  years  backwards ; 
and  they  were  once  curiously  wrought  with  the 
needle,  making  a  great  figure  in  full-trimmed 
suits.  Macclesfield  was  always  considered  as  the 
centre  of  this  trade,  and  mills  were  erected  long 
ago  both  there  and  at  Stockport  for  winding  silk, 
and  making  twist  for  buttons  and  trimming  suitable 
to  them." 

Silk  buttons  were  said  still  to  be  a  considerable  article 
of  trade  in  1795  and  they  had  been  in  use  for  at  least 
two  centuries. 

Their  importation  had  been  prohibited  in  1662,  under 
Charles  II,  in  an  Act  that  aimed  also  at  "  Forreigne 
Bonelace,  Bandstrings,  Needle-worke,  Cut-worke,  Fringe 
Silke  and  Imbroidery."  The  effect  was  apparently  to 
stimulate  trade  in  buttons  covered  with  hair,  for  the 
preamble  of  an  Act  of  1692  said  that  since  (1662)  "  Hair 
Buttons  are  chiefly  used  and  worn."  As  the  "  Button 
Makers  of  England  do  make  better  Haire  Buttons  then  any 

are   imported and    are    able    to    supply    greater 

quantities  of  them  then  they  can  make  use,"  it  was 
enacted  that  hair  buttons  should  be  placed  under  the 
same  ban  as  those  trimmed  with  silk.  Further  details 
as -to  the  nature  of  these  articles  and  the  origin  of  the 
materials  used  in  manufacturing  them  are  contained  in  an 
Act  of  1709  : 

The  An    Act     for     employing     the     Manufacturers     by 

Act  of  encouraging   the   Consumption   of   Raw   Silk   and 

1709.  Mohair  Yarn. 

Whereas  the  Maintenance  and  Subsistence  of  many 
Thousands  of  Men,  Women  and  Children  within 
this  Kingdom  depends  upon  the  making  of  Silk 
Mohair  Gimp  and  Thread  Buttons  and  Button- 
holes with  the  Needle  and  great  Numbers  of 


MACCLESFIELD.  129 

Throwsters,    Twisters,    Spinners,    Winders,    Dyers   The 
and     others     are     employed     in     preparing     the   Act  of 

Materials 1709. 

And  whereas  the  Silk  and  Mohair  ....  is  purchased 
in  Turkey  and  other  Foreign  Parts  in  Exchange 
for    the    Woollen    Manufacture    of    Great    Britain 
,  ...  an  Act  was  made  in  the  Tenth  Year  of  the 
Reign  of  His  late  Majesty  King  William  the  Third 
'(of  glorious  Memory),  intitled  an  Act  to  making  or 
selling  Buttons  made  of  Cloth  Serge  Drugget  or 
other  Stuffs  .  .  .  but  that  the  intended  encourage- 
ment by  the  said  Act  has  in  a  great  measure  been 
rendred    ineffectual     by    a    late    and     unforeseen 
Practice   of  making  and  binding   of   Button-holes 
with   Cloth   Serge   Drugget   or   other  Stuffs  .... 
to   the   great   Discouragement   of   and   Abatement 
in  the  consumption  of  Raw  Silk  and  Mohair  Yarn 
and  the  utter  ruin  of  numerous  Families.     Be  it 
enacted  ....  that  no   Taylor   and   other  Person 
whatsoever  .  .  .  shall   make,    sell,  set    on   use    or 
bind  ...  on   any   Clothes    or    Wearing   Garment, 
any  Button    or   Button-holes  made  of  or  used  or 
bound  with  Serge  Drugget,  Frize  Camblet  or  any 
other  Stuff  of  which  clothes  are  usually  made  upon 
Forfeiture  of  the  Sum  of  Five  Pounds  for  every 
Dozen  of  such  Buttons  and  Button-holes. 
Aikin  refers  with  some  indignation  to  attempts  made 
as  late  as  1779  to  apply  the  restriction  upon  buttons  with 
rigour.     He   says :     "  Hired   informers   were   engaged   in 
London  and  the   country — an   odious   and   very  uncom- 
mercial mode  of  enforcing  a  manufacture  !     The  result 
of  which  was  rather  to  promote  the  use  of  metal  and  horn 
buttons." 

The   buttons   made   in   Macclesfield   and   district   were  Pedlar 
distributed  to  the  public  by  pedlars,  who  have  always  Button 
found  small  articles  of  decoration  and  utility  convenient  Sellers, 
objects    for   their  purposes.     One  band  of  these  pedlars, 
known  far  and  wide  as  "  The  Flashmen,"  may  be  supposed 
at  least  to  have  contributed  towards  the  significance  that 
the  slang  word  "  flash  "  has  acquired.     According  to  Aikin : 


130  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Pedlar  "  In  the  wild   country  between  Buxton,   Leek  and 

Button  Macclesfield,   called  the  Flash,  from  a  chapel  of 

Sellers.  that  name,  lived  a  set  of  pedestrian  chapmen,  who 

hawked  about  these  buttons,  together  with  ribands 
and  ferreting  made  at  Leek,  and  handkerchiefs  with 
small  wares  from  Manchester.  These  pedlars  were 
known  on  the  roads  which  they  travelled  by  the 
appellation  of  Flashmen,  and  frequented  farm- 
houses and  fairs,  using  a  sort  of  slang  or  canting 
dialect." 

The  gang  "  paid  ready  money  for  their  goods,  till  they 
acquired  credit,  which  they  were  sure  to  extend  until 
no  more  was  to  be  had  ;  when  they  dropped  their  con- 
nections without  paying,  and  formed  new  ones." 

The  same  kind  of  thing  is  recorded  of  the  pedlar 
gangs  inhabiting  the  wilder  parts  of  West  Yorkshire. 
The  strength  of  the  law  asserted  itself  over  them  at  last, 
although : 

"  They  long  went  on  thus,  enclosing  the  common 
where  they  dwelt  for  a  trifling  payment,  and 
building  cottages,  till  they  began  to  have  farms, 
which  they  improved  from  the  gains  of  their  credit, 
without  troubling  themselves  about  payment, 
since  no  bailiff  for  a  long  time  attempted  to  serve 
a  writ  there.  At  length,  a  resolute  officer,  a  native 
of  the  district,  ventured  to  arrest  several  of  them  ; 
whence  their  credit  being  blown  up,  they  changed 
the  wandering  life  of  pedlars  for  the  settled  care 
of  their  farms.  But  as  these  were  held  -by  no 
leases,  they  were  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  lords 
of  the  soil,  the  Harpen  family,  who  made  them 
pay  for  their  impositions  on  others." 
There  was  still  another  group  with  a  significant  name, 
of  whom  Aikin  writes  : 

Famous  "  Another  set  of  pedestrians  from  the  country,  whose 

Gangs.  buttons    were    formerly    made,  was    called    the 

Broken-cross  Gang,  from  a  place  of  that  name 
between  Macclesfield  and  Congleton.  These 
associated  with  the  Flashmen  at  fairs,  playing 
with  thimbles  and  buttons,  like  jugglers  with  cups 


Plate  XVIII.  Memorial  to  Charles  Roe  in  Christ  Church, 

Macclesfield. 


MACCLESFIELD.  131 

and  balls,  and  enticing  people  to  lose  their  money  Famous 
by  gambling.  They  at  length  took  to  the  kindred  Gangs, 
trades  of  robbing  and  picking  pockets,  till  at  length 
the  gang  was  broken  up  by  the  hands  of  Justice." 
Charles  Roe,  the  founder  of  the  silk-throwing  industry 
in  Macclesfield,  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of  Derby, 
and  as  he  was  born  in  1717,  the  example  of  the  famous 
Lombe  must  have  been  prominently  before  his  eyes. 
It  is  to  be  judged  from  the  inscription  to  his  memory 
in  Christ  Church,  Macclesfield,  that  his  button-making 
business  (said  to  have  been  started  in  1740)  prospered, 
for  Roe  was  Mayor  of  the  town  in  1747-8.  The  throwing- 
mill  erected  on  Park  Green  achieved  sufficient  success 
to  prompt  competitors  to  follow  Roe's  example,  and  in 
a  short  while  the  town  had  a  dozen  such  mills.  The  cir- 
cumstances all  mark  out  Roe  as  a  man  of  exceptional 
energy  and  ambition.  The  opening  of  the  mill  could  have 
been  no  inconsiderable  venture,  but  two  years  after  its 
opening  the  founder  embarked  upon  a  further  enterprise. 
He  had  partners  in  the  silk  business,  and  traded  as  Roe, 
Robinson  and  Stafford,  and  in  1758  he  induced  partners 
to  join  him  in  exploiting  an  Anglesey  copper  mine. 

The  machinery  at  Park  Green  was  copied  from  that  of 
Lombe  at  Derby,  like  the  machines  in  other  mills  erected 
after  the  expiry  of  Lombe's  patent  in  1732.  The  copying 
was  a  somewhat  simple  task  because  it  had  been  made 
a  condition  of  the  Parliamentary  grant  to  Sir  Thomas 
Lombe  that  he  should  place  a  model  of  his  machine  upon 
public  exhibition. 

Roe  was  67  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1784,  and  his 
survivors  erected  in  the  church  that  he  had  founded  a 
bust  over  the  altar  and  an  inscription,  headed  by  a  figure 
of  Genius,  holding  in  one  hand  a  cog-wheel.  Of  this 
inscription  a  copy  follows  : 

"  Whoever  thou  art,  The 

whom  a  curiosity  to  search  into  the  monuments  of  the  dead,  Founda- 
or  an  ambition  to  emulate  their  living  virtues,  tion  of 

has  brought  hither,  the  Silk- 

receive  the  gratification  of  either  object,  in  the  example  of  throwing 
Charles  Roe,  Esq.  Industry. 


132 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


The  "  A   gentleman   who,    with   a   slender   portion   on   his 

work  of  entrance  into  business,  carried  on  the  button  and  twist 
Charles  manufacture  in  this  town  with  the  most  active  industry, 
Roe.  ingenuity  and  integrity  ;  and  by  an  happy  versatility 

of  genius,  at  different  periods  of  his  life,  first  established 
here,  and  made  instrumental  to  the  acquisition  of  an 
ample  fortune,  the  silk  and  copper  manufactories,  by 
which  many  thousands  of  families  have  been  since  sup- 
ported. The  obstacles  which  envy  and  malevolence  threw 
in  his  way  retarded  not  his  progress ;  enterprizing, 
emulous  and  indefatigable,  difficulties  to  others  were 
incitements  to  action  in  him.  His  mind  was  vast  and 
comprehensive,  formed  for  great  undertakings,  and  equal 
to  their  accomplishment.  By  an  intuitive  kind  of  know- 
ledge, he  acquired  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
mineral  strata  of  the  earth  ;  and  was  esteemed  by  com- 
petent judges  greatly  to  excel  in  the  art  of  mining.  In 
that  line  his  concerns  were  extensive ;  and  the  land- 
owners, as  well  as  proprietors  of  the  valuable  mine  in 
the  Isle  of  Anglesea,  are  indebted  to  him  for  the  discovery. 
"  It  pleased  the  Almighty  to  bless  his  various  labours 
and  benevolent  designs.  His  grateful  heart  delighted  to 
acknowledge  the  mercies  he  received.  God  was  in  all 
his  thoughts.  And  actuated  by  the  purest  sentiments  of 
genuine  devotion,  which  burnt  steadily  through  his  life, 
and  the  brighter  as  he  approached  the  Fountain  of  Light, 
he  dedicated  to  the  service  of  his  Maker  a  part  of  that 
increase  His  bounty  had  bestowed,  erecting  and  endowing, 
at  his  sole  expence,  the  elegant  structure  which  incloses 
this  monument ;  and  which,  it  is  remarkable,  was  built 
from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  completely  finished, 
both  inside  and  out,  in  so  short  a  space  of  time  as  seven 
months. 

"  Reader,  when  thou  hast  performed  the  duties  which 
brought  thee  hither,  think  on  the  founder  of  this  beautiful 
edifice,  and  aspire  after  the  virtues  which  enabled  him 
A  to  raise  it. 

remark-  "  He  died  on  May  3rd,  1784,  aged  67  years,  leaving  a 
able  widow  and  ten  children  (who  have  erected  this  monument 

Epitaph,    as  a  tribute  to  conjugal  and  filial  affection)  poignantly  to 


MACCLESFIELD. 


133 


weaving 
Trade. 


lament  a  most  indulgent  husband  and  tender  father  and 
a  general  loss." 

The  Macclesfield  weaving  trade  is  dated  by  Mr.  Helsby,  The  Silk- 
in  a  footnote  to  Ormerod's  History  of  Cheshire,  from  about 
1790,  so  that  for  more  than  thirty  years  Macclesfield 
throwsters  were  preparing  yarn  for  outside  consumption. 
Their  main  outlet  is  said  to  have  been  the  London  market, 
where  their  silk  was  bought  for  the  supply  of  Spitalfields. 
Their 'twists  and  sewing  silks  were  sold  to  mercers  and 
woollen  drapers ;  Manchester  became  an  important  market 
for  weaving  yarns  later,  and  in  1834-35  (vide  Manchester, 
p.  158)  Manchester  looms  consumed  some  8,0001bs.  a 
week  of  Macclesfield  thrown  silk. 

In  1785  a  cotton-spinning  mill  was  opened  on  Water 
Green,  and  derived  its  power  from  the  Bollin,  but  cotton 
proved  less  attractive  locally  than  silk.  There  are  cotton 
mills  at  points  outside  the  town,  but  there  remains  only 
one  within  Macclesfield  to-day.  The  instance  is  perhaps 
the  single  one  in  this  country  in  which  silk  has  not 
fared  the  worse  in  a  contest  with  cotton.  Silk-weaving 
prospered  until  the  external  competition  of  the  distressed 
hand-loom  weavers  of  Lancashire  became  pressing,  and 
in  1815  the  relatively  highly-paid  Macclesfield  weavers 
had  to  submit  to  a  reduction  in  wages  of  25  per  cent. 
A  further  sign  of  uneasiness  in  trade  conditions  exhibited 
itself  in  the  riots  of  discontented  workpeople  in  1824, 
which  were  serious  enough  to  require  the  presence  of 
troops  from  Manchester  and  Stockport. 

This  was  the  year  of  a  reduction  of  duties  upon  raw 
and  waste  silks,  and  the  prospects  of  obtaining  raw  material 
more  cheaply  doubtless  influenced  the  insertion  in  the 
Macclesfield  Press  of  a  couple  of  advertisements,  which 
were  quoted  with  some  effect  in  debate  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  as  indications  of  the  profits  then  to  be  made 
in  the  trade. 

1825.     Advertisement  at  Macclesfield,   19   February. 
(  To  overseers,   guardians  of  the  poor  and  families 

desirous  of  settling  in  Macclesfield. 
Wanted  immediately  from  4 — 5,000   persons   from 
seven  to  twenty  years  of  age  to  be  employed  in 


Indus- 
trial 
unrest. 


134 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


High  the  throwing  and  manufacture  of  silk.     The  great 

Wages  increase  of  the  trade  having  caused  a  great  scarcity 

and  loss  of  workmen,  it  is  suggested  that  this  is  a  most 

of  trade.  favourable    opportunity    for    persons    with    large 

families    and    overseers,    who    wish    to    put    out 

children. 

Applications  to  be  made,  if  by  letter  post-paid,  to 

the  printer  of  this  paper." 
1825.     Advertisement  at  Macclesfield. 
"  Wanted    to    be    built    immediately    one    thousand 

houses." 

The  change  in  duties  necessitated  an  inquiry  into  the 
quantity  of  silk  on  hand,  and  the  relative  position  of 
Macclesfield  in  1824  is  seen  to  have  been  a  commanding 
one.  There  was  warehoused  at  Macclesfield  £53,000  worth 
of  silk,  as  against  the  £19,000  of  Coventry,  and  £7,000  of 
Leek. 

Further  riots  broke  out  in  1826,  and  in  1829  a  prolonged 
strike  of  weavers  involved  such  distress  that  a  grant  of 
£1,000  for  the  relief  of  Macclesfield  operatives  was  made 
by  the  King.  The  tenacity  with  which  Macclesfield 
workers  held  to  the  principles  of  trade  unionism  has 
since  been  demonstrated,  and  the  relatively  high  rates 
of  wages  have  not  been  maintained  without  a  surrender  of 
weaving  and  dyeing  business  to  the  competing  home  and 
foreign  centres  of  these  trades. 

The    export    business    in   bandanna   handkerchiefs,    of 

which    accounts    are   given   in   the    chapters     on     "  The 

Smuggling  Trade  "  and    "  Waste  silk,"  brought  work  to 

Macclesfield,    and    by    the   middle   of   the    19th  century 

there  were  tabulated  in  the  local  Directory  the  following 

merchants  and    manufacturers  :    silk  brokers,   9  ;    dyers, 

18  ;    manufacturers,  86  ;    silk-men,   30  ;    silk  merchants, 

Effect         3 ;    printers,  2 ;    trimming  manufacturers,  1 ;    makers  of 

on  gimps,  fringes,  etc.,  17;    silk  throwsters,  56;    twisters,  3; 

Export       waste  dealers,   4;    and  silk- weavers  with  looms  in  their 

Business,   own  houses,  540. 

The  population  of  the  town  has  remained  stationary 
over  several  later  decades,  but  meantime  the  conditions 
and  prosperity  of  the  workers  have  improved  equally  with 


Plate  XIX. 


Weaving  by  Power  in  Macclesfield. 


MACCLESFIELD.  135 

those  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Leek,  where  a  some-   Trade 
what  different  class  of  trade  is  carried  on.     The  French   with 
Treaty,  by  opening  the  door  to  the  influx  of  foreign  goods,   Japan, 
proved  a  great  blow  to  the  manufacture  of  the  broad 
silks,    which    occupied    a   large   number    of    Macclesfield 
looms  previous  to  that  date,  and  subsequent  changes  of 
fashion  have  adversely  affected  the  business  in  silk  scarves 
and  handkerchiefs  upon  which  Macclesfield    additionally 
relied.     A   demand   has   sprung   up   in   recent   years   for 
confections  for  ladies'  wear  made  up  from  Japanese  silks 
and  fabrics  of  Continental   origin,   and  Macclesfield  men 
have  addressed  themselves  to  this  new  line  of  business. 
As  one  consequence,  women's  labour  is  in  great  demand, 
and  good  wages  are  paid  for  skilled  workers. 

A  good  sign  of  the  vitality  remaining  in  the  manufactur- 
ing trade  of  Macclesfield  is  the  increase  of  power-loom 
weaving.  Several  firms  have  built  new  sheds  and  equipped 
them  with  the  most  modern  machinery,  and  hand-loom 
weaving  is  year  by  year  being  discontinued.  The  town 
has  always  paid  special  and  devoted  attention  to  art 
and  technical  training,  and  designers  and  managers 
trained  there  have  found  excellent  openings  in  other 
towns  where  mixed  silk  and  other  goods  are  manufactured. 
Their  competence  at  this  work  is  beyond  question. 

Many  of  the  firms  in  existence  50  years  ago  have  ceased 
to  exist,  the  members  having  retired  with  the  gains  of 
previous  years,  but  some  few  new  and  enterprising 
manufacturers  and  makers-up  have  succeeded  in  establishing 
a  fairly  flourishing  trade  under  modern  conditions. 

Among  firms  in  existence  half  a  century  ago  and  still 
pursuing  a  vigorous  attempt  to  keep  up  the  prestige 
of  the  manufacturing  interests  of  Macclesfield,  we  may 
name  a  few  and  describe  the  nature  of  their  operations. 

The  firm  of  J.  and  T.  Brocklehurst  and  Sons  was  founded  Notable 
in   1745  by  John  Brocklehurst,   the  father  of  the  John  Maccles- 
and     Thomas    Brocklehurst    whose    names    the    firm    at  field 
present  bears.     Members   of  the  same  family  continued  Manu- 
the  business  up  to  the  year  1911,  when  it  was  transferred  facturers. 
to  a  limited  liability  company,  under  new  management 
and  directorship.     Up  to  the  period  of  the  French  Treaty 


136 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Messrs.  Brocklehursts'  manufactures  embraced  every 
class  of  broad  fabric  then  known  for  dress  and  other 
purposes.  The  changed  conditions  inspired  the  pro- 
prietors to  make  new  developments,  especially  in  spinning 
silk  waste,  although  a  department  for  this  work  had  been 
begun  long  before.  During  the  prosperous  years  of  the 
lace  trade  in  the  early  '70's,  their  yarns  attained  a  fame 
second  to  none,  and  proved  profitable  almost  beyond 
expectation.  The  firm  employs  at  the  present  time  about 
1,300  workpeople  engaged  in  silk- throwing,  silk  waste 
spinning,  and  in  manufacturing  goods  of  various  kinds. 
In  all-silk  goods  they  have  a  reputation  for  foulards, 
satins,  dress  goods,  mufflers,  fancies,  crepes,  linings  and 
waterproofings  ;  and  in  mixed  goods  for  moirettes,  unions, 
silk  and  wool  cloths,  silk  and  cotton  cloths  and  fabrics  of 
artificial  silk.  The  firm  of  Brocklehurst  first  obtained  the 
Government  order  for  handkerchiefs  for  the  Navy  in 
Notable  1883,  at  which  period  the  goods  were  woven  in  hand- 
Maccles-  looms.  With  the  perfection  of  the  power-loom,  they 
field  have  succeeded  in  retaining  the  whole  or  part  of  these 

Manu-        orders,   almost  without  intermission,   from  year  to  year 
facturers.  up  to  the  present  time. 

Messrs.  Frost  occupy  the  oldest  mill  in  Macclesfield, 
and  except  for  certain  enlargements  and  internal  improve- 
ments the  structure  remains  as  it  was  in  1785.  Their 
Park  Green  Mills  were  built  in  that  year,  and  were  driven 
by  water  power  until  1811,  when  the  contemporary  owners, 
Daintry  and  Ryle,  installed  a  steam  engine.  The  pro- 
prietors were  bankers  and  manufacturers,  and  Mr.  Ryle 
had  one  grandson  who  became  Bishop  of  Liverpool,  and 
a  great-grandson  who  is  Dr.  J.  G.  Ryle,  the  present  Dean 
of  Westminster.  The  property  passed  later  into  the 
ownership  of  Mr.  H.  W.  Eaton,  who  afterwards  became 
Lord  Cheylesmore,  who  sold  it  to  the  firm  of  William 
Frost  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  in  1881.  This  firm  was  founded 
in  1858,  and  has  since  continuously  carried  on  silk 
throwing,  so  that  in  point  of  years  it  ranks  next  in  its 
own  line  to  that  of  the  Brocklehursts.  Their  mill  is  one  of  the 
extremely  few  that  have  survived  the  change  from  water  to 
steam  as  a  propulsive  power  and  from  steam  to  electricity. 


Plate  XX. 


Park,  Green  Mills,  Macclesfield. 


MACCLESFIELD.  137 

Mr.   John  Birchenough  founded    a    silk-throwing  and  Notable 
manufacturing  business  in  1848,  and  in  company  with  his  Maccles- 
sons*  carried  on  the  business  until  the  year  1905  when  field 
this  also  became  a  limited  company,  and  in  1912  it  came  Manu- 
under  the  direction  of  the  late  Mr.  Bradley  Smale.     The  facturers. 
Company  has  been  successful  at  various  periods  in  securing 
a  share  of  the  Navy  contracts,  in  addition  to  its  ordinary 
trade  in  rich  silk  cut-ups  for  gentlemen's  wear,  mufflers, 
scarves,  vestings,  dress  cloth  and  knitted  neckwear. 

The  founder  of  the  firm  of  Josiah  Smale  and  Sons,  which 
came  into  existence  between  the  years  1830  and  1840, 
was  Josiah  Smale.  It  was  carried  on  successfully  by  his 
sons  as  Josiah  Smale  and  Sons  up  to  a  recent  period,  and 
is  now  conducted  by  grandsons  of  the  original  founder 
in  two  separate  businesses  under  the  titles  of  Josiah  Smale 
and  Sons  and  Jonathan  Smale  and  Bros.  The  firm  of 
Josiah  Smale  and  Sons  came  under  the  sole  direction  of 
Mr.  Bradley  Smale,  a  most  enterprising  man,  who  intro- 
duced successfully  a  large  business  in  knitted  neckwear 
fabrics. 

Mr.  Smale,  who  died  at  the  close  of  the  year  1913,  was 
founder  and  first  President  of  the  Macclesfield  Silk  Trade 
Employers'  Association,  formed  in  1909,  to  negotiate 
labour  difficulties  with  the  trade  unions,  and  had  thus 
a  large  share  in  formulating  the  price  list  for  power- 
loom  weaving  which  came  into  force  in  1912. 

The  firm  of  J.  F.  Jackson  is  probably  as  old  as  either 
of  the  two  before  mentioned,  and  its  present  proprietor 
is  Mr.  William  Jackson,  son  of  one  of  the  founders. 

All  the  firms  that  were  contemporary  with  the  founder 
of  the  Brocklehurst  concern  have  ceased  to  exist,   but 
several  new  concerns  have  commenced  business  during  the 
last  30  years,  and  are  doing  a  good  trade  in  competition   New 
with  the  older  ones,  much  to  the  advantage  and  well-being   Firms, 
of  the  working  population. 

*  One  of  the  sons,  Mr.  Henry  Birchenough,  is  now  Sir  Henry  Birchenough,  K.C.M.G. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LEEK. 

Huguenot  Leek  is  picturesquely  situated  almost  on  the  borders 
Rela-  of  Cheshire  and  Derbyshire  and  close  to  the  foot  of  the 
tions.  end  of  the  Pennine  range.  It  has  been  designated  "  The 
Metropolis  of  the  Moorlands/'  and  its  high  altitude  and 
bracing  climate  have  no  doubt  in  some  measure  been 
responsible  for  the  energy  and  business  enterprise  shewn 
by  its  inhabitants.  It  possesses  a  fine  church  of  ancient 
Gothic  design,  and  under  the  shadow  of  its  tower  there 
is  to  be  found  a  small  district  commonly  known  as 
"  Petite  France/'  the  former  abode  of  the  French  settlers. 
It  was  doubtless  owing  to  their  early  training  in  branches 
of  the  silk  industry  that  Leek  ever  became  a  silk  centre 
of  any  note. 

It  is  difficult  to  indicate  the  exact  dates  when  the 
manufacture  of  silk  in  any  form  was  originated  in 
particular  towns  and  districts  and  to  identify  the  small 
beginnings  from  which  the  industry  in  the  various  centres 
took  a  greater  importance.  However  from  a  History  of  Leek 
(Staffordshire),  written  by  a  Mr.  Jno.  Sleigh,  Barrister,  of 
that  town,  and  published  in  1883,  we  learn  that  sympathy 
was  shewn  to  a  number  of  French  refugees  who  settled 
there  about  the  year  1685,  when  a  collection  made  in 
the  Parish  Church  on  their  behalf  realised  the  sum  of 
£6  5s.  Od.  These  workmen  breaking  away  from  the  town 
of  Coventry,  introduced  ribbon  and  ferret  weaving  (narrow 
bindings)  both  in  Leek  and  Derby.  Another  branch  of 
industry  which  was  introduced  about  the  same  period 
was  the  manufacture  of  silk,  mohair,  and  twist  buttons 

138 


mmmmm 
Plate  XXI. 


St.  Edward's    Church,    Leek., 
dating  back  to  the  year    1400. 


LEEK.  139 

worked  with  the  needle,   in   a   variety  of  patterns,  and   The 
used  in  the  decoration  of  full-trimmed  suits.     It  was  one   Button 
of  the  chances  of  Trade  that  the  horn  and  gilt  buttons  of   Trade. 
Sheffield  and  Birmingham  made  a  greater  appeal  to  the 
popular   taste,  and  superseded  the   productions  of   Leek 
and   Macclesfield.     The   foundation,   however,    had   been 
laid  for  the  manufacture  of    other   fabrics    and    an  old 
Staffordshire  ballad,  which  asks — 

*  "  For  silken  fabrics  rich  and  rare, 

What  citie  can  with  Leek  compare?" 
serves  to  show  how  Leek  goods  were  regarded. 

James  Horton,  a  Coventry  man,  introduced  the  making 

of  figured  ribbons  in  1800,   and  about  the  same  period 

an   old  man  named  Ball   commenced   operations  in  the 

twisting  of  sewings  by  hand  in  a  shed  or  shade  in  a  field 

now  known  as  Ball's  field,  and  so  laid  the  foundation  of 

a  trade  in  silk  sewings  and  twist,  which  has  made  Leek 

a  prosperous  town,  and  won  for  it  a  world-wide  renown 

for  these  and  other  threads.     The  weaving  of  silk  goods 

for  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century  was  a  progressive 

branch  of  trade,  and  proved  remunerative  both  to  employer 

and  employed.     From  Samuel  Bamford's  Life  of  a  Radical, 

an  impression  of  Leek  as  seen  in  1842  may  be  quoted  : 

"  In  passing  through  the  streets  of  Leek,  we  noticed 

a  number  of  weavers  at  their  looms,  and  obtained 

permission  to  go  into  their  weaving  places.     The 

rooms   where   they   worked   were    on   the   upper 

floors  of  the  houses  ;    they  were  in  general  very 

clean  ;    the  work  was  all  in  the  silk  small- ware 

line.     Many    of    the    weavers    were    young    girls, 

some  of  them  good-looking,  some  neatly  attired 

and    many    with    costly    combs,    ear-rings    and 

ornaments    of   value,  showing   that   they   earned 

sufficiency    of   wages    and   had   imbibed    a   taste 

for  the  refinements  of  Society.     The  sight  of  these 

females    sitting    at    their    elegant    employment, 

approached  by  stairs   with   carpets   and   oil-cloth 

upon  them,  the  girls  all  being  dressed  in  a  style 

which  200  years  before  would  have  been  rich  for   Pioneer 

a  squire's  daughter,  was  to  me  very  gratifying."      Weavers, 


140  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Progress        The  account  seems  to  show  that  conditions  in  Leek 

of  the         at  this  stage  of  the  development   of  its  industry  were 

Town.        not   unfavourable   to   the   workers   in   the   trade.     Their 

condition    in    the    past    is,   however,   surpassed    by  that 

which  prevails  at  the  present  day. 

Of  recent  years  the  old  Leek  industry  has  suffered 
to  a  certain  extent  through  the  inroads  made  into  it  by 
spun  silk  and  mercerised  cotton,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  introduction  and  clever  application  of  the  wood  and 
cotton  pulp  fibre  (technically  known  as  artificial  silk), 
from  which  artistically  knitted  articles  of  apparel  are 
made,  Leek  would  not  have  been  in  so  prosperous  a 
condition  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  difference  between  past 
and  present  as  traced  recently  by  a  member  of  one 
of  the  largest  and  oldest  silk  firms  in  the  town.  "  The 
old  silk  industry  of  the  town  was  mostly  carried  out  in 
garrets  by  men,  who  worked  for  the  silk  manufacturers, 
and  these  employed  their  wives  and  families  and  a  few 
others.  This  system  was  radically  bad  and  has  ceased 
to  exist.  Fifty  years  ago  bowed  legs  and  knock  knees  were 
very  numerous  amongst  the  silk  workers,  but  the  health 
and  physique  of  the  population  are  now,  owing  to  better 
conditions  of  work,  and  housing  accommodation  much 
improved.  Most  of  the  old  slums  having  disappeared,  the 
death-rate  has  been  lowered  from  29  per  thousand  to  18, 
while  the  expectation  of  life  has  increased  from  24  to  38 
years.  The  population  of  Leek  has  almost  doubled  during 
the  last  50  years,  and  the  rateable  value  has  more  than 
doubled.*  Wages  in  the  silk  trade  have  risen  30%, 
hours  are  of  course  shorter,  and  the  people  generally  are 
Popula-  far  more  prosperous.  The  class  of  raw  silk  used  has 
tion  and  improved,  and  the  machinery  is  altogether  of  a  superior 
Wages.  character.  The  hand  twister  is  gradually  disappearing,  f 

*  Pitt's  topographical  History  of  Staffordshire  says  "Leek  in  1817  has  been  indebted  for 
much  of  its  present  prosperity  to  silk  manufacture  which  has  been  successfully  carried  on  in 
this  town  for  at  least  half  a  century."  The  total  inhabitants  are  4,413  and  about  two  thirds 
of  them  are  employed  in  the  various  branches  of  silk  manufacture  which  consists  principally 
of  shawls,  handkerchiefs,  ribbons,  ferrets,  twist  and  sewing  silks.  Now  the  population  is 
17,000 — a  century  after. 

f  Expression  is  given  to  an  individual  and  informed  opinion,  but  the  fact  of  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  hand  twister  is  in  some  dispute.  Machine  twisting  extends  continually,  but  as 
hand  work  remains  superior  the  manual  twister  maintains  his  place  in  the  economy  of  the 
Leek  trade. 


LEEK.  141 

his   place    being   taken   by    machines   of    various    sorts,   Progress 

although  there  are  very  many  more  men  and  boys,   as   of  the 

well    as    women,   employed    in    the  various  branches   of  Town. 

the  Leek  trade  than  in  the   days   before  the  advent   of 

machinery.     During  the  half  century  which  has  elapsed, 

a  number  of  old  names  have  disappeared  from  the  list 

of  silk  manufacturers  in  Leek  :  Alsop,  Carr,  Gaunt,  Ellis, 

Russel   and   Clowes,  etc.  ;    yet    many  representatives    of 

the  older  houses  remain,   viz.  :     Brough,   Nicholson  and 

Hall,  Ltd.,  Hugh  Sleigh  and  Co.,  A.  Ward  and  Co.,  Ltd., 

A.   J.    Worthington    and   Co.,   Ltd.,   and    Whittles    Ltd. 

Then    a    number    of    new    and    important    firms    have 

come    into    existence,    notably    Wardle    and    Davenport 

Ltd.,  Myatts,  Slannards,  W.  Watson  and  Co.,  W.  Broster 

and  Co.,  and  many  others." 

As  typifying  the  spirit  of  enterprise  actuating  the 
manufacturing  interest  of  the  present  period,  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  give  a  short  resume  of  the  history  and 
operations  of  a  few  of  the  leading  firms. 

Brough,  Nicholson  and  Hall,  Ltd.,  commenced  in  the 
year  1815,  and  their  business  was  converted  into  a  private 
limited  company  in  1907.  The  number  of  people 
employed  by  them  is  slightly  over  2,000.  Their  pro- 
ductions are  varied,  and  include  sewing  silks,  embroidery 
silks,  tailors'  twist,  and  twist  for  sewing  machines,  together 
with  such  manufactured  articles  as  braids,  cords,  bindings, 
webs,  trimmings,  woven  named  labels,  bootlaces,  silk  and 
artificial  silk  ties,  scarves,  motor  scarves  and  ladies'  coats. 
They  have  a  spun  silk  spinning  mill,  and  two  dye  houses, 
in  which  they  dye  their  various  goods. 

Anthon}^  Ward  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  was  founded  in  the  year 
1819  by  the  late  Anthony  Ward  who  was  succeeded  in 
1840  by  his  son,   John   Ward,   J.P.,  Staffordshire,  who, 
retiring  in  1876,  was  followed  by  his  son,  Anthony  Ward, 
also  a  J.P.  for  the  county.     The  concern  was  transformed 
into  a  Limited  Company  in  1905,  the  first  directors  being 
John  and  B.  T.  Ward,  the  two  sons  of  the  late  proprietor.    Some 
The   firm   manufacture   all   descriptions    of   sewing   silks,    early 
braids  of  silk,  artificial  silk  and  mohair  bindings,  but  the   Silk 
original  trade  was  the  manufacture  of  silk  serges,  hand-   Firms. 


142 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Some  kerchiefs,  velvets  and  ribbons ;  a  business  that  was 
early  destroyed  by  the  Commercial  Treaty  with  France  in 
Silk  1856. 

Firms.  The  firm  of  A.  J.  Worthington  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  dates  back 

to  a  very  early  period  of  the  last  century,  and  has  been 
in  the  successive  ownership  of  members  of  the  family  of 
that  name.  They  employ  about  400  people,  and  are 
reputed  to  be  the  first  who  put  sewing  silks  on  reels  of 
wood.  They  were  very  early  makers  of  silk  buttons,  and 
button  cloths,  beside  military  braids  and  binding  of  all 
kinds.  At  the  present  day  they  have  a  reputation  as 
makers  of  silk  fishing  lines,  together  with  the  ordinary 
classes  of  sewing  silks  that  are  a  speciality  of  the  Leek 
trade,  and  are  the  patentees  of  a  process  for  obtaining 
Moire  effects  on  knitted  fabrics.  During  the  last  ten  years 
they  have  enlarged  their  business  by  the  addition  of  new 
premises. 

Amongst  a  number  of  the  firms  established  at  a  later 
date  is  that  of  Wardle  and  Davenport  Ltd.,  which  after 
being  carried  on  for  some  years  as  a  private  manufacturing 
firm,  was  incorporated  as  a  public  company  on  October  30th, 
1899.  For  many  years  this  firm  had  the  highest  reputation 
for  the  manufacture  of  mercerised  cotton  embroidery 
sewings,  sold  under  the  trade  name  of  Peri-lusta.  About 
1,800  people  are  employed  in  their  principal  manufactures 
of  sewing  and  embroidery  threads,  costume  braids,  and 
knitted  neckwear. 

The  spinning  of  waste  silk  into  sewings  and  embroideries 
was  established  some  34  years  ago  by  the  firm  of  Watson 
and  Co.,  Ltd.,  and  this  branch  has  since  been  worked  under 
a  limited  company  which  has  built  an  up-to-date  mill  to 
carry  on  the  industry. 

Sir  The  connection  of  Leek  with  the  dyeing  industry  has 

Thomas     been  made  historic  by  the  enterprise  and  genius  of  the 

Wardle.      late    Sir    Thomas    Wardle,    and    Leek    lost    one    of    the 

greatest  of  its  citizens  when,  full  of  years  and  honours, 

he  died  in  1909.     He  had  been  all  his  life  connected  with 

the  local  silk  industry,  although,  as  is  well  known,  his 

activities  ranged  over  a  much  wider  field.     He  was  the 

eldest  son  of  Mr.  Joshua  Wardle,  of  Cheddleton  Heath, 


Plate  XXII. 


Sir  Thomas  War  die. 


LEEK. 


143 


near  Leek,  the  founder  of  the  silk  dye  works  at  Leek  Sir 
Brook  in  1831,  in  which  year  Thomas  Wardle  was  born.  Thomas 
The  boy,  who  afterwards  became  so  well  known,  received  Wardle. 
his  early  education  at  Macclesfield  and  Leek,  and  entering 
his  father's  business  while  still  quite  young,  soon  made  his 
influence  felt.  At  all  stages  of  his  useful  career  Thomas 
Wardle  evinced  a  desire  to  carry  his  activities  into  a  wider 
sphere,  an  inclination  which  led  to  his  establishment  of  a 
silk  and  cotton  printing  business  near  Leek,  where  beautiful 
block  printing  work  was  carried  out.  An  interesting 
feature  in  connection  with  this  printing  business  was 
the  association  with  it,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  artistic 
side,  of  William  Morris,  who,  on  one  of  his  visits  to 
Leek,  worked  out  designs  with  his  own  hands,  in  order 
to  obtain  the  necessary  colour  effects.  The  marriage 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Wardle,  as  he  then  was,  with  the  daughter 
of  Hugh  Wardle,  of  Leek,  in  the  year  1857,  provided 
him  with  a  wife  who  not  only  possessed  the  artistic 
temperament  in  a  high  degree,  but  had  a  gift  for  organisa- 
tion which  is  not  often  met  with  in  women.  It  was  due  to 
her  efforts  that  the  Leek  School  of  Embroidery  was  founded, 
and  many  are  familiar  with  the  excellent  work  from 
the  standpoints  of  both  colour  and  design  which  emanated 
from  that  school,  and  from  those  associated  with  it. 
A  fine  copy  of  the  celebrated  Bayeux  tapestry,  worked 
under  Lady  Wardle's  supervision  by  30  ladies  of  Leek, 
may  be  inspected  in  the  Art  Gallery  at  Reading. 

Sir    Thomas    Wardle    will    long    be    remembered    for     His 
the  work  he  did  in  India.     His  early  efforts  in  connection     work  in 
with  the  Dependency  had  for  their  object  the  utilization     India, 
of  Tussur  silk,  the  wild  silk  of  India,  which  he  succeeded 
in  so  bleaching  and  dyeing  as  to  make  it  a  marketable 
fabric.     The   result   of    his   work  was  illustrated   in  the 
British  Section  of  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1878.     Seven 
years  later,  at  the  request  of  the  Government,  Sir  Thomas 
paid  a  visit  to  India,  partly  to  make  a  report  on  seri- 
culture, and  partly  to  make  a  collection  of  silk  fabrics 
and  native  embroideries  for  the  Silk  Culture  Court  of  the 
Colonial  and  Indian  Exhibition.     At  this  period  Bengal 
silks  had  fallen  into  low  repute,  and   one  result  of  the 


144 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


His  visit  was  to  demonstrate  that  the  decline  in  the  reputa- 

work  in  tion  of  Bengal  silk  was  largely  due  to  preventable  causes, 
India.  and  steps  were  taken  on  his  initiative  to  remedy  this  con- 
dition of  affairs.  In  1887,  when  the  Manchester  Jubilee 
Exhibition  was  held,  Sir  Thomas,  chairman  of  the 
Silk  Section,  arranged  for  a  comprehensive  display 
of  silk  manufacturing  processes.  It  was  in  connection 
with  this  Exhibition  that  the  Silk  Association  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  which  is  the  subject  of  a  separate 
chapter,  was  formed,  and  until  the  year  of  his  death 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  occupied  the  position  of  President. 
In  1896,  in  connection  with  attempts  to  place  the 
Kashmir  silk  industry  on  a  sound  basis,  Sir  Thomas 
resumed  his  active  association  with  the  silk  industry  of 
India.  At  the  request  of  the  India  Office,  he  visited 
France  and  Italy  to  select  the  species  of  silk  worm 
eggs  which  would  best  suit  conditions  in  Kashmir.  He 
next  made  arrangements  for  the  best  reeling  machinery 
to  be  sent  to  India,  and  recommended  a  practical  expert 
to  plan  and  superintend  operations.  For  this  useful  work, 
and  for  other  labours  in  connection  with  the  silk 
industry,  he  received  in  1897  the  honour  of  Knight- 
hood. His  work  on  behalf  of  Kashmir  was  soon  reflected 
in  the  increased  output  of  raw  silk  from  this  territory, 
and  in  the  year  1903  he  again  visited  India  to  give  advice 
as  to  the  best  methods  of  placing  these  raw  silks  on  the 
European  market.  Sir  Thomas  did  more  than  this ; 
he  not  only  advocated  that  an  attempt  should  be  made 
to  establish  silk  weaving  in  the  State,  but  arranged  for 
the  plant  to  be  sent  out  from  England,  and  for  the  skilled 
supervision  by  English  weavers,  which  was  essential  to  the 
success  attending  this  venture. 

Among  the  other   honours   which  fell  to  Sir  Thomas 

Wardle  may  be  mentioned  the  honorary  freedom  of  the 

Weavers'    Company  which   enabled  him  to  acquire   the 

freedom  of  the  City  of  London.     He  was  a  prolific  writer 

His  con-     on  various  phases  of  the  industry  for  which  he  did  so 

tribution    much.     His  publications  include  such  subjects   as,   Silk 

to  litera-    Power-Loom  Weaving  in  France,  The  English  Silk  Industry, 

ture.  Tasar  Silk,    The    Wild   Silks   of  India,   Dyes  and   Tans 


LEEK.  145 

of  India,  Adulteration  of  Silk,  and  The  Silk  Industry  of  The 
Kashmir.     In  the   year  before  his  death  he  published  a   Dyeing 
monograph  on  the  Divisibility  of  Silk  Fibre ;   writing  at   In- 
other  times  upon  geological  questions  with  the  authority   dustry. 
which  came  of  real  knowledge  of  his  subject. 

The  firms  with  which  he  was  so  long  connected  have 
made  strides  in  the  local  branch  of  dyeing,  and  have  held 
their  own  in  competition  with  Continental  opponents  in 
dyeing  heavy-weighted  colours  and  blacks  in  organzine 
and  tram  silks,  and  in  dyeing  and  finishing  silk  piece 
goods.  The  reputation  of  the  beautiful  aesthetic  vegetable 
dyes,  as  also  of  the  Leek  Haven  black  dyes  has  been  well 
sustained  by  Messrs.  Wardle,  who  at  present  employ 
over  300  hands  in  constant  work. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONGLETON. 

Gloves  In  the  course  of  its  long  history,  Congleton  has  had 

and  other  light  employments  than  those  connected  with  silk. 

Buttons.    It  was  at  one  time  "  noted  for  the  making  of  tagged 

leather  laces,  called  Congleton  points,"  an  industry  which 

had  apparently  passed  away  before  Dr.  Aikin  wrote  of 

it  in  his  Country  round  Manchester  (1795).     At  that  date 

it  had  a  "  manufactory  of  gloves,"  and  at  an  earlier  time 

had  associations  with  button-making.     The  first  of  the 

Cheshire  county  historians,  William  Smith,  Rouge  Dragon 

Poursuivant,  referred  to  it  only  as  a  market  town  : 

"  Congleton,  a  fair  market  town,  standeth  upon  the 
river  of  Dane,  six  miles  south-west  from  Maccles- 
field,  within  two  miles  from  Staffordshire,  and  in 
Astbury  parish  ;  which  methinketh  is  a  diffused 
thing,  that  most  of  the  market-towns  of  the 
country,  although  they  have  fair  churches  of  them- 
selves, yet  they  are  accounted  but  Chapels.  .  .  . 
It  hath  a  market  every  Saturday  and  yearly  two 
fairs." 

A  market  charter  was  granted  to  Congleton  by  Edward  I, 
and  its  fairs,  which  were  being  held  thrice  a  year  by  1819 
(Ormerod's  History  of  Cheshire),  were  "  chiefly  for  the 
sale  of  woollen  cloth,  horses  and  cattle."  Some  of  the 
woollens  were  doubtless  of  district  production,  for  Aikin 
says  of  the  neighbouring  town  of  Sandbach  :  "  formerly 
worsted  yarn  and  some  stuffs  for  country  wear  were  made 
here,  but  its  trade  has  much  declined." 

Ormerod  calls  the  manufacture  of  wrought  buttons 
made  with  silk  and  mohair  the  original  trade  of  the  town, 

146 


CONGLETON.  147 

and  says  it  remained  the  staple  trade  until  about  1730. 
Congleton  is  in  this  respect  to  be  grouped  with  Macclesfield 
and  Leek. 

Mr.   John  Clayton,   of  Stockport,   established  the  first  First 
silk-throwing  mill  in  the  town  in  1752,  in  emulation  of  Silk- 
the   successful    mill    at    Derby,    and    a    grant    from    the  throwing 
Corporation  gave  Clayton  rent  free  for  300  years  as  much  Mill, 
water   as   would   pass   through   a   ten-inch   culvert   from 
the  Corn-mill  Pool.     With  the  consent  of  the  Corporation, 
Mr.    Nathaniel    Maxey    Pattison,    of    London,    who    had 
obtained    his    experience    under    Mr.    Richard     Wilson, 
proprietor  of  the  Derby  silk  mill,  was  taken  into  partner- 
ship.    A  brother  of  Mr.  Pattison' s  was  also  brought  upon 
the  scene,  and  an  inscription  upon  a  marble  tablet  in  the 
Chapel  of  Congleton  records  his  virtues  and  incidentally 
the  date  at  which  the  work,  begun  in  1752,  was  brought 
to  a  satisfactory  completion.  The  inscription  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Here  lyeth  interr'd 

the  body  of  Samuel  Pattison,  late  of  London,  merchant, 

a  person  of  unspotted  integrity,  of  exemplary  virtue, 

and  endowed  with  every  amiable  quality  that  can  adorn 

human  nature, 

therefore  universally  regretted  by  his  family  and  friends. 

He  resided  during  a  year  before  his  death  in  this  town 

as  Director  of  the  Silk  Mills, 

when  by  his  great  abilitys 

and  unwearied  application, 

he  rendered  the  most  important  services  ; 

and  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  living  to  see 

all  the  works  compleated  and  the  manufacture 

brought  to  perfection. 
Obiit.   27  May,    1756.       Aet.   30." 

The  mill  in  question  still  exists,  and  is  used  by  a  manu-  Decline 
facturer  of  hosiery.     Even  measured  by  modern  standards  of  Silk- 
this  mill,  with  its  240  feet  of  length,  80  feet  of  breadth,  weaving, 
and  390  windows,  is  a  large  one,  and  in  earlier  times  it  was 
capable  of  turning  out  15  to  20  bales  weekly  of  China  silk 
in  organzine  and  tram.     Aikin  called  it  "  a  very  capital 
silk  mill,"  and  said  that  from  this  source  and  from  "  the 
manufactory  of  silk  ribands  on  account  of  the  Coventry 


148 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Decline  merchants,"  the  Congleton  poor  derived  their  chief  liveli- 
of  Silk-  hood.  Aikin's  reference  to  the  making  of  "  some 
weaving,  ferreting,"  suggests  that  this  article  was  of  subsidiary 
importance  in  his  day.  Ormerod  is  the  authority  for 
saying  there  were  28  ribbon-weaving  factories  in  1819, 
in  addition  to  "  numerous  silk  and  cotton  mills."  Silk- 
throwing  and  weaving  were  carried  on  in  conjunction  by 
certain  firms,  and  for  a  time  both  industries  prospered. 
In  1846  the  throwing  mills  numbered  27,  employed  3,072 
hands,  and  produced  about  9,3001bs.  of  silk  weekly. 
By  1886,  under  the  gradual  change  of  circumstances  that 
had  affected  the  whole  British  silk  industry,  the  number 
of  throwing  mills  had  been  reduced  to  12,  and  by  1905 
to  two.  Of  the  silk-weaving  trade,  nothing  now  remains 
but  a  small  manufacture  of  silk  and  cotton  bindings. 

One  department  only  of  the  local  silk  industry  has 
survived  the  stress  successfully,  and  this  is  the  business 
of  waste  silk-spinning.  This  trade  was  introduced  about 
1829,  when  the  firm  then  styled  George  Reade  and  Sons 
who  had  been  throwsters  and  weavers  since  1784,  began 
to  spin  silk  in  the  same  manner  as  cotton.  In  1834  they 
erected  a  large  building  for  this  work  only,  and  this, 
together  with  older  premises,  is  still  used  for  silk-spinning 
by  the  descendants  of  the  founder.  After  the  death 
of  Mr.  George  Reade,  Mr.  John  Fielder  Reade  carried  on 
the  business  until  1842.  Mr.  Arthur  Solly,  son-in-law 
of  Mr.  J.  F.  Reade,  was  a  partner  from  1851  to  1890, 
and  since  then  the  direction  has  rested  with  Mr.  Arthur 
John  Solly,  great-grandson  of  the  founder.  The  name 
of  the  firm  was  changed  in  1850  to  Reade  and  Co.,  and 
in  1907  the  present  limited  company  was  registered. 
Survival  Another  old-established  mill — the  Forge  Mills — carried 
of  Silk-  on  by  Messrs.  Peter  Wild  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  was  in  the  occu- 
spinning.  pation  formerly  of  Mr.  James  Holdf orth,  junior,  of  Leeds,  son 
of  the  James  Holdf  orth,  who  established  a  large  silk  mill  in 
that  city,  and  whose  career  is  traced  in  the  chapter  upon  Leeds. 
Elsewhere  in  Cheshire  the  silk  industry  flourished  at 
detached  points.  There  was  a  crape  mill  at  Mobberley  ; 
a  mill  was  founded  also  about  1761  at  Havannah,  and 
the  name  Silk  Mill  Street  points  to  the  existence  at  one 
time  of  a  mill  in  Knutsford. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MANCHESTER. 

The   varying   fortunes   of   silk  in  Manchester  may  be  Early 
illustrated   by   reference   to   other   changes   in   the   com-  Textile 
mercial  life  of  the  city.     Silk  is  not  the  only  textile  industry  Indus- 
which  has  suffered  decay  ;   as  late  as  1788  the  Manchester  tries. 
Mercury  could  write  of  the  woollen  trade  as  the  chief 
industry    of   Lancashire.     Independently,    as   well    as   in 
conjunction  with  wool,  and  with  cotton,  linen  was  once 
an  important   manufacture,    and   until    1773   Lancashire 
cottons  were  always  woven  with  a  linen  warp.     At  least 
eleven   Manchester   and   Salford   testators   between    1648 
and  1791  were  described  as  silk-weavers,  but  their  names, 
Lilly,  Bayley,  Edgeley,  Smith,  Thorpe,  Goring,  Budworth 
and  Hill  convey  no  marked  evidence  of  foreign  origin, 
such  as  characterises  those  of  many  London  silkmen  of 
the  same  period.     Silk  was  certainly  woven  in  Manchester 
at  the  time  of  Defoe's  visit,  although  no  mention  is  made 
of  it  by  that  extraordinarily  observant  writer. 

Cotton  may  actually  be  junior  to  silk  in  Manchester  in 
point  of  years,  as  it  manifestly  is  in  England  generally, 
and  this  now  dominant  industry  was  of  small  importance 
in  the  18th  century.  Cotton  was  not  spun  by 
machinery  until  a  later  date  than  silk  was  so  spun. 
Lombe  brought  his  throwing  machine  to  practical 
success  in  1718,  but  it  was  not  until  1767  that  the 
jenny  was  invented  by  Hargreaves,  and  1785  before 
Arkwright  patented  the  mule.  Not  until  1781  was 
the  first  cotton  mill  erected  in  Manchester.  Industries 
which  grow  up  side  by  side  exert  an  influence  over  each 
other  even  in  the  absence  of  such  links  of  similarity  as 
exist  between  industries  of  the  same  group.  The  influence 


149 


150 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


of  cotton  upon  silk  was  considerable,  even  if  exact  means 
of  measuring  it  are  lacking.  Cotton,  the  cheaper  article, 
no  doubt  diverted  attention,  which  might  in  other  circum- 
stances have  been  bestowed  on  silk,  and  have  made 
Manchester  a  formidable  rival  to  Lyons.  More  than  one 
Manchester  firm,  beginning  mainly  or  wholly  in  the  silk 
trade,  has  evolved  into  a  cotton  manufacturing  concern 
following  apparently  the  line  of  least  resistance.  Silk 
business  has  gone  to  those  quarters,  British  and  foreign, 
in  which  silk  manufacture  has  been  specialised.  Silk- 
throwing,  spinning,  and  weaving,  after  flourishing  apace, 
have  almost  disappeared  from  Manchester  industry.  The 
silk-weaving  of  the  17th  century,  of  which  little  is  known 
beyond  the  names  of  certain  weavers,  sank  below  the 
trade  horizon,  and  probably  the  looms  were  applied  to  the 
fustians,  vermillions  and  dimities  of  which  Roberts  and 
Defoe  have  written.  The  trade  re-appeared  at  Middleton, 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  present  city,  where  it  was  re- 
vived, according  to  Mr.  Knoop's  finding,  by  a  family 
named  Fallows  in  1778.  Once  again  silk  fared  ill  in  its 
conflict  with  the  developing  trade  in  cotton,  and  in 
1795  Aikin  wrote  of  "  silk-weaving  giving  way  to  the  more 
profitable  branches  of  muslin  and  nankeen."  The  business 
reared  its  head  again  in  1816,  when  Messrs.  Tootal  began 
business  in  weaving  handkerchiefs  and  mixed  silks.  Thus 
at  this  date  cotton  was  being  impressed  into  the  service 
of  silk.  The  import  duties  were  re-arranged  in  1824, 
and  William  Harter  began  business  as  a  manufacturer  in 
1825.  It  was  in  1822,  according  to  Wheeler's  History  of 
Manchester,  that  the  weaving  of  Gros  de  Naples  (i.e.  repps) 
and  figured  sarsnets  was  introduced  into  the  town. 

A  momentous  change  then  in  progress  facilitated  the 
introduction  of  silk-weaving.  Cottons  were  being  produced 
by  power-looms  in  place  of  hand-looms,  and  as  a  result  a 
great  number  of  trained  weavers  found  their  labour 
superfluous.  In  Wheeler's  words  :  — 

"  Silk-weaving  .  .  .  came  providentially  to  break  the 
fall  of  the  hand-loom  weavers.  The  starving 
producers  of  cotton  goods  abandoned  that 
impoverished  and  glutted  market  for  Labour  and 


MANCHESTER  151 

had  recourse  to  silk-weaving,  which  varies  chiefly  Cotton 
in  requiring  greater  skill  and  care."  and 

Some  of  the  dispossessed   cotton-weavers   turned  their  Silk, 
hands  to  a  "  reed  of  coarse  silk  shot  with  worsted  "  ;    a 
description   not   incompatible   with   an   assumption   that 
spun  waste  silk  was  used  in  Manchester  for  warps,   as 
later  it  was  in  Bradford. 

The   hand-loom   weavers   inhabited   a   number   of   out 
districts,    of   which   some   were   wide    of   Manchester : — 
Gorton,    Newton   Heath,    Harpurhey,    Middleton,    Stand, 
Radcliffe,  Pendlebury,   Worsley,  Eccles  and  West  Leigh. 
Wheeler  wrote  that  at  Moston  and  Middleton  the  cloth 
was  mainly  silk,  and  at  Newton,  Failsworth,  Hollinswood, 
Alkrington  and  Tonge  was  silk  with  a  few  cottons.     Cope, 
a   weaver   who    gave    evidence   in    Parliament   in    1832, 
returned  this  account  of  his  research  into  the  extent  of 
the  hand- weaving  industry  : — 

Looms. 

Manchester   (including   Salford   and   Har- 
purhey)      . .         . .          . .         . .          . .       950 

Middleton      (including      Boardman-Lane, 
Jumbo-Tongue,    Chadderton,    Whitgate, 

and  Moston)  2,721 

Failsworth  (including  Hollinwood,  Taunton, 
Droylsden,  Woodhouses,  Newton,  Gorton 

Swinton  and  Eccles)       2,623 

West  Leigh  (including  Leigh,  Pennington, 

Beaford,  Atherton,  Tildsley  and  Astley)    3,000 
making    about    8,700,    of    which   not    quite    6,000   were 
employed  in  the  "  neat  silk  trade." 

It  is  a  present  custom  of  the  trade  to  distinguish  spun  Some 
from  thrown  yarn  by  calling  the  latter  net  or  neat  silk,  Trade 
but   Cope's  reference   doubtless  implies   fabrics  unmixed  Statistics, 
with  cotton  or  worsted.     The  number  of  looms  both  on 
mixed   and    pure    silks    increased    between    1819-1823,* 

*  Figures  quoted  from  Doxat  by  \Vheeler  point  to  a  relative  growth  larger  in  the  silk  than 
the  cotton  industry  at  this  period.  The  comparative  method  of  statement  is  open  to 
objection,  but  the  averages  ascertained  are  given  for  what  they  are  worth.  Taking  the 
average  of  three  years  1815-17  as  a  base  it  appears  that  in 

1818-20  the  increase  in  the  cotton  trade  was  22%  and  in  silk  31£% 
in  1821-23   „         „  „  „  „       „    48%      „         „    70% 

and  in  1824-25   „         „  „  „  „       „    83%      „         „    156% 

over  the  average  1815-17. 


152 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Some 
Trade 
Statistics. 


which  is  the  period  preceding  Huskisson's  reform  of 
the  tariff,  and  increased  still  more  largely  thereafter. 
The  table  given  in  evidence  before  the  Committee  of 
1832  shows  that  after  1824  the  silk- weaving  trade  became 
a  flourishing  one,  at  least  in  statistical  appearances,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  appended  statement  :- 
1819 — 1,000  looms  mixed  silk  and  cotton — 

50  pure  silk. 
1823 — 3,000  looms  mixed  silk  and  cotton — 

2,500  looms  on  silk. 
1828 — 4,000  looms  mixed  silk  and  cotton — 

8,000  looms  on  silk. 

1832—12-14,000  looms,   12"  throwing  mills 
(10  in  operation). 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  looms  was  the  index 
of  the  relative  strength  of  the  two  branches. 

"  I  can  buy  as  good  Gros  de  Naples  in  Manchester  as 
in  Lyons  at  the  same  price,"  Mr.  R.  Baggally  declared 
in  1832,  adding  that  the  price  was  "  for  the  great  bulk 
of  the  consumption,  from  2s.  to  3s.  8d.  per  yard." 

By  that  time  the  power-loom  had  been  brought  into 
service  by  weavers  of  plain  silk,  and  its  advent  is  accurately 
timed  by  a  statement  made  by  Mr.  Charles  Grant  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  February  24th,  1826. 

"  According  to  a  letter  received  only  yesterday  from 
Manchester  an  attempt  to  weave  by  steam  had  been 
made  and  had  succeeded.  Two  pairs  of  Gros  de  Naples 
looms,  weaving  each  108  yards  of  silk  a  week,  was  attended 
by  a  woman  at  14s.  a  week  ;  this  was  about  3d.  a  yard 
for  the  weaver's  wages,  and  the  cost  of  the  house  rent 
with  the  interest  of  the  value  of  the  loom  might  be  taken 
at  a  farthing  more ;  thus  the  price  at  which  it  could 
be  done  was  3Jd.,  which  could  not  be  done  in  France 
under  7d." 

The  power-loom  was  longer  in  coming  into  use  in 
making  fancy  cloths.  In  his  Philosophy  (1835), 
Dr.  Ure  said  : 

"  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Louis  Schwabe  and  other 
enterprising  silk  manufacturers  of  Manchester  will  ere 
long  apply  the  power-loom  to  the  weaving  of  fancy  as  well 


MANCHESTER. 


153 


as  plain  goods  ;   whereby  they  will  give  a  great  impulsion   The 
to  the  silk  trade  of  England."  Coming 

The  hand-loom   persisted  in  use  over  forty  years  after   of  the 
Ure's  vaticination.     Thirty  years  later  in  the  Story  of  the   Power- 
Cotton    Famine    (published    1866),    John    Watts    likened   loom. 
Middleton  and  Failsworth  to  Spitalfields,  saying  : 

:<  Kay's  contrivance  (the  fly  shuttle)  was  soon  followed 
by  the  invention  of  the  drop-box,  which  enabled  the 
same  contrivance  to  be  applied  to  checks  by  the  use 
of  two  or  three  shuttles,  each  of  which  was  supplied  with 
a  different  coloured  weft,  as  may  be  seen  to  this  day 
amongst  the  hand-loom  silk-weavers  of  Spitalfields  ;  or 
amongst  the  same  class  at  Middleton  or  Failsworth  in 
Lancashire." 

Wheeler  spoke  of  the  Jacquard  as  in  general  use  both 
on  pure  and  mixed  goods  in  1835.  Jacquards  were  on 
sale  in  the  town  certainly  in  1827,  when  Akroyd  of  Halifax 
obtained  some  of  the  machines  from  a  French  agent  in 
Manchester.  Using  the  fly-shuttle,  drop-box  and  Jacquard, 
the  hand-loom  weavers  kept  the  power-loom  at  bay, 
and  the  Parliamentary  Return  of  1835  showed  fewer  than 
400  silk  power-looms  at  work  in  Manchester  and  Salford. 

Power-looms. 

Royle  and  Crompton  . .         40 

Wm.  Harter 184 

Smith  and  Thorp      . .          . .         60 

B.  Williams  and  Co.  22 


J.  and  J.  Clegg  (Eccles)     . 


306 
60 

366 


At  this  date  there  were  1,716  silk  power-looms  in  the   Wages 
kingdom,  and  in  Manchester  weavers  using  them  made   of  the 
:'  the  exceedingly  good  wages  of  21s.   to  23s.   weekly."    Weavers. 
Final  supersession  of  hand  by  power-looms  was   marked 
by  no  outstanding  event.     It  can,  however,  be  said  that 
in  the  sole  remaining  broad  silk  mill  in  Manchester  the 
owners  dispensed  with  hand-weaving  in  1878. 


154 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  Silk  and  cotton   were   closely  intertwined  ;    so  closely 

Nine-         as  to  baffle  the  discrimination  of  the  officers  who  attached 

teenth        this  note  to  the  Population  Returns  for  1831 :— 

Century         "  The  manufactures  of  Lancashire  produce  such  a  variety 

Renais-      of    articles    as    cannot    be    described    or    even    distinctly 

sance.         enumerated  ;    the  predominating  manufacture  is  that  of 

cotton,   producing  cotton   cloth,   muslin,  calico,  cambric, 

ginghams,  fustians,  swansdowns,  fancy  quiltings  and  other 

fancy   work   and   small   wares.     These   are   produced   by 

manufacturers  exhibiting  a  division  of  labour  not  easily 

defined  ;   carders  of  the  raw  materials,  cotton  yarn  spinners 

by    machine,    bleachers,    warpers,    cutters    and    drawers, 

rovers,   power-loom    and    hand-weavers,    dressers,    dyers, 

designers  and  drawers  of  patterns,  engravers,  block-cutters, 

block-printers,  crofters,  finishers,  sizers.     Many   of   these 

operations  are  in  common  with  the  silk  manufacture  which 

has  been  largely  introduced  into  Lancashire,  and  is  too 

much  mingled  with  the  cotton  manufacture  to  be  here 

distinguished." 

It  has  been  shown  that  silk-weaving  owed  its  19th 
century  renaissance  in  Manchester  in  part  to  the  straits 
of  the  hand-loom  weavers.  The  work  could  be  and  was 
done  cheaply  by  them,  and  there  were  no  successful  com- 
binations of  weavers  to  keep  up  prices.  Mr.  Peter  Malkin, 
weaver,  of  Macclesfield,  told  the  Royal  Commission  on 
Trade  Depression  (1886),  that  "  all  transactions  with  regard 
to  the  price  paid  for  labour  (in  Manchester)  were  conducted 
on  pure  free-trade  principles,"  which  was  scarcely  the 
case  in  Macclesfield.  Dr.  Ure  (1835)  traced  some  emigra- 
tion of  weaving  business  from  Macclesfield  to  Manchester, 
"  in  consequence  of  the  restrictions  placed  on  labour  by 
the  unions."  Many  thousands  found  employment  in 
Manchester — although  it  would  seem  that  far  too  many 
hand-workers  found  little  else.  Weaving  prices  fell,  and 
Revival  with  them  fell  actual  earnings.  The  price  for  weaving 
of  Hand-  plain  twenty-hundred  three-single  Gros  de  Naples,  which 
loom  was  9d.  in  1823,  was  6d.  in  1828,  and  by  1832  had  fallen 

Weaving,  to  4Jd.  An  active  workman  in  12  or  14  hours'  labour 
could  weave  six  or  seven  yards  and  thus  earn  in  1832  a 
gross  12s.  to  14s.  a  week,  from  which  there  was  a  deduction 


MANCHESTER.  155 

of  Is.  6d.  for  winding.     Further,  the  weaver  lost  about  Cheap- 
half  a  day's  time  in  fetching  and  returning  the  work  from  ness  of 
and  to  the  warehouse.     Jacquard  weavers  were  not  better  hand- 
off,  for  Wheeler  stated  their  earnings  in  the  best  summer  loom 
seasons  to  be  14s.  to  15s.  a  week.     In  winter,  owing  to  the  labour, 
shorter    days    and    the    impracticability    of    working    by 
candle  light,  earnings  were  correspondingly  lower.     The 
condition  of  the  workman  was  grim  and  desperate  in  1835, 
when 'the  lot  of  the  hand-loom  workers  was  inquired  into 
by   a  Select   Committee.     How  desperate    may  be  read 
from   a   minute   of   the   evidence   of   a   weaver   of   good 
repute  : 

"  John  Scott,  a  practical  weaver,  selected  by  a  meeting 
of  the  weavers  of  Manchester  and  Salford  on  account  of 
his  known  industry,  frugality,  probity  and  knowledge, 
....  stated  he  was  one  of  the  best  paid  class  of  silk 
weavers  ;  that  he  had  several  looms  at  work  ;  that  his 
wife  earned  4s.  a  week  by  winding  at  the  looms ;  and  that 
the  joint  earnings  of  himself  and  wife  amounted  to  8s.  a 
week,  clear  of  deductions  ;  that  to  do  this  it  required  that 
the  witness  should  work  from  15  to  17  hours  per  day  ; 
that  he  frequently  worked  from  six  in  the  morning  till 
11  at  night,  allowing  himself  no  more  than  one  hour  in 
the  day  for  meals  ;  that,  notwithstanding  this  incessant 
labour,  the  witness  was  not  in  a  state  to  provide  for  his 
family." 

Times  had  been  better,  and  in  one  part  of  his  testimony 
Scott  contrasted  the  days  when  "  bread  was  at  2Jd.  a 
pound  arid  wages  20s./'  with  the  "  now  that  bread  is 
IJd.  and  wages  at  7s.  to  8s." 

Another  weaver,  John  Kelly,  of  Manchester,  gave 
evidence  in  1832  that — 

"  In  1819  the  state  of  the  broad  silk-weavers  gradually 
increased  until  1825  ;    in  those  years  the  weavers  were  Evidence 
generally  employed,  and  the  prices  for  weaving  afforded   before 
a  comfortable  subsistence."  Select 

The  fall  in  earnings  was  accompanied  by  a  fall  also  in   Corn- 
public  respect :  mittee. 

"  Permit  me  here  to  make  a  remark,"  interpolated  the 
witness  Kelly.  "  At  the  present  time  a  silk-weaver  is 


156 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Evidence   looked  on  with  contempt It  is  not  because  they 

before        are    dishonest    generally,  but  because  he  has  no  money 

Select         This  was  not  the  case  before  the  measures  of 

Com-          1826  came  into  operation." 

mittee.  Bad  as  affairs  are  seen  to  have  been  in  1835,  they  were 

destined  to  be  made  worse  by  the  American  financial  panic 
of  1837,  a  year  bad  for  the  cotton  and  worsted,  as  well 
as  for  the  silk  trade.  The  following  extract  from  the 
Manchester  Times,  of  April  29th,  refers  to  further  reduc- 
tions in  the  low  prices  paid  for  weaving : 

"  The  silk  trade  was  scarcely  ever  known  to  be  so  slack 
at  this  season  of  the  year  as  it  is  at  present.  Weavers 
eight  miles  round  Manchester  are  in  a  miserable  condition, 
some  not  having  more  than  half  employment  whilst  many 
others  are  entirely  without.  Silk  weavers,  when  fully 
employed,  cannot  on  an  average  earn  more  than  from  8s. 
to  10s.  each  per  week.  On  Saturday  and  Monday  week 
the  plain  sarsnet  weavers  were  obliged  to  take  out  work 
at  a  reduction  in  wages  of  from  10  to  12  per  cent.  A 
great  number  of  families  are  starving  for  want  of  food. 
A  few  fancy  weavers  are  doing  pretty  well ;  the  cotton 
hand-loom  weavers  are  as  badly  off,  if  not  worse  than 
the  silk-weavers,  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  any  amend- 
ment." 

Signs  of  improvement  were  manifest  in  June,  and  a 
more  reassuring  notice  appeared  in  the  newspapers  : 

"  A  trifling  improvement  is  perceivable  in  the 
Lancashire  manufacture  of  silk.  .  .  .  Jacquard  work  seems 
to  take  the  lead,  and  the  weavers  of  such  descriptions 
are,  considering  all  things,  as  fully  employed  as  could 
be  expected. 

"  Plain  goods,  especially  the  lower  sorts,  are  less 
required  (the  latter  are  chiefly  woven  at  Leigh),  and  in 
that  branch  there  is  much  waiting  for  work." 

Wages  Wages  in  the  silk  branch  were  deplorably  inadequate 

and  at  this  period,  but  so  were  those  in  the  cotton  trade,  and 

Employ-    from  the  nature  of  the  case  no  great  disparity  could  exist 
ment.         between  them.     From  an  official  Return  of  Wages,  pub- 
lished 1885,  it  appears  that  Manchester  hand-loom  weavers 
making  nankeens  received  16s.  3d.  in  1810,  and  9s.  6d. 


MANCHESTER. 


157 


in  1817-19,  and  6s.  6d.  in  1823-25.  Mr.  G.  H.  Wood,  The 
in  his  History  of  Wages  in  the  Cotton  Trade,  gives  approxi-  Rise  in 
mate  averages  for  the  power-loom  cotton-weavers  of  Wages. 
Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  suggesting  that  between  1826- 
1853  there  was  no  improvement  upon  10s.  6d.-lls.  6d. 
a  week.  For  a  period  of  fifty  years,  Lancashire  wages 
went  down,  and  for  another  half  century  increased,  this 
rise  in  wages  being  due  to  the  growing  productivity  of 
machines,  which  associated  high  wages  with  low  costs. 
With  1859  began  the  movement  which  in  four  main  jumps 
carried  the  average  to  the  20s.  6d.  of  1906.  Between 
1850-1883,  wages  in  one  Lancashire  cotton-weaving 
mill  increased  67J  per  cent,  and  in  another  83J  per  cent, 
as  shown  in  the  Royal  Commission's  Report  on  Trade 
Depression.  Silk  and  cotton  manufacturers  had  to  draw 
their  weavers  from  the  same  mass,  and  it  is  not  without 
significance  that  as  wages  advanced  silk-weaving  and 
throwing  in  Manchester  declined.  It  chances  that  the 
rise  in  wages  roughly  coincides  in  its  inception  with  the 
abolition  of  the  duties  on  foreign  manufactured  silk  in 
1860.  Hand-weaving  persisted  in  Manchester  after  that 
change,  but  it  never — to  use  the  words  of  a  manufacturer 
who  substituted  steam  for  manual  exertions — offered  the 
workman  more  than  a  miserable  subsistence. 

There  is  more  than  statistical  coincidence  to  go  upon 
in  ascribing  importance  to  the  increased  cost  of  labour. 
Mr.  John  Newton,  silk  dyer,  in  evidence  before  the  Royal 
Commission  of  1886,  pointed  out  that  of  the  30,000  silk- 
weavers  of  1860  not  more  than  one-fifth,  and  "perhaps 
not  more  than  3,000 "  remained.  His  testimony  was 
emphatic  :  ''  It  is  the  cost  of  labour  that  has  entirely 
killed  the  Manchester  trade,  that  is  the  dress  silk  trade." 
The  cotton  industry  of  the  time  was  busy  enough  to 
attract  to  itself  weavers  from  other  silk-mills  than  those 
of  Manchester,  and  Mr.  Malkin  recalled  an  exodus  in 
1860  of  a  great  number  of  Coventry  weavers  to  Bolton,  Influence 
and  of  a  number  also  to  Colne.  upon 

At  first,  silk-weaving  in  Manchester  was  conducted  by   Trade, 
the  use  of  yarn  obtained  from  external  sources,  but  the 
manufacturers   of  the   early   19th   century  had  not  long 


158 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Silk- 
throwing 
in  Man- 
chester. 


Com- 
parison 
with 
French 
Mills. 


to  wait  for  a  local  supply  of  thrown  silk.  In  1819 
a  change  of  tariff  doubled  the  import  duty  on  silk  in 
the  thrown  state,  and  provided  a  margin  between  the 
rates  of  raw  and  thrown  silk  of  9s.  2d.  per  Ib.  It  is  reason- 
able to  connect  this  fact  with  the  erection  in  1819-20  of 
the  first  Manchester  throwing-mill,  built  by  Mr.  Vernon 
Royle,  and  affording  employment  for  4,000  to  5,000  persons. 
The  start  having  been  made,  other  mills  were  built, 
and  the  five  mills  reported  in  1820  became  sixteen  by 
1832  ;  Wheeler  refers  specifically  to  twelve,  of  which  ten 
were  working  in  1834-35.  At  that  time  Manchester 
looms  were  consuming  some  23,OOOZfo.  weekly  of  English 
thrown  silk,  and  obtaining  it  from  the  following  sources  : 
Manchester-thrown  . .  . .  8,000  Ibs. 

Macclesfield 8,000 

Congleton  (under)     . .          . .    4,000    ,, 
Sandbach  3,000    „ 


(Wheeler's  estimate)         . .  23,000    „ 

The  charge  for  throwing  varied  from  Is.  6d.  to  4s.  a  Z&., 
and  the  ten  working  mills  in  Manchester  were  stated  to 
be  capable  of  turning  out  350,000/fo.  per  annum.  They 
employed  altogether  about  4,000  persons,  and  consumed 
7,000  to  8,OOOZfo.  of  raw  silk  weekly,  equivalent  to  one-fifth  of 
the  national  consumption.  The  wages  paid,  according  to 
the  statement  by  a  manufacturer,  given  in  Wheeler's  History, 
averaged  4s.  9d.  per  week,  or  less  than  in  a  cotton-mill. 

Manchester,  Salford,  Broughton,  Newton,  Harpurhey, 
Heaton  Norris  and  Eccles  were  the  places  in  which 
throwing  was  done,  and  in  1836  the  number  of  employees 
was  said  to  have  been  materially  augmented  and  to  have 
become  not  less  than  4,700. 

The  throwing-mills  were  large,  and  Dr.  Ure,  who  wrote 
with  knowledge,  compared  the  French  filatures  to  the 
Manchester  mills  to  the  disparagement  of  the  former  : 

"  In  the  silk  districts  of  France  the  throwing-mills 
are  very  small.  The  machinery  is  certainly  very  rude, 
compared  to  what  may  be  seen  in  our  modern  Manchester 
and  Derby  mills." 


MANCHESTER. 


159 


In  the  opinion  of  the  same  careful  and  observant  writer,  Mill 
Manchester  machinery  was  also  "very  superior"  to  Italian.  Statistics. 
According  to  evidence  given  before  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  (1832),  the  difference  was  so  great  that  in 
1830  a  visitor  from  Lombardy  came  to  Manchester  to 
study  and  buy  similar  machines  and  take  them  abroad, 
despite  the  embargo  on  the  export  of  textile  machinery. 
The  superior  mechanism  and  the  protective  duty  of 
2s.  lOd.  net  (allowing  for  debenture)  were  held  by  Ure 
fully  to  offset  the  Italian  advantage  of  cheap  labour. 
He  calculated  the  horse-power  required  in  working  them 
at  342,  and  the  capital  cost  at  £200,000.  Wheeler  gave 
the  number  of  silk-throwing  mills  in  the  county  in  1836 
as  22,  and  obtained  from  the  factory  inspectors  the 
following  summary  of  silk-mills  : — 


Township. 


Power : 
Steam.  Water. 


No.  of 
Mills. 


Persons  employed : 
Male.     Female. 


Manchester 

171         — 

8 

521 

1,343 

Salford 

58         — 

3 

396 

594 

Broughton 

40         — 

1 

93 

441 

Newton 

32         — 

2 

148 

322 

Harpurhey 

3         — 

1 



113 

Eccles  Parish  — 

Barton          

42         — 

3 

286 

493 

Lancaster  Parish  — 

Caton        

10         14 

2 

102 

46 

Cockerham  Parish  — 

Ellel  

20         16 

2 

89 

81 

Melling  Parish  — 

Wray        

Unknown. 

1 

32 

24 

Ashton    under    Lyne 

Parish  — 

Ashton     ... 

6 

1 

Leigh  Parish  — 

Pennington. 

Unknown. 

2 

, 

The  list  includes  at  least  one  mill — Ellel  in  Cockerham 
Parish — which  was  not  a  throwing-,  but  a  spinning-mill, 
and  which  survives  under  the  name  of  the  Galgate  Silk 
Mill  (vide  Lancaster,  p.  170). 

The  throwing-mills  passed  away  one   by  one,  and  the   Decay 
last  to  survive  in  the  city  was  that  of  John  Morley  in   of  Silk 
Bridgwater    Street.     At    one    time    the    large   local    con-    Throw- 
sumption  of  silk  stimulated  Manchester  to  aspire  to  become   ing 
the  chief  public  market  for  raw  silk,  and  auction  sales  were   Trade. 


160 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Market 
for  Raw 
Silks. 


Man- 
chester 
and  the 
Silk 
Duties. 


initiated  in  the  circumstances  detailed  in  the  following 
newspaper  report  of  15th  April,  1837  : 

"  The  wishes  of  the  silk  dealers  and  manufacturers  in 
this  town  and  neighbourhood  have  been  for  some  time 
expressed  that  the  importation  of  raw  silks  would  establish 
a  market  in  this  town,  inasmuch  as  the  greater  part  of 
the  silk  imported  in  England  is  thrown  and  manufactured 
in  the  district.  In  compliance  with  their  wish,  Messrs. 
Bindloss  and  Preston,  silk  brokers,  have  prevailed  upon 
the  importers  of  recent  arrivals  of  silk  from  Bengal  and 
China  to  offer  upwards  of  600  bales  for  unreserved  public 
sale.  This  sale  took  place  on  Tuesday  in  the  theatre  of  the 
Mechanics'  Institution,  Mr.  Preston  officiating  as 
auctioneer.  The  attendance  of  dealers,  throwsters  and 
manufacturers  was  very  large ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
depressed  state  of  trade,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  silks 
offered  were  sold.  Though  the  prices  were  very  low, 
they  were  generally  about  five  per  cent  higher  than 
those  previously  realised  by  private  sale. 

"  The  following  were  the  silks  offered  :  8  bales  of  Persian 
raw  silk ;  205  bales  of  Bengal ;  364  bales  of  China  Tsatlee ; 
85  bales  of  China  Taysaam  ;  3  cases  of  Sincapore  raw 
silk  and  3  bales  of  Brutia." 

In  1850  the  silk  manufacturers  of  Manchester  took 
a  step,  which  in  view  of  their  convictions  and  political 
principles  came  as  no  surprise,  but  one  which  distin- 
guished them  sharply  from  all  other  silk  manufacturers 
of  the  day.  Sir  J.  Paxton,  Member  for  Coventry,  in 
referring  to  the  step  ten  years  later,  pointed  out  that 
thirty  towns  and  villages  in  the  kingdom  were  concerned 
in  silk  manufacture,  and  that  from  all  but  one  of  these 
places  petitions  were  received  begging  Parliament  not 
to  remit  the  silk  duties  upon  silk  goods.  Manchester 
made  the  exception,  and  from  thence  a  memorial  was 
received  asking,  upon  somewhat  unusual  grounds,  that 
the  duties  might  be  abolished.  As  the  text  shows  the 
grounds  for  the  petition  were  twofold — (a)  that  the  industry 
was  stagnating ;  (b)  that  the  retention  of  the  duties 
created  prejudicial  impressions  in  the  minds  of  customers 
abroad.  The  document  may  be  thought  remarkable  alike 


MANCHESTER.  161 

for  what  it  did,  and  did  not  say,  and  for  the  large  amount 
of  support  it  commanded  :* 

A   Memorial   from   the    Silk-manufacturers   of   Man-  A 

Chester  to  the  Right  Honourable  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Memorial 
M.P.,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  &c.  in  favour 

This  memorial  sheweth  that  your  memorialists  are  of  repeal, 
manufacturers  of  broad  -silks  in  Manchester ;  that 
the  trade  they  are  engaged  in  is  in  a  depressed 
'  state ;  that  their  workpeople  are  not  fully 
employed  ;  and  that  this  branch  of  manufacture 
has  been  almost  stationary  in  extent  for  a  period 
of  ten  years  at  least,  whilst  every  other  branch  of 
textile  manufacture  has  largely  increased ;  that 
they  consider  the  depression  and  non-extension 
of  their  trade  to  be  owing  chiefly  to  the  limited 
nature  of  the  foreign  demand  for  their  goods, 
and  your  memorialists  are  of  opinion  that  this 
is  attributable  to  the  protective  duty  imposed  on 
foreign  goods  imported  into  this  country,  the  effect 
of  such  protective  duty  being  to  create  an 
impression  in  the  markets  of  the  world  that  England 
is  unable  to  compete  with  the  Continental  Manu- 
facturers in  the  production  of  silk  goods,  and  thus 
to  throw  the  export  trade  almost  entirely  into  the 
hands  of  their  Swiss  and  French  competitors  ;  that 
in  the  opinion  of  your  memorialists,  however  neces- 
sary Protection  may  have  been  at  a  former  period, 
it  is  now  positively  injurious  to  them,  and  they 
feel  that  it  cannot  under  any  Government  or  under 
any  circumstances  long  be  maintained. 

Your  memorialists  therefore  pray  that  you  will  be 
pleased  to  relieve  them  by  repealing  the  duty  on 
foreign   silk   goods,    not   partially    and   gradually,   Policy 
but  totally  and  immediately,  and  thus  proclaim  to  the   of  Pro- 
world  that  the  Manufacturer  denounces  the  so-called   tection 
Protection  and  every  aid  a  Government  can  give  ;    de- 
that  he  is  prepared  to  depend  solely  on  his  own  merit   nounced. 
and  that  he  avows  himself  capable  of  taking  a 

*  The  memorial  and  the  list  of  names  have  been  transcribed  from  a  copy  in  the  possession 
of  Messrs.  H.  T.  Gaddum  and  Co.,  of  Manchester,  whose  courtesy  in  the  matter  is 
acknowledged. 

I, 


162 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


A 

Memorial 
in  favour 
of  repeal. 


higher  position  in  the  race  of  competition  unfettered 
by  Protection,  than  he  has  hitherto  obtained  under 


Attitude 
of  John 
Morley. 


its  fostering  care. 
Manchester,   10th  November, 

Signed  by 

Harrop,  Taylor  and  Pearson. 
Hilton  and  Castree. 
Makin  and  Walker. 
E.  R.  Le  Mare. 
Booth  Leigh  and  Co. 
Chas.  Hilton. 

Thomas  Molineaux  and  Co. 
T.  and  E.  D.  Toas. 
Milsome  and  Clark. 
Thomas  Lomas. 
Brotherton  and  Dobson. 
Winkworth  and  Procters. 
Luke  Smith. 
George  Smith  and  Sons. 
Norbury  and  Bindloss. 


1852. 

Thos.  Brown  and  Son. 
James  Bently. 
Wm.  Summerskill. 
Thos.  Ainsworth. 
James  Garner. 
Peter  Joynson. 
John  Chadwick. 
Benjamin  Syddall. 
John  Ashworth. 
Clough  and  Meadows. 
Hobday  and  Swanick. 
Henry  Coop  and  Sons. 


did  not  sign. 


John  Morley 

Bickham  and  Pownall 

George  and  James  Smith 

W.  T.  and  James  Walker 
The  petition  gives  a  list  of  the  whole  of  the  silk  manu- 
facturers of  Manchester  in  1852,  and  it  is  significant 
that  of  the  signatories  not  one  now  remains  in  business. 
In  refusing  to  add  his  name,  Mr.  John  Morley  explained 
that  he  declined  to  sign  his  own  death  warrant.  Mr.  John 
Morley' s  business,  alone  out  of  the  31,  survives,  and  is 
carried  on  at  Patricroft  by  Messrs.  Robinson  and 
Millington. 

In  1860  one  of  the  most  forcible  of  the  signatories  was 
impressing  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  moving  terms  the 
imperative  desirability  of  a  complete  removal  of  the 
duties.  The  arguments  are  to  be  found  in  Mr.  John 
Chadwick's  letter  of  12th  January,  1850,  to  the  statesman  : 
"  I  have  endeavoured,"  he  wrote,  "  to  show  you  that 
the  silk  manufacture  does  not  owe  its  origin  or  its  success 


MANCHESTER.  163 

in  any  degree  in  this  country  to  Protection,  but,  on  the   Appeal 
contrary,    that   Government   restrictions   have   been   the   to  Mr. 
chief  cause,  if  not  the  only  cause,  of  its  unsatisfactory   Glad- 
state.     These  restrictions  have  diverted  the  trade  from   stone, 
this  country,  kept  down  the  rate  of  profit,   diminished 
the  wages  of  labour  and  served  no  interest  whatever. 

"  It  is  in  your  hands  to  remove  this  relic  of  the  erroneous 
legislation  of  a  bygone  age  ;  don't  allow  the  silk  trade 
to  continue  a  iparked  exception  to  the  general  policy  of 
this  country. 

"  The  silk  manufacture  is  at  the  moment  a  signal  excep- 
tion to  the  general  prosperity." 

The  interposition  of  the  Manchester  manufacturers  has 
been  deplored  for  a  variety  of  reasons.  The  main  reason 
has  been  the  utter  frustration  of  the  high  hopes  of  benefits 
to  ensue  from  the  abolition  of  the  15  per  cent  duty. 
A  subsidiary  reason  was  the  conviction  that  this  gratuitous 
assistance  helped  the  French  Government  to  negotiate 
an  unnecessarily  unfavourable  set  of  terms  and  to  obtain 
from  England  the  entire  abolition  of  the  silk  duty  while 
themselves  retaining  a  high  duty  on  silk. 

The  tariff  legislation  of  other  countries  conspired  with 
other  causes  to  destroy  the  former  silk  trade  in  Manchester, 
and  some  direct  evidence  of  its  effects  has  been  given 
by  manufacturers.  Particulars  are  available  of  the 
transactions  in  1855  of  the  extinct  firm  of  B.  Syddall 
and  Sons,  with  which  Mr.  G.  Millington,  who  appeared 
before  Mr.  Chamberlain's  Tariff  Commission  (1905),  was 
apprenticed. 

Messrs.  Syddall  had  a  turnover  of  £30,000  to  £40,000  a 
year,  mainly  in  mixed  silks,  and  found  most  of  their  custom 
abroad.     They    traded    with    Germany,    Italy,    Poland, 
Russia,  Holland,  and  the  United  States,  and  "  as  these 
countries  one  after  another  levied  duties,  one  market  after   Alleged 
another   was   lost,    and   the   firm    relinquished   business,    Effects 
having  lost  a  large  part  of  its  capital."     Mr.  S.  Hinrichsen,    of 
a  Manchester  shipping  merchant,   told  the  Royal  Com-    Foreign 
mission  of   1886,   that  high  duties  had  killed  his  trade   Tariffs, 
in  velvets  with  Germany.     It  is  difficult  to  detach  and 
examine  separately  each  cause  of  decay,  and  it  may  be  that 


164  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Alleged  foreign  tariffs  were  not  the  single  source  of  the  misfortunes 
Effects  of  another  specimen  firm  taken,  but  not  named,  by 
of  Mr.  John  Newton.  The  details  disclose  the  rapidity  with 

Foreign      which  decay  proceeded  : 

Tariffs.  "  One  of  those  manufacturers  (i.e.  one  of  40  in  business  in 

1859)  employed  1,400  weavers,  and  altogether  2, 000  to  3,000, 
in  manufacturing  and  throwing.     Their  turnover  in  1859 

was  at  the  rate  of  £250,000  a  year In  1863  it  was 

£66,000,  and  they  never  got  it  any  higher  than  £92,000, 
and  that  was  in  1872." 

When  all  extraneous  causes  for  the  decline  of  the 
Manchester  silk  industry  have  been  noticed,  there  remains 
the  question  whether  the  manufacturers  affected  did  all 
they  might  to  avert  the  fate  which  overtook  them. 
There  have  been  admissions  of  shortcomings  on  the  part 
of  employers,  and  hints  of  imperfect  skill  on  the  part  of 
workpeople.  Messrs.  Houldsworth  at  one  time  engaged 
a  score  of  German  weavers,  presumably  to  discover  whether 
they  possessed  superior  skill.  Mr.  Malkin,  who  worked  be- 
side them,  avowed  himself  "  able  to  hold  his  own  even  better 
than  they."  A  modern  manufacturer  taxed  on  the  score 
of  comparative  efficiency  at  the  loom,  "  supposed  Lyons 
weavers  must  be  better  than  ours,"  without  presenting 
conclusive  evidence  on  the  point.  Sir  Joseph  C.  Lee,* 
of  Manchester,  used  plain  words  in  his  evidence  before 
Parliament,  saying : 

"  We  are  not  so  skilful  in  the  modes  of  treating  silk  as 
the  French  and  Germans  are.  We  are  much  in  want  of 
textile  museums.  We  are  very  deficient  as  a  nation  in 
our  silk  industry.  We  simply  do  not  produce  the  goods 
that  the  French  do,  and  we  do  not  attempt  it." 

Sir  Joseph  Lee's  criticisms  apply  as  much  to  the  arts 
Other  of  finishing  as  to  those  of  weaving,  and  may  be  read  in 
Causes  conjunction  with  Mr.  Malkin's  comments  on  the  dis- 
of  appearance  of  the  industry  : 

Decay.  "  Their  (i.e.  Manchester's)  principal    manufacture  was 

plain  or  tabby  cloth  and  striped,  so  that  apart  from  the 
dyeing  they  could  not  be  charged  very  well  with  a  deficiency 

*  Royal  Commission  on  Trade  Depression,  1886. 


MANCHESTER.  165 

of  technical  knowledge  in  the  manufacture  of  that  class  of  Other 
article."  Causes 

If  the  joint  comments  seem  to  expose  Manchester  manu-  of 
facturers  to  a  charge  of  remissness  in  failing  to  explore  Decay, 
the  higher  developments   of  their  art,   the  environment 
has  to  be  reckoned  with.     Manchester  has  not  the  pure 
air  and  sunny  skies  which  assist  in  the  development  of 
colour  and  the  maintenance  of  the  cleanliness  of  goods. 

It  is  the  fate  of  a  great  deal  of  good  advice  to  come 
too  late  to  be  of  use,  and  manufacturers  are  confronted 
with  situations  which  are  always  changing.  Even  within 
the  last  few  years  there  has  been  a  revolution  in  the 
character  of  demand  for  Manchester  silk  fabrics.  Heavy 
black  silks  are  only  made  marketable  at  rare  intervals 
by  some  untoward  event  like  a  Royal  funeral.  The  yarn- 
dyed  silks  which  were  so  long  in  vogue  have  passed  out  of 
fashion  entirely.  Many  goods,  considered  expensive  by 
the  buyers  of  to-day,  would  have  been  reckoned  cheap  a 
few  years  ago,  and  the  taffeta  trade  for  linings,  on  which 
reliance  used  to  be  put  as  on  a  staff,  has  been  extinguished. 
The  trade  has  not  gone  elsewhere ;  it  has  simply  ceased  to 
exist,  and  cheaper  and  less  satisfactory  goods  are  called 
for  instead. 

As  the  gross  effect  of  a  century  of  work,  the  separate 
silk  industry  has  been  almost  extinguished  and  the  cotton 
industry  enormously  promoted.  Manchester  warehouse- 
men are  still  however  among  the  considerable  customers  of 
British  and  Continental  silk  manufacturers,  and  their 
transactions  in  silk  goods  are  apparently  as  large  or  larger 
than  ever,  although  the  character  of  their  stocks  has 
changed  in  consonance  with  the  tastes  of  the  time. 

A  somewhat  rare  publication,  Hosking's  Guide  to  Man- 
chester Trade,  gives  an  epitome  of  the  classes  of  silks  bought 
and  sold  in  the  Manchester  Market  in  1877,  and  includes 
foreign   with   British   goods.     These   include   Silk-Glaces,  Still 
Gros     Grains,     Cachemires,     Moires,     Antiques,     Satins,  an  im- 
Turquoises,    Lustrines,    Florentines,    Chinas,    Spun    Silks,  portant 
Gros  de  Naples,  Failles,  Marcellines,  Persians,  Sarsnetts,  Silk 
Silk  Velvets,  Crapes,  and  Umbrella  Silks.     Among  mixed  Market. 
and  fancy  goods  were  Poplins,  Japanese,  Mikados,  Grena- 
dines, Lenos,  Tasso  Cloth,   Tabinet,   Costumes. 


166 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Still  The   trade    also    included    ties,    cravats,   neckerchiefs, 

an  im-        shawls,  sashes,  Indian  Corahs,  foulards,  bandannas,  tussors 
portant      and  pongees. 

Silk  The  Guide  was  a  carefully  compiled  one,  intended  for 

Market,  the  private  perusal  of  buyers,  and  it  attests  the  existence 
in  the  Manchester  trade  of  five  throwsters,  four  printers  of 
Indian  corahs  and  bandannas,  and  21  importers,  brokers 
and  agents  of  raw,  thrown,  spun,  schappe  and  noil  silks. 
There  were  besides  some  70  names  of  silk  manufacturing 
firms  represented  in  the  market. 

While  it  lasted,  the  silk-weaving  industry  gave  employ- 
ment in  auxiliary  trades.  Silk  printing  was  predominantly 
a  Manchester  business,  and  the  facilities  for  printing  are 
very  much  larger  than  ever,  although  the  place  of  printed 
silks  has  been  usurped  by  highly  improved  forms  of  cotton, 
treated  by  the  mercerising  and  schreinerising  processes. 
Silk  dyeing  afforded  employment  in  the  'thirties  of  the 
last  century  for  some  400  to  500  men,  and  for  many  more 
than  that  number  in  the  'fifties.  Manchester  silks  are 
dyed  at  present  in  Macclesfield,  Leek  and  Lyons  among 
other  places. 

The  consumption  of  silk  in  Manchester  remains  larger 
than  might  be  judged  from  the  known  fate  of  the  old, 
separate  silk  trade.  Silk  is  used  in  mixture  with  cotton 
by  manufacturers  of  fancy  cotton  cloths,  and  in  the  small- 
ware  trade,  although  chemical  or  artificial  silk  has  replaced 
the  natural  fibre  to  a  serious  extent.  Wheeler  traced 
the  beginnings  of  the  Manchester  business  in  small-wares  to 
an  origin  in  Macclesfield,  and  commented  on  the  curious 
fact  that  Macclesfield  firms  should  be  supplying  Manchester 
looms  with  work.  A  thousand  Manchester  looms  were 
employed  in  small-wares  before  1840. 

There  is  preserved  in  the  Manchester  Reference  Library 

an  instructive  relic  of  the  corporate  life  of  Manchester 

Trade         silk  manufacturers  in  the  mid-nineteenth  century.     They 

Protec-       formed  a  Protective  Society  in  1852,  of  which  the  oper- 

tive  ations  and  objects  may  be  judged  from  the  Library's  copy 

Society,      of  the  book  of  rules.     The  rules  number  fifteen,  and  most 

of  them  are  formal.     The  first  rule  is  indicative  of  the 

kind  of  losses  common  to  all  textile  manufacturers  in  the 


MANCHESTER.  167 

days  when  material  was  lent   out  for  manufacture  by   Trade 
home  workers,  and  for  the  prevention  of  which  several   Protec- 
statutes  were  passed.     The  last  rule  providing  for  the   tive 
disciplining  of  traders  adjudged  guilty  of  misconduct  gives  Society, 
the  Protective  Society  some  of  the  colour  of  the  mediaeval 
guild. 

RULES  OF  THE 

SILK  TRADE  PROTECTIVE  SOCIETY 
INSTITUTED  IN  MANCHESTER 

August,  1852. 

I. 

This  Society  shall  be  called  "  The  Silk  Trade  Protective 
Society,"  and  its  objects  shall  be  : — 

To  promote  and  encourage  honesty  and  fair  dealing 
amongst  all  persons  engaged  or  interested  in  the  Silk 
Trade ;  and  to  detect  and  punish  all  who  are  guilty  of 
purloining,  withholding,  taking,  stealing  or  receiving  Silk 
in  any  unlawful  manner. 

II. 

Any  person  or  firm  engaged  in  the  Silk  Trade  and 
interested  in  the  objects  of  the  Society,  may  become  a 
member  or  members  thereof  on  payment  of  an  annual 
subscription,  which  will  be  expected  to  be  proportionate 
to  the  extent  of  the  business  done  by  such  person  or  firm, 
the  subscription  being  in  no  case  less  than  two  guineas. 

XIII. 

Every  member  of  the  Society  shall  report  to  the  Sub- 
Committee  or  Secretary  all  cases  which  may  come  to 
his  knowledge  of  suspicion  or  of  fraudulent  conduct 
affecting  the  Silk  Trade. 

XIV. 

If  any  prosecution,  action  or  suit  at  law  shall  be  com- 
menced   against    any    member    of    this    Society,    or    its 
Secretary,    for   anything   done   by   the   former   with   the   An 
approbation  of  the  Committee  ....  such  member  shall   echo  of 
be  defended  in   and  indemnified  from   all  the  expenses   Mediae- 
attending   such   prosecution  ....  out   of   the   funds    of   valism. 
the  Society  ;    and  if  the  said  funds  should  at  any  time 
prove  insufficient,  the  deficiency  shall  be  made  good  at 


168  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Pains          the  joint  and  proportionate  charge  of  each  member  .... 
and  and  any  member  refusing  to  pay  his  just  share  ....  shall 

Penalties,  be  excluded  from  the  Society  and  be  thereafter  ineligible 
for  re-election. 

XV. 

If  any  member  shall,  in  writing,  subscribed  with  his 
name,  make  a  complaint  to  the  Committee  against  any 
other  member  and  specify  the  cause  of  his  complaint,— 
and  if  the  Committee  shall  think  the  same  a  prima  facie 
ground  for  the  expulsion  of  such  member — the  Secretary 
shall  give  notice  thereof  to  the  member  ....  and  a 
copy  of  the  complaint  shall  be  sent  to  him,  and  a  time 
appointed  for  a  hearing  ....  at  the  conclusion  of  which, 
if  two-thirds  of  the  Committee  present  shall  be  of  opinion 
that  the  complaint  is  established,  the  Chairman  shall 
declare  ....  that  he  will  at  the  next  general  meeting 
state  the  case  for  the  decision  of  such  meeting,  which 
decision  shall  be  determined  by  a  majority  of  votes,  by 
ballot  member  ....  he  shall  never  after  be  re-elected. 
Thomas  Crompton,  President. 
Richardson  and  Whitworth,  Secretaries. 
Offices — 13,  Corporation  Street,  Manchester. 
An  organisation  which  serves  silk-spinners  and  mer- 
chants as  a  Club,  an  Exchange,  and  a  vehicle  for  the 
occasional  expression  of  a  corporate  opinion  upon  matters 
of  current  moment,  is  the  Silk  Club,  of  which  the  head- 
quarters are  the  Albion  Hotel,  Manchester.  Spinners 
frequent  Manchester  upon  Tuesday  of  each  week,  and 
Bradford  upon  Thursday,  and  by  means  of  the  Club 
accommodation  in  both  cities,  are  enabled  to  transact 
much  of  their  business  at  ease.  The  original  minute  books 
have  been  lost,  but  the  foundation  appears  to  date  from 
1883.  Mr.  G.  B.  Hadwen,  of  Triangle,  was  the  first 
president,  and  his  portrait  in  oils  hangs  in  the  club-room. 
Mr.  Alfred  Stott,  of  Brighouse,  was  the  first  chairman, 
The  and  Mr.  James  Robinson,  of  Halifax,  the  first  treasurer, 

Silk  while  Mr.  Joseph  Boden  was  the  Club's  first  secretary. 

Club.  The  Club  is  affiliated  to  the  Silk  Association  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  annual  and  semi- 
annual meetings  of  the  two  bodies  are  of  importance  in 


MANCHESTER.  169 

the  life  of  the  Club  and  in  the  interests  of  a  full  intercourse  The 
between  all  sections  of  the  silk  trade.     The  advantages  Silk 
of  the  Club   are  attested  both  by  the   character  of  its  Club, 
list    of    members    and    by  its    survival    for  a  period    of 
thirty  years.     Death  has  removed  the  whole  of  the  original 
officers,  and  the  various  offices  are  at  present  filled  by 
Mr.    A.    John    SoUy,    J.P.     (president),   Mr.    T.    Fletcher 
Robinson   (chairman),   Mr.    Wm.    Wadsworth   (vice-chair- 
man)/ Mr.  H.  Buzzoni  (treasurer),  and  Mr.  C.  J.  Bower, 
21,  Cannon  Street,  Manchester,  as  secretary. 

An  institution  which  did  useful  service  in  its  own  day 
and  disappeared  amid  the  gradual  decay  of  the  local  silk 
industry  was  the  Manchester  Wool  and  Silk  Conditioning 
Company.  An  article  in  The  Chemist  of  1857-58, 
announced  that  an  establishment  for  conditioning  silk 
had  been  opened  by  Dr.  F.  Grace  Calvert,  "  under  the 
approval  of  23  firms  engaged  in  the  trade."  Dr.  Grace 
Calvert,  who  was  at  the  time  the  leading  chemist  in  North- 
Western  England  and  a  high  authority  upon  poisons, 
carried  on  the  work  of  boiling  off  and  weighing  samples 
of  silk  in  his  laboratory  in  the  Royal  Institution,  Man- 
chester. The  undertaking  was  to  some  extent  a  co- 
operative one,  and  accounts  were  published  and  bonuses 
declared.  A  yearly  profit  of  £400,  rising  to  £600,  was 
made  at  first,  after  which  it  declined  until  the  takings  in 
fees  were  too  insignificant  for  division.  The  work  was 
then  carried  on  as  part  of  the  private  practice  of  the 
chemist,  and  the  apparatus  used  passed  to  his  partner  and 
successor,  Mr.  W.  Thomson,  of  Crace  Calvert  and  Thomson, 
by  whom  it  was  eventually  broken  up.  Records  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Thomson  show  a  considerable  number 
of  testings  in  1880,  but  there  was  a  steady  decrease  year 
by  year  afterwards.  The  last  made  in  the  Institution 
was  apparently  on  17th  July,  1902,  for  the  benefit  of 
Messrs.  Kidd,  Boden  and  Co. 

Silk  is  received  occasionally  for  conditioning  tests  at  Condi- 
the   Manchester   Chamber   of   Commerce   Testing   House  tioning 
but  in  no  considerable  quantity.     This  Testing  House  was  Corn- 
opened  under  Mr.  J.  H.  Lester's  management  in  1895.  pany. 
He   resigned   in    1911,    when    Mr.    F.    W.    Barwick  was 
appointed  to  the  position. 


The 
Oldest 
English 
Spinning 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
LANCASTER. 

The  county  town  belongs  rather  to  rural  than  industrial 
Lancashire,  and  its  chief  manufactures  to-day  are  linoleum 
and  floorcloth.  Lancaster's  local  records  contain  nothing 
definite  of  early  associations  with  silk,  and  the  precise 
causes  leading  to  the  establishment  in  1792  of  a 
silk-spinning  mill  cannot  now  be  divined  with  any 
accuracy.  The  mill  exists  still  and  prospers,  and  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  of  its  kind  in  the  country. 
William  Thompson  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  own  the  Galgate  Silk 
Mill,  which  was  turned  to  its  present  purpose  when  John 
Armstrong,  James  Noble  and  William  Thompson,  all  of 
Lancaster,  bought  the  Ellel  water  corn-mill  from  William 
Bell,  miller.  The  crest  of  the  Armstrongs — an  arm  holding 
a  javelin  and  the  motto  Semper  Paratus — remains  the 
trademark  of  the  firm.  In  1807  Mr.  Noble  sold  his  share 
to  Mr.  Armstrong,  whose  son  acquired  the  whole  property, 
and  directed  affairs  until  1857.  In  1857,  his  successor, 
Mr.  Richard  Armstrong,  died,  and  after  being  carried  on 
by  his  executors,  the  mill  was  acquired  by  the  Company, 
Wm.  Thompson  and  Co.,  Limited,  formed  in  1869. 

The  Galgate  Mill  is  the  only  silk-mill  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, but  for  a  time  it  had  a  competitor  in  Hinde  and  Co., 
of  Ridge  Lane  Silk  Mills.  Messrs.  Gregson  and  Mason, 
a  firm  of  solicitors  in  Lancaster,  incited  by  information 
received  as  to  the  profitable  nature  of  Messrs.  Thompson's 
operations,  built  this  competing  mill  in  1837.  Mr.  Walter 
Hinde,  of  the  firm  Hinde  and  Derham,  of  the  neighbouring 
village  of  Dolphinholme,  was  taken  into  the  partnership, 
and  use  was  made  of  his  name.  Failure  ultimately  over- 
took the  newcomers,  who  had  no  successors  in  Lancaster. 

170 


LANCASTER.  171 

A  reputation  for  trading  enterprise  won  in  earlier  years  The 
obtained  a  double  confirmation  in  the  later  years  of  the  First 
18th  century.     The  establishment  of  the  mill  to  spin  silk  Worsted 
in  1792  has  been  noted,  and  it  is  fitting  to  mention  an  Spinning 
associated  venture  of   1784.     In  that  year  Edmondson,  Mill. 
Addison  and  Satterthwaite,  of  Lancaster,  built  at  Dolphin- 
holme  a  mill  that  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  to 
turn  out  worsted  yarn  by  machinery  in  England.     This  is 
the  mill  which  passed  later  to  the  Hindes',  whose  con- 
nection with  silk  in  Lancaster  has  already  been  named. 
When  in  the  possession  of  Hindes  and  Patchett  in  1807, 
the  partnership  effects  were  valued  at  £22,691   (p.   365, 
James'   History  of  the    Worsted   Manufacture).     The  firm 
spun   yarns   ranging   from    16's   to   33's,   had   agents   in 
Bradford  and  Halifax,  and  did  business  with  small-ware 
manufacturers    in    Manchester,    but    found    its    principal 
customers  among  the  serge  makers  of  Exeter.     It  may 
seem  odd  that  the  place  so  closely  identified  with  the 
beginnings   of   the   factory  production,   both   of  worsted 
and  of  spun  silk  yarn  should  not  have  benefited  more 
largely  from  the  subsequent  development  of  these  trades. 

Messrs.  Thompson  find  customers  further  afield,  notably 
in  India  and  Singapore,  Calais  and  America,  as  well  as 
in  Bradford  and  the  hosiery  centres.     Their  mills  are  the 
more   interesting   to   visit,    because   there   remains   there 
an  important  department  devoted  to  the  old  process  of 
short-spinning    with    which    the    business    began.      The 
improved    long-spinning    system    was    introduced    about 
1864,  when  the  present  managing  director,  Mr.   George 
Satterthwaite,  first  entered  the  business.    Short-spinning — 
or    in   other    words  the    application   of   cotton   spinning 
methods  to  waste  silk — has  its  uses  for  a  limited  range  of 
purposes,   and  is  practised  in  two   other  English  mills. 
At  Galgate  the  visitor  may  see  waste  eligible  for  treat- 
ment by  the  long-spun,  or  worsted  process,  dressed  in  the 
gum  and  chopped  into  short  lengths  by  a  modified  chaff-  The 
cutting  machine.     The  chopped  waste  is  boiled  in  little  Short- 
bags,    to    discharge    the    gum,    dried,    scutched,    blown,  spinning 
carded,  and  finally  spun  either  with  or  without  an  admix-  Process, 
ture  of  silk  fibre  removed  by  combs  from  long  noils,  the 
by-product  of  the  long-spinning  process. 


172  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Notable  The  Patent  Office  records  show  that  in  1841  one 
Galgate  Archibald  Templeton,  of  Lancaster,  devised  a  means  of 
men.  separating,  dividing  and  laying  parallel  silk  fibres  pre- 

paratory to  spinning,  including  a  means  of  cutting  silk 
waste  by  rotating  knives.  Nothing  is  known  of  Templeton 
at  Galgate,  and  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  he  was  at  Hinde 
and  Company's  mill,  which  had  been  opened  three  or 
four  years  before  this  date.  In  partnership  with  a  brother, 
Templeton  was  for  a  few  years  a  silk  spinner  in  Congleton. 
Mr.  Thomas  Watson,  who  built  up  a  large  spinning  and 
plush-weaving  business  in  Rochdale,  and  Mr.  James 
Robinson,  who  occupied  a  spinning-mill  in  Halifax,  are 
two  of  a  number  of  men,  prominent  within  the  industry, 
who  learned  their  business  at  Galgate. 

KENDAL. 

Kendal,  known  throughout  centuries  for  its  woollen 
cloths,  and  described  by  Defoe  as  a  noted  town  for  tan- 
neries, has  certain  remote  associations  with  silk  and  was 
the  seat  of  the  first  silk-spun  yarn  mill  of  which  any  record 
has  been  traced.  The  tanneries  have  grown  into  boot 
factories  of  renown,  and  carpet  and  horse-cloth  manu- 
facturing have  prospered.  Silk,  despite  the  encouraging 
report  upon  its  progress  made  by  Arthur  Young  in  his 
Northern  Tour  (1769),  has  disappeared  from  the  list  of 
active  employments.  Young's  description  is  given  with 
his  famous  particularity,  and  is  here  reproduced  : 
An  early  "  They  have  likewise  a  small  manufactory  of  cards  for 
Spinning  carding  cloth.  Another  also  of  silk :  They  receive  the 
Factory,  waste  silk  from  London,  boil  it  in  soap,  which  they  call 
scowering,  then  it  is  combed  by  women  (there  are  about 
30  or  40  of  them)  and  spun,  which  article  employs 
about  100  hands  ;  after  this  it  is  doubled  and  dressed 
and  sent  back  again  to  London.  This  branch  is  upon 
the  increase." 

Although  there  is  evidence  of  the  earlier  use  of  waste 
silk  in  this  country,  particular  accounts  of  its  treatment 
are  scarce.  The  statement  that  the  silk  was  combed  does 
not  finally  exclude  the  possibility  that  Young  failed  to 
distinguish  perfectly  between  combing  and  carding. 


LANCASTER. 


173 


Assuming  however  that  the  word  is  to  be  taken  literally  a 
passage  from  Mr.  Hollins  Rayner's  Silk  Throwing  and 
Waste  Silk  Spinning  may  describe  the  Kendal  method  : — 

"  The   old-time   system    of   dressing   was   of   course   a  The 
hand  process.     Each  worker  had  heckles  or  combs  supplied  Hand- 
to  him,  through  the  teeth  of  which  a  portion  of  silk  was  combing 
drawn.     The  short  silk  and  noils  and  nibs  adhered  to  of  waste 
the  teeth  until  by  continued  repetition  the  silk  held  by  Silk, 
the  worker  was  straight  and  the  fibre  parallel  and  free 
from  short  silk  and  nibs.     Then  the  portion  dressed  was 
held  by  the  workman  and  the  portion  previously  held 
in  his   hand  put   through  the   combing  process.     When 
both  ends  were  properly   combed,   that  portion   of  silk 
was  placed  on  one  side  for  spinning,  and  the  short  fibre 
and  noils  were  considered  waste.     The  reversing  of  ends 
tested  the  skill  of  the  operator  as  the  teeth  of  the  comb 
had  to  strike  the  silk  at  a  point  to  ensure  the  middle  of 
the  silk  properly  being  combed  out ;   otherwise  the  centre 
of  the  lengths  would  be  rough  and  woolly  and  have  a 
large  amount   of  short  fibre  left,   making  it  impossible 
to  have  a  level  yarn." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
NOTTINGHAM. 

The  Nottingham    resembles    other    textile    centres    of    this 

Resort  country  in  having  earlier  associations  with  native  than 
of  In-  with  any  of  the  exotic  fibres.  Apparently  the  first  manu- 
ventors.  facture  of  the  town  was  woollen  cloth,  of  the  dyeing  of 
which  the  burgesses  were  given  a  district  monopoly  in 
1155.  Fairs  held  at  Lenton  as  early  as  1300  were  marts 
for  the  sale  of  these  cloths,  and  Deering's  History  (1751) 
would  seem  to  show  that  some  of  the  goods  were  sent 
to  the  Merchants  of  the  Staple  at  Calais.  Deering  says 
the  trade  flourished  until  the  loss  of  Calais,  when  it 
"  gradually  went  off,  till  at  last  it  entirely  left  the  Place." 
The  dimensions  attained  by  the  business  are  unknown, 
and  it  is  perhaps  significant  that  in  the  numerous  statutes 
made  for  the  regulation  of  woollen  manufacturing  during 
the  16th  and  17th  centuries  no  mention  of  Nottingham 
cloths  has  been  found. 

The  other  native  material,  flax,  was  being  woven 
certainly  in  1476,  and  also  in  1675,  by  which  time  silk  had 
obtained  a  footing.  Deering's  table  of  the  trades  and 
employment  exercised  in  1641,  shows  at  that  date  two 
master  silk-weavers  in  Nottingham  and  two  framework- 
knitters.  In  1739  there  were  no  silk-weavers,  the  frame- 
work-knitters had  increased  to  fifty,  and  there  were  three 
master  woolcombers. 

Hargreaves,  the  inventor  of  the  spinning  jenny,  found 
a  patron  in  Thomas  James,  of  Nottingham,  and  a  machine 
to  spin  84  threads  of  cotton  simultaneously  was  erected 
in  Mill  Street  in  1769.  Arkwright  came  to  Nottingham 
with  his  invention  two  years  later,  and,  with  the  help  of 

174 


Plate  XXIII.  William  Lee,  thinking  out  his  problem  of  a  Knitting 

Frame. 


NOTTINGHAM.  175 

Mr.  Need,  brought  his  frame  to  the  point  at  which  it  The 
would  produce  smooth  yarn.     Cotton  yarn  imported  from  Resort 
East  India  had  been  used  earlier  in  the  local  knitting  of  In- 
trade,  but   silk  it  will    be   shown  was  employed  before  ventors. 
cotton. 

The  association  of  Nottingham  with  the  forefathers 
of  the  cotton-spinning  industry  has  been  more  widely 
recognised  than  its  connection  with  the  early  history 
of  wodlcombing  and  worsted-spinning.  Blackner's  history 
of  the  town  (1815)  records  that  a  worsted-mill  was  built 
by  Robert  Davison  and  John  Hawksley  upon  the  north 
bank  of  the  Leen  in  1788  ;  the  building,  being  burnt 
down  in  1791,  was  replaced  by  another  in  which  the 
machinery  was  driven  by  a  60  h.p.  engine.  An  acrimonious 
correspondence  carried  on  by  Robert  Davison,  worsted- 
spinner,  Arnold,  with  Alexander  Foxcroft,  an  attorney, 
is  preserved  in  pamphlet  form  under  the  date  1803  in  the 
Nottingham  Public  Library.  When  Davison  died,  losses 
were  encountered,  the  mill  was  sold,  and  Hawksley,  his 
partner,  put  up  a  worsted-mill  in  Butcher's-close,  and 
failed  in  1815.  There  is  an  interest  in  the  facts  apart 
from  the  failure  of  either  cotton-spinning  or  worsted- 
spinning  to  take  permanent  root  in  Nottingham,  for 
Hawksley  was  the  inventor  of  a  woolcomb.  His  patent 
was  taken  out  in  1793,  or  three  years  later  than 
Cartwright's  first  invention.  Hawksley's  idea  was  seen 
to  be  valuable  by  the  Rev.  Edmund  Cartwright,  who 
entered  into  agreement  with  him  whereby  Hawksley 
assigned  his  rights  to  Cartwright  in  return  for  one-fourth 
share  of  the  profits  of  the  whole  invention ;  and  a  special 
Act  was  obtained  for  the  consolidating  the  two  patents 
for  a  term  of  14  years. 

It  is  not  easy  to  detach  fact  from  fiction  in  the  several  Lee 
conflicting    accounts    about    Lee,    the    Nottinghamshire  and  the 
clergyman,   who    invented  the   stocking-frame,   or  about  Stocking 
the  circumstances  of  its  invention,  and  even  the  facts  as  Frame, 
to  the  introduction  of  hand-knitting  are  obscure.     Knitted 
woollen  caps  were  referred  to  expressly  in  a  statute  of 
1488,  a  mention  altogether  inconsistent  with  the  state- 
ment made  in  Ephraim  Chambers'  Encyclopaedia,  to  the 


176 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Lee  effect  that  Lee's  invention  was  made   "  about  twenty- 

and  the      eight  years  after  we  had  first  learned  from  Spain  the 

Stocking    method  of  knitting  by  needles."     William  Lee  invented 

Frame.       his  first  frame  in  1589,  an  event  commemorated  by  an 

inscription    upon    the    portrait    formerly    hung    in    the 

Stocking  Weavers'  Hall,  Red  Cross  Street,  London : 

"  In  the  year  1589  the  ingenious  William  Lee,  A.M., 
of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  devised  the 
profitable  art  for  stockings  (but  being  despised, 
went  to  France),  yet  of  iron  to  himself,  but  to  us 
and  to  others  of  gold ;  in  memory  of  whom  this 
is  here  painted." 

"  Knyt  hose,  knyt  petycotes,  knyt  gloves  and  knyt- 
sleves,"  were  named  in  an  Act  of  1552,  but  there  is  Howell's 
evidence,  contained  in  his  History  of  the  World,  that  at 
least  silk  stockings  were  imported  from  Spain  in  the  time 
of  Henry  VIII.  It  must  be  regarded  as  certain  that 
hand-knitting  was  a  much  older  employment  than 
Chambers  supposed. 

Hand-knitting  gave  Lee  the  clergyman  his  cue,  and, 
according  to  one  of  the  more  matter-of-fact  accounts 
that  have  been  handed  down,  the  sight  of  a  lady  knitting 
the  heel  of  a  stocking  by  the  use  of  only  two  needles  fired 
him  with  an  inspiration  as  to  how  mechanical  knitting 
might  be  done.  This  version  is  not  intrinsically  less 
probable  than  those  which  ascribe  the  inventions  to 
motives  of  pique.  Deering's  version  of  the  traditional 
romance  is  that  Lee : 

"  was  deeply  in  love  with  a  young  townswoman  of 

his,  whom  he  courted  for  a  wife  ;    but  whenever 

he  went  to  visit  her,  she   always    seemed  more 

mindful  of  her  knitting  than  of  the  addresses  of 

her  admirer.     This   slight   created  such   aversion 

The  in  Mr.    Lee   against   knitting  by  hand,   that  he 

stimulus  determined   to   contrive   a   machine   that   should 

to  turn   out   work   enough   to   render   the   common 

inven-  knitting  a  gainless  employment.     Accordingly  he 

tion.  set  about  it,  and  having  an  excellent  mechanical 

head,  he  brought  his  design  to  bear  in  the  year 

1589." 


NOTTINGHAM.  177 

A  variant,  published  by  T.  Baldwin  of  Hinckley,  in 
1776,  says  that  Lee  in  wooing  a  lady  of  great  beauty  and 
fortune  : 

"  surprised  her  in  a  grove,  knitting  a  fine  silk  stocking.  The 
It  was  in  this  grove  that  the  young  lady  gave  incentive 
Mr.  Lee  an  absolute  refusal  of  her  hand  ;    which  to 
so  affected  Mr.   Lee  that  he  declared  he  would  invention 
invent    a    machine    that    should  be  a  means   of 
spoiling  the  knitting  trade." 

The  material  point  is  that  Lee,  a  native  probably  of  the 
parish  of  Calverton,  nine  miles  distant  from  the  town, 
or — as  has  also  been  said — of  the  parish  of  Woodborough, 
invented  and  perfected  his  frame  and  taught  others  to 
work   it.     He    carried    the    machine    from    Calverton    to 
Bunhill  Fields,   and  sought  the  patronage   of   Elizabeth 
through  the  agency  of  Lord  Hunsdon.     His  petition  for 
a  monopoly  was  refused,  and  the  somewhat  curious  terms 
of  the  royal  refusal  are  given  with  a  wealth  of   detail 
in  Gravenor  Henson's  History  of  the  Framework  Knitters 
(1831).     Henson  writes  that  the  refusal  is  said  to  have 
been  made  in  terms  having  the  purport  of  the  following  : 
"  My  Lord,  I  have  too  much  love  for  my  poor  people, 
who   obtain  their  bread  by  the  employment   of 
knitting,  to  give  my  money  to  forward  an  inven- 
tion,  that  will  tend  to  their  ruin  by  depriving 
them    of    employment,    and    thus    making    them 
beggars.     Had    Mr.    Lee    made    a    machine    that 
would  have  made  silk  stockings,   I  should  have 
been    somewhat    justified    in    granting    him    a 
monopoly,    which    would    have    affected    only    a 
small  number  of  my  subjects  ;    but  to  enjoy  the 
exclusive  privilege   of  making  stockings   for  the 
whole    of   my   subjects   is   too   important   to   be 
granted  to  any  individual." 

A  paper  printed  in  explanation  of   Elmore's  painting,    The 
the    "  Origin   of   the   Stocking   Loom "    (1847),  makes  a  Stocking 
jump    at    the    conclusion    that    Elizabeth's    "  masculine   Loom, 
mind  doubtless  regarded  the  invention  of  stocking  weaving 
by   a   man   with   contempt."     Masculinity — it   might   be 
urged — is  not  the  dominant  characteristic  of  the  speech 


178 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  recorded  by  Henson.     It  is,  at  all  events,  the  case  that 

patronage  Lee  perfected  in  1598  a  frame  capable  of  knitting  silk 

of  stockings,  of  which  a  pair  are  said  to  have  been  presented 

France.      by  him  to  the  Queen.      Neither  Elizabeth  nor  James  I 

being  willing  to  grant  a  patent,  and  his  friend  Lord  Hunsdon 

being  dead,  Lee  accepted  the  offer  made  by  Sully,  the 

French    Ambassador.     Deering's    version    is    that,    being 

tempted 

"  With  promises  of  reward,  privileges  and  honours, 
by  Henry  IV,  he  embraced  the  seeming  fair 
opportunity,  and  went  himself,  taking  his  brother 
and  nine  workmen,  and  as  many  frames,  to  Roan 
(Rouen),  in  Normandy,  where  he  wrought  with 
great  applause." 

The  account  given  in  the  "  Origin  of  the  Stocking 
Loom "  is  that  Lee's  prospects  became  clouded  upon 
the  death  of  the  French  King,  and  that  after  sharing  in 
the  persecution  which  befell  the  French  Protestants,  he 
died  of  grief  and  despair  in  Paris.  Lee's  death  in  Paris 
in  or  soon  after  1610,  has  been  accepted  as  proved  by 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  but  there  is  another 
version  of  his  end,  more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of 
romance.  Baldwin  says  : 

"  Some  years  after,  Mr.  Lee  received  an  invitation 

to  return  to  his  native  country,  which  he  accepted  ; 

and  soon   after   the   art   of   Framework-Knitting 

became  famous  in  England  ;    and  Charles  I,  with 

a  great  many  of  his  nobles,  learnt  it.     And  it  is 

said,  that  as  Mr.  Lee  had  gained  so  much  honour 

at  home  and  abroad  by  this  invention,  his  former 

lover  nobly  gave  him  her  hand,  and  crowned  his 

wishes  and  ingenuity  with  her  person." 

This  conventional  ending  to  the  romance  is  unsupported 

by  other  testimony.     Another  story  is  that  Lee's  invention 

was,  not  long  after  his  death,  brought  back  to  his  native 

Lee's          land  by  seven   of  his  workmen,   who  joined  Aston,   an 

death  in     ex-apprentice   of   Lee's,    at   Calverton,   in   working   their 

Exile.         frames  in  this  country. 

It  was  certainly  in  Nottingham  that  the  industry 
began,  and  the  processes  by  which  it  extended  to  London 


NOTTINGHAM. 


179 


can  at  least  be  imagined.     The  capital  must  have  been  Frame- 
the  chief  mart  for  the  goods  produced.     Silk  was  brought  work 
thither  directly  from  abroad,  and  hand-knitting  was  an  Knitting 
established  occupation.     By  1695,  Henson  says  there  were  in  Lon- 
more  than  1,500  stocking  frames  in  the  alleys,  courts  and  don  and 
back-places  of  the  metropolis,  and  chiefly  in  the  parishes  in  Not- 
of  St.  Luke  and  Spitalfields.     Some  fifty  years  after  the  tingham. 
presumed  death  of  Lee,  the  Framework  Knitters'  Company, 
then  grown  to  be  a  considerable  corporation,  was  given 
a  charter  by  Charles  II,  with  jurisdiction  over  the  trade 
within  a  ten-mile  radius  of  London.     The  grant  and  the 
exercise  of  these  powers  became  later  a  matter  of  impor- 
tance   to    Nottingham.      The    London    knitters    assumed 
authority  over  the  business  throughout  this  country,  and 
also  exerted  themselves  to  prevent  the  transference  of  the 
machinery  abroad.     At  their  instance  Richard  Cromwell, 
in   1659,    confiscated   forty   stocking  frames   which   were 
about  to  be  exported,  and  their  petition  of  1656  supplies 
valuable  particulars  as  to  their  position  and  that  of  the 
industry     at     large.     The     Knitters     sought     from     the 
Protector : 

"  The  coercive  power  of  your  Highness  to  restrain 
their  ill  willers  from  unravelling  the  entrails  of 
the  Commonwealth,  and  giving  or  yielding  oppor- 
tunity unto  strangers  to  gather  them  up,  and 
make  that  common  to  all  the  world  which  is 
naturally  particular  in  sole  propriety  to  this 
nation." 

They  described  some  attempts  that  had  previously  been 
made  to  introduce  Lee's  machines  upon  foreign  soil, 
including  that  of  the  Venetian  Ambassador,  who  gave 
£500  to  one  Henry  Mead,  an  apprentice,  who  took  his 
frame  to  Venice  and  worked  upon  it  there.  Mead  was, 
however,  incompetent  to  repair  his  frame  when  it  fell 
out  of  order,  and  the  Venetians  :  Failure 

"  Disheartened  and  impatient  of  making  vain  trials,    of 
sent  his  disordered  frame  and  some  of  their  own   Process 
imitation  to  be  sold  in  London  at  a  very  low   Abroad, 
valuation." 
The  Knitters  recounted  how  one  Abraham  Jones  had  : 


180 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Failure  "  By  underhand  courses  and  insinuations  (and  not 

of  by   servitude   as  an   apprentice)  gotten  both  the 

Process  mystery  and  skilful  practice  ....  did  pass  him- 

Abroad,  self    with    some    more    into    Amsterdam 

erected  frames  and  wrought  for  the  space  of  two 
or  three  years  until  the  infection  of  the  plague 
seized   him    and   his   whole   family,    and    carried 
them  all  to  the  grave.  .  .  .    His  frames  were  sent 
to  London  for  sale  at  slight  rates." 
The  finger  of  Providence  was  seen  in  these  happenings, 
and  the  Commonwealth  was  said  to  be  : 

"  Able    abundantly    to    serve   itself    and    ultra   with 
all  commodities  of  knit  work,  as  stockings,  cal- 
ceoons,*  waistcoats  and  many  other  things." 
The  Knitters  insisted  on  the  advantage  of  their  craft 
to  the 

"  merchants,  owners  of  ships,  hosiers,  dyers,  winders, 
throwsters,  sizers,  seamers,  trimmers,  wire  drawers, 
needlemakers,  smiths,  joyners,  turners,  with  many 
other  assistants." 

They  made   apparent  also  the  intimate  connection  of 
their  trade  with  silk,  saying  : 

"  That  altho'  this  manufacture  may  be  wrought  in  any 
other  materials  that  are  usually  made  up.  .  .  .  Yet  has  it 
chosen  to  be  practised  in  Silk,  the  best  and  richest  of  all 
others  in  use  and  wearing,  and  most  crediting  the  artisans 
and  of  greatest  advantage  unto  his  State  and  Common- 
wealth, yielding  several  payments  to  the  use  of  the  State 
before  it  passes  out  of  the  hands  of  the  traders  therein, 
and  increasing  merchandise  by  both  the  ways  of  importa- 
tion and  exportation  of  the  self-same  material,  imported 
raw  at  cheap  rates,  exported  ready  wrought  at  the  utmost 
extent  of  value  ;  so  that  the  distance  of  these  valuations 
is  totally  clear  gain  to  the  Commonwealth,  and  esteemed 
Attitude  upwards  of  six  parts  in  seven  of  the  whole  quantity  of 
of  Home  this  material  in  the  highest  value  thereof  wrought  up  by 
Industry,  this  manufacture ;  which  has  vindicated  that  old 
proverbial  aspersion  : 

"  The  stranger  buys  of  the  Englishman  the  case  of 

*  Calceooris — canons,  drawers. 


NOTTINGHAM. 


181 


the  Fox  for  a  groat  and  sells  him  the  tail  again 

for   a   shilling.     And  may  now  invert  and  retort 

upon  them. 
"  The  Englishman  buys  silk  of  the  stranger  for  twenty 

marks  and  sells  him  the  same  again  for  one  hundred 

pounds." 

The  knitting  business  extended  in  districts  outside  A 
London,  and  was  taken  up  in  Kent  and  Surrey  by  master  Company 
woolc6mbers  when  the  Southern  trade  in  worsted  cloth  estab- 
began  to  decline.  These  beginners,  like  the  employers  lished. 
in  Nottingham  and  Leicester,  employed  cheaper  labour 
than  that  of  Spitalfields.  The  Framework  Knitters  Com- 
pany took  toll  of  their  provincial  competitors,  although 
in  law  their  charter  extended  only  for  ten  miles  around 
London.  Their  Commissions  made  periodical  visits  into 
the  country,  and  in  Nottingham  sat  at  the  Feathers  Tavern 
to  admit  apprentices,  levy  fines  and  confer  freedoms. 
Certain  of  the  Nottingham  manufacturers  began  to  employ 
parish  apprentices,  obtained  from  the  workhouses,  and 
Cartwright,  Fellows  and  the  two  Coxes  are  particularly 
named  by  Henson  as  doing  so.  Payment  of  a  fine  of 
£400,  which  was  put  upon  Fellows,  and  one  of  £150  upon 
Cartwright,  for  their  contumacy  was  resisted,  whereupon 
the  beadles  of  the  Company  seized  and  sold  goods  and 
frames  in  satisfaction  of  the  claims.  An  action  for  trespass 
brought  in  1728  by  Cartwright  established  the  fact  that 
the  Company  was  without  due  authority,  and  in  1730 
the  Company  abandoned  making  goods  as  a  Stock  Com- 
pany, for  it  was  being  hopelessly  undersold  by  its  inde- 
pendent rivals. 

New  by-laws  were  sought  and   obtained,   and  it  was 
against  these  that  a  Nottingham  petition  to  Parliament 
protested,  declaring  them  "  against  all  reason  and  contrary 
to  the  general  liberty  of  the  subject,  by  the  company 
levying  taxes  to  assist  them  in  their  jurisdiction  all  over   Petition 
the  Kingdom,  with  power  to  search  premises  ;  monopo-   to 
lizing  the  lending  of  frames  for  hire ;  and  thus  prejudicially   Parlia- 
affecting  and  oppressing  the  trade."  ment. 

The  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  reported 
in  1753 : 


182  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Report  "  The    several    persons    employed     in     framework- 

of  Select  knitting  in  the  town  of  Nottingham  have  fully 

Com-  proved  the  allegations  of  their  petition." 

mittee.  In  the  end  the  Company  was  deprived  of  privileges  that 
had  not  been  wholly  to  the  advantage  of  its  own 
members. 

Contemporary  evidence  quoted  by  Deering  is  particularly 
to  the  point  in  respect  of  the  moral  influence  of  the 
privileges  : 

"  Nor  did  these  large  sums  do  the  Company  any 
Service  as  a  Body,  for  as  they  got  the  Money 
illegally,  so  they  spent  it  as  lavishly,  and  instead 
of  growing  rich,  the  Company  became  very  poor  ; 
and  many  of  their  Heads  having  got  a  Taste  of 
high  Living  and  neglecting  their  Business,  also 
dwindled  to  nothing.  To  which  add,  that  within 
these  thirty  years  last  past,  the  Merchants  and 
Hosiers  in  London,  finding  they  could  be  fitted 
from  the  Country  with  as  good  Work  at  a  cheaper 
Rate  than  the  London  Framework-Knitters  could 
afford  ;  the  Bulk  of  that  Trade  has  since  shifted 
from  thence,  and  the  chief  Dependence  they 
had  left,  was  upon  what  is  called  Fashion- Work, 
it  being  for  many  years  the  Mode  to  wear 
Stockings  of  the  same  Colour  of  the  Cloaths,  and 
this  also,  being  by  Degrees  left  off,  what  remains 
now  in  London  does  hardly  deserve  the  Name  of 
Trade." 

Illicit  Illicit  practices  assisted  London  to  make  effective  corn- 

Weight-     petition  with  Nottingham  in  the  silk  stocking  trade,  despite 
ing.  the  disparity  in  the  cost  of  labour.     Stockings  were  made 

heavy  in  the  early  18th  century,  and  Henson  says  that 
few  weighed  less  than  four  ounces  a  pair.  In  other  words 
the  cost  of  material  comprised  a  large  proportion  of  the 
total  cost.  Besides  being  the  primary  silk  market  of  the 
country  and  the  place  where  most  silk  was  dyed,  London 
was  also  the  mart  for  embezzled  silk,  abstracted  in  course 
of  dyeing  and  obtainable  covertly  at  less  than  market 
rates.  By  artificially  increasing  the  weight  of  the  silk 
entrusted  to  them  by  others,  the  dyers  were  able  to 


NOTTINGHAM.  183 

cover  the   deficiency  and  to  offer  silk  for  sale  at  prices  Illicit 
which  counteracted  the  higher  scale   of    wages    paid  in  Weight- 
London.     The  Capital  failed  however  to  retain  the  trade,      ing. 

First,  the  trade  in  worsted  stockings  was  lost  to  London, 
and  gradually  the  business  in  silk  stockings.  Between 
1732  and  1750  about  800  frames  were  sent  from  London 
to  Nottingham  to  be  bought  at  half  their  cost  or  less, 
and  a  similar  number  were  sent  to  Leicester.  To  defeat 
London  malpractices,  Nottingham  hosiers  had  begun  to 
make  stockings  lighter  in  weight,  so  that  the  component 
raw  material  formed  a  smaller  element  in  the  total  cost, 
and  lighter  frames  began  to  be  built  for  the  purpose. 
Whether  or  not  this  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  an 
insidious  competition  has  effected  a  revolution  in  public 
demand,  it  was  assuredly  not  the  last.  The  case  is  stated 
upon  the  authority  of  Henson,  but  seeing  that  the 
French  were  at  this  time  making  fine  stockings  of  light 
weight  and  supplying  them  to  the  English  market,  it 
may  be  suspected  that  fashion  and  example  had  also  an 
influence  in  assisting  the  change. 

When  Joseph  Stocks,  a  Nottingham  workman,  succeeded 
in  making  stockings  not  weighing  over  If 02.  a  pair  upon 
a  28-gauge  frame,  he  was  acclaimed  the  best  workman  in 
the  trade.     A  challenge  was  issued  to  the  Lyons  knitters, 
and  for  a  wager  Stocks  was  set  to  produce  a  pair  of 
stockings  finer  than  the  French.     A  38-gauge  frame  was 
used    for    the    occasion,    the    machine    was    ordered    to 
undergo  a  "  thorough  recruit,"   the  best  organzine  was 
procured  specially  from  Italy,   and  an  expert  silk  sizer 
was  obtained  from  London  to  ensure  the  best  possible 
result,  but  the  award  of  the  assessors  went  against  Stocks, 
and  in  favour  of  the  French.     The  attempt  showed  at   Decay 
least  the  intention  to  excel,   and  the  result  gave  some   of 
justification  for  a  preference  for  French  hose  that  became   London 
more  marked  later.  Industry, 

The  decay  of  the  London  industry  proved  of  benefit 
to  ten  provincial  towns,  named  by  Deering  in  the  following 
order  : 

Nottinghamshire 


184 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Provincial 
Centres 
of 
Trade. 


Leicestershire 


Leicester. 
Mount  Sorrell. 
Loughborough. 
Hinckley,  &c. 
Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 
Towcester. 
Godliman. 
Derby. 


Northamptonshire     . 
Surrey 
Derbyshire 

Deering's  book  is  dated  1751,  and  his  reference  to 
Nottingham's  great  rival  in  the  hosiery  trade  attests  a 
state  of  local  feeling  which  is  not  without  existence  at 
the  present  day: 

"  Of  all  these  none  comes  in  Competition  with  Leicester 
for  Quantity  of  Goods,  but  even  this  very  Town,  though  it 
may  boast  of  its  large  Concerns,  yet  must  confess  that 
its  best  Goods  are  made  at  Nottingham,  where  by  far 
the  greatest  part  richest  and  most  valuable  commodity, 
whether  of  Silk,  Cotton,  Thread  and  Worsted  is  wrought, 
and  it  seems  this  so  profitable  Employment,  as  it  were 
by  a  magnetical  Force,  is  in  the  Height  of  its  improved 
State,  drawn  towards  the  Place  of  its  Birth,  in  order  to 
make  ample  Amends  for  deserting  it  in  its  Infancy.  .  .  ." 

Henson  gives  1730  as  the  date  of  the  completion  of  the 
first  pair  of  cotton  stockings  made  in  England,  and  names 
the  workman  Draper,  of  Bellar  Gate,  Nottingham,  as 
their  maker.  The  material  was  East  Indian  hand  spun 
yarn,  and  it  is  added  that  a  20-gauge  silk  frame  was  used 
to  knit  them.  Four  threads  were  doubled  to  make  the 
leg,  and  five  for  the  heel  and  the  finished  article,  on  account 
of  its  whiteness  after  bleaching,  was  more  valuable  than 
silk  in  the  eyes  of  the  time.  Cotton  came  gradually  into 
use  in  Nottingham,  ousting  silk  in  large  measure,  and 
serving  to  extend  the  range  of  local  manufactures. 
Deering  has  left  an  account  of  the  extent  of  the  industry 
at  a  date  when  the  local  trade  consisted  of  little  more  than 
Netting-  stocking-making : 

ham  (  There  are,  as  per  list,  fifty  Manufacturers,  Employers 

Pioneers,    of  Frames,  or  as  they  are  commonly  called  Putters-out, 

who  all  Trade  directly  to  London,  besides  those  who  only 

deal  with  Leicester.     Both  together  occupy  above  3,000 


Plate  XXIV.  A  Modern  Knitting  Frame  (Cotton's  System). 


NOTTINGHAM.  185 

frames,  of  which  upwards  of  1,200  are  employ'd  in  Not- 
tingham, and  the  rest  in  the  villages  about,  who  buy  their 
Provisions  and  other  Necessaries  in  this  Town." 

The  larger  development  of  the  lace  trade  came  later,    Begin- 
but  that  the  making  of  bonelace  preceded  the  stocking-   ning  of 
frame  is  shown  by  Deering's  explicit  statement  on  the   Bone 
subject :  Lace 

"  The  Bone-Lace  Trade,  by  which  great  Numbers  of  Trade. 
Females  were  constantly  employ'd  till  within  these  35  years 
when  all  these  Hands  were  more  advantageously  taken  up 
by  a  fresh  Manufacture,  which  has  ever  since  comfortably 
maintained,  besides  these  Females,  above  thrice  their 
Number  of  Men  ;  I  mean  the  Manufacture  of  Frame- 
worked  Stockings." 

The  machine  lace  trade  sprang  out  of  the  framework- 
knitting   trade,    and   the   invention   of   the   tuck-presser, 
the   first    appliance   permitting   the    execution    of   fancy 
patterns  upon  Lee's  knitting  frame,  marks  one  step  in  the 
evolution.     This  invention  for  allowing  two  or  three  loops 
to  be  made  upon  one  needle,   was    invented   elsewhere, 
and   is   said   by   Felkin    to    have    been    introduced    into 
Nottingham    by    an    Irishman    between    1740-56.     Ribs, 
zigzags,   and  lozenge  patterns  in  different  colours  could 
be  formed  by  its  aid,  and  the  improvement  known  as  the 
Derby    rib,    patented    by    Jedediah    Strutt    in    1758-59, 
which  lent  a  new  elasticity  to  hose,  directly  and  indirectly 
promoted  the  use  of  cotton  ;    but  there  were  numerous 
efforts    then    being    made    for    the    utilisation    of    silk. 
Enterprise  was  in  evidence  at  the  period,  and  Blackner 
records  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to    produce    velvet    on 
the   stocking-frame.      In    1767    Ross    and  Darrella,   who 
worked   in    Nottingham,   as   well    as   in    Edmonton   and 
London,   produced  silk  velvet    by  this    means,   but    the 
enterprise    failed    because    the    pile    of    the    fabric    was   Efforts 
loose.     Mr.    Godfrey's    Notes    on   the    Parish    Register   of  to 
St.   Mary's,  Nottingham,  show  that  in  1765  "  scarves  of   extend 
the  finest  China  silk,  a  new  material,  made  in  the  stocking   use  of 
frame,  were  given  in  place  of  the  usual  scarves  to  the   Silk, 
pall-bearers  at  the  funeral  of  Alderman  Samuel  Fellows," 
who  with  his  father  had  carried  on  silk  manufacture  for 


186  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Silk  upwards  of  seventy  years.     In  the  election  of  1778,  when 

Glove         Mr.  Abel  Smith  was  returned  without  opposition,  Felkin 

Trade.        says  that  members   of  the   Stocking-makers  Association 

for  Mutual  Protection  marched  in  procession  before  his 

chair,  which  had  been  "  gaily  ornamented  with  the  newly 

invented   silk   lace." 

Spanish  silk  gloves,  made  at  Cordova,  began  to  be 
imitated  in  England  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century, 
principally  in  Nottingham,  and  Henson  tells  of  the 
manufacture  of  silk  mitts  figured  with  roses,  leaves  and 
branches  wrought  in  eyelet-holes  by  hand.  The  work 
seems  to  have  been  a  lucrative  occupation.  Workers 
could  make  more  than  two  pairs  a  day,  and  were 
paid  frequently  5s.  a  pair,  or  as  much  as  6s.  for  black  mitts. 
These  payments  for  fancy  work  stand  in  contrast  with 
those  that  made  "  poor  as  a  stockinger "  a  synonym 
for  extreme  poverty. 

The  efforts  of  the  last  half  of  the  century  were,  perhaps, 
spurred  by  the  preference  for  foreign  goods,  a  preference 
marked  enough  to  prompt  the  passing  of  an  Act  under 
George  III  to  protect  the  home  manufacture  by  a  pro- 
hibition upon  imports  : 

"  Any  person  importing  foreign  silk  stockings,  mitts, 
or  gloves  after  the  1st  of  June,  1765,  into  any  part 
of  the  British  dominion,  to  forfeit  such  goods. 
Any  person  importing,  aiding  and  abetting,  or 
any  retailer  who  shall  sell  or  expose  for  sale, 
shall  over  and  above  the  forfeiture  of  such  goods 
pay  £200  and  costs  of  suit." 

A  reflection  upon  the  efficacy  of  the  prohibition  may 
be  read  into  Henson's  statement  that  "  For  more  than 
twenty  years  after  the  passing  of  the  Act,  the  workmen 
were  instructed  to  work  in  eyelet-holes  in  the  mitts  of  the 
stockings  the  word  Paris." 

Stress  of        Discontent  with  the  rewards   of  the  industry  at  this 

Competi-    period  is  shown  in  an  enactment  of  1765-66,  and  known 

tion.  as  the  Tewkesbury  Act.     Nottinghamshire  is  one  of  the 

counties  producing  long-woolled  sheep,  and  the  domestic 

spinsters  being  accustomed  only  to  spin  very  long  wool 

were  unable  to  accommodate  themselves  to  so  short  a 


NOTTINGHAM.  187 

fibre    as    cotton.     Tewkesbury   spinsters,    accustomed   to   Pro- 
spin  the  short  Spanish  merino  wools  used  in  the  West  of   tection 
England  woollen  trade,  could  spin  cotton,  and  by  knitting   for 
two-fold  homespun  cotton  yarn,  where  Nottingham  had   Notting- 
to  buy  Indian  yarn  and  fold  it  three,  four,  or  five  times,   ham 
the  Tewkesbury  knitters  made  an  economy  of  25  per  cent.    Trade. 
Accordingly,  this  Act  for  the  protection  of  Nottingham 
trade  prescribed  that : 

<0  Framework-knitted  pieces,  or  stockings  made  of 
thread,  cotton,  worsted,  or  yarn,  or  any  mixture 
of  the  said  materials,  except  made  of  silk  only, 
which  shall  contain  Three  or  more  Threads,  shall 
be  marked  with  the  same  number  of  eyelet-holes 
in  one  direct  line,  in  the  same  course,  so  as  they 
shall  not  exceed  three  inches  from  the  extreme 
eyelet-holes  and  shall  not  be  placed  within  four 
inches  of  any  title  figure,  mesh  or  device,  and 
shall  be  within  four  inches  of  the  top  or  end  of 
every  such  piece  or  pair  of  such  goods.  No  eyelet- 
hole,  or  imitation  thereof,  shall  be  made  except 
as  aforesaid. 

"  The  Act  not  to  prevent  manufacturers  using  rem- 
nants in  welts  and  tops  of  stockings,  only  not  to 
exceed  three  inches,  although  such  remnants  should 
not  contain  three  or  more  threads." 
The  enactment  was  made  of  small  practical  account 
by   the  innovation   of   factory-spun   cotton   yarn   within 
a  few  years  of  its  passage,  and  a  weakness  in  it  which 
moved  Henson  to  scorn,  is  only  of  philosophical  interest. 
It    would    appear    that,    while    punishing    those    who 
marked  stockings  falsely  when  the  goods   were  knitted 
with  three-fold  threads,  it  was  inoperative  against  those 
who   might    have    misdescribed    goods  made   only   with 
two-fold  yarn.     The  lameness  of  the  result  was  doubtless 
the  effect  of  Gloucestershire  opposition  to  this  particular 
Act. 

It  has  been  seen  that   bonelace,   made  by  hand  upon  The 
a  lacemaker's  pillow  with  the  aid   of  bone  bobbins  to  Manufac- 
carry   the   thread,  was   made  in  Nottingham   before  the  ture  of 
introduction  of  framework-knitting ;    and  that  successive  Machine 

Lace. 


188 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  steps  towards  the  production  of  lace-like  fabrics  had  been 

Manufac-  taken.  According  to  Henson,  whose  authority  was  some- 
ture  of  what  disputed  by  the  later  writer  Felkin,  it  was  in  1769, 
Machine  that  the  first  machine  lace  was  made  in  the  town,  and 
Lace.  this  valuable  departure  was  due  to  one  of  the  less  estimable 
of  townsmen.  Hammond,  "  a  person  of  drunken  habits," 
matched  with  an  intemperate  wife,  was  without  money 
in  a  public-house  in  the  New  Buildings.  His  eye  fell 
upon  the  cap  worn  by  his  wife,  which  had  a  "  broad  lace 
border 'and  a  caul  of  the  same  fabric."  He  was  seized 
with  the  idea  that  he  could  make  cauls  or  nets  of  the  same 
sort  upon  the  machine  at  his  home  in  the  Rookery. 
Borrowing  a  small  quantity  of  silk,  he  went  to  work  at 
once,  produced  three  caps  before  night,  and  hawked  them 
in  the  public-houses.  The  net  was  made  on  the  so-called 
tickler  machine  in  a  cross  stitch  formed  by  removing  the 
thread  from  one  needle  to  the  second  next  needle,  so  that 
in  one  course  the  shift  was  towards  the  right  hand,  and  in 
the  next  course  towards  the  left.  This  plain,  "  wire 
ground  lace "  was  followed  with  a  double  cross  stitch 
called  pretentiously  by  Hammond  "  Valenciennes."  Making 
caps  by  day  and  selling  them  and  drinking  by  night,  the 
original  lace  manufacturer  is  said  to  have  passed  several 
years  of  his  life.  Henson  adds  that  of  the  more  ornamental 
caps  sold  upon  these  hawking  expeditions  some  were 
hand-made,  and  in  those  parts  where  ornament  was  to  be 
used  the  fabric  was  made  in  the  same  stitch  as  plain 
stockings. 

A  Period  The  "  pin  machine,"  invented  by  Else  and  Harvey  of 
of  Inven-  London,  for  making  point  net,  was  introduced  into  Not- 
tion.  tingham  soon  afterwards,  and  the  transference  of  one 

of  these  machines  to  France  in  1785-6,  where  the  design 
was  improved,  gave  the  French  their  predominance 
in  the  manufacture  of  tulle.  A  Mr.  Ingham  is  named 
by  Blackner  as  the  first  to  introduce  warp  lace  machinery 
into  Nottingham,  but  his  venture  only  lasted  three  years. 
William  Dawson,  a  needlemaker,  who  set  up  a  factory 
to  make  similar  lace  in  Turncalf  Alley,  removed  his 
machinery  to  Islington  in  1800,  and  his  Nottingham 
premises  were  converted  into  a  silk-mill.  It  was  by  the 


Plate  XXV.         Leaver's  Lace  Machine,  making  lace  260  inches  wide. 


NOTTINGHAM.  189 

use  of  two  sets  of  threads — warp,  or  beam,  and  weft,  or  A  Period 
bobbin — that  John  Heathcoat  eventually  re-solved  the  of  Inven- 
problem  of  making  hexagonal  net  by  machine.  Although  tion. 
Heathcoat  was  a  Leicestershire  man,  and  the  course  of 
events  drove  him  to  Devonshire  to  carry  on  his  work,  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  his  was  a  Nottingham  invention. 
After  learning  his  trade  under  William  Shepherd,  a  maker 
of  frames  and  Derby  rib  stockings  at  Long  Whatton, 
Heathcoat  came  to  Nottingham  to  work  under  Leonard 
Elliott,  whose  business  of  a  frame  smith  he  purchased. 
After  carrying  on  the  business  for  a  while  in  Nottingham, 
he  removed  it  to  Hathern,  in  Leicestershire,  and  subse- 
quently to  Loughborough.  In  the  latter  place  he  was 
joined  in  partnership  in  1809  by  Charles  Lacy,  a  point 
net  manufacturer  from  Nottingham,  and  in  this  year 
the  machine,  which  by  common  admission  was  the  most 
complex  as  yet  made,  was  patented.  Nottingham  was 
Heathcoat's  market  place  for  the  goods  first  made  in 
Loughborough  and  later  in  Tiverton,  and  the  town  is 
still  the  seat  of  the  warehouse  of  his  firm.  Again,  Not- 
tingham was  the  town  in  which  Heathcoat's  invention 
had  most  effect  upon  others  in  stimulating  the  improve- 
ment of  lace  machines.  It  is  related  in  McCulloch's 
Dictionary  that  upon  the  lapse  of  Heathcoat's  patent  in 
1822-23,  "Clergymen,  lawyers,  doctors  and  others  readily 
embarked  capital  upon  so  tempting  a  speculation." 

When  Dr.  Ure  published  his  Dictionary  of  the  Arts  and 
Manufacture  in  1839,  there  were  six  types  of  lace  machines 
in  use  in  Nottingham  : 

(1)  Heathcoat's  patent. 

(2)  Brown's  traverse  warp. 

(3)  Morley's   straight   bolt,    invented   in    1811    by   a 

Derby  man  who  came  to  Nottingham  to  exploit 
his  invention. 

(4)  Clark's    pusher   principle,    invented    in    1811    by 

Samuel  Mart  and  James  Clark,  of  Nottingham.  Types 

(5)  Leaver's  machine.  of  Lace 

(6)  Morley's  circular  bolt,  invented  in  1812.  Machines 
The  Leaver's  machine  (now  variously  spelt  Lever's  and 

Leiver's)  is  said  by  some  to  have  been  invented  almost  con- 


190  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Types  temporaneously  with  Morley's  circular  machine  (1812),  and 
of  Lace  to  have  been  made  conjointly  by  John  Leavers  and  one 
Machines.  Turton,  both  of  New  Radford,  Nottingham.  Doubt  is 
thrown  by  Felkin  upon  the  share  of  Turton  in  the  inven- 
tion, and  Levers  is  described  as  a  frame  smith  originally 
of  Sutton-in-Ashfield,  and  later  of  Nottingham.  Felkin 
was  at  pains  to  show  that  Levers  was  improvident  and 
had  the  convivial  inclinations  of  genius,  but  the  fact  that 
the  typical  Nottingham  lace  machine  is  called  Levers 
to  this  day  may  be  accepted  as  sufficient  proof  of  his 
originality  and  ability. 

These  years  are  important  as  the  initial  period  during 
which  the  Nottingham  lace  machine  was  evolved.  This 
started  the  industry  of  the  town  upon  a  new  course,  much 
to  the  local  advantage,  but  in  a  direction  leading  rather 
to  the  consumption  of  silk  than  of  cotton. 

A  considerable  consumption  of  silk  is  recorded  in 
the  early  years  of  the  last  century,  and  of  its  sources 
Blackner  (writing  in  1812)  says  : 

"  The   silk   of   which   Nottingham   lace   is   made   is 

brought  in  an  organzined  state  from  Italy  ;   while 

that    of    which    stockings    are   made    is    brought 

principally  from  China  and  the  East  Indies  ;    the 

latter  from  its  size  and  softness,  being  the  best 

calculated    for    stockings,    while,    for    the    same 

properties  it  is  not  calculated  for  lace. 

"  The   silk   of   which   black   stockings   are   generally 

made   is   known   amongst   the   workmen   by   the 

name  of  Novi  ;    hence  many  of  them  conclude  it 

to   be   Italian   silk — the   mistake   arises   from   its 

being  reeled  after  the  Novi  manner." 

Great   attention   to    the   statistics    of   production   was 

paid  by   Felkin,   the  historian   of  the  hosiery  industry, 

who  in  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Machinery 

Silk  in        in  1841,  specified  "  stockings  and  netted  articles  of  cotton 

the  early    and  silk "    as  the  principal  manufactures   of  the  town. 

19th  In  1843  he  estimated  the  number  of  bobbin-net  machines 

Century,    in  England  at  3,200,   of  which  2,600  (1,400  power  and 

1,200  hand)  were  calculated  to  be  in  work.     About  2,000 

of  the  machines  were  assigned  to  Nottingham  and  the 


NOTTINGHAM.  191 

neighbourhood,  and  the  rest  to  Leicestershire,  Derbyshire,    Statistics 
and  the  West  of  England  and  the  Isle  of  Wight.     The   of  Pro- 
machines  were  supposed  in  1842  to  use  125,000$s.  of  raw    duction. 
silk  (equalling  100,OOOZfe.  prepared)  and  l,400,OOOZfe.  of 
spun  Sea  Island  cotton.     The  value  of  silk  net  produced 
was  placed   at  £200,000,   being  twice  the   value   of  the 
prepared  silk  entering  into  it.     The  separate  warp  lace 
trade    with    800    machines    was    calculated    to    consume 
30,OOOZfe.  of  prepared  silk  and  450,OOOZfo.  of  spun  cotton. 
The  produce  of  this  smaller  branch,  being  some  £150,000 
in  silk  lace  and  £200,000  in  cotton  lace,  was  said  to  be 
entirely  disposed  of  through  about  15  Nottingham  business 
houses. 

In  1850  two  manufacturers  of  hosiery  were  singled  out 
in  Slater's  Directory  as  specifically  concerned* with  silk, 
John  Henson,  of  Hyson  Green,  and  H.  Ray  and  Co.  The 
name  of  William  Clarke,  New  Radford,  was  given  as  that 
of  a  manufacturer  of  silk  fringe,  gimp  and  braid,  which 
articles  belong  rather  to  Derby  industry.  Four  silk 
throwsters  names  were  given,  namely : 

G.   Allcock,   Upper  Parliament  Street. 

Bean  and  Johnson,  Clinton  Street. 

Francis  B.  Gill  and  Co.,  Houndsgate. 

Walsh  and  Windley,  Currant  Street. 
These  were  followed  by  the  names  of  five  silk  merchants : 

William  Baker,  6,  King's  Place. 

Bean  and  Johnson,  Clinton  Street. 

F.  B.  Gill  and  Co.,  Houndsgate. 
Alfred  Hoyles,  Castle  Gate. 

G.  N.  Walsh,  23,  Smith  Parade. 

While  the  trade  in  lace  was  developing,  that  in  silk  Changed 
hose  was  suffering  from  the  change  in  habits  of  dress.  Habits  of 
The  case  was  stated  concisely  by  a  member  of  the  firm  Dress, 
of  I.   and  R.   Morley  before  the  Factory  Committee  of 
1833. 

rc  In  men's  dress  the  advent  of  trousers  and  boots, 
especially  of  a  kind  of  boot  sold  with  stockings  sewn  in  ; 
and  in  ladies'  dress  the  boot  and  the  vogue  of  the  trained 
dress  "  were  said  to  have  militated  against  the  trade  in 
silk  stockings.  No  reversion  to  knee-breeches  and  silk 


192  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Changed    stockings  for  men  has  occurred  since  that  time,  and  for 

Habits  of  both  sexes  these  articles  have  been  relegated  chiefly  to 

Dress.         evening    wear.     The    opportunities    for    their    sale    have 

been  vitally  affected  by  the  liberal  developments  in  cotton 

spinning  and  finishing,  by  the  introduction  of  immense 

quantities  of  Australian  wool  suited  for  making  the  finest 

cashmere  hose,  and  by  the   progress  made  in  converting 

this  wool  into  yarns  of  flawless  regularity." 

In  1860,  when  a  memorandum  was  drawn  up  by  the 
Nottingham  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  view  of  the  proposed 
commercial  treaty  with  France,  the  delegates  enumerated 
cotton,  silk,  spun  silk  and  merino  as  the  four  materials 
chiefly  used  in  the  Midlands  hosiery  industry.  The 
machines  employed  were  of  four  types — hand,  rotary, 
circular  and  warp,  and  about  5,000  kinds  of  articles  were 
made  upon  them.  It  was  stated  that  there  had  been 
about  7,000  silk  frames  in  the  trade  when  waistcoats,  small 
clothes,  gloves  and  stockings  made  of  silk  hosiery  were 
worn.  In  1812  there  were  computed  to  be  2,156  silk 
frames  and  in  1833,  3,000. 
In  1844  there  were — 

856  hose  and  698  glove  frames  working  silk  in  Derby- 
shire. 

687   hose   and    1,407   glove   frames   working  silk  in 
Nottinghamshire. 

With  223  frames  elsewhere, 
making  a  total  of  3,773. 

The  Memorandum  added  that  the  number  of  silk  frames 
in  Nottinghamshire  had  been  rapidly  declining  during  the 
decade  1850—1860. 

Lace  in          A  Report  upon  the  Exhibition  of  1862  by  Mr.  Richard 
the  Birkin   supplies   information   upon   the   developments   in 

'Fifties.  lace-making  during  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The 
Report  points  out  that  in  1851  the  Jacquard  had  only 
been  partially  applied  to  the  fancy  lace  machine,  but  had 
since  been  wholly  applied  to  it.  Most  marked  advance 
since  1851  was  reported  in  making  window  curtains,  bed- 
covers and  antimacassars.  Of  3,552  lace  machines  of  all 
types  stated  to  be  working  in  England  in  1862  the  value 
was  £400 — £800  each,  and  the  distribution  was: — 


NOTTINGHAM.  193 

2,448  Nottingham  and  vicinity,  Lace  in 

505  Derby  and  County,  the 

599  Tiverton  and  other  West  of  England  towns.  'Fifties. 
The  gradual  decline  of  plain  silk  nets  and  quillings  during 
the  ten  years  was  commented  upon,  together  with  the 
slow  but  sure  advance  of  silk  Cambrais,  Brussels  and 
Mechlin  nets  and  "  Queen's  "  quillings.  "  A  great  variety 
of  a  very  light  description  of  silk  fancy  nets  of  a  useful 
and  elegant  character "  made  their  appearance  during 
this  period. 

The  more  recent  change  in  habits  of  dress  whereby 
knitted  underwear  has  supplanted  flannel  has  affected 
wool  more  than  silk,  and  in  Nottingham  at  the  present 
day  the  manufacture  of  knitted  silk  articles  is  mainly 
in  the  hands  of  two  firms.  The  demands  upon  them 
are  rather  increasing  than  diminishing,  but  considerations 
of  comparative  cost  limit  the  dimensions  of  the  trade. 
Black  silk  socks  are  made  for  evening  wear  for  men  and 
coloured  stockings  for  the  evening  dress  of  women.  The 
"Mode  to  wear  Stockings  of  the  same  Colour  of  the  Cloaths" — 
to  repeat  Deering's  quaint  words — exhibits  itself  still, 
and  one  of  the  principal  Nottingham  firms  finds  its  regular 
assortment  of  70  shades  of  coloured  silk  insufficient  to 
satisfy  all  the  demands  made  upon  it  by  fastidious  ladies. 
Organzine  silk,  thrown  in  England,  is  employed  for  these 
stockings.  For  underwear,  use  is  made  of  English  spun 
silk  for  the  better  qualities  and  Continental  schappe  silk 
for  the  cheaper  sorts.  Makers  of  the  higher  classes  of  wool 
underwear  manufacture  garments  in  which  fine  wool  is 
mixed  with  silk  ;  a  thread  of  single  spun  silk  and  one 
of  botany  wool  being  doubled  together  to  form  the  yarn, 
and  this  incidental  consumption  is  to  be  added  to  the  rest. 
Silk  articles  are  knitted  chiefly  in  factories  outside 
the  town,  and  are  returned  to  the  Nottingham  warehouse 
to  be  finished  by  a  simple  process  of  damping,  ironing  and 
drying  in  ovens  before  being  parcelled.  "  Chevening,"  Modern 
or  the  hand-sewing  of  clocks  and  ornamentation  upon  Influ- 
stockings  is  done  in  the  warehouses  instead  of  by  out-  ences. 
workers,  as  formerly,  and  so  is  the  hand-painting  of 
coloured  stockings  for  evening  dress. 


194 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Modern          The  manufacture  of  miscellaneous  articles  from  coloured 
Influ-         silk  varies  with  the  demands  of  fashion.     Neckties  for 
ences.         men  are  made  more  in  Macclesfield  than  Nottingham,  but 
heavy  spun  silk  boleros  are  turned  out  from  Nottingham 
factories.     Silk    is    used    regularly    by    knitting    manu- 
facturers   at    Belper,    Mansfield    and    Cromford,    and   by 
makers  of  scarves  and  of  Milanese  for  gloves  at  Ilkeston 
and  Melbourne,  all  of  which  places  belong  by  affiliation 
to  Nottingham  trade. 

For  half  a  century  Mansfield,  near  Nottingham,  was 
one  of  the  seats  of  the  waste  silk  spinning  trade.  The 
firm  of  William  Hollins  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  spinners  of  merino, 
cashmere  and  cotton  yarns  and  manufacturers  of  Viyella 
fabrics,  began  silk  spinning  in  1852,  and  continued  the 
department  until  1900,  when  this  branch  of  the  business 
was  sold  to  the  Bent  Ley  Silk  Mills  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Meltham, 
Huddersfield. 

Artificial  silk  is  used  in  increasing  quantity  for  veilings, 
and  although  it  has  been  introduced  into  hosiery  upon  a 
background  of  cotton  or  wool,  the  results  have  hardly 
justified  its  employment  in  articles  intended  to  withstand 
washing.  Silk  plain  nets  made  mainly  in  Tiverton, 
Barnstaple,  Chard  and  the  West  of  England  form  a  con- 
stant, although  not  a  large  part  of  Nottingham  trade, 
and  are  sent  to  Long  Eaton  and  Stapleford  to  be  finished. 
Silk  fancy  laces,  which  are  a  staple  of  Calais  trade,  are  a 
subsidiary  branch  of  Nottingham  industry,  but  have  not 
been  made  in  any  quantities  since  the  decay  of  the  demand 
for  Chantilly  black  lace.  The  fancy  lace  trade  is  peculiarly 
exposed  to  the  caprice  of  fashion,  and  Nottingham  manu- 
facturers in  general  are  not  anxious  that  business  in 
silk  lace  should  be  revived.  The  loss  in  producing  designs 
which  fail  to  win  acceptance  is  considerable  when  the 
lost  material  is  only  cotton  and  is  proportionately  greater 
in  the  case  of  silk.  Again,  the  trouble  of  dealing  in  two 
Silk  materials,  as  against  that  of  handling  one,  causes  silk 

Lace  to  be  eyed  with  disfavour  by  manufacturers,  whose  chief 

Trade.  concern  is  with  cotton.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  reported 
that  large  profits  have  been  made  out  of  silk  lace-making 
during  its  brief  appearances  in  public  favour. 


NOTTINGHAM. 


195 


Wright's    Nottingham    Directory    for    1913    gives    the   Recent 
names  of  237  firms  of  lace  manufacturers  and  105  firms   Trade 
of  holders  of  lace  machines.     The  machines  are  erected   tenden- 
in  large  factories  containing  numbers  of  tenants,  and  in    cies. 
the  main  the  names  of  holders  are  duplicated  in  the  longer 
list.     The   manufacturers   who   are   not   machine   owners 
buy  lace  and  curtains   "  in  the  brown,"   or  unbleached 
condition,  and  sell  the  article  in  the  finished  state.     There 
are  63  frames  of  hosiery  manufacturers  and  nine  of  surgical 
hosiers,  whose  business,  involving  the  consumpton  of  fine 
organzine    silk,    is    a    particular    Nottingham    speciality. 
Seven  firms  are  named  as  cotton  and  silk  doublers,  ten  as 
silk  agents  and  merchants,   and  two   as  silk  throwsters 
and  winders.     Silk  throwing  is  largely  given  to  commission 
throwsters  in  Macclesfield,  and  is  no  longer  a  distinctive 
local  employment,  although  there  are  throwing  machines 
at  work. 

The  development  of  the  industry  in  the  outer  districts, 
as  shewn  in  local  directories,  is  displayed  in  the  following 
list  :— 

Beeston — Lace  Manufacturers  and  Machine 

Holders  24 

Hosiery  Manufacturer    . .          . .       1 

Burton  Joyce — Bag  Hosiers*         . .          . .       4 

Carlton — Hosiers       . .          . .          . .          . .       2 

Arnold — Hosiers        . .          . .          . .          . ,       5 

Bag  Hosiers  . .          . .          . .       8 

Ilkeston— Silk  Manufacturers         . .          . .       2 

Hosiery  Manufacturers  . .          . .       6 

Melbourne — Silk   Manufacturers    . .          . .       2 

Belper — Hosiery  Manufacturers     . .          . .       4 

Matlock — Hosiery     . .          . .          . .          . .       4  Industry 

The  machine-made  lace  trade  is  so  essentially  a  Nottingham  in  the 
business  that  the  general  figures  ascertained  for  England  Outer 
and  Wales  under  the  Census  of  Production,  1907,  acquire  Districts. 

*  Bag  Hosier — hosier  getting  his  work  done  upon  commission.  An  embittered  reference 
to  these  traders  in  the  Stocking  Makers'  Monitor,  15  November,  1817,  reads  :  "A  Bag,  or 
rather  shall  I  say,  a  Rag  hosier  to  furnish  them  with  cut-ups  and  square  heels  and  a  long 
train  of  trade-destroying  rubbish  at  a  price  lower  than  the  lowest."  The  same  journal,  in 
another  place,  coupled  "  mercenary  cheap  dealers  and  Bag  Hosiers."  The  antagonism 
is  presumably  to  be  explained  by  the  conflict  of  interest  between  an  employer  wanting  his 
work  done  cheaply  and  operatives  urgent  for  a  higher  scale  of  payment. 


196  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  a  strong  local  significance.     These  figures   shew   a  pro- 

Present  duction  of  "  Silk  Net  and  Lace  and  Articles  thereof," 
Extent  valued  £442,000,  out  of  a  total  £4,886,000,  for  lace  goods 
of  the  of  all  kinds.  The  costs  for  finishing  and  of  commission 
Notting-  being  added,  the  gross  output  from  lace  factories 
ham  and  warehouses  becomes  £8,955,000,  and  of  this  it  will  be 

Industry,  seen  that  silk  lace  accounts  for  less  than  five  per  cent. 

For  similar  reasons  the  general  import  and  export  trade 
returns  apply  with  strong  force  to  Nottingham,  and 
these  reveal  silk  in  a  much  lower  place  of  importance 
than  cotton.  Thus  the  imports  of  silk  lace  and  articles 
thereof  (except  embroidery)  were : 

1910.  1911.  1912. 

£112,000  £146,000  £103,000 

against  the  following  in  the  case  of  cotton : 

1910.  1911.  1912. 

£2,542,000          £2,539,500          £2,454,000 
The  exports  of  British-made  silk  lace  were  : 

1910.  1911.  1912. 

£15,000  £11,500  £9,000 

and  of  re-exported  foreign-made  silk  lace  : 

1910.  1911.  1912. 

£178,000  £157,500  £138,500 

Against  the  following  in  cotton  : 

1910.  1911.  1912. 

Exports     . .  £4,244,000        £3,936,000        £4,095,000 
Re-exports  .  .£1,353,000        £1,196,000        £1,192,000 

The  sources  of  the  foreign  laces  chiefly  dealt  in  were 
given  by  a  Nottingham  witness  to  Mr.  Chamberlain's 
Tariff  Commission  as  : 

Calais.  St.  Gall.          Vienna.  Lyons. 

Caudry.          Barmen.          Turin.  Dresden. 

Plauen.  Leipzig. 

Mention  was  made  in  particular  of  Lever's  laces  made 

Sources      in   France,    Schiffli   embroidery   from   Plauen   and   hand 

of  embroidery  from  St.  Gall.     On  the  other  hand,  it  has  to 

Foreign      be  noted  that  the  cotton  net  upon  which  Plauen  lace  is 

Laces.        stitched  is  manufactured  in  and  exported  from  Nottingham. 

The  general  manufactures  of  the  Nottingham  lace  factories 

may  be  summarily  stated  as  : 


NOTTINGHAM.  197 

Curtains.          Plain  Nets.  Fancy  Laces.  Notting- 

Spotted  Nets.         Fine.  Common.  Heavy,    ham 

The   lower   rates   of   wages   paid   upon   the   Continent   Industry 
preclude   Nottingham   firms    from    employing   machinery   To-day, 
of  the  Continental  type  more  largely,  but  there  are  at 
work  a  considerable  number  of  Swiss  embroidery  machines 
in  addition  to  the  curtain,  Levers  and  plain  net  machines 
native  to  the  district. 

The  town  has  large  supplies  of  female  workers, 
familiarised  from  their  early  years  with  factory  organisation 
and  the  execution  of  light  tasks  requiring  concentration 
of  mind  and  deftness  of  hand.  It  is  accordingly  a  favour- 
able place  for  the  development  of  industries  employing 
the  sewing-machine  and  the  making-up  of  woven  garments, 
and  under-garments  has  become  an  important  branch  of 
the  local  business.  As  in  Macclesfield  and  Coventry, 
the  silks  used  in  Nottingham  clothing  factories  are  chiefly 
of  Japanese  and  Continental  make. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
DERBY. 

First  Negative  evidence  favours  the  idea  that  the  stocking 

con-  trade  gave  Derby  its  first  association  with  silk,  for  no 

nection       direct   mention   of   silk   manufacture   can   be   discovered 
with  before  the  date  of  Lee's  invention  of  the  stocking-frame. 

Silk.  There  are  ancient  connections  with  the  growing,  stapling, 

and  manufacturing  of  wool,  and  in  1204  the  inhabitants 
of  Derby  received  from  King  John  a  monopoly  of  the 
cloth-dyeing  trade  within  a  certain  radius  of  the  town. 
Glover's  History  and  Gazetteer,  published  in  1831,  makes 
record  of  the  fact  that  silk  became  the  principal  textile 
material  in  local  use  soon  after  the  invention  of  the  frame, 
and  the  date  may  be  suggested  by  a  reminder  that  it  was 
in  1589  that  Lee  completed  his  first  stocking-frame  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Nottingham,  and  1598  before  he 
perfected  a  machine  to  knit  silk.  "  In  process  of  time 
the  machine  found  its  way  into  Derby,"  writes  Button, 
without  committing  himself  to  a  definite  date.  Felkin, 
the  historian  of  the  hosiery  trade,  records  the  existence 
of  two  master  hosiers  in  Nottinghamshire  in  1641,  and 
hosiers  were  perhaps  not  much  more  numerous  in  Derby- 
shire at  that  time,  although  in  1720  there  were  about 
150  frames  in  Derby.  The  information  is  an  inference 
drawn  from  Hutton's  statement,  published  in  his  History 
(1791),  that  there  had  been  no  increase  in  number  during 
the  previous  seventy  years. 

The  Derby  stocking  trade  might  have  grown  greater 
in  the  early  18th  century  had  not  a  development  occurred 
which  was  prophesied  to  make  "  the  Hosiery  stagnate." 
Hutton  adds  that  the  event  verified  the  prediction,  and 

198 


Plate  XXVI.          Lombe's  Mill,  Derby.      The  first  Silk  Mill  erected 

in  England,   1717. 


DERBY. 


199 


allows  that  "  perhaps  the  loss  was  of  no  consequence,  Market 
for  the  journeyman  rather  starves  than  lives."  The  for  Silk 
event  was  the  establishment  of  the  silk-throwing  factory  Thread, 
that  has  indissolubly  linked  Derby  with  the  history  of 
silk  in  England.  Derby  was  a  market  for  silk  thread 
used  in  making  silk  stockings,  and  it  may  be  that  this 
local  consumption  of  silk,  principally  Italian  in  its  origin, 
imbued  Crotchet  with  his  notion  that  there  was  "  a  fine 
opening  to  raise  a  fortune "  by  throwing  raw  silk  by 
machinery  at  home.  Crotchet  accordingly  erected  in  1702 
a  small  silk-mill,  which  later  acquired  the  name  of  the 
"  Old  Shop/'  and  was  used  for  throwing  shoot  during 
part  of  the  time  that  its  great  successor  was  employed 
in  making  organzine.  Hutton  says  "  every  prospect  of 
the  future  undertaking  was  favourable  till  the  scheme 
was  put  in  practice,  when  the  bright  ideas  died  away. 
Three  engines  were  found  necessary  for  the  whole  process  ; 
he  had  but  one.  An  untoward  trade  is  a  dreadful  sink 
for  money  ;  and  an  imprudent  tradesman  is  one  more 
dreadful.  .  .  .  Crotchet  soon  became  insolvent." 

It  was  Crotchet  who  introduced  John  Lombe  to  Derby. 
John  Lombe,  whom  Hutton  calls  "  a  man  of  spirit,  a 
good  draughtsman  and  an  excellent  mechanic,"  and  who 
was  described  in  a  House  of  Commons  speech  as  one 
"  whose  head  is  extremely  well  turned  for  the  mechanics," 
was  born  in  Norwich,  where  his  father  was  a  worsted 
weaver.  He  came,  at  what  must  have  been  a  tender  age, 
as  apprentice  to  Crotchet,  to  whose  care  he  was  confided 
by  his  father's  executors.  As  John  Lombe  died  in  1722, 
at  an  age  reported  to  be  29,  he  would  be  nine  years  old 
when  Crotchet  began  business.  The  venture  being  short- 
lived, Lombe  could  not  have  been  far  advanced  in  years 
when  Crotchet's  failure  deprived  him  of  a  situation. 
With  money  advanced  by  his  half-brother  Thomas,  then 
a  rising  mercer  in  London,  John  made  his  way  to  Piedmont, 
to  profit  by  observation  of  those  particulars  in  which 
Crotchet's  practice  had  been  found  lacking. 

In  1716  John  was  back  in  London  with  all  the  informa-  Lombe's 
tion  he  desired  and  a  couple  of  Italian  workmen  to  help  Venture, 
him  in  the  execution  of  his  scheme.  Report  has  made 


200 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Lombe's  free  with  the  means  taken  by  the  younger  Lombe  to 
Venture,  attain  his  ends.  "  He  adopted  the  usual  mode,"  according 
to  Hutton — in  corrupting  the  servants  of  his  Italian 
employer  to  give  private  access  to  the  machine,  details 
of  which  he  meant  to  possess  himself  of.  "  Whatever  part 
he  became  master  of,  he  committed  to  paper  before  he 
slept,"  says  the  chronicler,  who  as  a  boy  worked  in  the 
Derby  mill.  "  By  perseverance  and  bribery,  he  acquired 
the  whole,  when  the  plot  was  discovered,  and  he  fled," 
and  found  sanctuary  on  an  English  ship.  The  story  goes 
that  the  King  of  Sardinia  was  so  incensed  at  the  incident 
that  he  made  it  death  for  any  man  to  discover  the  invention 
or  attempt  to  carry  it  out  of  the  dominion.  There  are 
other  accounts  in  which  the  youthful  Lombe  is  credited 
with  more  cunning  and  duplicity,  and  in  which  he  is  made 
to  attain  his  ends  by  collusion  with  the  Italian  priesthood. 
If  the  stratagems  were  actually  taken  they  were  super- 
fluous in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  complete  description  of 
the  Italian  method  of  silk-throwing,  accompanied  by 
drawings,  had  been  given  by  V.  Zonca  in  his  Novo  Teatro 
di  Machine,  published  in  Padua  in  1607,  and  issued  in 
further  editions  in  1620  and  1686.  There  might  be  a 
natural  desire  to  supplement  the  printed  information  by 
close  inspection  of  the  machine  at  work ;  and  especially 
to  bring  away  workmen  accustomed  to  the  process.  The 
necessity  of  measuring  and  noting  details  must,  however, 
have  been  reduced,  and  as  Lombe  is  reported  to  have 
stayed  several  years  in  Italy,  it  would  be  a  poor  com- 
pliment to  suppose  him  unacquainted  with  a  manifestly 
valued  and  somewhat  widely  circulated  book  bearing  so 
closely  upon  his  main  object  in  life. 

Thomas  Lombe,  the  capitalist  of  the  venture,  and  owner 

of  the  patent,  had  his  mercery  business  in  London,  where 

Reason       there  was  then  in  operation  an  established  frame-knitting 

for  trade  consuming  silk,  as  well  as  the  older  weaving  trade. 

starting      If  the  idea  of  starting  their  machine  in  London  in  opposi- 

at  tion  to  the  established  hand-throwsters  occurred  to  the 

Derby.        Lombes,  it  was  dismissed.     Hutton  says  they  "  fixed  upon 

Derby   as   a  proper  place  ....  because  the  town  was 

likely  to  supply  a  sufficient  number  of  hands  and  the  able 


DERBY. 


201 


stream  with  a  constant  supply  of  water."     Mr.  Davison,    Reason 

in  his   Rise  and  Progress  of  Derby   (1906),   says   Lombe   for 

"  preferred   swift   Derwent   to   sluggish   Trent   for   water   starting 

power."     Nottingham  mills  at  a  much  later  period  had   at 

to  be  driven  by  horse  power,  and  over  half  a  century  later   Derby. 

Arkwright  removed  to  Derbyshire  to  avail  himself  of  the 

river.     It  is  at  least  probable  that  the  Lombes,  as  well 

as  Crotchet,  had  their  eyes  on  the  stocking  market  and 

on   the    transference,   then   in   progress,    of   the   hosiery 

industry  from  London  to  the  Midlands.     The  local  weaving 

trade  had  not  begun,  and  the  consumption  of  silk  in  such 

businesses  as  the  button-working  trade  carried  on  around 

Macclesfield    could    not    constitute    more    than    a    minor 

attraction.     Lombe  agreed  with  the  Corporation  of  Derby 

for  the  lease  of  an  island  swamp  in  the  river,  paying  £8 

a  year  ground  rent  for  a  strip  500  feet  by  52  feet,  and 

built  upon  it  the  mill  that  was  the  wonder  of  its  age  and 

the  first  forerunner  of  the  modern  factory  system.     "  The 

first    English    factory    in    the    modern    sense,"    is    the 

description  given   to    it    by   Mr.   Taylor,    late  Inspector 

of  Factories,  in  his  standard  work,  The  Modern  Factory 

System. 

The    mill    had    eight    rooms    and    468    windows.     Its 
foundations   were   composed    of    sixteen   or   twenty-foot 
piles,  with  stone  above  them,  and  its  cost  is  stated  as 
£30,000.     Three  or  four  years  were  occupied  in  its  con- 
struction, and  during  that  time  John  Lombe  was  carrying 
on  his  new  business  in  rooms  in  different  parts  of  the 
town,  and  largely  in  the  Town  Hall.     Sir  Thomas  Lombe, 
to  give  him  the  title  that  was  the  reward  of  his  enterprise 
and  public  services,  left  £120,000  at  his  death,  and  is  said 
to  have  made  £80,000  during  the  currency  of  the  patent 
granted  for  fourteen  years  in  1718.     Hutton  would  make 
the  first  years  proportionately  even  more  profitable  than 
the  later  ones.     After  reducing  the  prices  to  a  level  at   Profits 
which  the  Italians  could  not  compete,  "  the  over-flowings   of  the 
of  profit  were  so  very  considerable  as  to  enable  him  to   enter- 
pay  for  the  grand  machine  as  the  work  went  on."     The  prise, 
machinery    was   under   John    Lombe's    eye    during    con- 
struction.    The  equally  important  matter  of  the  supply 


202  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  of  power  had  the  engineering  supervision  of  Soracole,  of 

impres-  whom  Defoe,  in  the  Northern  Tour,  tells  a  diverting  tale, 
sions  of  The  mill  was  still  new  at  the  time  of  the  great  man's  visit, 
Defoe.  of  which  there  follows  his  account : 

"  Here  is  a  Curiosity  in  Trade  worth  observing  as 
being  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  England,  namely 
a  Throwster's  Mill  worked  by  a  Wheel  turned  by 
Water,  and  though  it  cannot  perform  the  Doubling 
Part  of  a  Throwster's  Work,  which  can  only  be 
done  by  a  Hand- wheel ;  yet  it  turns  the  other 
Work  and  is  equal  to  the  Labour  of  many  hands. 
Whether  it  answers  the  Expence  or  not,  is  not  my 
Business  to  enquire. 

"  This  work,  afterwards  much  improved  by  Sir  Thomas 
Loam,  was  first  erected  by  one  Soracole,  a  Man 
expert  in  making  Mill  work,  especially  for  raising 
Water  to  supply  Towns  for  Family  Use.  But  it 
had  been  like  to  have  been  fatal  to  him  ;  for  going 
to  show  some  Gentlemen  the  Curiosity,  as  he  called 
it,  of  his  Mill,  as  he  crossed  the  Planks  which  lay 
just  above  the  Millwheel,  being  too  eager  in  his 
Description  and  keeping  his  Eye  rather  upon  what 
he  pointed  at  with  his  Finger  than  where  he 
placed  his  Feet,  he  mist  his  Step  and  slipt  into 
the  River.  He  was  so  very  close  to  the  Sluice 
which  let  the  Water  out  upon  the  Wheel,  and 
which  was  then  pulled  up,  that  though  Help  was 
just  at  hand,  there  was  no  taking  hold  of  him 
till  by  the  Force  of  the  Water  he  was  carried 
through,  pushed  just  under  the  large  Wheel, 
which  was  then  going  round  at  a  great  Rate. 
The  Body  being  thus  forced  in  between  two  of 
the  plashers  of  the  Wheel,  stopt  the  Motion  of  it 
for  a  little  while,  till  the  Water  pushing  hard  to 
force  its  Way,  the  Plasher  beyond  him  gave  way 
The  and  broke  ;  upon  which  the  Wheel  went  again, 

Mill  and  like  Jonah's  Whale  spewed  him  out,  not  upon 

described.  dry  Land,  but  upon  that  Part  they  call  the  Apron, 

and  so  to  the  Mill-tail,  where  he  was  taken  up  and 
received  no  Hurt  at  all." 


DERBY. 


203 


Not   all   contemporary   accounts   of  the  equipment   of   An 
the  mill  can  be  accepted  without  question,  and  one  which  imagina- 
stirred    Hutton's    contemptuous    contradiction    has    been  tive 
quoted  somewhat  widely  without  qualification  :  writer. 

"  One  hand  will  twist  as  much  Silk  as  before  could 
be  done  by  50,  and  that  in  a  truer  and  better 
Manner  :    this  Engine  contains  26,586  wheels  and 
97,746  Movements,  which  work  73,726  Yards  of 
Silk   Thread  every  time  the   Water   Wheel  goes 
round,  which  is  three  Times  in  one  Minute,  and 
318,504,960  yards  in  one  Day  and  Night.     One 
Water  Wheel  gives  motion  to  all  the  rest  of  the 
Wheels  and  Movements,  of  which  any  one  may  be 
stopped  separately.     One  Fire-engine  likewise  con- 
veys warm  air  to  every  individual  part   of  the 
Machine,  and  the  whole  Work  is  governed  by  one 
Regulator.     The  House  which  contains  this  engine 
is  of  a  vast  bulk  of  five  or  six  Stories  high." 
"  Had   the   Author   made   the   number    of   his   wheels 
10,000  less  he  would  have  been  nearer  the  mark,"  writes 
Hutton-— adding  in  bitter  remembrance  of  his  own  servi- 
tude— "  or  if  he  had  paid  an  unremitting  attendance  for 
seven  years,  he  might  have  found  their  number  13,384." 
The   spirit   of   exaggeration   is   corrected   further   by   an 
assurance  that  the  wheel  revolved  not  thrice,  but  "  about 
twice  "  in  a  minute  ;    and  that  the  "  superb  fire-engine  " 
was  in  actuality  "  a  common  stove,  which  warmed  one 
corner  of  the  large  building  and  left  the  others  to  starve." 
To  Hutton  the  mill  was  "  a  curious  but  wretched  place," 
in  which  he  spent  the  most  unhappy  part  of  his  life. 
Temperamentally  he  may  have  been  less  fitted  to  endure 
than  some  of  his  fellows,  but  the  arrangements  for  his 
performance  of  duty  and  the  correction  of  his  mistakes 
cannot  now  be  defended.     He  says  : 

"  Low  as  the  engines  were,  I  was  too  short  to  reach   The 
them.     To    remedy  this    defect    a    pair    of    high  Account 
pattens  were  fabricated  and  lashed  to  my  feet,   by 
which  I  dragged  after  me  till  time  lengthened  my   Hutton. 
stature.     The   confinement   and   the  labour  were 
no  burden,  but  the  severity  was  intolerable." 


204 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


Death  Children    who    did    wrong    were    hoisted    for    corporal 

of  punishment   upon   the   back   of   Bryan   Barker,    a   giant 

John  "  approaching    seven    feet/'     They    were    punished    for 

Lombe.      making  much  waste,   a  thing  that — from   "  the  fineness 

of  the  materials,  the  ravelled  state  of  the  slips  and  the 

bobbins "     and    childish    imprudences — was    difficult    to 

avoid.     The    raw    silk    was    from    Persia,    Canton    and 

Piedmont,  and  included  perfectly  white  China  sorts,  and 

it  passed  from  one  machine  to  another,  first  to  be  wound, 

next  to  be  twisted  and  then  to  be  doubled. 

John  Lombe  did  not  live  to  enjoy  long  the  prosperity 
his  efforts  had  produced,  and  his  death  is  attributed 
traditionally  to  the  craft  and  vengeance  of  the  Southerners, 
whom  he  had  despoiled  of  their  market.  Button's  version 
of  the  illness  and  death  has  not  commanded  unquestioning 
belief,  and,  like  the  story  of  the  young  man's  Italian 
adventure,  that  of  his  illness  is  not  very  different  from 
the  one  that  neighbours  with  a  taste  for  romance  might 
have  fabricated  for  themselves.  "  An  artful  woman  came 
over  in  the  character  of  a  friend  associated  with  the  parties 
and  assisted  in  the  business.  She  attempted  to  gain 
both  the  Italians,  and  succeeded  with  one.  By  these 
two,  slow  poison  was  supposed,  and  perhaps  justly,  to  be 
administered  to  John  Lombe,  who  lingered  two  or  three 
years  in  agonies  and  departed."  The  colour  of  justifica- 
tion apparent  in  the  recital  is  that  "  the  Italian  ran  away 
to  his  own  country,  and  Madam  was  interrogated,  but 
nothing  transpired  except  what  strengthened  suspicion." 
By  whom  Madam  was  interrogated  is  not,  however,  stated. 
John  Lombe  had  become  a  man  of  mark,  and  was  accorded 
the  "  most  superb  funeral  ever  known  in  Derby."  John 
was  succeded  by  William  Lombe,  a  brother,  of  a  melancholy 
cast  of  mind,  who  took  his  own  life,  and  in  1736  Thomas 
Applica-  Lombe  assumed  full  control.  The  business  gradually 
tion  for  became  more  successful,  and  it  continued  to  employ 
Exten-  300  hands  until  the  expiry  of  the  patent  in  1732. 
sion  of  In  applying  for  his  patent  in  1718,  Thomas  Lombe 

^^  "^  •• 

Patent.  pleaded  that  he  had  continued  earnest  application  and 
endeavours  for  several  years,  employed  a  great  many  agents 
here  and  in  foreign  parts,  and  by  dint  of  great  expense 


DERBY. 


205 


and  hazard  had  accomplished  that  which  had  never  before   Applica- 
been  done  in  the  realm.     In  applying  for  an  extension   tion  for 
of  the  patent  on  the  ground  that  a  great  part  of  the  gains    Exten- 
had  been  consumed  in  teaching  workpeople  the  use  of   sion  of 
his  invention,  Lombe  encountered  formidable  opposition.    Patent. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  monopolies  had  been  limited 
to  a  term  of  fourteen  years  under  James  I,  Parliament 
did  not  show  itself  reluctant  to  grant  an  extension.     A 
House' of  Commons  Committee  of  55  members,  to  which 
were  added  the  four  members  for  the  county  of  Derby, 
and  the  whole  commercial  element  of  the  House,  considered 
the  petition,  and  in  fourteen  days  reported  by  ordering 
Alderman  Percy  and  six  members  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  the 
extension  of  the  patent. 

An  account  of  the  proceedings  is  given  by  Gravenor 
Henson  in  his  unfinished  History  of  the  Framework 
Knitters  (1831).  Witnesses  were  called  in  the  person  of 
two  master  silk-weavers  and  two  silk  merchants.  Daniel 
Booth  deposed  that  since  the  establishment  of  the  Derby 
engines  silk  which  had  formerly  cost  25s.  a  pound,  could 
be  bought  for  20s.,  and  that  the  silk  manufacture  had 
much  increased.  Booth  produced  samples  of  silks  repre- 
senting that  of  the  English  hand-throwsters,  Italian 
organzine  and  Lombe's  English  organzine.  Specimens 
were  also  shown  in  the  unwrought  condition,  and  also 
"  woven  into  silk  fabrics  of  velvet  and  mantua  (i.e.  dress) 
silk." 

Captain  Peter  Lekeux,  a  master- weaver,  testified  to 
similar  effect,  adding  that  until  a  year  or  two  ago  Lombe 
had  been  unable  to  throw  good  silk,  but  that  now  his  yarn 
was  as  good  as  the  Italian. 

One  Selwin,  a  silk  merchant,  agreed  that  several  mills 
had   been   set   up   for   silk-throwing,    but    none,    except 
Lombe's,    could    produce    thrown    silk    equal    to    Italian 
organzine.     Another    merchant,    Drake,    who    had    seen 
Lombe's  engine,  declared  that  he  had  not  seen  its  equal   Evidence 
even  in  Italy.     Petitions  were  presented  from  Manchester,    for  and 
Macclesfield,  Leek  and  Stockport  praying  that  counsel  might   against, 
be  heard  in  opposition  to  the  Bill.     Another  was  forwarded 
by  the  Master,  Wardens  and  Assistants  of  the  Company 


206 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Evidence  of  Silk-throwsters,  London,  urging  that  by  Act  of  Charles  I 
for  and  no  person  had  the  right  to  exercise  their  trade  without 
against,  having  served  apprenticeship  to  it,  and  pointing  out  that 
an  extension  would  be  ruinous  to  them.  This  petition  from 
London  was  supported  by  one  from  Blackburn  in 
Lancashire.  All  these  were  reinforced  by  a  singular 
petition  by  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  Brethren  and  Capital 
Burgesses  of  Derby,  assembled  in  Common  Council,  on 
26  February,  1731-32.  Their  plea  asserted  that  Lombe's 
invention  was  not  only  detrimental  to  the  woollen  manu- 
facture, but  also  to  the  borough  in  general.  The  gravamen 
of  a  complaint  which  looks  astonishing  to  modern  eyes 
was  that  by  keeping  the  poor  at  home,  Lombe  was 
increasing  their  number.  The  local  petition  said  that 
"  although  the  said  engine  employed  a  great  number  of 
hands,  the  erection  had  materially  increased  the  poor 
rates,"  and  that  the  enlarging  of  the  term  of  the  patent 
would  only  be  a  continuation  of  the  grievance.  In  view 
of  this  extraordinary  representation,  it  seems  fair  to  recall 
Defoe's  description  of  the  Derby  of  1720  as  "  a  town  of 
gentry  rather  than  trade."  The  borough  would  seem 
to  have  been  accustomed  to  export  the  poverty-stricken. 
The  presentation  of  several  petitions  against  the  Bill 
and  the  absence  of  any  addresses  in  its  favour  put  a  new 
complexion  upon  the  case,  and  the  application  for  a  renewed 
monopoly  was  refused.  The  refusal  was  softened  by  a 
grant  of  £14,000  made  conditionally  upon  the  exhibition 
in  the  Tower  of  London  of  an  exact  model  of  the  mechanism 
and  the  award  of  this  solatium  led  to  great  rejoicing  at 
the  mill.  In  the  phraseology  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  : 

"  His  Majesty  having  been  informed  of  the  case  of 

Sir  Thomas  Lombe  with  respect  to  his  engine  for 

making  organzine  silk,   had  commanded  him  to 

Exten-  acquaint  to  the  House  that  his  Maj  esty  recommended 

sion  of  to  their  consideration  the  making  such  provisions 

term  ....  as  they  shall  think  proper." 

refused.          The  sum  was  voted  to  Sir  Thomas  Lombe  "  as  a  reward  for 

his  eminent  services  done  to  the  nation,  in  discovering 

with  the  greatest  hazard  and  difficulty  the  capital  Italian 


DERBY.  207 

engines,  and  introducing  and  bringing  the  same  to  full  Lombe's 
perfection  in  this  Kingdom  at  his  own  great  expense."  Reward. 
The  knighthood  and  the  shrievalty  of  London  and  Middlesex 
came  to  him  in  1727,  his  42nd  year,  and  Lombe  lived 
until  1739. 

The  expiry  of  the  patent  and  the  full  disclosure  of  the 
structure  of  the  machines  led  immediately  to  the  establish- 
ment of  competitive  mills,  and  one  of  Lombe's  Italians, 
Nathaniel  Gartrevalli,  transferred  his  services  to  the 
opposition  mill  at  Stockport.  Eleven  additional  throwing- 
mills  were  built  at  Derby  before  1791,  when  silk  had 
become  the  staple  manufacture  of  the  town  and  gave 
employment  to  more  than  a  thousand  persons.  Mention 
is  made  of  these  twelve  mills  in  Macpherson's  Annals  of 
Commerce  (1805),  in  which  it  is  written  they  "  were  in  a 
great  measure  employed  in  twisting  Bengal  silk  for  the 
East  India  Company."  Glover  tells  of  five  or  six  other 
mills  existing  in  the  remainder  of  the  county  in  1831, 
and  estimates  the  number  of  operatives  at  two  or  three 
thousand. 

A  quotation  from  the  Derby  Reporter  in  Mr.  Davison's 
Rise  and  Progress,  shows  that  in  1833  trade  unionism 
began  to  attract  Derby  workmen,  of  whom  800  are  said 
to  have  joined  a  secret  society.  A  manufacturer,  Frost, 
having  discharged  one  man  who  refused  to  be  fined  for 
bad  work,  his  fellows  left  in  a  body  in  the  month  of 
November.  Workers  in  other  mills  joined  the  strikers, 
and  when  the  employers  retaliated  by  discharging  all 
unionists,  some  1,300  persons,  including  throwsters,  small- 
ware  weavers,  broad  silk  weavers,  twisters,  and  members 
of  other  trades  were  idle.  Strangers  were  imported,  and 
some  mills  were  put  into  partial  work.  Dragoons  were 
brought  into  the  town,  and  special  constables  were  sworn 
in.  The  strike  outlasted  the  winter,  and  kept  2,400  men, 
women  and  boys  idle  until  mid-April.  Develop- 

The  name   of  Frost  appears  in  the  firm  of  Frost  and  ments, 
Stevenson   in   Pigot's   Directory   for    1835   as  one  of  ten  1800 — 
silk   manufacturing   firms    existent    at    that    date.      The  1850. 
compiler  gave  the  articles  produced  in  Derby  from  silk  as 
"  various,  embracing  hose,  handkerchiefs,  shawls,  ferrets, 


208  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Develop-    laces  and  sewing  silk,"   and  his  list  of  names  included 
ments,        those  of  ten  throwsters. 

1800—  Causes  not  connected  with  the  local  supply  of  material 

1850.  affected  the  stocking-making  business.  The  workman- 
ship was  inferior,  French-made  stockings  were  preferred, 
and  Midland-made  silk  stockings  were  sold  under  the 
false  name  "  Paris."  An  impetus  was  lent  by  the 
improvements  made  by  Roper,  of  Locko,  in  1750,  and 
Jedediah  Strutt  in  1758-59,  resulting  in  the  production  of 
Derby-rib,  or  elastic,  stockings.  The  improvement  was 
common  to  hosiery  at  large,  and  assisted  indifferently 
silk  and  cotton  at  a  moment  when  the  machine  spinning 
of  cotton  yarn  was  beginning.  The  market  that  had 
attracted  Crotchet  and  Lombe  drew  Arkwright  from 
Lancashire,  first  to  Nottingham  and  next  to  Derby  in 
search  of  means  to  develop  his  water-frame  for  spinning 
cotton  by  the  use  of  rollers.  It  was  at  Belper  on  the 
River  Derwent  that  Strutt  and  Arkwright,  who  entered 
into  partnership  in  1775,  built  the  first  of  their  four  cotton- 
mills. 

The  cotton  knitting  industry  developed  rapidly,  and 
in  1831  found  employment  for  6,500  persons,  as  against 
850  engaged  in  knitting  silk.  The  authority  for  these 
particulars  is  Glover,  who  adds  that  Ward,  Brettle  and 
Ward,  of  Belper,  then  considered  to  be  the  largest  makers 
of  hosiery  goods  in  the  world,  had  400  silk  knitting  frames, 
producing  300  dozens  of  hose  a  week,  and  2,500  frames  for 
cotton,  turning  out  some  1,900  dozens  a  week.  One 
Crane,  in  1766,  had  made  a  frame  for  manufacturing  rich 
brocade  for  waistcoats,  weaving  being  introduced  much 
later. 

William  Taylor,   occupier  of  Lombe's  old  mill,   began 

the  weaving  of  silk  goods  in  premises  in  Bag-lane  apparently 

about  1822.     Bridgett  and  Son  and  Ambrose  Moore  and 

Co.  followed  his  example,  and  enabled  Glover  to  declare 

Changes     that  sarcenets,  gros  de  Naples  and  other  rich  silks  "  in 

in  local       style  equal  to  those  made  by  the  weavers  of  Spitalfield," 

industry,    were  being  woven  on  220  looms  and  engaging  about  300 

persons.     Velvets     and    plain     and    figured    satins    are 

enumerated    in    Bagshaw's    Derbyshire    Gazetteer    (1846), 


DERBY. 


209 


amongst  the  other  broad  silks  made  in  Derby  and  its    Changes 
dependencies,  and  the  number  of  looms  is  stated  at  344,    in  local 
and  the  trade  is  said  to  have  been  extending.  industry, 

Narrow  weaving  was  introduced  almost  simultaneously 
with  broad  by  the  firm  of  Jas.  and  S.  C.  Peet  in  1823,  who, 
in  a  factory  built  by  Isaac  Peet,  applied  steam  power  to 
the  weaving  of  galloons.  Glover  adds  that  the  Peets  were 
makers  of  considerable  quantities  of  silk  hose  and  of 
ribbons,  and  that  other  early  manufacturers  of  narrow 
goods  were  Smith,  Bosley  and  Smith,  of  Glossop,  and 
Ralph  Frost,  of  Derby. 

Bagshaw  wrote  in  1846 :  "  Derby  is  entering  into 
formidable  rivalry  with  that  great  monopolizer  of  the 
ribbon  manufacture,  Coventry,"  and  amplified  the  remark 
by  the  statement  that  the  233  steam  ribbon-looms  at 
work  in  1833  had  since  greatly  increased  in  number.  It  is 
learned  from  Beckman's  History  of  Inventions,  published 
in  the  same  year,  that  the  ribbons  were  plain  and  chiefly 
black  sarcenet;  and  that  there  were  233  power  ribbon- 
looms  in  Derby,  254  in  Congleton,  and  100  in  Leek.  Con- 
temporary writers  are  in  agreement  as  to  the  healthy 
condition  of  the  industry  up  to  this  period,  and  Dodd, 
in  British  Manufactures  (1844),  wrote :  "  By  degrees 
improvements  have  reached  every  department,  so  that 
at  the  present  day  some  of  the  silk  mills  present  fine 
examples  of  factory  arrangement/' 

An  operation  closely  allied  to  the  wire-wrapping  done 
now  in  Derby  received  less  favourable  mention  from 
Dodd: 

"  Rage  for  cheapness  in  the  present  day  had  led  to  a 
curious  excess  of  ingenuity  ...  by  the  invention  of  a 
process  termed  'plating/  which  bears  the  same  relation 
to  the  real  silk  manufacture  as  metal  plating  does  to  the 
manufacture  of  silver.     It  consists  in  putting  a  coating 
of  silk  upon  a  foundation  of  cotton,  by  which  the  more 
costly  material  is  only  used  in  those  parts  which  meet    The 
the   eye."     The   passage   ends   with   the   assurance   that   Plating 
"  the  history  of  our  textile  manufactures  within  the  last   Process, 
dozen  years  is  full  of  examples  of  this  kind." 

The  manufacturers  named   in    Bagshaw's  Directory  of 


210 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


List  of        1846  number  22,  whose  names,  addresses  and  businesses 
Firms.        are  given  as  follows  : 

t  Adams,  Thomas,  Cavendish  Street. 
f  2  3  Allen,  Joseph,  Chester  Road. 
f  Brammall,  Holmes,  City  Road. 
3  Bridgett,  Thomas  &  Co.,  Bridge  Street. 
f  6  Crooks,  Thomas,  Siddals  Lane. 

*  Davenport,  Ebenezer,  Osmaston  Street. 

*  Davenport,  Joseph,  Morledge  Mills. 

f  Gilbert,  James   (silk  and  cotton  purses),  Traffic 

Street. 
t  Hunt,  George,  City  Road. 

*  Johnson,  John,  Albion  Street. 

Johnson  and  Walton  (and  cords),  Jury  Street. 
3  Madeley,  Thomas  &  Co.,  Cavendish  Street. 
3  Peet,  J.,  and  C.S.,  Nuns  Street. 
1  Robinson,  John  and  Thomas,  &  Co.,  Sacheverel 

Street. 

3  4  Simpson  and  Turner,  Canal  Street. 
3  6  Taylor,  Wm.,  sen.,  Silk  Mill  Lane. 

Taylor,  Wm.  Henry,  and  George,  Full  Street. 
t  3  Taylor,  Wm.,  Short  Street. 
234  Topham  and  Fawcett,  Wardwick  Mill. 
2345  Unsworth  and  Williamson,  Depot  Mills,  Siddals  Lane. 
f  Wright,  Samuel  Job,  Agard  Street. 

*  Wright,  Thomas  John,  Agard  Street. 

The  lease  of  the  Old  Silk  Mill  passed  in   1739  from 

Lady   Lombe  to   Richard   Wilson  who,   it  is  stated  by 

Glover,  obtained  the  whole  works  for  the  sum  of  £4,000  ; 

an  amount  quite  disproportionate  to  the  reported  cost 

of  the  building.     Until  1803  the  premises  were  occupied 

The  by  a  Mr.  Swift,  who  improved  the  machinery,  and  at  the 

fate  of        time  of  the  fire  in  1826,  when  the  machines  had  to  be 

Lombe's     entirely  renewed,  the  mill  was  in  the  occupation  of  the 

Mill.  Mr.   Taylor  who  founded  the  Derby  silk-weaving  trade. 

The  mill  had  ceased  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture  of 

silk,  and  was  in  the  possession  of  a  firm  of  manufacturing 


*  Throwsters  only. 

1  Manufacturers  of  broad  silk. 

3  Ribbons. 

5  Twist. 


t  Manufacturers  only. 

2  Manufacturers  of  doubles,  galloons,  and  smallwares. 

4  Trimmings. 

6  Velvet. 


DERBY.  211 

chemists  at  the  date  when  it  was  burnt  to  the  ground  in    Relics 
December,    1910.     A   new   building   of   three   storeys   in    of 
place  of  five  has  replaced  it  upon  the  same  site,  and  the    Original 
tower   with  which   it   is    also    graced   is    reminiscent    of    Building. 
Lombe's.     A  relic  of  the  original  structure  remains  in  a 
fine  pair  of  wrought-iron  gates  surmounted  by  Lombe's 
monogram,  which  have  been  re-erected  by  the  Corporation 
of  Derby  in  situ  in  Silk-mill  Lane. 

The  silk  industry  has  not  only  dwindled  in  Derby, 
but  has  radically  changed  in  character.  Silk-weaving, 
except  of  narrow  gimps,  has  disappeared.  No  silk  hose 
are  knitted  in  the  town,  although  factories  affiliated 
rather  to  Nottingham  than  to  Derby  work  up  silk  on 
the  knitting-frame  at  Belper,  Matlock,  Ilkeston  and 
Melbourne.  Silk-throwing  is  done  extensively  by  only 
one  firm,  that  of  T.  Mitchell,  and  upon  a  smaller  scale 
for  self  consumption  by  one  or  two  other  manufacturers. 
Seven  firms  use  silk  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
principally  in  wrapping  electrical  and  millinery  wire, 
making  dress  and  millinery  trimmings,  surgical  bandages, 
cords  and  coach  lace.  A  recapitulation  of  the  classes  of 
goods  made  by  one  Derby  firm  includes  chenilles,  tassels, 
gimps,  fringes,  laces,  buttons,  scrolls,  tinsels  and  fancy 
goods.  It  is  probably  a  correct  estimate  that  the  number 
of  persons  employed  in  throwing  and  winding  silk  in  Derby 
is  four  hundred.  The  number  engaged  in  manufacturing 
silk  cannot  be  so  accurately  gauged,  but  by  the  best  trade 
authorities  the  number  is  estimated  at  one  thousand. 

The  throwing-mill  owned  and  carried  on  by  Mr.  Albert 
J.  Eggleston,  in  the  name  of  his  predecessor,  Mr.  T.  Mitchell, 
is  in  succession  to  the  old  firm  of  Davenport,  founded 
in  the  first  half  of  the  last  century.     Mr.  Charles  Dould, 
Abbey  Street  Mills,  and  Messrs.  Stokes  and  Hudson  have 
a  large  manufacturing  business.     Messrs.   Richards'   mill 
is   now   a   branch    of   a   Manchester    Company.     Messrs. 
Thomas    Smith    and    Sons,    Ltd.,    Abbey    Street,    manu-    The 
facture  some  silk  lace,  and  Messrs.  G.  B.  Unsworth  and  Present 
Son,  Ltd.,  are  wire  coverers  and  makers  of  dress  trim-   Day. 
mings,   as  are  Messrs.   Green,   of  Normanton,   upon  the 
outskirts  of  the  town. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
LEICESTER. 

The  The  close  community  of  interest  between  Nottingham 

Begin-        and  Leicester  makes  it  difficult  to  trace  the  development 
ning  of   the   knitting   industry   in   the   one   without   constant 

of  the         reference  to  progress  in  the  other.     In  the  larger  sense 
Stocking    the  Midland  hosiery  trade  is  all  one.     It  has  arisen  from 
Trade.        a   common   source,    and  that   portion   which  belongs   to 
Leicester  has  been  concerned  more  with  wool  than  sUk. 

Little  more  than  30  miles  separates  Leicester  from 
Calverton,  the  birthplace  of  Lee's  invention,  but  it  was 
not  in  the  county-town,  but  in  Hinckley,  that  the  first 
use  of  the  knitting-frame  in  Leicestershire  was  made. 
Ephraim  Chambers,  in  his  Cyclopedia  (1783),  says  a  frame 
was  brought  into  Hinckley  before  the  year  1640  by  one 
William  Iliffe  ;  in  other  words  within  fifty  years  of  the 
date  of  Lee's  invention,  or  within  thirty  years  of  its  re- 
introduction  to  England.  The  site  was  found  congenial, 
and  Chambers  wrote  : 

"Now  the  manufacture  of  the  town  is  so  extensive 
that  a  larger  quantity  of  hose,  of  a  low  price,  in  cotton, 
thread  and  worsted,  is  supposed  to  be  made  here  than  in 
any  town  in  England.  The  manufacture  now  employs 
about  2,585  working  people." 

The  connection  of  Hinckley  with  the  cheaper  sorts  of 
hosiery  has  been  continued  to  the  present.  It  is  not 
said  whether  the  first  stocking-maker  to  begin  business 
in  Leicester  came  from  that  direction  or  from  the  north- 
ward. In  Glimpses  of  Ancient  Leicester  (1891),  Mr.  T.  F. 
Johnson  attributes  the  introduction  of  the  first  stocking- 
frame  to  one  Nicholas  Allsopp,  who  worked  in  a  cellar 
in  Northgate  Street.  The  statement  agrees  with  that 
made  by  Gardiner,  upon  the  authority  of  his  uncle 
Coltman,  who  was  engaged  in  the  trade  in  1769.  In  his 
book,  Music  and  Friends,  Gardiner,  who  gives  a  sufficiently 

212 


LEICESTER.  213 

circumstantial    account,    names    1670    as    the    date    of  The 
Allsopp's  beginning,  and  mentions  that  the  pioneer  had  Begin- 
difficulty  in  vending  his  own  work.     Allsopp  took  J.  Parker,  ning 
of  Leicester,  as  apprentice,  and  in  due  time  Parker  took  of  the 
as  his  own  apprentice  a  Quaker  called  Samuel  Wright,  and  Stocking 
for  some  years  Wright  was  the  only  stockinger  in  the  town.  Trade. 

Gardiner's  statement  that  it  was  in  about  1700  that 
the  making  of  worsted  hose  first  became  a  trade,  suggests 
the  inference  that  the  first  stockings  were  made  of  silk. 
Gravenor  Henson's  assertion  (1831)  that  the  first  pair  of 
cotton  stockings  were  made  in  this  country  in  1730, 
favours  this  construction,  without  putting  out  of  court 
the  alternative  meaning  that  numbers  of  newcomers 
entered  the  business.  Mr.  Johnson  says  there  were  from 
500  to  600  framework-knitters  in  Leicester  in  1727,  and 
Gardiner  refers  to  the  existence  of  1,000  frames  in  the 
town  in  1750.  It  is  evident  that  the  development  was 
an  important  one,  and  if  Henson's  authority  can  be 
accepted,  the  change  to  cotton  was  quickly  made. 
Gardiner  says  the  frames  in  1750  were  making  white  thread 
hose  from  imported  Silesian  yarn,  and  brown  thread 
hose  from  Scotch  yarn,  and  were  also  turning  out  1,000 
dozens  of  worsted  hose  per  week.  The  dyeing  and  trim- 
ming of  the  goods  was  carried  out  in  Nottingham,  where 
Elliotts'  charge  for  black  dyeing  was  3s.  6d.  a  dozen. 
Gardiner's  account  includes  the  names  of  the  principal 
manufacturers  of  that  day  : 

Mr.  Lewin. 

Barns,  Chamberlain  and  Burgess.  Output 

Cradock  and  Burney.  in 

Thos.  Pougher.  1750. 

Richard  Garle. 

Sir  Arthur  Hazlerig. 

Joseph  Cradock. 

Jno.  Williams. 

Wm.  Miles. 

Thomas  Gardiner,  who  lived  94  years,  and  died  in 
1837,  left  behind  him  an  account  of  the  social  condition 
of  the  framework-knitters,  showing  that  their  plight 
was  not  the  uniformly  desperate  one  that  has  been  some- 


214 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  times  supposed.     The  narrator,   who  used  to   distribute 

Condition  his  goods  all  over  England  by  packhorse,  was  reported 

of  the         to  be  speaking  of  "  his  earlier  years,"  and  possibly  of  the 

Stock-        time    anterior    to    the    machine-breaking    riots    of    1773. 

inger.          At  least,   the   account  is   something  to   set   against  the 

stories  of  destitution  which  occur  too  frequently  in  the 

history  of  the  industry.     He  wrote: 

"  The  lower  orders  lived  in  comparative  ease  and  plenty, 
having  right  of  common  for  pig  and  poultry  and  some- 
times for  a  cow.  The  stocking-makers  each  had  a  garden, 
a  barrel  of  home-brewed  ale,  and  work-day  suit  of  clothes, 
and  one  for  Sundays,  and  plenty  of  leisure,  seldom  work- 
ing more  than  three  days  a  week.  Moreover,  music  was 
cultivated  by  some  of  them.  Even  so  late  as  1800 
the  larger  part  of  all  the  frames  in  Leicestershire  were  the 
property  of  the  master  framework-knitters,  not  of  the 
hosiers." 

Work  in  cotton  and  wool  was  not  better  paid  than 
the  work  in  silk  in  Nottinghamshire.  Felkin  gives  the 
rates  of  payment  about  1779  as  10s.  to  12s.,  as  against 
10s.  to  14s.  on  silk.  A  higher  standard  of  condition  would 
be  explicable  could  it  be  supposed  that  fancy  knitting 
was  done  by  the  fortunate  villagers,  for  upon  this  work 
18s.  to  30s.  was  paid  in  Nottinghamshire.  Mrs.  Johnson, 
however,  states  explicitly  that  the  making  of  fancy  hosiery 
was  not  begun  in  Leicestershire  until  the  opening  of  the 
19th  century. 

Gardiner  was  the  son   of  the  Leicester  bleacher  who 

is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  whiten  worsted  hose  by 

stoving  them  in  the  fumes  of  sulphur,  an  adaptation  to 

hosiery    of    a    process    long    used    upon    woollen    cloth. 

Leicester    Leicester  has  been  connected  with  some  notable  advances 

Inven-        in   the   manufacture   of   textiles,   in   particular  with   the 

tors.  devising  of  machinery  to  spin  long  wool.     A  man  named 

Brookhouse,  employed  in  1788  by  the  firm   of   Coltman 

and     Gardiner,     woolcombers,     Leicester,     adapted     the 

principle  embodied  in  Arkwright's  cotton  spinning-frame, 

and  two  of  the  largest  makers  of  worsted  yarn,  Coltman 

and  Whetstone,  employed  these  machines.     In  an  angry 

riot  the  machines  were  destroyed,  as  well  as  the  dwellings 


LEICESTER.  215 

of  the  spinners  who  had  been  courageous  enough  to  use  Leicester 
them.  Brookhouse  set  up  machines  in  Warwick,  and  Inven- 
there  made  a  fortune  from  them.  The  process  was  adopted  tors, 
in  Worcestershire,  Yorkshire  and  Aberdeen,  and  eventu- 
ally in  Leicester.  Again,  through  Donisthorpe,  Leicester 
was  identified  closely  with  the  improvement  of  the  wool 
comb.  The  invention  of  machinery  for  spinning  long 
fibres  has  its  importance  in  relation  to  waste  silk,  and 
Leicester  is  connected  intimately  with  at  least  one  other 
invention  of  great  moment  to  the  silk  trade.  John 
Heathcoat,  born  1783  at  Long  Whatton,  was  a  Leicester- 
shire man  who  returned  from  Nottingham  to  Hathern, 
and  from  thence  to  Loughborough,  to  work  his  patent 
machine  for  the  manufacture  of  silk  net.  The  fate 
that  overtook  Brookhouse  overcame  Heathcoat,  whose 
Loughborough  factory,  with  its  55  frames  and  its  valuable 
stock  of  material,  was  wrecked  by  the  Luddites  on 
26th  June,  1816.  An  award  of  £10,000  compensation, 
which  was  made  conditionally  upon  a  promise  to  expend 
the  money  in  the  district,  was  rejected  by  Heathcoat, 
who  left  his  partners,  Lacy  and  Boden,  and  set  up  his 
machinery  in  Devonshire,  at  Tiverton,  a  decayed  centre 
of  the  woollen  trade. 

Felkin,  writing  (1864)  with  his  good  knowledge  of  the 
trade,  stated  that  from  1782  onwards  Leicester  became 
identified  with  woollen,  Derby  with  silk,  and  Nottingham 
with  cotton  hosiery.  He  gave  1834  as  the  year  in  which 
the  hard-twisted  cotton,  known  as  Lisle  thread,  came 
first  into  use  in  Leicester  trade. 

The  fancy  hosiery  branch  was  referred  to  as  still  new 
in  1828  by  Sir  Richard  Phillips,  whose  Personal  Tour 
supplies  many  particulars  of  this  stage  of  the  development 
of  the  Leicester  business. 

His  book  enumerates  cotton  and  worsted  net  braces,  Fancy 
worsted   cravats,   underwaistcoats,   children's  shoes,   stay  Hosiery 
laces   and   tippets   as   among   the   principal   productions,  Manu- 
and  gives  the  names  of  three  producers  :    Robert  Harris  facture. 
and  Co.,   W.   and  S.   Kelly  and  Marston  and  Co.     The 
output  of  braces  was  estimated  at  3,000  dozens  a  week, 
and  this  trade  in  knitted  braces  may  be  accepted  as  the 


216 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Elastic       forerunner  of  that  in  elastic  webs,  for  which  Leicester 
Web  has  a  unique  reputation.     Felkin  asserts  that  the  idea 

Trade.  of  inlaying  india-rubber  thread  in  hosiery  originated  with 
Stubbins,  a  Nottingham  man,  in  1842.  There  is  the 
authority  of  the  Leicester  Commercial  Year  Book,  issued 
by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  for  a  statement  that 
Mr.  Caleb  Bedells,  with  Mr.  Archibald  Turner,  introduced 
the  elastic  web  to  Leicester  in  1843  as  a  material  for  boot 
gussets.  The  elastic  web  and  braid  trade  of  Leicester 
is  said  to  find  employment  at  this  day  for  3,000  looms 
and  10,000  to  15,000  persons. 

Phillips  found  existent  at  the  time  of  his  visit  the 
business  in  sewing  thread  and  knitting  cottons  that  is 
still  a  department  of  Leicester  industry,  and  he  reported 
a  production  of  about  20,000/fo.  a  week.  Cotton  yarn  at 
the  time  was  being  obtained  from  Cromford  and  Hudders- 
field,  and  was  bleached,  dyed  and  wound  in  Leicester. 
"  Much  lace "  also  was  being  made  at  Leicester,  both 
by  hand  and  by  steam.  Some  500  to  600  persons  were 
employed,  and  Seddons,  Wheatley,  Rawson,  Haines  and 
Langhorne  were  named  as  the  principal  manufacturers. 
Worsted,  which  for  some  generations  had  been  made 
upon  the  handwheel,  was  being  spun  by  steam-power, 
and  also  in  "  numerous  small  factories  in  which  the 
spinning  is  performed  by  hand  with  spinning  jennies." 
Trade  was  bad  at  the  time,  and  the  "  profits  even  by 
steam  so  low  as  2J  or  3  per  cent,"  while  the  small  spinners 
got  still  less.  A  depreciation  of  values  was  in  process, 
and  the  fall  of  prices  had  lately  ruined  "  all  the  worsted 
mills  except  those  which  combine  long  and  short  wool 
by  peculiar  machinery  "  ;  a  reference  probably  to  carding 
machines  and  mule-spinning. 

Phillips  found  that  men  making  hose  were  paid  8s.  to 
12^.  a  week  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  daily  work.     Men 
Sewing       employed   on   fancy   knitting   and  lace  received   15s.   to 
and  20^.,  women  about  7s.,  and  children  2s.  6d.  to  5s.     The 

Knitting    contraction    of    values    seriously    affected    manufacturers 
Cottons,     of  hosiery  and  moved  the  author  to  exclaim  : 

"  The  ruinous  depreciation  of  the  money  value  of 
Leicester  manufactures  is  frightful.  One  article,  for  which 


LEICESTER. 


217 


85.  used  to  be  paid  for  making  is  now  sold  for  Is!  The 
2,000  dozen  of  hose  made  per  week  are  sold  at  a  third  of 
what  they  would  have  yielded  twenty  years  ago  ;  and 
at  a  profit  of  2J  per  cent  after  the  working  hands  are 
reduced  to  the  lowest.? 

In    1828   the   following   were  named  as  the  principal 
proprietors  of  stocking  frames  : 


Bankart, 

E.  and  H.  Rawson, 

Hunt, 

Wood, 

Gray. 


Mitchel  and  Stokes, 
'  Rawson  and  Sons, 

Coltmans, 

Kirby, 

Hill  and  Davenport, 

Hudson, 

About  the  middle  of  the  century  the  manufacture  of 
heavy  "  Scotch  "  underwear,  at  first  upon  hand-frames, 
was  introduced,  and  Mr.  Theodore  Walker,  in  his  evidence 
before  the  Tariff  Commission  of  1905,  added  that  the 
branch  was  begun  by  his  father.  It  was  at  the  same 
period  that  the  rotary  knitting-frame  was  introduced 
by  Moses  Mellor,  of  Nottingham.  It  is  stated  by 
Mr.  Tertius  Rowlett,  in  the  Leicester  Commercial  Year  Book, 
that  a  Loughborough  man,  Paget,  for  some  years  worked 
secretly  on  frames  by  which  a  seamless  stocking  could 
be  made,  and  eventually  the  Mellor  machine  was  adapted 
to  make  tubular  lace  hose  of  narrow  width.  The  intro- 
duction of  Cotton's  machine  about  forty  years  ago  gave 
a  new  impetus  upon  the  plain  hose  trade  by  enabling 
one  girl  to  supervise  machinery  capable  of  an  output 
of  70  dozens  a  week,  and  the  cost  of  knitting  was  reduced 
from  about  29  pence  a  dozen  to  fourpence.  Machines 
permitting  wider  varieties  of  changes  have  been  brought 
out  by  Leicester  machinists,  enabling  more  elaborate 
patterns  to  be  produced,  and  there  are  in  addition  several 
types  of  Continental  frames  in  use  in  the  town. 

Silk  has  never  been  a  main  material  of  local  industry, 
and  its  chief  employment  is  probably  in  combination 
with  wool  in  under-clothing.  The  increasing  number  of 
fancy-dyed  and  comparatively  expensive  articles  now 
being  turned  out  seems  however  to  offer  wider  opportu- 
nities for  the  local  employment  of  silk  in  future  years. 


Manu- 
facture 
of 

Under- 
wear. 


Oppor- 
tunity 
for  Silk 
Industry 


CHAPTER  XX. 
BRADFORD. 

Mixed  It  is  a  long-established  truism  that  more  silk  is  manu- 

Silk  factured  in  this   country   outside  the  somewhat  narrow 

Goods.  confines  of  the  silk  industry  proper  than  within  them. 
Probably  for  more  than  a  century  Bradford  has  made 
mixed  goods  containing  silk,  and  for  seventy  years  has 
been  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  consumption. 
Despite  all  that  has  happened  to  displace  natural  silk, 
the  quantity  employed  by  manufacturers  of  dress  goods 
in  and  around  Bradford  remains  large,  and  in  the  Man- 
ningham  Mills  the  city  owns  the  largest  individual  silk 
mill  in  the  kingdom.  Perhaps  in  no  town  in  England 
has  so  much  been  done  on  the  one  hand  to  help,  and  on 
the  other  to  hamper,  the  development  of  the  silk  industry. 
Comparison  is  difficult,  because  it  is  impossible  to  estimate 
the  effects  of  the  competition  of  fibres  not  directly 
competitive  with  silk.  There  is  always  a  doubt,  too, 
as  to  how  far  a  direct  substitute  actually  displaces  an 
older  commodity.  What  is  certain  is  that  Bradford 
developments  have  worked  in  both  directions.  Regard 
may  be  had  first  to  three  matters  of  Bradford  trade  history 
which  have  incidentally  had  potent  influences  on  the 
fortunes  of  silk. 

Com-  There  is  no  gainsaying  the  importance  to  silk  of  the 

petitive      introduction  into  Bradford  industry  of  the  hair  of  the 

Materials.  Peruvian  llama — alpaca.     The  material  was  first  used  for 

the  manufacture  of  light,  lustrous  stuffs  in  the  late  'thirties 

of  the  last  century,  and  mohair  was  applied  to  similar 

purposes  in  the  later  'forties.     Stuffs  showing  a  modicum 

of  lustre  had  been  made  before  that  time,  but  the  brightest 

218 


BRADFORD.  219 

of  them  was  dull  by  comparison  either  with  silk  or  the  Corn- 
new  goat  hair  fabrics.  Besides  being  dull  to  the  eye,  petitive 
the  older  stuffs  were  harsh  to  the  touch  and  coarse  by  Materials, 
comparison  with  the  worsted  dress  goods  of  to-day.  So 
long  as  choice  was  practically  restricted  to  coarse  stuffs 
on  the  one  hand,  and  silks  on  the  other,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  incentive  to  wear  silk  must  have  been  greater 
than  after  the  introduction  of  other  materials.  Alpaca 
and  m'ohair  provided  alternatives  combining  some  of  the 
virtues  of  wool  with  some  of  the  features  of  silk.  The 
goods  made  from  them  were  far  from  being  perfect  sub- 
stitutes for  the  old  satins  and  gros  grains,  but  they  cost 
much  less,  and  they  gratified  at  least  in  part  the  sense 
of  finery  which  exerts  so  large  an  influence  in  the  demand 
for  silk.  Very  soon  alpaca  and  mohair  were  to  become 
allies  of  silk — but  of  a  junior  branch  of  the  silk  industry. 
The  spun  or  waste  silk  trade  was  to  benefit  exceedingly 
from  the  demand  for  material  to  make  these  new  fabrics 
more  supple  and  attractive,  but  to  the  senior  silk  trade 
these  cheap  alternatives  remained  unfriendly. 

The  demands  of  the  Bradford  market  may  be  said  to  Bradford 
have  set  the  waste  silk  industry  of  this  country  upon  its  and  the 
feet,  and  to  have  done  more  than  any  other  to  keep  that  Waste 
industry  alive.     In  Bradford,  also,  the  junior  branch  has  Silk 
received   some   of   its   severest   buffets.     It   is   true   that  Trade, 
mercerised  cotton  was  not  invented  there,  but  in  Bradford 
it   found   extensive   adoption   partly   in   replacement    of 
spun  silk.     Mercerised   cotton  bears  the  name   of  John 
Mercer,    of    Great    Harwood,    Lancashire,    who    patented 
in  1850    his    means  of  making  vegetable  fibres  stronger 
by   treating   them   with    caustic    alkali.     The   notion    of 
making    cotton    yarn    more    lustrous     by     methods     of 
mercerisation  had  a  much  later  origin.     It  was   in   1896 
that  Kerr  and  Hoegger,   of  Manchester,    began  to    give 
cotton  yarn  a  lustre  approximating  to  that  of  spun  silk, 
and  soon  Isaac  Robson  and  Sons,  of  Huddersfield,  and 
numbers  of  yarn  dyers  in  Bradford,  were  putting  forth 
quantities  of  this  improved  form  of  cotton. 

Bradford    responded    also    to    the    introduction    of    a 
chemical    silk,  strong    enough    to    withstand    the    rather 


220 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Earlier  rigorous  processes  of  finishing  and  wearing  stuff  goods. 
Artificial  The  earlier  artificial  silks,  made  from  hardened  gelatine 
Silks.  and  from  dissolved  cotton,  proved  too  frail  for  the  work 
and  it  was  with  the  introduction  of  Coventry  viscose  silk 
in  the  year  1907  that  the  employment  of  this  new  agent  for 
enlivening  duller  textiles  seriously  began.  The  interference 
with  natural  silk  is  rather  indirect  than  otherwise.  The 
assortment  of  very  bright  and  cheap  fabrics  suitable 
especially  for  indoor  wear  has  been  largely  extended 
by  the  addition  of  this  material.  It  cannot  be  affirmed 
that  all  the  goods  now  made  in  Bradford  with  artificial 
silk  would  otherwise  have  been  made  with  the  natural 
article  in  one  or  other  form.  The  new  material  has  brought 
new  fabrics  into  life.  The  direct  and  indirect  interfer- 
ences with  the  prospects  of  silk  have  not  all  been  presented 
only  in  the  form  of  yarn  for  weaving.  In  Bradford 
various  arts  of  giving  to  cotton  piece  goods  some  of  the 
sheen,  and  even  of  the  touch,  of  silk,  have  assumed  their 
highest  development.  The  highly  finished  cotton  lining 
cloths  of  the  present  day  probably  do  not  prevent  the 
employment  of  silk  nearly  so  much  as  they  affect  employ- 
ment of  alpaca,  mohair  and  English  lustre  wool,  but  in 
these  goods  superficial  effects  are  achieved  which  at  one 
time  could  not  have  been  matched  without  the  use  of  the 
most  expensive  and  beautiful  of  all  fibres. 

The  It  has  been  said  that  alpaca  appeared  first  in  the  form 

Story  of  of  lustrous  fabrics  in  the  later  'thirties.  It  was  manu- 
Alpaca.  factured  before  that  time,  although  not  in  a  manner  to 
display  its  characteristic  brilliancy.  Benjamin  Outram, 
of  Greetland,  Halifax,  made  alpaca  into  shawls  and 
cloakings.  Wood  and  Walker,  of  Bradford,  according 
to  James's  History  of  the  Worsted  Manufacture,  spun 
alpaca  to  No.  48's  worsted  counts  about  the  same  time, 
and  sold  the  yarn  to  Norwich  manufacturers  of  camlets. 
In  1832  heavy  camlets  made  with  alpaca  were  woven  by 
Horsfall's,  of  Bradford,  and  shown  to  Leeds  merchants, 
whose  approval  they  did  not  win.  Hegan,  Hall  and  Co., 
Liverpool,  in  the  same  year  imported  large  quantities  of 
alpaca  from  Peru,  and  figured  cloths  with  a  warp  of 
worsted  and  an  alpaca  weft  were  made  with  these  imports 


BRADFORD.  221 

and    obtained    a   limited    vogue.     Mr.    Robert    Milligan,    The 
then   a  stuff  manufacturer  in   Bingley,   supplied  James   Story  of 
with  a  circumstantial  story  of  the  origin  of  the  alpaca   Alpaca, 
lustre  stuffs  with  which  the  name  of  Titus  Salt  is  identified. 
The  facts  have  a  double  reflex  upon  the  development  of 
the  silk  industry,  and  are  therefore  set  forth  : 

'( It  was  in  the  spring  of  1839  that  Mr.  Titus  Salt,  with 
whom  we  had  sometimes  done  business,  introduced  to 
our  no'tice  alpaca.  Several  attempts  had  been  made  .... 
but  the  manufacture  did  not  prove  successful  until  the 
production  of  what  we  termed  alpaca  Orleans,  formed  of 
cotton  warp  and  alpaca.  The  first  entry  of  these  goods 
in  our  books  is  an  invoice  to  Mr.  Salt  in  June,  1839,  of 
two  pieces  of  alpacas  at  765.  per  piece.  The  first  con- 
siderable order  we  undertook  was  19th  June,  1839,  for 
560  pieces  27  ins.  wide  at  425.  Then  became  established 
the  alpaca  trade,  which  has  since  risen  to  so  much  im- 
portance. At  this  time,  Mr.  Salt  was  the  only  spinner 
of  alpaca  weft  in  Bradford.  The  great  mercantile  house 
of  A.  and  S.  Henry  took  very  large  quantities  of  alpaca 
which  began  to  be  used  in  an  endless  variety  for  male 
and  female  wear,  including  scarfs,  handkerchiefs  and 
cravats,  plain  and  figured  goods  with  silk-cotton  warps 
for  ladies  dresses,  dyed  alpaca  checks  of  beautiful  texture 
and  grograms,  codringtons,  silk-striped,  checked  and 
figured  alpacas  and  linings." 

The  statement  gives  clear  evidence  of  the  uses  to  which 
alpaca    was    immediately   put,    and   proves    that    alpaca 
did,  after  its  employment  by  Mr.  Titus  Salt,  interfere  in 
the  sphere  of  silk.     The  statement  shows  that  Milligan  and 
Jowett  obtained  the  yarn  from  Salt,  and  sold  their  woven 
goods  back  to  him.     Whether  Salt  or  some  other  was 
responsible  for  the  actual  conjunction  of  a  weft  of  alpaca 
with  a  cotton  warp  is  less  clear  than  might  be  desired,  but 
it  may  be  inferred  that  Salt's  authority  for  this  use  of 
the  material  was  obtained.     The  achievement  won  Salt    The 
a  great  name  in  addition  to   a  great  fortune,   and  the   Story  of 
rivalry  already  existent  between  Titus  Salt  and  Samuel   Alpaca. 
Cunliffe  Lister  was  assuredly  not  diminished  by  the  fame 
attained   by   the   founder   of   Saltaire.     Charles   Dickens 


222 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  took  note   of  the   development   of  the  alpaca  industry, 

Story  of     and  in  Household   Words  published  a  lavishly  improved 

Alpaca.      version  of  Sir  Titus  Salt's  first  encounter  with  alpaca. 

As  his  imaginative  effort,  with  its  heightened  effects  and 

comic   embellishments,   was   the   forerunner   of   a  legend 

concerning  Mr.  S.  C.  Lister  and  waste  silk,  it  is  quoted 

to  assist  in  the  separation  of  fact  from  fiction  : 

"  A  huge  pile  of  dirty  looking  sacks  filled  with  some 
fibrous  material  which  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  super- 
annuated horsehair  or  frowsy,  elongated  wool,  or  anything 
unpleasant  or  unattractive,  was  landed  in  Liverpool. 
When  these  queer-looking  bales  had  first  arrived,  or  by 
what  vessel  brought,  or  for  what  purpose  intended,  the 
very  oldest  warehousemen  in  Liverpool  docks  couldn't 
say.  There  had  once  been  a  rumour — a  mere  warehouse- 
man's rumour — that  the  bales  had  been  shipped  from 
South  America  on  spec,  and  consigned  to  the  agency  of 
C.  W.  and  F.  Foozle  and  Co.  But  even  this  seems  to  have 
been  forgotten,  and  it  was  agreed  upon  all  hands  that  the 
three  hundred  and  odd  sacks  of  nondescript  hair  wool 
were  a  perfect  nuisance.  The  rats  appeared  to  be  the  only 

parties  who  approved  at  all  of  the  importation 

"  One  day  a  plain,  business-looking  young  man  with 
an  intelligent  face  ap.d  quiet,  reserved  manner  was  walking 
alone  through  these  same  warehouses  in  Liverpool,  when 
his  eye  fell  upon  some  of  the  superannuated  horsehair 

projecting  from  one  of  the  ugly,  dirty  bales Our 

First  friend  took  it  up,  looked  at  it,  felt  it,  rubbed  it,  pulled 

deal  of       it  about ;    in  fact  he  did  all  but  taste  it,  and  he  would 
Titus          have  done  that  if  it  had  suited  his  purpose — for  he  was 

Salt.  '  Yorkshire.' The  sequel  was  that  the  same 

quiet,  business-looking  young  man  was  seen  to  enter  the 
office  of  C.  W.  and  F.  Foozle  and  Co.  and  ask  for  the  head 
of  the  firm.  When  he  asked  that  portion  of  the  house 

if   he   would    accept    eightpence    per    Ib the 

authority  interrogated  felt  so  confounded  that  he  could 
not  have  told  if  he  were  the  head  or  the  tail  of  the  firm. 
At  first  he  fancied  our  friend  had  come  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  quizzing  him,  and  then  that  he  was  an  escaped 
lunatic,  and  thought  seriously  of  calling  for  the  police  ; 


BRADFORD.  223 

but  eventually  it  ended  in  his  making  it  over  in  con-  First 
sideration  of  the  price  offered.     It  was  quite  an  event  in  deal  of 

the  little  dark  office All  the  establishment  stole  Titus 

a  peep  at  the  buyer  of  the  '  South  American  stuff.'  The  Salt, 
chief  clerk  had  the  curiosity  to  speak  to  him.  The  cashier 
touched  his  coat  tails.  The  book-keeper  examined  his  hat 
and  gloves.  The  porter  openly  grinned  at  him.  When 
the  quiet  purchaser  had  departed,  C.  W.  and  F.  Foozle 
and  Co.  shut  themselves  up  and  gave  all  their  clerks  a 
holiday." 

From  the  fact  that  there  was  in  1761  a  silk  merchant, 
Joseph  Stell,  at  Walk  Mill,  Keighley,  it  is  apparent  that 
consumption  of  silk  was  not  unknown  in  the  Bradford 
manufacturing  area  before  the  rise  of  the  lustre  stuff  trade. 
The  fact  is  attested  by  John  Hodgson  in  his  Textile  Manu- 
facture in  Keighley  (1879),  he  having  seen  a  deed  showing 
Stell's  name  as  new  owner  of  a  piece  of  land.  Pennant, 
who  visited  Keighley  in  1775,  found  there  "  a  considerable 
manufacture  of  figured  everlastings  in  imitation  of  French 
silks,"  and  in  default  of  evidence  to  the  contrary  it  may 
be  assumed  that  the  silk  was  thrown  silk  and  used  for  the 
purpose  of  weaving  figures  on  the  hand-looms  of  the  period. 
The  old  worsted  industry  employed  silk  in  the  form  of 
organzine  to  make  silk  twists  in  company  with  worsted 
thread  for  use  in  such  goods  as  waistcoatings.  James 
quotes  in  his  History  the  estimates  of  the  cost  of  certain 
fabrics,  which  a  committee  of  worsted  spinners  and  long- 
wool  manufacturers  presented  in  1824.  In  one  of  these  The 
the  separate  costs  of  one  yard  of  worsted  stuff  mixed  with  Intro- 
cotton  and  silk — said  by  James  to  be  probably  vesting —  duction 
are  thus  allocated  :  of  Silk. 

s.    d. 

3!  oz.  Worsted  10 

J  oz.  Silk          09 

If  oz.  Cotton  08 

Weaving  and  finishing . .          . .          ..110 

4    3 

The  statement  would  cause  it  to  appear  that  at  this  date 


224 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  worsted  yarn  was  costing  4s.  7d.,  cotton  yarn  6s.  Id.,  and 

Intro-        silk  48s.  per  Ib. 

duction  Mr.  Henry  Forbes,  in  a  paper  to  the  Society  of  Arts  (1852), 
of  Silk.  named  1834  as  the  year  of  the  introduction  of  cotton 
warps  into  the  Bradford  dress  goods  trade,  and  said  that 
silk  warps  in  combination  with  worsted  weft  followed 
shortly  after.  In  his  words,  this  combination  "  enabled 
Yorkshire  manufacturers  to  exhibit  fabrics  in  which 
delicacy,  softness  and  elasticity  were  united."  His  partner 
in  the  firm  of  Milligan,  Forbes  and  Co. — Mr.  Robert  Milligan 
— informed  James  in  1857  that  in  1840  the  fancy  trade 
in  Bradford  was  still  little  cultivated.  His  price  lists  of 
1842  contained  entries  of 

Silk  warp  Alpacas,  38s.  to  75s.  per  piece. 
Alpaca  and  silk  handkerchiefs,  285.  per  dozen. 
In  1843-5  a  steady  demand  was  experienced  for  plain 
silk  warp   and   fancy   alpacas,   and  in  1848  there  arose 
a  great  demand  for  silk  striped  goods.     The  year  was  a  good 
one  also  in  Paisley,  and  the  joint  demands  from  the  two 
weaving  centres  are  still  remembered  by  a  veteran  silk- 
spinner,   Mr.  Thomas   Butterworth,  of  Brighouse.     These 
silk     striped     goods     were     manufactured     largely     by 
Mr.  Milligan  at  Bingley,  and  by  many  others,  and  were 
principally  Orleans  and  Cobourg  cloths,  which  were  dyed 
after  weaving.     Mr.   Milligan  singled  out  for  mention  a 
"  grogram   woven   with   black   worsted,    having   a   thick 
Demand    cotton  warp  around  which  was  twisted  a  fine  thread  of 
for  Silk      white,  yellow  or  gold  silk,  producing  a  sparkling,  speckled 
Striped      effect."     One   of  his   most   striking  novelties   was   made 
Goods.        with  "  silk  sprigs  thrown  upon  an  alpaca  mixture  ground," 
the  silk  showing  only  in  small  flowers  upon  the   face. 
Mr.  Forbes,  speaking  of  the  position  of  alpaca  in  1852, 
said  that  in  combination  with  cotton  and  silk  warps  it 
formed  "  an  amazing  variety  of  articles  of  great  richness, 
softness  and  beauty,"  and  remarked  on  the  extent  to  which 
the  newer  raw  materials — cotton,  silk,  alpaca  and  mohair- 
had    increased     the    number    and    variety    of     Bradford 
fabrics. 

Mr.  Forbes  essayed  an  estimate  of  the  contemporary 
state  of  the  worsted  division  of  the  wool- working  industries 


BRADFORD. 


225 


in  which  the  separate  identity  of  silk  is  merged  in  that   Interest- 
of   cotton   and   dye- wares.     The  remarkably  small  place   ing 
taken  by  imported  wool  and  the  large  place  assigned  to    Statistics 
the  West  Riding  are  noteworthy  features. 

60  million  Ibs.  English    sorted  wool,  £ 

ls.2d.  3,500,000 

15    million  Ibs.  Colonial  foreign  wool, 

ls.9d.  1,312,500 

Other   raw   materials :     Cotton,    Silk, 

Dye-wares 1,500,000 

Direct  wages ..     3,000,000 

Indirect  wages,  rent,  wear  and  tear, 

coal,  soap,  oil,  interest-      ..          ..     3,187,500 

£12,500,000 

West  Riding  goods  and  yarn . .  . .  8,000,000 
Lancashire  delaines  and  light  fabrics . .  1,500,000 
Leicester  worsted  hosiery  . .  . .  1,200,000 
Norwich  and  Irish  stuffs,  Devon  long- 
ells  .. 

Scotland  worsted  stuffs  (not  including 
shawls) 


1,300,000 


500,000 


£12,500,000 

The  Bradford  Directory  of  1851  shows  the  names  of  six 
dealers  in  silk  warps.  The  list  of  exhibitors  at  the  great 
Exhibition  of  the  same  year  shows  the  names  of- 

J.  G.  Horsfall  &  Co.,  Bradford — Whose  Henrietta  cloths 
were  "  from  spun  silk  warp  and  weft  of  the 
finest  Saxony  wool." 

Thos.  Jowett  &  Co.,  Bingley — Who  exhibited  a  great 
variety  of  articles  with  alpaca  weft  and  silk 
and  cotton  warps  as  well  as  "  a  new  fabric 
of  silk  warp  and  linen  weft,"  said  to  be 
"  very  neat "  and  to  afford  encouragement 
for  increased  attempts  in  the  same  direction. 
Walter  Milligan  &  Sons,  Bingley — A  series  of  silk 
embroidered  alpaca  goods. 


Bradford 
Exhibi- 
tors at 
1851 
Exhibi- 
tion. 


226 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Bradford  John  Rand  &  Sons,  Bradford — Whose  cloths  made 

Exhibi-  from  worsted  weft  and  silk  warp  were  called 

tors  at  "  remarkably  soft,  fine  and  even." 

1851  Schwann,  Kell  &  Co.,  Bradford — A  merchant  house, 

Exhibi-  shewed  articles  called  "  Shanghae  "  dresses, 

tion.  plain  and  watered,  made  from  silk  and  China 

grass. 

A.  Tremel  &  Co    Bradford    |    Goodg    ^    cotton 
Jas.  Dalby,  Bradford  I  ,    .,, 

Jas.  Drummond,  Bradford      (        and  Sllk  warP8' 
T.  Gregory  &  Bros.,  Shelf — Who  had  made  for  the 
Prince  Consort  cashmere  brocade  fabrics  with 
silk  warp  and  weft  from  the  Cashmere  goats 
in  Windsor  Park. 

In  1857  the  value  of  worsted  productions,  computed 
at  12J  millions  in  1852,  was  reckoned  by  James  at 
18  millions.  In  1864  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  Jacob  Behrens 
calculated  the  home  and  export  trade  in  worsted  goods  at 
a  value  of  £33,600,000. 

In  these  years  of  rapid  commercial  expansion  the  elder 
silk  trade  reached  its  zenith  and  began  to  fall  into  its 
decline.  The  Bradford  demand  for  spun  silk  yarn  in  the 
'sixties  was  considerable  enough  to  mainly  sustain  a 
number  of  new  firms  in  the  spinning  business.  In  the 
'seventies  the  Franco-Prussian  War  almost  doubled 
Bradford's  business,  and  the  great  rise  in  prices  at  this 
period  set  some  of  the  newcomers  firmly  upon  their  feet. 
The  demand  was  strong,  both  for  yarn  and  for  silk  sliver 
to  mix  and  spin  with  mohair  in  one  thread.  Spinners 
still  alive  recall  how  manufacturers  drove  from  Bradford 
to  the  Brighouse  silk  mills  to  beg  for  silk  and  content  to 
be  allowed  to  take  back  with  them  one  or  two  canfulls 
of  the  precious  sliver  or  a  few  small  warps.  Thirty  shillings 
a  pound  was  paid  for  yarn  that  in  some  years  since  has 
Zenith  been  slow  of  sale  at  one-fifth  of  the  price.  Twenty-five  to 
of  the  thirty  shillings  a  pound  was  obtained  for  the  best  silk 
Silk  sliver  and  fifteen  shillings  for  a  commoner  sort. 

Trade.  Lord  Masham,  with  a  sense  of  amusement,  wrote : 
"  From  '64  to  '74,  about  nine  years,  the  silk  comb  made 
sufficient  money  to  rebuild  and  furnish  the  present  concern 


Plate  XXVII. 


Lord  Masham. 


BRADFORD.  227 

and  also  to  pay  some  £20,000  towards  the  expenses  of  the 
velvet  loom." 

It  is  time  to  turn  from  Bradford  achievements  in  the  Silk  at 
mixed   silk-weaving  trade  to  the  foundation  of  its  chief  Manning- 
silk-mill.     Lord  Masham's  own  account    of   the  venture  ham. 
which  transformed  him  from  wool-comber  to  silk-spinner 
and  manufacturer  is  quoted  from  his  autobiography  : 

"  It  was  in  the  year  1855  that  a  Mr.  Spensly,  a  London 
waste  silk  broker,  who  had  heard  of  my  great  success  in 
woolcombing,  sent  me  a  small  sample  of  what  he  called 
'  native  Indian  Chassum,'  being  the  waste  produced  by 
natives  in  reeling  their  cocoons.  At  that  time  I  had  never 
seen  any  silk  waste  and  knew  nothing  about  it.  The  first 
look  of  it  was  not  very  inviting,  nor  very  encouraging, 
as  it  looked  to  me  to  be  nothing  but  rubbish.  In  fact  it- 
was  nothing  else,  as  no  silk-spinner  had  made  or  could 
make  anything  of  it.  He  said  that  there  were  five  or  six 
hundred  bales  in  the  London  Docks,  and  that  no  one 
would  buy  it,  and  in  order  to  get  quit  they  had  tried  to 
use  it  as  manure,  but  found  it  would  not  rot,  and  so  what 
to  do  with  it  they  did  not  know.  It  was  not  inviting,  as  it 
was  heavily  composed  of  dead  silkworms,  and  the  smell 
and  the  odour  of  them  was  anything  but  pleasant.  Leaves 
and  straw  and  all  kinds  of  extraneous  matter  were  mixed 
and  bound  together  by  a  certain  amount  of  dirty-looking 
fibre. 

"  The  only  inducement  was  the  price,  as  it  was  offered 
me  at  practically  nothing — at  \d.  per  Ib.  I  bought  a  few 
sample  bales  at  that  price.  The  first  thing  was  by  boiling 
it  in  soap  and  water  to  cleanse  it  to  some  extent  from 
gum  and  dirt.  This  at  once  disclosed  that  there  was  a 

certain    amount     of     beautiful    fibre but 

so    matted    and    mixed    with    rubbish    that    it    looked 
impossible  to  make  anything  of. 

" A  practical  silk-spinner  would  at  once  have  Begin- 

said  '  There  is  plenty  of  good  waste ;    why  bother  with   nings 
this  rubbish  ?     It  will  never  pay  if  you  have  it  for  nothing  P    of  the 
And  he  would  have  been  quite  right,  for  there  was  no  Business, 
machinery  upon  which  it  could  be  worked  to  pay.     But 
not  being  a  practical   silk-spinner,  and  knowing  little  or 


228  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Need          nothing  about  silk  or  silk  waste,  I  thought  that  I  would 

of  new        try  and  see  what  could  be  done  with  it. 

machin-         ".....  It  was  worked  upon  such  machinery   as  I 

ery.  had.     It  was  first  put  through  some  drums  covered  with 

teeth  which  had  been  used   for  preparing  China  grass. 

This    was    done    several    times,    which    opened    it    and 

straightened  the  fibres  and  cleared  it  a  good  deal  from 

extraneous  matter.     Then  it  was  gilled  to  prepare  it  for 

combing.     So  far  it  looked  very  well  and  promising,  but 

when  it  came  to  be  combed  (and  I  had  all  kinds  of  combs) 

it  was  a  regular  fiasco,  a  complete   and  hopeless  failure 

with  such  machinery  as  I  then  had." 

The  story  is  continued  to  tell  how  in  1857  the  silk  comb, 

jointly  invented  by  Mr.  Lister  and  his  partner  Mr.  James 

Warburton,    was   made   to    work.     A    statement    of   the 

profit  earned  by  these  operations  in  silk  has  been  cited, 

and  as  Manningham  Mills — covering  eleven  acres  of  ground 

space — are   reputed   to   have   cost   about   half   a   million 

sterling,  its  historical  importance  will  be  fully  understood. 

Operations  between  1857  and  1864  were  the  reverse  of 

satisfactory.     Mr.  Lister  however  declared  to  a  Bradford 

Invention  meeting  that  he  was  £360,000  out   of  pocket  before  the 

of  the        machine  made  him   a  shilling,  and   that  a  quarter  of  a 

Silk  million  was  written  off  as  entirely  lost  before  making  up 

Comb.        his  books  of  account. 

Mr.  Lister's  own  version  of  his  introduction  to  waste 
silk  varies  in  some  salient  respects  from  the  legend  in 
Cudworth's  Worstedopolis  ;  according  to  which  : 

"  It  was  an  accident  almost  as  singular  as  that  which 
led  to  the  introduction  of  alpaca  that  induced  Mr.  Lister 
to  turn  his  attention  to  silk.  One  day,  while  strolling 
round  a  warehouse  in  London,  he  came  upon  a  heap  of 
rubbishy-looking  stuff  not  unlike  the  sweepings  of  a 
warehouse  floor.  It  was  an  odd  collection  consisting  of 
bits  of  stick,  dead  leaves,  ends  of  twine,  dirty  flocks, 
crushed  worms  and  silk  fibre,  all  stuck  together  by  gummy 
matter,  altogether  looking  as  unlike  the  material  from 
which  silk  goods  could  be  made  as  could  wrell  be. 

"  He  had  never  seen  such  material  before,  but  detecting 
in  it  a  fair  proportion  of  silky-looking  fibre,  he  became 


BRADFORD.  229 

interested,  and  inquired  what  use  was  made  of  it.     '  Oh,  we   Lister's 
sell  it  as  rubbish/  was  the  reply.     He  also  learned  that   own 
it  had  been  tried  as  a  manure,  but  had  proved  a  failure   story, 
owing  to  the  fibre  not  rotting  easily. 

"  The  vendor  was  glad  to  part  with  it  for  \A.  per  Ib. 
It  is  this  identical  material,  supplemented  by  raw  silk 
produced  from  cocoons  grown  upon  the  Lister  estates  in 
India,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  stupendous  manu- 
facture carried  on  at  Manningham  Mills." 

The  similarities  between  the  two  fanciful  versions 
would  challenge  attention  even  had  Mr.  Cudworth  for- 
borne to  mention  the  introduction  of  alpaca.  The 
"  superannuated  horsehair  "  of  the  one  narrative  has  its 
counterpart  in  the  "  dirty  flocks  "  and  "  crushed  worms  " 
of  the  other.  Both  give  the  discovery  an  air  of  chance 
by  laying  the  scene  in  port  warehouses,  but  Lord  Masham's 
own  pen  at  least  avoids  the  indefensible  suggestion  that 
silk  waste  had  not  been  utilised  before  his  time. 

If  silk-spinning  laid  the  foundation  of  the  last  of  the   The 
great  fortunes  to  be  made  by  Lord  Masham,  velvet-weaving  Velvet 
unmistakably   supplied   the   coping   stone.     The   business   Loom, 
he  sold  to  a  public  company  for  £1,950,000  in  1889  had 
been  making  profits  not  of  £50,000,  but  of  £200,000  a 
year.     These  subsided   immediately  upon  the  imposition 
of  the  McKinley  Tariff  in  America  and  the  falling  off  of 
the  demand  in  other  markets  for  imitation  sealskin  cloths 
made  of  tussah  silk. 

Velvets  were  made  first,  and  thereafter,  apparently  in 
about  1881,  Manningham  looms  were  diverted  from  velvets 
to  plushes.  Velvets  had  been  hand  woven,  and  Manningham 
Mills  had  supplied  the  yarn  for  weaving,  but  as  the  result  of 
the  pioneer  experimental  work  done  there,  weaving  by 
the  use  of  power  was  made  practicable.  The  manager 
of  the  mills,  Mr.  B.  Nussey,  during  a  visit  to  Spain  in 
search  of  orders  for  velvet  yarns,  was  shown  a  loom  invented 
by  Mr.  Reixach  and  patented  by  him  some  ten  years  before. 
Mr.  Lister's  attention  was  attracted,  the  patent  was 
bought  for  about  £2,000,  and  the  inventor  and  his  son 
brought  the  loom  to  Bradford.  About  £29,000  was  spent 
and  lost  between  1867-1878  in  perfecting  the  mechanism, 


230 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


The  and  although  £39,000  was  made  in  the  next  two  and  a  half 

Velvet        years,  "  that  was  as  nothing  to  what  it  made  when  '  King 
Loom.        Plush '  in  his  royal  robes  made  its  appearance,"  said  the 
head  of  the  firm  in  the  published  story  of  his  career. 

Lord  Masham's  industrial  achievement  is  written 
endurably  in  stone  in  the  immense  edifice  at  Manningham, 
where  seven  or  eight  thousand  persons  are  employed. 
It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  substantial  character 
and  beauty  of  that  building,  capped  by  one  of  the  sightliest 
mill  chimneys  in  the  country,  owes  anything  to  a  desire 
to  outdo  Sir  Titus  Salt.  The  rivalry  of  Salt  and  Lister 
was  an  old  one,  dating  from  times  before  Lister's  entry 
into  the  silk  trade,  when  his  volcanic  energies  were  directed 
to  the  perfecting  of  the  wool  comb,  and  when  Salt  and 
Akroyd,  of  Halifax,  had  a  joint  encounter  with  Lister  over 
the  rights  in  Heilmann's  patent  wool  comb.  In  a  limited 
measure,  Salt  and  Lister  were  rivals  in  the  silk  trade, 
for  the  great  concern  Sir  Titus  Salt,  Bart.,  Sons  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
with  its  model  mills  and  village  at  Saltaire,  has  an  exten- 
Samuel  sive  department  for  spinning  silk.  It  was,  however,  not 
Cunliffe  until  1880  that  in  order  to  meet  the  demand  for  spun 
Lister.  tussah  yarn  this  department  reached  a  position  of  import- 
ance. Lister's  rivalry  with  Holden  over  certain  claims 
to  be  considered  as  the  real  inventor  of  a  principle  of 
wool-combing  is  written  in  many  acrimonious  passages-at- 
arms.  His  pugnacity  is  to  be  read  alike  in  the  letters 
on  old  controversies  and  in  the  records  of  numerous  actions 
at  law.  His  daring  is  shown  in  the  list  of  patents,  107 
in  number,  standing  in  his  name ;  and  his  resourcefulness  in 
the  manner  in  which  he  repeatedly  redeemed  himself  from 
imminent  disaster.  "  Mr.  Lister  was  always  ready  to  buy 
machinery,  in  the  days  when  he  used  to  come  here," — a 
machine  maker  has  observed  to  the  writer, — "but  never 
seemed  quite  to  know  when  he  would  be  able  to  pay  for 
it."  In  courage  he  was  not  behind  any  industrial  captain 
of  his  day,  and  none  was  a  greater  fighter  for  his  real  or 
imagined  rights.  Of  petty  detractors  of  his  reputation, 
there  have  been  more  than  a  few,  and  his  stubbornness 
in  the  strike  of  1891  added  nothing  to  his  miscellaneous 
popularity.  The  foibles  of  his  character  lie  open  for  all 


BRADFORD.  231 

to  read  and  to  weigh  against  its  sterling  merits.     Unlike  Samuel 
most  of   his  contemporaries,  Lister  did  not  start  life  as  Cunliffe 
a  workman.     He  was  the  youngest  son  of  a  landed  family,  Lister, 
and    brother   to    the    member    for  Bradford,   and  before 
embarking  in  business  had  been  occupied  with  affairs  of  a 
different  order  in  America.     His  attitude  towards  social 
inferiors  has  been  shown  pleasantly  in  an  octogenarian's 
reminiscence.     "  I  have  talked  to  him  and  shaken  hands 
with  him,  and  found  him   a  most  pleasant  gentleman," 
is  the  report  of  one  who  had  business  differences  with 
Lister  at  different  times. 

Mr.  Lister's  grey  suit  and  dilapidated  straw  hat  were 
familiar  enough  on  the  Bradford  Exchange,  where  they  are 
not  yet  forgotten,  and  these  characteristic  habiliments  are 
mentioned  in  an  interview  with  the  "  Bradford  Silk  King  " 
in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  March,  1887.  The  interviewer 
found  Mr.  Lister  "  a  stoutly-built,  middle-sized  man, 
ruddy-faced  and  white  whiskered,  with  the  brisk,  decided 
manner  generally  seen  in  successful  business  men.  His 
bright,  piercing  gaze  and  robust  air  gave  no  indication 
of  the  seventy  odd  years  which  have  passed  over  his  head." 
Mr.  Lister  had  just  spent  £800,000  in  four  years  in  buying 
land,  and  a  considerable  part  of  his  talk  with  the  inter- 
viewer was  of  the  Fair  Trade  movement,  which  he  said 
he  had  first  begun  six  years  before.  Mr.  Lister  would  not 
agree  that  his  own  great  fortune  vindicated  the  fiscal 
policy  of  the  country.  "  As  I  say,"  he  said,  "  a  man  with 
brains  may  make  money  at  any  time."  The  Johnsonian 
flavour  is  not  less  marked  in  his  assurance  that  "  I  have 
never  gone  in  for  anything  less  than  £50,000  a  year.  I  have 
never  applied  myself  to  any  invention  which,  before  taking 
up,  I  did  not  see  was  worth  £50,000  a  year,  and  I  have 
had  four." 

The  great  self-contained  mills  at  Manningham  neces-  Changes 
sarily  occupy  a  large  place  in  any  account  of  the  progress  in  the 
of  the  silk  industry  in  Bradford.     It  is  necessary,  however,  Stuff 
to  turn  to  the  large  number  of  smaller  manufacturers  to  Trade, 
whom  silk  is  one  material  of  a  greater  or  less  importance 
out  of  the  several  materials  used.     The  Bradford  Directory 
of  the  present  day  describes  one  hundred  firms  as  stuff 


232 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Changes  manufacturers,  and  these  constitute  the  body  of  users  of 
in  the  silk  and  its  substitutes  in  the  production  of  mixed  goods. 
Stuff  Their  need  of  silk  varies  with  the  taste  of  the  times, 

Trade.  and  recent  changes  of  fashion  have  tended  to  make  silk 
of  less  account  in  their  productions.  The  trade  in  worsted 
dress  stuffs  has  been  undergoing  changes  fairly  comparable 
with  those  occurring  in  the  pure  silk  trade,  and  manu- 
facturers have  been  driven  by  stress  of  circumstances 
into  a  not  unremunerative  business  in  plainer  and  heavier 
worsted  cloths  requiring  no  silk  ;  or  into  the  manufacture 
of  goods  which  are  substantially  cottons  ornamented  with  a 
few  threads  of  artificial  silk.  The  causation  of  these 
changes  is  to  be  sought  far  afield.  The  closing  of  foreign 
markets  by  tariff  laws,  the  vagaries  of  fashion,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  factory  garment-making  industry,  the  relative 
scarcity  or  abundance  of  raw  materials — these  are  a  few 
of  the  chief  influences. 

The  effect  of  foreign  tariffs  on  the  trade  in  Bradford 
goods  has  not  been  wholly  an  extinguishing  one.  They 
have  created  conditions  in  which  the  sale  of  certain  classes 
is  more  practicable  than  the  sale  of  some  others.  Brightly 
coloured  and  patterned  dress  goods  are  in  more  continuous 
demand  in  the  sunny  southern  countries  than  in  the  more 
northerly  climates,  and  a  large  part  of  the  mixed  silk  goods 
manufactured  in  Bradford  has  been  sold  for  export. 
Cheap  light  fabrics,  with  a  cotton  warp  and  worsted  weft 
interspersed  with  a  few  threads  of  spun  silk  to  make 
stripes  or  checks,  constituted  for  a  long  time  an  important 
Tariff  section  of  the  export  business.  Mercerised  cotton  yarn 
Influ-  provided  a  means  of  making  bright  effects  at  slightly  lower 
ences.  cost,  but  the  natural  disparity  of  cost  has  been  artificially 
accentuated  by  a  species  of  selective  unfairness  very 
common  in  silk  trade  experience.  Silk,  being  regarded 
officially  as  a  luxury,  is  subject  to  adversely  high  rates 
of  freight  by  the  English  railway  companies.  It  has 
been  considered  in  the  same  light  by  foreign  tariff  framers, 
with  the  consequence  that  goods  containing  more  than 
an  insignificant  proportion  of  silk  are  subject  to  very 
much  higher  rates  of  duty  than  goods  of  closely  similar 
appearance  in  which  silk  is  replaced  by  some  substitute. 


BRADFORD. 


233 


Duties  are  in  many  countries  levied  on  a  basis  of  weight,  Tariff 
and,  in  order  to  do  business  at  all,  lightness  of  weight  Influ- 
must  be  combined  with  brightness  of  appearance,  and  ences. 
this  consideration  tells  in  favour  of  artificial  silks.  Some 
tendency  to  make  artificial  silk  liable  to  the  same  duties 
as  the  natural  article  has  been  observed  lately,  but  this 
does  not  wholly  remove  the  handicap.  Where  ornamental 
considerations  out-balance  questions  of  durability, 
artificial  silk  retains  the  advantage.  Applied  in  the  form 
of  very  slackly  twisted  yarn,  the  chemical  silks  exhibit  a 
lustre  more  metallic  but  as  brilliant  as  that  of  spun  silk. 
A  very  little  of  them  used  on  the  surface  of  fabrics  com- 
posed otherwise  of  cotton  supplies  the  requisite  degree 
of  brilliance.  The  consequence  is  seen  in  the  devotion 
of  some  thousands  of  looms  entirely  to  the  production  of 
fabrics  which  suit  the  tariffs,  the  tastes  and  the  purses  of 
some  southern  countries  better  than  they  can  conceivably 
fulfil  any  anticipations  of  solid  wear  or  comfort.  Goods 
not  radically  different  have  been  made  in  Bradford  for 
indoor  wear  in  this  country.  Silk  is  replaced  and  worsted 
is  replaced,  but  not  by  finally  efficient  substitutes,  and 
the  fact  implies  of  course  that  silk  still  possesses  a  field 
of  its  own,  from  which  no  substitutes  as  yet  discovered 
can  oust  it. 

Diversification  of  demand,  although  destructive  of  old   Pros- 
openings,  is  productive  also  of  new  ones,  and  in  that  fact   pects 
lies  the  hope  of  the  future.     Silk  has  not  been  used  in   and 
Bradford  dress-goods  solely  for  its  lustre.     In  the  black   Possibil- 
stuffs  known  as  Henriettas  a  silk  warp  is  used  in  such   ities. 
manner  that  its  lustre  is  disguised,  although  its  lissomness 
remains.     In  goods  that  have  been,  and  may  again  become, 
popular,  the  desideratum  is  a  bright  thread  which  will 
wash,  or  will  not  take  up  a  stain  from  surrounding  loose 
dye-stuff.     Experience  is  the  proof  that  demand  for  silk 
may  persist  in  the  absence  of  a  marked  demand  for  silk 
fabrics.     There    have    been    requirements    in    past    times 
for  silk  dressed  and  put  into  sliver  for  admixture  with 
worsted.     A     trade,     small     but     regular,     is    done    by 
spinners  who  twist  a  worsted  with  a  silk  single  thread  for 
hosiery  purposes.     These  possibilities  remain,  outside  and 


234  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

beyond  the  somewhat  unlikely  possibility  that  silk  pile 
fabrics  may  belie  their  past  and  remain  steadily,  instead 
of  fitfully,  in  public  favour.  Changes  of  habit  and  in 
the  distribution  of  wealth,  are  potent  enough  to  negative 
the  idea  that  silk  will  fall  out  of  the  selection  of  fibres 
used  in  Bradford  trade.  Its  chances  of  retention  would 
not  be  reduced  by  a  material  cheapening  of  the  price  of 
waste  silk. 

Statistics.  The  consumption  of  silk  is  too  general  and  occasional 
to  make  any  statistics  of  persons  employed  in  the  silk 
manufacture  truly  accurately  reflect  the  importance  of 
the  silk  branch  at  any  given  time.  It  may,  however,  be 
said  the  Census  of  1901  gives  815  males  and  2,782  females 
as  the  total  of  persons  engaged  in  silk  manufacture  in  the 
city.  The  figures  may  be  taken  with  those  for  Yorkshire 
in  the  same  Census,  shewing  2,859  males  and  4,991  females 
in  the  silk  industry  of  the  whole  county.  The  city  of 
Bradford  and  the  Bradford  factory  inspection  area  are 
not  conterminous,  and  thus  in  the  Factory  Returns  for 
1907  the  total  of  Bradford  silk  workers  appears  as  5,757  ; 
in  the  same  tables  the  total  for  Yorkshire  is  8,786,  as 
against  the  7,848  of  the  Census  of  a  few  years  earlier. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
HALIFAX. 

The  earlier  textile  associations  of  Halifax  are  not  with  Early 
silk  but  with  wool,  to  which  silk  is  in  one  aspect  a  local  Condi- 
auxiliary.     Silk   was   engrafted    on   the   parent   stock    of  tions  and 
Halifax  industry  after  the  coming  of  the  factory  system,  Progress, 
but  for  something  like  five  centuries  wool  had  been  manu- 
factured   by    hand    processes    in    farm-like    dwellings. 
Defoe's  Tour  (begun  in  1722)  contains  a  passage  which 
describes  the  conditions  of  work  in  the  pre-factory  period. 
Approaching  from  the  West : 

"  In  the  course  of  our  Road  among  the  Houses  we 
found  at  every  one  of  them  a  little  Rill  or  Gutter  of  running 
Water  :  if  the  House  was  above  the  Road  it  came  from 
it  and  crossed  the  Way  to  run  to  another  ;  if  the  House 
was  below  us,  it  crossed  us  from  some  other  distant  House 
above  it ;  at  every  considerable  House  was  a  Manufactory, 
which  not  being  able  to  be  carried  on  without  Water,  these 
little  Streams  were  so  parted  and  guided  by  Gutters  and 
Pipes  that  not  one  of  the  Houses  wanted  its  necessary 
appendage  of  a  Rivulet. 

"  Again,  as  the  Dying-houses,  scouring-shops  and  Places 
where  they  use  the  Water  emit  it  ting'd  with  the  Drugs 
of  the  Dying  Fat  and  with  the  Oil,  the  Soap,  the  Tallow 
and  other  ingredients  used  by  the  Clothiers  in  Dressing 
and  Scouring,  &c.,  the  Lands  through  which  it  passes  are 
not  only  universally  watered,  which  otherwise  would  be   The 
exceedingly  barren,  but  are  enriched  by  it  to  a  Degree  evidence 
beyond  Imagination.  of 

"  Then   as   every   Clothier  must   necessarily   keep   one   Defoe. 
Horse,  at  least,  to  fetch  home  his  W7ooll  and  his  Provisions 
from  the  Market,  to  carry  his  Yarn  to  the  Spinners,  his 

235 


236 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  Manufacture  to  the  Fulling,  every  one  generally  keeps  a 

evidence    Cow  or  two  for  his  family.     By  this  means  the  small  Pieces 

of  of  enclosed  Land  about  each  House  are  occupied  ;   and  by 

Defoe.        being  thus  fed  are  still  further  improved  from  the  Dung 

of  the  Cattle.     As  for  Corn,  they  scarce  sow  enough  to 

feed  their  Cocks  and  Hens. 

"  Though  we  met  few  People  without  Doors,  yet  within 
we  saw  the  House  full  of  lusty  Fellows,  some  at  the  Dye- 
fat,  some  at  the  Loom,  others  dressing  the  Cloth  ;  the 
Women  and  Children  carding  or  spinning  ;  all  employed 
from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest,  scarce  anything  above 
four  Years  old  but  its  Hands  were  sufficient  for  its  own 
Support.  Not  a  Beggar  to  be  seen,  not  an  idle  Person, 
except  here  and  there  in  an  Almshouse,  built  for  those 
that  are  ancient  and  past  working." 

Such  was  the  soil  and  such  the  people  that  were  to 
provide  the  later  extensions.  Defoe  noted  that  there 
had  lately  been  begun  a  new  manufacture  of  shalloons  in 
addition  to  the  older  business  in  kersey  cloths  used  largely 
for  the  Army  of  the  period.  James  Akroyd — to  whose 
successors  would  seem  to  belong  the  distinction  of  intro- 
ducing the  weaving  of  silk  into  the  town — sprang  from 
the  race  of  yeomen  manufacturers,  and  in  company  with 
his  brother  was  manufacturing  18  inch  lastings,  calimancoes 
and  low  wildbores,  called  "  Little  Joans/'  very  similar 
to  modern  buntings,  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  18th 
century.  The  goods  were  of  plain  design,  but  the  brothers 
were  manufacturers  also  of  "  Amens"  (Of.  Amiens,  France), 
which  were  figured  cloths  woven,  like  Paisley  shawls  or 
Chinese  figured  silks,  by  the  aid  of  a  draw-boy,  whose 
function  was  to  pull  the  proper  cords  at  the  right 
time  to  make  the  pattern.  In  1827  Akroyd's  son  intro- 
duced Jacquards  at  his  new  mill  in  Old  Lane,  having 
obtained  them  from  Lyons  by  the  agency  of  a  Manchester 
Frenchman. 

From  This  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  of  manufacture  carries 

Norwich     the  story  to  the  period  at  which  activities  in  Halifax  began 
to  to  be  a  serious   embarrassment  to  the  silk  and  worsted 

Halifax,     industry  of   East  Anglia.     Norwich,   over-ridden  by  the 
artificial  restrictions  characteristic  of  guild  activity,  had 


HALIFAX.  237 

a  speciality  in  the  manufacture  of  worsted  moreens.  From 
James  Akroyd  &  Sons  copied  the  article,  and  it  was  Norwich 
first  used  for  curtains  in  1811.  Other  manufacturers  to 
followed,  so  that  the  cloth  became  a  common  one  in  Halifax. 
Yorkshire  trade.  Norwich  had  a  reputation  also  for 
crapes  and  bombazines,  made  by  crossing  a  silk  warp 
with  a  worsted  weft.  Imitation  on  power-looms  without 
a  knowledge  of  how  they  were  woven  on  hand-looms  in 
East  Anglia  was  difficult,  and  Michael  Greenwood,  a 
skilled  weaver  and  clever  inventor,  was  sent  to  spy  out 
the  Norwich  method.  His  observations  led  to  the 
production  in  Halifax  of  these  two  cloths  in  1819  ;  and 
those  of  a  colleague,  made  later  in  Norwich,  introduced 
camlet  weaving  to  the  power-looms  of  Halifax  in  1830. 
To  Michael  Greenwood,  of  Shibdendale,  belongs  the  credit 
for  some  less  questionable  transactions.  He  with  David 
Tidswell,  of  Queensbury,  adapted  to  the  loom  the  principle 
of  the  barrel  of  the  box  organ  by  means  of  which  bird's-eye 
patterns  were  woven  in  1818.  Greenwood  is  said  also  to 
have  invented  the  wire  reed  for  use  in  weaving  mill-spun 
worsted  yarn,  and,  after  turning  manufacturer  upon  his 
own  account,  he  introduced  the  "  French  figures  "  of  1834, 
which  he  began  to  make  on  a  large  scale. 

The  facts  as  to  the  part  played  by  the  Akroyds  are 
set  forth  with  candour  in  a  little  History  of  the  Firm  (1874), 
and  they  may  seem  to  expose  those  of  olden  days  to  cen- 
sure. It  has  to  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  the  effort 
to  make  goods  similar  to  those  produced  by  others  is  not 
in  itself  either  an  unworthy  or  an  illegitimate  object.  To 
apply  new  means  to  an  old  end  or  plant  a  new  industry 
in  an  old  soil  is  to  perform  a  service  that  must  be  weighed 
against  the  loss  of  those  unfortunate  enough  to  suffer 
from  the  effects  of  this  enterprise.  With  or  without 
undesirable  elements,  this  competition  forms  part  of  the 
everyday  processes  of  trade.  Considerations  of  local 
prejudice  enter  into  the  transference  of  an  industry  from  Work 
one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  but  the  conviction  of  the 
need  not  be  disguised  that  the  transfer  could  not  ultimately  Akroyds. 
have  been  prevented,  although  it  might  have  been  delayed. 
Espionage  merely  hastened  a  change  that  was  in  any  case 


238 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Work         impending.      Worsted   yarn   could   be   spun   much   more 
of  the        cheaply  in  Yorkshire  factories  than  in  Norfolk  cottages, 
Akroyds.    and  the  hand-loom  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  power- 
loom  in  the  production  of  cheap  goods.     Yorkshire  had 
the  coal  and  the  factories,  the  capital,  the  experience  and 
the  facilities  for  transport  and  sale,  which  sooner  or  later 
must  have  acted  destructively  on  the  hide-bound  industry 
of  East  Anglia. 

It  was  in  1819  that  silk  began  to  be  used  in  Halifax 
for  warps,  and  in  1827  Jonathan  Akroyd  began  the  manu- 
facture of  a  silk  damask  in  which  silk  was  used  as  weft. 
The  bombazines  had  their  career  cut  short  by  the 
paramatta,  made  with  a  two-fold  cotton  warp,  and  this 
in  turn  was  replaced  about  1836  by  the  cobourg,  made 
with  a  warp  of  single  cotton  yarn.  Silk  survived  chiefly 
in  upholstery  fabrics,  and  in  them,  despite  the  inroads  of 
artificial  silk,  it  is  used  still,  mainly  in  the  form  of  tussah 
tram.  The  manufacture  of  tapestry,  as  opposed  to 
damask,  in  power-looms,  is  attributed  to  the  late  Henry 
Charles  McCrea,  a  Dublin  gentleman,  who  became  a  partner 
in  1834  with  John  Holdsworth  as  a  damask  manu- 
facturer. The  mill  records  of  H.  C.  McCrea  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
suggest  1850-52  as  the  date  of  the  production  of  the  first 
piece  of  silk  and  wool  tapestry  from  the  power-loom, 
and  similar  goods  are  still  woven,  although  the  number 
Silk-  ^  of  manufacturers  does  not  increase.  The  list  of  exhibitors 
weaving  at  the  Great  International  Exhibition  of  1851  contains  the 
Develop-  names  of  these  Halifax  firms  in  the  damask  or  tapestry 
ments.  trades : 

James  Akroyd  &  Son.  J.  W.  Ward. 

W.  Brown.  *  Hoadley    &    Pridie. 

John  Holdsworth  &  Co.        Shepard  and  Perfect. 
^  H.  C.  McCrea  &  Co.  J.   Taylor  &  Sons. 

The  weaving  branch  constitutes  one-half  the  claim 
of  Halifax  to  attention  as  a  silk  town.  Precisely  when 
the  spinning  of  yarn  from  waste  silk  began  has  not  been 
made  clear.  Crabtree's  history  of  the  town  (1836)  says  : 
'  The  silk  trade,  although  of  recent  introduction,  gives 
every  promise  of  its  being  a  very  flourishing  branch  of 
manufacture  in  this  parish,"  and  quotes  Mr.  Robert 


HALIFAX.  239 

Baker,  Superintendent  of  Factories,  Leeds,  to  the  effect  A  Silk- 
that  "  it  is  remarkable  that  Halifax  from  its  local  situation  spinning 
is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the  preservation  of  the  colour  "  Town, 
of  silk.     Unless  there  is  some  reference  here  to  the  virtue 
of  the  local  water  in  facilitating  a  thorough  discharge  of 
the  natural  gum  in  silk  waste  the  meaning  is  obscure. 
Crabtree,   dealing  with  the  Census   of   1831,   states  that 
19  out  of  24  townships  in  the  Halifax  Parish  may  be  said 
to  be  manufacturing,  and  adds  that  18,377  out  of  a  total  of 
101,491  persons  enumerated  were  engaged  in  the  different 
branches  of  cotton,  worsted,  woollen  and  silk.     The  parish 
then  contained  : 

57  Cotton  mills  using      . .         716  h.p. 

35  Woollen    „        „         ..         662     „ 

45  Worsted   „        „         ..         855     „ 
4  Silk  „        „         . .  86     „ 

12  Unoccupied   or   incom- 
plete Mills 

153  Mills.  2,319  Horse-power. 

The  reference  to  the  date  of  the  introduction  of  silk  Some 
must  not  be  taken  literally.  George  Binns,  Gibbet  Street,  early 
Halifax,  is  described  as  a  silk  spinner  in  Baines's  Directory  Spinners, 
of  1822.  Binns  and  Wrigley,  Boothtown  and  Wheatley, 
was  a  partnership  in  1830.  George  Binns,  25  Gibbet 
Street,  and  Norland  and  Henry  Wrigley,  King  Cross  and 
Stansfield,  traded  separately  in  1837,  and  in  1842  G.  Binns 
was  described  as  also  of  Hebden  Bridge,  while  Henry 
Wrigley  was  described  additionally  as  cotton  warp  dealer. 
There  is  the  oral  evidence  of  a  contemporary  that 
Binns  later  developed  a  large  business  as  a  short-spinner 
at  Hebden  Bridge,  and  documentary  evidence  proves  the 
existence  of  Binns  Bros,  in  that  town  in  1865.  The 
bankruptcy  records  tell  of  the  failure  of  Henry  Wrigley, 
Silk  Waste  Spinner,  Dealer  and  Chapman,  in  1837.  The 
newspaper  files  of  the  year  show  that  he  was  not  the  only 
unfortunate  to  go  down  in  the  American  financial  crisis, 
nor  the  only  Wrigley  in  the  business  at  this  date.  The 
separate  firm  of  Wrigley  and  Son,  Holmfield  Mills,  were 
constrained  to  offer  their : 


240  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Some  "Valuable  establishment,  consisting  of  mill  and  premises 

early  and  machinery  with  steam  engine  of  15  h.p.  at  the  Leys 

Spinners,    in  Hightown,  near  Leeds,  to  be  disposed  of  by  private 

contract.     The   premises   are   under   lease   for    14   years. 

The    machinery    comprises    three    sides    of    carding    and 

preparation,   spinning   and   doubling,   calculated   to   turn 

off  6  to  700/6^.  weight    of  single    and  double   twist  per 

week." 

The  advertisement  conveys  the  significant  intimation 
that  "  the  Machinery  is  quite  new  and  has  been  working 
only  two  or  three  months,"  and  that  the  "  Neighbourhood 
is  well  stocked  with  hands."  The  circumstances  suggest 
financial  stress,  and  within  a  short  time  the  firm  Wrigley 
and  Son,  constituted  of  Watts  Wrigley  and  Thomas 
Wrigley  were  in  bankruptcy  also.  The  official  notices 
show  that  Wrigley  and  Son  combined  silk  wraste  spinning 
with  worsted  spinning,  and  their  association  with  long- 
fibred  wool,  suggests  that  they  were  the  Wrigleys,  who, 
together  with  Holdforth,  of  Leeds,  and  a  Lancashire 
firm,  participated  in  a  monopoly  of  the  new  process  of 
long-spinning.  The  fact  that  the  three  firms  did  hold 
a  monopoly  is  vouched  for  by  the  personal  recollections 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Butterworth,  of  Brighouse. 

Trade  Another  bankrupt  of  1836  was  described  officially  as 

Failures.  Silk-spinner,  Dealer  and  Chapman.  The  bankrupt  was 
George  Perkins,  the  contents  of  whose  mill  at  Boothtown, 
Halifax,  were  offered  at  auction.  An  auctioneer's  note 
says  that  the  bulk  of  the  valuable  machinery  was  made 
in  1834  and  1835  by  approved  makers,  whose  names  are 
in  some  cases  given.  The  equipment  included  : 

1  Cutting  engine.  4  Carding  engines  (36  ins.). 

1  Scutcher.  3  Drawing  frames. 

1  Willow.  2  Slubbing  frames  (14  spin- 

3  Filling  engines.  dies). 

21  Dressing  machines.  1  Slubbing  frame  (16  spin- 

8  Carding  engines  (42  ins.).  dies),  &c. 

Alice  Burrows  was  the  maker  of  the  cutting  engine,  and 
most  of  the  dressing,  carding  and  spinning  machinery. 
Mason's,  of  Rochdale,  made  one  of  the  cards,  Jenkinson 
and  Barr  the  stretching  frames  and  Cocker  and  Higgins, 


HALIFAX.  241 

Manchester,  the  slubbing  frames.     The  yarn  was  spun  on  Trade 
a  jenny  of  150  spindles.  Failures. 

The  identification  of  Messrs.  Wrigley  and  Son  with  the 
introduction  of  long-spinning  is  mentioned  again  in  the 
light  of  Perkins'  failure.  Perkins  had  his  mill  in  Boothtown, 
and  it  is  a  fair  inference  that  the  mill  is  the  one  which 
the  Wrigleys  are  known  to  have  afterwards  occupied  with 
their  long-spinning  machines.  On  the  testimony  of  a 
spinner,  who  has  known  the  Yorkshire  branch  of  the 
business  intimately  since  1852,  it  was  in  a  mill  in  Boothtown 
that  the  Wrigleys  continued  their  operations.  The  mill  is 
still  in  work,  although  its  connection  with  the  silk  trade  has 
ended. 

The  Henry  Wrigley  made  bankrupt  in  1837  occupied  A  Spin- 
a  mill  at  King  Cross,  driven — as  the  auctioneer's  adver-  ning 
tisement    shows — by    "  One    High-pressure    Steam    En-  Plant, 
gine  of  10  Horses'  Power  and  one  Ditto  of  14  Horses' 
Power." 

The  effects  included  : — 

One  Boiling-off  Copper  Pan. 

Wire  Drying  Flakes. 

Very  superior  Cutting  Machine. 

Two  Single  Blowing  Machines  (30  ins.). 

Six  Breaking  Carding  Engines  (48  ins.). 

Six  Finishing  Carding  Engines  (48  ins.),    by    Hibbert 
and  Platt. 

Four  Breaking  Carding  Engines  (42  ins.). 

Four  Finishing  Carding  Engines  (42  ins.). 

Five  Drawing  Frames  (6  single  heads  each). 

Four  Slubbing  Frames  (12  spindles  each),  by  Cocker 
and  Higgins. 

Five  Stretching  Frames  (144  spindles  each). 

Two  pairs  of  Mules  (348  spindles  each),  all  with  15  in. 
rollers. 

One  pair  of  Mules  (372  spindles  each),  14-|  in.  spindle 
by  Jenkinson  and  Bow  (or  Barr). 

Seven  pairs  of  Mules  (408  spindles  each). 

Two  pairs  of  Mules  (480  spindles  each). 

Eleven  Doubling  and  Twisting  Jennies  (180  spindles 
each). 


242 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Further 
Bank- 
ruptcies. 


General 
Trade 
depres- 
sion. 


Nine  Doubling  and   Twisting  Jennies   (204  spindles 

each),   &c. 

Other  reasons  exist  for  regarding  1837  as  a  better 
year  for  auctioneers  than  for  silk-spinners.  On  the  27th, 
28th  and  29th  days  of  September,  Mr.  Thomas  Davis 
put  up  for  sale  the  valuable  silk  and  cotton  machinery 
at  Greaves  Mill,  Stainland,  near  Halifax,  occupied  by 
Mr.  John  Denton.  The  details  may  be  spared,  although 
it  is  notable  that  where  Wrigley  used  a  copper,  Denton 
used  an  iron  boiling  pan.  At  the  foot  of  the  list  of  effects 
there  are  enumerated  : — 

"  A  quantity  of  finished  and  dressed  silk ;  44  bags 
of  boiled  silk  ;  15  bags  of  home  waste  ;  47  bags  of 
silk  noils  ;  a  number  of  wire  silk  scrays  ;  silk 
shoddy  webs." 

Wrigley's  auctioneer  expressly  directed  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  machines  were  framed  in  iron,  and  in 
this  notice  may  be  read  a  reminder  that  the  earliest 
dressing  machines  in  the  memory  of  living  man  were 
framed  not  in  iron,  but  in  wood. 

Culminating  proof  of  trade  depression  in  the  year  of  Queen 
Victoria's  accession  is  found  in  the  advertisement  in  the 
Halifax  Guardian  of  19th  September  of  another  sale  of 
valuable  machinery,  situate  at  Hare  Park  Mills,  Hightown, 
Liversedge,  in  the  parish  of  Birstal,  in  the  county  of  York. 
Details  of  the  American  panic  apparently  responsible  for 
the  havoc  in  the  trade  are  lacking.  There  were  failures 
of  London  houses  engaged  in  the  American  trade,  and 
silk-spinners  were  not  alone  in  these  embarrassments. 
Trade  was  generally  bad,  and  the  worsted  industry  suffered 
sorely.  If  the  details  may  be  filled  in  at  a  venture  it 
doubtless  occurred  that  the  London  houses  owed  the 
spinners  money  directly  or  indirectly,  and  that  silk  prices 
—so  susceptible  to  violent  fluctuation — dropped  heavily. 
According  to  the  Banker's  Circular,  a  sudden  rise  took 
place  in  the  value  of  money  in  1836.  Bagehot  denies  that 
there  was  a  real  money  market  panic  between  1825  and 
1847,  but  agrees  that  the  crises  of  1837  and  1839  were 
severe,  and  would  have  produced  panics  had  the  Bank  not 
arrested  the  alarm  before  it  reached  a  state  of  intensity. 


HALIFAX.  243 

Fire,  which  has  ravaged  the  silk-spinning  industry  Mr.  S.  C. 
with  a  surely  disproportionate  severity,  closed  the  con-  Lister  in 
nection  with  Halifax  of  one  who  was  to  build  in  another  Halifax, 
town  a  silk  factory  reputed  for  a  while  the  largest  in  the 
world.  Lord  Masham's  career  is  linked  with  Manningham 
distinctively,  for  at  Manningham  he  began  business  in 
1838,  with  an  elder  brother,  as  J.  and  S.  C.  Lister,  worsted 
spinners  and  manufacturers.  There,  after  the  retirement 
of  his  brother,  Samuel  Cunliffe  Lister  founded  the  wool- 
combing  business  which  was  to  bring  him  fame  and  wealth, 
and  the  degree  of  self-confidence  that  led  to  experiments 
in  silk  waste  and  the  invention  of  his  silk-comb.  The 
S.  C.  Lister  and  Co.,  of  Wellington  Mills,  Halifax,  was 
only  an  auxiliary  to  the  main  undertaking  of  this  forceful 
and  courageous  man,  but  in  these  mills  from  a  date  subse- 
quent to  1857,  and  until  December  2nd,  1874,  Lister 
combed  and  spun  silk.  On  this  date  fire  broke  out  in 
course  of  some  operation  to  a  gas  main ;  five  work-girls 
lost  their  lives,  and  the  business  was  transferred  to  Man- 
ningham. A  sum  of  £27,500  was  later  recovered  by  way 
of  damages  from  the  Corporation  of  Halifax. 

The  year  1857  was  one  of  financial  panic,  and  Lister,  A 
returning  from  a  stay  in  the  Highlands,  on  which  he  looked  Financial 
back  as  the  pleasantest  three  months  he  had  ever  spent,  Crisis, 
found  himself  in  trouble.     Its  nature  and  bearings  are 
best  left  to  his  own  description,  contained  in  Lord  Masham's 
Inventions,     the    autobiography    published     before     his 
death. 

"  I  was  informed  that  the  Halifax  concern  was  in 
difficulties  and  wanted  help.  Then  I  found  that  Mr.  Brown, 
the  managing  partner,  had  accepted  bills  to  a  large  amount 
that  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  business,  but  as  they 
were  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  firm,  I  was  responsible 
for  them,  and  had  them  to  pay.  This  I  could  not  do  at 
the  moment,  so  the  concern  had  temporarily  to  suspend 
payment  to  give  me  time  to  find  the  money.  .  .  . 

"  But  all  this  might  have  been  avoided  had  I  been 
wise  and  not  foolishly  proud,  for  the  Governor  of  the 
Bank  of  England  most  thoughtfully  and  considerately 
sent  for  me.  ...  In  a  large,  gas-lighted,  underground 


244  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

A  room  (it  appeared  to  me),  I  was  introduced  to  the  Governor 

Financial  and  three  or  four  Bank  directors.  He  sat  with  a  big  book 
Crisis.  before  him,  and  received  me  very  pleasantly,  but  soon 
showed  that  he  meant  business,  and  asked  me  some  very 
searching  questions,  every  answer  being  carefully  entered 
in  the  big  book.  At  last  he  asked  me  the  very  plain 
question,  Did  I  think  I  could  pay  my  way  ?  He  said 
that  he  was  aware  that  I  had  a  number  of  concerns  doing 
a  large  business,  and  if  they  should  stop  payment  it  might 
and  would  greatly  increase  the  panic  that  was  then 
prevailing.  This  at  once  raised  my  pride,  that  I  should 
be  asked  such  a  question,  for  I  had  hitherto  considered 
myself  one  of  the  richest  and  most  prosperous  men  in 
the  country.  In  a  rash  moment,  I  remember  so  well, 
I  coloured  up  and  said  I  thought  I  could. 

"  The  big  book  was  immediately  closed.  He  rose  from 
his  seat,  and,  with  a  bland  smile,  said  :  '  We  are  delighted 
to  hear  it.  Good  morning,  Mr.  Lister.'  And  so  I  was 
bowed  out  of  the  bank.  When  in  the  street,  too  late,  I 
saw  my  folly." 

"  The  Halifax  concern  remained  under  the  supervision 
of  the  creditors  for  some  time,  aiid  made  about  ten 
thousand  pounds,  which,  to  my  great  indignation,  the 
Income  Tax  people  assessed.  ...  So  ended  the  year 
1857.  .  .  .  My  loss,  direct  cash  loss,  besides  what  I  sup- 
posed from  having  to  sell  stocks  and  other  things  at 
ruinous  prices,  was  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds. 
This,  together  with  my  serious  loss  on  silk-combing,  so 
crippled  me  that  for  years  I  was  more  or  less  always  in 
pecuniary  difficulties." 

Later  At  the  time  of  the  stoppage  in  1857,  Wellington  Mills 

Develop-    was  a  worsted  concern,  and  in  the  statement  of  affairs 

ments.        then  issued,  the  liabilities  were  given  as  £253,190,   and 

the  assets  £210,889.     Mr.  Lister's  private  resources  were 

said  to  exceed  a  quarter  of  a  million,  and  Mr.  Brown's 

to  be  nil.     The  creditors  were  paid  by  instalments  extended 

over  two  years.     At  the  time  of  the  fire,  the  premises 

housed    230    silk-looms,  and   a  number    of    silk-spinning 

frames,  and  between  five  and  six  hundred  persons  were 

employed. 


HALIFAX.  245 

The  rebuilding  of  the  premises  made  way  for  a  young  Later 
firm  of  spinners,  which  had  been  established  in  Brighouse.  Develop- 
Three  brothers  Marsden,  with  a  brother-in-law,  Mr.  ments. 
Cockroft,  manager  for  John  Fisher  and  Co.,  Longroyd 
Bridge,  Huddersfield,  founded  the  firm.  As  Marsden 
Brothers  and  Holden,  they  were  in  litigation  with 
Mr.  S.  C.  Lister  in  1874.  The  firm  became  Clayton, 
Marsdens  and  Co.,  after  it  had  been  joined  by  Mr.  Lemuel 
Clayton,  hitherto  traveller  for  H.  C.  McCrea  and  Co.,  and 
became  later  Clayton,  Murgatroyd  and  Co.,  Ltd.  The 
concern  remains  one  of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous 
in  the  trade,  and  retains  an  extensive  business  in  sewing 
and  embroidery  silks.  About  1900  Clayton,  Murgatroyd 
and  Co.  took  over  and  closed  a  small  neighbouring  mill, 
which  had  been  occupied  latterly  by  James  Robinson  and 
Co.,  and  formerly  by  the  Cockrofts.  The  Mytholm  Mill, 
at  Hipperholme,  which  early  in  the  19th  century  was 
used  in  the  wire  trade,  was  let  to  W.  Spencer  and 
J.  Cockroft  for  silk  purposes  somewhat  before  1855. 
After  possession  by  Andrew  Cockroft,  the  mill  passed 
to  Clayton,  Marsdens  and  Co.,  and  was  eventually  put  to 
other  trades. 

The  name  of  Hadwen,  within  the  silk-spinning  industry,  The 
ranks   in   historical   quality   with   that    of   Brocklehurst,  Hadwens 
Thompson    and    Fielden.     These    are    the    oldest    names  of 
in  the  memories  of  those  who  have  been  in  the  trade  Triangle, 
longest,    and    are    those    of    the    parent    concerns.     The 
founder  of  the  Hadwen  firm,  so  long  carried  on  at  Triangle, 
near  Halifax,  came  from  Kendal.     He  began  business  at 
Triangle   in    1800,    as    a    cotton    spinner,    and    in    1826 
began    to    spin    silk    upon    his    cotton    machinery.      This 
method   was   followed   until    1858,    when   machinery   for 
dealing  with  long  fibre  was  installed.     A  proportion  of 
the  older  type  of  machines  was  retained,  and  warp  yarn 
for  Henrietta  cloths  and  for  the  Bombay  market  continued 
in  use  until  the  end  of  the  century.     The  mill  at  Kebroyd 
was  the  scene  of  some  interesting  experiments  to  produce 
schappe   yarn    of   the   kind   made   upon    the    Continent. 
Machines  for  stamping  cocoons  and  a  modern  apparatus 
for  de-gumming  were  installed,  but  lacking  the  supplies  of 


246  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  glacier  water  that  are  possessed  by  the  European  mills, 

Hadwens   the   result   was    not    successful    enough   to    warrant   the 
of  retention  of  the  plant.     The  firm  had  a  particularly  high 

Triangle,    reputation  in  the  lace  trade,  and  during  the  '70' s  did  a 
large  business  in  the  Nottingham  market. 

Mr.  John  Hadwen,  the  founder,  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Mr.  G.  B.  Hadwen,  and  by  his  grandsons,  of  whom 
Mr.  F.  W.  Hadwen  remains.  In  1892  Mr.  Alfred  Ingham 
was  admitted  as  a  partner,  and  about  1900  the  mill  was 
taken  over  by  a  limited  company,  in  which  many  of 
Messrs.  Hadwen's  500  workpeople  took  up  shares,  and  the 
undertaking  passed  out  of  the  family  control. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

BRIGHOTJSE. 

Brighouse,    a   thriving   industrial   borough,    with   some   Home 
21,000  inhabitants,  has  in  the  course  of  the  past  70  years   of 
been  made  the  chief  centre  of  the  English   silk-spinning   several 
industry.     Mid-way  between  Bradford  arid  Huddersfield,  Indus- 
with  Halifax  upon  its  west  and  the  prosperous  Spen  Valley   tries, 
upon  its  east,  the  town  is  placed  in  the  heart  of  the  textile 
area  of  the  West  Riding.     It  is  upon  the  main  line  of  a 
coast-to-coast  railway,   and  is  accessible  from  Liverpool 
and  the  Humber  by  canal.     The  town  is  on  the  fringe  of 
the  Yorkshire  coalfield,  it  has  beds  of  excellent  stone  and 
an  abundance  of  water,  from  the  higher  lands  adjoining, 
finds  its   way   down   to   the   River   Calder,   upon   which 
Brighouse  stands.     Being  favourably  placed  for  the  pur- 
poses  of  miscellaneous  industry,   the  town  has  become 
the  home  of  several  different  trades.     Cotton-doubling  is 
carried  on  by  a  score  of  firms,  whose  single-yarn  is  mainly 
obtained  from  Lancashire,   although  in  part  from  local 
spindles.     Woollens  are  made  upon  the  Huddersfield  side 
of   the   borough,    as   are   the   especially   renowned    Clay 
worsteds.     Upon  the  Bradford  boundary,  the  Firths  have 
their  great  carpet  mills.     There  are  large  dye-works  for 
the  slubbing-dyeing  of  wool  and  the  dyeing  and  finishing 
of  piece  goods.     Beyond  these  industries  there  are  con- 
siderable ones  in  ironfounding,  wire-drawing,  flour-milling 
and  quarrying. 

Two  accounts  connect  the  name  of  Newton  with  the  The 
introduction  of  the  silk  trade  into  the  town.     Mr.  Horsfall  Early 
Turner,  in  his  History  of  Brighouse  (1903),  refers  casually  Days  of 
to  the  "  several  (who)  tried  to  establish  the  silk  business  Silk. 
.  since  Mr.  Robert  Newton."     In  another  connection 


247 


248  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  the  book  refers  to  a  meeting  held  22nd  September,  1846, 

Early  in  the  warehouse  of  Mr.  Robert  Newton's  Victoria  Mills. 
Days  of  Miss  Sellers  in  the  Victoria  County  History,  Yorkshire, 
Silk.  vol.  2,  says :  "  The  industry  was  introduced  by 

Messrs.  Robert  Newton  and  James  Barrow,  who  came  to 
Brighouse  from  Lancaster  in  1843,  and  started  business 
at  Little  John  Mill."  The  name  of  Barrow  is  a  palpable 
mis-spelling  of  Burrow,  and  if  the  business  was  indeed 
started  in  the  exiguously  small  quarters  named,  the  fact 
is  outside  the  knowledge  of  the  owners  of  the  building. 
The  land  in  the  township  of  Clifton,  upon  which  Little  John 
Mill  was  built,  was  leased  in  1786  to  John  Clegg  for  85  years 
for  the  erection  of  a  carding  mill,  and  there  is  the  authority 
of  the  Kirklees  Estate  Office  for  the  statement  that  if  the 
mill  was  used  for  silk  the  business  must  have  been  carried 
on  by  sub-tenants  of  the  lessees. 

There  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  Brighouse  spinners  that 
Newton  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  their  number,  and  he 
may  have  been  the  first.  The  firm  Burrow  and  Monk, 
constituted  of  the  James  Burrow,  stated  to  have  been 
in  partnership  with  Newton,  and  a  Mr.  Monk,  from  Maccles- 
field,  is  more  generally  regarded  as  the  original  firm. 
They  were  in  partnership  together  when  Mr.  Thomas 
Butterworth,  the  late  Mr.  John  Cheetham,  and  others, 
came  to  Brighouse  in  1852,  after  the  closing  of  Fielden 
Brothers'  silk  mill  at  Todmorden.  Burrow  and  Monk 
then  occupied  a  converted  farm  building,  which  still  forms 
a  part  of  the  Thornhill  Briggs  Mills  of  Wood  Brothers  and 
Sons,  Ltd.  The  short  or  cotton  system  of  spinning  had 
been  carried  on  there  originally,  but  with  the  help  of 
workmen  from  the  Holdforth's  Mill  in  Leeds,  the  improved 
long-spun  method  was  substituted,  and  was  being 
practised  in  1852.  Deeds  in  the  possession  of  the  present 
owners  of  the  mill  suggest  that  Burrow  and  Monk  would 
be  tenants  of  the  Dr.  Joseph  Cartledge,  who  had  bought 
that  portion  of  the  Newstead's  estate.  The  documents 
show  further  that  the  property  had  been  transferred 
in  1747,  subject  to  a  peppercorn  rent — "  the  yielding 
Memories  and  paying  of  one  red  rose  in  the  time  of  roses." 
of  Lister.  To  this  mill  Mr.  Samuel  Lister,  the  late  Lord  Masham, 


BRIGHOUSE.  249 

was  in  the  habit  of  paying  frequent  visits  at  the  time  The 
that  he  was  beginning  the  manufacture  of  silk  waste  at  Early 
Manningham.     The  occupants  ultimately  failed,  and,  upon  Days  of 
the  evidence  of  one  of  the  silk-dressers  who  was  employed  Silk, 
there  at  the  time,  Mr.  Monk  left  Brighouse  for  Hudders- 
field.     Mr.  Burrow   remained   behind,  and   he  is  said  to 
have  sunk  in  the  social  scale   and  to   have    eventually 
turned   to   poaching.     The   name   of    one  Alice  Burrows 
appears  in  auction  catalogues  as  the  maker  of  cutting, 
dressing,  carding  and  spinning  machinery  in  use  in  the 
Halifax   district  in  the  middle  '30's,   and  the  surnames 
are  sufficiently  alike  to  suggest  the  possibility  of  a  relation- 
ship. 

The  names  of  Benjamin  and  of  Joseph  Noble  are  remem- 
bered in  the  trade  as  those  of  two  of  the  earlier  Brighouse 
spinners,  and  Mr.  Turner's  History  mentions  that  the 
second-named  died  in  1876  at  the  age  of  66.  Mr.  Butter- 
worth,  the  oldest  living  silk-spinner,  whose  father  and 
grandfather  both  worked  in  the  spun  silk  trade,  founded 
in  partnership  Barkers  and  Butterworth,  Belle  Vue  Mills, 
and  on  his  retirement  sold  the  business  to  John  Cheetham 
and  Sons,  Ltd.  At  Calder  Bank  Mills,  Brighouse,  Albert 
Mills,  Rastrick,  and  Belle  Vue  Mills,  Messrs.  Cheetham 
carry  on  a  trade  with  which  their  family  has  been  identified 
for  some  generations.  The  Cheethams  in  the  early  days 
of  their  business  dressed  silk  upon  commission  for 
Mr.  Lister,  of  Manningham  Mills,  and  the  Mr.  Nussey, 
who  later  became  manager  at  Manningham,  was  stationed 
at  their  mills  to  supervise  the  weighing  of  the  material. 
Upon  leaving  Todmorden,  Mr.  John  Cheetham  worked  at  Subse- 
the  silk  trade  in  Halifax,  and,  coming  to  Brighouse,  entered  quent 
later  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Richard  Kershaw  in  1863.  Develop- 
The  partnership  was  dissolved  in  1871,  and  became  ments. 
Ormerod  Brothers  and  Cheetham,  and  by  dissolution  in 
1881  became  John  Cheetham  and  Sons. 

Mr.  Kershaw,  whose  pursuits  had  formerly  been  agricul- 
tural, opened  business  as  R.  Kershaw  and  Co.,  and  in 
1880  completed  the  building  of  the  fine  Woodvale  Mills, 
which  were  sold  about  20  years  later  to  the  Messrs.  Ormerod 
on  Mr.  Kershaw' s  retirement  from  the  trade. 


250  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Subse-  The  Ormerods,  who  had  been  previously  in  the  cotton 

quent         trade,   built   the  large  Alexandra   and  Prince   of    Wales 

Develop-   Mills,  the  first  of  which  was  burnt  down  in  1903,  when 

ments.        £40,000   damage  was   done.     After  being   carried   on  by 

members  of  the  Ormerod  family  until  1913,  a  change  of 

proprietorship  was  made,  and  Mr.  A.  Mellor  was  brought 

from  Macclesfield  to  undertake  the  management  of  the 

concern  still  called  Ormerod  Bros.,  Ltd.,  the   largest  in 

the  town. 

The  firm  of  Wood  Brothers  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  was  founded 
in  1881  by  members  of  a  family  connected  since  the  17th 
century  with  the  local  wire-drawing  industry.  Mr.  Michael 
Hill,  later  of  the  Ford  Silk  Spinning  Co.,  Horbury,  and 
of  John  Hadwen  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  was  the  first  partner 
of  the  Woods,  and  in  charge  of  the  technical  work.  Under 
the  later  charge  of  Mr.  Thomas  Herbert  Wood,  a  second 
large  mill  has  been  built  in  which  advantage  has  been 
taken  of  every  modern  improvement. 

At  Wilkin  Royd  Mill,  a  successful  business  has  been 
built  up  by  Wood,  Robinson  and  Co.,  in  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century.  John  Baldwin  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  Ganny  Mill, 
Mr.  Thomas  Binns,  Clifton  Bridge  Mills,  and  A.  Rawlinson 
and  Son,  Brookmouth  Mill,  have  all  carried  on  their 
businesses  for  years,  and  make  standard  Brighouse  yarns. 
In  the  course  of  development  there  have  been  retire- 
ments from  the  trade  for  one  reason  and  another.  The 
Messrs.  Stott,  Kershaw,  Ormerod,  and  Butterworth  are 
no  longer  actively  associated  with  the  trade,  and  the  firm 
of  Wilkinson  and  Airey  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others 
are  extinct. 

Lively  competition  exists  between  the  several  spinners 

all  of  whom  are  making  yarns  required  for  similar  purposes, 

varying  somewhat  in  nature  according  to  the  particular 

class  of  material  used  and  the  incidental  differences  due 

Com-          to  variations  of  practice.     The  spinning  of  60' s  white  silk 

petition      chiefly  for  the  dress  goods  market,  which  for  long  has 

between     ranked  as  the  principal  branch  of  the  trade,  has  to  some 

Spinners,   extent  given  way  to  the  spinning  of  tussah  silk  in  the  counts 

required  by  plush  manufacturers.     Yarns   are  spun   for 

the  lace  and  hosiery  trade,  and  for  sewing  and  embroidery 


BRIGHOUSE.  251 

purposes,  in  quantities  which  fluctuate  with  the  somewhat  Export 
uncertain  demands.     A  large  part  of  the   production  is   Trade, 
for  export,  and  the  typical  strong,  bright,  clean  Brighouse 
yarn  is  favourably  known  in  afl  considerable  centres  of 
silk  manufacture. 

At  Greetland  near  Halifax  and  Brighouse,  silk-spinning 
is  carried  on  in  addition  to  woollen  manufacture  at  Wood 
Field  Mills  by  Benjamin  Fielding  and  Son. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

HUDDERSFIELD . 

The  part  From  the  earliest  up  to  the  present  times  the  staple 
played  of  Huddersfield  industry  has  been  wool,  and  in  the  manu- 
by  Silk,  facture  of  the  finest  worsted  cloth  the  town  has  achieved 
a  position  of  pre-eminence.  In  bringing  about  this 
development  a  considerable  and  often  disregarded  part  was 
played  by  silk.  There  was  an  intermediate  stage  in 
Huddersfield' s  successful  career  in  which  goods  made  of 
wool  and  silk  had  a  greater  relative  importance  than  they 
have  had  for  some  years  past.  The  history  of  the  Hudders- 
field industry  may  be  traced  from  the  16th  century,  when 
white  and  coloured  "  Penestons "  (coarse  wool  cloths) 
were  being  made  in  the  hinterland  of  the  town,  and  when 
a  fulling-mill  for  the  finishing  of  these  cloths  woven  on 
"  the  broad  lombes  "  was  in  operation  at  Thurstonland. 
Reference  to  the  cloths  is  found  in  the  statutes  of  1580 
and  to  the  fulling-mill  in  H.  J.  Morehouse's  Parish  of 
Kirkburton  (1861).  The  same  work  is  the  authority  for 
the  statement  that  until  the  latter  half  of  the  18th  century 
the  coarse  cloths  woven  in  certain  of  the  upland  villages 
upon  the  outskirts  of  Huddersfield  went  by  the  name  of 
"  Leeds  Reds."  They  were  woollens,  scribbled  and  carded 
by  a  single  pair  of  cards,  spun  into  single  thread  and 
woven  by  hand  shuttling.  Their  name  of  Leeds  was 
derived,  by  a  not  unfamiliar  process,  from  the  fact  of 
their  sale  to  the  Leeds  merchants. 

Morehouse  records  that  as  late  as  1780  the  villagers  of 
Shepley,  one  of  the  outlying  townships  of  the  Hudders- 
field area,  used  to  assemble  in  the  early  morning  at  the 
blast  of  a  horn  to  convey  their  homespun  warp  yarn  by 


252 


HUDDERSFIELD.  253 

packhorses  to  the  Dewsbury  market.     Huddersfield  had  The  part 
also  an  ancient  market  of  its  own,  and  the  market  cross  played 
still  stands  in  the  main  street.     Here  local  cloths  were  by  Silk, 
sold  before  the  opening  of  the  Cloth  Hall  in  1760  ;    an 
institution  of  which  it  was  said  half  a  century  later  that 
it  had  been  of  the  utmost  benefit  to  producers  in  keeping 
prices  at  a  remunerative  level  even  in  depressed  markets. 
Huddersfield  blue  serges  were  being  sold  in  fairs  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  and  a  document  in  the  possession 
of  B.  Vickerman  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  shows  the  founder  of 
the   business   to   have   disposed   of   £1,400  worth  at  the 
Prescott,   Chester   and    Wrexham   fairs   of   1792,   and   to 
have  been  trading  also  with  Massachusetts. 

In  1776  the  first  spinning  machine,  a  jenny  of  18  spindles, 
was  erected  in  Holmfirth,  a  few  miles  to  the  southward 
of  the  town.  The  first  mill  to  be  erected  in  the  Colne 
Valley,  now  the  scene  of  busy  activities  in  the  cheap 
fancy  woollen  trade,  is  said  by  Mr.  D.  F.  E.  Sykes  in 
Huddersfield  and  its  Vicinity  (1898),  to  have  been  driven 
first  by  gin  horse  and  later  by  water-wheel.  The  year  is 
unspecified,  but  the  date  is  apparently  one  anterior  to 
the  invention  of  the  steam  engine. 

Huddersfield  stands  at  the  confluence  of  the  Colne  and  The 
Holme    valleys    and    in    the    last    named — according    to  Silk 
Morehouse — only  plain  goods  were  made  until  about  1830.  Vestings 
Business  in  plain  cloths  declined,   and  a  demand  arose  Trade, 
for   fancy   vestings   in   which   silk   formed   a   distinctive 
feature.     The    manufacture    of    these     tided     the     local 
industry  over  the  thirty  or  more  years  that  passed  before 
the  opening  of  its  later  phase.     Morehouse  refers  explicitly 
to  Kirkburton,  Shelley  and  Shepley  as  places  owing  much 
to  the  development  of  the  new  trade,  and  indeed  business 
in  fancy  vestings  is  still  carried  on  successfully  in  these 
districts  of  Greater  Huddersfield.     The  goods,   however, 
became  staple  wares  of  the  period,  and  were  manufactured 
in  Dalton,   Rastrick  and   other  townships  to  the  north 
of  the  town. 

A  list  which  appeared  in  West  Riding  Directories  shows 
that  there  were  at  least  two  silk-spinners  in  Huddersfield 
in  1830 :  William  Hird  and  Son,  silk  cotton  and  worsted 


254 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Some 

Pioneer 

Firms. 


Link 
between 
Textiles 
and 

Agricul- 
ture. 


spinners,  Cross  Church  Street,  and  the  longer-lived  firm 
of  Fisher.  The  name  is  given  as  John  Fisher  and  Co., 
silk-throwsters  and  spinners,  Longroyd  Bridge,  in  1830  ; 
a  name  changed  to  Edward  Fisher  and  Co.,  by  1842,  and 
which  had  become  Edward  Fisher  and  Sons  before  the  last 
proprietor,  one  Mr.  Sharp,  of  Holmfirth,  closed  the  business 
in  1895.  The  Fishers  were  engaged  originally  in  the 
short-spinning  process,  and  the  improved  system  of  long- 
spinning  was  introduced  at  their  mill  by  the  Mr.  Cockroft, 
who  with  his  brothers-in-law,  the  Marsdens,  founded  the 
mill  now  carried  on  at  Halifax  by  Clayton,  Murgatroyd 
and  Co.,  Ltd. 

Factory  inspection  returns  record  in  1839  these  two 
silk  factories  in  Huddersfield  and  two  in  Almondbury, 
employing  in  all  326  persons.  In  1842  the  name  of  Joseph 
Mills,  King  Street,  appears  along  with  that  of  William 
and  Samuel  Dowse,  Mold  Green,  throwsters  and  spinners, 
and  of  two  dealers  in  silk  yarn.  The  business  of  William 
White  and  Sons,  now  of  Mulberry  Mills,  Huddersfield, 
bears  one  of  the  traditional  names  of  the  industry.  Of 
Huguenot  extraction,  the  Whites  first  in  London,  next  in 
Macclesfield,  and,  since  1843,  in  Huddersfield,  have  carried 
on  the  ancestral  trade  for  many  generations.  The  late 
Mr.  William  White,  a  familiar  figure  for  half  a  century 
at  the  London  silk  sales,  rode  out  upon  horseback  in  his 
early  days  to  sell  his  silk  twists  to  the  manufacturers  of 
vestings,  and  the  old  ledgers  of  the  firm  give  an  insight 
into  the  conditions  under  which  trading  was  then  done. 
Amounts  were  settled  normally  by  bills,  occasionally 
partly  by  bills  and  partly  by  hams,  which  were  re-consigned 
to  the  White  family  in  London  and  Macclesfield.  More 
rarely  they  were  settled  partly  in  bills  and  the  balance 
in  milk  ;  an  evidence  of  the  *  survival  until  a  compara- 
tively late  date  of  the  close  local  connection  between 
farming  and  textile  manufacturing.  Soon  after  1849, 
Mr.  White  produced  the  gold  coloured  twists  needed 
to  make  the  California  vestings,  which  became  seasonable 
articles  at  the  time  of  the  gold  discovery  in  that  State. 
Mr.  William  White,  who  lived  to  a  great  age,  had  at  one 
time  a  silk  dyehouse  at  Linthwaite,  and  for  a  short  while 


HUDDERSFIELD.  255 

shared  in  a  tentative  experiment  in  silk-spinning.  The 
business  carried  on  by  his  descendants  is  still  that  of 
preparing  twists  for  the  uses  of  the  vesting  and  worsted 
business. 

Work  of  the  same  kind  is  carried  on  by  the  Bent  Ley  Waste 
Silk  Mills  Ltd.,  of  Meltham,  in  addition  to  the  dressing  Silk 
and  spinning  upon  a  considerable  scale  of  waste  silk.  Trade. 
The  mill  was  built  about  1840  by  Charles  Brook  and 
Sons,  members  of  a  family  which  subsequently  built  up 
a  great  business  in  sewing  cotton.  The  mill  passed  from 
the  Brooks  to  William  Bamford  and  Sons,  who  continued 
the  silk  business  for  a  few  years,  and  eventually  sold  it 
in  1890  to  the  present  limited  company,  of  which  the 
managing  director  is  Mr.  A.  W.  Manks.  The  original 
business  was  somewhat  enlarged  about  the  beginning  of 
the  century  by  the  purchase  from  W.  Hollins  and  Co., 
Ltd.,  of  the  silk  department  conducted  in  their  large  mills 
at  Mansfield.  Silk-spinning  was  carried  on  in  1851  at 
Dalton  by  John  Salkeld  and  Co.,  presumably  in  the 
Greenside  Mills,  which  about  30  years  ago  were  worked 
by  a  Mr.  George  Wilson.  It  is  known  that  Wilson  acquired 
part  of  the  machinery  sold  at  the  break-up  of  Burrow  and 
Monk,  the  pioneer  spinning  firm  in  the  adjacent  town 
of  Brighouse,  and  one  of  Mr.  Wilson's  employes,  the  late 
Mr.  J.  W.  Armitage,  subsequently  began  spinning  upon 
his  own  account  in  that  town. 

The  Census  of  1871  showed  that  in  the  census  area  of 
Huddersfield  108  males  and  148  females  were  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  Silk  and  satin  manufacturing 
employed  74  males  over  20  years  of  age  ;  seven  adult  males 
were  returned  as  silk  dyers,  and  two  as  silk  merchants. 
The  particulars  would  seem  not  to  cover  the  whole 
industrial  district ;  they  exclude  those  whose  business 
lay  mainly  with  mixed  goods,  and  they  were  taken  before 
the  rise  of  the  silk  plush  industry,  which  for  a  time  largely 
increased  the  number  of  silk  workers  in  and  about  the 
town. 

Silk  yarn  dyeing  has  been  carried  on  for  many  years,    Silk 
and  upon  a  large  scale  at  Mr.  G.  W.  Oldham's  Moll  Spring   Yarn 
Dyeworks     and     Lord's     Mill,     Netherton.     During    the  Dyeing. 


256 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Silk  currency  of  the  trade  in  silk  sealskins  in  the  '80's  and 

Yarn          '90's,  large  quantities  of  these  plushes  were  manufactured, 

Dyeing,      notably  by  the  extinct  firms  Henry  Lister  and  Co.,  Joseph 

Walker   and   Sons,    Lindley,    Norton   Brothers   and   Co., 

Nortonthorpe,  and  by  Field  and  Bottrill,  of  Skelmanthorpe. 

The  production  of  pile  goods  like  astrakhans  and  mohair 

plushes  remains  one  of  the  specialities  of  the  district. 

To  pick  up  the  broken  thread  of  the  story  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Huddersfield  fine  worsted  trade,  reference 
must  be  made  to  a  letter  published  in  the  Huddersfield 
newspaper,  1881-1883,  by  Mr.  J.  S.  and  Mr.  J.  T.  Clay, 
of  Rastrick.  It  is  there  recorded  that  about  1853  one 
John  Beaumont,  of  Dalton,  brought  out  a  new  vesting 
made  with  four-fold  woollen  yarn  twisted  with  a  thick 
thread  of  silk  and  woven  16  threads  to  the  inch  in  each 
direction.  A  London  woollen  merchant,  Charles  Kennerley, 
of  Savile  Row,  London,  invited  Mr.  Clay  to  make  the 
cloth  in  cashmere  or  worsted,  instead  of  woollen  yarn. 
A  supply  of  Berlin  wool  yarn  made  for  the  uses  of  the 
Leicester  trade  was  procured  from  a  Mr.  Charles  Walker, 
of  Bradford,  and  a  new  business  in  so-called  Berlin  vestings 
was  begun.  From  one  piece  dyed  black  and  made  without 
silk  the  famous  tailor  Poole  cut  one  chequer-board  square, 
and  in  1857  or  1858  ordered  a  piece  to  be  woven  throughout 
in  the  plain  twill  of  this  pattern.  A  coat  of  this  material 
worn  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  brought  fine  worsted  into 
prominence,  and  its  increasing  growth  in  public  favour 
ousted  the  shiny  woollen  broadcloths  that  had  formerly 
been  the  recognised  wear  for  formal  occasions.  Broad- 
cloths had  been  the  particular  speciality  of  the  West  of 
England,  and  their  supersession  by  a  fabric  which  was  an 
offshoot  from  the  trade  in  wool  and  silk  waistcoatings 
became  a  matter  of  the  utmost  moment.  The  manu- 
facture of  fine  cloths  for  wear  by  men  was  transferred 
Manu-  to  the  West  Riding,  most  of  the  woollen  mills  of  the  West 
facture  of  England  dropped  gradually  out  of  work,  and  the  success 
of  Fine  that  has  been  gained  subsequently  in  Gloucestershire  and 
Cloths.  elsewhere  in  the  West  has  been  chiefly  by  the  adoption 
of  the  methods  pursued  in  Huddersfield. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
SHEFFIELD,   LEEDS,   Low  BENTHAM. 

SHEFFIELD. 

Towns  in  which  employment  for  men  is  plentiful,  and 
particularly  those  situated  on  the  Northern  coal-field,  are 
commonly  favourable  to  the  development  of  textile 
industry.  The  case  has  not  proved  thus  with  Sheffield, 
where  a  silk  throwing  mill  was  erected  near  the  Don 
River  in  1758.  The  mill  was  inspected  by  Arthur  Young, 
and  a  faithful  account  of  its  transactions  is  given  in  his 
Northern  Tour  (1769)  : 

"  Sheffield  contains  about  30,000  inhabitants,  the 
chief  of  which  are  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  hardware.  The  great  branches  are  the  plating 
work,  the  cutlery,  the  lead  works  and  the  silk 
mill." 
The  silk-mill  was : 

"  A  copy  from  the  famous  one  at  Derby  which  employs  A 

152  hands,  chiefly  women  and  children ;  the  Throw- 
women  earn  5s.  or  6s.  a  week  by  the  pound ;  girls  at  ing  Mill, 
first  are  paid  but  Is.  or  Is.  2d.  a  week,  but  rise 
gradually  higher,  till  they  arrive  at  the  same  wage 
as  the  women.  It  would  be  preposterous  to 
attempt  a  description  of  the  immense  mechanism  ; 
but  it  is  highly  worthy  of  observation  that  all 
the  motions  of  this  complicated  system  are  set 
at  work  by  one  water-wheel,  which  communicates 
motion  to  others,  and  they  to  many  different  ones, 
until  many  thousand  wheels  and  powers  are  set 
at  work  from  the  original  simple  one.  They  use 
Bengal,  China,  Turkey,  Piedmont  and  American 


257 


258 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


raw  silks ;  the  Italian  costs  them  35s.  a  lb.,  but 
the  American  only  205.  ;  it  is  a  good  silk,  though 
not  equal  to  Piedmont.  This  mill  works  up 
150  Ibs.  of  raw  silk  a  week  all  the  year  round,  or 
7,8001bs.  per  annum.  The  erection  of  the  whole 
building,  with  all  the  mechanism  it  contains, 
cost  about  £7,000." 

Other  The   enterprise   succeeded   ill    and    according   to   both 

Textile  Hunter's  Hattamshire  (1819)  and  Baines's  History, 
Enter-  Directory  and  Gazetteer  (1822),  the  premises  were  soon 
prises.  applied  to  the  spinning  of  cotton.  Baines  added  that 
"  neither  the  silk  nor  the  cotton  trade  has  made  any 
progress  in  Sheffield,  though  the  latter  has  been  per- 
severingly  prosecuted  upon  the  site  of  the  original  silk 
mill,  after  two  successive  conflagrations."  It  is  not  only 
to  silk  and  cotton  that  Sheffield  conditions  have  proved 
hostile.  There  was  in  1822  a  considerable  carpet  manu- 
facture, and  near  a  hundred  looms  employed  in  weaving 
hair-seating.  "  There  is  also,"  reported  Baines,  in  an 
ominous  tone,  "  a  small  quantity  of  woollen  cloth  manu- 
factured here,  but  it  seems  an  exotic,  and,  like  cotton  and 
silk,  not  a  native  of  the  soil."  Steel  has  banished  silk, 
cotton,  wool  and  horse-hair  alike,  and  modern  Sheffield 
makes  no  experiments  in  the  textile  industries  which 
prosper  in  the  hands  of  its  neighbouring  towns  and  cities. 
A  directory  of  1821  records  the  existence  of  two  silk- dyers 
in  Sheffield,  but  it  is  possible  they  were  dyers  of  garments 
rather  than  of  yarns  and  piece  goods. 

LEEDS. 

Silk  and         Leeds  has  the  advantage  of  a  singularly  diverse  range 

Flax-          of  industries,  but  has  for  several   years  lost  a  connection 

spinning,    with  silk,  dating  from  a  hundred  years  ago.     Leeds,  it 

must  be  recalled,  was  formerly  the  chief  centre  of  the 

English  flax  industry,  and  the  fibre  is  still  spun  in  the  city. 

There  are  stout  historical  links  between  the  spinning  of 

flax  and  the  silk-spinning  process  now  in  general  use   in 

this  country,   and  these  may  be  sought  in  the  chapter 

dealing  with  Waste  Silk  (p.  390).     Flax  and  waste  silk 

involve  the  use  of  similar  types  of  machinery,  and  the 


SHEFFIELD,   LEEDS,   LOW  BENTHAM.      259 

machine  makers,  to  whom  the  silk-spinners  of  to-day  are  Silk  and 

perhaps  more  indebted  than  to  any  other,  carry  on  business  Flax- 

in  Leeds.     Greenwood  and  Batley  Ltd.,  the  chief  makers  spinning. 

of  waste  silk  drawing  machinery,  themselves  derive  from 

an  older  flax  machine  firm.     The  founders  left  Fairbairn 

and   Lawson  to  begin  business   for  themselves   in   1856. 

Mr.  Samuel  Lawson,  of  this  firm,  was  the  patentee,  jointly 

with  the  inventor,    William   King   Westly,   of  Leeds,   of 

the  \\rorm  gear  for  driving  the  "  fallers,"  or  heckle  bars  of 

the  machines  used  in  preparing  long  fibres  for  spinning. 

This  invention  of  Westly's  lies  at  the  root  of  the  silk, 

flax  and  worsted  spinning  practice  of  to-day,  and  Westly 

has  had  less  than  his  meed  of  honour  and  perhaps  of 

fortune. 

Westly's  specification  (6464  of  1833)  shows  that  pre- 
viously to  his  time  the  toothed  bars  which  parallelise  the 
fibres  had  been  driven  by  chains  and  spur  wheels  on 
which  his  "  perpetual  screws  or  worm  shafts "  were  so 
great  an  improvement  that  they  have  never  been  super- 
seded. An  entry  in  the  London  Gazette  of  15th  July, 
1837,  conveys  notice  that  W.  K.  Westly,  Salford,  flax- 
spinner,  was  certified  bankrupt  on  that  day.  Nor  does 
a  printed  card*  preserved  among  old  documents  by 
Messrs.  Greenwood  and  Batley  suggest  great  good  fortune,  The 
eloquent  as  it  is  of  the  joy  of  achievement  and  the  work  of 
indomitable  spirit  of  the  man.  Westly. 

*  The  following  lines,  composed  by  the  late  WILLIAM  KING  WESTLY  of  LEEDS   (Inventor 
of  the  SCREW  GILL,  &c.),  were  seen  written  in  red  chalk  on  the  whitewashed  wall  of  his  own 
room,  by  his  nephew,  with  whose  kind  permission  they  are  here  printed : — 
"  Speed  man  !  Speed  !  Old  Time  is  running, 

Stretch  and  strain  thy  strength  and  cunning ; 

Every  sinew  bravely  brace, 

To  the  wrestle  and  the  race, 

'Tis  the  doing — not  what's  done, 

'Tis  the  winning — not  what's  won, 

'Tis  the  struggle  and  the  strife 

Gives  the  real  zest  to  life. 

Labour  is  no  slavish  burden, 

But  its  own  sufficient  guerdon, 

Giving  doubly  all  it  takes, 

In  the  manly  pride  it  wakes, 

In  the  sound  and  happy  sleep, 

In  the  pulse's  joyous  leap, 

In  the  limbs  with  vigor  lithe, 

In  the  temper  ever  blithe, 

In  the  sweetness  of  the  bread 

Won  by  skill  of  hand  or  head, 

Forward,  then  !  and  forward  still ! 

Triumph  waits  on  strength  of  Will." 


260 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Hold- 
forths' 
of 
Leeds. 


Frowns 
of 

Dame 
Fortune. 


The  Factory  Inspection  records  state  that  one  of  the 
225  steam  engines  at  work  in  Leeds  in  1836  was  for  silk 
and  cotton-spinning,  and  that  this  engine  was  of  36  horse 
power.  If  the  capacity  of  the  prime  mover  looks  trivial 
in  a  modern  light,  it  can  at  least  be  argued  that  the  engine 
was  of  twice  the  average  power  of  those  in  Leeds  manu- 
facturing establishments  at  the  period.  Then,  and  for 
long  after,  it  was  customary  to  move  spinning-mules  by 
hand.  The  question  of  the  ownership  of  the  engine  may 
be  set  at  rest  by  reference  to  Baines9  Directory  of  1822, 
showing  the  name  James  Holdforth,  Mill  Street,  Bank, 
Leeds,  under  the  heading  silk  and  cotton-spinner.  In  1830 
the  address  was  Low  MUl,  and  in  1842  was  38,  Mill  Street, 
and  at  Horsforth  and  Cookridge.  In  1847  the  firm  was 
James  Holdforth  and  Son,  Silk  Street,  Leeds.  Probably 
the  mill  was  in  existence  before  this  time,  for  it  was  in 
1812  that  the  founder  married,  and  his  daughter-in-law 
understands  that  he  had  the  silk-mills  at  that  time.  An 
entry  in  Leeds'  Worthies  (1865)  gives  an  epitome  of 
Mr.  James  Holdforth's  life,  showing  him  to  have  been 
born  in  1778,  and  to  have  died  at  the  age  of  83.  He  was 
one  of  22  placed  on  the  first  Commission  of  the  Peace 
under  the  Act  of  1836,  and  had  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  Roman  Catholic  mayor  elected  in  England  since 
the  Reformation.  He  was  the  friend  and  correspondent 
of  Daniel  O'Connell,  Sheil  O'Gorman  Mahon,  and  other 
Catholics  of  renown,  and  "  greatly  beloved  by  his  work- 
people, large  numbers  of  whom  he  employed  in  his  extensive 
silk  factory."  Mr.  Holdforth' s  name  is  mentioned  in  the 
evidence  taken  by  the  Committee  on  the  Factory  Bill, 
1832,  from  which  source  it  appears  that  the  mill  had  a 
night  as  well  as  a  day  staff.  A  girl  witness  deposed  that 
he  "  liked  children  all  to  be  very  clean." 

Mr.  Joseph  Holdforth  was  head  of  the  firm  in  1864, 
when  he  died.  Mr.  James  Holdforth,  junior,  who  had 
carried  on  business  as  a  spinner  of  silk  by  the  short-spun 
process  in  Congleton,  sold  his  Cheshire  mill  a  few  years 
later,  and  carried  on  the  Leeds  concern  until  in  the  '70' s 
difficulties  overcame  him,  and  the  three  or  four  hundred 
operatives  were  thrown  out  of  work.  The  machinery 


SHEFFIELD,   LEEDS,   LOW  BENTHAM.      261 

was  sold  by  auction,  and  some  of  it  was  removed  to  the  Hold- 
Brighouse  district.     Exceptional  interest  attaches  to  the  forths' 
affairs  of  the  Holdforths,  as  it  was  from  their  mill  that  of 
workers   were   drawn   to   operate  the  first  long-spinning  Leeds, 
machinery  introduced  into  Brighouse,   the  town  that  is 
now  the  chief  centre  of  the  long-spinning  trade.     Again, 
the  Holdforths  were  one  of  three  firms  that  in  the  beginning 
asserted  a  monopoly  in  the  rights  of  the  process  of  spinning 
waste  silk  without  first  reducing  its  fibre  to  very  short 
lengths. 

White's  West  Riding  Directory  of  1837  gives  the  name 
Wilkinson  and  Son,  Harcourt  Mills,  Leeds,  as  silk  and 
cotton-spinners,  but  the  contemporary  evidence  disfavours 
a  supposition  that  they  were  silk-spinners  for  long. 
Mr.  Walter  Hinde,  later  connected  with  the  Lancaster 
silk-spinning  concern  Hinde  and  Co.,  through  his  partner- 
ship in  the  flax  and  worsted  spinning  firm  of  Hinde  and 
Derham,  had  a  connection  with  Leeds.  At  Horsforth,  on 
the  outskirts  of  Leeds,  mentioned  as  a  place  of  business 
of  the  Holdforth's  in  1842,  the  Charnley's  for  a  while 
carried  on  silk-spinning.  From  1870  to  1877,  Mr.  T.  B.  P. 
Ford,  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Harvey,  had  a  silk-spinning 
business  in  Leeds,  which  was  removed  to  Low  Bentham, 
near  Lancaster. 

Low  BENTHAM. 

Flax  and  tow-spinning  was  carried  on  early  in  the  last   Off- 
century   in   Low   Bentham,    a   village   geographically   in   shoots 
Yorkshire,  but  with  Lancaster  as  its  nearest  town.     A   of 
mill  devoted  formerly   to   hemp-spinning  was  bought  in   Leeds 
1877  by  Mr.  T.  B.  P.  Ford,  who  with  a  Mr.  Harvey  had  Industry, 
been   a   silk-spinner  since  1870  in  Leeds.     Two  or  three 
years  later  Mr.  Ayrton  joined  him,  and  in  company  they 
gradually  enlarged  the  mills  and  built  up  the  satisfactory 
business   now    owned   by    Ford,    Ayrton    and    Co.,    Ltd. 
Mr.  Ford,  in  his  youth,  had  the  advantage  of  a  training 
in   mechanical   engineering   in   the   works   of   Greenwood 
and  Batley,  Leeds. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

ROCHDALE,   TODMORDEN,   RIPLEY,   SKIPTON. 

ROCHDALE. 

The  As  the  two  more  accessible  towns  west  and  east  of 

Trade         about  twenty  miles  of  sterile  and  mountainous  country, 
in  Rochdale  and  Halifax,  divided  between  them  for  a  couple 

Flannels,  of  centuries  the  market  in  the  coarse  woollens  produced 
by  the  yeoman-manufacturers  of  the  region.  Rochdale 
still  manufactures  "  Yorkshire "  flannels  in  token  of  its 
old  association  with  domestic  weavers  across  the  county 
border,  as  well  as  Lancashire  flannels,  pseudo- Welsh  and 
Shetland  flannels,  and  a  variety  of  modern  shirtings. 
Flannels  became  so  much  the  speciality  of  Rochdale 
that  in  1824  the  town  was  computed  to  produce  more 
than  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  "  Some  good  flannels 
are  manufactured  in  Wales,"  admitted  the  Edinburgh 
Philosophical  Journal  of  the  year  named,  "  a  few  good 
ones  at  Keswick  and  some  other  towns  and  villages. 
A  few  are  manufactured  on  the  Continent,  and  works 
for  that  purpose  are  now  erected  in  America ;  but  the 
whole  of  the  flannels  manufactured  on  the  globe,  beside 
those  manufactured  in  Rochdale  and  its  immediate  vicinity 
are  not  equal  in  quantity  to  those  made  here." 

The  flannels  that  have  long  engaged  the  local  attention 
have  suffered  in  sale  from  the  extensive  changes  in  habits 
of  dress,  and  the  cotton  trade  absorbs  more  and  more  of 
Rochdale  energies.  As  an  outpost  of  Manchester,  the 
town  has  in  its  time  had  some  relations  with  silk,  chiefly 
through  two  firms  now  non-existent. 

The  firms  of  Henry  Tucker  and  Co.,  described  in  1877 
as  manufacturers,  spinners  and  printers,  making  poplins, 

262 


ROCHDALE,  TODMORDEN,  RIPLEY,  SKIPTON.    263 

Japanese  cloths,  scarves  and  ties,  handkerchiefs,  foulards,  An 
piece  goods,  Indian  corahs  and  bandannas,  had  Rochdale  Extinct 
as  one  of  its  three  addresses.  According  to  the  available  Spinning 
oral  evidence,  silk  was  spun  upon  the  long-spun  process  at  Industry, 
their  Castleton  Silk  Mills,  Rochdale  ;  by  the  short-spun 
system  at  Pendleton  Silk  Mills,  Manchester,  and  silk- 
throwing  was  done  at  their  Pickford  Street  Mills, 
Macclesfield.  The  name  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  to 
present  members  of  the  silk-spinning  trade,  and  it  subse- 
quently became  Tucker,  Meade  and  Co.,  by  inclusion  of 
relations  of  the  Tucker  family.  The  silk  business  seems 
to  have  fallen  away,  and  attempts  were  made  at  Castleton 
to  produce  ramie  yarns  upon  a  commercial  scale.  A 
Company  called  the  Lancashire  Silk  and  Rhea  Mills  Ltd. 
was  formed  to  acquire  the  concern,  and  this  Company 
passed  into  liquidation  about  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
Thomas  Watson  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  Horse  Carrs  Silk  Mill, 
Rochdale,  was  the  later  title  of  the  firm  that  in  the  '70's 
was  known  as  Thomas  Watson  and  Co.,  and  that  had 
been  founded  by  Mr.  Thomas  Watson,  earlier  of  Galgate, 
Lancaster.  Silk  was  spun  and  woven  into  velvets  and 
plushes,  and  the  Messrs.  Watson  made  large  quantities 
of  sealskin  plushes  during  the  continuance  of  the  demand 
for  these  goods.  Silk  plushes  were  also  woven  by  the 
great  firm  of  John  Bright  and  Brothers  Ltd.,  Fieldhouse 
Mills,  as  one  out  of  many  different  classes  of  goods  receiving 
their  attention. 

HEYWOOD. 

Waste   silk   dressing   and   spinning   have   been   carried    Waste 
on  for  a  number  of  years  at  Heywood,  about  three  miles   Silk 
from  Rochdale,  by  the  firm  of  Brearley  Brothers.  Dressing. 

TODMORDEN. 

The  family  of  Fielden,  proprietors  of  three  large  cotton 
mills  at  Todmorden,  and  distinguished  by  many  public- 
spirited  acts,  operated  one  mill  in  silk-spinning  until 
1852.  Upon  the  evidence  of  one  who  worked  in 
this  mill  in  his  youth,  silk  was  spun  there  in  the 
same  manner  as  cotton.  Upon  the  occurrence  of  a 


264  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Fielden      death  in  the  family,  the  properties  were  divided,  with 
and  the  result  that  the  silk-mill  was  closed,  and  the  papers 

Brockle-     relating   to   its   affairs   have   been   destroyed.     The   con- 
hurst          sequent  disemployment  of  the  body  of  workpeople  led 
Interests,  to   some   dispersal    of   the   trade   and   was   a   factor    of 
importance    in    the    development    of    the    silk-spinning 
industry  in  Brighouse.     The  inter-marriage  of  two  members 
of  the  Fielden  family  with  two  of  the  Brocklehurst  family 
of  Macclesfield,  is  a  link  further  connecting  Todmorden 
with  silk,   and  probably   explains   the   entry  of   Fielden 
Pros,  into  the  silk-spinning  business. 

RIFLE  Y. 

An  isolated  silk-spinning  business  is  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully in  the  picturesque  surroundings  at  Ripley,  near 
Harrogate.  The  original  owners  seem  to  have  been 
Briggs  and  Co.,  whose  manager  was  a  Mr.  Threlfall,  of 
Brighouse,  and  the  business  is  conducted  by  his  sons, 
under  the  name  of  Threlfall  Brothers. 

SKIPTON  DISTRICT. 

^  At  Bell  Busk,  seven  miles  north-west  from  Skipton, 
silk-spinning,  largely  for  the  sewing  trade,  was  carried 
on  for  many  years  by  Mr.  C.  A.  Rickards.  The  miU  and 
the  trade  marks  were  acquired  by  the  English  Sewing 
Cotton  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Manchester,  and  after  a  fire,  which 
destroyed  the  premises,  the  goodwill  of  the  business  was 
sold  to  Lister  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Manningham.  Messrs.  Lister 
have  at  Addingham,  six  miles  south-east  from  Skipton, 
Low  and  High  Mills  and  Burnside  Mills,  which  are  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  velvets. 


Plate  XXIX.  Silk  Shawl  in  the  Museum,  Norwich. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 
NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH. 

The  early  history  of  the  textile  trade  in  England  is   Origin 
the  history  of  the  manufactures  of  Norfolk  and  Norwich,    of  the 
In  the  earliest  periods  this  industry  was  doubtless  almost,   name 
if  not  entirely,  confined  to  wool,  the  very  name  of  the  yarn   "  Wor 
and  material  known  as  worsted  having  been  derived  many   sted." 
centuries  ago  from  Worstead,  a  small  town  or  village  some 
few  miles  distant  from  Norwich. 

A  curious  reference  to  the  industry  is  made  in  con- 
nection with  a  catastrophe  which  befell  Norwich  in  1174. 
In  that  year  Hugh  Bigot,  who  had  taken  the  part  of  the 
elder  son  of  Henry  II  against  his  father,  attacked  the 
place  with  a  band  of  Flemings.  Little  defence  was  made, 
and  Matthew  Paris  records  that  a  vast  amount  of  booty 
and  many  captives  were  taken  away.  The  French 
chronicler  Jordan  Fantosme  explains  the  easy  capture 
of  the  town  by  the  statement  that  the  Norwich  citizens 
"  for  the  most  part  were  weavers,  they  knew  not  to  bear 
arms  in  knightly  guise." 

From    Danish    times    onwards    Norfolk    and    Norwich  Influ- 
have  had  a  large  share  of   British  trade,   in   the   earlier  ence  oi 
periods   exporting   wool,    and   later   exporting   cloth.     It  Immi- 
would,  however,  appear  certain  the  textile  industry  was  gratioE 
not  of  indigenous  growth,  but  that  it  was  first  introduced 
and  its  continuance  ensured  through  many  centuries  by 
distinct  and  successive  waves  of  immigrants,  principally 
from   the   Low   Countries.     The   first   foreign   settlement 
of  which  definite  record  can  be  found  took  place  in  the 
12th  century.     Blomefield,  a  well-known  local  historian, 
has  expressed  the  opinion  that  Flemings  were  settled  here 

265 


266  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Influ-  and  in  Haverfordwest  at  the  same  time — and  there  is 
ence  of  evidence  of  their  presence  in  the  township  of  Worstead 
Immi-  about  1134. 

gration.  The  second  great  wave  dates  from  the  14th  century. 
This  it  is  declared  was  due  to  the  initiative  of  Philippa, 
Queen  of  Edward  III,  who  induced  her  Flamands — "  goode 
and  trew  weevers "  —to  come  over  in  crowds.  Norfolk 
and  Norwich  prospered  exceedingly.  Norwich  became 
the  second  city  of  the  realm,  and  within  her  walls  could 
be  found  nearly  sixty  parish  churches  and  seven  conventual 
churches,  besides  several  religious  houses.  In  the  year 
1368,  William  de  Swyneflete,  Archdeacon  of  Norwich, 
caused  to  be  made  a  certain  vellum  book,  in  which  was 
forthwith  entered  inventories  of  the  ornaments  of  all  the 
churches  in  his  archdeaconry.  The  volume,  therefore, 
gives  a  most  valuable  insight  into  the  goods  and  ornaments 
of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  churches  in  the  14th  century, 
and  shows  the  great  wealth  of  silk  vestments  and  high 
altar  palls  possessed  by  those  46  Norwich  churches,  of 
which  inventories  are  given. 

The  silken  goods  and  the  treasures  in  the  city  churches 
had  wonderfully  increased  between  the  date  of  this 
inventory  and  the  Reformation.  The  return  of  the  Com- 
missions, 6th  Edward  VI,  relating  to  St.  Peter  de 
Parmentergate,  shows  the  extraordinary  accumulation  of 
valuable  silken  vestments  &c.,  in  one  of  the  less  important 
Norwich  churches  at  the  Reformation.  These  facts  are 
Silk  indirect,  if  perhaps  hardly  conclusive,  evidence  that  from 

in  the  the  14th  century  onwards — and  therefore  far  anterior  to 
14th  its  introduction  in  any  other  part  of  England — the  silk 

Century,    industry  was  practised  in  Norwich. 

Of  this  industry,  there  are,  however,  no  detailed  records 
until  the  "  Great  Wave  "  of  the  16th  century.  The  brief 
reign  of  the  last  male  Tudor  saw  evil  days  for  Norfolk. 
Pestilence,  fire,  and  the  rebellion  of  Tanner  Kett  had 
ravaged  Norwich.  Besant,  in  an  eloquent  passage, 
depicts  the  ruin  and  desolation  in  London  for  long  after 
the  Dissolution ;  and  so  with  Norwich.  The  stately 
religious  houses,  and  their  more  stately  fanes  had  been 
either  absolutely  destroyed  or  ruinated.  Barely  a  remnant 


NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH.  267 

of  the  staple  trade  survived.     The  old  city  had  yet  good 
friends  however,  notably  Parker,  the  celebrated  Archbishop, 
himself    a    Norwich    man ;     and    in    1565    the    Duke   of 
Norfolk,  with  the  view  to  restore  the  fortunes  "  of  the  Letters 
goode    cittie,"    obtained    from    Elizabeth    letters    patent  Patent 
which   granted    power    to    the    Mayor    and    Corporation  from 
of  Norwich  to  receive  "  Therty  Douchemen  of  the  lowe  Queen 
countrys  of  Flaunders  alyens  borne  being  alle  housholders  Eliza- 
or  maister  workmen,"  with  their  several  households  and  beth. 
servants  not  exceeding  ten  to  each  family  as  inhabitants 
of  the  city  to   exercise   "the  faculties  of  makeing  bays, 
arras,   sayes,   tapstrey,  mockadoes,  staments,   carsay  and 
such  outlandish  commodities  as  hath  not  bene  used  to 
be  mayde  within  our  Realme  of  England." 

The  letters  patent  were  delivered  to  the  Mayor,  Thomas 
Sotherton  (whose  mansion  now  called  the  Strangers'  Hall, 
has  been  preserved  to  the  city  by  the  prescient  public 
spirit  of  Mr.  Leonard  G.  Bolingbroke,  hon.  treasurer  of  the 
Norfolk  and  Norwich  Archaeological  Society),  but  there 
was  some  ill-feeling  in  the  Common  Council  about  the 
admission  of  the  "  Strangers  "  and  the  members  refused 
to  admit  them  under  their  common  seal,  so  "  the  sayd 
Maior  and  his  bretherene  agreed  that  the  seale  of  the 
offyce  of  Mairaltie  shulde  be  sette  to  the  writinge " 
(signature)  "  of  everie  of  the  thurty  maisters  that  he 
lyscensed  accordinge  to  the  letters  pattents,  wiche  was 
then  done  in  manner  hereafter  ensewenge."  (Strangers7 
Book,  folio  16,  in  Norwich  Archives,  Castle  Museum.) 
The  letters  patent  described  these  good  people  with  easy 
comprehensiveness  as  being  all  "  Douchemen,"  yet  the 
list  of  the  masters  and  their  detailed  description  prove 
there  were  also  "  Wallounes "  (Walloons)  in  important 
proportion — these  latter  a  French-speaking,  sturdy  race, 
whose  homes  reached  so  far  inland  as  Metz.  Thus  the 
Strangers,  although  of  the  same  religion,  were  from  the 
first,  distinct  communities  each  with  its  distinctive  Natioi 
language  and  code  of  laws — religious  and  domestic — and  ality 
its  churches.  In  1585  there  were  three  ministers  for  the  of 
Dutch  Colony  in  Norwich — Theophilus  Tyekwaert,  Immi- 
Ysbrandus  Balkins  and  Antonius  Algotius — its  separate  grants 


268 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


council  of  elders  or  "  politic  men."  To  each  community 
were  granted  places  of  worship,  "  cloth  halls  "  and  "  sealing 
halls."  Even  the  branches  of  textile  fabrics  were  carefully 
divided  between  the  two  communities  ;  thus  the  Dutch 
were  only  allowed  to  make  "wet  greasy  goods,"  the 
Walloons  '"  dry  woven  goods." 

The  later  Tudor  age  was  an  age  of  method.  Letters 
patent  were  required  in  1565  before  the  Strangers  were 
allowed  to  settle  in  Norwich,  and  sundry  masters  or 
head  men  were  appointed.  This  was  not  considered 
enough,  and  in  1571  an  elaborate  code  of  rules,  called 
"  the  Booke  of  orders  for  the  Strangers  of  the  Cittie  of 
Norwiche,"  was  issued  by  the  Privy  Council.  This  book 
has  no  less  than  24  articles,  these  being  for  the  greater 
part  regulations  affecting  the  staple  trade  of  the  Strangers 
(textile  fabric  manufacture).  In  addition  "  Sealing  Halls  " 
were  established,  and  "  Sealers "  or  "  Searchers "  were 
appointed.  The  "  Sealers  "  were  duly  sworn  experts,  and 
each  piece  of  fabric  under  pain  of  divers  penalties  to  the 
makers  had  to  be  submitted  to  and  examined  by  them 
as  a  guarantee  of  "  trewe  makyne "  and  "  trewe 
cowlleringe,"  and  each  piece  was  marked  or  "  sealed " 
with  a  separate  seal  in  accordance  with  its  merit.  About 
the  same  time  the  "  Books  or  orders  for  the  Draperye  " 
was  issued  by  the  united  councils  of  the  elders  or  "  hommes 
politiques."  The  original  book  (there  appears  to  have 
been  only  one  copy)  is  beautifully  written  in  Dutch,  and 
consists  of  minute  regulations  respecting  the  making  of 
"  bayes,  says,"  and  numerous  other  fabrics  of  wool,  wool 
and  silk,  and  all  silk.  It  is  instructive  to  note  that  the 
earnest  endeavour  of  these  wise  men  was  evidently  to 
ensure  honest,  and  so  far  as  it  was  possible,  perfect  work. 
Excellence  of  fabric  was  evidently  their  aim — not  cheapness 
at  the  expense  of  quality— and  to  this  far-seeing  policy 
can  be  fairly  ascribed  the  renown  of  Norwich-made  goods 
for  many  years.  If  the  sealers  found  a  piece  of  fabric 
to  be  imperfect,  they  decided  who  was  the  cause  of  the 
imperfection — the  manufacturer,  the  dyer,  or  the  weaver— 
and  in  democratic  fashion,  the  guilty  party  was  mulct  of 
a  fine,  and  if  the  fabric  was  considered  a  disgrace  to  the 


NOEFOLK  AND  NORWICH.  269 

Strangers  and  to  the  city,  it  was  incontinently  "  torn  in  Fabrics 
twain  "  and  handed  back  !     In  1616  the  city  authorities  marked 
purchased  the  right  to  seal  with  the  Crown  Seal  granted  by 
to  the  Duke  of  Lennox.     With  this  was  marked  all  fabrics  Crown 
sealed  or  searched  (i.e.  examined  by  sworn  experts)  in  the  Seal, 
various  sealing  halls. 

To  show  the  classification  of  varying  degrees  of  quality  or 
manufacture  determined  by  the  sealers  and  to  prove 
their  place  of  origin,  there  were  other  marks,  as 
follows : — Goods  considered  as  being  up  to  a  certain 
standard  of  excellence  were  stamped  by  the  searchers 
with  the  city  arms  (the  lion  and  castle)  if  manufactured 
by  Norwich  citizens  ;  with  the  lion  without  the  castle 
if  by  Norfolk  weavers  ;  with  a  ship  if  by  the  Strangers. 
On  the  other  hand,  goods  considered  inferior  from  any 
cause  were  stamped  " Norwich"  within  a  ring  if  manu- 
factured by  Norwich  citizens ;  if  by  the  Strangers 
"Aleyne"  within  a  ring;  if  by  Norfolk  weavers  "Norfolk" 
within  a  ring. 

These  regulations  obtained  until  1705,  when  during  a 
riot  the  sealing  halls  were  sacked  and  the  various  seals, 
or  brands,  destroyed.  The  cause  of  the  tumult  is  unknown. 
According  to  Blomefield  (vol.  iii,  p.  284)—"  To  all  which 
ordinances  they  willingly  obeyed,  behaved  themselves 
orderly,  became  a  civil  people,  and  were  of  great  service 
to  the  city." 

Nevertheless  they  had  many  enemies.     In  1567,  Thomas 
Whalle,  the  Mayor,  tried  to  expel  them  from  Norwich, 
but  the  Town  Council  would  not  agree.     Several  vexatious   Har- 
regulations  were,   however,   passed,   and  it  was  reported   assing 
to  the  Privy  Council  that  the  Strangers  numbered  1,132   Eegula- 
persons,  far  above  the  allowed  number.     Again,  in  1570,   tions. 
certain  gentlemen  and  others  of  Norwich  unsuccessfully 
attempted    against    the    Strangers     a    sort    of    Sicilian 
Vespers.     As  counterblasts  "  agaynst  them  that  take  the 
benefyte    of    the  statutes    ageynst    the    pore    straungers 
without   cause,"    the    Strangers    found    it    expedient    to 
obtain   from   time   to  time    from  the  Mayor  certificates 
of  the  advantages  to  Norwich  resulting  from  their  resi- 
dence there. 


270 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Certifi- 
cate of 
advan- 
tage of 
Foreign 
Weavers 
to  the 
City. 


Reli- 
gious 
Toler- 
ance. 


For  instance,  in  vol.  20,  State  Papers  Elizabeth,  circa 
1575,  appears  the  following  : — 

"  The  Benefite  Receyved  by  the  Straungers  in  Norwiche 
for  the  space  of  tenne  years. 

"  In  Primis. — They  brought  a  grete  commodite  thether, 
viz.  :  the  makinge  of  bayes,  moccadoes,  grograynes,  all 
sortes  of  tuftes  &c.,  which  were  not  mayde  there  before, 
whereby  they  do  not  only  set  on  worke  there  owne  people, 
but  do  also  set  on  worke  our  owne  people  within  the  cittie, 
as  also  a  grete  number  of  people  nere  xx  myles  about  the 
cittie. 

"Item. — By  their  meanes  our  cittie  is  well  inhabited 
and  decayed  housen  reedified. 

"Item. — The  Marchaunts  by  their  commodities  have  grate 
trade  as  well  within  the  realme  as  withoute  the  realme, 
beinge  in  good  estimacion  in  all  places. 

'  '  Item. — They  be  contributors  to  all  paiements  or  subcedies, 
taskes,  watches,  contribusions,  mynisters,  wagis,  etc. 

"  They  live  holy  of  themselves  without  charge,  and  do 
begge  of  no  man  and  do  sustain  all  their  owne  pore  people. 

"  And  to  conclude  they  for  the  most  parts  feare  God 
and  do  diligently  and  labourously  attends  upon  their 
several  occupacions.  They  obbey  all  Magistrates  and  all 
goode  lawes  and  ordinances,  they  live  peecablie  amonge 
themselves  and  towardes  alle  men,  and  we  thinke  our 
cittie  happie  to  enjoye  them." 

This  is  endorsed — "  The  benefittes  receaved  in  Norwiche 
by  havinge  the  Strauners  ther." 

Many  other  "  briefs  "  (as  they  were  called)  of  like  tenour 
and  of  various  dates  were,  until  recently,  in  the  possession 
of  Messrs.  Stevens,  Miller  and  Jones,  Norwich,  solicitors 
to  the  French  congregation. 

It  can  be  easily  understood  that  with  men  who  had 
abandoned  their  all  "  for  conscience  sake,"  the  exercise 
of  their  religion  "  with  decency  and  in  order  "  was  con- 
sidered of  primary  importance.  In  the  archives  of  Ypres 
is  a  collection  of  intercepted  letters  from  the  Norwich 
"  Strangers "  to  those  remaining  in  their  native  land, 
and  it  is  pathetic  to  note  the  general  thankfulness  that 
in  their  new  home  they  can  worship  in  peace.  Clement 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  271 

Baet  writes  (September  5th,  1567)  to  his  wife,  and  ends   Reli- 
an  affectionate  letter  :  "  May  God  give  you  the  same  loving   gious 
peace  and  riches  we  have  at  Norwich.     It  is  very  dear  to   Tolera- 
hear  the  word  of  God  peacefully."  tion. 

The  first  care  of  these  men — both  Dutch  and  Walloons — 
was  to  appoint  pastors  and  a  Board  of  Elders.  The 
Livre  de  la  Disipline  de  VEglise  Walonne  de  Norwiche  du 
Ve  Avril,  1589,  is  in  the  British  Museum.  It  gives  minute 
particulars  of  their  religious  doctrines,  and  the  duties  of 
the  "  four  Orders  "  appointed  "  Les  Pasteurs,  Les  Docteurs, 
Les  Diacres,  Les  Anciens."  The  book  commences : 
"  Pour  bien  gouverner  1'Eglise  de  Dieu  il  n'est  pas  seule- 
ment  besoin  que  la  'parolle  et  sacremens  soient  purement 
adminis,  mais  aussi  qu'il  y  ait  quelque  police  ou  dis- 
cipline tant  entre  ceux  qu'en  ont  la  conduite  que  les 
particuliers  a  fin  de  conserver  la  doctrine  en  sa  purete 
garder  en  bon  ordre  ses  assemblees  eclesiastiques  contenir 
un  chacun  a  son  devoir,  et  que  tous  recoivent  advertisse- 
ment  reprehension  consolation  et  subvention  en  leur 
necessite  selon  qu'il  en  sera  besoin." 

Thus  these  pastors  and  elders  were  strict  rulers,  not 
only  of  the  religious,  but  also  of  the  domestic  lives  of  their 
congregation. 

The  French-speaking  congregations  were  first  granted 
the  Bishop's  Chapel  in  the  Bishop's  Palace  grounds,  and 
afterwards  St.  Mary's  the  Little,  still  called  the  French 
Church,    and    where    are    preserved    monuments    to  the 
Martineaus    and    other    refugee    families.     The    Dutch- 
speaking    congregation    worshipped    in    Blackfriars    Hall 
(the  choir  of  the  Blackfriars  Monastery  Church),  where 
still  is  preached  each  year  a  sermon  in  Dutch.      They  were 
turned  out  for  a  time,  and  were  permitted  to  use  St.  Peter,    Foreign 
Hungate.     Blomefield  also  names  St.  Michael  at  Plea  the   Colony 
French  Church,  and  in  1620  St.  Gregory's  was  called  the   of 
Dutch  Church.     It  must  be  remembered  that  the  foreign   5,000. 
colony  then  numbered  in    Norwich    nearly    5,000    souls. 
The  Dutch  alone  had   three   ministers,    and  presumably 
with  such  pious  people  each  had  a  large  congregation. 

These  Dutch  and  Walloons  were  industrious,  God- 
fearing people,  but  in  spite  of  the  complimentary 


272 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Dutch 
and 

Walloon 
Jeal- 
ousies. 


Causes 
of  dis- 
sention. 


appreciations  expressed  in  the  certificate  of  1575,  entitled 
"  The  Benefite  Receyved  by  the  Strangers  in  Norwiche  " 
(already  quoted),  it  must  be  admitted  the  records  tend 
to  prove  they  were  also  stubborn  and  turbulent.  There 
were  endless  squabbles  between  Dutch  and  Walloons 
about  their  shares  of  the  textile  trade.  If  one  community 
invented  a  new  fabric,  and  prayed  "  Mr.  Maior "  that 
its  production  might*  be  "  sealed  "  or  reserved  to  them, 
the  other  side  immediately  brought  forward  a  claim 
to  make  this  same  fabric.  The  Court  Books  are  full 
of  such  cases.  In  1571  there  was  a  great  squabble  amongst 
the  elders  or  the  "  politic  men  "  as  to  the  newly  elected 
members  of  their  body,  and  "  Mr.  Maior  "  summoned  all 
persons  concerned  to  appear  before  him  to  stop  "  all  this 
unnaturell  and  barbarous  dissenting,  and  to  rote  oute 
all  contencious  hedes  and  high  stomackes  lurking  in  the 
congregations."  His  Worship  appears  to  have  brought 
all  to  unity  with  the  exception  of  Antonius  Paschesson, 
Antonius  Paulus,  Jacob  de  Vos  and  John  Gerarde,  who 
resisted  the  pleadings  of  their  own  fellows  and  of  "  Maister 
Maior."  Gerard  and  Paulus  (as  the  old  Governors)  had 
possession  of  the  "  Booke  of  orders  (or  manufacturing 
regulations)  for  the  Draperie."  This  book  they,  backed 
by  other  malcontents  of  the  community,  refused  either 
to  give  up  or  allow  to  be  used.  The  whole  manufacturing 
industry  of  the  Strangers  was  in  consequence  brought  to 
a  standstill.  The  Mayor  sternly  demanded  the  book; 
they  refused,  although  "  they  were  sayde  elles  goe  to 
prisson."  Yet  were  they  stiff-necked, "  Maister  Maior"  was 
the  same,  and  on  the  4th  November,  "  clapt  them  intoe 
prisson."  Prison  fare  evidently  worked  wonders  with 
their  "  high  stomacks,"  for  on  the  21st  November,  they 
made  their  submission  and  gave  up  the  book.  To  prevent 
such  a  deadlock  in  future,  "  Maister  Maior "  ordered 
that  a  "  trewe  coppie  "  should  be  made  in  English.  Both 
this  and  the  original  in  Dutch  are  in  the  city  archives. 
The  following  quaint  account  relating  the  sudden  end 
on  the  27th  August,  1572,  in  the  Guild  Hall  Council 
Chamber  of  John  Rede,  Alderman,  will  perhaps  help  in  a 
measure  to  understand  what  manner  of  men  were 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  273 

those  who  had  a  part  in  the   "  gouvernaunce "    of  the 
"  Strangers  ": 

"  About  nine  of  the  clocke  in  the  forenone,  a  goode,   A 
godely  and  a  virtuous  brother  of  this  house,  viz.  :    John  Contem- 
Rede  Alderman,  a  bigg  man  and  hot  with  travell  after  porary 
reverens  done  to  Maister  Maior  and  other  bretheren  and   Record, 
his  place  taken  in  the  Council  Chamber,  being  troubled 
wythe  a  rume  which  fell  from  his  hede,  did  coffe  three 
times,  wherwith  he  was  stoppyd  and  his  wynde  fayled, 
and  so  in  a  sudden  sized  doune  and  never  spake  any 
worde,   and  so  there  presentlie  departed  this  transytory 
life  untoe  a  more  joyfulle  place  of  reste." 

In  spite  of  squabbles  and  jealousies,  the  Strangers 
throve  and  increased  for  many  years.  In  1611  their 
manufacture  covered  "  bays,  fustians,  parchmentiers, 
camientries,  tufted  mockadoes,  currellss,  tooys,  bussins, 
mockadoes,  valures,  all  of  linen,  cruell,  carletts,  damaske, 
says  of  dry  cruel  (after  the  fashion  of  Lille,  of  Amiens,  and 
of  Meaux),  dry  grograynes,  double  mockadoes,  ollyet  bum- 
basines  of  taffety,  all  silk,  striped  sayes,  broad  lyles,  Spanish 
sattins,  cross  billets  of  silk,  serge  de  boyce,  silk  saye, 
striped  tobines  figuartoes,  bratos,  purled  and  other  out- 
landish inventions."  Norwich  became  again  a  busy  manu- 
facturing centre.  The  production  of  textile  fabrics  must 
have  been  extremely  important,  as  a  large  trade  was 
not  only  transacted  with  the  countries  of  Northern  Europe, 
but  also  with  the  Levant.  As  time  passed,  the  Dutch 
and  Walloons  took  full  part  in  civic  responsibilities,  honors 
and  duties.  When  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  Norwich  in  1578  Pros- 
the  pageant  of  the  "  Strangers  "  was  the  most  imposing  perity 
of  all.  Not  only  did  one  of  the  Dutch  pastors  inflict  a  of  Immi- 
long  oration  (still  preserved)  upon  her  Majesty,  but  the  grants. 
Strangers  gave  her  a  cup  valued  at  £50,  "  very  curiously 
and  artificially  wrought." 

In  the  city  archives  are  the  roll  calls  of  the 
"  Dutch  and  of  the  Wallowne "  Companies  of  the 
City  Trained  Bands.  The  first  on  the  22nd  May,  1621, 
numbered  five  officers  and  90  rank  and  file.  The 
"  Wallownes "  numbered  five  officers  and  74  rank  and 
file. 


274 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Effect  of  By  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  Louis  XIV 
Revoca-  expatriated  upwards  of  500,000  merchants,  artificers  and 
tion  of  manufacturers.  About  50,000  of  the  refugees  landed  upon 
Edict  of  the  shores  of  England.  Many  of  them — a  large  proportion 
Nantes,  families  of  culture  and  capital — the  Martineaus,  the 
Columbines,  the  de  Hagues,  the  Decarles,  the  Lefevres, 
the  Decaux,  the  Tillettes — found  their  way  to  Norwich, 
forming  a  valuable  reinforcement  to  the  Dutch  and 
Walloon  colonies.  Silk  fabrics,  lutestrings,  brocades,  satins, 
Padua  toys,  watered  tabinets,  decapes,  black  and  colored 
velvets  were  made  in  great  perfection  by  these  newcomers 
to  Norwich,  amongst  whose  inhabitants  some  of  their  names 
may  still  be  found,  and  indeed  some  have  long  achieved  a 
wider  fame.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  influence  of 
those  later  refugees  upon  the  two  ancient  congregations. 
It  was  so  great  that  the  Dutch  learned  to  speak  French 
in  addition  to  the  language  of  their  forefathers. 

Gradually  the  congregations  became  decayed.  Their 
descendants  were  still  known  and  honored,  but  they 
were  no  longer  "  Strangers  "  in  the  land.  They  gradually 
merged  into  and  strengthened  the  native  population. 

It  is  true  that  as  late  as  1725  the  Norwich  Dutch, 
French  and  Walloons  are  specially  mentioned  in  an  Act  of 
Parliament  as  being  exempt  from  a  murage  tax  on  the 
grounds  "  they  support  their  own  poor  and  their  own 
ministers."  Yet  although  for  many  years  later  they  clung 
to  their  traditions,  their  creeds,  their  language  (a  citizen 
still  living  declares  his  father  when  a  boy  was  always  flogged 
if  he  dared  to  speak  any  other  language  than  Dutch  in 
the  home  circle),  they  had  by  intermarriage  and  long 
residence  practically  merged  into  and  strengthened,  by 
their  inherited  good  taste,  industry  and  skill,  the  ranks 
of  those  Norwich  citizens  who  for  long  years  to  come 
were  thus  enabled  to  retain  pre-eminence  as  weavers  and 
dyers  of  silk  and  wool. 

To  quote  from  the  luminous  pages  of  Macaulay. 
Next  to         "  Norwich    was    the    capital    of    a    large    and    fruitful 
London     province.     It  was  the  chief  seat  of  the  chief  manufacture 
in  popu-    of  the  realm,  and  no  place  in  the  kingdom  except  the 
lation.       capital  and  the  Universities  had  more  attractions  for  the 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  275 

curious.     For    population    it    was    second    to    London  Next  to 
alone."  London 

The  prosperity  of  Norwich  depended  upon  the  textile  in  popu- 
industry,    in   which   probably    every    citizen    directly    or  lation. 
indirectly  was  interested.     The  only  advertisement  page 
of   the   Norwich   Postman,   the   first   Norwich   newspaper 
(1708),  is  full  of  references  to  the  staple  trade. 

Of  the  history  of  the  18th  century,  fairly  reliable  and 
detailed  statistics  of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  textile 
industries  remain,  and  of  these  the  first  and  the  most 
interesting  are  found  in  Defoe's  Tour  through  Great  Britain 
(about  1723).  He  writes  :— 

"  When  we  come  to  Norfolk  we  see  a  face  of  diligence 
spread  over  the  whole  country  ;  the  vast  manufactures 
carried  on  chiefly  by  the  Norwich  weavers  employ  all 
the  country  round  in  spinning  yarn  for  them.  .  .  .  "  This 
side  "  (the  South)  "  is  very  populous  and  thronged  with 
great  and  spacious  market  towns,  more  and  larger  than 
any  other  part  of  England  .  .  .  but  that  which  is  most 
remarkable  is  that  the  whole  country  round  is  inter- 
spersed with  villages  and  these  villages  are  so  large  and 
so  full  of  people  that  they  are  equal  to  market  towns  in 
other  counties  and  render  this  eastern  part  of  Norfolk 
exceeding  full  of  inhabitants." 

"  An  eminent  weaver  of  Norwich  gave  me  a  scheme  of  120,000 
their  trade,   by  which,   calculating  from  the  number  of  Textile 
their  looms  at  that  time  employed  in  the  city  of  Norwich  workers, 
alone  he  made  it  appear  very  plain  that  there  were  120,000 
people   employed   in   the   woollen   and   silk   and   woollen 
manufactures   of   that   city   only.     Not   that   the   people 
all  live  in  the  city,  though  Norwich  is  very  large  and 
populous,  but  they  were  employed  for  spinning  the  yarn 
used  for  such  goods  as  were  all  made  in  that  city. 

'  This  shows  the  wonderful  extent  of  Norwich  manu- 
factures ...  by  which  so  many  thousands  of  families 
are  maintained.  .  .  .  Norwich  is  the  capital  of  all  the 
county,  and  the  centre  of  all  the  textile  trades  and  manu- 
factures, and  is  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  an  ancient, 
large  and  populous  city.  If  a  stranger  was  only  to  ride 
through  or  view  the  city  of  Norwich  on  a  common  day  he 


276 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


would  be  induced  to  think  it  was  a  town  without  inhabi- 
tants, but,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  was  to  view  the  city  on 
the  Sabbath  Day,  or  on  any  public  occasion,  he  would 
wonder  where  all  the  people  could  dwell,  the  multitude  is 
The  so  great.  But  the  case  is  this :  the  inhabitants  being 

Evidence   all  busy  with  their  manufactures  dwell  in  their  garrets 
of  at  their  homes  .  .  .  and  other  work  houses,  all  the  works 

Defoe.        they  are  employed  at  being  done  indoors." 

"  Greatness  is  comparative,"  and  it  is  well  to  bear  in 
mind  that  the  Norwich  described  by  Defoe  as  being  "  a 
large  and  populous  city ?:  had  not  probably  materially 
increased  in  size  and  inhabitants  since  1693,  when  by 
actual  census  it  was  found  to  contain  about  29,000  people. 
Norwich,  however,  was  at  that  epoch,  and  for  many  years 
after,  the  very  foremost  of  the  towns  of  England.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  18th  century  not  one  of  the  pro- 
vincial towns  contained  quite  30,000  inhabitants,  and 
only  four  numbered  about  10,000.  Bristol  reckoned  about 
29,000 ;  York  and  Exeter,  the  next  in  size  to  Norwich 
and  Birmingham,  not  more  than  10,000.  Manchester  had 
about  6,000  inhabitants,  and  Leeds  still  fewer. 

Norwich  at  that  time  stood  in  every  respect  a  leading  city, 
not  only  as  "  the  chief  seat  of  the  chief  manufacture  of 
the  realm,"  by  reason  of  the  grandeur  of  its  buildings  ; 
but  it  was  also  distinguished  for  the  opulence  of  its  leading 
citizens,  and  the  tone  of  refinement  they  had  reached 
when  compared  with  the  conditions  of  Society  in  other 
provincial  centres.  Between  the  years  1743  and  1763, 
the  city  attained  the  highest  state  of  its  greatness. 
Master  In  1741,  Blomefield  the  historian  of  Norfolk,  dedicated 

Weavers    his  volumes  on  Norwich  to  the  Mayor,  Sheriffs  and  22 
the  leading  citizens  ;    of  these,  the  Mayor,  one  Sheriff  and  ten 

leading  of  the  22  principal  citizens  were  master  weavers.  The 
Citizens,  famous  John  Crome  was  the  son  of  a  weaver.  His  first 
patron  and  instructor  was  "  Mr.  Harvey  of  Catton," 
master  weaver,  an  amateur  artist  of  refinement  and  repute, 
who  possessed  a  fine  collection  of  paintings  by  British 
and  Dutch  artists  (he  married  the  daughter  of  a  Dutch 
merchant),  in  which  the  finest  examples  of  Gainsborough 
and  Hobbema  found  place.  Hobbema's  methods  were 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  277 

the  inspiration  of  Crome's  genius,  and  his  name  was  the  Master 
last  to  be  uttered  by  his  fleeting  breath.  Weavers 

In  a  curious  old  treatise  of  that  era  is  the  following  the 
picture  of  the  Norwich  master  weavers :  leading 

"  Being  opulent  men  and  generally  surrounded  by  their  Citizens, 
dependents,  they  have  something  of  a  lordly  bearing  .  .  . 
but  they  are  on  the  whole  an  honourable  race  and  exercise 
much  kindness  towards  those  beneath  them." 

Throughout  the  history  of  Norwich,  the  turbulence 
of  the  weavers  and  the  frequent  riots  appear  to  have 
caused  the  worthy  citizens  constant  anxiety  and  grievous 
loss.  In  the  local  records  are  found  numerous  references 
to  these  disturbances.  In  1720,  on  the  20th  September, 
"a  grete  riot"  happened  under  pretence  of  destroying 
callicoes,  "  as  pernicious  to  the  trade  of  Norwich  stuffs  ; 
the  rabble  cutting  several  gowns  in  pieces  on  women's 
backs,  entering  shops  to  seize  all  callicoes  found  there  &c., 
beating  the  constables  that  endeavoured  to  apprehend 
them,  and  opposing  the  Sheriff's  power  to  such  a  degree 
that  the  Artillery  Company  was  forced  to  be  raised,  upon 
the  approach  of  which  they  instantly  dispersed." 

In  April  and  May,  1757,  it  is  recorded  that  the  mob  broke 
into  workshops  and  brutally  beat  the  weavers,  cutting 
the  stuffs  from  the  looms,  which  they  afterwards  "  brake 
up  and  burn'd." 

The  events  of  August  13th,  1752,  furnish  an  example  of 
sympathetic  strike  and  peaceful  picketing  :    "  About  400  Riots 
wool  combers  left  their  employ  and  encamped  at  Rack-  and 
heath  (about  three  miles  from  the  city),  and  because  the  labour 
masters  were  determined  to  employ  a  man  of  the  name  of  troubles. 
Fry,  who  the  journeymen  said  had  not  a  regular  apprentice- 
ship to  the  combing  business  ;   journeymen  were  sent  for 
out  of  Suffolk,  which  the  Norwich  combers  met  on  the  road 
and  stopped  them.     A  posse  was  sent,  who  took  several 
into  custody." 

In  1752,  Stannard,  a  prominent  Norwich  manufacturer, 
writing  to  a  customer,  states  :  "  We  are  all  in  grete  feer 
because  of  that  three  thousands  weevers  be  on  the 
rode  from  Wyndam  (Wymondham)  to  make  a  riot  in 
Norwich." 


278 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Riots  On  June  12th,  1827,  a  serious  riot  occurred  in  the  city, 

and  A   party    of    Wymondham   weavers,    who   had    damaged 

labour  looms  and  destroyed  silk  to  the  value  of  £1,000  at  Ashwell- 
troubles.  thorpe  (a  village  near),  had  been  conveyed  to  Norwich 
Castle  for  examination.  The  witnesses  were  brought  to 
the  city  in  hackney  coaches,  escorted  by  a  detachment 
of  12th  Lancers.  The  Norwich  weavers  barricaded  the 
Golden  Ball  Lane  entrance  to  Castle  Meadow  with  a 
waggon,  and  placed  a  similar  obstruction  near  the  Castle 
Bridge,  and  received  the  military  with  a  volley  of  stones  &c. 
The  witnesses  were  then  conveyed  by  way  of  Timberhill 
to  Orford  Hill,  and  while  a  large  body  of  special  constables 
displaced  the  waggon  at  the  Bridge,  a  second  detachment  of 
the  Lancers  came  from  the  Barracks,  charged  the  mob  at  full 
gallop  and  dispersed  them  in  all  directions.  The  history 
of  the  time  gives  lurid  glimpses  of  the  punishments  inflicted. 
During  the  18th  century  men  and  women  were  constantly 
publicly  whipped  in  the  market  place,  or  dragged  through 
the  streets  at  the  tail  of  a  cart,  for  having  either  sold  yarn 
"  false  told  "  or  for  having  stolen  it. 

"  On  the  day  before  Christmas  Day,  1761  (stated  the 
Norwich  Gazette),  John  Minns,  of  St.  Margaret's,  and  the 
wife  of  Robert  Fox,  of  St.  Peter  per  Moutergate,  were 
whipped  in  Norwich  Market  Place  for  buying  and 
receiving  embezzled  yarn." 

As  this  example  indicates,  the  punishment  for  buying  and 
receiving  embezzled  yarn  was  severe.  The  leakage  with 
respect  to  yarn  stolen  and  sold  by  the  weavers  was  con- 
siderable— and  it  was  difficult  to  check  this  pilfering, 
because  the  fabrics  were  nearly  all  woven  in  the  houses 
of  the  weavers,  who  in  many  cases  lived  considerable 
distances  from  Norwich.  The  following  advertisement 
in  the  Norwich  Mercury  of  February  22nd,  1772,  gives 
a  somewhat  interesting  picture  of  losses  caused  by 
fraudulent  workpeople  :— 

Dis-  '  Whereas  on  the  18th  June  last  a  middle-aged  man, 

honest        by  the  name  of  John  Rose,  of  St.  Faith's  "  (about  five 
Work-        miles  from  Norwich),  "  came  to  the  house  of  Messrs.  Crowe 
people.       and  Taylor,  and  took  from  thence  "  (i.e.  was  given  material 
to  work  up)  "  one  two-piece   thrumb  of   26  score   crape 


NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH.  279 

with  a  Havel  and  Slay,  and  12J  dozen  for  himself  to  weave.  Dis- 
Also  one  two-piece  thrumb  of  22  score  crape  with  a  Havel  honest 
and  Slay  for  his  boy  to  weave,  and  as  the  said  John  Rose   Work- 
has  not  been  heard  of,  although  various  messengers  have  people, 
been  sent  after  him,  this  is  therefore  to  give  notice  that 
any  person  shall  be  handsomely  rewarded  who  will  give 
information  of  the  man  or  the  work." 

The  efforts  during  the  reign  of  George  I.  to  encourage 
the .  silk  industry  by  special  allowances  on  silk  goods 
exported,  appear  to  have  led  to  abuse  on  the  part  of 
Norwich  manufacturers  of  the  fabrics  "  called  sattins 
and  damasks,"  which  (ordinarily  made  from  worsted  yarn) 
had  specially  added  to  them  a  small  quantity  of  silk  to 
secure  the  allowance  made  on  "  all  silk  "  fabrics.  In  the 
Norwich  Mercury  of  October  28th,  1728,  appears  the 
following  notice  : — 

"  This  is  to  give  Publick  Notice  to  all  the  Merchant 
Traders,  Weavers  and  other  exporters  of  woolen  manu- 
facturers ...  to  parts  beyond  the  Seas.  That  by  order 
of  the  Honorable  Commissioners  of  His  Majesty's  Customs 
the  allowances  that  used  to  be  made  for  exporting  the 
Manufactured  Goods  called  Sattins  and  Damasks  (in  which 
there  is  a  small  admixture  of  silk)  is  stopt  as  being  contrary 
to  the  Intention  of  the  Act  of  the  8th  and  9th  of  his  late 
Majesty  for  granting  those  allowances  on  silk  and  worstead 
Goods  Exported ;  and  that  stopage  will  be  made  of 
such  Goods  if  offer'd  to  be  Exported  as  goods  which  are 
intituled  to  the  allowances  that  are  granted  by  the  aforesaid 
Acts." 

At  two  general  meetings  of  the  manufacturers  held  at  Prices 
the  Guildhall  on  December  14th,  and  December  21st,  1790,  paid 
the  prices  for  weaving  were  fixed  and  printed  in  a  list  for 
comprising   serges,   prunelles,   satins,   satinettes,    camlets,  Weaving, 
camletines,  florentines,  brilliantines,  grenadines,  blondines, 
tabourtines,  callandies  &c.     At  a  general  meeting  of  the 
manufacturers,    held   June    13th,    1793,    it   was   resolved 
unanimously   that   they   would   supply   the   journeyman 
weavers  they  employed  with  havels  and  slaies  free  of  charge 
and  without  deduction  from  the  prices  established  in  the 
table  of  rates  fixed  in  the  year  1790.     The  list,  with  minor 


280  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Prices         revisions,   continued  in  force  until   1824,   when  the  list 
paid  hereunder  was  agreed  upon  to  be  followed  in  somewhat 

for  quick  succession  by  that  of  1846.     We  give  these  two  lists 

Weaving,  in  full  detail  in  the  Appendix,  because  they  seem  valuable 
records  of  prices  for  work  obtaining  at  their  several  dates. 

Arthur  Young  visited  Norwich  in  1771,  and  in  his  Tour 
in  Eastern  England  gives  the  following  comprehensive 
account  of  the  city  and  its  manufacture  : — 

"  The  city  of  Norwich  is  the  most  considerable  after 
London  ...  by  an  accurate  account  taken  a  few  years 
ago  the  number  of  inhabitants  reckoned  by  houses 
amounted  to  40,000  .  .  .  38,000  may  be  taken  as  the 
probable  number.  The  staple  manufactures  are  crapes 
and  camblets  ;  besides  which  they  make  in  great  abundance 
damasks,  sattins,  alopeens,  &c.,  &c.  The  earnings  of 
the  manufacturers  (i.e.  weavers)  are  various,  but  in  general 
high.  Men  on  an  average  do  not  exceed  5s.  a  week, 
but  then  many  women  earn  as  much,  and  boys  of  15  or 
16  likewise  the  same.  '  Draw '  boys  from  10  to  13  half-a- 
crown  a  week.  Pipe  boys  and  girls  (winders  of  the  yarn 
or  silk  on  weaving  tubes  or  perns)  from  five  to  nine  years' 
old,  9d.  Dyers  15s.,  hot  pressers  15s.,  women  for  doubling 
25.,  ditto  for  doubling  silk  8,9.  .  .  .  With  respect  to  the 
present  state  of  the  manufacture,  it  is  neither  brisk  nor 
very  dull.  Some  among  them  complain  because  they 
have  not  so  great  a  trade  as  during  the  war,  for  then  they 
could  not  answer  the  demand  (from  1743  to  1763  was  their 
Colonies  famous  era) .  The  unfortunate  difference  subsisting  between 
and  the  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  is  a  great  injury  to  them, 
trade.  They  now  do  not  send  anything  to  North  America,  but 
much  to  the  West  Indies.  Their  foreign  export  is  to — 

Rotterdam.       All  Flanders.       Naples.       Lisbon. 

Ostend.  Leghorn.  Genoa.        Barcelona. 

Middleburgh.   Trieste.  Cadiz.         Hamburgh. 

All  the  Baltic  except  Sweden,  where  they  are  prohibited. 

"  For  70  years  past  the  manufacture  is  increased  as 
from  four  to  twelve.  During  the  last  war  Norwich  sup- 
plied the  Army  and  Navy  with  4,000  recruits,  but  her 
manufacture  did  not  suffer  in  the  least,  for  they  carried 
on  more  trade  than  ever.  The  truly  industrious  do  not 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH. 


281 


enlist,  and  as  to  the  idlers  the  greatest  favor  that  can  be 
done  to  any  place  is  to  sweep  them  all  away. 

"  The    general    amount    of    the    Norwich   Manufacture  Employ- 
may  be  calculated  thus  :-  ment 

"  A  regular  export  to  Rotterdam  by  shipping  each  Statistics, 
six  weeks  of  goods  to  the  amount  of  per  annum  to 
£480,000,  26  tons  of  goods  sent  by  broad- wheeled 
waggons. 
.  "  Weekly  to  London  at  £500  a  ton,  average  13,000  tons 

per  annum,  value  £676,000. 

"By  occasional  ships  and  waggons  to  various  places, 
calculated  at  £200,000. 

Total,  £1,356,000. 

"  The  material  point  ...  is  ...  how  many  people 
are  employed,  and  for  this  calculation  I  have  one  datum, 
and  this  to  the  purpose.  They  generally  imagine  in 
Norwich  that  each  loom  employs  six  persons  as  a  whole." 
(Young  presumably  includes  combers,  spinners,  doublers, 
hot  pressers,  dyers,  warpers  &c.,  with  the  weavers.)  "  And 
the  number  (i.e.  of  looms  in  Norwich  and  the  district) 
is  12,000.  There  are,  consequently,  72,000  people 
employed  by  this  manufacture.3' 

The    following    tabulated    return    of    exports    of    Ives, 
Basely  and  Robberds,  one  of  the  leading  Norwich  firms 
throughout  the  18th  century  is  valuable  as  showing  the   Charac- 
kind  and  volume  of  the  trade  done  in  the  year  1791,  when   ter  of 
Norwich  trade  had  considerably  declined  :—  Trade. 


Articles 
Manufactured. 

Italy. 

Spain  & 
Spanish 
America 

Germany 

Russia. 

Norway 
and 
Sweden. 

Hol- 
land. 

Ma- 
deira. 

China. 

Camblets 

£ 
9,544 

£ 
12,816 

£ 
5,972 

£ 
7,986 

£ 
8,193 

£ 

£ 

987 

£ 
19,970 

Camletees 

256 

— 

1,725 

— 

252 

2,190 

— 

— 

Callimancoes 

— 

742 

388 

15,508 

51 

1,004 

— 

— 

Sattins 

123 

1,402 

6,751 

1,457 

601 

702 

— 

— 

Bombazines 

_ 

910 

— 

— 

— 

— 

153 

— 

Sundry  figured  stuffs  . 

463 

2,425 

1,397 

_ 

180 

275 

120 

— 

Lastings 

98 

1,378 

245 

190 

1,494 

734 

— 

— 

.. 

10,484 

19,673 

16,478 

25,741 

10,771 

4,905 

1,260 

19,970 

282 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Details 
of  Export 
Trade. 


It  is  remarkable  to  note  that  more  goods  were  exported 
to  Russia  by  this  firm  than  to  any  other  country.  At  least 
thirty  other  important  firms  were  competitors  in  the 
same  fabrics.  At  this  period  the  total  exports  of  the 
manufactures  of  England  were  £14,000,000,  of  which 
Norwich  textile  fabrics  furnished  over  £1,000,000. 

Buyers  from  all  parts  of  Europe  regularly  visited 
Norwich.  In  the  diary  of  Philip  Stannard,  manufacturer, 
is  given  the  names  of  visitors  from  "  Cadiz,  Venice, 
Leipzig,  Copenhague,  Lubeck,  Amsterdam,  Zuric,  Franck- 
fort,  Cologne,  Stockholm,  Weimar,  Bremen,  Christiana, 
foreigners,  who  have  been  in  my  house  in  1751." 

William  Taylor,  the  celebrated  German  scholar,  himself 
the  son  of  a  Norwich  manufacturer,  and  educated  for  one, 
wrote  in  1798  :— 

"  The  trade  of  Norwich  did  not  so  formerly  depend 
upon  the  foreign  demand  as  it  does  at  this  time.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  century  till  within  these  40  years 
this  kingdom  alone  took  off  a  very  considerable  quantity 
of  stuffs.  At  various  times  the  crapes  of  Norwich  were 
in  very  common  use,  and  during  the  administration  of 
Sir  Robert  Walpole  and  so  long  as  the  city  had  powerful 
friends  at  Court,  the  public  mournings  were  always 
ordered  to  be  in  Norwich  crapes.  .  .  .  The  correspondence 
they ''  (i.e.,  the  Norwich  manufacturers)  "  had  begun " 
(abroad),  "  they  .  .  .  extended  to  every  point  of  the 
compass.  By  sending  their  sons  to  be  educated  in 
Germany,  Spain  and  Italy,  they  qualified  them  for  the 
execution  of  their  plans,  and  at  the  same  time  cultivated 
a  more  familiar  connection  with  those  countries.  Their 
travellers  penetrated  through  Europe,  and  their  pattern 
cards  were  exhibited  in  every  principal  town  from  the 
frozen  plains  of  Moscow  to  the  milder  climes  of  Lisbon, 
Seville  and  Naples.  The  Russ  peasant  decorated  himself 
with  his  sash  of  gaudy  callimanco,  and  the  Spanish  Hidalgo 
was  sheltered  under  his  light  coat  of  Norwich  camblet. 
.  .  .  The  tastes  of  foreign  nations  were  consulted.  The 
loom  was  taught  to  imitate  the  handiworks  of  Flora,  and 
the  most  garish  assemblage  of  colours  of  every  hue  satisfied 
the  vanity  of  the  Swabian  and  Bohemian  female.  The 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  283 

great  fairs  of  Franckfort,  Leipsic  and  Salerno  were  thronged  Details 
with  the  purchasers   of  these   commodities,   which  were  of  Export 
unsuccessfully  imitated  by  the  manufacturers  of  Saxony.  Trade. 
Norwich  was  now  crowded  with  looms.     Every  winter's 
evening  exhibited  to  the  traveller   entering  its  walls   the 
appearance  of  a  general    illumination.     From  .  .  .  miles 
around  the  village  weavers  resorted  to  it  with  the  produce 
of  their  looms." 

The  Norwich  master  weavers  of  the  18th  century  were 
verily  '''  the  Nobility  of  Commerce/'  and  from  about 
1720  to  1770  they  were  the  most  powerful,  the  most 
wealthy,  the  most  cultured  industrial  class  in  the 
kingdom. 

The  18th  century  saw  the  rise  of  many  families  whose 
founders  were  Norwich  master  weavers,  and  whose 
descendants  are  to-day  locally  important  "  county 
magnates."  These  include  the  Harveys,  the  Ives,  the 
Columbines,  the  Custances,  and  the  Martineaus,  whose 
name  is  known  to  the  literary  world.  The  early  18th 
century  also  saw  the  rise  of  a  remarkable  Quaker  family, 
whose  financial  prescience  and  assistance  have  had  a 
profound  influence  on  Norfolk  and  Norwich,  extending 
to  the  present  day.  John  Gurney,  the  founder  of  his 
line,  was  a  humble  wool  merchant,  who,  with  fourteen 
other  Quakers,  was  in  1683  committed  to  the  Norwich 
gaol  for  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  This  man 
of  conscientious  scruples  was  the  ancestor  of  Mrs.  Fry 
and  her  brother,  Joseph  John  Gurney.  Their  labours  on  Norwich 
behalf  of  prison  reform  are  world  renowned.  One  of  the  Master 
14  Norwich  Quakers  "  haled "  to  prison  in  1683  with  Weavers. 
John  Gurney  was  Thomas  Lombe,  ancestor  of  the 
Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  who  was  created  a  knight  by 
King  George,  and  who  secured  a  handsome  sum  from 
Government  for  having  introduced  into  England  the 
art  of  working  organzine  silk. 

In  1575  the  Dutch  elders  presented  in  Court  in  Norwich 

a  new  fabric  of  which  the  name  has  been  variously  spelt 

'  bombexine,"  "  bombasin,"  "  bombazine  "  —all  evidently 

derived   from    "  bombyx."     This   fabric   was   made   with 

silk  for  warp,  worsted  for  weft,  woven  with  a  twill  and 


284 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Origin        the  worsted  upon  the  face  or  right  side  of  the  piece.     The 

of  narrow    bombazines    were    18    inches    wide.     The    broad 

Norwich     made  for  Spain,  Portugal  &c.,  40  to  50  inches  wide.     Both 

Crape.        broad  and  narrow  pieces  were  about  60  yards  long.     This 

fabric  continued  one  of  the  most  important  manufactures 

of  Norwich  down  to  the  commencement  of  the  19th  century, 

and  when  dyed  black  was  really  the  old  "  Norwich  crape  " 

of  the  18th  century. 

Many  quaint  advertisements  in  the  local  press  throughout 
the  18th  century  refer  to  bombazine  :- 

"  This  is  to  inform  the  public  that  Mr.  James  Scottowe, 
in  St.  George's  Tombland,  near  the  Redwell,  in  Norwich, 
makes  bombazines  for  deep  mourning,  which  he  will  sell 
by  wholesale  or  retale  to  shopkeepers  or  others  who  may 
want  a  single  suit,  at  a  very  reasonable  price  ;  he  has 
also  neat  woven  whims  flowered  in  the  loom  with  silk 
up  or  worstead  on  a  white  prunel  at  reasonable  rates,  and 
likewise  all  sorts  of  raw  silks  as  B  and  C  Bengals,  fine 
burgams,  orsoyes,  legees  &c.,  suitable  for  any  stuffs  that 
are  now  made  and  in  fashion,  which  he  will  sell  as  cheap 
as  can  be  bought  in  Norwich."  (H.  Cross-Grove's  Norwich 
Gazette,  July,  1727.) 
Again — 

"  Just  come  to  Town  a  Parcel  of  Fine  Bombazines  dy'd 
and  drest  by  the  Best  Hands,  also  Bengal  Silks  and  slack 
thrown  Legees,  Ossoyes,  and  Fine  Double  Silk,  which 
runs  above  Sixty  dozen  boiled  off  fit  for  mourning  Crapes. 
All  persons  shall  be  welcome  to  view  the  goods.  Buy 
or  not  Buy,  and  shopkeepers  shall  have  the  Bombazines 
Three  Pence  a  yard  cheaper  than  they  can  buy  in 
London.  Mr.  John  Scottow,  near  the  Griffin  in  Norwich, 
who  designs  to  leave  off  business."  (Norwich  Mercury, 
1729.) 

Some  As  it  would  appear  from  a  notice  of  the  same  date  in  this 

curious       newspaper   that    "  The   London    Waggon   now   goes   out 

Adver-       every  Thursday  night  from  the  Angel  in  the  Market  Place 

tisements.  in  Norwich,  and  gets  to  the  Blossom  Inn  in  Lawrence 

Lane,  Cheapside,  London,  the  Tuesday  morning  following," 

it  is  not  very  probable  Norwich  "  Shopkeepers  "    made 

frequent    visits   to   the   Metropolis   to   test   the  truth  of 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  285 

statements  like  these  of  "Mr.  John  Scottowe,"  respecting 
the  current  market  price  of  bombazines  ! 

About  the  year  1819  a  new  silk  and  worsted  article  was  New 
introduced  by  a  Mr.  Francis,  and  named  by  him  "  Norwich  Silk  and 
Crape."     It  was  different  to  a  bombazine,  although  formed  Worsted 
of  silk  and  worsted.     It  was  what  is  technically  called  fabrics. 
"  tamet "  or  "  tammet "   woven  (i.e.  with  no  wale  and 
both  sides  alike).     The  fabric  was  so  generally  adopted  as 
a  standard  article  of  female  dress  as  to  almost  completely 
supersede  the   coloured  bombazines   and   other  silk  and 
worsted   allied   fabrics   (i.e.   prunelles,    satins,   satinettes, 
harbines,  silk  camblets,  cambletines,  florentines  &c.). 

Stannard,  a  leading  Norwich  manufacturer,  wrote  to 
a  customer,  January,  1752 : — "  You  call  em  Sattins, 
but  they  are  Damasks.  They  are  principally  made  by 
weavers  yt  live  in  ye  Country  about  8  or  10  miles  from 
Norwich"  (.Wymondham  or  Aylsham).  "Silk  camblets 
really  fine  harbines  are  made  by  William  and  Sam  Wiggett 
for  Italy,  Spain  and  Lisbon." 

The  new  "  crepe  "  was  woven  in  the  grey,  and  after- 
wards dyed  an  endless  variety  of  colours,  and  so  finished 
that  the  best  sorts  would  vie  with  the  finest  satin. 
Norwich  crape  was  followed  by  various  silk  and  worsted 
articles  of  very  light  texture,  well  adapted  for  women's 
dresses,  such  as  crepe  de  Lyon,  poplin  Francais,  silk 
and  worsted  brilliants,  Irish  poplin,  &c.  Then  came  the 
Challis,  described  by  the  celebrated  local  dyer,  Michael 
Stark,  as  certainly  the  neatest  and  most  elegant  silk  and 
worsted  article  ever  manufactured.  It  was  made  on  a 
similar  principle  to  the  Norwich  crape,  only  thinner, 
softer  and  composed  of  much  finer  materials.  Instead 
of  a  glossy  surface  being  produced,  as  was  required  in  the 
Norwich  crape,  the  object  was  to  finish  it  without  gloss 
and  very  pliable.  The  best  quality  of  Challis,  when 
finished  with  designs  and  figures  (either  produced  in  the 
loom  or  printed),  was  quite  a  unique  article. 

The  well-known  "  Norwich  crape  "  of  to-day  is  a  plain,  Modern 
thin  silk  gauze,  stiffened  with  shellac — and  embossed  with  Norwich 
various  patterns  by  being  passed  over  a  heated  revolving  Crape, 
copper  cylinder  on  the  surface  of  which  the  desired  design, 


286 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Joseph 
Grout's 
First 
Patent 


The 

Competi- 
tion of 
Lyons. 


technically  termed  "  figure "  has  been  laboriously 
engraved.  This  peculiar  fabric  was  the  invention  of 
Joseph  Grout,  originally  a  saddle  and  harness  maker  at 
Bocking,  who  with  his  brother  George  commenced  business 
the  early  part  of  the  19th  century  in  Patteson's  Yard, 
Magdalen  Street,  Norwich.  They  soon  became  very 
prosperous,  and  about  1814  they  started  a  mill  at  Great 
Yarmouth,  and  about  the  same  time,  or  perhaps  earlier, 
they  erected  very  large  mills  in  Lower  Westwick  Street, 
Norwich.  Later  still  another  weaving  mill  was  built 
near  Bungay,  in  Suffolk,  and  another  for  finishing  the 
crape  at  Ponder's  End.  The  first  patent  for  the  embossed 
crape  was  taken  out  by  the  firm  in  1822. 

Joseph  Grout  gave  evidence  before  a  Select  Committee 
on  the  Silk  Trade  at  the  House  of  Commons,  4th  July, 
1832.  His  original  notes  are  still  preserved  by  the  firm. 
From  them  it  would  appear  Joseph  Grout  described  him- 
self as  residing  at  Stamford  Hill,  Middlesex,  and  that 
he  had  been  engaged  in  textile  manufacture  about  26 
years.  That  his  firm  made  39  different  widths  and 
qualities  of  Italian  crape,  30  different  kinds  of  China 
crape,  51  different  kinds  of  French  crape. 

He  stated  they  had  establishments  in  the  following 
places  within  the  preceding  ten  years  :  One  at  Norwich, 
one  at  North  Walsham,  one  at  Great  Yarmouth,  one  at 
Bungay,  one  at  Mildenhall,  one  at  Saffron  Walden,  one 
at  Bocking,  one  at  Sible  Hedingham,  one  at  Glasgow  and 
Paisley,  and  one  at  Ponder's  End.  Also  a  selling  ware- 
house in  London.  They  had  also  within  that  period  a 
filature  or  reeling  establishment  established  by  them 
during  1819-1820  at  Bhartiparra  on  the  Bunell  River, 
about  140  miles  up  country  from  Calcutta.  Up  to  1826  all 
their  looms  and  spindles  were  working  day  and  night  with 
a  double  set  of  hands.  They  worked  462  power-looms 
and  about  1,000  hand-looms.  He  complained  of  severe 
competition  on  the  part  of  a  firm  "  four  leagues  from 
Lyons,  who  worked  300  power-looms  with  power  derived 
from  a  water-fall."  He  states  in  the  year  1822  they 
paid  their  weavers  12s.  for  weaving  a  piece  of  crape 
weighing  20  ounces,  whereas  owing  to  competition  they 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  287 

could  then  pay  only  7s.  for  a  piece  of  the  same  length  and  The 
breadth,  weighing  24  ozs.  Competi- 

He  stated  his  firm  has  7,222  dozens  of  spindles  at  work  tion  of 
in  their  various  establishments,  whilst  there  were  only  Lyons. 
7,000  dozen  employed  altogether  in  Manchester,  where, 
he  stated,  he  did  not  think  there  was  then  a  single  crape- 
loom  going.  (It  would  appear  from  the  evidence  that 
firms  in  Manchester  had  started  making  silk  crape  in  rather 
a  large  way.)  The  Grouts  made  large  fortunes,  and 
retired  from  business  before  1840.  George  Grout  died 
at  his  house  in  Magdalen  Street  in  1860.  His  daughter 
married  the  son  of  Mr.  T.  0.  Springfield,  a  local  raw  silk 
broker,  and  it  is  said  that  Grout  gave  £50,000  to  his 
daughter,  and  Springfield  £50,000  to  his  son  upon  their 
marriage. 

In  April,  1838,  the  mills  of  the  firm  were  inspected 
by  James  Mitchell,  LL.D.,  one  of  H.M.  Commissioners, 
who  reported  as  follows  : — 

"  The  great  firm  of  Grout,  Ringer,  Martin  and  Co.  have  The 
an  establishment  at  Norwich  in  which  at  the  time  of  my  Grout 
visit  there  were  970  hands  employed.  In  the  establish-  Factories, 
ment  belonging  to  this  firm  in  Great  Yarmouth,  1,100 
hands  were  employed,  and  560  at  their  mills  near  Bungay. 
In  September  of  the  same  year  this  number  was  much 
increased.  The  establishment  at  Norwich  is  the  centre 
and  headquarters  of  the  three.  The  firm  purchase  the 
raw  silk,  throw  it,  dye  it,  and  perform  every  other 
necessary  operation.  In  the  weaving  department  at 
Norwich  there  were  24  men  and  386  women  employed,  of 
the  latter  65  attended  and  worked  in  a  shop  in  the  factory, 
and  the  rest  in  their  own  habitations.  The  average  wage 
of  the  men  was  14s.  lOd.  per  week,  and  of  the  women 
working  at  home  4s.  a  week.  At  the  factory  looms  5s.  6d., 
finding  their  own  lights  "  (candles?).  "  The  lower  average 
of  the  women  working  at  home  is  attributable  in  a  con- 
siderable degree  to  the  circumstance  that  many  of  them 
are  married  women  and  their  time  is  partly  occupied  with 
their  domestic  duties.  Six  of  them  had  earned  in  1837 
as  much  as  7s.,  others  3s.  4d.  a  week,  another  six  averaged 
only  Is.  9d.  a  week  each.  The  women  weaving  in  the 


288  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

factory  come  at  6  a.m.  They  have  from  8.30  a.m.  to 
9  a.m.  for  breakfast ;  1  p.m.  to  2  p.m.  for  dinner,  and 
20  minutes  for  tea." 

Praise  The  Norwich  factory  is  thus  described  by  the  Inspector  : 

for  "  The  neatness,   indeed   elegance,   cleanliness,   comfort, 

Norwich     of  every  part  were  highly  gratifying  to  see.     It  was  a 

Artisans.    Monday  morning,  and  the  women  and  young  girls  were 

all  in  clean  attire  ;    they  seemed  healthy  and  cheerful, 

and  what  was  unexpected  there  was  no  talking.     In  the 

weaving  room  one  man  presided  over  65  women  ;    they 

used  the  fly  shuttle." 

The  worthy  Inspector  further  delivers  himself  of  the 
following  eulogium  r1— 

"  The  men  and  women  of  Norfolk  are  an  exceedingly 
fine  race,  probably  not  surpassed  by  any  in  the  world. 
Norwich  is  most  favourably  situate  for  health,  there  is 
much  elevated  ground  sloping  down  to  the  river,  which  flows 
through  the  city.  The  buildings  are  spread  over  a  large 
space,  the  ground  is  a  deep  bed  of  gravel  over  a  substratum 
of  chalk.  Nothing  can  be  better.  The  city  is  in  a  plentiful 
and  well  cultivated  country,  producing  an  abundance  of 
provisions  of  the  best  quality.  There  is  a  fresh  and 
healthy  appearance  in  the  complexion  of  the  working 
people ;  in  all  these  advantages  the  weavers  participate." 

On  May  27th,  1832,  a  heavy  loss  befell  the  firm,  for  a 
local  paper  of  the  period  records  that  one  of  the  large 
buildings  comprised  in  Grout,  Baylis  and  Co.,  "  factory 
in  Barrack  Yard,  Yarmouth,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The 
building  was  5  stories  high,  105  feet  long,  and  its  erection 
in  1818  cost  about  £7,000.  Between  400  and  500  girls 
employed  by  the  firm  are  thrown  out  of  work,  and  the  loss 
to  the  firm  is  estimated  at  £12,000  to  £15,000." 

Upon  the  retirement  of  the  Grouts,  the  business  was 

continued  by  Mr.  Martin,  a  near  relative  of  George  Grout. 

After  Martin's  death,  the  firm  comprised  Messrs.  Browne, 

Robison,  and  Hall.     Mr.  William  Hall  (the  elder  son  of 

the  latter)  is  now  managing  director  of  the  firm. 

Effects  of       For  many  years  the  career  of  Grout  and  Co.  was  one  of 

Fashion     great   prosperity.     Gradually,    however,    the   fashion    for 

on  Trade,  mourning   crape   declined.     Competition  grew  keen,   and 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  289 

in  1890  a  crisis  arrived,  and  it  was  announced  in  the  local  Effects  of 
press  that  on  August  23rd,  "  Grout  and  Co.,  of  Norwich,  gave  Fashion 
notice  to  several  hundreds  of  their  work-people  that  their  on  Trade, 
engagement  with  the  firm  would  terminate  on  the  30th." 

"  It  was  added  that  the  factory,  a  modern  building, 
is  fitted  with  machinery  of  the  most  improved  construction, 
and  contains  every  appliance  for  carrying  on  the  manu- 
facture of  fabrics,  which  have  gained  for  Norwich  world- 
wide reputation.  The  firm  has  a  branch  at  Yarmouth, 
where  about  1,000  persons  are  engaged,  and  other  establish- 
ments at  Ditchingham  and  Ponder's  End." 

These  "  other  establishments  '  like  that  at  Norwich 
were  also  sold,  and  Grout  and  Co.  concentrated  at 
Yarmouth.  With  great  business  acumen  and  enterprise, 
the  Directors  of  the  firm,  whilst  still  continuing  their 
standard  and  historic  production  of  mourning  crape  (now 
made  almost  entirely  for  exportation  to  Latin  countries), 
launched  out  into  other  branches  of  textile  fabrics  of  silk 
and  mixture  of  silk  and  wool,  silk  and  cotton.  At  the 
present  time  they  have  more  than  recovered  their  former 
position,  importance  and  prosperity. 

The  career  of  the  firm  of  Grout  and  Co.  has  been  some- 
what fully  entered  into,  not  only  because  it  is  the  oldest 
existing  and  the  most  important  firm  in  the  history  of 
Norfolk  Silk  Industry,  but  also  because  the  brothers 
Grout  were  the  inventors  and  the  largest  makers  of  a  fabric 
which  for  many  years  was  manufactured  solely  in  England, 
where  it  continues  to  be  produced  to  greater  perfection 
and  in  larger  quantities  than  elsewhere.  From  the 
parent  firm  have  sprung  several  other  English  manu- 
facturers of  crimped  crape,  amongst  whom  there  still 
remain  in  Norwich,  Francis  Hinde  and  Sons,  who  continue 
the  business  of  Messrs.  French  and  Co.,  established  1838, 
and  the  Norwich  Crape  Co.,  established  by  a  Mr.  Sultzer 
in  1856.  Outside  Norfolk  is  the  firm  Samuel  Courtauld 
and  Co.,  of  Bocking,  claiming  to  have  made  crimped 
crape  at  Bocking  between  1820  and  1822.  It  is  a  tradition  Cour- 
of  this  firm  that  Samuel  Courtauld,  the  founder  of  the  tauld's 
business,  paid  Grouts  a  sum  of  money  in  consideration  and 
of  his  being  allowed  to  go  into  his  crimping  room  to  learn  Grout's. 


290 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Alien  all  he  could  of  the  process.  Another  firm  is  that  of 
origin  Thompson  and  Legros,  of  Frome.  It  is  somewhat  curious 
of  the  that  the  names  of  the  founders  of  all  the  silk  crape  firms 
Crape  denote  alien  origin :  "  Grout  (Groot),  Sultzer,  French, 
Trade.  Courtauld,  Le  Gros." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  18th  century,  the  "  high  water 
mark  "  of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  textile  industry  had 
passed  and  the  towns  of  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire 
became  successful  rivals.  The  increase  of  cotton  and 
its  general  wear  left  Norfolk  and  Norwich  to  a  great 
extent  dependent  on  the  foreign  trade,  which  was  partly 
ruined  by  the  American  War,  and  almost  entirely  so  by 
the  first  French  Revolution.  To  meet  the  times,  con- 
cessions had  to  be  made  by  masters  and  men.  It  has  been 
stated  that  at  two  general  meetings  of  the  manufacturers 
held  at  the  Guildhall  on  December  14th  and  21st,  1790, 
the  prices  for  weaving  were  fixed  and  printed  in  a  list 
comprising  serges,  prunelles,  satins,  satinettes,  camlets, 
camletines,  florentines,  brilliantines,  grenadines,  blondines, 
tabourtines,  callandres  &c.  At  a  general  meeting  of  the 
manufacturers  held  on  June  13th,  1793,  at  the  Guildhall, 
it  was  resolved  unanimously  that  they  would  supply 
the  journeymen  weavers  they  employed  with  havels  and 
slaies  free  of  charge,  and  without  deduction  from  the 
prices  established  in  the  table  of  rates  fixed  in  1790. 

There  was,  however,  now  to  appear  a  new  fabric  in  the 
gamut  of  Norwich  "  outlandish  inventions,"  which  for 
many  years  gave  remarkable  vitality  to  the  industry. 

In  Norfolk  Annals,  Vol.  1,  Part  1,  is  the  following  obituary 
notice  : — 

The  "  13  July,   1813.— Died  in  his  70th  year  Mr.  Edward 

Norwich     Barrow,  of  St.  Saviour,  Norwich,  a  native  of  Manchester, 

Shawl.        and  a  yarn  factor.     Mr.  Barrow  was  the  first  person  who 

undertook  the  manufacture  of    cotton   in  this  city,   but 

what  in  a  peculiar  manner  consecrates  his  memory  is  the 

merit  of  his  having  also  been  the  first  manufacturer   of 

the  Shawl  in  this  city,  or  perhaps  in  the  kingdom.     This 

brought  a  new  history  in  the  era  of  the  loom." 

The  shawl  invented  and  first  manufactured  by 
Mr.  Barrow  in  about  1780  was  of  a  very  common  kind 


NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH.  291 

(examples  still  exist),  made  of  cotton  embroidered  with  The 
worsted  of  various  colours  along  the  edges  and  the  corners  Norwich 
— for  export  to  America.  Shawl. 

In  1782  or  1783  Mr.  John  Harvey  and  Mr.  Knights 
commenced  making  shawls  of  silk  and  worsted,  the  latter 
spun  from  Norfolk  lamb's  wool.  These  were  either  plain  or 
printed  in  water  colours  by  a  block  giving  the  outline,  the 
flower  being  finished  with  the  needle  either  in  worsted  or 
silk.  In  1791  a  Mr.  White  produced  an  article  striped  with 
coloured  silk,  silver  and  gold,  but  this  was  not  a  commercial 
success.  Then  followed  a  light  kind  of  shawl  having  a  silk 
warp  and  cotton  weft  printed  on  a  white  ground,  and  this 
proved  very  successful  for  home  and  foreign  trade. 

About  1802  John  Harvey*  commenced  making  shawls 
of  spun  silk,  some  having  a  fine  silk  warp,  and  spun  silk 
for  weft.  The  latter  were  mostly  printed  of  various 
colours  and  patterns,  and  secured  a  large  export  and 
home  trade.  Soon  after  this  the  famous  "  Norwich 
Fillover  Shawl "  was  introduced.  The  manufacture  of 
this  celebrated  fabric  was  only  rendered  possible  by  the 
invention  of  improved  weaving  methods. 

In  the  records  of  the  Patent  Office  are  the  following 
particulars : — 

"Whereas  Joseph  Mason,  of  ye  cittie  of  Norwich, 
hath  invented  an  engine  by  the  help  of  wich  a 
weever  may  performe  the  whole  work  of  weaving 
such  stuffes  as  the  gretest  trade  of  Norwich  nowe 
doth  depend  on  without  ye  help  of  a  draught  boy. 
His  Maty,  is  therefore  pleased  to  grant  unto  ye 
said  Joseph  Mason  his  exors.  and  assigns  the 
sole  use  and  exercise  of  his  new  invention  for 
the  terme  of  14  yeares,  according  to  ye  statute  in 
that  case  made  and  provided.  T.R.  apud  Westm., 
die  Octobre  3,  Jacobii  2d." 

Like  many  another  genius,  Joseph  Mason  was  a  man  The 
before  his  time,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  looms  universally  Fill-over 
used  in  the  silk  trade  down  to  the  introduction  of  the  Loom. 

*  The  weavers  of  Norwich,  2,361  in  number,  subscribed  for  and  presented  on 
September  27,  1822,  a  massive  piece  of  plate  to  John  Harvey  as  a  testimony  of  the 
high  esteem  in  which  they  held  him  as  a  great  promoter  of  the  manufactures  of  the  city 
and  a  friend  of  the  operatives.  This  piece  of  plate  is  in  the  possession  of  his  lineal 
descendant,  Colonel  Harvey,  D.S.O.,  Thorpe,  Norwich. 


292  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

The  "  fillover  loom  "  differed  in  no  material  way  to  the  simple 

Fill-over  kind  used  by  the  "  Ahens  "  of  the  16th  century,  dating 
Loom.  from  far  earlier  times.  The  flowers  or  designs  which 
in  these  simply  constructed  looms  were  woven  in  the 
fabric  were  produced  by  passing  the  shuttle  by  hand 
through  the  warp.  Necessarily,  much  time  and  much 
skill  were  required.  In  elaborately  "brocaded"  patterns, 
as  they  were  called,  the  most  industrious  weaver  could 
not  produce  more  than  one  inch  a  day.  By  means  of 
the  "Fillover  loom,"  nearly  an  inch  an  hour  could  be 
woven.  The  invention  was  undoubtedly  the  precursor 
of  the  more  perfect  and  better  known  Jacquard  action. 
The  "Fillover"  was  so  called  because  in  weaving, the  face 
of  the  fabric  was  downwards  and  all  the  work  composing 
the  pattern  was  "filled"  over  it.  Each  weaver  had 
to  employ  a  girl  or  boy  to  wind  his  "  quills,"  or  weaving 
tubes,  with  the  yarns  or  silk.  He  had  also  a  "  tire  "  boy 
(from  the  French  "  tirer,"  to  draw),  whose  duty  it  was 
to  pull  certain  bunches  of  cords  which  raised  certain 
threads  of  the  warp  after  every  throw  of  the  shuttle  in 
order  to  compose  the  pattern  or  figure.  The  weaver  called 
to  his  boy  the  colour  he  proposed  to  use. 

An  ancient  and  well-known  Norwich  citizen,  named 
Loose,  now  deceased  some  few  years,  used  to  be  very  fond 
of  relating  his  early  experiences  as  a  "  tire  "  boy.  His 
master  would,  it  seems,  keep  a  missile  handy  to  "  hull " 
(throw)  at  him  should  the  wrong  bunch  of  cords  be  pulled. 
The  shuttles  used  in  the  earlier  fill-over  looms  were  very 
small,  and  they  were  "thrown"  or  passed  through  the  warp 
threads  by  a  jerk  of  the  hand  ;  there  was  no  "  box." 

The   results   following  the   pulling   of   the   bunches   of 

cords  by  the  "tire"  boy  were  controlled  by  an  elaborate 

arrangement  called  "  the  tow,"  or  "  towe,"> — the  equivalent 

to  the  stamped  cards  of  a  Jacquard  loom.     Much  time 

and  money  were  required  to  prepare  a  fill-over  loom  for  a 

new  pattern,  and  Mr.  William  R.  Simpson,  manufacturer, 

Precursor  of  Golden  Dog  Lane,  who  recently  died  in  his  91st  year, 

of  the         told   the  writer  that  the  preparation   cost  his   old  firm 

Jac-  (Towler  and  Allen)  over  £100  for  any  very  special  pattern 

quard.        before  a  shuttle  was  thrown. 


NORFOLK  AND   NORWICH.  293 

The  designs  were  most  elaborate  in  colour  schemes,  Some 
necessitating  many  shuttles  and  great  skill  on  the  part  famous 
of  the  weavers,  who,  when  these  shawls  were  first  made  Shawls, 
in  Norwich,  earned  for  that  period  very  high  wages.  It 
is  recorded  that  a  weaver  and  his  wife  employed  by  a 
Mr.  Francis  (sometime  Sheriff  of  Norwich),  together  earned 
£15  per  week.  Another  employed  by  a  Mr.  Paul  regularly 
earned  11  guineas  per  week,  and  many  earned  from  seven 
to  .eight  guineas.  The  shawls  were  generally  sold  retail 
from  12  to  20  guineas  each.  Specially  choice  specimens 
were  considered  cheap  at  50  guineas.  Two  very  fine 
examples  of  these  shawls  are  in  the  Norwich  Castle  Museum. 
A  remarkable  specimen  of  fill-over  weaving  was  the  shawl 
woven  in  Colonel  Harvey's  looms  and  made  up  as  a 
counterpane  for  presentation  to  Queen  Charlotte.  The 
design  consisted  of  the  Royal  Arms  in  the  centre — in 
the  corners,  the  shields  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
France.  The  border  was  composed  of  the  rose,  thistle, 
shamrock  and  lily.  The  competition  of  the  Scotch  manu- 
facturers who  copied  the  Norwich  designs  on  a  lower 
plane,  seriously  injured  the  trade  of  the  city,  and  on  1st 
September,  1838,  "  The  Norwich  Fillover  weavers  passed  a 
resolution  that  the  system  of  copying  patterns  from 
Norwich  manufactured  fillover  shawls  is  the  principal  cause 
of  the  depression  of  our  branch  of  the  manufacture,  and 
loudly  appeals  to  the  Legislature  for  their  interference." 

With  a  view  to  improve  local  trade  conditions,  a  Company  Trade 
was    formed   in    1833,    and   £40,000    capital   was   raised,  troubles 
Ultimately,    two    factories   were   built,   one   for   spinning  and 
yarns  in  St.  Edmund's,  the  other  for  weaving  goods  in  disputes. 
St.  James'.     In   the  last-named  two    coupled   engines  of 
100  horse  power  (large  for  those  days)  were  set  up.     The 
manufacturers  hired  the  factory  and  the  power,  and  put 
in  the  machinery  for  the  production  of  fabrics,  and  for  a 
time  about   1,000  hands  were  at  work  there.     In   1838 
trade  was  in  a  very  declining  state,  and  some  differences 
arose  between  masters  and  men  in  consequence  of  a  pro- 
posed reduction  in  the  rate  of  payment. 

According  to  a  Government  report  in  1839,  there  were 
at  that  time  in  the  city  and  its  vicinity  5,075  looms,  of 


294  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Trade         which  1,021  were  unemployed,   and  of  the  4,054  looms 

troubles     then  at  work,  there  were  3,398  in  the  houses  of  the  weavers 

and  and  650  in  shops  and  factories.     Indeed  by  far  the  greater 

disputes,    part  of  the  looms  belonged  to  families  having  only  one  or 

two.     The  operatives  of  these  looms  comprised  2,211  men, 

1,648  women  and  195  children.     In  that  year  two  silk 

mills  employed  731  hands. 

An  abstract  of  a  census  of  the  Norwich  weavers  furnished 
by  a  report  of  the  Commissioners  on  hand-loom  weavers, 
published  in  1840,  will  best  show  the  nature  and  the 
relative  amount  of  the  fabrics  then  made  by  hand.  Bom- 
bazines employed  1,205  workers,  of  whom  803  were  men. 
Challis,  fringes,  &c.,  1,247,  of  whom  510  were  men,  gauzes 
500,  chiefly  women,  princettes  242,  nearly  all  men,  silk 
shawls  166,  bandanas  158,  of  whom  86  were  men,  silk  38, 
including  16  men,  Jacquard  looms  30,  camletees  20. 

The  total  of  hand-loom  weavers  was  4,054,  including 
2,211  men,  1,648  women,  108  boys,  77  girls,  10  apprentices 
(sex  not  stated).  Their  gross  wages  when  fully  employed 
ranged  from  8s.  to  25s.  weekly.  About  the  year  1828 
power-looms  and  Jacquard  looms  were,  by  the  enterprise  of 
Mr.  Henry  Willett  (senior  of  Messrs.  H.  and  E.  Willett), 
introduced.  The  bigoted  hand-loom  weavers  used  great 
efforts  to  obstruct  the  use  of  these  innovations,  and 
Mr.  Henry  Willett  became  so  unpopular  that  at  his  funeral 
the  mob  tried  to  stop  the  funeral  cortege. 

At  the  end  of  the  18th  century  a  list  of  the  principal 

manufacturers  of  Norwich  contains  the  names  of  34  firms. 

The  signatures  to  the  scale  of  prices  agreed  to  by  the 

leading  manufacturers  on  the  5th  July,  1822,  relate  only 

to  26  firms.     Gradually  the  number  became  still  more 

reduced  ;   firm  after  firm  closed  their  doors,  and  few  took 

Decline      their  place.     In  1851  the  most  important  were  Clabburn 

of  the         Sons  and  Crisp,  "  who  made  shawls  in  every  variety,  and 

Industry,  also  paramattas,  bareges,  tamataves,  balzarines,  poplins, 

fancy   robes,    grenadines,    &c.     The  fill-over  long   shawls 

produced  by  this  firm,  on  a  Jacquard  loom,  gained  the 

gold  medal  at  the  first  Paris  Exhibition,  and  also  at  the 

London  Exhibition  in  1862.     No  description  could  convey 

an  adequate  idea  of  these  splendid  fill-over  shawls,  which 


NORFOLK  AND  NORWICH.  295 

are  made  by  a  patented  process  so  as  to   display  a  self 
color  and  a  perfect  design  on  each  side/' 

Somewhat   later   the   firm    Willett,    Nephew   and    Co.,  Pattern 
established   1767,   are   described   as  being  manufacturers  Books 
on  a  large  scale.     "  The  factory  itself  is  not  extensive,  sold  to 
for  most  of  the  weavers  work  for  the  firm  at  their  own  American 
houses,    and    there    in    humble    dwellings    produce    the  Firm, 
beautiful  fancy  fabrics  which  are   destined  to   adorn  the 
daintiest  ladies  in  the  land.     They  were  the  first  to  intro- 
duce the  manufacture   of  paramattas,  which  superseded 
the  bombazines.     They  produced  superior  poplins,  bareges, 
balzarines,  tamatives,  coburgs,  camlets,  challis,  crepe   de 
Lyon,  grenadines,  shawls,  &c." 

Under  the  able  management  of  the  late  Mr.  Louis  E. 
Willett,  a  man  of  brilliant  business  talent,  of  sterling 
worth  and  honesty,  this  firm  continued  in  existence  until 
1904,  when  the  writer,  to  his  deep  regret,  witnessed  the 
sale  to  Mr.  Galey  (a  Norwich  man's  son)  of  the  Aberfoyle 
Mills,  Chester,  Phila.,  U.S.A.,  of  Messrs.  Willett's  unique 
collection  of  pattern  books  in  complete  sequence  from  the 
establishment  of  the  firm  in  1767 — a  "  fabric  "  history 
of  nearly  150  years  of  the  Norwich  trade  ! 

Such  a  local  treasure  should  have  never  left  Norwich, 
but  should  have  found  a  sure  haven  within  the  walls 
of  the  Castle  Museum. 

Bolingbroke,  Jones,  and  Clabburn  Sons  and  Crisp, 
established  1821,  Towler,  Rowling  and  Allen,  George  Allen, 
Middleton,  Ainsworth  and  Co.,  were  all  in  a  large  way 
of  business  until  about  20  years  ago.  They  have  all 
disappeared.  At  the  present  time  in  Norfolk  and  Norwich 
there  are  but  three  important  silk  manufacturers 
remaining — Grout  and  Co.,  of  Yarmouth,  established  in 
Norwich  about  1804,  the  Norwich  Crape  Co.,  established 
in  1856,  and  F.  Hinde  and  Sons,  of  Norwich,  established 
in  1810.  In  addition  there  is  the  old  established  and 
progressive  firm  of  R.  S.  Simpson,  Golden  Ball  Lane, 
Norwich. 

Of  these  firms,  Messrs.  Fras.  Hinde  and  Sons  descend  Some 
in  unbroken  family  sequence  from  father  to  son  from  famous 
the  founder,  Ephrahim  Hinde  (the  youngest  of  22  children),  Firms. 


296  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Some          Camlet  Manufacturer,  of  St.  Augustines,  in  the  church- 
famous       yard  of  which  parish  he  rests. 

Firms.  To-day  this    fine    old  firm    consists    of  the    brothers 

Frank  P.  Hinde  and  C.  Fountain  Hinde,  and  Frank 
C.  Hinde,  son  of  Frank  P.  Hinde  and  great-grandson  of 
Ephrahim  Hinde.  On  the  distaff  side  the  Hindes  are 
descended  from  an  illustrious  French  Huguenot  family, 
one  of  many  who  found  refuge  in  Norwich  during  the 
17th  Century.  The  firm  has  had  a  long  and  honour- 
able career,  and  ranks  among  the  important  manufacturers 
of  silk  "  Norwich  Crape."  They  are  also  large  producers 
of  high-class  fabrics  in  silk  and  silk-wool  mixtures. 

Envoie. — It  is  true  that  since  the  close  of  the  18th  century 
the  good  city  of  Norwich  has  gradually  lost  its  proud  pre- 
eminence as  "  the  chief  seat  of  the  chief  manufacture 
of  the  realm,"  but  Norfolk  and  Norwich  manufacturers 
yet  remain  a  power  in  textile  industry.  Their  unique 
experience  as  dyers  and  designers  has  enabled  them  to 
create  new  fabrics,  and  although  they  have  fallen  from 
their  ancient  high  estate,  they  continue  remarkable  for 
their  ability,  their  enterprise,  and  their  insistent  mer- 
cantile vitality.  Of  them  no  one  can  justly  exclaim  :— 
"  Their  wine  of  life  is  drawn, 
"  And  the  mere  lees  is  left  in  the  vault  to  brag  of." 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

ESSEX. 

The  story  of  the  association  of  Essex  with  the  silk  trade,  One 
which   has    been   maintained   in   unbroken    sequence    for  of  the 
two  centuries  down  to  the  present  day — when   it   is,    in  oldest 
some  respects,  the  most  important  centre  of  production —  Silk 
furnishes  a  most  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Centres. 
British  industry.     The  Essex  branch  of  the  trade  claims 
distinction  as  being  one  of  the   oldest  in  Great  Britain. 
At  first  it  appears  to  have  existed  only  in  that  portion  of 
the  county  adjacent  to  London,  but  afterwards  extended 
to   many   places   between   Spitalfields   and   the   northern 
boundary    of    the    county.     There    was    a    considerable 
expansion  of  the  trade  in  Essex  following  the  introduction 
of  throwing  machinery  in  the  early  years   of  the   18th 
century,  and  the  industry  underwent  a  process  of  gradual 
expansion   until   the    critical   year    when   the   duty   was 
repealed. 

The  earliest  reference  to  the  Essex  silk  trade  carries 
the  story  back  to  the  year  1645,  when  there  was  in  business 
at  Plaistow  one  Paul  Fox,  a  silk  weaver,  referred  to  in  a 
narrative  of  the  time,*  as  a  "man  of  honest  life  and 
conversation,  who  had  dwelt  there  many  years,"  and 
he  appears  to  have  been  assisted  in  "  weaving  of  fine  lace 
and  ribbaning  "  by  a  son  and  two  servants.  During  the 
18th  century  at  least  three  throwing  mills  were  in  operation 
at  Little  Hallingbury,  adjacent  to  Bishops  Stortford  just 
over  the  Hertford  border  of  the  County.  There  was 
another  mill  at  Sewardstone,  Waltham  Abbey,  but  the 

*  Strange  and  Fearful  News  from  Plaistow.     Lond.,    1645. 

297 


298 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


One  place  is  not  marked  on  modern  maps.     Of  the  mill  at 

of  the         Little  Hallingbury,  Holman,  writing  about  1720,*  says: 

oldest         "  In  this  parish  on  the  stream  that  runs  from  Stortford 

Silk  is  erected  a  mill  for  throwing  and  twisting  of  silk.     The 

Centres,     inventor   was   one   Mr.    William   Aldersay,    apprentist  to 

a  silk  throwster  in  London.      This  engine  is  employed  in 

winding  of  silk  for  the  Company  of  Dealers  in  silk  that 

got  a  patent  first.      He  has  the  model  of  the  famous 

engine   at   Derby."     Another    writer,    Salmon,    referring 

to    this    mill,    stated    it    "  has    been    for    many    years 

employed  in  twisting   and   winding    silk    for   which  the 

proprietors  have  a  patent.     The  work  employs  a  great 

many    women    and    girls    of    the    neighbourhood."     The 

location  of  the  mill  is  shown  on  Chapman  and  Andre's 

map  of  1777.     It  is  now  a  corn  mill. 

The  mill  at  Sewardstone,  Waltham  Abbey,  was  probably 
established  before  1720.  It  is  also  marked  on  Chapman 
and  Andre's  map.  Ogborne,  writing  a  century  later, 
referred  to  it  as  a  "  small  silk  mill  in  the  occupation  of 
Messrs.  Carr  and  Dobson,  Foster  Lane,  Cheapside."  It 
changed  hands  several  times,  belonging  in  1826  to  John 
Carr,  in  1832  to  John  Buttress,  and  in  1840  to  J.  J.  Buttress 
and  Son,  throwsters.  It  probably  ceased  working  soon 
after  that  date  .  .  .  but  was  subsequently  used  for 
dyeing  and  scouring  till  about  1885,  when  it  was  dis- 
mantled. Another  mill  was  at  work  in  1814,  when 
Mr.  Ogborne  described  it  as  "  a  small  manufactory  for 
the  throwing  of  silk,  which  employs  about  30  girls.  In 
1826  it  belonged  to  John  Woolrich.  At  this  time,  too, 
there  was  at  Waltham  Abbey  a  third  firm  of  throwsters, 
Messrs.  Forsyth  and  Lincoln.  All  these  mills  appear 
to  have  been  closed  soon  after  the  middle  of  the  century. 
Some  The  mill  at  Pebmarsh,  now  pulled  down — the  old  house 

early  still   is   occupied — is  interesting   as   having  been  started 

Mills.  in  1798  by  George  Courtauld,  one  of  the  family  which 
is  still  engaged  in  the  silk  crape  and  other  branches  of  the 
trade.  George  Courtauld,  who  lived  until  1823,  was  a 
man  of  considerable  business  enterprise.  He  crossed  to 
America,  embarked  in  business  there,  and  married  a  woman 

*  MSS.  at  Colchester  Castle. 


••••IB 
Plate  XXX 


Braintree  Market  in  the  Olden  days — from  an  old  print. 


ESSEX.  299 

of  Irish  birth.     Returning  in  1794,  with  two  children,  he   Some 
engaged  in  silk-throwing  with  a  person  named  Noailles,  at   early 
Sevenoaks,  and  "  in  conjunction  with  a  Mr.  Mills,  he  under-  Mills, 
took  to  establish  and  conduct  a  silk  business  at  Pebmarsh, 
near    Halstead,  .  .  .  building    factory,     dwelling    houses 
and  cottages  for  workpeople.  ..."     Until  these  works  were 
completed,  he  lived  at  Sudbury  in  Suffolk.*    He  appears 
to  have  remained  in  Pebmarsh  till  the  year  1809,  when  he 
removed  to  Braintree. 

To  George  Courtauld  is  probably  to  be  given  the  credit  of 
establishing  the  silk  industry  at  Braintree,  he  having 
erected  a  mill  there  in  1810,  but  it  was  his  son  Samuel 
who  commenced  the  manufacture  of  crape  in  about  the 
year  1825.  This  Samuel  Courtauld  (1793-1881),|  rather 
than  his  father,  was  the  real  founder  of  the  large  business 
which  now  exists.  In  the  crape  trade,  however,  he  seems 
to  have  been  anticipated  by  the  firm  of  Grout,  Baylis 
and  Co.,  who  in  addition  to  establishments  at  Norwich 
and  London,  started  at  Bocking  in  the  year  1819,  having 
already  erected  a  branch  factory  at  Saffron  Walden.  At 
Saffron  Walden  silk  crape  was  being  manufactured  in  1819, 
and  provided  employment  for  a  large  number  of  hands. 
This  enterprise  came  to  an  end  in  1834.  Lord  Braybrooke, 
writing  of  it,  made  the  comment :  "  Some  years  ago  a 
manufactory  for  Norwich  crape  was  introduced  into  the 
parish,  which  employed  many  hands,  principally  young 
females,  but  the  high  wages  obtained  led  to  idle  and 
extravagant  habits,  so  that  the  discontinuance  of  the  work 
cannot  be  a  matter  of  regret."  The  Samuel  Courtauld 
referred  to  above  was  a  man  of  very  strong  will  and  untiring 
energy.  For  nearly  50  years  his  was  the  hand  guiding  The 
and  controlling  all  that  his  firm  undertook.  At  first  he  Crape 
appears  to  have  been,  like  his  father,  a  silk-throwster  only,  Trade  at 
but  he  afterwards  took  into  partnership  his  brothers  George  Braintree 
and  John  Minton,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Peter  Alfred 
Taylor  (thus  establishing  the  firm  of  Courtauld,  Taylor 
and  Courtauld),  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  crape, 
for  which  the  firm  is  famous  down  to  the  present  day. 

*  P.  A.   Taylor,   Taylor  Family. 

t  See  The  CourtauM  Family  and  their  Industrial  Enterprise,  by  Miss  C.  Fell  Smith. 


300  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

By  1826  the  firm  had  acquired,  in  addition  to  the  Braintree 
Mill,  a  mill  at  Halstead,  and  by  1832  a  mill  at  Booking, 
as  well  as  a  warehouse  in  Gutter  Lane,  London.     It  is  of 
A  memor- interest  to  recall  the  fact  that  in  June,  1846,  the  members 
able  of  the  firm  were  entertained  at  a  dinner  given  by  1,600  of 

Dinner,  their  workpeople  in  a  huge  tent  erected  in  a  field  opposite 
Samuel  Courtauld's  residence  at  High  Garrett,  between 
Bocking  and  Halstead.  It  was  estimated  that  between 
five  and  six  thousand  people  were  present,  all  business 
in  Braintree,  Bocking  and  Halstead  being  suspended  for 
the  day.  A  silver  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate  the 
event,  and  the  speeches  made  on  the  occasion  bear  witness 
to  the  friendly  feeling  existing  between  the  firm  and  its 
workpeople.*  About  1854,  the  style  of  the  firm  was 
altered  to  Samuel  Courtauld  and  Co.  In  1861,  between 
two  and  three  thousand  workpeople  were  employed  in  its 
factories. 

The  weaving,  as  well  as  the  throwing  of  silk  was  carried 

on  also  in  Essex  to  a  small  extent  during  the  18th  century, 

especially  in  the  villages  nearest  the  east  end  of  London. 

.  .  .  Towards  the  end  of  the  century  it  spread  to  other 

districts,    for    in    1793   James   Rogers,    of    Epping,    and 

Michael   Boyle,    of   Colchester,    were   described   as   "  silk 

weavers."     It  was  during  the  first  quarter  of  last  century 

that  the  Essex  industry  reached  its  greatest  development. 

Migra-       That  was  the  period  when  those  engaged  in  the  industry 

tionfrom  in  Spitalfields  and  elsewhere  began  to  establish  factories 

Spital-       and  set  up  looms  in  many  towns  in   Essex,    Waltham 

fields.        Abbey,    Harlow,    Saffron    Walden,    Halstead,    Coggeshall, 

Bocking,  Braintree,  Colchester,  Maiden,  Billericay,  Chelms- 

ford,  East  Ham,   Stratford,  and  others.     Some  of  these 

were  throwing  mills,  but  in  others  silken  fabrics  of  various 

kinds  were  woven.     The  literature  of  the  time  refers  to 

the  weaving  of  "  Norwich  Crape  "  at  Saffron  Walden  in 

about  1815  ;   of  "  crape,"  "  broad  silk,"  and  "  ribbon  "  at 

Halstead  in  1832,  and  of  broad  silk  and  bombazines  at 

Colchester  about  the  same  time.     Proprietors,  when  not 

*  For  an  account  of  this  "  spontaneous  display  of  the  goodwill  and  respect  of  the 
employed  towards  their  employers  "  see  the  Chelmsford  Chronicle,  July  3,  1846.  The  dinner 
was  intended  no  doubt  to  celebrate  the  25th  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  firm.  One 
workman,  Pharez  Potter,  who  was  present  at  the  dinner  still  (1906)  works  for  the  firm. 


ESSEX.  301 

"  throwsters "    were    classified   under   the   general   terms  Migra- 
of    "silk    manufacturers."     Particulars    are    available    of  tionfrom 
certain  of  these  businesses.     For  example,  John  Davies,  Spital- 
in  1823,  had  a  business  in  High  Street,  Halstead,  and  a  fields, 
firm  with  the  style  of  Jones  and  Foyster,  were  in  occupation 
of  premises  in  Parson's  Lane.     The  crape  mills  of  Samuel 
Courtauld  were,  of  course,  in  existence,  as  they  are  to-day. 
At  one  period  in  the  year  1831  there  were  some  59  silk 
machine  makers  here,  but  the  silk  business  at  Halstead  is 
dead  except  the  crape  section  of  the  trade.     Coggeshall, 
where  the  silk  trade  was  introduced  in  the  early  years  of 
the  19th  century,  maintained  a  pre-eminence  in  the  industry 
for  a  long  period. 

In  1823,  Pigot  wrote :  "  Of  late  years  several  silk 
manufactories  have  added  much  to  the  trade  of  the  town." 
He  mentions,  as  silk  throwsters,  Sawyer  and  Hall  (also  of 
Coventry  and  London)  and  Richard  Smith ;  and  as  a  silk 
manufacturer  Joseph  Lawrence.  By  1832,  Lawrence  had 
disappeared ;  William  Beckwith  had  replaced  Richard 
Hall,  both  being  described  as  silk  manufacturers  and 
throwsters.  To  these,  in  1840,  a  new  firm  had  been 
added — that  of  Westmacott,  Goodson  and  Co.  Later, 
yet  other  firms  appeared  ;  but,  about  this  time  a  temporary 
decline  of  the  industry  set  in  at  Coggeshall.  In  1848  it 
was  said  to  be  in  a  depressed  state,  and  during  the  fifties 
several  firms  disappeared.  There  remained,  however, 
among  others  that  of  John  Hall,  silk  throwster.  In  1855 
the  firm  was  John  Hall  and  Sons.  They  had  a  branch 
establishment  at  Maldon.  Very  soon  after  the  firm 
opened  another  branch  at  Tiptree  and  a  factory  at  Chelms- 
ford.  In  1863,  700  hands  were  employed  in  the  firm's 
principal  mill  at  Coggeshall  alone ;  but  about  1870, 
owing  to  the  removal  of  the  duty,  this  mill  had  to  be  closed. 
A  large  part  of  the  population  migrated  to  Halstead, 
Braintree  and  Bocking,  in  search  of  work.  Other  branches 
of  the  silk  industry  were,  however,  also  carried  on  at 
Coggeshall. 

The   firm   of  B.  Goodson,  of   Little  Coggeshall,  whose  Silk 
business  was  the  weaving  of  silk  plush  for  hats,  had  a  mill  Plush 
in  operation  in  the  year  1859,  and  there  is  the  authority  for  Hats. 


302  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Velvet  of  White  for  the  statement  that  a  large  mill  for  the  pro- 
Weaving,  duction  of  this  plush  was  built  at  Coggeshall  about  1838, 
and  was  distinguished  as  being  the  only  mill  of  the  kind 
then  in  existence  in  England.  The  manufacture  of  plush 
became  so  important  a  local  industry  that  in  1855  a 
Company  was  formed  to  carry  on  the  business,  but  the 
industry  declined  within  a  few  years  of  this  date.  Another 
branch  of  manufacture  formerly  carried  on  at  Coggeshall 
was  the  weaving  of  silk  velvet.  It  is  known  that  in  1848 
one  Thomas  Westmacott,  who  was  in  business  at  Cogges- 
hall, was  described  as  a  velvet  weaver,  and  there  were 
in  the  town  three  other  silk  manufacturers  who  also  made 
velvet.  In  1862  and  for  some  years  thereafter  one  Thomas 
Brooks  (also  of  Russia  Row,  London),  was  described  as  a 
velvet  weaver.  Dale  records  that  at  this  period,  the 
early  '60's,  many  persons  were  still  occupied  in  velvet 
weaving  at  Coggeshall,  but  this  and  the  other  branches 
of  the  silk  trade  were  then  on  the  verge  of  collapse.  For 
a  time  the  weavers  who  were  left  made  a  living  by  working 
for  Messrs.  J.  and  W.  Robinson,  of  Milk  Street,  London. 
Later,  when  the  firm  gave  up  manufacturing,  the  few 
who  remained  were  taken  over  by  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox 
and  Co.,  of  Spitalfields,  but  they  were  chiefly  very  old  men, 
and  all  except  two  have  now  either  died  or  become  too 
infirm  to  weave.* 

Braintree      It  is  at  the  twin  towns  of  Braintree  and  Bocking,  where 
and  the   silk   trade   also   originated   early   last   century,   that 

Bocking.  it  has  triumphed  over  the  difficulties  which  have  caused 
its  extinction  in  other  old  Essex  centres  of  the  industry. 
Mrs.  Ogborne,  writing  of  Braintree  in  1814,  states  that 
a  silk  manufactory  had  then  been  established  there,  the 
allusion  being  to  the  silk  throwing  mill,  built  in  1810,  by 
George  Courtauld.  Miss  Sophia  Courtauld  has  left  it  on 
record  that  after  leaving  Pebmarsh  in  1809,  her  father 
engaged  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Joseph  Wilson,  of  High- 
bury, London,  and  established  a  silk  business  on  a  much 
larger  scale  than  heretofore  at  Braintree,  erecting  dwelling 
houses  and  extensive  factory  buildings.  After  some  years 
of  partnership,  litigation  of  an  extraordinary  and 

*  Inf.  supplied  by  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox  and  Co. 


ESSEX.  303 

protracted  character  arose  between  the  partners,  but  in  Braintree 

the  end  George  Courtauld  was  awarded  £5,000  damages,  and 

The  lawsuit,  which  created  much  interest  in  the  neigh-  Bocking. 

bourhood,  was  concluded  about  1817,  when  the  partnership 

was  dissolved.     George  Courtauld  went  again  to  America, 

where  he  died  in  1823 — but  his  eldest  son,  Samuel,  remained 

at   Braintree,   where,   though   only  27   years   of   age,   he 

either  established   a  new   business   on  his   own   account 

or  tqok  over  the  remains  of  that  which  his  father  had 

founded. 

Messrs.  Grout,  Baylis  and  Co.,  who  were  crape  manu- 
facturers of  London  and  Norwich,  had  an  establishment 
at  Bocking  before  1819.  By  the  year  1826,  three  other 
silk  firms  had  established  works  in  the  two  towns, 
Beuzeville  and  Co.,  of  High  Street,  Braintree,  Joseph 
Wilson  and  Co.  (both  probably  throwsters),  and  Daniel 
Walters,  the  latter  a  weaver  of  furniture  silks  and 
velvets,  and  founder  of  a  firm  which  long  existed.  It  is 
probably  the  case  that  at  this  period  the  silk  industry 
afforded  the  chief  occupation  in  the  town.  The  Beuzeville 
business  was  short-lived,  but  the  others  remained  in 
active  operation  for  a  long  time,  and  all  except  Wilson 
and  Co.  had  establishments  in  London  as  well  as  at 
Braintree.  Before  the  second  half  of  the  century  the 
firm  of  Daniel  Walters  and  Son  was  well-known  at 
Braintree.  Its  works  were  at  Pound  End,  where  the 
resident  partner  or  agent  was  Mr.  Thomas  Cheeseman, 
and  information  is  available  to  the  effect  that  in  1861 
it  employed  "  150  Jacquard  machines  and  nearly  300 
hands,  and  is  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  kingdom  for 
superiority  of  design  and  beauty  of  workmanship  in  the 
manufacture  of  furniture  silks  of  every  description.  The  Manu- 
house  has  a  good  foreign  trade,  and  the  very  richest  facture  of 
brocatelles,  damasks,  tissued  satins,  etc.,  which  adorn  Furniture 
the  palaces  of  our  Queen  are  produced  in  its  works  at  Silks. 
Braintree."*  At  a  later  date,  the  year  given  is  1861,  the 
firm  built  and  occupied  the  factories  known  as  "  New  Mills." 
It  was  registered  under  the  title  of  Daniel  Walters  and 
Sons,  Ltd.,  in  1875,  and  the  factories  were  carried  on  in 

*  Coller.     People's  Hist.     Essex. 


304 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Maim-        that  name  for  nineteen  years,  when  the  Company  went 

facture  of  into  liquidation,   its  subsequent  history  being  bound  up 

Furniture  with  that  of  Messrs.    Warner  and  Sons,   who  purchased 

Silks.          the    goodwill,    factory    plant    and    designs,    and    whose 

association  with  the  Essex  trade  is  referred  to  in  what 

follows.     Other  firms  established  at  Braintree  at  a  period 

shortly  after  the  middle  of   last    century   were   Messrs. 

J.  Henderson  and  Co.,   W.  Sanderson  and  John  Vanner 

and  Sons,  the  last-named  now  of  London  and  Sudbury. 

Yet  another  firm,  Martin  and  Thomas,  was  established  in 

Braintree    in    1876,    and    later   still    came   Duthoit    and 

England,  whose  successors  have  only  just  given  up  the 

business.     Now   all   are   gone   except   Messrs.    Courtauld 

and  Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons. 

The  history  of  some  other  centres  may  be  dealt  with 
briefly,  but  could  not  be  omitted  in  any  record  of  the 
Essex  silk  industry. 

Broad  At  Colchester,  early  in  the  19th  century,  about  1828, 

Silk  according  to  White,  there  were  "  about  160  looms/9  but 

trade  at     the  trade  gradually  declined.      He  probably  means  that 
Col-  these  looms  were  in  the  homes  of  those  who  worked  them, 

Chester,  and  that  this  method  of  working  was  gradually  replaced 
by  the  factory  system.  In  1832  the  Colchester  silk-makers 
included  William  Comber,  a  maker  of  broad  silk,  and 
William  Willimint,  a  manufacturer  of  "  bombasin."  As 
neither  are  mentioned  in  1840  records,  it  may  be  concluded 
that  both  had  ceased  to  do  business.  Pigot,  in  1826,  writes 
"  a  very  extensive  building  has  just  been  erected  for  the 
purpose  of  silk  mills,  which,  .  .  .  promise  to  be  of  great 
benefit  to  the  working  classes."  These  mills  belonged  to 
Stephen  Brown  and  Co.  In  1832  there  was  another 
silk-throwing  mill  belonging  to  John  Moy.  Later  the 
two  concerns  seem  to  have  been  amalgamated,  for  in  1840 
the  firm  was  Brown  and  Moy,  silk  manufacturers  and 
throwsters.  In  1848,  White  wrote  of  two  silk  mills 
in  the  town,  one  in  a  factory  near  the  Castle  ;  the  other 
in  a  large  building,  which  was  formerly  the  barrack  tavern. 
Apparently  these  factories  belonged  to  the  two  businesses 
named.  Both  seem  to  have  been  used  for  throwing  and 
to  have  belonged  later  to  Campbell,  Harrison  and  Lloyd 


ESSEX. 


305 


(afterwards    Harrison    and    Lloyd)    and    Stephen    Brown   Maldon 
respectively,  Moy  having  apparently  retired.     The  former   and 
firm   disappeared   about   1868,   but  the  latter   continued   Chelms- 
till  about  1880,  when  the  silk  industry  finally  died  out  in   ford. 
Colchester. 

At  Maldon  one  John  Luard  was  in  business  as  a  silk 
manufacturer  as  early  as  1823.  In  1855,  however,  J.  Hall 
and  Son,  of  Coggeshall,  had  a  silk-throwing  mill  in  the 
town.  At  Billericay,  in  1832,  John  Henry  Machin  traded 
as  a  "silk  manufacturer  and  throwster."  No  mention 
of  him  can  be  found  earlier  or  later. 

At  Chelmsford,  Messrs.  J.  Hall  and  Son,  of  Coggeshall, 
erected  a  silk  mill  in  1859.  From  about  1868-1893,  this 
mill  was  occupied  by  Messrs.  Courtauld.  This  is  the  only 
record  that  the  industry  was  ever  carried  on  at  Chelmsford  ; 
but  in  1826,  at  Hatfield  Peverel,  a  village  lying  five  miles 
N.E.,  lived  one  Morse  South,  a  silk  manufacturer. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  London,  too,  the  silk  trade 
flourished  to  a  certain  extent  and  still  lingers.  Thus,  in 
1826,  Thomas  Huitson,  a  silk-weaver,  lived  at  Wall  End, 
East  Ham,  and  William  Thompson,  a  throwster,  at 
Stratford,  while  in  1831,  Wright  wrote  that  "some  silk 
manufactures  of  different  kinds  are  carried  on  in  several 
(Essex)  towns  towards  the  Metropolis."  In  1841  the  silk 
industry  in  all  its  branches  gave  employment  in  Essex 
to  1,582  persons  (642  males  and  940  females),  586  of  the 
total  being  under  20  years  of  age,  while  206  persons  (131 
males  and  75  females)  were  returned  as  "  weavers,"  most  Survival 
of  them  being  probably  silk  weavers.*  During  the  in 
succeeding  decade,  either  the  industry  prospered  greatly  London 
or  what  is  more  probably,  the  returns  of  vocation  were  Suburbs, 
becoming  more  accurate  ;  for  in  1851  no  fewer  than  1,746 
persons  over  twenty  years  of  age  (namely,  608  males  and 
1,138  females)  were  engaged  in  the  industry,  besides  many 
others  under  twenty  years  old.  It  is  worth  noting  that 
they  all  lived  in  five  registration  districts.  In  1861, 
when  the  silk  industry  was  at  its  highest,  the  number  of 
persons  over  twenty  years,  mainly  women,  was  over  3,000, 
and  in  1871,  just  under  that  total.  In  1881,  the  "silk 

*  Census  reports. 


306 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


goods  manufacture"   included  2,131   persons  (306  males 
and  1,825  females). 

THE  MODERN  INDUSTRY  IN  ESSEX. 

Velvets          It  has  been  stated  that  the  Essex  silk  industry  prospered 
and  until  the  year  I860,  when  the  duty  on  the  material  was 

other  removed.  Then  the  trade  gradually  waned.  The  first 
Fabrics,  branches  to  go  were  those  concerned  with  the  throwing 
and  twisting  of  silk  and  the  weaving  of  the  plainer  and 
simpler  kinds  of  silken  fabrics.  Within  two  years  the 
number  of  firms  engaged  in  the  industry  in  Essex  had 
shrunk  to  small  proportions.  To-day  the  general  trade, 
which  was  formerly  large  and  valuable,  is  lost,  and  only 
special  branches  are  maintained.  The  weaving  of  velvets 
and  similar  silken  fabrics  is  still  conducted  by  two  firms- 
Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons  and  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox  and  Co. 
The  crape  trade  (the  crimped  black  silk  gauze)  is  still 
carried  on  by  Messrs.  Courtauld' s  Ltd.  Thus  there  are 
now  in  the  county  only  three  firms  as  compared  with  over 
a  dozen  in  1860,  when  the  duty  on  silk  was  abolished. 
Two  of  these  firms  have  their  works  at  Braintree.  The 
character  of  the  crape  manufactured  by  Messrs.  Courtauld 
has  been  considerably  modified  with  the  passing  years. 
It  was  Mr.  Julien  Courtauld  who,  in  1870,  introduced  the 
characteristic  "  spot  "  into  what  is  known  as  the  "  figure  " 
of  the  material.  Since  that  time  technical  modifications 
have  been  made  in  the  manufacture  of  black  crape,  which 
is  now  always  proof  against  rain  and  of  a  more  lustrous 
appearance  than  formerly.  The  old  water  wheels  and 
turbines  have  been  superseded  almost  entirely  by  steam- 
power  and  gas-power.  The  increase  in  the  demand  for 
crape  led  in  1882  to  the  establishment  of  a  factory  at 
Earl's  Colne,  and  to  a  large  extension  of  the  Halstead  Mil] 
The  in  1895.  Fashion  has  also  altered  the  character  of  the 

effect  of  trade.  From  about  1889-1896  the  demand  for  black 
Fashion,  mourning  crape,  until  then  the  firm's  staple  product, 
showed  a  serious  shrinkage,  but  with  the  introduction 
of  new  processes  and  the  expansion  of  the  business  in  the 
direction  of  crepe  de  chine,  and  other  fabrics  for  ladies 
dresses  and  other  purposes,  the  business  again  assumed 


ESSEX.  307 

very  large  proportions.     The  output  of  these  new  coloured  The 
fabrics  ie  now  much  larger  than  that  of  the  older  black  effect  of 
mourning  crape.  Fashion. 

In  1900  a  new  department  was  created  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  very  considerable  weaving  mill,  known  as  Brook 
Mill,  at  Leigh  in  Lancashire  ;  and  in  1904  the  firm  acquired 
another  extensive  factory  at  Coventry  for  the  manufacture 
of  "  artificial  silk."  In  1904  a  new  and  larger  Company, 
with  a  nominal  share  capital  of  £500,000,  was  registered 
(£400,000  paid  up). 

The  headquarters  of  Messrs.  Courtauld's  business  in 
Essex  is  the  Booking  factory.  Here  are  received  all  raw 
material,  chiefly  from  China,  Italy  and  elsewhere.  Here 
too  come  all  the  goods  from  other  mills  to  be  dyed  and 
finished.  An  immense  quantity  of  liquid  effluent  from 
the  dye- vats  has  to  be  treated  daily  by  a  purifying  process 
before  being  allowed  to  escape  into  the  river  Blackwater. 
Extensive  new  buildings  have  been  recently  added  for 
finishing  processes.  Ultimately  the  finished  products 
are  despatched  to  the  London  warehouse,  and  thence  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  The  Braintree  mills  are  occupied  with 
winding,  spinning  and  other  preparatory  processes.  The 
Halstead  factory  is  devoted  almost  entirely  to  weaving, 
and  that  at  Earl's  Colne  is  subsidiary  to  it.  It  is  remark- 
able that  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  this  historic  firm — 
the  only  one  of  our  old  Essex  silk  firms  which  has  survived 
—has  caused  crape-making  to  remain  for  three-quarters 
of  a  century  one  of  the  most  widely  known  and  valuable 
industries  carried  on  in  Essex.  Still  more  remarkable  Foreign 
is  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  the  decline  of  the  English  silk  Trade 
trade  generally,  crape — "  crepe  Anglais  "  as  it  is  called  in 
abroad — maintains  its  position  among  English  exports,  Crape, 
and  is  sent  to  every  part  of  the  civilised  world. 

The  history  of  Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons  is  shorter, 
so  far  as  Essex  is  concerned,  but  not  less  creditable. 
Founded  in  the  year  1870  by  the  late  Mr.  Benjamin  Warner, 
it  was  carried  on  until  1892  under  the  title  of  Warner  and 
Ramm.  In  that  year  Mr.  Ramm  retired.  Mr.  Warner's 
sons,  Alfred  and  Frank,  who  had  received  their  art  and 
technical  education  in  Lyons,  were  taken  into  partnership, 


308 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


and  the  firm  became  Warner  and  Sons,  by  which  title  it  is 
still  known. 

Hand-  The  firm's  work  of  hand-loom   silk-weaving   began   in 

loom  small   workshops   in    Old    Ford,    with   its   warehouse   in 

Velvet  Aldersgate  Street ;  extensive  factories  were  afterwards 
Weaving,  built  in  Hollybush  Gardens,  Bethnal  Green,  which  were 
occupied  until  1895,  when  the  manufacture  was  transferred 
to  still  larger  factories  at  Braintree,  Essex.  Meanwhile, 
the  warehouse  was  removed  to  Newgate  Street,  where  it- 
still  remains.  In  1901  the  cottage  loom  weaving  of  hand- 
loom  velvets  was  commenced  at  Sudbury,  and  is  still 
carried  on  there,  but  by  degrees  this  branch  of  work  is 
being  concentrated  at  Braintree. 

The  work  of  the  firm  was  attended  with  success  from 
the  outset.  This  may  be  fairly  attributed  to  the  attention 
given  to  both  design  and  colour,  a  more  careful  selection  of 
suitable  counts  and  yarns,  and  an  earnest  endeavour  to  put 
English  productions  on  a  level  with  the  best  that  Lyons 
could  show.  A  special  feature  of  the  work  at  Braintree  has 
been  the  revival  of  the  manufacture  of  the  figured  velvets 
for  which  Genoa  was  once  so  famous.  Many  of  the  fabrics 
are  reproductions  of  the  best  specimens  of  16th  and  17th 
century  work,  but  some  of  the  designs  are  quite  original, 
and  a  recent  innovation  is  a  velvet  having  three  heights 
of  pile.  It  is  a  fabric  which  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
has  not  been  produced  until  now. 

The  firm  has  had  the  honour  of  weaving  many  fabrics 
of  historical  interest.  These  include  brocade  for  the 
Duchess  of  York's  (now  Queen  Mary)  wedding  dress,  the 
cloth  of  gold  for  King  Edward  VII's  Coronation  pallium, 
the  velvet  and  cloth  of  gold  for  King  George  V,  and 
Queen  Mary's  Coronation  robes,  and  the  brocades  for  the 
latter's  Coronation  dresses. 

Fabrics          The   Warner  furnishing  fabrics  have  been  extensively 

of  his-        supplied  to  Buckingham  Palace,  St.  James'  Palace,  Marl- 

toric  borough  House,    Windsor  Castle,   Holyrood,   etc.,  to  the 

interest.     Royal  yachts,   to   British  Embassies  all  over  the  world, 

and    noted    town    and    country    houses,    the  palaces    of 

Indian  princes,  and  to   customers  in   North   and   South 

America. 


Plate  XXXL 


Weaving   the   Cloth  of   Gold  for   the 
Coronation  Robes  of  King  George  V . 


ESSEX. 


309 


In  the  year   1887,  the  firm  exhibited  at  the  Jubilee  Success 
Exhibitions  at  the  People's  Palace,  London,  and  also  at  at  Inter- 
Manchester,  and  they  also  participated  in  several  of  the  national 
exhibitions  held  at  Earl's  Court,  such  as  the  Women's  Exhibi- 
Exhibition,  the  Healtheries,  etc.     The  firm's  first  serious  tions. 
participation   in   International  Exhibitions  was  at  Paris 
in  1900,  when  a  gold  medal  was  awarded.     In  1908   a  very     • 
extensive  demonstration  of  the  firm's  wide  range  of  work 
was   made   at   the   Franco-British   Exhibition.     On   that 
occasion  four  large  show  cases,  one  for  furnishing  fabrics 
in  the  decorative  arts  section,  and  the  others  in  the  textile 
section,  containing  church  silks,  dress  brocades,  and  plain 
silks,  were  installed  and  attracted  much  attention.     The 
principal  public    exhibit   of  the    firm  was    that    at    the 
Brussels  Exhibition  of  1910,  when  six  show  cases  were 
filled  with  a  great  variety  of  the  firm's  productions,  but 
the  whole  of  this  collection  was  destroyed  in  the  calamitous 
fire  in  August  of  that  year.     The  firm  participated  in  the 
British   section   which   was   reconstituted   after   the   fire, 
and  although  the  exhibit  was  on  a  smaller  scale,  it  sufficed 
to  demonstrate  the  advance  made  in  the  production  of  the 
highest   class  furnishing   fabrics.      At   Brussels   the   firm 
was  awarded   the   Grand   Prix,  and    at    Turin   in    1911, 
where   the  firm   exhibited   silks,  tapestries,    and  printed 
textiles,  four  Grand  Prix.     As  the  exhibits  of   decorative 
silks  at  Brussels  and  Turin  were  largely  the  productions  of 
Braintree,  the  following  paragraph  from  the  report  of  his 
Majesty's     Commissioners    for    those    two    International 
Exhibitions  may  perhaps  be  quoted. 

"  A   remarkable   feature    of   the    British    Decorative 
Textile  Section,  both  at  Brussels  and  Turin  was 
the  magnificent  display  of  decorative  and  furniture   Decora- 
silks,  which  was  distinguished  by  receiving  amidst   tive  and 
universal  praise  the  warmest  expression  of  admira-   Furni- 
tion  from  foreign  experts  and  manufacturers,  who   ture 
are   the   keenest    appreciators    of    skilled    artistic   Silks, 
workmanship." 

It  is  strange  that  two  special  branches  of  the  silk  industry 
—each  unrivalled  in  its  way — should  have  contrived  to 
exist  in  a  small  town  like  Braintree,  situate  in  a  purely 


310 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Success  agricultural  district,  in  spite  of  the  almost  utter  ruin  of 
at  Inter-  all  other  branches  of  this  once  flourishing  industry  every- 
national  where  else  in  Essex. 

Exhibi-  There  are  one  or  two  other  firms  to  which  reference 
tions.  may  be  made. 

In  1882  the  firm  of  John  Slater,  Son  and  Slater  (after- 
wards Slater,  Bros,  and  Co.),  of  Wood  Street,  Cheapside, 
had  a  silk-weaving  factory  which  they  had  built  in 
Plaistow,  but  in  1887  it  was  taken  over  by  Bailey,  Fox 
and  Co.  In  1900  this  firm  enlarged  the  factory  hoping 
by  means  of  increased  production  to  be  able  to  compete 
with  foreign  competition.  The  firm  also  employs  hand- 
loom  weavers  at  Coggeshall,  at  Sudbury,  and  at  Spitalfields, 
all  making  velvet  for  coat  collars  or  court  suits,  fancy  silks 
for  mufflers  and  neckties,  black  satins,  robe  silk  for 
barristers'  gowns,  tailors'  linings  and  the  like. 

Employ-  The  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  Essex  silk 
ment  industry  was  and  still  is  considerable.  Its  great  growth 
Statistics,  about  1825  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  at  the  census  of  1831, 
an  increase  of  401  persons  at  Braintree,  of  342  at  Bocking, 
of  779  at  Halstead,  and  of  192  at  Colchester,  was  attributed 
mainly  to  the  growth  of  the  silk  and  crape  manufacture, 
which  then  employed  in  Essex  "  about  500  males,  twenty 
years  of  age  (as  well  as  many  under  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  a  much  larger  number  of  females),  chiefly  at  Braintree, 
Great  and  Little  Coggeshall,  and  Bocking ;  a  few  at 
Chelmsford,  Colchester,  Haverhill  and  other  places. 

In  1891,  2,147  persons  (226  males  and  1,921  females) 
were  engaged  "in  the  silk  manufacture  (satin,  velvet 
and  ribbon),"  and  955  (84  males  and  871  females)  in  the 
crape  manufacture. 

At  the  census  of  1901,  the  silk  industry  in  Essex  gave 
employment  in  all  its  branches  to  1,850  persons  : 

Females  Females 

Males.  Unmarried.  Married. 


Spinning  processes 
Weaving        ,, 
Other 


29 
159 
149 

337 


1233 


290 


Plate  XXXII.  Figured  Velvet  Looms  at  New  Mills,  Braintree. 


ESSEX.  311 


That  the  number  of  persons  employed  did  not  fall  off  Employ- 
more  largely  between  1861  and  1891,  in  spite  of  the  dis-  ment 
appearance  during  that  period  of  most  of  the  older  branches  Statistics, 
of  our  silk  trade,  is  explained  in  part  by  improved  industrial 
classification  in  the  returns  and  in  part  by  the  growth 
of  one  branch,  crape-making. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

KENT. 

Although  there  are  now  no  remains  of  the  silk  industry 
in  Kent  except  the  printing  branches  of  the  trade  at 
Dartford  and  Crayford,  important  sections  of  the  industry 
formerly  existed  at  Sandwich,  Canterbury,  Winchelsea, 
and  elsewhere. 

The  old  town  of  Sandwich  was  indeed  in  process  of 
industrial  decay  when  the  immigration  from  the  Continent 
of  workers  in  the  paper,  silk,  woollen,  and  other  manu- 
facturers gave  it  a  new  lease  of  life.  It  was  the  workers 
in  sayes,  baize,  and  flannel,  who  established  themselves 
at  Sandwich,  this  location  at  the  mouth  of  a  haven  giving 
easy  communication  with  the  metropolis  and  other  parts 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  as  well  as  facilities  for  export 
trade  with  the  Continent.  It  appears  from  Hasted's 
History  of  the  county  that  very  few  of  the  silk  workers 
settled  in  Sandwich,  the  majority  of  them  making  their 
homes  at  Canterbury,  while  the  workers  in  thread  settled 
themselves  upon  the  river  Medway  at  Maidstone.  Other 
bodies  of  the  immigrants  came  to  the  old  town  of 
Winchelsea,  but  of  their  work  very  few  records  have  been 
preserved.  It  is  known  that  they  established  a  manu- 
factory of  cambrics,  and  that  this  business  was  carried 
on  at  Winchelsea,  sometimes  on  a  considerable  scale, 
until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  This  venture 
appears  to  have  ended  in  financial  failure,  and  the  houses 
and  workshops  in  which  it  was  carried  on  were  taken  over 
by  Messrs.  Kirkman,  Nouaille  and  Clay,  who  established 
on  that  site  a  crape  factory,  which  after  a  successful  career 
in  Winchelsea  was  transferred  to  Norwich  in  the  year 
1810.  The  buildings  in  which  the  crape  business  was 

312 


KENT. 


313 


carried  on  were  afterwards  converted  into  barracks,  and    Velvet 
some  of  them  exist  down  to  the  present  day.  Factory 

In  about  the  year  1860  an  attempt  was  made  by  Messrs,    at 
J.  R.   Lemaire  and  Sons,   of  Spital  Square,  London,  to   Dover, 
start  a  factory  at  Dover  for  the  manufacture  of  velvets 
by  hand,  but  it  was  found  that  a  military  town  was  un- 
suited  to  this  purpose. 

SILK-WEAVING  IN   CANTERBURY. 

There  are  few  more  interesting  links  with  the  early  days 
of  the  silk  industry  than  that  furnished  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  modern  Canterbury  weavers  in  the  picturesque 
old  house  on  the  banks  of  the  Stour.  This  house  contains 
the  very  rooms  where  the  Elizabethan  weavers  once 
worked,  and  is  built  on  a  spot  where  John  Callaway  had 
himself  set  up  his  looms.  A  fresh  link  with  Callaway 
was  forged  in  the  discovery  by  the  modern  workers  of  the 
process  by  which  the  original  Canterbury  muslin  was 
woven.  A  fragment  of  an  old  piece  of  this  muslin,  believed 
to  be  the  only  specimen  extant,  was  by  permission  of 
the  owner,  Mrs.  Sebastian  Evans,  carefully  dissected  and 
made  to  yield  up  its  secret.  The  result  was  that  the 
clock  was  put  back,  and  Canterbury  weavers  have  produced 
within  quite  recent  years  the  Callaway  muslin  by  the 
Callaway  process.  It  was  a  notable  achievement. 

Callaway,  the  inventor  of  the  process,  was  Master  of 
the  Silk  Weavers  towards  the  end  of  the  18th  century. 
It  will  be  interesting,  however,  to  briefly  trace  the  develop- 
ment of  silk  manufacture  in  this  district.     The  beginning 
of  the  industry  in  Canterbury,  as  indicated  above,   goes 
back  to  Elizabethan  times,   and  owes  its  establishment 
in  Kent,  like   certain   other  branches  of  textile  industry, 
to  religious  persecution  on  the  Continent.     The  story  of  Early 
the   invasion    of  England  by  the  skilled   handicraftsmen  Walloon 
who,   with   other   French    Walloons,   fled  to  this  country  Settlers. 
to  escape  the  rigorous  rule  of  Charles  V,  is  told  elsewhere. 
It  is  enough  to  point  out  here  that  it  resulted  in  the 
settlement  in  Canterbury  of  many  skilled  weavers,  who 
had   previously  practised  their  craft   in  Lille,   Turcoing, 
Nurelle,    and   elsewhere.     They   were   made   welcome   in 


314 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


the  Cathedral  City,  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  her  role  as  the 
champion  of  the  Protestant  faith,  threw  the  mantle  of  her 
protection  over  them.  The  quarter  of  the  City  now 
known  as  St.  Peter's  was  set  aside  for  the  use  of  the 
weavers  by  Elizabeth,  and  at  a  later  period  Charles  II. 
granted  the  silk-weavers  a  Charter  of  Incorporation,  which 
brought  into  existence  the  Company  of  Silk  Weavers  in 
the  City  of  Canterbury.  The  names  of  the  first  master, 
John  Six,  and  his  wardens  and  assistants  bear  testimony 
to  the  nationality  of  those  forming  the  governing  body. 
The  advance  guard  of  the  industrial  invaders  was  com- 
posed of  weavers  of  "  baizes "  and  "  sayes,"  serges, 
taffetas,  bombazines,  ribbons,  laces,  and  fringe.  The  bulk 
of  them  were  not,  as  might  be  inferred  from  the  records 
of  the  County  historians,  silk-weavers,  but  it  is  of  interest 
to  note  that  the  earliest  mention  of  silk  ware  in  the 
Burghmote  Records  occurs  in  the  year  1592-3.*  The  full 
story  of  the  Canterbury  refugees  and  their  crafts  was 
told  by  the  late  Mr.  F.  C.  Cross,  and  to  his  researches 
and  those  of  Mr.  S.  W.  Kershaw,  much  of  the  knowledge 
now  possessed  of  the  early  days  of  the  craft  is  due.  Yet 
while  these  refugees  found  a  haven  in  England,  which 
must  have  seemed  peaceful  after  many  unhappy  days 
in  their  own  country,  and  were  generally  made  welcome 
in  Kent,  they  had  to  face  the  opposition  of  the  home 
weaving  trade.  The  London  weavers  strenuously  objected 
to  the  Walloons  being  allowed  to  practise  their  trade  in 
competition  with  the  home  industry.  The  end  of  the  dispute 
was  a  compromise,  the  new  comers  having  to  submit  to  an 
edict  that  they  were  not  "  to  make  cloths  not  such  as  the 
English  make  for  the  present."  This  restriction  had  the 
effect  of  directing  the  energies  of  the  foreigners  into  some- 
what new  channels,  and  giving  an  individuality  to  their 
productions  which  they  might  not  otherwise  have  possessed. 
Apart  from  the  opposition  of  the  English  weaver,  to  whom 
the  Walloon  was  generally  superior  as  a  craftsman,  the 
new-comers  had  little  or  no  cause  for  complaint. 

*  Receyved  of  mr  maior  w°h  he  had  receyved  of  the  Strangers  and  wch  they  levyed 
amonge  theire  companye  for  defaultes  made  in  makynge  their  rasshes  and  other  wares  to 
shorte  and  contrary  to  their  orders. 

Burghmote  Records.  Chamberlain's  Accounts,  1592-3.  History  of  the  Walloon  and 
Huguenot  Church  at  Canterbury,  Francis  W.  Cross,  chap,  xvii.,  pp.  184,  185. 


Plate  XXXIII. 


The  Old  Weavers'  House,  Canterbury. 


KENT.  315 

In  addition  to  holding  a  license  from  Queen  Elizabeth,  Opposi- 
they  enjoyed  other  privileges,  and  the  Burgmote  Records  tion  of 
show  that  in  the  year  1577  an  allowance  was  granted  to  Home 
the   foreign   weavers   towards   the   maintenance   of   their  Trade, 
halls.     The  crypt  of  the  Cathedral  was  granted  to  them 
for  their  own  use,  and  some  authorities  are  of  opinion 
that    looms    were    actually    set    up    there,*    but    this    is 
extremely  doubtful,  as  there  was  no  light ;   it  is,  however, 
probable  that  they  stored  their  looms  there  for  a  time 
when  they  first  arrived  in  this  country.      At  that  period 
they   were   working   under   articles   of   agreement   which 
had    been    made    by    the    Mayor    and    magistrates    of 
Canterbury. 

These  articles  granted  to  the  immigrants  permission 
to  make  boys'  garments  and  cloth  after  the  Flanders' 
fashion,  and  a  hall  was  provided  in  which  the  garments 
could  be  viewed,  overlooked,  and  sealed.  This  hall, 
situated  in  the  Friars,  is  now  used  as  the  Unitarian  Chapel. 
The  new-comers  were  also  allowed  to  dye  their  goods, 
and  means  were  provided  in  the  shape  of  a  "  foot  poste, 
whether  with  horse  or  with  waggon,  for  to  bear  away 
and  carry  their  affaires  to  London  and  elsewhere,  to  sell 
or  cause  them  to  be  sold  without  any  hindrance,"  save 
it  may  be  assumed  the  ordinary  hazards  and  perils  of  the 
road,  which  at  that  period  were  real  enough  in  the  carriage 
of  silk  goods.  In  exchange  for  such  privileges,  the  new 
industry  in  Canterbury  had  to  submit  to  the  burden  of 
taxation.  The  sealing  of  the  goods  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  impost,  and  to  this  was  added  a  loom  tax  from  the 
records  of  which  it  would  appear  that  in  about  1582 
the  number  of  looms  set  up  in  Canterbury  was  390.  Their  A 
number  steadily  increased,  and  the  industry  for  a  period  Thou- 
at  least  attained  extraordinary  dimensions.  It  is  stated  sand 
that  in  the  early  part  of  the  17th  century  there  were  over  Looms. 
1,000  looms  at  work.  The  number  of  the  Walloon  popula- 
tion of  the  city  may  be  estimated  with  some  degree  of 
accuracy  from  the  number  of  looms  at  work,  and  it  is 
recorded  that  at  about  the  time  when  the  Company  of 

*  The  statement  is  utterly  improbable,  and  there  is  not  a  scrap  of  evidence  to  support  it  in 
the  contemporary  records  of  their  own  Church,  of  the  Cathedral,  or  of  the  City.  History  of 
the  Walloon  and  Huguenot  Church  at  Canterbury,  Francis  W.  Cross,  p.  45. 


316  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Number     Silk  Weavers  was  formed — this  Company  was  incorporated 

of  in  the  year  1676 — it  was  2,500.     The  trade  at  that  time 

Foreign      consisted  chiefly  of  the  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  rich 

Weavers,   striped  silk,  silks  wrought  with  gold  and  silver,  and  fabrics 

of  wool  mixed  with  silk.     Some  of  these  fabrics  commanded 

a  price  of  from  ten  to  twenty  shillings  the  yard.      The 

raw   material   came   from    Italy  and    Turkey,    and    the 

Canterbury  looms  not  only  executed  orders  for  the  Court, 

but  met  the  demands  of  a  large  general  trade. 

The  Canterbury  silk  trade  reached  its  high-water  mark 
towards  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  but  subsequently 
had  to  face  the  competition  of  cheaper  imported  silks 
from  Persia  and  India.  The  aid  of  Parliament  was  sought 
in  an  attempt  to  protect  the  Canterbury,  and  of  course 
other  branches  of  the  home  trade,  but  the  expedient  of 
repressive  legislation  proved  a  futile  remedy.  The  silk 
trade  of  the  Cathedral  City  was  doomed  ;  some  of  the 
weavers  removed  to  Spitalfields,  a  few  to  other  centres 
of  the  silk  trade  ;  it  is  known  that  in  the  year  1886  the 
number  of  looms  in  Canterbury  had  dwindled  to  200. 
Even  the  invention  of  John  Callaway  in  the  closing  years 
of  the  18th  century  only  temporarily  stemmed,  and  could 
not  permanently  stay  the  victory  of  imported  textile 
goods.  The  secret  of  the  Callaway  muslin  was  believed, 
until  the  modern  revival,  to  have  died  with  the  inventor. 
The  modern  chapter  is  one  of  great  interest. 

Modern          It  was  a  century  after  the  death  of  Callaway,  in  the  year 

Canter-      1896,  that  two  Canterbury  ladies,  Miss  C.  F.  C.  Phillpotts 

bury  and  Miss  K.  Holmes,  determined,   if  it  were  possible,  to 

Industry,  revive  the  silk-weaving  in  Canterbury.     In  the  city  itself, 

the  old  industry  was  only  a  tradition  ;    there  were  no 

living  links  with  those  who  had  been  engaged  in  it.     The 

houses  in  which  the   looms  had  been  set  up  remained, 

and  some  of  the  products  of  these  looms    were   in    the 

possession  of  local  families.     The  pioneers  of  the  modern 

branch   of  the  industry  were  however  both  enthusiastic 

and  painstaking  ;     they  took  lessons  at  a  weaving  school  in 

London,  and  after  a  course  of  instruction  at  the  Bradford 

Technical  College,  they  made  a  modest  start  with  three 

hand-looms,  which  were  set  up  in  a  room  in  High  Street. 


Plate  XXXIV.       The  Canterbury  Weavers'  Pattern  Book,  dated  1685. 


KENT. 


317 


Other  workers  were  obtained  and  taught,  and  gradually    Hand- 

the  modern  "  Canterbury  Weavers  "  came  into  existence,    woven 

and  won  a  certain  reputation  for  hand-woven  materials,    Fabrics. 

which  had  some  pretentions  at  least  to  artistic   design 

as  well  as  technical  accuracy.     Naturally,  such  products 

could  only  appeal  to  a  small  field.      Notwithstanding  these 

disadvantages,  progress  was  made  and  the  reopening  in  the 

year  1899  of  the  workrooms  in  the  house  on  the  banks  of 

the  Stour,  where  Callaway  himself  had  set  up  his  looms  a 

century  before,  marked  the  real  beginning  of  the  modern 

silk  trade  in  Canterbury.*    Up  to  that  time  the  output 

of  the  looms  had  been  mainly  woollen  and  dress  materials. 

Attention  was  now  directed  to  the  employment  of  silk 

for  inlaid  patterns,  and  some  notable  banner  work,  one  of 

which  depicting  the  arms  of  Canterbury,  now  hangs  in 

the  Guildhall,   was   carried  out  by  the    Weavers.      This 

banner  was  presented  to  the  City  by  Mr.  Francis  Bennett 

Goldney,  then  Mayor  and  later  Member  for  Canterbury, 

whose  artistic  knowledge  and  ever  ready  help  contributed 

in  no  small  measure  to  the  success  of  the  industry.     The 

local  authorities,  the  Corporation  and  the  Parliamentary 

representatives  of  the  city,  took  the  greatest  interest  in 

the   work,    and    the    City    Charity    Trustees    contributed 

apprentices.     The  productions  of  the  Canterbury  Weavers 

won    awards    at    several    exhibitions    for    work   in    silk 

as  well  as  other  textile  materials,  and  a  dress  was  woven 

for  the  Duchess  of  Argyle.     Her  Majesty  Queen  Mary, 

then    Princess    of    Wales,    graciously    accepted    the    first    Exhibi- 

piece  of  brocade  turned  out  from  the  looms  at  the  time    tion 

of  the  Coronation  of  King  Edward  the  Seventh,  and  wore   Awards. 

it  at  one  of  the  Coronation  functions.      It  was,  however, 

found   impossible  for  the   industry  to  establish  itself  on 

a  basis  which  would  fit  in  with  modern  conditions,  and  the 

effort  to  revive  the  silk  trade  in  Canterbury  finally  failed. 

*  Fragments  of  the  old  looms  and  quills  of  silk  were  found  under  the  floors  in  the  attics  of 
the  old  house.  A  curious  fresco  depicting  the  migration  of  the  weavers  from  Flanders  was 
also  discovered  on  the  walls  of  one  of  the  old  rooms. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES. 

In  addition  to  the  principal  centres  of  the  industry, 
the  history  and  present  position  of  which  are  dealt  with 
in  previous  chapters,  there  are  many  other  towns  and 
districts  where  branches  of  the  silk  industry  were  formerly 
in  existence,  and  in  some  of  which  indeed  these  still  persist. 
A  brief  account  of  these  various  centres  will  be  of  interest. 

SUFFOLK. 

Silk  As  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Essex,  so  in  Suffolk,  the 

Trade         early  silk  industry  was   due  to  the  initiative   of  master 
follows       weavers  in  Spitalfields.     W7hen  the  introduction  of  power- 
the  Wool,  looms   into   Yorkshire   threatened   the   hand   weavers    of 
wool  in  Suffolk  with  the  extinction  of  their  trade,  the 
Spitalfields'  weavers  took  advantage   of   the  labour   thus 
rendered  available  to  establish  branches  of  the  silk  trade. 
The  cost  of  living  in  London  had  increased,  and  an  advance 
in  wages  had  been  secured  by  the  Spitalfields  Act  of  1774. 
It    became    important,    therefore,    to    take    advantage 
of  a  situation  such  as  that  offered  in  Suffolk  through  the 
decay   of  the  woollen  industry,   and  it  was  found  that 
it  was  possible  to  offer  the  Suffolk  weaver  a  much  higher 
wage  than  he  had  ever  secured  in  the  wool  trade,  and 
ret  to  pay  only  two-thirds  of  the  piece-work   rate  fixed 
>y  the  London  justices. 

The  towns  which  profited  most  by  this  migration  of  the 
silk  industry  were  Sudbury,  Haverhill,  and  Glemsford, 
and  in  spite  of  the  fluctuations  which  have  taken  place, 
the  industry  has  persisted  down  to  the  modern  era.  At 
Mildenhall  there  was  a  flourishing  industry  in  the  early 
years  of  the  19th  century.  The  branch  established  there 

318 


Plate  XXXV. 


Cottage  Velvet  Weaving,  Sudbury,  Suffolk- 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL   CENTRES.  319 

was  an  off-shoot  of  a  Norwich  business,  and  it  lasted  for  Silk 
twenty  or  thirty  years,  but  the  exact  date  when  the  silk  Trade 
industry  died  out  at  Mildenhall  is  uncertain ;  it  was  follows 
probably  extinct  by  the  year  1855.  About  the  year  the  Wool. 
1840  the  main  centres  of  the  industry  were  certainly  at 
Sudbury  and  Haverhill.  The  number  of  looms  set  up  at 
Sudbury  was  about  600,  and  these  found  employment 
for  about  500  hands,  of  which  nearly  300  were  men  and 
80  boys.  The  work  was  mainly  the  production  of  plain 
mantels,  lutes,  and  gros  de  Naples,  the  net  earnings  for 
which  averaged  about  7s.  a  week.  There  were  about 
10  Jacquard  looms  for  the  weaving  of  figured  goods,  at 
which  the  workers  made  about  10s.  a  week,  and  about 
half-a-dozen  velvet  and  satin  looms  on  which  the  weavers 
engaged  made  12s.  a  week.  There  were  no  power-looms  ; 
the  system  was  to  set  up  a  number  of  the  hand-looms  in 
a  factory  under  the  eye  of  the  employer,  who  considered 
that  this  plan  not  only  prevented  pilfering,  but  was  a 
better  training  for  the  workers.  The  trade  was  subject 
to  great  fluctuations,  and  made  the  wages  actually 
received  less  than  the  amounts  above  quoted,  which 
could  only  be  earned  in  a  full  week,  and  the  weavers 
regarded  the  agricultural  labourer  as  being  much  better 
off  than  themselves. 

At  Haverhill  there  were  about  70  looms  engaged  in 
weaving  umbrella  and  parasol  silks  for  Mr.  Walters,  in 
London.  The  work  here  was  more  regular  than  at 
Sudbury.  A  weaver  could  make  16  yards  in  a  week, 
and  the  average  wage  for  a  full  week  when  expenses  had 
been  deducted  was  about  8s.  The  highest  numbers 
employed  in  the  silk  manufacture  in  Suffolk  were  reached 
in  the  middle  of  the  19th  century,  when  the  throwsters 
and  weavers  together  numbered  about  2,000. 

Following  the  removal  of  the  duty  on  raw  silk,  throwing  Early 
mills  were  put  at  work  in  several  Suffolk  weaving  centres.  Factory 
It  is  known  that  in  the  year  1840  there  were  three  mills,  system, 
one  steam-mill  and  two  worked  by  water-power  in  opera- 
tion  at   Hadleigh,    Glemsford    and   Hayland.     The   total 
power  represented  by  these  mills  was  quite  small — about 
9    h.p.,    and    only    young    persons    were   employed ;     of 


320 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


465  hands,  217  were  under  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  the 
remainder  were  under  nineteen.  A  few  it  is  reported 
Migra-  remained  in  the  factory  after  the  latter  age,  but  as  their 
tion  of  usefulness  did  not  increase,  their  wages  remained  at  the 
Opera-  rate  formerly  paid.  The  result  was  that  the  population 
tives  to  was  withdrawn  from  the  silk  trade  at  a  comparatively 
Lan-  early  age,  and  those  who  failed  to  find  other  employment 

cashire.      migrated  to  the  Lancashire  towns. 

At  a  later  date,  a  new  centre  of  the  industry  was 
established  at  Ipswich,  and  200  female  silk  winders 
are  shown  by  the  records  to  have  been  working  there 
in  1855.  In  1892  the  town  became  associated  with  the 
hand-loom  weaving  of  furniture  silks  by  a  firm  styled 
the  English  Silk  Weaving  Company,  Limited,  but  although 
some  beautiful  goods  were  produced,  the  venture  came 
to  an  end  ten  years  later. 

The  silk-throwing  mills  which  had  been  in  operation 

at  Hadleigh  and  Hayland  seem  to  have  ceased  working 

towards  the  end  of  the  ?60's,  a  trying  time  for  the  silk 

industry,    which   had   some   difficulty   in   adapting  itself 

to    the    new    commercial    conditions    introduced    by    the 

adoption   of  free  trade.     The  mill   at   Glemsford,   which 

was  established  in   1824,   found   occupation  in   1874  for 

Power-       over    200    hands.     Power-loom    silk    weaving    had    been 

loom  largely  introduced,  but  there  were  then  altogether  about 

Silk  1,800  hand-loom  weavers  in  Suffolk,  half  of  whom  were 

Weaving,  men  engaged  in  making  mats  and  matting,  and  the  other 

half,  mainly  women,  in  weaving  horsehair  and  silk.     That 

these  representatives  of  the  old  Suffolk  textile  industry 

(wool  and  hemp)  should  have  been  so  numerous  at  that 

period  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  tenacity  of  an  industrial 

tradition. 

MODERN  INDUSTRY. 

Glemsford  was  known  to  be  working  in  1901,  but  the 
modern  industry  in  Suffolk  centres  at  Sudbury,  with  off- 
shoots at  Haverhill.  Messrs.  Stephen  Walters  and  Sons, 
which  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  firm  manufacturing 
silk  in  Great  Britain,  have  possessed  works  in  Sudbury 
and  Haverhill  for  at  least  three  generations,  and  were 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  321 

engaged  in  the  business  of  making  umbrella  silks  from  a 
very  early  period.  At  the  present  time,  the  works  at 
Haverhill  are  entirely  confined  to  hand-loom  manufacture, 
the  character  and  conduct  of  this  branch  of  the  business 
having  been  unchanged  for  many  years.  The  main  works 
of  this  firm  are,  however,  at  Sudbury,  where  the  mills 
which  provide  employment  for  several  hundreds  of  work- 
people have  been  enlarged  three  times  during  the  past 
fifteen  years,  and  now  form  a  large  block  of  buildings. 

The  production  of  umbrella  silks  is  still  the  main  feature  of  Umbrella 
the  trade,  but  in  addition  the  works  produce  crepe  de  chine,  Silk 
spun  silk  fabrics,  silk  for  the  University  gown  trade,  Trade, 
and  for  regimentals  and  coat  linings.  An  off-shoot  of 
this  business  is  the  manufacture  by  a  special  process  of  a 
shirting,  to  which  the  name  of  "  Spunella  "  has  been  given, 
and  which  is  now  carried  on  as  a  separate  undertaking. 
The  Walters  interests  formerly  carried  on  a  business  at 
Taunton  in  Somerset,  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  for  surgical 
bandages,  but  this  business  is  now  transferred  to 
Sudbury.  On  several  occasions,  the  works  have  been 
honoured  by  Royal  visits.  While  the  business  of  Messrs. 
Stephen  Walters  and  Sons  is  the  largest  of  the  existing 
Suffolk  silk  firms,  other  firms  have  established  works  in 
the  Sudbury  district,  and  whatever  may  be  the  case  in 
other  parts  of  Suffolk,  the  industry  here  is  an  expanding  one. 
The  other  firms  include  Messrs.  Vanners  and  Fennell 
Bros.,  Ltd.,  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox  and  Co.,  the  Gainsborough 
Silk  Weaving  Co.,  Messrs.  Jones  and  Co.,  Messrs.  Brown 
and  Garrard,  and  Messrs.  Thos.  Kemp  and  Sons. 
Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons,  whose  main  factory  is  at 
Braintree,  have  for  many  years  employed  cottage  weavers 
at  Sudbury  in  the  manufacture  of  plain  silk  velvets. 

BUCKS  AND  HERTS. 

It  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century,  probably  Silk- 
about  the  year  1824,  that  a  silk-mill  was  established  at  throwing 
Tring  by  a  Mr.  William  Kay.     It  remained  in  existence  at  Tring. 
as  a  throwing-mill — at  all  events  there   is  no  record   of 
its  being  closed  down — until    the    working    was    discon- 
tinued at  the  end  of  1887,  at  which  time  it  was  in  the  hands 


322  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Silk-  of  Messrs.  David  Evans  and  Sons,  who  had  other  interests 

throwing  in  the  silk  trade.  The  mill  was  afterwards  carried  on 
at  Tring.  by  Lord  Rothschild  to  provide  employment  for  the  people 
in  the  district,  and  continued  working  under  his  control, 
for  a  period  of  about  10  years.  An  interesting  fact  in 
connection  with  the  early  history  of  the  mill  is  the  fact 
that  the  manager,  one  Robert  Nixon,  set  up  looms  at 
Aylesbury,  and  by  an  arrangement  with  the  Workhouse 
overseers,  agreed,  owing  to  the  increase  in  the  numbers 
of  paupers,  that  if  permission  were  given  to  set  up  a  mill 
on  the  Workhouse  premises,  he  would  employ  only  paupers 
chargeable  on  Aylesbury  parish.  The  original  mill  at 
Tring  was  worked  in  connection  with  the  Aylesbury 
mill.  At  the  latter  centre  40  looms  were  in  operation 
in  the  year  1830,  and  provided  work  for  many  of  the 
women  lace-hands  who  were  then  out  of  employment. 
The  Aylesbury  as  well  as  the  Tring  mill  ultimately  came 
into  the  possession  of  Messrs.  Evans,  who  introduced 
steam-power.  It  is  known  that  in  the  year  1865  there 
were  70  steam-looms  in  operation  at  the  Aylesbury  mill. 
Hand-looms  were  also  set  up  by  the  same  firm  at  a  building 
in  Akeman  Street,  Tring,  and  also  at  Waddesdon,  but 
the  business  at  the  last-named  place  was  sold  to 
Baron  Ferdinand  de  Rothschild  in  the  early  70's.  In 
the  decade  1860-1870  the  hand-looms  at  Tring  were 
employed  on  handkerchiefs,  and  the  power-looms  on 
the  production  of  China  cords  in  the  gum.  There  was 
also  a  small  mill  at  Whitchurch. 

An  old  For  over  a  century  the  silk  industry  has  been  established 

Industry    at  St.  Alban's,  where  Messrs.  J.  May  grove  &  Co.,  Ltd., 

at  St.         who    recently    absorbed    the    silk-throwing    business    of 

Albans.      Messrs.  Chas.  Woollam  and  Co.,  still  carry  on  a  thriving 

business.     The   silk   mills,    which   employ   two    or   three 

hundred    workers,    stand    upon    a    portion    of    the    old 

monastery  grounds,  and  are  situated  between  the  present 

Abbey    and    the    ancient    town    of    Verulanium.     These 

mills  are  indeed  on  the  site  of  the  old  monastic  flour  mills 

which  was  the  subject  of  dispute  between  the  monks  and 

the    townspeople    for    many    years.     Although    the    mills 

have  been  established  for  over  a  hundred  years,  a  date 


2 

a* 
8- 

X 
X 
X 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  323 

on  one  of  the  buildings  giving  the  year  1810,  they  have  An  old 
been   modernised    and    form    the    seat  of  an   expanding  Industry 
industry,    the    output    being    China,    Italian    and    Japan  at  St. 
organzines  and  trams  for  weaving,   also  flosses,   hosiery  Albans. 
silks,  two  and  three  cord  sewings,  machine  sewings  and 
twists,   and  artificial   silks  in   various   sizes  for  weaving, 
knitting  and  embroidery. 

Beginning  in  a  small  way  at  Haslemere,  Surrey,  in 
1901,  Mr.  Edmund  Hunter  has  established  at  Letchworth 
weaving  works  of  much  interest.  At  first  his  energies 
were  successfully  directed  to  the  production  of  brocades 
for  altar  frontals,  and  furniture  stuffs,  but  his  later  work 
has  been  remarkable  for  the  unique  beauty  of  the  dress 
fabrics,  particularly  those  created  for  theatrical  purposes, 
some  of  which  were  worn  in  Sir  Herbert  Tree's  most 
important  plays.  An  interesting  feature  of  Mr.  Hunter's 
work  is  the  using  of  hand-  and  power-loom  methods  in 
the  same  place,  the  former  for  the  more  elaborate 
decorative  brocades,  and  the  latter  for  plain  and  figured 
dress  goods. 

BERKSHIRE. 

Wokingham,   in   Berkshire,   was   probably   one   of   the 
earliest  homes  of  the  silk  trade  in  England,  a  branch  of 
the  industry  having  been  established  there  towards  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century.     The  manufacture  of  silk 
stockings  appears  to  have  been  the  chief  branch  of  the 
trade  practised  at  Wokingham,  and  an  interesting  side- 
light is  thrown  on  the  conditions  of  the  trade  by  some 
bye-laws  of  the  borough  which  were  put  in  force  in  the 
year  1625.     One  of  these  laws  instituted  penalties  against   Silk 
poor  people  refusing  to  work  at  silk  stocking  making,    Stocking 
and  none  were  allowed  to  set  up  the  trade  of  silk  knitting   Trade, 
unless   having   served   seven   years'  apprenticeship   to   it 
under  a  penalty  of  20s.  a  month. 

Large  numbers  of  mulberry  trees  were  planted  in  and 
near  the  town  at  different  periods,  and  some  of  these  still 
remain  as  a  link  with  the  old  industry.  The  system 
of  working  was  the  domestic  method,  women  and  children 
doing  the  knitting  at  their  own  homes.  It  is  known 


324  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Old  that    at   the   beginning    of   the   last    century   three   silk 

Trade         manufacturers  carried  on  business  in  the  town,  both  in 

condi-        spinning  and  weaving.     The  spinning  and  twisting  mill 

tions.          was  worked  by  horse-power,  and  the  records  indicate  that 

there   were   432   spindles   in   operation;   in   the   weaving 

mills  the  output  appears  to  have  been  chiefly  hat  bands, 

ribbons,  watch  strings,  shoe  strings,  sarsnets  and  figured 

gauzes.     The  few  men  who  were  employed  earned  about 

30s.  a  week,  but  the  operatives  were  chiefly  women  and 

children,  the  women  earning  from  8s.  to  10s.  a  week,  and 

the  children  5s.     The  looms  were  in  existence  up  to  about 

the  year  1850,  and  it  was  possible  not  many  years  ago  to 

find  among  the  old  residents  some  who  could  remember 

a   colony   of   silk   handkerchief  weavers   in   Rose  Street, 

Wokingham. 

Reading        At  Reading,  silk-weaving  was  practised  as  early  as  1640, 
and  and  up  to  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  the  industry 

adjoining  was  still  flourishing,  and  indeed  a  London  manufacturer 
Towns.  established  a  branch  business  in  the  town.  This  caused 
trouble  with  the  journeymen  silk-weavers  of  Spitalfields, 
who  were  successful  in  an  action  they  brought  against 
the  London  manufacturer.  A  few  years  later,  however, 
several  London  firms  appeared  to  have  established  works 
at  Reading.  One  of  these  firms  was  that  of  Williams  and 
Simpson,  who  commenced  the  manufacture  of  ribbons  in 
the  Oracle,  and  Thomas  Simmons,  who  had  an  establish- 
ment in  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  also  owned  a  mill  in 
Minster  Street,  Reading.  At  this  period  figured  silk 
dress  materials  were  being  manufactured  in  the  Oracle  ; 
shag  or  rough  silk  in  East  Street  by  Matthew  Green,  and 
works  were  also  in  existence  in  the  Abbey  buildings, 
these  being  in  the  ownership  of  Messrs.  Reynolds  and 
McFarlane. 

At  Twyford,  near  Reading,  the  Billings,  of  Macclesfield, 
carried  on  silk-throwing.  George  Billing,  who  died  in 
1885,  appears  to  have  been  the  last  of  the  silk  manufacturers 
here.  At  Newbury  and  Thatcham  small  silk  works  were 
once  in  operation,  and  silk-throwing  was  carried  on  by  one 
Charles  Lewes  and  by  Thomas  Hibell  at  Greenham,  a 
suburb  of  Newbury. 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  325 

Until  a  few  years  ago  there  were  still  to  be  found  living  Reading 
at  Kirkbury  persons  who  had  worked  in  the  small  silk  and 
factory  which  was  established  by  Jonathan  Tanner,  and  adjoining 
which    continued    in    operation    until    the    1840's.     The  Towns, 
recollections  of  these  old  employees  were  not   altogether 
pleasant.     They  appeared  to  have  worked  about  13  hours 
a  day  for  six  days  a  week,  and  to  have  received  Is.  in 
money  and  frequent  thrashings  with  a  leather  strap  from 
the  overseer. 


OXFORDSHIRE. 

The  silk  industry  at  Oxford  is  first  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Plot  in  1677,  when  he  records  that  silk  stockings  were 
woven  at  Oxford.  The  industry  was  also  carried  on  at 
Henley-on-Thames.  In  1823  two  silk  factors  owned  works 
in  this  town  :  Messrs.  Barbel  and  Benzeoitte  in  Friday 
Street,  and  Mr.  G.  Skelton  in  Mann  Lane.  As  late  as 
1856  Henley  transacted  a  certain  amount  of  business  in 
silk.  For  several  years  previous  to  this  date  a  silk  wind- 
ing mill  had  stood  in  Phyllis  Court  Lane.  The  silk  was 
sent  from  London,  and  wound  by  women  and  girls,  but  the 
factory  could  only  have  been  on  a  very  small  scale,  as 
the  total  weekly  wages  amounted  to  no  more  than  between 
£30  and  £40. 

The    modern    industry    is    represented    by    the    old-  Plush 
established  firm  of  Messrs.    W.    Wrench  and  Co.,  whose  manu- 
plush   mills   at   Shutford,   near   Banbury,    are   also   used  facture  at 
for  the  manufacture  of  mohair  and  other  velvets.  Banbury. 


NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 

It  seems  probable  that  silk-weaving  was  in  progress 
in  Northampton  even  in  the  18th  century.  In  the  year 
1783  there  is  known  to  have  been  a  weaver  named  Trokman. 
It  is  also  certain  that  20  years  before  that  time  there 
was  a  considerable  silk  manufacture  at  Towcester.  About 
the  year  1820  silk-weaving  was  introduced  from  Coventry 
to  Desborough.  At  first  the  workmen  walked  from 
Coventry  to  Desborough  and  back  again  to  Coventry, 


326 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Silk  the      but  small  manufactories  were  soon  started,  and  afterwards 

staple         larger    ones    were    built    at    Kettering,    Rothwell    and 

trade  of     Desborough,  most  of  which  are  now  used  as  shoe  factories. 

three          The  weaving  was  done  on  the  old  hand-loom,  and  despite 

Towns.       the  erection  of  the  factories,  many  of  the  workmen  kept 

looms  in  their  own  houses,  using  the  Jacquard  loom  for 

ornamented    silks    and    velvets.     The    various    kinds    of 

articles  woven  in  silk  were  coloured  silk  plushes,  black 

plushes  for  silk  hats,  plain  and  coloured  silks,  black  and 

coloured  velvets,  figured  velvets,  plain  and  figured  satins. 

This  industry  found  employment  for  a  large   number  of 

hands  in  the  three  towns  mentioned,  forming  their  staple 

trade ;   but  owing  to  the  keen  competition  of  the  French, 

silk-weaving  gradually  declined  until  it  ceased  about  the 

year  1868. 


GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 

Gloucestershire,  owing  to  the  large  water  power  avail- 
able,   possesses    natural    advantages    which    made   it    an 
early  seat  of  the  textile  industries.     It  is  clear  that  silk 
must  have  been  used  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  local 
textile  industry   for   embroidery,   but   weaving  probably 
dates  from  the  arrival  of  French  refugees.     It  is  known 
that  the  weaving  of  silk  was  being  practised  at  Gloucester 
in  the  year   1637,   and  two  silk-throwing  mills  were  in 
Famous     operation    at    Chipping    Campden    and    Blockley    at    the 
for  Silk      beginning  of  the   18th  century.     This   district  was    long 
Stockings,  famous  for  silk  stockings.     Silk-throwing  was  also  practised 
at  Frokesbury  up  to  about  1870,  in  which  year  the  last 
remaining     firm,     Iliffe's,     removed     their     business     to 
Coventry. 

The  most  important  centre  of  the  Gloucestershire  silk 
industry  was,  however,  in  the  Stroud  Valley,  where  at 
one  period  nearly  1,000  persons  were  employed  in  about 
a  dozen  mills.  At  Tewkesbury,  where  the  stocking  trade 
flourished  for  a  long  period,  there  were  at  one  time  800 
frames  in  operation,  and  the  industry  gave  employment 
to  about  1,500  persons.  The  last  link  with  the  old  silk 
industry  in  this  county  is  the  Langford  mill  at  Kingswood, 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  327 

where  some  200  persons  are  employed  in  throwing  silk 
for  braid  and  fishing  lines. 

WORCESTERSHIRE. 

The  industry  was  established  in   Worcestershire  at  a   An  old 
very  early  date,  and  indeed  there  are  traces  of  silk  manu-    Seat 
facture  in  the  county  even  before  the  revocation  of  the    of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes.     Local  records  show  that  in  the  year   Industry. 
1692   Edward   Beardmore,    a   silk   weaver   of    Worcester, 
was  in  arms  for  Charles  I.     It  is  stated  of  the  same  person 
that  owing  to  the  depression  in  the  silk  trade  caused  by 
the  war,  he  applied  for  a  beadsman's  place  in  Worcester 
Cathedral. 

After  the  influx  of  foreign  refugees,  both  Blockley  and 
Kidderminster  were  centres  of  a  considerable  manufacture 
of  silken  fabrics.  At  the  former  place,  following  the 
opening  of  mills  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
some  hundreds  of  workers  were  engaged  in  the  industry. 
The  builder  of  the  first  mill  appears  to  have  been  one 
Henry  Whatcot,  who  died  in  the  year  1718.  The  situation 
of  the  town  was  favourable  for  the  establishment  of  the 
industry  owing  to  the  excellent  water-power  available 
and  as  early  as  1825  eight  mills  were  in  operation.  The 
modern  industry  thus  established  was  employed  in  silk- 
throwing  for  the  Coventry  ribbon  industry,  and  indeed 
depended  to  a  considerable  extent  on  the  state  of 
Coventry  trade.  The  French  Republic,  following  the  Con- 
war  with  Germany,  abandoned  the  reciprocity  treaty,  nection 
and  both  Coventry  and  Blockley  lost  trade.  The  with 
industry  at  Blockley  is  now  extinct.  Coventry 

At  Kidderminster,  with  the  decline  of  the  clothing  trade,  Ribbon 
long  established  at  that  centre,  the  manufacture  of  mixed  Industry, 
stuffs   of   worsted  and  silk  under   the  name  of  Spanish 
poplins  as  well  as  Irish  poplins  and  crape  was  introduced. 
In  the  year  1755  the  manufacture  of  figured  and  flowered 
silks  was  in  progress,  and  it  is  recorded  that  in  the  year 
1772  no  fewer  than  1,700  silk  and  worsted  looms  were  at 
work,  but  the  trade  gradually  declined,  one  reason  being 
that   silk,  as   well  as  bombazines,  which  were  originally 
sent    to    Norwich    to    be    finished,    were    subsequently 


328 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Ribbons     manufactured  in  the  Norfolk  centre,  with  the  result  that  in 

and  course  of  time  the  whole  of  the  business  was  transferred 

Buttons,    to  Norwich.     There  were  small  silk  industries  established 

in  other  parts  of  the  county,  including  a  ribbon  factory 

at    Evesham,    and    recently    a   factory   was    working    at 

Bromsgrove  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  silk 

florentine  buttons. 

SURREY. 

It  would  not  appear  that  silk-weaving  ever  obtained 
any  great  or  continued  hold  in  Surrey,  comparable  to  the 
development  which  took  place  in  other  home  counties. 
The  earliest  records  relate  to  that  section  of  Surrey  nearest 
to  London.  It  is  known  that  at  the  end  of  the  16th 
century  there  was  a  small  colony  of  aliens  in  Southwark 
and  the  adjoining  district  engaged  in  silk-weaving,  and 
references  may  be  found  in  some  local  records  to 
the  occupations  then  being  carried  on  by  silk  winders, 
throwsters,  twisters,  and  dyers.  The  Lord  Mayor's  returns 
of  foreigners  residing  in  the  City  Wards,  made  both  in 
May  and  November,  1571,  show  the  existence  of  several 
silk  weavers  in  various  Southwark  parishes.  They  were 
principally  settled  in  St.  Olave's  parish,  where,  in  May, 
there  appeared  to  have  been  13  Dutchmen,  one  Burgundian, 
and  one  Frenchman,  all  silk  weavers,  besides  a  Dutch  silk 
thrower.  In  the  same  parish  in  November  there  would 
appear  to  have  been  11  Dutch  silk  weavers  and  one  French, 
in  addition  to  a  silk  thrower  and  a  silk  winder,  both  Dutch. 
In  other  parishes  the  number  of  aliens  engaged  in  silk 
manufacture  was  smaller.  In  St.  Saviour's  there  was 
one  in  each  return,  in  St.  Thomas'  three  in  May  and  five 
in  November ;  in  St.  George's  in  November  there  were 
six  returned,  three  Dutch  and  three  French. 

Alien  So  far  as  the  two  lists  of  1582  and  1583  show,  there 

Colony       was  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  number  of  foreign  silk 

in  South-    weavers  in  Southwark.     Only  eleven  aliens  appear  in  the 

wark.          former  for  the  whole  ward  of  Bridge  Without,  while  in 

1583  there  were  returned  seven  silk  weavers,  one  Dutch 

and  six  French  in  St.  Thomas',  and  two  Dutch  weavers 

in  St.  George's.     There  is  also  in  the  list  a  French  silk 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  329 

twister  in  St.  Thomas'.     No  alien  is  given  as  connected  Alien 
with  any  of  the  various  silk  industries  in  either  the  parish  Colony 
of  St.  Olave  or  that  of  St.  Saviour,  but  it  should  be  noted  in  South- 
that  to  a  considerable  number  of  the  aliens  appearing  in  wark. 
these  lists  no  trade  has  been  assigned,  and  from  another 
source  it  would  seem  that  there  were  13  persons  practising 
the  trade  of  silk-weaving  in  St.  Olave's  in  1571,  as  well 
as  five  in  St.  Thomas's. 

The  interesting  lists  of  1618,  however,  show  a  large 
increase  in  these  numbers  in  that  year.  Only  two  silk 
weavers  are  given  as  living  in  St.  Saviour's  parish  and 
three  only  in  St.  George's,  but  in  St.  Thomas's  there  are 
thirteen,  and  in  St.  Olave's  no  less  than  nineteen,  and 
four  others  are  described  as  silk  winders.  In  Bermondsey 
also  seven  silk  weavers  are  returned.  These  seem  to  have 
been  principally  of  Dutch  or  Flemish  nationality,  but  a 
few  were  French  or  Germans,  and  two  weavers  and  one 
winder  were  Spaniards.  In  addition  to  these  there  were 
in  Southwark  a  considerable  number  of  ^aliens  of  various 
nationalities  engaged  in  the  weaving  of  the  special  kinds 
of  silken  fabrics  known  as  taffetas  or  tuft-taffeties.  Of 
these  there  were  four  in  St.  Thomas's  parish,  twelve  in 
St.  Olave's,  and  one  dwelling  within  the  liberty  of  the 
Clink.  Throughout  the  period  under  consideration  the 
foreign  silk  industry  in  and  about  London  seems  to 
have  been  chiefly  established  within  the  Ward  of 
Bishopsgate. 

The  modem  silk  industry  of  Surrey,  although  small  in  Associa- 
extent,  is  important  from  the  fact  that  William  Morris  tion 
established  at  Merton  Abbey  in  the  year  1881  the  weaving  with 
of  plain  and  figured  silks,  for  which,  amongst  other  artistic  William 
handicrafts,  he  is  so  justly  famous.     His  work  and  also  Morris, 
the  industry   at  Haslemere   are  fully   dealt  with  in  the 
chapter  on  "  Arts  and  Crafts." 


HAMPSHIRE. 

The  evidence  for  the  existence  of  silk-weaving  as  an 
organised  industry  in  Winchester  in  the  Middle  Ages 
is  slight.  The  "  Cericatires  "  of  the  15th  century  Corpus 


330 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Christ!  procession  may,  however,  have  been  silk  workers. 
In  the  year  1671  there  is  a  definite  record  of  a  lad  being 
apprenticed  to  John   Wally,  silk  weaver.     The  first  silk 
factory  on  a  large  scale  would  seem  to  have  been  that  of 
a  Mr.   Skenton's,   who  was  in  business  in  1792.     At  his 
original  works  the  drums  were  turned  by  men,  but  at  a 
new  factory  erected  near  the  Abbey  Mill  water-power  was 
Light         utilised.     In  1813  the  old  cloth  manufacture  of  Winchester 
Silk  was  completely  gone,  and  the  manufacture  of  light  silk 

fabrics        fabrics  and  velvets  was  then  and  had  been  for  some  years 
and  the  chief  industry  of  the  town.     The  raw  silk  was  imported 

Velvets,  from  Bengal  and  Italy  in  thread,  and  in  the  early  years 
of  the  19th  century  one  house  alone  in  the  city 
employed  300  hands  in  preparing  and  winding  the  silk, 
child  labour  being  largely  used.  The  scarcity  and  dear- 
ness  of  the  raw  material  were,  however,  already  affecting 
the  trade,  and  by  1840  silk-spinning  was  extinct  in  the 
city. 

At  Southampton  the  trade  had  long  been  established, 
but  had  much  declined  by  the  18th  century,  though  a 
slight  amount  of  silk-weaving  was  carried  on  by  French 
refugees.  In  Whitchurch,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
the  chief  industry  was  silk-weaving,  and  in  recent  years 
Mr.  James  Hide  carried  on  here  the  trade  of  which  he 
was  the  only  representative  in  the  county.  There  was 
also  a  mill  at  Overton  in  the  early  years  of  the  19th  century. 
In  1840  it  still  furnished  employment  in  silk-throwing 
to  most  of  the  women  of  the  town.  To-day  the  industry 
would  appear  to  be  extinct. 

Trade  There  were  other  centres  of  the  Hampshire  silk  trade, 

with  In  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century,  bombazines  made 

America,  at  Alton  and  in  the  surrounding  districts  were  sent  to 
London  to  be  dyed  and  dressed.  Tabyrean,  a  fabric 
of  silk  and  worsted  especially  adapted  for  the  American 
market,  was  manufactured  in  considerable  quantities  here 
at  one  time,  and  generally  sent  to  Philadelphia.  Gradually 
the  American  trade  of  Alton  failed,  the  manufacture  of 
bombazines  was  discontinued,  and  the  textile  trade  of  the 
town  was  then  mainly  confined  to  the  making  of  hop- 
bagging. 


Plate  XXXVIL 


Old  Silk  Mill  Malmesbury. 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  331 

WILTSHIRE. 

The  textile  industry  of  Wiltshire,  although  now  non-  Silk 
existent,  at  least  as  far  as  the  silk  branch  is  concerned,  Mills  at 
except  at  Malmesbury,  was  established  in  various  centres  in  Malmes- 
the  county  at  a  very  early  date.     At  Malmesbury  weaving  bury, 
appears  to  have  been  introduced  by  a  Mr.  Stumpe  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII,  and  the  factory  in  which  the  business 
was  carried  on  is  believed  to  have  been  on  or  near  the  site 
where  the  modern  silk  mills  have  for  some  years  past 
found  employment  for  a  large  number  of  women  and  girls. 

Leland  appears  to  have  been  the  earliest  author  who 
made  any  record  with  regard  to  the  textile  industry  of  the 
town.  He  states  that  when  he  visited  Malmesbury 
towards  the  middle  of  the  16th  century,  every  corner 
of  the  vast  houses  of  office  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Abbey  were  full  of  looms  to  weave  cloth  in,  and  also  that 
it  was  intended  to  make  special  streets  for  clothiers  in 
the  vacant  grounds  of  the  Abbey.  The  magnitude  of 
the  industry  may  be  gathered  from  the  statement  quoted 
in  Moffats'  and  Birds'  Histories  of  Malmesbury,  that 
about  3,000  cloths  were  made  annually.  The  historian 
Camden  also  refers  to  the  good  repute  in  which  Malmesbury 
stood  on  account  of  the  clothing  trade  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  Further  evidence  of  the  connection 
of  Malmesbury  with  this  trade  is  given  by  a  deed  bearing 
the  date  1664,  executed  by  a  Mr.  Grayle,  who  is  described 
as  a  clothier,  making  a  donation  to  the  poor  of  Malmesbury. 
In  the  King  William  Charter,  reference  is  made  to  the 
fact  that  the  borough  was  then  inhabited  by  burgesses 
largely  carrying  on  the  clothing  trade.  It  seems  quite 
probable  that  the  manufacture  of  silk  as  well  as  of  other 
textile  goods  was  carried  on  in  the  17th  century,  as  in  the 
Parish  Register  is  found  the  following  entry  :— 

"  February  26th,   1687.— Robert  James,   of  Malmes-  The 
burie,  silk  weaver,  was  then  declared  in  the  Abbey  Clothing 
Church,   to  be  the  parish  clerk  of  Malmesburie,  Trade, 
upon  the  death  of  Nathaniel  Speak,  broad  cloth 
weaver,  and  late  parish  clerk." 

The  trade,  however,  declined  and  was  almost  extinct 
when  in  the  closing  years  of  the  18th  century  Mr.  Hill, 


332 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Ladies' 

Dress 

Goods. 


Velvet- 
weaving 
at  Salis- 
bury. 


a  Bradford  manufacturer,  made  what  appears  to  have 
been  a  successful  attempt  to  revive  the  cloth  trade.  The 
two  large  mills  which  he  built  and  which  he  and  his 
successor,  Mr.  Salter,  of  Chippenham,  carried  on  for  a  time 
with  great  success,  were  afterwards  purchased  by  a  Mr. 
Lewis,  a  silk  manufacturer  of  Derby,  who  employed  the 
mills  for  purposes  of  silk-throwing  and  ribbon-weaving. 
He  appears  to  have  remained  in  business  at  Malmesbury 
until  the  year  1869,  when  he  disposed  of  the  mills  to 
another  Derby  firm  of  silk  manufacturers,  Messrs.  Daven- 
port and  Son,  who  installed  modern  machinery  and  carried 
on  a  silk  ribbon  trade,  which  provided  employment  for 
about  400  hands.  Some  twenty  years  later  the  mills 
passed  into  the  possession  of  a  Mr.  Jupe,  who  was  engaged 
in  silk-spinning  and  throwing,  and  who  for  some  years 
carried  out  a  contract  for  the  Admiralty  for  the  black 
silk  squares  for  the  Navy.  The  mills  were  subsequently 
closed  for  about  fifteen  years,  until  they  were  purchased 
by  Messrs.  Shuttleworth  Ltd.,  who  installed  modern 
machinery  for  the  production  of  ladies'  dress  materials. 
To  Messrs.  Shuttleworth  succeeded  the  Avon  Silk  Mills 
Company,  who  are  now  keeping  the  mills  in  operation, 
and  giving  employment  to  a  considerable  number  of  hands. 
They  have  improved  the  machinery  equipment,  and  are 
weaving  a  variety  of  silk  goods  mostly  for  dress 
purposes. 

Another  branch  of  the  silk  industry  was  established 
at  Salisbury,  and  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
silk  velvet.  The  name  of  the  firm  which  carried  on  this 
business  was  Senechal's,  and  the  mill  is  stated  to  have 
closed  down  for  want  of  workmen  in  about  the  year  1825, 
the  site  now  being  covered  by  what  is  known  as  51  Castle 
Street  and  Brown's  Almshouses.  It  is  interesting  to 
record  that  when  the  mill  was  closed,  Mr.  Senechal  divided 
a  roll  of  crimson  velvet  among  his  workwomen.  The  writer 
of  the  Festival  Book  of  Salisbury,  Mr.  Frank  Stevens, 
records  the  fact  that  an  almswoman,  who  received  her 
share  when  a  girl  in  this  distribution,  gave  him  some 
velvet  rosettes  which  in  later  years  she  made  for  her 
children's  hats  from  what  must  have  been  one  of  the 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  333 

last  pieces  of  velvet  made  in  Salisbury.     It  seems  probable  Velvet 
that    at    various    times    workers    had    been    brought    to  Weaving 
Salisbury  from   Coventry,  for  when  Senechal's  mill  was  at  Salis- 
demolished,   several   Coventry  trade  tokens  were  found,  bury. 
Previously  to  this  branch  of  the  silk  trade,  a  very  important 
woollen  industry  was  carried  on  in  Salisbury,  and  it  is 
easy  to  understand  how  wool  took  a  premier  place  among 
the  industries  of  the  city,  situated  as  it  is  in  the  midst 
of  the   Wiltshire  plain  and  down  lands,   which  provide 
pasturage  for  the  sheep. 

Other  centres  in  Wiltshire  where  the  silk  trade  was 
formerly  carried  on  were  Chippenham,  from  which  town 
Mr.  Salter  migrated  to  Malmesbury  and  Warminster,  Devizes, 
and  probably  Newbury,  and  these  industries  were  existing 
in  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century. 

DORSET. 

The  silk  industry  of  Dorset  in  the  past  was  mainly  Long 
concerned   with  the   throwing   of   silk   rather  than   with  reign  of 
manufacturing  processes,  and  was  carried  on  at  Sherborne  Will- 
for  a  long  period.     The  historian  Hutchins  records  the  mott's. 
establishment  of  the  throwing  industry  in  the  year  1740, 
but  it  would  seem  that  at  an  even  earlier  period  than 
this  band  strings,  that  is,  laces  or  ribbons  which  were 
used  for  fastening  bands  worn  round  the  neck,  were  manu- 
factured at  Blandford.     Cranborne  had  also  an  association 
with  the   weaving   industry,   but   by    the  year  1833   all 
sections     of     the     textile      trades      except      silk      had 
ceased. 

Silk-throwing  at  Sherborne*  appears  to  have  been 
commenced  in  1740  by  one  Thomas  Sharrer  at  East  Mill 
(now  pulled  down),  but  the  mill  was  soon  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  ownership  of  William  Willmott,  who 
quickly  built  up  a  very  good  business.  The  trade  increased 
indeed  to  an  extent  which  called  for  the  erection  of  two 
other  mills  in  Sherborne.  In  the  year  1780  the  number 
of  hands  employed  had  increased  to  800,  but  this  total 
included  winders  who  were  out-workers  scattered  in  the 

*  Information  on  trade  of  Sherborne  furnished  by  Mr.  E.  Arnold  Wright. 


334 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Long  surrounding  villages,  each  village  having  its  Silk  House, 
reign  of  from  which  the  silk  was  handed  out  to  and  received  back 
Will-  from  the  winders.  Although  it  is  out  of  chronological 
mott's.  order,  it  may  here  be  pointed  out  that  the  number  of 
workers  had  declined  to  600  in  1826,  and  to  150  in  1831, 
by  which  year  the  number  of  spindles  in  operation  had 
decreased  from  8,000  to  3,000.  It  should  also  be  men- 
tioned that  the  cottage  branch  of  the  industry  was  carried 
on  in  many  instances  in  conjunction  with  agricultural 
pursuits.  In  the  year  1770  William  Willmott  appears 
to  have  been  totally  engaged  in  throwing  silk  on  com- 
mission for  two  London  firms,  the  classes  of  silk  being 
China,  Italian,  Persian,  Antioch,  Murcia,  Brutia,  and 
Calabria,  and  Willmott  had  a  standard  price  of  3s.  for 
every  pound  of  silk  he  worked.  The  silk  was  all  carried 
down  from  London  by  wagon  first  in  bales,  but  later 
in  baskets,  this  having  been  found  the  more  satisfactory 
method.  The  average  wage  of  the  workers  appears  to 
have  been  about  4s.  6d.  per  week. 

Fluctua-  The  mills  were  all  driven  by  water-wheels,  but  Willmott 
tions  in  had  great  trouble  owing  to  scarcity  of  water.  In  the 
Sher-  year  1781  there  was  no  rain  for  four  months,  which  caused 
borne  the  river  to  dry  up  completely,  and  in  order  to  carry  on 
Trade.  his  operations  Willmott  tried  to  persuade  Lord  Digby 
to  allow  him  to  take  water  out  of  the  lake  in  front  of 
Sherborne  Castle,  this  lake  being  the  source  of  the  river. 
Lord  Digby,  however,  refused  to  grant  this  request,  but 
Willmott,  rather  than  let  his  hands  remain  idle,  bribed 
the  sluice  keeper,  who  allowed  a  big  head  of  water  to  run 
down  into  the  river.  This,  however,  only  afforded  tem- 
porary relief,  and  in  the  end  Willmott  had  four  horse 
engines  installed,  the  remains  of  which  can  be  seen  to  this 
day.  In  some  of  the  years  between  1770  and  1780  trade 
was  depressed,  and  it  is  on  record  that  in  the  year  1773 
Willmott  'wrote  to  his  patrons  asking  for  silk,  as  his 
employees  were  starving,  and  he  was  distributing  loaves 
of  barley  bread  to  keep  them  alive.  In  asking  for  silk, 
he  offered  to  work  up  "  Any  silks,  long  or  short  reeled, 
for  singles,  tram  or  Balladina  for  sizes,  but  declined  to 
accept  Bengal,  as  being  too  troublesome."  His  charge 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  335 

for  throwing  China  two  or  three  thread  tram  and  knittings  Fluctua- 
was  3s.  6d.  per  Ib.     He  lost  a  lot  of  his  workpeople  during  tions  in 
this  period,  but  towards  the  end  of  1773  his  mills  were  Sher- 
active   again,    with   silk   for   the   sewing   trade.     In   the  borne 
following  year  he  bought  the  whole   of  the  machinery  Trade, 
belonging  to   Mr.  George   Ward,  of   Stalbridge,  and   also 
rented  the  Silk  House  at  that  place  from  him.     In  Novem- 
ber, 1774,  Willmott  also  bought  the  whole  of  the  plant  of 
Messrs.    Fooks   and    Webb,    probably   of   Carne,    for   the 
sum  of  £135,  and  his  ambition  at  this  time  was  to  raise 
his  output  to  500  Ibs.  of  silk  per  week. 

Evidence  is  furnished  by  a  letter  written  by  Willmott 
to  Messrs.  Phillips  and  Co.,  on  July  15th,  1776,  that  there 
was  at  that  time  a  Company  of  Silk  Throwsters  in  existence. 
The  letter  reads  as  follows : — "  I  have  been  in  long 
expectation  in  hopes  of  hearing  something  relating  to 
the  Company  of  Silk  Throwers ;  whether  they  have 
any  intention  of  putting  in  force  the  Act  of  Parliament 
to  those  who  have  not  served  regular  apprenticeship  to 
the  trade,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  think  it  impertinent 
in  me  being  desirous  to  know,  as  I  would  wish  to  take  up 
my  freedom  if  the  Company  would  permit  me." 

In  this  year   Willmott  experienced  a  set-back,   owing 
to  the  presence  of  an  opposition  mill  in  Sherborne,  which 
was   started   by   a    Mr.    Cruttwell   and   a   Mr.    Hickling. 
Cruttwell  had  had  to  give  up  mills  at  Oakingham  owing 
to   trouble   with   the   workpeople    over   the   employment 
of  workhouse  labour.     The  rival  firm  took  a  great  many  Work- 
of  Willmott's  hands  away  from  him,   and  as  a  remedy  house 
Willmott  raised  his  scale  of  wages,  and  also  bid  a  high  Child 
price  for  the  local  workhouse  child  labour.     These  steps  Labour, 
did  not  apparently  prove  successful,  for  at  the  beginning 
of  1777  Willmott   had  all  his  three  mills   standing  idle. 
In    March    of    this    year,    however,    the    partnership    of 
Cruttwell    and    Hickling    was    dissolved,    but    Cruttwell 
continued  the  business,  the  Oakingham  mills  being  sold 
to  a  Mr.    Winstanley,   of  London.     A  few  months  later 
Willmott's  workpeople  wished  to  return  to  him,  owing  to 
dissatisfaction  with  their  new  masters,   and  in  October, 
1778,    Cruttwell   failed   in   business    during   a   period    of 


336  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

depressed  trade,   but  his  factory  was  let  to  a  Mr.   and 
Mrs.  Smout,  who  had  been  managers  for  him. 

In  the  year  1779  Thomas  Willmott  was  born,  and  he 
in  later  years  succeeded  to  his  father's  business.  His 
father,  however,  carried  on  the  business  until  his  death 
in  1787,  and  his  wife  continued  it  until  Thomas  Willmott 
was  old  enough  to  take  charge.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  some  years  before  his  death,  in  the  year  1781,  William 
Willmott  was  throwing  and  winding  mohair  for  a  button 
Modern  maker  at  Sherborne.  It  is  recorded  that  in  the  year 
Weaving  1800  lamps  were  first  used  instead  of  candles  for  lighting 
Industry,  the  Sherborne  mills.  In  1836  new  mills  were  started  by 
J.  P.  Willmott,  who  did  a  big  trade,  and  made  the  business 
a  very  sound  concern,  and  in  1845  another  new  factory 
was  erected  and  steam  used  for  power  purposes.  At  a 
still  later  date  weaving  was  established  at  Sherborne. 
The  Willmott  business  has  been  continued  down  to  the 
present  day,  first  by  the  sons  of  J.  P.  Willmott,  and  then 
by  J.  and  R.  Willmott  Limited,  who  were  silk  weavers, 
the  goods  made  being  principally  plain  dress  taffetas, 
checks  and  stripes.  It  was  in  the  year  1907  that 
Messrs.  A.  R.  Wright  and  Co.,  of  Bingley,  purchased  the 
factory  at  West  Mills,  and  installed  new  engines  and 
machinery,  and  made  it  a  branch  weaving  mill  of  their 
Bingley  headquarters.  They  now  employ  at  Sherborne 
about  100  hands,  who  are  engaged  in  winding,  warping, 
and  weaving  plain  and  fancy  silks  and  satins,  etc. 

The  silk  industry  was  carried  on  at  other  places  than 

Sherborne.     One   of   these   places   was   Gillingham,*   and 

Thomas  Sharrer,  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Sharrer  who 

established    the    Sherborne    mills    in    1740,    endeavoured 

to  buy  the  Gillingham  mills  in  the  year  1777.     The  mill 

at  GiUingham  was  established  in  1766  by  a  Mr.  Stephens, 

Silk  whose  great  grandson  is  now  living  at  Gillingham,  and  the 

Throwing  industry  remained  in  existence  at  Gillingham  until  about 

at  1890.     Mr.     Stephens     and     his     forefathers     were    silk 

Gilling-      throwsters,  and  at  one  time  employed  about  160  persons, 

ham.  as  well  as  cottage  workers  in  the  neighbouring  villages. 

At  first  Italian  silk  was  manipulated,  but  in  later  years 

*  Facts  on  the  Gillingham  industry  supplied  by  Canon  C.  H.  Mayo. 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  337 

China  silk  took  its  place.  The  mill  at  Gillingham  is  now 
a  grist  mill.  There  was  another  mill  at  Gillingham,  which 
belonged  to  Messrs.  Charles  Jupe  and  Sons,  who  also 
owned  mills  at  Mere,  Wiltshire,  at  Crockerton,  and  at 
Warminster,  but  these  were  closed  down  sooner  than  the 
mill  at  Gillingham.  There  were  also  silk  mills  at 
Charminster  and  at  Carne  in  the  later  years  of  the  18th 
Century. 

A  good   deal  of  information  with  regard  to  the  silk  The 
industry  in  this  area  may  be  gathered  from  the  evidence  Glove 
given  before  a  Select  Committee  in  the  year  1831.     It  is  Trade, 
stated   that   at   that   time   the   glove   trade,    which   had 
formerly  been  of  some  importance,  only  existed  at  Sher- 
borne  in  the  form  of  a  home  industry,  gloves  being  sent 
over  from  Yeovil  and  Milborne  Port,  and  sewn  by  the 
Sherborne  women  in  their  cottages.     The  glove  trade  also 
formed  part  of  the  local  industry  of  Beauminster,  Bere 
Regis,  and  Cerne  Abbas.     At  the  last-named  place,  and 
at  Stalbridge,  where  the  spinning  of  silk  was  carried  on 
at  the  end  of  the  18th  century,  the  work  chiefly  consisted 
of  twisting  and  making  up  the  raw  silk  into  skeins. 

SOMERSET. 

The    settlement    of    Flemish    weavers    at    Glastonbury  Flemish 
in  1551  has  been  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Emanuel  Green  in  the  Weavers 
Somerset  Archaeological  Proceedings,  vol.  xxvi.     The  result  at 
of  his  research  shews  that  the  Duke  of  Somerset  (The  Glaston- 
Protector),   on  receiving  a  grant  of  Glastonbury  Abbey  bury, 
from   Edward   VI,    founded   there   a   colony   of   Flemish 
weavers,  advancing  them  a  loan  of  £484  14s.  Od.,  and 
promising  to  provide  houses  and  ground  and  other  relief 
towards   their   living.     The   fulfilment    of   his   plan   was 
prevented  by  the  Duke's  attainder,  and  the  colony  appears 
to  have  suffered  acutely  from  poverty,   accentuated  by 
the  opposition  of  their  English  neighbours.     A  petition 
to  the  King  for  relief  led  to  an  enquiry  being  made,  and 
from  this  it  appears  there  were  44  families  and  six  widows, 
for  whose  accommodation,  as  a  whole,  there  were  only 
six  houses   in   repair,    and   22   without  roofs,   doors,   or 


338 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Flemish    windows.     The  Commissioners  found  the  Strangers  very 

Weavers   godly,  honest,  poor  folk,  of  quiet  and  sober  conversation, 

at  and  showing  themselves  ever  willing  and  ready  to  instruct 

Glaston-    and   teach   young   children   and   others   their   craft   and 

bury.         occupation,    and   they   judged   the   settlement    as   likely 

to  bring  "  great  commodity  to  the  common  weal  "  of  those 

parts.     Mr.   Green  traces  the  history  of  this  settlement 

through  its  early  difficulties  until  the  Flemings  obtained 

the    necessary    authority    and    incorporated    by    Royal 

Patent,    became    an    English    guild,    enjoying   the    same 

privileges  and  liberties  as  other  clothiers  and  dyers  of  the 

realm,  paying  no  more  taxes  than  English-born,  and  last 

but  not  least  being  granted  the  use  of  their  own  liturgy 

for  worship. 

On  the  death  of  Edward  VI,  the  Strangers  lost  their 
protector,  and,  on  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary,  they  left 
this  country  for  Frankfort.  Curiously  enough  the  colony 
left  little  or  no  local  mark  behind  them,  the  one  relic  of 
their  settlement  being  an  alms  dish  of  laten  or  rolled 
brass  bearing  a  Flemish  legend  with  St.  George  and  the 
dragon  repousse,  a  gift  to  St.  John's  Church,  where  it 
still  remains.  The  settlement  is  interesting  as  being  the 
first  use  to  which  the  old  Abbey  was  put  after  its 
dissolution. 

The  sayes  manufactured  by  these  Flemish  weavers, 
red,  blue,  and  black,  are  often  mentioned  in  Church 
goods  of  pre-Reformation  days.  Similar  articles  are 
sometimes  of  velvet  and  sometimes  of  saye.  There  were 
palls  of  red  saye,  vestments  of  saye  and  hearse  cloths  of 
saye.  Assuming  the  saye  (soie)  made  at  Glaston  was 
in  any  part  of  silk,  in  accordance  with  the  general  meaning 
of  the  word,  it  is  possible  that  this  little  settlement  can 
take  rank  as  one  of  the  earliest  colonies  of  silk  weavers 
in  England. 

Claim  A  comparatively  recent  work  says  :    "  It  is  stated  on 

made  of     good    authority    that    Taunton    shares    with    Derby    the 

Pioneer      honour  of  being  the  first  place  at  which  the  making  of 

work.          '  thrown '  silks  out  of  fine  raw  silks  was  carried  on  in 

England    after    its    introduction    from    the    Continent." 

There  is,   however,   some  reason  to   doubt  the  absolute 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL  CENTRES.  339 

accuracy  of  this  statement  when  we  reflect  that  Sir  Thomas  Claim 
Lombe  built  his  silk  mill  at  Derby  in  1719,  whereas  the  made  of 
earliest  reference  to  the  silk  industry  in  the  annals  of  Pioneer 
Taunton  is  in  1781,  when  Messrs.  Vansomer  and  Paul,  silk  work, 
mercers,  of  Pall  Mall,  London,  purchased  a  large  brew- 
house  in  Upper  High  Street,  together  with  certain  water 
rights.     To  quote  from  an  old  history,  and  one  to  which 
the  great  Macaulay  had  recourse  when  writing  his  famous 
workx  "  These  purchases,  by  erecting  a  large  building  and 
suitable  wheels  they  converted  into  a  machine  for  making 
thrown  silk  out  of  fine  raw  silk,  on  the  model  of  that  at 
Derby."     In  1790  this  factory  employed  about  100  hands. 

About  the  same  time  another  concern  was  established 
in  Cannon  Street,  where  throwing  was  done  on  a  small 
scale,  "  the  machinery  being  set  in  motion  by  a  woman 
treading  the  large  wheel,"  and  where  also  32  looms  were 
installed  for  weaving  Barcelona  handkerchiefs,  Canterbury 
muslins,  Florentines  and  ladies'  shawls.  The  weaving  of 
crape  was  apparently  introduced  in  1806,  and  was  carried 
on  spasmodically  in  cottages  in  the  town  and  vicinity 
until  comparatively  recent  years. 

In  1822  there  appear  to  have  been  three  throwing  Story  of 
mills  in  Taunton,  Mr.  Norman's  in  Upper  High  Street,  Taunton 
one  in  South  Street  belonging  to  Messrs.  Balance  and  Co.,  Trade, 
and  one  in  Tancred  Street,  owned  by  Mr.  George  Rawlinson. 
The  last-named  is  the  only  one  to  have  stood  the  test  of 
time,  and  it  is  to-day  exclusively  engaged  in  the  processes 
of  silk-throwing.  Some  years  later  Mr.  Wm.  Rawlinson, 
son  of  the  gentleman  referred  to  above,  commenced 
operations  in  a  mill  in  East  Street,  which  he  subsequently 
considerably  enlarged,  and  for  a  great  number  of  years 
Mr.  Rawlinson  personally  owned  and  controlled  the  East 
Street  and  Tancred  Street  mills.  In  1881  the  business 
changed  hands,  Messrs.  Stanway  and  Summerfield  becoming 
the  proprietors.  In  the  meantime  the  other  silk-throwing 
mills  had  been  converted  to  other  purposes.  Messrs. 
Stanway  and  Summerfield  were  succeeded  in  1903  by 
Messrs.  Calway  and  Drillien,  and  the  steady  expansion 
of  their  particular  business  has  been  such  as  to  necessitate 
material  additions  and  improvements  to  buildings  and 


340  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Story  of    machinery  during  recent  years.     Nearly  500  people  are 
Taunton   employed  by  this  firm. 

Trade.  The  business  of  Messrs.  Pearsall  and  Green  was  founded 

at  the  end  of  the  18th  century,  and  consisted  of  both 
wholesale  and  retail  branches.  The  special  productions 
were  silks  for  the  Nottingham  and  West  of  England  lace 
industries,  which  were  then  large  and  flourishing  trades, 
and  the  shop  in  Cheapside  was  also  a  famous  resort  for 
great  ladies  for  buying  the  silks  for  the  knitted  and  netted 
purses  then  fashionable. 

When  both  these  industries  died  down  the  business 
was  bought  by  the  late  Mr.  W.  Rawlinson,  of  Taunton, 
who  ran  it  in  connection  with  his  mills  in  Taunton.  During 
the  early  and  middle  part  of  the  19th  century,  the  staple 
trade  then  consisted  of  the  import  of  Berlin  wools,  needle- 
work and  embroidery  silks  from  Germany,  together  with 
a  considerable  trade  in  silks  for  fringes,  scarves,  and  use 
in  machines.  With  the  aid  of  discoveries  of  the  late 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  from  1870  to  1880,  the  trade  was 
gradually  withdrawn  from  the  hands  of  the  Germans  and 
converted  into  a  British  industry,  which  it  now  remains. 

The  crape  manufacture,  which  commenced  at  Taunton 

in   about    1775,    afterwards   spread   to    Shepton   Mallett, 

Croscombe,   and  Dulverton.     In  the  year   1830  it  is  on 

record  that  Messrs.   Smith  and  Co.   had  a  mill  worked 

by  the    Barle  stream    at  Dulverton.     Silk-throwing  was 

also  in  progress  at  Ilminster,  at  Over  Stowey,  Milverton, 

and    elsewhere.     Some    details    of    the    silk    industry    at 

Milverton  are  contained  in  the  reports  of  the  Parliamentary 

Commission  on  the  silk  trade  in  1831.     The  evidence  of 

The  Mr.  Lamech  Smith,  who  had  been  established  for  some 

Industry    years  there  as  a  silk  throwster,  gave  many  interesting 

at  details.     He  states  that  he  used  chiefly  Italian  raw  silk, 

Milver-       and   that   he   employed   almost   exclusively   woman   and 

ton.  child  labour.     At  one  period  this  manufacturer  had  15,000 

spindles  in  operation.     He  attributed  the  decline  in  trade 

to  the  low  prices  caused  by  the  reduction  of  the  duty  on 

foreign   thrown    organzine.     There    seems    to    have    been 

manufactured  about  this  period,   1826,  a  variety  of  silk 

known  as  "  marabout,"  which  required  a  special  process 


Plate  XXXV III. 


John  Heathcoat. 


OTHER  PROVINCIAL   CENTRES. 


341 


of  throwing.     Marabout,  which,  according  to  the  Victorian  Marabout 
County  History,  was  mainly  used  for  gauze  and  gauze  rib-  Silk, 
bons,  was  a  variety  of  hard  thrown  tram.     It  was  thrown 
in  three  threads  and  sent  to  London  to  be  dyed,  after- 
wards coming  back  to  Somerset  to  undergo  the  remainder 
of   the  throwing   process   and   to   be   finished.     The   silk 
employed  was  the  best  white  Norvi,   and  the  throwing 
of  1  Ib.  of  marabout  was  equal  to  about  2  Ibs.  of  organzine. 
In  the  year  1859  there  was  a  small  silk-throwing  industry 
at  Wincanton. 

Other  important  centres  of  the  old  trade  were  Bruton 
and  Wells,  and  at  the  former  place  in  the  year  1823,  or 
thereabouts,  there  are  stated  to  have  been  15,700  spindles 
at  work,  a  number  which  had  declined  in  1831  to  7,000. 
There  was  also  a  small  industry  at  Kilmersdon  at  the 
beginning  of  the  19th  century.  Other  branches  of  the 
modern  industry  in  addition  to  that  referred  to  above  are 
the  establishments  of  Messrs.  James  Kemp  and  Sons,  of 
Shepton  Mallett,  where  tailors'  material  is  manufactured, 
and  Messrs.  Thompson  and  Le  Gros,  at  Merchants  Barton, 
Frome. 

DEVONSHIRE. 

For  over  a  century  the  Heathcoat  family  have  been 
engaged  in  the  textile  industry,  including  the  silk  trade  at 
Tiverton,  where  the  factories  now  cover  an  area  of  over 
10  acres,  and  give  employment  to  a  large  number  of 
workpeople.  John  Heathcoat,  the  founder  of  the  business, 
commenced  his  business  career  at  Loughborough,  where 
he  set  up  a  machine  capable  of  producing  exact  imitations 
of  real  pillow  lace.  Another  of  his  inventions  was  an 
improved  method  of  winding  raw  silk  from  cocoons,  and 
filatures  for  this  purpose  were  set  up  in  Italy  and  Sicily, 
where  the  work  is  still  continued.  To-day  the  works  are 
among  the  most  important  producers  of  plain  silk  lace  net, 
and  the  construction  of  the  machines  and  the  making, 
mending,  dyeing  and  finishing  of  the  nets  are  all  carried  Tiverton 
out  at  the  Tiverton  factories.  As  long  since  as  the  year  Fac- 
1833  Mr.  Heathcoat  received  an  offer  of  £10,000  for  the  tories. 
secret  of  his  method  of  dressing  and  finishing  the  silk  nets  ; 


342  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

the  offer  was  refused,  and  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  business  has  always  been  owned  and  managed  by 
members  of  the  same  family  since  its  inception,  the 
processes  remain  secrets  down  to  the  present  day.  The 
silk  dress  nets,  silk  toscas,  go  to  all  markets  in  the  world, 
and  furnish  a  conspicuous  example  of  a  branch  of  the 
British  silk  trade  which  has  held  and  increased  its  hold 
through  all  the  chances  and  changes  of  outrageous  fortune. 
A  good  deal  of  the  tulle  used  in  making  the  robes  and  gowns 
worn  at  the  Coronation  of  King  George  emanated  from 
the  Tiverton  factories,  which  also  supply  France,  Belgium 
and  Germany  with  large  quantities  of  tulle  in  black  and 
all  the  fashionable  shades. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

SCOTLAND. 

Silk  has  had  its  place  in  the  Scottish  wardrobe  certainly 
for  more  than  400  years,  for  an  Act  of  the  Scottish 
Parliament  of  1503,  "  Anent  the  fredomez  and  privilegis  of 
merchandis  and  burrowis,"  specified  silk,  together  with 
wine,  wax,  spicery  and  staple  goods  as  one  of  the  com- 
modities only  to  be  traded  in  by  merchants  within  the 
royal  burghs.  There  is  no  warrant  for  regarding  such 
silk  transactions  as  large,  although  it  is  to  be  inferred 
that  the  business  had  begun  to  interest  a  number  of  traders. 
Silks,  wines,  cloths  and  miscellaneous  cargo,  including 
even  salt,  were  imported  through  Leith  from  the  Low 
Countries,  France  and  Spain,  in  return  for  the  exported 
wool,  skins  and  salmon.  The  transactions  were  managed 
in  part  by  Scotsmen  resident  abroad  like  Andrew 
Halyburton,  commission  merchant  of  Middelburg,  whose 
ledgers -(1493 — 1505),  stored  in  the  General  Register  House, 
Edinburgh,  are  described  in  Robert  Chambers's  Edinburgh 
Merchants  and  Merchandise  (1859). 

The  inference  that  by  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century   Silk 
trade   in   silk   had   become   diffused   is   supported   by   a   in  the 
reference    to    the    sumptuary    legislation    of    the    period.   National 
Edward   III,    of    England,    had    passed   a   law   in    1337   Dress, 
restricting  the  use  of  silk  to  the  Royal  family  and  to  the 
propertied  class,  and  some  measure  of  the  comparative 
advancement  of  the  two  countries  is  to  be  obtained  by 
noting  the  date  of  the  passing  of  a  similar  measure  for 
Scotland. 

In  the  poorer  and  more  frugal  country  a  law  forbidding 
the  use  of  silk  by  others  than  knights,  minstrels,  heralds 
and  landowners  of  £100  rental  was  enacted  by  James  III 

343 


344  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Silk  in  1471,  out  of  consideration  of  the  great  poverty  of  the 

in  the  realm.  A  transcript  follows  of  the  significant  passages  of 
National  this  Act,  modernised  only  as  regards  the  contractions  used 
Dress.  by  the  scrivener  : 

"  Item  it  is  statut  and  ordanit  in  this  present 
parlyament  that  consid'ing  the  gret  pow'te  of 
the  Realme  the  gret  expens  and  cost  mad  upon 
the  brynging  of  silks  in  the  Realme  that  therefor 
na  man  sal  weir  silks  in  tyme  cumyng  in  gown 
doublate  or  cloks  except  knychts  mestrallis  and 
herralds  without  that  the  werar  of  the  samy 
may  spend  a  hwndretht  punds  wortht  of  lands 
rent  under  the  payn  of  amerciament  to  the  king 
of  X  lib  als  of  as  thai  ar  fundyn  and  escheten  of 
the  samyn  to  be  given  to  the  herralds  or  men- 
strallis  .... 

"  And  at  menis  wiffs  within  a  hwndreth  pounds 
wer  na  silks  in  lynyng  but  alanly  in  colar  and 
slevis.  ..." 

Some  reason  to  doubt  the  efficacy  of  this  piece  of 
legislation  is  provided  by  the  books  of  the  Universall 
Kirk  of  Scotland.  The  General  Assembly  in  August, 
1575,  had  to  take  serious  cognisance  of  the  dress  of  the 
clergy  and  their  wives,  of  whom  it  may  be  supposed  not 
all  enjoyed  the  qualification  of  one  hundred  per  annum 
of  land's  rent.  The  Assembly  recorded  the  following 
opinion  of  the  contemporary  fashions  in  a  preamble : 

'  We  think  all  kinds  of  broidering  unseemly ;  all 
begares*  of  velvet,  in  gown,  hose,  or  coat,  and  all 
superfluous  and  vain  cutting  out,  steekingt  with 
silks,  all  kinds  of  costly  sewing  on  passmentsf ; 
...  all  kind  of  gowning,  cutting  doubletting  or 
breeks  of  velvet,  satin,  taffeta,  or  such  like,  all 
The  silk  hat  and  hats  of  divers  and  light  colours." 

Clergy  Reverend    judgment    was    crystallised    into    a    recom- 

and  mendation  that  : 

Silk  "Their   whole   habit   be   of   grave   colour   as   black, 

Garments.  russett,  sad  gray  or  sad  brown  ;   or  serges,  worset, 

*  Sewn-on  ornaments  ;    bows. 

t  Anglice,  closing. 

%  passementeries,  trimmings. 


SCOTLAND.  345 

chainlet,  grogram  lytes,  worset  or  such  like  .  .  .  The 
and  their  wives  to  be  subject  to  the  same  order."     Attitude 
The  motives  actuating  the  presentation  to  Parliament  of  the 
in  1696  of  a  draft  "  for  ane  constant  fashion  of  clothes  for  Church, 
men  .  .  .  and  ane  constant  fashion  of  clothes  for  women  " 
are   not   now    open   to    scrutiny.     The   proposals   would 
seem   however   to   owe   more   to    certain   conceptions   of 
seemliness  and  economy  than  to  any  design  to  promote 
manufacturing     industry.       Possibly,    because    of     this 
absence  of  a  substantial  motive,  the  House  ordered  the 
paper  to  lie  upon  the  table.     Probably  there  is  no  more 
than  an  empty  coincidence  in  the  correspondence  of  dates 
between  the  presentation  of  the  draft  and  the  publication 
by  a  Fife  laird  of  lines  displaying  some  regret  over  con- 
temporary    fashions.     The     verses     are     quoted     from 
Chambers's   Domestic   Annals   of  Scotland,    for   the   sake 
of  their  light  upon  the  sorts  of  fabrics  worn  at  the  time. 
"  We  had  no  garments  in  our  land 

But  what  were  spun  by  th?  goodwife's  hand ; 

No  drap-de-berry,  cloths  of  seal, 

No  stuffs  ingrained  in  cochineal ; 

No  plush,  no  tissue,  cramosie, 

No  China,  Turkey,  taffety  ; 

No  proud  Pyropus,  paragon, 

Or  Chackarally  there  was  none  ; 

No  figurata,  water  chamlet, 

No  Bishop  sattin,  or  silk  camblet ; 

No  cloth  of  gold  or  beaver  hats." 

The    subject    of    Scottish    clothing    in    the    succeeding  Silk 
century  has  been  treated  at  length  in  Mr.  H.  G.  Graham's  Plaid 
illuminating  book,  The  Social  Life  of  Scotland  in  the  18th  part  of 
Century.     Men  of  the  gentle  classes,  although  they  might  National 
go  in  shabby  clothes  in  the  morning,  "  in  public  appeared  Costume, 
in  their  coat  and  waistcoat  trimmed  with  silver  or  gold, 
their  silk  stockings   and  jackboots."     Ladies   of  fashion 
in  the  time  of  Queen  Anne  wore  their  hoops  "  four  or 
five  yards  in  circumference,  covered  with  a  dress  of  silk 
or  petticoat  of  velvet  or  silk  bound  with  gold  or  silver 
lace.  .  .  .     But,  however  desirous  to  be  in  the  fashion, 


346 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Silk  every  Scots  lady  had  that  essential  part  of  national  costume, 

Plaid          the  plaid,   wrapped  loosely   about  'the  head   and  body, 

part  of       made  either  of  silk  or  of  wool  with  a  silken  lining  of  bright 

National    green  or  scarlet ;    while  the  common  people  wore  their 

Costume,   gaudy    coloured    plaid    of    coarse    worsted.     The    plaids 

were  the  ordinary  costume  of  the  ladies,  as  characteristic 

and  national  as  the  mantillas  of  Spain  up  to  the  middle 

of  the  century,  when  at  last  they  gave  way  to  silk  and 

velvet  cloaks." 

The  ladies,  of  course,  spun,  and  Mr.  Graham  describes 
how  in  the  early  18th  century,  when  woollen  stuffs  were 
the  chief  produce,  "  rich  and  poor,  in  bedroom  and  kitchen 
of  the  mansion,  as  well  as  the  hovel  of  the  peasant  followed 
this  domestic  craft."  At  the  same  time  the  professional 
weavers  of  Glasgow  plaidings,  Aberdeen  fingrams,  Kilmar- 
nock  and  Musselburgh  stuffs,  and  Edinburgh  shalloons, 
were  making  a  reputation  for  these  fabrics. 

The  place  of  silk  in  relation  to  the  national  dress  has 
its  natural  bearing  upon  the  beginnings  of  the  silk  manu- 
facture in  Scotland,  as  to  which  event  some  mis-statements 
have  found  their  way  into  print.  In  particular  the  state- 
ment in  Brown's  History  of  Paisley  that  the  silk  manu- 
facture began  in  Scotland  about  1760  has  been  copied 
by  other  writers.  It  may  be  agreed  that  in  or  about 
that  year  silk  began  to  be  used  in  place  of  linen  in  Paisley 
to  make  the  gauzes  that  are  still  a  distinctive  minor  product 
of  the  West  of  Scotland.  There  had,  however,  been 
earlier  attempts,  of  which  one,  due  to  Robert  Dickson  of 
Perth,  was  made  nearly  200  years  before  the  more 
effective  beginning  made  in  Paisley  by  Humphrey  Fulton. 
The  attempt  seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
Pioneer  Perth-  historians,  although  the  document  granting  a 
Work  monopoly  in  1581  to  Dickson  is  contained  in  the  national 
at  archives.  A  copy  is  appended  of  the— 

Perth.  "  Ratification   of   the   preuelege   of   silk   making   to 

Robert  diksone. 

"  Oure  souerane  Lord  with  auise  of  his  thrie  estaitis 
.  .  .  confermis  the  prevelege  and  libertie  grantet 
be  his  hienes  to  his  louite  Robert  diksoun  vpoun 
his  offer. 


SCOTLAND.  347 

"  To  bring  in  and  to  learne  within  this  realme  the   Indus- 
airte  of  the  making  and  working  of  silkis.     To  be   trial 
als  gude  and  sufficient  as  the  samin  is  maid  within   Begin- 
the  countreis  of  f ranee  or  flanderis.     And  to  be   nings  in 
sauld  within  this  realme  better  chaip  not  the  lyk   Scot- 
siliis  ar  [sauld  within  this  realme  brocht  heir  or   land, 
out    of    vther    countreis    quhairvpoun    the    said 
robert  mon  bestow  grite  sowmes  of  money  quhilk 
•     salbe   the   occasioun   that   ane   grite   nowmer   of 
young    and    pure    pepill    salbe    virteouslie    and 
honestly  sustenit  on  that  occupation.     And  thairf  oir 
gevand  and   grantand  to  the  said   robert  power, 
prevelege  and  libertie  to  use  and  exerce  the  said 
airt  be  him  selff  and  his  servandes  and  vtheris  in 
Name  be  the  space  of  threttie  yeiris  nixttocum 
discharging  all  vtheris  during  the  said  space  to 
use  or  exerce  the  said  airte  without  his  leiff  and 
guidwill  first  had  and  obtenit  thairto.     And  that 
the  raw  and  unwrocht  silkis  to  be  brocht  hame 
be  him  salbe  custome  frie  with  the  dreggis  for 
litting*  thos  him  selff  to  be  maid  frie  burges  and 
gild  in  perth  or  sic  vther  places  quhair  he  sail 
pleis  to   plaint   without   payment   of   sowmes   of 
money  thairfoir.    And  he  and  his  servandis  to  be 
frie  of  warding  taxationis  impositionis.    And  to 
transport  the  silkis  wrocht  be  him  customs  frie 
as  in  his  said  prevelege  at  mair  lenth  salbe  contenit. 
Providing  that  he  enter  to  his  work  within  yeir  and 
day    eftir    the    dait    heiroff    with    one    hundreth 
servandis  and  continew  in  the  said  work  thairefter. 
Certefeing  him  and  he  do  in  the  contrair  he  fall 
tyne  his  prevelege." 
The  terms  of  the  grant  leave  no  doubt  of  the  nature  of    Granting 

Dickson's  proposals,  and  it  is  stated  in  the  History  of  the    of  Privi- 

Scottish  People  by  T.  Thomson  that  Dickson  commenced    leges. 

with  a  certain  date  and  with  100  workmen  continued  to 

prosecute  the  trade. 

The  encouragement  of  the  textile  industry  was  much 

in  the  minds  of  the  authorities  of  the  period  and  in  1587 

*  Litting  =  dyeing. 


348 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Privi-         the   better   known   Act   was   passed   "in   favour   of   the 

leges  craftismen  flemynges."     The  terms  of  the  grant  to  John. 

of  the         Banko  at  all  events  contemplated  such  use  of  silk  as  is 

Flemings,  implied  in  the  inclusion  of  bombazines  among  the  list  of 

articles    to    be    manufactured    in    Edinburgh.     The    text 

empowered    "Johne    gardin    philp    fermant    and    Johne 

banko     flemyngis,     strangearis     and     workmen  ...  to 

exercise  thair  craft  ...  in  making  of  searges  growgrams, 

fusteanis,    bombesies,    stemmingis     beyis,     covertors     of 

beddis  and  vtheris  appertening  to  the  said  craft  and  for 

instructioun  of  the  said  liegis  in  the  exercise  of  the  making 

of  the  warkis  .  .  .  the  experience  and  suir  knawlege   of 

thair  laubors  quhilk  will  tend  to  ane  perpetuall  floresching 

of  the  said  craft  within  this  realme. 

"  Our  souerane  lord  .  .  .  hes  tho't  ressounable  and 
expedient  and  for  the  common  weill  .  .  .  hes  aggreit 
.  .  .  vpoun  the  particular  heids  and  articles  following. 

"  That  is  to  say  the  said  craftesmen  sail  remane  within 
this  realme  for  the  space  of  fyve  yeiris  at  the  leist  .  .  . 
and   sal   bring  within   this   realme   the   nowmer   of   xxx 
personis  of  wabsteris*,  walkarisf  and  sic  vtheris  as  may 
wirk  and  performe  the  said  wark  as   alsua  ane  litstair,J 
or  ma  for  litting  and  perfitting  of  thair  said  warkis  and. 
.  .  .     Sail  make  and  perfite  the  steikis  and  peeces  of  warkis 
according  as  the  samin  ar  or  hes  bene  maid  in  flanderis, 
holland  or  Ingland,  kepand  lenth  breid  and  synes  con- 
forme  to  the  rule  and  stile  of  the  buik  of  the  craft." 
Employ-        The  prudent  care  for  the  quality  of  the  goods  to  be 
ment  of      manufactured  was  matched  by  the  provision  ensuring  the 
Native       employment  of  native  apprentices.     The  Flemings  were— 
Appren-  "  To  tak  na  prenteisses  bot  Scottis  boyis  and  madinnis 

tices.  and    before    anie    vtheris    the    burges    bairnis    of 

Edinburgh  to  be  preferrit  and  acceptit." 
They  were 

" .  .  .  not  to  suffer  ony  personis  of  thair  awin 
natioun  and  vocatioun  to  beg  or  trouble  this 
cuntrie  for  povertie." 

*  Weavers. 

f  Cloth  finishers. 

J  Dyer. 


SCOTLAND.  349 

One  Nicolas  Edward,  who  became  later  Provost  of  the   Employ- 
city,  was  set  over  the  strangers  as  supervisor  :  ment  of 
"...  his  Matie.  .  .  .  hes   appointit   one  honest  and   Native 
discreit   man,  Nicholas    vduart,  burges    of  Edin-   Appren- 
burgh,   to  be  visitor  and   over  sear  of  the  said   tices. 
craftismen    haill    workis  .  .  .  and     to     try     the 
sufficiencie   thereof   and   to   keip   his   hienes   seill 
stamp  and  Irne  for  marking." 

A  market  stand  was  allotted  to  the  incomers,  and  the 
sum  of  one  thousand  merks : 

"  His  Matie.  grantis  .  .  .  ane  patent  place  .  .  . 
quhair  thay  sail  remane  vpoun  the  ordinar  mercat 
dayes  ...  to  sell  thair  maid  steikis*  and  peces 
of  stuff.  .  .  .  Providing  that  thay  sail  sell  na 
wool  nor  worsett  befoir  the  same  be  put  in  wark. 
"  .  .  .  assignis  to  the  saidis  thre  strangers  and  thair 
cumpanye.  The  sowme  of  ane  thowsand  merkis 
money  of  this  realme."f 

The  three  Flemings  'of  1587  were  followed  by  seven 
more,  who  were  engaged  in  June,  1601,  to  settle  in  the 
country  ;  six  of  them  to  practise  the  making  of  says  or 
worsted  serges,  one  to  teach  the  manufacture  of  broad- 
cloth. Their  appearance  followed  upon  an  Act  of  1597, 
in  which  the  general  character  of  English  cloth  was 
traversed 

"  the  same  having  only  for  the  maist  part  an  outward 

show,  wanting  that  substance  and  strength  whilk    The 
oft-times  it  appears  to  have."  debt  to 

The  workmen  had  to  complain  to  the  Privy  Council    Foreign 
upon   their   arrival   that   they   were   neither   entertained    Weavers, 
nor  set  to  work,  and  that  it  was  proposed  to  separate 
them,   "  which  wald  be  a  grit  hinder  to  the  perfection 
of  the  wark." 

The  Council  decreed  that  : 

c  The  haill  strangers  brought  hame  for  the  errand 
sail  be  holden  together  within  the  burgh  of 
Edinburgh." 

Pressure  was  being  exerted  at  the  time  upon  the  Royal 
burghs  to  cause  them  to  promote  cloth  manufacture,  and 

*  Cf.  German  Stuck  =  a  piece. 
t  Some  fifty  guineas. 


350 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  a  minute  of  the  Council,  dated  September,  1601,  menaced 

debt  to      the  towns  with  the  loss  of  their  Royal  privileges  if  nothing 
Foreign      were  done  to  "  effectuat  the  claith  working"  by  Michael- 
Weavers,    mas.     In  1609  the  Edinburgh  weavers  had  to  complain  of 
molestation  by  the  magistrates   of  the  Canongate,   who 
wished  to  force  them  to  become  burgesses  and  freemen, 
and  a  deputation  headed  by  John  Sutherland  and  Joan 
Van  Headen  stated  that  they  were — 

"  daily   exercised   in   their   art   of   making,    dressing 

and  litting  of  stuffis,   and  gives  great  licht  and 

knowledge  of  their  calling  to  the  country  people." 

The   particulars   relate   rather   to   the   indebtedness  to 

alien   teaching  than   to   the   direct   development   of   the 

Scottish  silk  industry,  and  it  appears  that  Flemish  skill 

founded  at  least  three  factories — Bonnington,   Newmills 

and  Ayr.     That  English  as  well  as  Dutch  help  was  enlisted 

is  shown  by   an  entry   of   1665  referring  to  persons  in 

quarantine : 

"  Richard  Hereis  and  Samuell  Odell  .  .  .  came  from 
London  to  Nottingham  .  .  .  where  hyred  9 
servants  for  silk  weaving,  coming  to  Newcastle 
stayed  several  days." 

"  (Converse  at  freedom.)" 

The  No  information  is  forthcoming  as  to  the  issue  of  the 

Prohibi-     effort  by  Herries  and  Odell,  and  it  is  reported  in  Chambers' s 
tion  Annals  that  the  George  Sanders  who  obtained  a  patent 

upon  for  17  years  in  1681,  "for  a  work  for  the  twisting  and 
Imports,  throwing  all  sorts  of  raw  silk,"  did  not  proceed  with  his 
undertaking.  Attempts  to  force  the  pace  of  manu- 
facturing development  were  being  made  concurrently, 
and  in  1682  an  Act  was  passed  "  discharging  the  wearing 
of  silver  lace  and  silk  stuffs,  upon  design  to  encourage  the 
making  of  fine  stuffs  within  the  Kingdom  and  to  repress 
the  excessive  use  of  these  commodities."  The  explanation 
is  quoted  from  Mackenzie's  Memoirs,  as  is  the  following 
account  of  the  practical  difficulties  encountered  in  carrying 
out  the  law : 

"  That  which  was  complain' d  of  was,  that  the  goods 
already  brought  in  were  not  allow' d  to  be  worn  ; 
which  was  refus'd  lest,  under  the  pretext  of  these, 


SCOTLAND. 


351 


others  might  be  brought  in  ;   and  yet  nine  months    The 
were   allow' d   them   for   venting   and   wearing   of   Prohibi- 
them  ;    and  it  was  urg'd  that  if  longer  time  were   tion 
granted,  the  Act  would  be  forgot,  before  it  could   upon 
be  put  in  execution,  as  it  was  in  King  James's   Imports, 
reign,  for  this  same  cause." 

The  Act  was  not  in  point  of  fact  forgotten,  for  Chambers 
records  that  upon  the  information  of  Alexander  Milne, 
collector  of  Customs  in  Edinburgh,  Sir  John  Colquhoun, 
of  Luss,  was  haled  before  the  Privy  Council  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year.  In  disregard  of  the  law  forbidding  clothes 
ornamented  with  "  silk-lace,  gimp-lace  or  any  other  lace 
or  embroidering  or  silk,"  he  had  appeared  "  wearing  a 
black  justicat,  whereupon  there  was  black  silk  or  gimp 
lace."  Sir  John  was  condemned  to  a  fine  of  500  merks 
(£29  stg.),  payable  half  to  his  Majesty's  private  use  and 
half  to  the  informer. 

Scotland  was  suffering  from  acute  depletion  of  currency, 
and  the  purchase  of  English-made  cloths  was  conceived 
to  make  matters  worse,  "  English  money  was  not  to  be 
had  under  6  or  7  per  cent "  in  1681,  and  hardly  at  any 
rate.  Exchange  had  risen  as  high  as  12  or*  15  per  cent 
against  Edinburgh  in  the  London  market,  and  these  con- 
siderations explain  the  preamble  of  the  Act  of  1691  for 
encouraging  trade  and  manufactures. 

"  Considering  that  the  importation  of  forreign  Com-  Currency 
modities  (which  are  superfluous  or  may  be  made  problems, 
within     the     Kingdom  .  .  .),      has     exceedingly 
exhausted    the    money  .  .  .  and    hightened    the 
Exchange." 

Accordingly,  his  Majesty  strictly  prohibited  "  all 
Merchants  to  import  any  Gold  or  silver  thread  .  .  .  lace, 
ffringes  or  Traceings.  All  Buttons  of  Gold  or  silver  threed 
&c.  All  flour'd,  strip'd,  figur'd,  chequer'd,  painted,  or 
printed  silk  stuff  or  Ribbands  (noways  comprehending 
changing  colloured  or  wattered  Stuffs  or  Ribbands)  ;  all 
Embroideries  of  Silk  upon  Wearing  Cloaths." 

*  Professor  Scott's  introduction  to  the  New  Mills  Cloth  Manufactory  shows  that  exchange 
on  London  was  at  a  discount  of  12  J  per  cent  in  1701. 


352 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Burning         It  was  provided  additionally  that : 
of  Im-  "  All    such    goods    imported    hereunto  .  .  .  shall    be 

ported  burnt  and  destroyed,  and  the  importers  or  Resetters 

Goods.  fined  in  the  value  thereof." 

Even  if  something  may  be  claimed  from  the  public 
and  practical  point  of  view  for  removing  the  onus  from 
the  wearer  of  clothes,  and  placing  it  upon  the  importer 
and  dealer,  the  heroic  measure  of  burning  existing  supplies 
cannot  easily  be  defended.  Other  goods  than  silks  were 
implicated  in  the  prohibition  which  applied  to  gloves, 
boots  and  other  articles,  as  well  as  to— 

"  Any  forraigne  Holland,   Linnen,   Cambrick,   Lawn, 

Dornick,    damesk,    tyking,    bousten    or    Damety, 

tufted  or  stripped  holland  Calligo,  Selesia  or  East 

India    Linnen.     And    all    other    forraign    Cloaths 

and  stuffs  made  of  Linnen  or  Cottoun  wool  or  lint 

(noways  comprehending  fflannen,  Arras  hangings, 

forreigne  Carpets  and  made  beds  of  Silk  Damest- 

hangings,    Chairs    and    stools    conform    thereto). 

All  forreign  silk  or  Woolen  stockings.     All  forraign 

laces  made  of  Silk,  Gimp  or  thread." 

Disabling  as  the  measure  was  to  the  importation  of 

finished  goods,  it  was  a   beneficial  Act  in  respect  of  the 

import  of  articles  for  use  in  manufacture : 

"  All  Oyl,  dying  Stuff,  forraign  wooll,  lint  and  flax, 
pot-ashes  or  any  other  Materialls  whatsoever  use- 
full  for  Manufactures  .  .  .  are  hereby  declared 
to  be  free  of  Customs  and  Excise." 

The  Act  laid  down  the  dimensions  to  which  "  linen, 
woolen,  drogats  and  serges  "  were  to  be  manufactured,  but 
prescribed  none  for  silk  ;  an  omission  which  may  show 
that  no  silks  were  being  manufactured  or  that  no 
customary  dimensions  had  been  evolved. 

A  Doubtless  the  application,  already  referred  to,  of  George 

Pro-  Sanders,   in  the  year   1681,   is  related  to  the  prospects 

tective       afforded    by    the    exclusion    of    competition.     The    same 

Measure,    consideration  must  have  been  in  the  minds   of  Joseph 

Ormiestoun   and    William   Elliott,    whose   petition   for   a 

concession  to  manufacture  silk  was  received  favourably 

by  the  Privy  Council  in  1698.     The  petition  is  recorded 


SCOTLAND.  353 

in  the  Acts  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  as  one  for  the   Mono- 
"  winding,  throwing,  twisting,  and  dyeing  of  raw  silk."    poly 
As    further    described    by    Robert    Chambers,    it    was   Secured, 
incidentally  to  open  a  profitable  trade  between  Scotland 
and    Turkey,    and   for    "  advancing   the   manufacture   of 
buttons,  galloons,  silk  stockings  and  the  like." 

The  petitioners  proposed  to  "  bring  down  several 
families  who  make  broad  silks,  gold  and  silver  thread 
&c.,".and  had  no  doubt  "many  of  the  Norwich  weavers 
may  be  encouraged  to  come  and  establish  in  this  country, 
where  they  may  live  and  work  at  easy  rates."  The 
petitioners  were  granted  privileges,  but  not  a  monopoly, 
and  although  few  particulars  concerning  the  enterprise 
are  available  there  is  information  enough  at  hand  to 
identify  this  undertaking  with  the  Silk  Manufacture, 
which  was  attacked  in  1702  by  the  Cloth  Companies  for 
diminishing  the  demand  for  their  products.  Professor 
Scott  writes  that  at  the  end  of  four  years  its  profits 
excited  envy,  and  that  although  it  had  not  a  formal 
monopoly  it  had  in  fact  no  competitor. 

About  another  undertaking,  formed  under  the  patronage   The  New 
of  the  Duke  of  York  to  exploit  the  manufacture  of  woollen   Mills 
cloth,  many  more  particulars  are  available.     This  is  the   Silk 
New  Mills  Cloth  Manufactory,  founded  in  1681,  of  which  Stocking 
the  minute  books  have  been  preserved  and  reprinted  by   Factory, 
the  Scottish  History  Society.     The  place,  New  Mills,  known 
now  by  the  name  of  Amisfield,  is  in  Haddingtonshire. 
A  group  of  Edinburgh  merchants,  or  shopkeepers,  formed 
the  Company  with  an  Englishman,  Sir  James  Stanfield, 
at  their  head.     Workmen  were  brought  from  Yorkshire 
and  the  West  of  England  to  carry  on  processes  with  which 
the  Scots  were  unfamiliar.     Beginning  with  the  coarsest 
cloths,    finer    qualities    were    gradually    attempted    until 
at    length   the    manufacture    of    superfine    woollens    was 
reached.     The  Company  received  Government  contracts, 
its  initial  capital  of  £5,000  was  raised  to  twice  the  sum 
and  although  in  1713  its  effects  were  dispersed,  the  venture 
cannot  be  regarded  as  less  successful  than  the  majority 
of  industrial  concerns.     The  venture  was  in  some  aspect 
a  co-operative  undertaking,  bound  to  sell  its  goods  only 


354  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  New  to  shareholders  and  to  members  of  the  Merchant  Company. 
Mills          It  had   the  advantage   of  a  field  clear  of  foreign  corn- 
Silk  petition,  and  more  than  once  it  set  the  law  in  motion 
Stocking  against  those  who  disregarded  the  Act  of  1681.     A  Robert 
Factory.    Cunningham,  convicted  of  selling  "  prohibite  cloth,  stuffs 
and    serges,"    was    heavily    fined.     A    Councillor,  Robert 
Baillie,   a  member  of  the  Company,  who  was  found  to 
have  imported  English  cloth,   valued  £400  sterling,  had 
his  shares  forfeited  and  his  illicit  goods  were  burned  by 
the  common  hangman. 

What  invests  the  New  Mills  Company  with  a  peculiar 
interest  is  that  it  carried  on  a  department  for  the  manu- 
facture of  silk  stockings,  and  that  the  progress  of  its 
affairs  in  this  department  is  revealed  in  the  Book  for  the 
Managers  of  the  Manufactures  Weekly  Sederunts.  The 
"  managers  "  were  the  equivalent  of  the  modern  company 
directors,  and  their  weekly  "  sederunts  "  of  the  modern 
Board  meeting. 

The  transactions  in  respect  of  silk  stockings  began 
May  24th,  1682,  when  [158]  "  The  Managers  made  due 
aggreement  with  Sir  James  Stanfield  for  foure  silk  stocken 
frames  for  quhich  they  are  to  pay  him  two  thousand 
merkes." 

A  week  later  Hugh  Blair  was  bidden  to  write  a  letter 
of  thanks  to  one  James  Donaldson  for  his  kindness  in  the 
matter  of  certain  "  silk  stocken  frames."     On  June  9th, 
Trade  in   John  Home  was  ordered  to  "  send  down  the  two  silk  stocken 
Silken        frames   by   hand."     On   June    12th   the   managers    [176] 
Hose.         :<  approve  of  the  contracts  made  by  Hugh  Blaire  with 
Francis   Perry,    Edward   Pike   and   John   Godson,    frame 
work    knitters  .  .  .  and    appoints    George    Hume    and 
James  Row  to  goe  out  to  New  Millns  and  renew  the  con- 
tracts with  the  frame  work  knitters,   makeing  mention 
of  the  weight  of  the  pair  of  hose.  .  .  ." 

On  June  14th,  [179]  "  James  Row  and  George  Home, 
haveing  been  att  New  Millns,  reports  after  much  paines 
taken  with  Mr.  Burton  to  settle  with  him,  prevaild 
with  him  to  take  his  consideration  whether  he  would 
accept  of  5s.  sterling  per  week  to  mentaine  the  7  frames 
compleat  for  work  or  take  15s.  sterling  per  week,  and  be 


SCOTLAND.  355 

oblidged  to  make  5  pair  silk  stockens  per  week,  he  and  Trade  in 
his  apprentizes,  and  mentaine  the  frames,  of  quhich  he  is  Silken 
to  give  us  his  answer  shortly  and  for  renewing  the  con-  Hose, 
tracts  with  the  rest  of  the  silk  stocken  weavers,  thought 
noe  wages  fitt  to  move  in  itt  till  first  Mr.  Burton  was 
indented  with." 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  names  of  the  framework- 
knitters  are  not  distinctively  Scots  names,  and  a  minute 
of  6th  September  shows  Pike  to  have  been  brought  from 
London  : 

[208]  "  Ordered  that  Mr.  Pike  receive  15s.  sterling 
upon  ane  account  of  the  extraordinary  expences  of  his 
transportation  from  London  to  New  Millns,  and  that 
George  Home  [give]  itt  him  and  131b.  4s.  Scotts  more 
to  be  given  him  in  performance  of  a  condition  made 
betwixt  Mr.  Blair  and  him  att  London  upon  the  arrivall 
of  his  frames  att  New  Millns,  and  the  like  same  he  is 
[to]  receive  upon  the  arrivall  of  the  other  frame." 

On  13  September,  Burton,  who  had  already  been 
mentioned  in  connection  with  repair  work,  was  set  a 
further  task : 

[212]  "  To  cause  Burton  sett  up  pikes  2  frames  and  to 
inspect  whatever  else  is  necessary  to  be  done  about  the 
manufactory."  .  .  . 

A  few  weeks  later  a  proposal  to  put  Pike  in  charge 
of  the  other  knitters  produced  immediate  effects.  A 
minute  of  27th  October  : 

[235]  "  Reports  theire  discourseing  Pike  upon  putting 
him  in  the  oversight  of  the  silk  stockens  quho  seem  to 
decline  itt  and  therefore  thought  itt  fitt  to  delay  itt  till  Employ- 
the  manager  was  spoke  in  itt  and  the  rest  of  the  stocken  ment  of 
weavers  have  all  gott  knowledge  of  itt  are  soe  concerned  English 
att  itt  thatt  they  have  all  promised  to  make  good  and  Weavers, 
sufficient  worke." 

An  instruction  of  April,  1683,  to  Mr.  Spurway  and 
Mr.  Marr,  who  had  charge  of  the  work  at  New  Mills, 
gives  the  rate  of  payment,  and  shows  Mr.  Pike  to  have 
been  paid  on  a  higher  scale  than  the  rest. 

[313]  "  You  are  to  pay  for  every  pair  of  hose  2s.  6d. 
per  pair,  and  to  Mr.  Pike  2s.  lOd.  per  pair,  and  if  any 


356  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

stockens  be  desyred  whose  weight  shall  come  to  foure  or 
more  ounces,  the  stocken  weaver  is  to  have  ten  pence  per 
ounce  for  every  ounce  above  three  besyde  his  ordinary 
price." 

An  In  1685  Mr.  Burton  came  into  prominence  as  the  central 

Industrial  figure  in  an  industrial  scandal,  and  the  minute  [669] : 
Scandal.  "  Orders  James  Bowden  goe  out  to  Newmilns  and  deall 
with  Mr.  Burtone  for  getting  againe  the  silk  and  stockens 
and  other  goods  imbussled  by  hime,  and  to  take  the 
mesters  assistance,  and  if  he  cannot  be  prevailled  with 
to  cause  bring  him  into  the  toune." 

The  further  development  of  the  affair  is  shewn  in  the 
decision  taken  at  the  next  day's  sitting : 

[670]  "  Haveing  considered  Burtone,  the  stocken  weaver 
affair  aproves  of  George  Home  goeing  for  him  and  con- 
sidering the  said  Burton's  professed  repentance,  and  that 
he  promissed  to  restore  all  the  goods  that  he  imbassled, 
they  apoynt  hime  to  goe  back  to  his  work  with 
Mr.  Spurroway  till  Monday  or  Tuesday  till  he  performe 
quhat  he  promissed  and  till  we  consider  furder  one  it." 

There  were  other  difficulties  from  which  the  managers 
had  to  extricate  their  stocking  makers.  In  1685  two 
of  them  were  in  debt,  and  presumably  in  prison,  for  they 
were  "  diverted  from  employment."  The  minute  [682] 
"  Orders  Mr.  Marr  to  take  up  ane  true  inventer  of  ther 
debts  and  to  ingadge  in  name  of  the  company  to  pay 
them  in  one,  two,  three  or  four  moneth  time  as  he  can 
agree  and  take  discharges  from  them  to  the  said  stocken 
weaver,  and  to  give  them  his  ticket  payable  accord- 
ingly." 

Financial       John  Godson,  one  of  the  stocking  makers  engaged  in 

Troubles    1682,  had  fallen  by  30th  March,  1687,  into  the  difficulty 

of  Work-    indicated  by  the  remedial  measure.     "John  Godsone  to 

people.       have  the  loan  of  four  pounds  sterling  for  suplieing  his 

present  straits,  to  be  repayed  five  shillings  weeklie  and 

take  ane  obligation  from  him  therefor." 

These  matters  of  personal  concern,  while  not  the  least 
interesting  of  the  transactions  of  the  Company,  are  less 
directly  informative  than  some  of  the  orders  concerning 
prices  and  goods  under  date  27th  October,  1682  : 


SCOTLAND.  357 

[236]  "  Its  ordered  that  the  next  division  of  silk  stockens  Financial 
thatt  shall  be  made  they  shall  be  given  to  the  concerned  Troubles 
and  sold  att  the  rate  of  3s.  sterling  per  oz.  black  and  of  Work- 
mixt  overhead,  and  this  to  be  the  rule  for  all  time  comeing  people, 
and  George  Home  is  ordered  to  write  out  to  the  stocken 
weavers  thatt  they  make  the  silk  stockens  weight  2  oz. 
12  or  within  3oz." 

On  February  13th,  1683,  the  managers  would  appear 
to  have  been  launching  an  experiment  to  test  the 
market  with  a  sample  of  brightly  coloured  hose. 

[284]  "  Ordered  to  give  out  61b.  weight  of  silk  for  a  true 
native  grass  green  to  be  made  in  women's  hose  with  first 
silk  dyed  and  31bs.  pale  buff  colour." 

[285]  "  Ordered  to  make  a  dozen  pair  womens  silk 
stockens  of  the  first  remnants  of  slips  to  be  dyed 
black." 

A  month  later,  4,000  needles  for  the  silk  frames  were 
ordered  from  London,  and  in  April,  in  a  tone  which  sug- 
gests some  suspicion  of  the  honesty  of  their  knitters, 
the  managers  bade  Mr.  Spurway  and  Mr.  Marr  : 

[312]  "  When  you  receive  silk  you  to  give  of  all  silk 
of  a  collour  if  it  be  3  or  4,  5,  6  Ibs.  to  one  man  and  weight 
it  out  to  him,  and  when  the  stockens  of  that  silk  comes 
back  you  are  to  weightt  it  back  and  know  if  you  receive 
back  the  silk  allowing  the  waste  which  you  are  likewise 
to  keep  by  you  till  you  discharge  yourselfe  thereby." 

Some  hint  of  labour  troubles  is  to  be  found  in  the  order 
of  26th  August,  1683,  appointing  delegates,  and  giving 
them  specified  power  to  bargain  : 

[361]  "  Orders    George    Home    and   James    Boudin   to  Labour 
goe  out  to  Newmillnes  and  make  ane  settlement  with  the  Disputes 
stoking  wevers  for  working  the  pair  of  the  new  fashoned  in  17th 
stript  hoes,  and  that  they  doe  not  exceed  fyve  shillings  Century. 
a  pair." 

Three  days  later,  the  mission  having  been  executed 
on  terms  within  the  maximum,  minute  [365],  "  Aproves 
of  the  report  mad  by  James  Boudin  and  George  Home 
of  what  they  did  ther  in  settling  with  stoking  weivers 
at  four  shilling  sevein  penc  a  pair  for  working  the  strip 
stokins.  ." 


358 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


On  13th  May,  1684,  instructions  were  given  to  Godson 
and  Burton  "  to  call  to  James  Marr  and  take  soe  much  of 
each  of  the  light  colours  of  silk  as  be  three  or  four  pairs 
of  woman's  stocking,  and  of  such  collers  as  are  very 
currant  and  good  as  grein,  masarein  blew  hair  collour 
and  chirie  collour  ane  dozen  of  each  sort." 

Details  A  further  instruction  of  the  same  date  deals  with  other 

of  Manu-    technical   matters   and   [466]    "  Orders  lykways   the   silk 

facture.      stocken  stiruped  in  the  head  be  maid  wydder  in  the  topps 

and  the  common  and  ordinary  weight  not  to  exceid  three 

and  ane  half  unces,  but  some  may  be  four  unces,  and  to 

make  the  leggs  larger." 

The  stocking  business  was  not  carried  on  upon  a  large 
scale,  and  purchases  of  silk  were  not  of  any  great  quantity. 
One  instruction  gave  orders  "  goe  to  George  Sandrie  and 
buy  tenne  or  twelve  pun  of  dayed  silk  as  schap  as  can  be." 

Eventually  the  manufacture  of  worsted  stockings  was 
begun  but  not  with  entirely  satisfactory  results.  As  an 
advertising  measure  in  1684,  it  was  : 

[440]  "  Ordered  to  give  ane  pair  or  worsted  stockins 
with  each  half  peece  of  cloath,  and  this  to  be  the  rule  for 
takeing  out  of  worsted  stockins  till  they  come  in  more 
plentifully." 

A  year  later  orders  were  issued  that  "  noe  more  silk 
or  worset  stockens  be  made  with  stirups,  but  that  they 
may  be  made  long  and  well  marreilled  and  full  in  the 
top  as  if  had  stiruped  head." 

Finally,  in  June,  1685,  it  was  decided  "  that  no  more 

worsted  stockens  be  made  unless  fyne  worset  can  be  had 

but  that  they  work  upon  silk  gloves  and  plain  marbled 

silk  stockens  long  unstriped  and  women  silk  stockens." 

A  In  September  of  the  year  orders  were  given  to  work 

Trade         three  of  the  frames  constantly  upon  gloves  and  the  others 

in  upon  stockings.     The  changes  connote  some  flickering  of 

Gloves.       demand,  and  in  view  of  the  decision  taken  in  July,  1688, 

it    is    apparent    that    the    knitting    business    was    not 

improving  :— 

[1172]  "  Orders  that  the  silk  frames  be  rouped*  con- 
forme  to  a  former  order  against  Fryday,  the  27th  of  July, 

*  rouped — sold  at  auction. 


SCOTLAND.  359 

instant,  unless  a  letter  arrive  with  hopes  to  dispose  of 
them  to  London." 

It  appears  that  the  Company  had  still  only  its  original 
seven  frames  and  seven  years  of  wear  had  doubtless  made 
them  no  more  desirable  in  the  eyes  of  purchasers.  The 
last  heard  of  them  is  in  a  minute  of  October,  1688,  noting 
an  agreement  made  with  a  frame  smith  to  repair  the 
"  wholl  seven  fraimis  and  make  them  compleat  for  sixtie 
pund  sterling." 

One  other  incident  in  relation  to  the  stringent  Act  of    The 
1681  deserving  of  notice  is  the  ratification  made  in  favour    Glasgow 
of    the    Incorporation    of    Weavers    in    Glasgow.     "  The   Incor- 
Deacon,     Masters     and     remanent     Brethren "     of     that    poration 
venerable  body  were  confirmed  in  the  privileges  of  the    of 
grant  originally  made  to  them  4th  June,  1528.     Whereas    Weavers 
"  of  old  .  .  .  incomers  weavers  taking  the  stuff  out   of 
the  town  or  otherwayes  encroaching"  had  been  "  fyned 
in  ane  pund  of  walx  and  a  dinner  to  the  Masters  of  the 
Craft,"  they  were  henceforth  to  be  fined  "  twentie  pound 
Scots  for  the  poor  of  the  trade."     The  wax,  it    maybe 
added,  was  for  the  altar  of  their  Saint,  and  the  sum  was, 
in  sterling,   33s.   4d." 

Twenty  years  later  the  Act  of  1681  was  modified  by 
the  inclusion  of  cottons  and  the  exemption  of  plainblack 
silks  and  certain  velvets,  goods  imported  by  the  Scottish 
Chartered  Company  trading  to  the  East,  and  certain 
articles  required  for  official  use.  In  its  significant  portions 
the  Act  of  1701  : 

"  Doeth  strictly  Prohibite  and  Forbid  the  Importation 
of  all  stuffs  of  any  kind  made  of  silk  or  hair  and  the 
Importation  of  Calligoes  or  other  Stuffs  or  any  kind  made 
of  cottoun  or  whereis  ther  is  any  cottoun,  hair  or  silk  ; 
as  also  of  capes,  stockings,  gloves,  buttons  of  all  sort  .  .  . 
excepting  musline  and  all  plainblack  silk  stuffs  and  velvets 
for  women's  hoods  and  skarfs  only  ;    as  also  velvets  and    The 
other  silk  stuffs  for  states  and  chairs  of  state  as  likeways   Act  of 
for  pales  mort   cloaths,   foot  mantles   and  the  robes  of    1701. 
such  publict   officers   who   are  in   use   to   wear   velvets ; 
excepting    likewayes  ...  all    such    Indian    and    Persian 
goods  as  shall  be  loaded  in  Persia  and  the  Indies,  and 


360 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


thence  imported  by  the  Company  of  Scotland  tradeing 
to  Africa  and  the  Indies.  .  .  ." 

Paisley  The    regulation    and    development    of    the    indigenous 

Gauze.  linen  industry  was  the  next  matter  to  receive  official 
attention,  and  out  of  the  improved  linen  manufacture 
grew  the  Scottish  silk  industry,  of  which  certain  remains 
are  existent.  The  Humphrey  Fulton  who  founded  the 
silk  trade  of  Paisley  was  born,  according  to  Paterson's 
History  of  Ayr,  at  Midtown  of  Threapwood,  Beith, 
17th  April,  1713,  and  he  died  in  1779.  After  experience 
as  a  packman  in  Scotland  and  England,  he  began  to 
manufacture  linens  and  lawns  at  Beith,  removing  in  1749 
to  Paisley,  where  about  1760  he  introduced  the  making 
of  silk  gauze  in  competition  with  the  looms  of  Spitalfields. 
The  experiment  was  presumably  aided  by  the  lower  cost 
of  labour  in  Scotland  than  in  London,  and  it  succeeded  so 
rapidly,  according  to  particulars  quoted  in  Brown's  History 
of  Paisley,  that  Fulton  often  employed  400-600  looms  in 
the  Paisley  district.  Attracted  by  his  success,  London 
firms  opened  establishments  in  the  town  and  the  local 
goods  were  so  moderate  in  price  and  superior  in 
quality  that  the  manufacturers  opened  warehouses  for  the 
sale  of  the  gauzes  in  London,  Dublin,  and  other  inland 
towns  and  even  shops  in  Paris. 

Humphrey  Fulton  left  two  sons,  and  the  business  sur- 
vived his  death  for  many  years.  One  of  the  employees  of 
the  firm  in  about  1815  was  a  Fulton  of  a  different  family, 
which  is  identified  now  with  the  large  and  famous  dyeing 
firm  of  Fulton,  Sons  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  Paisley.  To  Mr.  Joseph 
Fulton,  son  of  the  last  named,  the  writer  is  indebted 
for  some  particulars  linking  the  Paisley  silk  industry 
with  that  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Mr.  Joseph 
Fulton  writes : — 

Links  "  One  of  the  fellow-workers  of  my  late  father,  named 

with  Douglas,  migrated  with  all  his  family,  about  1815, 

other  to  Yarmouth  and  Norwich,  where  for  many  years 

Centres.  they  were  employed  by  Messrs.   Grout  and  Co., 

silk  crape  manufacturers.  On  retiring,  they 
returned  to  this  part  of  the  country,  and  in  con- 
junction with  Mr.  George  Douglas  (long  manager 


SCOTLAND.  361 

at  Grout  and  Co.)  we  started  making  silk  crape  Links 
here,  but  found  the  trade  rather  foreign  to  our  with 
district.     Our   idea   was   that   girls   employed   in  other 
the  Paisley  thread  mills  might  be  able  to  mani-  Centres, 
pulate   silk,   but   in   this   we   were   disappointed. 
Our  whole  plant  was  sold  to  a  firm  in  Lyons, 
where  we  have  been  led  to  understand  it  proved 
very  successful." 

Semple's  History  of  Paisley  shows  that  in  1780,  when 
the  silk  gauze  trade  was  at  or  near  its  zenith,  there  were  18 
manufacturing  firms  in  the  town,  of  whom  six  belonged 
to  London,  while  eight  out  of  the  remaining  12  had 
London  warehouses.  Brown's  statement  of  the  looms 
in  the  Paisley  district  illustrates  the  remarkable  growth 
of  the  trade. 

1776.  1781. 

Silk  Looms        . .        2,500  4,800 

Linen  or  Lawn.          1,500  2,000 


4,000  6,800 

In  1784  the  value  of  Paisley  manufactures,  computed 
by  W.  Carlile  in  the  Scots  Magazine  (July,  1787),  was  over 
£579,000,  of  which  £350,000  was  attributed  to  silk  gauze. 
On  the  same  estimate  there  were  5,000  silk  weavers  and 
an  equal  number  of  winders,  warpers,  clippers,  draw- 
boys  and  others,  and  the  10,000  workers  were  assumed 
to  receive  an  average  wage  of  5s.  per  week.  The  thread 
manufacture,  then  in  its  infancy,  was  held  accountable 
for  an  output  valued  £64,800,  and  lawns  and  thread 
gauzes  for  £164,000. 

The  further  development  of  the  trade  in  light  silk  goods  The 
was  checked  by  the  growing  production  of  machine-spun  Competi- 
cotton  yarn,  with  which  material  cheaper  muslins  could  tion  of 
be   made   than   with   silk.     The   cheapness   had   another  Cotton, 
reaction.     In    the    words    of    Mr.     Gavin    (Posthumous 
Works)  : 

[In  1789.]  "  The  silk  manufacture  was  engrossed  by 
a  few  great  capitalists  who  would  set  at  defiance  all  rivalry 
by  poorer  men.  They  were  not  under  the  necessity  of 


362  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  competing  with  one  another  to  force  the  sale  of  goods 

Competi-  by  underselling  and  running  the  prices  down  to  the  lowest 

tion  of       rate.     The  raw  material  of  the  silk  weaving  was  brought 

Cotton,      from  foreign  parts,  and  sold  for  cash  at  the  India  House ; 

but  cotton  yarn  was  spun  at  home  in  immense  quantities, 

and  could  be  had  in  sufficient  abundance  by  any  man 

who  could  command  five  pounds  of  money,  or  had  credit 

to  that  amount.      Thus  hundreds  became  manufacturers 

of  muslin  who  could  never  have  produced  a  web  of  silk. 

The  market  became  overstocked  with  goods.     Those  who 

had  got  their  yarn  on  credit  were  obliged  to  sell  at  an 

undervalue,   or  at  whatever  they  got,   in   order  to   pay 

their  bills." 

The  cheaper  material  was  thus  ultra-cheapened  in  its 
finished  form.  The  trade  was  demoralised,  with  ill  effects 
upon  the  wages  of  workpeople.  Working  upon  silk :  "  The 
weavers'  hours  of  labour  were  moderate,  yet  they  were 
so  well  paid  that  they  could  dress  like  gentlemen,  and 
many  of  them  bought  houses  with  their  savings/' 
Working  upon  cotton,  in  the  market  conditions  that  have 
been  described  :  "  The  prices  of  weaving  were  reduced 
to  the  lowest  possible  rate.  Men  were  required  to  work 
longer  hours  to  make  a  living,  which  increased  the  evil 
by  bringing  forward  an  extra  quantity  of  goods." 

The  silk  gauze  trade,  which  survives  in  an  attenuated 
form  in  Glasgow,  but  has  long  been  extinct  in  Paisley, 
ushered  in  the  most  prosperous  period  that  the  weaving 
business  of  the  town  has  ever  known. 

By  the  help  of  a  reprint  of  John  Tait's  Glasgow  Directory, 
1783,  filed  in  the  Mitchell  Library,  Glasgow,  it  is  possible 
to  give  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  Paisley  silk  firms,  taken 
in  the  heyday  of  the  trade  :— 

Some  old          Bennet  &  Co.,  silk  manufacturers,      Silk  Street, 
Paisley  Newtown. 

Silk  Ellis  „  Snedon. 

Firms.  Elliott  &  Dibbs  „  Woodside. 

Ferrier  Pollock  &  Co.       ,,  Cross. 

Messrs.  Fulton  ,,  Maxweltown. 

James  Gibb  „  Bridge  Street. 

Hendry  &  Robertson       „  Newtown. 


SCOTLAND. 


363 


Joseph  Holmes  &  Co.,  silk  manu- 
facturers,   Townhead. 
James  Lowndes  &  Co.     „ 
John  Love  ,, 

James  Love 


Snedon. 
New  Street. 
Abbey  Bridge 
Street. 
Wellmeadow. 


Some  old 
Paisley 
Silk 
Firms. 


High  Street. 
Gordon's  Lane. 

New  Street. 


John  McLellan,  silk  lish  maker, 

Niven  Stevenson  &  Pagan,  silk 

-  manufacturers, 

William   Sempill,  gauze  dresser, 

William    Stevenson,  silk    manu- 
facturer, 

William  Twige,  silk  manufacturer,      Bridgend. 

William   &    John    Wallace,    silk 

manufacturers,  Snedon. 

James  Monteith,  of  Glasgow,  is  credited  with  being  the 
first  to  warp  a  muslin  web,  employing  Indian  yarn,  and 
muslins  quickly  became  the  staple  production  of  the 
West  of  Scotland.  Defoe,  upon  his  visit  to  the  district, 
wrote  :  "  Here  is  a  manufacture  of  Muslin  which  they 
make  so  good  and  fine  that  great  quantities  of  them  are 
sent  into  England  and  to  the  British  plantations,  where 
they  sell  at  a  good  price.  They  are  generally  striped,  and 
are  very  much  used  by  the  ladies,  and  sometimes  in 
head-cloths  by  the  meaner  sort  of  English  women." 

The  unremunerative  character  of  muslin  weaving  drove 
Paisley  weavers  to  give  attention  to  the  shawls  in  intricate 
and  beautiful  Oriental  designs,  for  which  the  town  won 
a  second  fame.  In  his  monograph  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Paisley  Shawl,  the  late  Mr.  Matthew  Blair  quotes 
a  Mr.  Cross  to  the  effect  that  the  introduction  of  the  shawl 
manufacture  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  French  Expedition 
to  Egypt,  whence  the  original  models  are  supposed  to  have 
been  sent  to  Europe  as  presents.  In  this  connection  it 
seems  worth  while  to  cite  the  categorical  statements  of 
Challaverel  in  the  History  of  Fashion  in  France  (Trans.  1882, 
Hoey  and  Lillie).  Upon  this  authority,  the  first  Indian 
shawl  or  "  cachemire,"  seen  in  France  was  imported 
towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.  (1715-1774). 
The  example  is  said  to  have  excited  much  attention, 


Paisley 
Shawls. 


364  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Paisley  without  at  first  prompting  attempts  to  imitate  the  article. 
Shawls.  Guillaume  Louis  Ternaux  is  named  as  the  first  to  think 
of  manufacturing  such  shawls,  and  he  conceived  the  idea 
of  acclimatising  the  Tibetan  goat  to  his  own  country,  in 
order  to  have  supplies  of  suitable  raw  material  at  hand. 
M.  Joubert,  of  the  National  Library,  was  despatched  to 
Tibet,  and  returned  to  France  with  256  goats,  the  remnant 
of  the  herd  of  1,500  with  which  he  began  the  journey. 
These  goats  were  distributed  over  the  southern  provinces, 
but  the  experiment  was  a  practical  failure.  The  shawls 
were  reproduced  later  in  cotton,  wool  and  silk,  and  also  in 
hair  from  Kirghiz  goats  from  Russia. 

Paisley  took  its   cue  from   France,   and   according  to 
Mr.   R.   Macintyre's  Notes  on  Textiles  in  the  Handbook 
upon   Industries,    prepared    for    the    British    Association 
(1901),  it  was  under  French  supervision  in  1824-7  that 
the  first  cashmere  shawls  were  made.     A  Frenchman  is 
said  also  to  have  shown  how  to  introduce  double  grounds 
to  the  improvement  of  the  beauty  of  the  goods,  accom- 
panied by  a  reduction  of  their  cost.     The  shawl  trade, 
which  involved   an   appreciable   consumption   of  thrown 
and   of  spun  silk  suffered  fluctuations,   and  was   called 
"bad"   in   1831    (Macintyre).     In   1834  the  value  of  the 
production    was    said    (Blair)    to    be    worth    £1,000,000. 
Fixing       Number  4  of  the   Weavers'   Journal,   1836,  said :    "  Our 
Mini-         shawl  trade  is  uncommonly  brisk   at  present,"  and   on 
mum         2nd  February,  1836,  a  minimum  table  of  prices  for  shawls 
Sale          in  1,400  reed  was  signed  upon  the  part  of  the  employers 
Prices.       by  the  following  firms  : — 

Robert  Knox.  Stewart  and  Jamieson. 

William  Houston.        Thomas  Bain. 
P.  Allan  &  Co.  Wilson  and  Dow. 

Alex.  Fyfe  &  Co.        James  Black  for  J.  B.  Fyfe. 
Walter  Lees. 

Weaving  was  still  a  large  industry  in  the  West  of 
Scotland,  and  the  Weavers'  Journal  (1835)  gave  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Union  as  10,000,  half  resident  in  Paisley  and 
half  in  24  villages  in  Renfrewshire  and  Ayrshire.  In  the 
first  issue  of  their  Journal  the  weavers  regretted  that 
the  "  reduction  of  duty  on  French  silks  had  operated 


SCOTLAND.  365 

injuriously    to    the    English    silk   weaver."     Presumably,   Fixing 
in  emulation  of  Spitalfields,  they  were  anxious  to  obtain   Mini- 
power  to  regulate  wages.     They  seem  to   have  been  not   mum 
unsuccessful  in  their  efforts  at  direct  action,  for  in  April,   Sale 
1836,  they  obtained  also  a  minimum  price  list  from  the   Prices. 
Glasgow   and   Paisley   manufacturers   of   Turkey   gauzes, 
a  list  of  whose  signatures  is  appended: — 

Ovington  and  Warwick. 

David  Gowdie  &  Co. 

Archd.  Brown  &  Co. 

James  Whyte,  Junr. 

W.  Carlisle  &  Co. 

Per  Wm.  Fulton  &  Sons,  James  Fulton. 

Coats,  Grieve  &  Co. 

Alexander  Keith. 

Andrew  Whyte  &  Co. 

The  rates  of  wages  earned  by  hand-loom  weavers 
during  the  terrible  years  of  the  transition  to  the  power-loom 
left  every  reason  for  complaint.  A  Parliamentary  Inquiry 
of  1838,  under  the  Commissionership  of  J.  S.  Symons, 
elicited  the  following  particulars  as  to  the  fall  in  wages 
between  1806  and  1830.  The  figures  refer  only  to  "a 
certain  quality  of  pullicate"  (a  cotton  fabric),  but  it 
is  impossible  that  such  a  movement  should  not  have 
its  bearings  upon  weaving  at  large : 

1806.  15d.  per  ell        32s.  6d.  per  week. 

1810.  12Jd.      „  26s.  9d. 

1815.  12d.       „  25s.  9d.       „ 

1820.  5d.       „  10s.  I 

1830.  3d.       „  5s.  6d.       „ 

1838.  3|d.     „  6s.  7d.       „ 

"A  Weaver's  Saturday"  inscribed  to  the  Commissioner   The 
Symons,  and  written  by  "  One  of  the  Witnesses,"  describes   Fall  in 
the   miseries   of   a   cruel   time   with   a   skill   and   power    Wages, 
creditable  to  a  race  and  to  a  trade  famous  for  extra- 
ordinary gifts  of  versification.     "A  farthing  on  the  ell 
can  make  the  weaver  smile  "  runs  one  line  in  allusion  to 
a  voluntary  increase  in  weaving  prices  conceded  by  the 
manufacturers.     The   author's   fellows   are   apostrophised 
at  length  in  a  manner  sufficiently  shown  by  these  excerpts  : 


366 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Account  "  Hard  is  your  fortune,  nurslings  of  the  loom, 

by  an  Cradled  in  sorrow,  reared  in  joyless  toil ; 

Eye-  Stumbling  and  lost  in  dull  commercial  gloom, 

witness.  Uncheered  by  hope,  your  anguish  to  beguile — 

*  *  * 

.  .  .  Among  poor  weavers,  grumbling  at  their  ills ; 

Some  curse  taxation,  some  their  rotten  yarn, 
And  some  condemn  steam-looms  and  cotton  mills." 

There  is  a  brighter  side  to  the  past,  and  those  who 
remember  the  silk  hand-loom  weavers  of  the  ?60's  and 
'70's  in  Glasgow  recall  that  they  were  always  a  merry  and 
care-free  class,  constantly  singing  at  their  work.  If  their 
wages  were  not  high  their  wants  were  frequently  not  many, 
and  the  national  porridge  formed  the  staple  of  their  food. 
Hand-loom  weaving  is  still  carried  on  in  outlying  places, 
notably  at  Larkhall,  Strathaven,  Stonehouse  and  Hamilton 
to  supply  certain  Glasgow  manufacturers  and  a  few 
Macclesfield  firms  who  have  weaving-agents  in  these 
places.  The  occupation  does  not  attract  the  rising 
generation,  which  passes  into  the  coal,  stone  and  iron 
industries  to  undertake  coarser  and  less  healthful  employ- 
ments in  return  for  higher  pay.  The  future  is  with  the 
power-loom,  and  the  leading  Glasgow  silk  manufacturers 
have  equipped  themselves  with  the  best  Continental 
models  in  looms  and  with  electrical  motors  to  drive 
them. 

The  Mr.  Morris  Pollock,  of  Long  Govan,  has  the  credit  of 

first  introducing  the  first   power-looms   into  the  silk  industry 

Power        of  Scotland  in  or  about  1870.     Mr.  Pollock  had  been  a 

Looms.       manufacturer  of  other  textiles  in  Glasgow  before  buying 

the  estate  of  10  acres  at  Govan,  which  now  forms  part 

of  the  site  occupied  by  the  Fairfield  Shipbuilding  Company. 

There  a  large  silk  factory  was  erected,  and  was  worked 

by  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Robertson,  of  Govan,  after  the 

failure  of  the  original  owner.     A  Mr.  John  Hyde,  whose 

previous  experience  had  lain  in  the  weaving  branch  of 

the  trade,  was  manager  for  Mr.  Pollock,   and   made   an 

unsuccessful  attempt  to  introduce  the  spinning  of  waste 

silk.     English  workmen   were   brought   to   carry   on   the 


SCOTLAND.  367 

processes,  but  the  yarn  produced  was  difficult  of  sale,  and  Silk  in 
apparently  it  was  to  consume  this  yarn  that  the  power-  Glasgow, 
looms  were  brought  in.     The  cloths  woven  were  shipped 
to  India,  but  the  trade  was  unremunerative. 

Some  earlier  attempts  to  carry  on  silk-spinning  in 
Scotland  are  detailed  elsewhere  in  this  book  (Chapter  V, 
Waste  Silk),  and  it  suffices  to  mention  the  names  of  John 
G.  Campbell,  whose  office  in  1839  was  at  119,  Brunswick 
Street,  Glasgow ;  of  M.  W.  Ivison,  of  Hales  Street, 
Edinburgh,  and  Wm.  Casey  and  Co.,  Castle  Mills, 
Edinburgh. 

The  industry  and  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  Robertson, 
of  Govan,  have  placed  at  disposal  certain  particulars 
regarding  a  Glasgow  man,  formerly  a  silk-spinner  in 
England.  While  employed  at  Lancaster,  one  Archibald 
Templeton  took  out  a  patent  for  the  treatment  of  waste 
silk  preparatory  to  spinning,  and  the  facts  as  to  his  con- 
nection with  an  eminent  family  of  carpet  manufacturers 
and  a  Prime  Minister  of  England,  may  be  set  out  in 
Mr.  Robertson's  words  : 

"  The  Archibald  Templeton  who  took  out  the  patent 
was  a  Scot,  and  a  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  Archibald  Templeton, 
of  Broomward  Weaving  Factory,  Glasgow,  is  called  after 
him,  and  is  a  nephew.  From  information  received  from 
this  nephew  and  from  a  daughter  of  the  patentee,  I  learn 
that  Archibald  and  his  elder  brother  Thomas  started 
business  on  their  own  account  as  silk-spinners  in  Congleton 
but  failed.  After  that  Archibald  went  to  London,  taking 
employment  as  representative  of  Messrs.  James  Templeton 
and  Co.,  carpet  manufacturers,  Glasgow. 

"  Thomas  Templeton  took  employment  under  a  spinner  A  Link 
of   the   name   of   Lowndes  in   Congleton,    and   thereafter  with 
follows  a  little  bit  of  romance.     Thomas  fell  in  love  with  Politics, 
and  married  his  employer's  daughter.     Lowndes  had  more 
than  one  daughter,  it  appears,  for  another  suitor  came 
along  of  the  name  of  Bannerman  and  married  a  second 
Miss   Lowndes,   and  it   was   from   some  relation   of  this 
Bannerman  that  Henry  Campbell  (afterwards   Sir  Henry 
Campbell  Bannerman,  who  became  Prime  Minister)  took 
his  added  name  of  Bannerman." 


368 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


West  Two  of  the  Glasgow  silk  manufacturing  firms  whose  names 

of  appeared  in  the  Glasgow  Directory  for  1860  may  be  especially 

Scotland  mentioned.  James  McAulay  and  Co.,  who  in  1848  were 
Survivals,  drugget  manufacturers,  and  who  started  their  silk  trade  in 
1850,  were  succeeded  in  business  by  Caldwell,  Young  and 
Co.,  who  are  at  present  the  principal  silk  manufacturers 
in  Scotland,  and  have  their  factory  at  Larkhall,  Lanark- 
shire. The  business  of  Alex.  Henry  and  Co.,  makers  of 
silk  gossamers,  survives,  and  is  now  carried  on  as  a  branch 
of  Caldwell,  Young  and  Company,  Ltd.,  whose  primary 
business  is  the  manufacture  of  mufflers  and  handkerchiefs. 
Glasgow  competes  with  Macclesfield  in  silk  mufflers, 
printed  and  brocaded  handkerchiefs,  foulards,  crepes, 
tie  cloths  and  printed  piece  goods.  John  Frew  and  Sons, 
Ltd.,  Mr.  John  Galloway  and  Mr.  W.  Smith  carry  on  a 
somewhat  similar  class  of  trade,  and  the  four  concerns 
constitute  all  that  is  left  of  the  separate  silk  industry  of 
the  West  of  Scotland. 

The  heaviest  blow  to  the  Scottish  silk  industry  within 
recent  years  has  been  the  loss  of  the  Rangoon  market, 
formerly  the  destination  of  large  and  regular  quantities 
of  printed  silks.  The  loss  is  attributed  to  a  combination 
of  circumstances.  On  the  one  hand,  the  German  dye- 
ware  companies,  in  the  endeavour  to  extend  their  trade, 
had  sent  out  dyes  in  small  packets  for  retail  sale,  accom- 
panied by  instructions  as  to  their  use.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Japanese,  in  search  of  an  outlet  for  their  habutae, 
descended  on  Burma.  The  native  was  put  in  possession 
Loss  at  once  of  cheap  colours  for  printing  and  cheap  fabrics 

of  the  upon  which  to  print,  and  it  does  not  seem  possible  that 
Rangoon  this  market  for  tens  of  thousands  of  pieces  of  silk  annually 
Market.  can  ever  be  recovered. 

Silk  is  used  by  Glasgow  manufacturers  of  mixed  goods 
in  decreasing  'quantity.  The  spun  silk  formerly  employed 
for  making  stripes  has  been  replaced  by  mercerised  cotton 
in  most  directions,  and  the  trade  in  mixed  goods  has 
tended  to  leave  Glasgow  for  Bradford,  whither  it  has  been 
followed  by  some  Glasgow  weaving  firms.  Glasgow  was 
the  place  of  origin  of  the  first  of  the  artificial  silks,  a 
gelatine  product  known  as  "  Vanduara."  The  manufacture 


SCOTLAND.  369 

of   this   article    does    not   seem    ever    to    have    attained   Artificial 
considerable  dimensions,  and  the  local  consumption  of  the  Silks, 
improved   artificial   silks   is   apparently   not   large.     One 
firm  of  silk  throwsters  remains — Anderson  and  Robertson, 
Ltd.,  of  Go  van,  who  work  three  factories,  of  which  one  is 
at  Glemsford,  Suffolk.     In  replacement  of  the  vanished 
demand      for      silk      for      weaving      Rangoon      cloths, 
Messrs.    Anderson    and    Robertson    have    established    a 
business    in    high-class    coloured    silks    for    knitting    and 
sewing. 

Edinburgh,  the  scene  of  various  early  efforts  in  silk 
manufacture,  has  now  neither  spindles  nor  looms.  It 
has  been  shown  that  Wm.  Casey  and  Co.  carried  on  silk 
manufacture  there  in  the  '40's,  and  the  Glasgow  Diredwy, 
1835-36,  describes  William  Casey  as  agent  incidentally 
in  that  city  for  White  and  Batt,  silk  merchants,  London. 
Arnot's  History  of  Edinburgh  (edn.  1816)  states  that  in 
1779,  in  the  capital,  there  were : 

"  In  the  weaving  business  about  90  looms  .  .  .  employed 
in  making  silk  gauzes,  flowered  and  plain  ;  and  cotton 
and  linen  stuffs  are  printed  to  a  small  extent."  In  1792, 
according  to  the  letters  of  Creech,  quoted  in  Anderson's 
History  of  Edinburgh  (1856),  there  was  an  established 
manufacture  of  shawls  and  casimirs. 

A  note  upon  Paisley  shawls  in  McCulloch's  British 
Empire,  1837,  remarked  "  the  trade  is  principally  estab- 
lished at  Paisley,  but  it  is  also  pursued  at  Edinburgh  (in 
higher  qualities)  and  at  Norwich  to  some  extent." 

A  more  material  point  shown  by  Arnot's  recapitulation 
of  the  exports  of  Leith  in  1778  is  that  Scottish  silk  stuffs 
were  then  being  exported  to  Sweden,  Russia,  Poland  and 
Holland  ;  silk  gauzes  to  Spain,  and  lawns  and  gauzes  to 
North  America. 

Dunfermline,  famous  now  and  of  old  for  its  fine  damask   Edin- 
linens,  in  which  the  highest  quality  of  material  and  the  burgh 
greatest   skill   in   weaving   are   necessarily   employed,    is   and 
accountable  at  least  for  a  tour  de  force  in  silk  manufacture.   Dun- 
The  particulars  are  taken  from  Mr.  Bremner's  Industries  of  fermline. 
Scotland,  a  handbook  prepared  for  the  British  Association, 
and  are  given  in  his  own  words.     It  should  be  understood 

M 


370 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Edin-         that    the    weaver    in    point    was    improving    upon    the 

burgh         performance  of  a  forerunner  in  1702,  who  wove  a  seamless 

and  shirt  in  his  loom  and  forwarded  it  to  the  Bang. 

Dun-  "  David    Anderson,    weaver    of    Dunfermline,    wove    a 

fermline.    chemise  for  H.M.   Queen  Victoria.     It  was  composed  of 

Chinese  tram  silk  and  net  warp  yarn,  and  had  no  seams. 

The  breast  bore  a  portrait  of  her  Majesty,  with  the  dates 

of  her  birth,  ascension  and  coronation,  underneath  which 

were  the  British  arms  and  a  garland  of  national  flowers." 

The  flag  of  the  Dunfermline   Weavers'   Incorporation, 

a  treasured  local  possession,  is  woven  of  a  solid  body  of 

silk   damasks  bearing   different   designs  upon  each  side, 

although  the  fabrics  are  interwoven. 

The  South  of  Scotland,  the  stronghold  of  the  woollen 
industry,  manufactures  primarily  tweeds  and  hosiery, 
in  which  silk  is  an  occasional  and  incidental  component 
rather  than  a  prime  material.  Upon  the  evidence  of 
the  Wool  Tear  Book  (1913),  the  Scottish  tweed  mills  have 
300  sets  of  cards,  230,000  mule  spindles  and  3,000  power- 
looms.  They  employ  11,300  people,  and  pay  about 
£60,000  in  wages.  They  consume  30  million  Ib.  of  raw 
wool,  and  make  about  18  million  yards  of  cloth,  valued 
at  £3,000,000  or  over,  per  annum.  Silk  enters  into  these 
fine  tweeds  and  worsteds  chiefly  in  the  form  of  twist  effect 
threads. 

The  Hawick,  the  centre   of  the   Scottish  hosiery  industry, 

South         is  to  be  likened  to  Leicester  in  the  variety  of  its  knitted 

of  productions.     A  few  articles  are  knitted  from  pure  silk, 

Scotland,    and  the  market  is  of  increasing    interest  to  waste    silk 

spinners.     Probably    a    larger    value    is    represented    by 

manufacture  of  silk  and  wool,  resembling  those  made  by 

a  few  firms  of  manufacturing  hosiers  in  Nottingham. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 
IRELAND. 

Whatever   the   success   of   the  native   silk  workers   in  Dublin 
England  before  the  great  immigration  from  France  and  the  Head- 
the  Low  Countries,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Huguenot  quarters 
invasion  marked  the  beginning  of  the  Irish  Silk  Industry,  of  the 

Before  the  actual  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  Industry, 
in  1685,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  movement  of  the 
persecuted  foreign  Protestants  through  the  United  King- 
dom ;  in  1682  several  of  them  were  admitted  to  the 
franchise  of  Dublin,  amongst  the  names  being  that  of 
Abraham  Tripier,  "  silk  weaver."  Efforts  were  made  by 
the  Huguenots  in  different  parts  of  Ireland  to  found  a 
silk  industry,  Lisnagarvey  (Lisburn)  being  the  first  place 
tried,  but  while  the  North  was  destined  to  be  the  home 
of  a  much  larger  enterprise — the  linen  industry — the  silk 
trade  of  Ireland  has  alway  been  centred  in  Dublin. 

Great  exertions  were  made  to  encourage  the  settlement 
of  silk  weavers  there ;  the  French  Protestants  were 
admitted  free  of  the  city  guilds  without  payment  of  a 
fine,  collections  made  to  succour  the  distressed  immigrants, 
and  the  Irish  Parliament,  which  had  been  zealously  striving 
to  build  up  textile  industries  through  Ireland,  was  amply 
rewarded  for  its  hospitality  to  the  foreigners. 

It  was  in  about  1693  that  the  Huguenot  silk  workers 
may  be  said  to  have  set  up  their  looms  in  Dublin.  Their 
industrial  spirit  and  high  character  have  left  a  mark  on 
the  city  in  various  ways  ;  and  many  of  them  rose  to  high 
eminence  in  its  commercial  life. 

Weaving  was  at  that  time,  and  for  long  afterwards, 
carried  on  in  the  homes  of  the  workers,  and  a  part  of  the 
city  known  as  the  Earl  of  Meath's  Liberties,  became 


371 


372  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Dublin      identified  with  the  silk  and  woollen  trades.     The  Irish 

the  Head-  Parliamentary   records   give   much   valuable   information 

quarters    as  to  the  progress  of  the  craft.     In  1707  a  petition  was 

of  the        presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  by  Dublin  "  manu- 

Industry.  facturers    of   silk   and   mohair/'    complaining   that   their 

"  manufacture  of  silk  and  mohair  and  horsehair  buttons 

had  been  injured  by  means  and  practice  of  those  who  of 

late  make  horn,  cloth  and  wood  buttons,  and  requesting 

that  these  rival  manufactures  be  suppressed." 

In  an  Essay  upon  the  Trade  of  Ireland,  published  by 
Arthur  Dobbs,  about  1729,  it  is  recorded  that  an  average 
of  £38,697  worth  of  silk  was  worked  up  yearly  in  Dublin. 
About  1730  there  were  800  looms  making  garment  silks, 
with  an  incidental  employment  of  three  times  as  many 
people.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Irish  Poplin,  or  "  Tabinet," 
as  it  was  first  called,  was  then  being  manufactured,  for  a 
petition  addressed  to  the  House  of  Commons  against 
the  smuggling  of  East  India  manufactures  into  Ireland, 
is  signed  by  "  merchants,  traders,  and  weavers  dealing  in 
silk,  silk  and  thread,  silk  and  cotton,  silk  and  worsted, 
Pro-  etc."  Protective  measures  were  constantly  being  called 
tective  for,  and  duties  were  imposed  on  every  foreign  material 
Legisla-  calculated  to  compete  with  the  young  Dublin  industry, 
tion.  Foreign  silks  had  to  pay  one-third  more  duty  than  those 
imported  from  England  or  Wales,  and  even  as  early  as 
1705  an  additional  duty  of  Is.  6d.  per  yard  was  imposed 
on  Eastern  silks  and  manufactured  stuffs,  rising  in  1729 
to  2s.  6d.  per  pound  weight,  and  in  1745  to  40s.  per  pound 
weight.  The  petition  which  secured  this  last  privilege 
came  from  the  Master,  Wardens  and  Brethren  of  the 
Corporation  of  Weavers,  a  powerful  body  dating  from 
1706,  which  had  a  representation  of  three  members  in 
the  Common  Council,  and  for  whose  meetings  the  Weavers' 
Hall,  which  is  still  in  existence,  was  built.  The  imposition 
of  heavy  duties  like  these  naturally  encouraged  smuggling, 
and  importers  of  French  and  Italian  silks  had  every 
inducement  to  take  the  risk  of  passing  the  goods  through 
England,  silks  coming  from  which  were  admitted  to 
Ireland  at  a  lower  duty  than  if  the  goods  were  declared 
of  foreign  origin. 


Plate  XXXIX.  The  Huguenot  House ,  Sweeney's  Lane>  Dublin, 


IRELAND.  373 

The  extreme  duty  of  £4  per  Ib.  was  at  last  imposed  on  Pro- 
the   foreign   manufactures,    but   apparently   without   the  tective 
desired  result,   for  in   1763  the  Corporation  of   Weavers  Legisla- 
represented  to  Parliament  that  "  whereas  in  1730  Dublin  tion. 
had  800  looms,  there  are  now  but  50  employed,  and  many 
families  have  been  reduced  to  beggary." 

A  sum  of  £8,000  was  granted  in   1763  by  the  Irish 
Parliament  to  the  Dublin  Society  "  for  the  encouragement 
of  industries,"    the   silk  industry   being   placed   first   on 
the  list.     The  plan  adopted  by  the  Dublin  (afterwards 
Royal  Dublin)  Society  was  "  protection "  in  its  crudest 
form.     A  premium  of  10  per  cent,  was  granted  to  manu- 
factures on  all  Irish  made  silk  sold  in  a  public  silk  ware- 
house.    This    warehouse    was    superintended    by    twelve 
noblemen,    and   twelve    others    annually    chosen   by   the 
Corporation  of   Weavers  to  examine  the  quality  of  the 
goods  sent  in  for  sale.     Lady  patronesses  were  selected, 
and  they  advised  the  manufacturers  in  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  changing  fashions.     For  a  time,  with  Pros- 
the  additional  assistance  of  prizes  and  exhibitions,  the  perity  of 
pampered  manufacture  prospered,  and  it  is  stated  that  in  pam- 
good  years,  under  the  system,  nearly  3,000  looms  were  pered 
employed.     These  figures  are,  however,  rather  uncertain,  Industry, 
and  are  not  in  agreement  with  the  Customs'   accounts 
of  raw   and   thrown  silk  imports.     For  instance,   about 
144,000  Ibs.  (in  1781)  is  the  highest  quantity  tabulated 
for  these  imports  of  silk,  and  it  is  somewhat  hard  to  con- 
ceive that  good  employment  on  silk  goods  could  be  given 
from  this  for  3,000  looms. 

What  is  much  more  striking,  however,  is  the  increase 
of  imports  in  finished  silk  fabrics  towards  the  close  of  this 
highly  protected  period,  the  value  of  these  showing  a 
rise  from  £64,000  in  1774  to  £188,000  in  1783,  and  from 
the  indication  of  a  much  smaller  percentage  in  the  increase 
of  weight,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  growth  was  in  richer 
classes  of  silk,  probably  brocades.  Throwsters  must  have 
had  a  fair  trade  in  Dublin  during  this  protected  period, 
about  half  the  imports  of  silk  being  in  the  raw  state. 

In  view  of  present  day  discussions,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  the  effect  of  the  "  Spitalfields  "  Act,  as  it  was  called, 


374 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Failure       on  the  Dublin  silk  trade.     This  Act  of   1779-80  fixed, 

of  under  penalty,   the  silk  weavers'   wages,   and   gave  the 

State-         Dublin  Society  complete  powers  of  superintendence  over 

Aid  the   manufacture.     But   the   policy   of   interference   does 

System,      not  seem  to  have  been  a  success.     After  22  years  of  State 

encouragement,    during    which    time    £28,000    had    been 

given  in  bounties  and  prizes,  the  silk  warehouse  was  closed, 

as  the  plan  "  had  not  answered  the  ends  of  a  general 

increase  and  extension  of  the  manufacture." 

From  the  end  of  the  18th  century  onward,  indeed, 
the  history  of  the  Dublin  silk  trade  is  rarely  cheerful 
reading.  A  10  per  cent,  protective  tariff  imposed  at  the 
Union  in  1800  helped  the  industry  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  at  the  close  of  the  twenty  years'  term,  for  which  this 
duty  was  imposed,  Dublin  weavers  were  face  to  face 
with  grave  trouble. 

The  abolition  of  duties  (for  England  also)  in  1826  on 
foreign  silks  was  a  still  more  crushing  blow.  The 
importation  of  foreign  manufactured  silks  had  been, 
virtually,  prohibited  from  1765  until  that  date.  From 
that  time  until  1870,  when  advantage  was  taken  of  the 
Franco-Prussian  trouble  to  develop  trade  with  America, 
there  was  a  period  of  stagnation.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
Dr.  W.  K.  Sullivan,  who  was  appointed  to  draw  up  the 
Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Cork  Exhibition 
in  1883,  summed  up  the  case  justly  when  he  said  :  "  The 
decay  of  the  manufacture  in  Ireland,  is,  I  believe,  mainly 
Effect  of  due  to  the  employers,  who  from  want  of  foresight, 
Abolition  indolence  or  carelessness,  let  their  business  get  into  a 
of  Duties,  crystallised  state,  which  no  change  of  fashion,  no  com- 
petition of  new  fabrics,  no  improvement  in  processes  or 
machines,  could  influence."  Since  1890  a  better  state  of 
things  has  prevailed.  Long  before  this,  the  whole-silk 
trade  had  gone,  with  velvets  and  ribbons,  so  that  for  all 
practical  purposes  the  only  branch  of  the  silk  trade  had 
been,  as  it  now  is,  the  Irish  poplin  portion. 

THE  HAND-LOOM  IN  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  OF  IRELAND. 

The    original    Weavers'    Corporation    of    Dublin    com- 
prised silk,   cotton,  linen,  woollen   and  velvet   makers— 


Plate  XL. 


Hand-loom  Poplin  Weaver,  who  wrought  for  over 
60  years  at  the  Craft,  chiefly  for  Atkinson  &  Co., 
in  whose  service  he  died. 


IRELAND.  375 

the  surviving  part  of  this  Union  is  called  the  "  Dublin 
Silk  Trade/'  but  scarcely  any  whole  silk  is  woven :  Irish 
poplin,  silk  warp  and  wool  weft,  being  the  only  material 
manufactured.  The  hand-loom  is  still  in  vogue,  with 
the  most  modern  Jacquard  machines,  dobbies,  etc., 
attached. 

Experiments    in    power-looms  with  Irish  poplin  have  Power- 
not  proved  successful,  the  rapid  "  laying "   of  the  weft  looms 
failing  to  give  the  true  poplin   "  feel."     This  material,  not  a 
unlike   ducape,    and   similar   foreign   imitations,   requires  success. 
an  easy  adjustment  of  weft,  and  in  the  richer  makes  high 
speed  is  impracticable.     Piece  work  obtains  in  the  industry 
generally,    and   the    apprenticeship    system,    modified   to 
suit    modern    conditions,    is    still    in    vogue.     The    more 
skilful  men  take  apprentices  as  required,  and  teach  them 
in  the  factories,  dividing  the  earnings  of  the  apprentices' 
looms  on  a  fixed  scale,  and  very  much  in  the  old  Guild 
fashion    "  undertaking "    the    work    from    the    employer. 
This  gives  the  weaver-master  an  interest  in  training  the 
boys,  and  works  satisfactorily. 

The  survival  of  French  terms  in  the  poplin  trade, 
although  probably  not  one  of  the  weavers  is  of  pure  French 
extraction,  shows  the  conservatism  of  the  workers. 
Couplee,  coteret,  rochetee,  portee,  and  many  other 
Huguenot  terms,  are  as  freely  used  as  200  years  ago. 

Realising  that  Parliamentary  and  Vice-regal  patronage  Develop- 
were  alike  unavailing,  and  finding  that  the  taste  for  lighter  ment 
dress  fabrics  had  seriously  affected  the  demand  for  gowns,  of  the 
the    poplin    manufacturers    developed,    with    great    and  Tie 
growing  success,  the  tie  business,  which  now  absorbs  by  Trade, 
far  the  largest  proportion  of  their  loom  production.     The 
number  of  looms  working  in  1913  was  only  200,  but  the 
industry  is  in   a  healthy   growing   condition,   and  these 
figures   are   likely   to   be   exceeded   in   the   near   future. 
Considerably   more   than   half   the   looms   are   employed 
in  one  factory   (Atkinson's)  ;    and  there  are  at  present 
altogether    five    manufacturers.     The    increase    in    the 
Colonial  trade  is  a  gratifying  evidence  of  the  awakened 
enterprise     of     the     Irish     poplin     manufacturers.      The 
colourings  and  patterns  are  now  equal  to  the  productions 


376  SILE   INDUSTRY. 

of  any  other  seat  of  manufacture,  and  the  constant 
succession  of  novelties  in  a  material  which  used  to  be 
of  a  stereotyped  character,  gives  assurance  of  further 
expansion  of  an  interesting  trade. 

Tapestry  Portrait  of  George  II. 

A  John  Vanbeaver,  "  ye  famous  tapistry  weaver  "  (whose 

Weavers'   large   and   valuable  works,   the   "  Siege   of   Derry '     and 

Hall  "  Battle  of  the  Boyne,"  still  adorn  the  House  of  Lords 

Tapestry,  in  College  Green,  Dublin),  wrought  this  exquisite  tapestry 

portrait  of  George   II,    who  was  a  great  patron  of  the 

industry,    in    1738.     The    colouring    is    still    wonderfully 

fresh,  and  the  picture,  which  is  set  in  an  elaborately  carved 

oak  frame,  relief  work,  is  on  the  walls  of  Atkinson's  Poplin 

Warehouse  in  College  Green. 

The  tapestry  formerly  hung  over  the  fire-place  in  the 
Weavers'  Hall,  and  was  purchased  from  the  Weavers' 
Corporation  by  Mr.  Richard  Atkinson,  twice  Lord  Mayor 
of  Dublin. 

It  is  believed  to  have  been  awarded  a  prize  by  the 
Royal  Dublin  Society,  which  took  such  a  prominent 
part  in  the  encouragement  of  silk  weaving. 

The  Huguenot  House,  Sweeney's  Lane,  Dublin. 

Of  which  an  illustration  appears  elsewhere,  is  one  of 

the  finest  specimens  of  the  old  Huguenot  houses  in  Dublin. 

These  houses  were  built  in  1721  (as  shewn  on  tablet  on 

farthest  house),  and  some  of  them  are  still  in  good  condition 

Old  and  well  tenanted.     They  stand  close  by  the  site  of  the 

Hugue-      Earl  of  Meath's  mansion,  and  are  in  the  central  part  of 

not  the  "  Liberties  "  of  Dublin,  facing  the  old  "  Brass  Castle," 

House.       where  James   II   is  said  to  have  coined  the  last  money 

bearing   his   image.     In   these   houses,    and    all    around, 

silk  weaving  was  carried  on  up  to  a  few  years  ago. 

Weavers'  Hall,  Coombe,  Dublin. 

The  Weavers'  Hall,  Coombe,  Dublin,  also  illustrated, 
was  built  by  the  Corporation  of  Weavers  in  1745,  and 
is  still  in  excellent  preservation. 


Plate  XL/. 


Tapestry  Portrait  of  George  II., 
by  John  Vanbeaver. 


Plate  XL/7. 


Weavers'  Hall,  Coombe,  Dublin. 


IRELAND.  377 

There  is  a  leaden  statue  of  George  II  in  front,  his  Majesty 
attired  in  Court  suit,  with  full-bottomed  wig :  shuttles  and 
other  weavers'  implements  are  slung  across  his  arm. 

The  Hall  interior  is  of  handsome  proportions,  cornices 
and  architraves  being  fine  specimens  of  wood  carving, 
and  the  mantelpieces  magnificently  wrought  in  Irish  oak. 

The    "  Weavers'    Corporation    Chest "    is    still   in    the  Weavers' 
Hall,  and  has  the  following  inscription  on  lid  : —  Corpora- 

"  This  is  the  Corporation  of  Weavers'  Chest,  tion 

Anno.  1706.  Chest. 

Nathaniel  James,  Master. 
William  Peirce,  j  Wardens 
Thomas  How,     ) 

On  either  side  of  the  Hall  were  the  Weavers'  Almshouse, 
and  their  schoolhouse.  These  buildings  had  fallen  into 
decay,  but  are  now  rebuilt  in  modern  style,  the  top  floor 
of  each  being  used  as  weaving  rooms  for  their  out-door 
workers  by  Atkinson  and  Co. 


BOOK    THREE. 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 
SILK  FROM  INDIA. 

As  a  contributor  to  the  European  markets  for  raw 
silk,  India  has  not  taken  the  high  place  with  which  she 
is  sometimes  credited.  India  herself  is  a  large  consumer  of 
silk  alike  in  piece  goods  and  raw  silks,  and  while  she 
exports  a  certain  quantity  of  the  latter  annually,  she 
imports  considerably  more  than  is  produced.  In  survey- 
ing the  position  of  the  Dependency  as  a  source  of  the 
raw  material,  it  must  however  be  remembered  that  it  is 
The  produced  in  two  kinds,  namely  the  domesticated  type  of 

Future  mulberry-fed  cocoon,  and  the  wild  or  tussore  variety, 
of  Wild  It  is  the  former  to  which  references  are  usually  made  in 
Silk.  early  trade  reports,  and  in  the  references  as  to  silk  con- 

tained in  the  records  of  the  East  India  Company,  for 
although  the  uses  of  the  tussore  products  have  been  known 
for  centuries  to  the  native  weavers  of  India  and  China,  it  is 
only  within  very  recent  years  that  their  market  possibilities 
have  been  recognised  in  the  silk  factories  of  Europe.  Now 
that  these  are  being  realised  far  greater  attention  is  being 
paid  to  the  wild  silks,  and  there  are  economists  who  think 
that  it  will  be  better  in  the  future  to  concentrate  attention 
on  the  conditions  favourable  to  their  development  rather 
than  on  the  domestic  type. 

Silk  has,  however,  played  no  small  part  in  the  story  of 
British  relations  with  the  Eastern  Empire.  Wonderful 
tales  of  the  sumptuous  fabrics  of  the  marts  of  Persia 
and  India  had  been  brought  home  by  the  early  travellers, 
and  Ludovico  di  Varthema,  who  explored  the  Persian  Gulf 
in  1505  to  1508,  recorded  that  at  Khorassan  "  there  is 
a  great  plenty  and  abundance  of  stuffs  and  especially  of 

378 


SILK  FROM  INDIA. 


379 


silk  so  that  in  one  day  you  can  purchase  here  3,000  to    Travel- 
4,000  camels'   loads  of  silk."     Moreover,  in   1592,   some   lers5 
English  privateers  had  made  good  prize  of  the  Portuguese    Tales, 
carrack,  Madre  de  Dios,  one  of  a  little  fleet  of  six  vessels 
which  sailed  under  command  of  Ferdinande  de  Mendoza 
from  Lisbon  for  Goa,  and  brought  her  into  Dartmouth, 
where  they  displayed  not  only  her  cargo  of  costly  spices, 
but  also  "  raw  silk  and  silk  stuffs  and  other  piece  goods, 
taffaties,  sarcenets,  cloth  of  gold,  calicoes,  lawns,  quilts, 
carpets  and  other  rich  commodities." 

That    was    an    exceedingly    important    capture,    from 
another  point  of  view,  for,  as  Sir  George  Birdwood,  in 
his  researches  into  the  early  letters  and  other  documents 
relating  to  the  founding  of  the  East  India  Company,  has 
shown,  she  carried  a  copy  of  "  The  notable  Register  or 
Matiscola   of  the  whole   Government   and   Trade   of  the 
Portuguese  in  the  East  Indies."     Some  seven  years  later, 
when  the  Dutch  traders  raised  the  price  of  pepper,  and 
the  London  grocers  took  alarm,  it  was  upon  the  lines  of 
this     document    that    the    petition    went    forward    to 
Queen  Elizabeth  to  grant  a  charter  to  "  The  Governor 
and    Companie    of   Merchantes    of    London   trading   into 
the  East  Indies."     Thus  upon  silk  and  pepper  were  laid    The 
the  foundations  of  the  mighty  volume  of  commerce  between    Founda- 
this  country  and  the  Asiatic  Continent.     Under  the  com-    tions  of 
mand  of  James  Lancaster,  that  splendid  adventurer  whose    Indian 
faith  led  Hudson  to  try  to  make  the  North- West  Passage,    Com- 
the  first  little  fleet  set  forth,  but  Elizabeth  was  dead  ere    merce. 
they  returned,  and  it  was    James  I    who  approved  the 
order  sent  to  Plymouth  that  they  should  not  break  bulk 
till  they  anchored  in  the  Thames.     The  ships  had  brought 
back   altogether   a   million   pounds   of   spices   as   cloves, 
cinnamon  and  spices,  and  perhaps  even  more  than  that 
in  the  reports  that  they  would  give  as  to  the  possibilities 
of  trade  with  the  Eastern  peoples. 

If  silk  did  not  loom  large  in  this  first  cargo,  by  the 
year  1609  the  references  to  the  "goode  rawe  silk"  available 
are  repeated  in  the  early  letters  from  those  who  went  out 
on  these  voyages,  and  in  1614  it  becomes  the  subject 
of  surely  one  of  the  earliest  efforts  of  reciprocal  trading 


380 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  as  it  is  now  understood.     For  Sir  Thomas  Roe  was  sent 

Founda-     out  by  James  I  as  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  the  famous 
tions  of      Mogul   Emperor,  Jehanghis,  at  Agra,  with    directions   to 
Indian        ascertain  what  silk  would  be  available.     The  Company 
Com-          desired  him  to  secure  "  that  wee  may  have  good  assurance 
merce.        that  for  their  silk  they  will  accept  at  the  least  the  one- 
half  of  English  commodities  at  reasonable  rates,  especially 
cloath."     After  defining  what  these  rates  should  be,  this 
exceedingly  interesting  letter  goes  on  :    "  And  the  better 
to  explain  ourselves  what  we  desire  is  that  the  price  of 
silk  may  be  contracted  for  with  more  certaintie  and  some 
good  assurance  given  that  it  may  be  laden  cleare  of  all 
charge  abourd  our  ships  at  a  Ryall  and  a  half  a  pound  of 
sixteen  ounces,  which  is  the  greatest  price  that  we  can 
resolve  to  give  ...  at  which  price  and  good  condicions 
as  aforesaid  we  shall  be  able  to  take  from  the  Persian 
yearlie  8,000  Bales  of  his  silk  of  1801bs.  English  each  Bale 
or  thereabout." 

Roe  succeeded  in  placing  the  Company's  trade  on  a 
better  footing,  and  in  1617  three  of  its  representatives—- 
Connock,  Tracy  and  Robbins — dating  their  despatch 
"  From  the  Persian  Court  and  Army,  25  days'  journey 
from  Spahan,"  were  able  to  report  that  through  the  good 
interventions  of  a  friar  they  had  secured  the  promise 
of  from  1,000  to  3,000  bales  of  silk.  As  they  had  not 
the  royals  to  pay  for  it  in  full,  they  seem  to  have  made 
terms  for  part  payment  in  kind,  saying  that  "  the  King  is 
content  to  take  satisfaction  in  tin,  cloth,  sugar,  spices 
and  such  like  commodities." 

It  is  shown  elsewhere  that  under  James  the  silk  industry 

in  England  had  attained  considerable  proportions. 

Persian          In   1621    Sir   Thomas  Mun,   Deputy   Governor   of  the 

Imports     Company,  drew  up  an  interesting  report  in  which  he  showed 

of  Raw      that  England  was  then  buying  about  1,000,000  Ibs.  weight 

Silk.  of  raw  silk  from  Persia,  which  was  being  brought  home 

at  much  less  cost  on  the  Company's  ships  than  by  the  old 

overland  route.     In  the    earlier  years    of  Charles  I  the 

trade  was  well  maintained,  though  naturally  during  the 

Civil  War  and  under  Cromwell  there  was  a  falling  off  in  this 

and  the  other  more  costly  and  beautiful  imports.     The 


SILK  FROM  INDIA.  381 

letters  about  this  period  tell  of  much  friction  and  fighting  Dutch 
with  the  Dutch,  who  were  keen  trade  competitors.  But  Corn- 
by  1670  the  Company,  impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  petition, 
would  be  profitable  to  foster  the  trade  and  to  improve 
the  quality  of  the  silk  they  were  receiving,  sent  to  Madras 
four  factors — to  use  their  own  word  for  their  superior 
assistants — and  seven  writers — among  whom  were  men 
specially  chosen  for  their  knowledge  of  silk  culture,  to 
be  stationed  at  the  factory  of  Cassimbazar.  Meantime 
too  they  had  been  urging  upon  the  native  landowners 
of  Bengal  the  advisability  of  planting  and  cultivating 
the  mulberry  tree,  and  further  were  preparing  to  engage 
a  number  of  Italians  expert  in  the  treatment  of  the  filatures. 
The  Cassimbazar  experiment,  however,  was  not  very 
successful,  and  was  dropped  after  about  twenty  years' 
trial.  It  was  in  1770  that  Mr.  Wise  and  Mr.  Robinson 
arrived  in  Bengal  on  behalf  of  the  Company  with  "  a  staff 
of  reelers  and  mechanics  chosen  from  Italy  and  France 
with  tools,  implements  and  models  "  to  begin  their  efforts. 
A  year  later,  General  Kyd,  who  is  better  remembered  in 
these  days  for  his  bestowal  upon  Calcutta  of  its  beautiful 
Botanical  Gardens,  and  who  was  famous  for  his  horticul- 
tural and  scientific  knowledge,  endeavoured  to  supple- 
ment the  efforts  of  the  Bengal  Government  by  bringing 
over  a  quantity  of  the  eggs  of  the  Chinese  Bombyx  mori, 
and  to  encourage  a  more  rational  system  of  silkworm 
culture.  There  was  an  hereditary  silk  worm  rearing  The  bar 
caste — the  Pundas — in  the  Malda  and  Murshidabad  of  Native 
districts,  and  these  with  true  native  characteristics  resisted  prejudice, 
any  innovations  upon  their  time-honoured  customs. 
Moreover,  it  is  an  exceedingly  superstitious  caste,  and 
even  in  these  days  believes  in  ghosts,  takes  precautions 
to  prevent  owls  flying  near  the  rearing  houses,  and  thinks 
unless  wrong  information  is  given  as  to  the  progress  of 
the  cocoons  the  evil  spirits  will  lay  spells  upon  them. 
Still  the  industry  made  progress,  and  by  1704  the  Company 
was  in  a  position  to  announce  that  there  was  "  To  be  seen 
at  Leaden  Hall :  China  raw  silk,  Bengal  raw  silk."  This 
is  interesting  in  view  of  the  highly  Protectionist  Act  of 
1700  forbidding  the  import  of  any  manufactured  silk 


382 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


from  Persia,  India  or  China  to  Great  Britain,  which  had 
come  into  effect.  It  was  the  raw  material  that  was  wanted 
in  Spitalfields  for  the  brocades  and  taffaties  that  the 
beaux  as  well  at  the  belles  of  Queen  Anne's  days  were 
wearing. 

Effect  of  All  through  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Indian  records 
French  deal  more  with  fighting  than  with  commerce.  There 
Revolu-  was,  notwithstanding,  a  steady  importation  of  silk  from 
tion.  India,  and  by  1775  the  adoption  of  better  means  of  winding 

was  bringing  it  into  wider  demand.  The  quantities  rose 
steadily  from  515,913  Ibs.  in  1776  to  1,149,394  Ibs.  in 
1784.  Following  this  rapid  increase  a  decline  ensued. 
Commerce  was  adversely  affected  by  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, and  the  Company,  which  had  large  accumulations 
in  its  store-houses,  was  compelled  to  sell  at  a  considerable 
loss.  The  quality  of  the  silk  was,  however,  steadily 
improving,  and  in  1796  the  Court  of  Directors  received  a 
particularly  interesting  memorial  setting  forth  that :  "  We 
the  undersigned  manufacturers,  understanding  from  the 
reports  published  by  the  East  India  Company  that  the 
Bengal  Provinces  are  capable  of  furnishing  a  more  abundant 
supply  of  raw  silk  than  hitherto,  are  of  opinion  that  if  due 
attention  is  paid  in  the  first  instance  to  reel  the  same  of 
proper  sizes,  that  after  making  a  due  provision  for  singles, 
trams  and  sewing  silks,  the.  surplus  by  being  thrown  into 
organzine  in  this  country  can  be  successfully  brought  into 
use  in  our  respective  manufactories  to  a  very  considerable 
extent  in  lieu  of  part  of  the  thrown  silk  presently  supplied 
by  Italy.  Considering,  therefore,  the  measure  now 
carrying  on  by  the  East  India  Company  as  highly  laudable 
and  meriting  of  every  degree  of  support,  we  trust  that 
they  will  persevere  in  the  same  with  firmness,  being  well 
convinced  that  it  cannot  fail  of  proving  highly  beneficial 
to  the  national  interests.  First  by  giving  a  country 
To  which  makes  part  of  the  British  Dominions  the  advantages 

replace       desirable   from   the   production    of   a   commodity   which 
Italian       forms  the  basis  of  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  national 
Silks.          manufactures.     Secondly,    by    creating    employment    at 
home  for  a  numerous  class  of  our  poor,  particularly  women 
and  children  in  the  throwsting  of  it  into  organzine.     Lastly, 


SILK  FROM  INDIA.  383 

by   affording   a   large  and   more    certain  supply   to  the    To 
manufacturers   in   general,   it   may  have   a   tendency  to   replace 
lower   the   price  of    the  raw  material,  and  in  future  to    Italian 
shelter  the  silk   market   from   the   alarming   fluctuations   Silks, 
that    have     repeatedly    taken    place    and    probably  in- 
crease greatly  the  general  consumption  of  the  silk  manu- 
factures." 

Thus  was  Imperial  Preference  foreshadowed  in  the 
18th .  century,  and  certainly  for  about  10  years  there 
was  a  considerable  amount  of  Bengal  silk  thrown  into 
organzine,  and  used  in  England  in  those  fabrics  known 
to  our  great  grandmothers  as  sarcenents  and  florentines, 
as  well  as  in  velvet  and  ribbon. 

The  19th  century  dawned  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Napoleonic  conquests,  but  while  trade  in  England  was 
depressed  until  first  Trafalgar  and  afterwards  Waterloo 
steadied  Europe,  other  fields  of  supply  were  being  opened. 
Against  these  adverse  conditions,  the  imports  from  Bengal 
continued  large,  although  varying  from  year  to  year  from 
the  162,747  Ibs.  of  1810,  to  the  figures  of  1829,  when  high- 
water  mark  was  reached  in  the  big  total  of  1,387,750  Ibs. 
Meantime,  Dr.  Roxburgh,  who  had  compiled  the  three 
sumptuous  volumes  of  the  Flora  Indica,  which  constitute 
the  first  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of  tropical  botany, 
had  endeavoured  to  institute  better  methods  in  both 
mulberry  tree  growing  and  the  rearing  of  the  worms,  and 
official  permission  had  been  given  to  the  then  resident  of 
Santipore  to  incur  an  outlay  not  exceeding  Tfe.25,000 
on  large  nurseries  of  mulberries  and  rearing  with  hired 
labour.  Again,  no  permanent  success  was  achieved,  and 
in  the  three  years  following  1834,  the  Government  trans-  Struggle 
ferred  all  its  interests  in  silk  to  private  enterprise.  Very  with 
little  of  lasting  value  had  been  achieved,  and  Geoghegan,  Adverse 
the  historian  of  silk  in  India,  wrote  :  "  The  only  direction  Condi- 
in  which  any  effective  improvements  had  been  introduced  tions. 
was  that  of  reeling  and  drying.  The  methods  of  cultivating 
the  mulberry  and  the  kinds  cultivated  were  in  1835  just 
what  they  were  a  century  before.  Attempts  had  been 
made  to  introduce  new  stocks  of  worms,  but  the  worms 
introduced  from  China  had  not  thriven,  and  the  attempts 


384 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


do  not  seem  to  have  been  made  with  energy  enough  to 
have  warranted  any  measure  of  success." 

In  Bombay,  too,  a  small  tentative  effort  was  also  made 
by  Mr.  Giberne  who,  in  1827,  was  Collector  at  Khandesh. 
He  planted  a  small  mulberry  garden  at  Dhulia,  and 
instructed  a  few  natives  who  carried  on  the  work  so  well 
that  when  an  Italian  expert  visited  the  place  ten  years 
later  he  pronounced  the  silk  to  be  worth  fully  thirteen 
Expert  rupees  a  pound.  Hoping  to  extend  the  effort,  the  Govern- 
Convict  ment  of  Bombay  indented  upon  Bengal  for  five  convicts 
Labour,  skilled  in  silk  worm  management,  who  were  sent  on  a 
kind  of  ticket-of-leave  with  their  families  to  develop  it, 
but  they  did  not  come  further  than  Poona,  where  it  was 
thought  there  was  a  better  chance  of  success.  These 
gardens  had  been  started  by  the  Italian — Signor  Mutti— 
who  had  reported  so  favourably  on  the  Dhulia  silk,  and 
for  several  years  he  was  able  to  place  raw  material  on 
the  London  market  which  commanded  23s.  to  29s.  a  Ib. 
Ill-health,  however,  overtook  him  in  1840,  and  in  the 
absence  of  guiding  heads,  both  these  enterprises  came  to 
an  end.  Not  infrequently  does  it  happen  that  private 
effort  succeeds  where  official  undertakings  have  met  with 
failure,  and  when  the  East  India  Company  retired  from 
the  field,  enthusiasts  like  Captain  Hutton  extended  their 
researches  far  enough  to  include  exceptional  knowledge 
of  silk  culture  even  in  Afghanistan.  He,  with  Mr.  Bashford, 
endeavoured  to  carry  on  the  work.  Later,  the  Agri- 
Horticultural  Society  of  India  lent  what  support  it  could 
to  the  movement.  Best  of  all  from  the  practical  point 
of  view  large  business  firms  began  to  put  capital  into  the 
industry.  Murshedabad,  Rajshaki  and  Berhampore 
became  important  centres  of  silk  spinning,  and  in  the 
twenty  years  from  1836  to  1855  there  was  a  general  rise  in 
the  quantity  of  the  exports  to  an  average  for  the  period 
of  1,435,225  pounds  per  annum. 

After  The  years  1858  and  1860  are  crucial  ones  in  the  history 

the  of  silk  in  India.     In  the  first  of  these  the  Mutiny  had 

Mutiny,      been  finally  suppressed,  and   the   rule   of  the  Honorable 

East  India  Company,  so  strangely  and  imperially  successful 

in  its  unique  harmonizing  of  administrative  and  commercial 


SILK  FROM  INDIA. 


385 


powers,  had  come  to  an  end.  It  had  already  ceased 
to  exercise  any  influence  in  regard  to  silk,  but  no  one  could 
foresee  what  might  be  the  results  of  so  sweeping  a  change, 
although  it  was  clear  that  trade  in  all  directions  could  not 
fail  to  be  affected  at  least  temporarily.  The  year  1860 
was  also  important  in  the  annals  of  the  industry  in  Great 
Britain ;  it  was  then  that  the  duties  on  foreign  manu- 
factured silks  were  removed,  and  the  products  of  the 
French  and  Italian  looms  poured  in  like  a  flood.  The 
results  of  that  policy  as  far  as  India  is  concerned  were 
immediate  and  significant,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
table,  which  has  been  compiled  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
Board  of  Trade. 

UNITED  KINGDOM. 
IMPORTS  OF  RAW  SILK  FROM  BRITISH  INDIA. 


After 

the 

Mutiny. 


1860-1870. 


Year. 

1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 


Imports  of  Raw  Silk. 

Ibs. 

60,510 

162,121 

469,985 

208,029 

167,774 

183,224 

123,561 

2,469 

32,103 

17,845 

123,600 


The  fluctuations  are  remarkable,  and  not  altogether 
easy  to  explain,  for  silk  was  in  considerable  demand,  while 
the  crinoline,  the  wearing  of  which  was  associated  with 
the  employment  of  a  large  quantity  of  material  in  dresses  had 
not  disappeared.  Probably,  as  a  result  of  the  abolition  of 
duties  on  manufactured  silk,  the  greater  part  of  the  Indian 
production  was  absorbed  by  France,  and  reached  England 
in  the  form  of  dress  fabrics  and  trimmings.  In  the  next 
few  years  little  happened  that  it  is  necessary  to  record, 


Remark- 
able 
Trade 
fluctua- 
tions. 


2  B 


386 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Remark-    but  a  new  chapter  was  opening,  whose  close  is  not  yet 
able  written,  and  is  likely  to  be  of  lasting  effect  in  the  corn- 

Trade  mercial  annals  of  our  Eastern  Empire, 
fluctua-  The  year  1878  saw  the  first  practical  step  made  towards 
tions.  the  utilisation  of  the  wild  or  Tussore  silks,  which  has 
since  had  an  extraordinary  influence  on  fashion  and 
industry  alike.  The  actual  cost  of  winding  and  using  these 
silks  had  been  discussed  in  1857  in  Europe,  and  at  first 
they  were  looked  upon  as  mere  curiosities.  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  Thomas)  Wardle  had,  however,  conducted  exhaustive 
experiments  with  them,  and  showed  in  the  Paris  Exhibition 
of  1878  hanks  of  bleached  and  dyed  Tussores,  and  the 
first  lengths  of  plush  produced  from  them.  Naturally 
the  exhibit  attracted  great  attention,  and  a  gold  medal 
for  it  was  adjudged  to  Sir  Thomas  Wardle,  which,  however, 
he  asked  should  go  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India, 
on  whose  behalf  the  researches  had  been  made. 
Messrs.  Field  and  Bottrill,  of  Skelmanthorpe,  near 
Huddersfield,  took  up  the  further  development  of  Tussore, 
and  brought  out  the  seal  plush,  which  enjoyed  a  great 
popularity  for  jackets  and  mantles.  The  effects  of  this 
discovery  were  immediate.  For  the  mulberry-fed  silk 
that  had  recovered  its  market  position,  there  was  a 
diminished  demand,  while  for  the  wild  Tussore  the  demand 
increased,  and  the  returns  of  the  Lyons  Conditioning  House 
began  to  show  a  steady  expansion. 

That,  however,  is  looking  somewhat  ahead,  inasmuch 
as  before  the  full  advantage  could  be  taken  of  the  new 
discoveries,  it  was  necessary  to  definitely  determine  the 
sources  of  supply.  In  1880  Mr.  Geoghegan,  whose  name 
has  already  been  mentioned,  undertook  a  thorough  survey 
of  the  subject.  In  the  Bhagulpur,  Chota,  Nagpur  and 
Tussore  Orissa  districts  of  Bengal,  and  in  several  divisions  of  the 
Silks.  Central  Provinces,  and  the  Santhal  Parganas,  it  was  found 
that  the  Tussore  silk-worm  was  widely  distributed.  It  has 
(for  as  many  as  200  years)  been  employed  for  the  weaving 
of  the  coarser  silken  fabrics  of  native  wear.  The  problem 
which  in  these  earlier  days  presented  itself  to  the  Indian 
Government  was  whether  it  would  be  profitable  to 
collect  these  wild  cocoons  and  reel  them  for  European 


SILK  FROM  INDIA.  387 

exportation.    China  could,  of  course,  also  send  in  practically 

any  quantity,  and  the  question  was  what  would  be  the 

result  of  the  competition  ?     It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss   Improved 

here  the  intricacies  of  the  improved  methods  of  reeling  Methods 

upon  French  or  Italian  principles  that  were  introduced    of 

as  this  wild  silk  was  introduced  into  European  factories.    Reeling. 

It    is    of    more    interest    to    record    the    fact   that    it 

proved  adaptable   to   many   uses,    and   no    one    devoted 

more  careful  experiment  to  it  than  Sir  Thomas  Wardle. 

French  experts  also  took  a  keen  interest  in  the  product, 

believing  that  it  was  bound  to  exercise  a  considerable 

influence    in    fashionable    fabrics.     It    had    its    technical 

drawbacks,  and  in  these  early  stages  was  regarded  as  an 

inferior  product.     None  the  less,  it  lent  itself  to  an  ever 

widening  range  of  uses,  and  when  seal  plush  rather  passed 

out  of  fashion,  it  was  employed  for  braids,  trimmings, 

fringes,    chenille    and    elastic    webbing.     In    the   heavier 

makes  of  furniture,  brocades  and  draperies,  it  could  also 

be  advantageously  used,  for,  after  long  experiment,  it  was 

found  practicable  to  bleach  it  sufficiently  for  it  to  take 

in  dyeing  the  palest  colours — a  difficulty  that  at  first  seemed 

likely  to  limit  the  uses  of  Tussore  silks. 

By  the  year  1887  the  exports  from  India  of  these  wild 
silks  had  risen  to  38,875  Ibs.,  worth  £195,704,  and  in 
1890  they  amounted  to  91,124  Ibs.,  valued  at  £412,803. 
Since  then,  exports  have  been  steadily  progressive,  but  it  is 
perhaps  hardly  necessary  to  set  the  figures  out  in  detail. 
The  following  table  compares  the  relative  quantities  of 
mulberry-fed  and  wild  silks  : — 

Mulberry-fed 

Year.  Raw  Silk.  Wild  Silks. 

Ibs.  Ibs. 

1906-7     ..         ..        210,823  167,519 

1907-8     ..          ..        189,483  139,659 

1909-10  ..          ..         46,873  328,651 

These  figures,  it  should  be  said,  do  not  represent  any-    Large 
thing  like  India's  annual  silk  crops,  of  either  type,  and  of  use 
both  France  is  a  much  larger  purchaser  than  Great  Britain,    of  Wild 
Two  further  and  later  efforts  to  put  silk  cultivation  on  a   Silks, 
sounder  basis  in  India  must  be  noted.     The  first  of  these 


388  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  use  was  started  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Cunliffe  Lister, 
of  Wild  afterwards  Lord  Masham,  at  Dehra  Dun,  where  he  spent 
Silks.  something  like  £50,000  upon  the  experiment.  His  idea 
was  to  cultivate  the  silk-worm  in  rearing  houses  under 
skilled  supervision,  and  it  was  with  Bombyx  mori — the 
mulberry  feeding  variety — that  his  chief  endeavours  were 
made.  But  the  experiment  could  not  be  described  as 
successful,  and  in  1892  it  was  finally  given  up.  The  second 
effort  was  an  official  one.  The  Government  of  Bengal  in 
1890  was  seriously  impressed  with  the  way  in  which  disease 
was  checking  silk  production.  These  epidemics  in  the  silk- 
worms took  various  forms,  but  in  all  they  had  the  effect  of 
reducing  the  silk  crop  to  a  marked  degree.  Pasteur,  years 
before,  had  given  his  attention  to  the  subject  as  "  pebrine  " 
had  wrought  havoc  with  the  worms  in  France  and  Italy, 
and  in  other  silk  raising  countries.  Accordingly,  it  was 
decided  to  send  Mr.  Nitya  Mukerji,  a  native  gentleman 
of  high  scientific  attainments  to  study  the  question  of 
recognising  and  dealing  with  these  diseases  in  Pasteur's 
own  and  other  laboratories.  He  has  not  only  written 
a  most  exhaustive  Handbook  of  Sericulture,  which  was 
published  under  Government  order,  but  in  connection 
with  the  Civil  Engineering  College  at  Sibpur  he  was  able 
to  obtain  the  starting  of  a  sericultural  school  at  Rampur 
Boalia  to  train  cocoon  rearers  in  the  knowledge  that  would 
enable  them  to  avoid  these  epidemics.  The  effort  has  been 
fully  justified,  in  the  sounder  and  healthier  cocoons  that 
have  become  available. 

Among  the  most  important  and  interesting  of  recent 

efforts   to   extend   silk   culture   has   been   that   made   in 

Kashmir,  which  may  be  held  to  be  due  to  a  suggestion 

from     Mr.     John     Lockwood     Kipling,    the    father    of 

Mr.  Rudyard  Kipling.     The  former  was  for  many  years 

director  of  the  Art  School  of  Lahore,  and  after  a  visit  to 

Srinagar  in   1889   he  laid  his  views  before  Sir  Thomas 

Epi-  Wardle,  who  in  due  course  brought  the  idea  to  official 

demies       notice.     It   so  happened  that   Colonel   Nisbet,   the  then 

check          Resident  in  Kashmir,  was  much  interested  in  sericulture, 

Develop-    and  had  his  own  views  as  to  the  benefit  that  it  might 

ment.         be   to   the   State,  and   as   soon   as   he  had  entered  into 


SILK  FROM  INDIA. 


389 


communication  with  Sir  Thomas,  he  submitted  samples  of 
the  natural  raw  silk  for  examination.  During  the  early 
nineties,  several  pounds  were  sent  to  this  country,  and  a 
length  was  woven  for  exhibition  at  the  display  held  at 
Stafford  House  in  1894,  but  it  was  not  until  two  years 
later  that  Sir  Adelbert  Talbot,  who  had  succeeded  Colonel 
Nisbet  as  Resident  in  Kashmir,  called  upon  Sir  Thomas 
to  take  any  active  steps  in  the  matter.  Private  speculators 
had^heard  of  the  possibilities  of  the  silk,  and  were  anxious 
to  be  first  in  the  field  regarding  it,  but  both  the  Maharajah 
of  Kashmir  and  the  Durbar  were  anxious  that  it  should 
be  made  a  State  industry,  and  in  this  ambition  they  had 
the  full  support  of  Lord  Curzon.  Sir  Thomas  Wardle 
was  instructed  by  the  India  Office  to  visit  Continental 
centres  of  silk  rearing  in  1897.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Captain  Chenevix-Trench,  the  Assistant  Resident  in 
Kashmir,  and  bought  cocoon  reeling  machinery  and  the 
best  type  of  silk-worm  eggs  to  the  value  of  £600.  The 
beginning  of  the  effort  was  highly  successful,  and  the 
next  year  eggs  to  the  value  of  £1,500  were  bought,  and 
in  1899  more  than  twice  this  sum  was  spent  in  a  similar 
way.  Moreover,  the  Continental  distributors  of  raw  silk 
reported  very  favourably  as  to  its  merits  for  reeling  and 
weaving,  and  it  soon  fetched  prices  only  one  to  two  shillings 
a  pound  below  those  paid  for  the  very  finest  Italian  silk. 
After  three  years'  working  in  1903,  the  balance-sheet  of 
the  undertaking  showed  a  provisional  profit  of  £40,000— 
a  result  pronouced  by  all  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
silk  in  India  to  be  a  wonderful  return.  This,  however,  was 
but  the  beginning  of  greater  things,  for  the  campaign 
has  made  rapid  progress,  as  is  indicated  by  the  increased 
production  of  silk  itself,  and  in  the  solid  and  improved 
prosperity  of  the  people.  Kashmir,  therefore,  has  entered 
the  arena  as  a  producer  of  raw  silk  of  real  influence  in 
the  world's  markets,  and  in  this  important  service  under- 
taken by  Sir  Thomas  Wardle  in  the  industry  he  knew  so 
well,  he  would  have  wished  no  better  memorial  to 
himself  and  his  labours  than  the  establishment  of  a  source 
of  welfare  to  the  country  whose  resources  he  thoroughly 
examined  before  he  made  the  recommendations  that 
have  had  such  remarkable  results. 


Experi- 
ments 
in 
Kashmir. 


Work 
of  Sir 
Thomas 
Wardle. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

WASTE    SILK. 
ORIGIN  AND   USES. 

It  was  not  until  the  factory  era  that  waste  silk  became 

an  article  of  prominent   commercial  importance  in  Great 

Britain,  but  there  is  evidence  that  it  had  a  recognised 

Early         value  in  relatively  early  times.      At  least,  silk  "  nubbs  " 

Imports     were    imported    into    England,   and  the   King's   Subsidy 

of  Nubbs.  was  paid  upon  them,  before  the  close  of  the  16th  century. 

The  Cecil  Papers  (Historical  MSS.  Commission  IV,  p.  574) 

contain  an  entry  dated   1594,  being : 

"  A  note  of  all  sorts  of  silks  brought  into  the  port 
of  London  in  one  year  from  Michaelmas,  1592, 
to  the  same  feast,  1593  : 

By  The 

Englishmen.  Subsidy. 

£     s.    d. 
Spanish   and   other  fine 

silk ll,4521bs.  572  12    0 

Bridges  silk        ..          ..      1,664    „  62    8    0 

Floret  silk          . .          . .      5,013    „  104    8     9 

Paris  and  Filozel  silk    . .         360  papers.  900 

Thrown  and  Organzin  ..    12,379  Ibs.  412  12     8 

Long  raw  silk    . .          . .      1,202    „  40     1     4 

Silk  nubbs          . .          . .         700    „  130 

£1,202     5     9 


390 


WASTE   SILK.  391 

By  Early 

Strangers.  Imports 
£     s.    d.  of  Nubbs 
Spanish   and   other   fine 

silk 12,283  Ibs.  614    3    0 

Bridges  silk        . .          . .           32    „  140 

Floret  silk          ..          .-.       1,888   „  39     6    8 

Thrown  and  Organzin  . .       3,252    „  108    8    0 

Long  raw  silk    . .          . .      2,129    „  70  19     4 

Short  raw  silk                          403  509 


Subsidy  ..  £839     1     9 

Customs  209  15     5 

£1,048  17    2 

The  evidence  does  not  show  silk  knubs  to  have  had 
more  than  a  trifling  employment  at  this  date,  but  it  does 
suggest  that  Floret  silk  occupied  something  more  than 
a  nominal  place.  The  name  is  not  a  household  word  and 
perhaps  some  explanation  is  necessary.  Ephraim  Chambers, 
in  his  monumental  Cyclopaedia  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences 
(1728),  gave  an  outline  of  French  and  Piedmontese 
practice,  which  sets  the  meaning  of  the  name  beyond 
doubt : 

"  All  silks  cannot  be  spun  and  reeled  ;    either  because 
the  balls  have  been  perforated  by  the  silkworms  them- 
selves ;    or  because  they  are  double  or  too  weak  to  bear 
the  water  ;    or  because  they  are  coarse  &c.     Of  all  this,    The 
together  they  make  a  particular  kind  of  silk  called  floretta  ;    use  of 
which,  by  being  carded,  or  even  spun  on  the  distaff  or   Floret 
the  wheel,  in  the  condition  it  comes  from  the  ball  makes   Silk, 
a  tolerable  silk." 

"  As  to  the  balls,  after  opening  them  with  scissors  and 
taking  out  the  insects  (which  are  of  some  use  for  the 
feeding  of  poultry),  they  are  steeped  three  or  four  days 
in  troughs,  the  water  whereof  is  changed  every  day  to 
prevent  their  stinking.  When  they  are  well  softened 
by  this  scouring  and  cleared  of  that  gummy  matter,  the 
worms  had  lined  the  inside  with,  and  which  renders  it 


392 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  impenetrable  to  water,  they  boil  them  half  an  hour  in  a 

use  of         ley   of  ashes,   very   clear  and  well  strained  ;    and   after 

Floret        washing  them  out  in  the  river  and  drying  them  in  the 

Silk.  sun  they  card  and  spin  them  on  the  wheel  &c.,  and  thus 

make  another  kind  of  floretta,  somewhat  inferior  to  the 

former/'* 

Fleuret  is  the  French  form  of  the  word  floret,  and 
Porter's  Treatise  of  the  Silk  Manufacture  (1830)  describes 
the  method  of  making  fleurets  from  soufflons  (i.e.  very 
imperfect)  and  perforated  cocoons  as  practised  at  this 
later  date.  After  boiling,  drying  and  beating,  the  cocoons 
were  placed  on  a  distaff  and  opened  by  drawing  out  fibre 
from  each  end  at  arm's  length.  The  fleurets  were  carded 
—sometimes  after  boiling  and  beating — with  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  a  brighter  and  more  beautiful  colour.  The 
completion  of  one  ounce  of  fleurets  was  considered  a  fair 
day's  work  for  a  good  spinner.  Porter,  too,  noted  the 
production  of  an  inferior  fleuret  yarn  made  by  spinning 
coarse  floss  and  the  refuse  from  the  reeling  process. 
Fleurets  de  soie  is  still  an  intelligible  term  in  France, 
although  dechets  de  soie  (literally  waste  of  silk)  has  replaced 
it  in  the  same  way  that  "  waste  "  has  replaced  "  floss  " 
in  England.  The  word  has  been  employed  also  in  German, 
and  Zeising,  in  a  monograph  Uber  Schappe  Spinnerei 
(Leipzig,  1911),  uses  "  schappe "  and  "florette"  as 
synonymous  terms,  f 

Some  The  word  is  akin  to  the  English  flower  or  flowret,  and 

Alterna-     it  might  be  thought  to  be  by  distortion  that  Floret  became 
tive  Ferret  in  some  documents  of  the  16th  and  17th  century. 

Names.  The  name  occurs  in  the  Book  of  Rates  (1583),  and  "  Ferret  " 
silk  from  Flanders,  7,012  (Ibs.),  figured  in  the  imports  of 
1668-69.  Mr.  Ernest  Weekley,  in  his  Romance  of  Words 
(1912),  shows  that  Ferret  or  Feret  is  flowret  in  a  semi- 
Italian  form,  corrupted  from  "  floretto,"  a  little  flower. 
Ingoldsby,  in  the  Housewarming,  used  the  word  as  a 
name  for  tape : 

*  Specimens  of  fabrics  made  from  floretted  silk  in  Italy  in  the  mid-sixteenth  century  are 
extant,  and  one  example  in  which  a  warp  of  fine  spun  was  woven  with  a  weft  of  coarse  linen 
was  exhibited  at  the  Manchester  Royal  Jubilee  Exhibition  (1887).  Vide  History  of  Silk, 
Thomas  Wardle,  a  pamphlet  descriptive  of  the  Manchester  Exhibition. 

t  "  Diesen  geeponnen  seidengarne  die  in  Handel  den  Namen  Schappe  oder  Florette 
fuhren." 


WASTE  SILK. 


393 


CC 


'Twas   so    fram'd    and   express'd   no   tribunal    could  Some 

shake  it,  Alterna- 

And  firm  as  red  wax  and  black  ferret  could  make  it."  tive 
The  word  is  well  understood  in  this  sense  still  in  Leek,  Names, 
where  tape  is  woven. 

The  Paris  and  Filoselle  silk,  of  which  360  papers  were 
entered  at  the  port  of  London  in  1592-3,  was  presumably 
silk  ready  for  the  use  of  embroiderers  whose  craft  was 
then .  a  well-established  one,   and  it  is  noteworthy  that 
filoselle  is  still  a  trade  name  for  a  spun  silk  thread  suitable 
for  use  with  the  needle  and  formed  of  very  lightly  united 
strands.     The  learned   author   of   Textrinum  Antiquorum 
(1843),   who   shows   incidentally   that   silk   waste   was   a 
recognised  commodity  in  the  Seville  of  the  6th  century, 
derived  the  English  "  floss  "  and  French  "  filoselle  "  from 
the  Greek  "plocium,"  described  in  A.D.  575  as  "the  tow 
or  coarse  part  of  silk."     In  this  work,  Mr.  Yates  wrote  : 
"  Floss  is  evidently  an  altered  form  of  Plocium,  and 
Floss  silk  is  what  the  Greeks   and   Latins   called 
by  that  name.     It  is  the  loose  silk  which  sur- 
rounds the  outside  of  the  cocoons,  together  with 
the  waste  produced  from  imperfect  cocoons.     The 
French  name  for  it  is  Piloselle,  analogous  to  the 
Greek  word,  meaning  '  a  lock  of  hair.' : 
The   New   English   Dictionary   traces    "  floss "    to    the 
Italian  "  floscia,"   and  French  "  floche,"   and  suggests  a 
relation  to  the  Scandinavian  word  rendered  in  English 
"  fleece "  ;    all  or  any  of  which  may  be  related  to  the 
"  plocium  "  of  Yates  and  of  Isidor  of  Seville.     "  Filosello, 
sleave  and  feret "  silk  are  used  as  synonymous  by  Florio 
for  the  Italian  "  sciamito." 

A  reference  in  the  Annual  Register  (1759)  to  the  "  duties    Puzzles 
now  payable  upon  raw  short  silk,   or  capiton,   and  silk    of 
nubs  or  husks  of  silk  "  raises  one  unfamiliar  name  for  silk    Nomen- 
material   and   strengthens    a   suspicion.     In   the   imports    clature. 
by  Englishmen  in  the  document  of  1592-93,  "  Long  raw 
silk "  is  followed  by  "  Silk  nubbs,"  and  in  the  imports 
of  Strangers  is  followed  by   "  short  raw  silk."     Capiton 
is    an   unrecognised   term,    but    either    "  raw   short "    or 
"  short  raw ''   silk  is  a  description  implying  silk  waste, 


394 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Early  the  produce  of  reeling,  rather  more  definitely  than  it 
uses  of  suggests  anything  else,  and  the  403  Ibs.  of  it  may  be 
Silk  added  with  some  confidence  to  the  list  of  silk  waste  and 

Waste.       its  products  imported  in  that  year. 

Silk  waste  was  obviously  produced  ages  before  it  was 
imported  into  this  country,  for  the  material  has  an 
antiquity  co-extensive  with  that  of  silk  itself.  A  pro- 
portion of  defective  cocoons  from  which  the  fibre  cannot 
be  continuously  wound  is  an  inevitable  incident  of  the 
act  of  rearing  silk-worms.  Of  every  cocoon  formed  by 
the  worm  some  portions  are  unfit  for  reeling,  and  thus 
it  can  be  said  with  literal  truth  that  waste  silk  has  been 
generated  for  as  long  as  there  have  been  worms  to  spin  silk 
or  persons  to  gather  and  reel  cocoons.  Waste  is  created 
still,  both  in  reeling  silk  and  in  the  later  operation  of 
throwing,  in  face  of  all  that  scientific  observation  and 
mechanical  ingenuity  have  been  able  to  effect  toward  the 
improvement  of  the  culture  and  of  the  methods  of  reeling. 
The  quantity  of  the  by-product  still  exceeds  that  of  the 
net  produce,  and  in  ancient  times  the  waste  must  have 
been  relatively  greater.  It  is  interesting  to  inquire,  but 
difficult  to  ascertain,  what  became  of  the  by-product 
in  the  far-off  ages  in  China  before  silk  in  any  form  was  sent 
into  Europe.  The  substance  is  not  readily  destroyed  ; 
it  neither  burns  spontaneously  nor  decays  easily,  even 
in  circumstances  favourable  to  the  decomposition  of 
animal  matter.  It  must  have  accumulated  in  appreciable 
quantity,  and  the  very  difficulty  of  voiding  it  as  a  nuisance 
would  induce  a  people  as  thrifty  and  ingenious  as  the 
Chinese  to  make  experiments  to  turn  it  to  useful  account. 
One  of  the  most  elementary  purposes  to  which  the  waste 
might  be  put  would  be  to  use  it  for  stuffing,  and  there  is 
evidence  that  up  to  a  fairly  recent  date  the  material  was 
so  employed.  *  Fifty  years  ago  waste  which  had  palpably 
Its  served  as  stuffing  was  imported  from  China  under  the 

Employ-    name   of    "  Soldiers'    beddings "    into   this   country,    and 
ment          was  converted  in  Yorkshire  mills  into  spun  silk, 
as  The  " unchanging  East"  is  a  proverbial  term,  and  it  is 

Stuffing,     always  a  fair  inference  that  practices  found  in  vogue  at 

*  A  sample  of  "  waste  silk  of  the  cocoons  of  the  mulberry-fed  silkworms  ;  stuffing  of  the 
bed  of  the  Queen  of  Burma  ;  brought  from  Mandalay,"  was  exhibited  in  Manchester  at  the 
1887  Exhibition. 


WASTE   SILK.  395 

one  date  in  the  past  had  an  indefinitely  long  history   Manu- 
behind  them.     To  use  waste  silk  as  a  padding  for  the   facture 
wadded  garments  of  the  country,  or  to  make  mattresses,    of 
might  naturally  be  the  first  purposes  to   which  it   was    Silk 
applied.  Cord. 

The  interesting  question  is  whether  the  Chinese  dis- 
covered for  themselves  any  means  of  improving  the 
material.  It  is  certain  that  they  made  use  of  some  process, 
although  at  what  point  of  time  cannot  be  stated. 
Travellers  in  China  have  not  distinguished  too  carefully 
between  the  manufacture  of  waste  silk  and  of  net  silk, 
but  in  China  and  the  Chinese  (1840),  by  H.  C.  Sirr,  occurs 
a  passage  proving  that  imperfect  cocoons  were  treated 
then  for  the  production  of  twine  :  "  Of  the  ashes  (mulberry 
prunings),  they  make  a  lye  into  which  they  throw  imper- 
fect cocoons  and  those  which  have  been  bored  by  the 
butterflies  ;  the  lye  causes  these  to  swell,  and  they  are 
then  spun  into  a  strong  silk  cord." 

This  is  neither  the  earliest  nor  the  most  advanced  form 
of  application  of  waste  of  which  there  is  a  record.  It 
may  be  recalled  that  the  Chinese  practised  and  under- 
stood the  manipulation  of  wool  and  cotton,  so  that  it  is 
improbable  that  with  their  skill  they  failed  to  put 
"  floretted "  silk  to  any  purpose  superior  to  the  manu- 
facture of  cord.  Du  Halde's  History  of  China  (1736)  gives 
a  proof  that  a  couple  of  centuries  ago  the  Chinese  knew 
how  to  convert  waste  silk  into  comparatively  fine  yarn. 
"  The  Province  of  Chan-tong,"  said  this  author,  "  produces 
a  particular  sort  of  silk  found  in  great  quantities  on  the 
trees  and  in  the  fields.  It  is  spun  and  made  into  a  stuff 
called  Kien-tcheou.  This  silk  is  made  by  little  insects 
that  are  much  like  caterpillars.  They  do  not  spin  an 
oval  or  round  cod  like  the  silkworms,  but  very  long  threads. 
The  worms  are  wild,  and  eat  mulberry  and  others 
indifferently."  The  goods  woven  from  this  silk  are 
described  as  "like  unbleached  cloth,  or  coarse  sort  of  Chinese 
drugget ;  very  much  valued  by  Chinese,  and  sometimes  Spun 
as  dear  as  satin  or  the  finest  silks."  Yarn. 

It  is  apparent  that  this  fibre  could  not  have  lent  itself 
conveniently  to  continuous  reeling,  but  direct  proof  that 


396 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Raw  the  Chinese  had  discovered  the  uses  of  waste  silk  as  a 

Material     raw  material  for  weaving  cloth  is  found  in  a  further  passage 
for  Cloth    from  the  same  work  : 

Weaving.  "  As  the  Chinese  are  very  skilful  at  counterfeiting, 

they  make  a  false  sort  of  Kientcheou  with  the 
waste  of  the  Tchi-Kiang  silk,  which  without  due 
inspection,  might  easily  be  taken  for  the  right." 
Yet  a  further  reference  to  the  carding  of  silk  in  China 
is  found  in  the  Society  of  Arts  Journal,  6  November,  1863, 
in  course  of  a  reference  to  the  ailanthene  (i.e.   tussah) 
silk-worm  : 

"  In  China  .  .  .  even  the  carded  silk  of  this  worm 
is  abundantly  used  ...  it  forms  the  most  durable 
dresses  of  the  peasantry,  dresses  which  are  often 
handed  down  from  father  to  son." 
The  earliest  of  these  references  is  modern  in  relation 
to  the  antiquity  of  silk  manufacture  in  the  East,  but  it 
is  not    to    be    supposed   that    the    dates    quoted    assign 
the  beginnings  of  the  practices  named,  and  at  all  events 
Du  Halde's  evidence  is  old  enough  to  warrant  the  belief 
that  the  practice  was  native  and  not  a  Western  graft. 
Nor  is  it  not  only  in  China  that  one  may  look  for  early 
instances  of  the  manufacturing  use  of  waste  or  unreelable 
silk.     The  Eri  silk  of  India  and  Assam,  famous  for  its 
long-wearing  properties,  has  been  utilised  in  India  certainly 
for  hundreds  of  years,  and  it  can  never  have  been  manu- 
factured otherwise  than  by  the  waste  silk  process. 

An  entry  in  the  diary  of  one  of  the  East  India  Company's 

Agents  (quoted  in  The  Silk  Cloths  of  Assam,  B.  C.  Allan, 

I.C.S.,  Shillong,  1899),  refers  specifically  to   Eri  silk,  the 

produce   of   worms   living   upon   castor   oil   plants.     The 

goods  made  from  this  thread  went  by  the  name  of  arundee, 

and  600  pieces  of  the  cloth  and  four  bales  of  the  yarn 

were  directed  to  be  sent  to  England  in  1679  by  the  Madras 

agent  of  the  Company.     The  diary  records  that : 

Eri  Silk  "  'Twas   called   arundee,    made   neither   with   cotton 

of  India.  nor  silk,  but  of  a  kind  of  herba,  spun  by  a  worm 

that  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  a  stalk  or  tree  called 

arundee,   which  bears   a  prickly  berry,    of  which 

oyle  is  made.  .  .  .  'Twill  never  come  white,  but 


WASTE   SILK.  397 

will  take  any  colour ;    'twill  not  rot  or  receive  Eri  Silk 
any  damage  by  wet  .  .  .  and  wears  to  admiration  of  India, 
in  so  much  that,  when  the  cloth  is  first  made, 
'tis  given  up  and  down  to  poor  people  to  wear 
and  to  lay  in  shops  to  be  footed  upon  before  it  is 
fit  to   be  sold." 
The  mode  of  working  Eri  silk  in  vogue  in  recent  years 

has  been  described  with  praiseworthy  exactitude   in   his 

Monograph  on  Silk  Fabrics  by  Mr.  A.  Yusuf  Ah,  I.C.S. 

(Allahabad,    1900),    and    the    method    is    manifestly    a 

traditional  one  : 

"  Eri  silk  is  not  reeled  but  spun,  and  treated  like 
cotton.  The  cocoons  are  first  boiled  for  two 
hours  in  an  alcoholic  solution  containing  either 
sajji  (native  carbonate  of  soda)  or  ashes  of  plantain 
leaves  or  of  indigo  plants." 

"  Eri  silk  is  spun  with  the  usual  Indian  spinning 
wheel.  .  .  .  The  spinner  takes  a  quantity  of  the 
silk  fibre  in  her  hand,  deftly  spins  out  of  the  mass 
a  piece  of  thread  between  her  fingers  and  attaches 
it  to  the  spindle  of  the  wheel.  Resting  the  wheel 
against  her  toes  she  patiently  sits  for  hours  on 
the  ground,  moving  the  handle  of  the  spinning 
wheel  and  thus  giving  a  rapid  motion  to  the 
spindle." 

"  The  yarn  ...  is  coarse.     It  is  twisted  by  ....  Method 
a   simple   instrument   called   the   taken   or   batni.  of 
This  consists  of  a  big  needle  about  the  size  of  that  Working, 
used  for  sewing  leather,  the  lower  end  of  which 
carries  a  wooden  ball.  .  .  .  The  needle  with  the 
ball   is  suspended   from   above,   free   in   the   air. 
The  point  of  the  needle  is  at  its  upper  end  and 
just  below  it   is   a  small  notch   like  that   of  the 
leather  needle.     The  thread  is  attached  at  a  point 
near  the  ball ;   two  or  three  turns  are  given  round 
the  needle,  and  then  it  is  made  fast  in  the  notch. 
About  three  feet  of  thread  is  let  out  above  the 
needle.     The    twister    quickly    rolls    the    needle 
between   his    fingers    and    his   left    thigh,    which 
sets  the  ball  rotating  rapidly  until  the  impulse 


398 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Method  is  exhausted,  when  the  process  is  repeated.     After 

of  two  or  three  repetitions  the  yarn  let  out  is  found 

Working.  to    be    sufficiently    twisted.     It    is    then    wound 

round   the   needle   and   the   end   of   the   twisted 

portion  is  made  fast  again  at  the  notch.     More 

thread  is  now  let  out  above,   and  this  goes  on 

until  all  the  thread  has  been  twisted." 

The  use  of  a  lye  of  ashes  as  a  detergent  is  seen  to  have 

been  common  to  India,  China  and  Southern  Europe,  and  it 

also  appears  from  Mr.  Yusuf  Ali's  work  that  the  process 

applied  to  the  Eri  silk  is  similar  to  the  method  used  by 

Indian  craftsmen  in  dealing  with  the  unreelable  portion 

of  the  cocoons  of  other  species. 

"  In  the  case  of  the  mulberry  feeding  silkworm, 
after  the  glossy  portion  has  been  reeled  off  there 
is  a  small  quantity  of  fluffy  fibre  which  cannot 
be  reeled  and  is  called  waste  silk  or  chashm.  *  This 
is  mixed  with  some  peaflour  and  boiled,  thus 
dissolving  any  mucilaginous  matter  that  there 
may  be  in  it  and  rendering  the  substance  soft 
and  pliable.  After  being  dried  this  chashm  of 
bombycide  silk  is  spun  and  twisted  in  the  same 
manner  as  Eri  silk." 

Again,  in  Watt's  Dictionary  of  the  Economic  Products  of 
India  (1893)  there  occurs  a  specific  reference  to  the  native 
use  of  waste  silk  in  Burma : 

"  As  much  silk  having  been  obtained  from  the 
cocoons  as  is  possible  by  the  crude  methods  used, 
the  pods  are  taken  out  of  the  pot  and,  while  still 
moist  and  warm,  are  stretched  into  a  kind  of 
coarse  knubby  thread,  which  finds  a  sale  in  the 
market  for  coarse  uses." 

Practice         Indeed  the  use  of  silk  in  its  discontinuous  form  has 

in  been    recognised    in    communities    more    primitive    than 

West          those  of  the  East.     Mr.  F.  W.  Barwick,  who  has  made 

Africa.        the  subject  of  African  or  Anaphe  silk  his  own,  reports 

that  in   West  Africa  this  brown  tussah-like  silk,  pulled 

from  the  cocoon,  is  mixed  by  natives  with  an  indigenous 

brown    cotton    and    spun    and   woven  by   them   into   a 

*  In  commerce  :     Chassum. 


WASTE   SILK.  399 

khaki-coloured   cloth.      The    cocoons,   which  are   formed  Carded 

in  nests  in  the   forks,  or   along  the   boles,  of   trees,  are  Silk  in 

practically  unreelable,  and  are  much  more  easily  utilised  if  Africa, 
carded. 

THE  COURSE  OF  INVENTION. 

It  has  been  seen  that  waste  silk  was  used  to  make 
embroidery  yarns  in  France  in  the  16th  century,  and 
there*  are  reasons  for  supposing  that  hand-spun  waste 
silk  had  also  been  used  in  knitting.  M.  Bon,  a  Frenchman 
who  invented  at  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century  a 
means  of  dealing  with  spider  silk,  prepared  it  by  carding 
and  made  stockings  of  it.  The  accounts  of  inventors 
are  not  invariably  unprejudiced  either  in  respect  of  the 
merits  of  new  materials  or  the  demerits  of  old  ones,  but 
from  his  statement  that  spider  silk  stockings  weighed 
two  ounces  against  the  seven  or  eight  ounces  of  stockings 
made  with  common  silk,  it  can  at  least  be  deduced  that 
coarse  silk  yarn  was  used  sometimes  for  this  purpose. 
The  complaints  of  Katherine  Eliott,*  nurse  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  in  1636  are  a  little  vague  as  to  whether 
spun  yarn  was  employed  in  the  silk  stockings  and  waist- 
coats of  the  period.  Her  specific  charge  was  against 
the  passing-off  of  Spanish  as  Naples  silk,  and  woven  for 
knitted  goods,  but  the  probabilities  do  not  preclude  the 
use  of  "floret."  The  earliest  explicit  reference  to  the 
employment  of  silk  waste  to  make  cloth  in  this  country 
is  accompanied  by  assurance  favouring  the  supposition 
that  the  invention  was  new. 

The  Domestic  State  Papers  for  1672  contain  an  entry    Refer- 
bearing   upon   the   purpose   to   which    silk   waste — or   a   ences  in 
particular  kind  of  silk  waste — had  been  applied  in  this   State 
country  up  to  that  time.     It  was  a  waste  "  never  before   Papers, 
known  to  be  useful  in  this  kingdom  except  for  stuffing 
quilts,    or    sold    into    Holland    or    Germany    at    8d.    or 
lOd.  per  Ib."     The  information  is   to   be   found   in   the 
certificate  of  five  mercers  of  the  city  of  London,  made  in 
respect  of  an  invention  for  which  letters  patent  No.  165 

*  See  Appendix. 


400 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Refer-  were  granted  to  Edmond  Blood,  "  of  our  Citty  of  London, 
ences  in  Merchant,"  in  1671.  The  document  differs  from  modern 
State  grants  in  containing  no  drawings  or  detailed  description. 
Papers.  It  opens  with  an  abrupt  form  of  the  royal  greeting : 

"  CHARLES  THE  SECOND  &c.,  to  all  to  whome  theise 

presents  shall  come,  greeting. 
"  WHEREAS    by    the    humble    peticon    of    Edmond 

Blood and   alsoe  by    the    certificat    of 

divers  of  our  loving  subjects,  cittizens,  and  trading 
mercers  within  our  Citty  of  London,  wee  are  given 
to  understand  that  with  considerable  charge  and 
paines  hee,  the  said  Edmond  Blood,  had  found 
out  '  A  NEW  manufacture,  being  a  rich  Silk  Shagg 
comodious  for  Garments,  made  of  a  Silke  Wast, 
hetherto  of  little  or  noe  vse,  and  shagged  by 
Tezell  or  Rowing  Cards,  like  as  English  Bayes, 
Rowed  Fustians  or  Dimatyes,  a  sort  of  Manu- 
facture never  before  knowne  or  made  in  this  our 
Kingdome/  And  whereas  the  said  Edmond 
Blood  hath  humbly  besought  vs.  to  grant  him  our 
Letters  Patents  for  the  sole  vse  and  such  his 
Invencon  for  the  tearme  of  fowerteen  yeares, 
according  to  the  statute  in  that  case  made  and 
provided." 

Early  The  nature  of  the  silk  waste  in  question  is  not  precisely 

English  described,  and  it  is  open  to  doubt  whether  it  was  the 
Methods  direct  produce  of  silk  reeling  or  was  the  noil  or  by-product 
of  of  some  established  waste  silk  combing  industry.  How- 

using  ever,  the  character  5>f  the  cloth  can  be  determined  by 
Waste.  deduction.  A  shag  is  a  cloth,  commonly  woollen,  with  a 
rough  surface,  and  the  document  makes  it  plain  that  the 
silk  shag  was  to  be  roughed  (technically  "  raised ")  by 
the  use  of  teazles  or  of  roving  cards.  In  other  words,  the 
fabric  was  to  be  treated  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the 
treatment  of  most  blankets  and  all  flannelettes,  and  to  be 
made  somewhat  to  resemble  baize  with  a  trailing  pile  of 
fibre  upon  its  surface.  The  modern  clothier  might 
describe  this  as  "  blanket  cloth,"  "  fleece-faced,"  or  "  moss 
finished,"  according  to  the  degree  of  the  roughening  or 
raising.  It  was  apparently  intended  to  make  the  shag 


WASTE   SILK.  401 

alternatively  of  silk  or  silk  and  linen,  for  the  certificate   Shag 
of  the  mercers  states  that  none  of  them  had  known  or   Over- 
heard of  "  any  such  manufactory  in  this  kingdom  or  else-   coatings, 
where  as  the  making  of  a  stuff  fit  for  garments  of  silk, 
or  silk  and  linen,  shagged  like  English  bays."     It  is  note- 
worthy that  Blood's  idea  has  met  with  modern  adapta- 
tions, and  that  there  are  periodical  demands  from  the 
United  States  for  silk  waste  in  the  form  of  noils  to  mix 
with  .wool   and   form  the   fleecy   face   of   "  shag "    over- 
coatings. 

The  language  of  the  patent  has  sonorous  qualities  of 
its  own,  and  with  the  avoidance  of  repetitions  and  some 
circumlocution  the  document  is  further  quoted  : 

"  KNOW  Ye,  that  wee,  haveing  a  more  especiall  and 
favourable  regard  to  the  Invencon  aforesaid,  and 
being  willing  to  cherish  and  encoorage  all  laudable 
endeavours  and  designs  of  such  our  subjects  as 
shall  finde  out  vsefull  and  profitable  arts,  misteries 
and  invencons  by  granting  and  appropriating 
vnto  them  for  some  tearme  of  yeares  the  fruite 
and  benefitt  of  theire  industry,  whereby  not  onely 
a  marke  of  our  favour  may  bee  sett  vppon  such 
theire  ingenuity  but  alsoe  theire  labor  and  expences 
in  the  attainment  thereof  may  in  some  measure 
be  recompenced  and  rewarded  vnto  them,  have 
given  and  granted  ....  and  doe  give  and  grant 
vnto  the  said  Edmond  Blood,  his  executors 
admstrators  and  assignes  especiall  licence,  power, 
priviledge  and  authority  that  hee  and  they  .... 
by  him  and  themselves  and  their  deputies,  servants  An  early 
and  workmen  and  such  others  onely  as  he  shall  Patent 

agree   with   and   noe   others shall    and  described. 

may  vse,  practice,   exercize  and  enjoy  the  said 

Invencon " 

The  fee  exacted  was  modest,  the  grant  being  condi- 
tional simply  on  payment  of  "  the  yearely  rent  or  sum 
of  six  shillings  and  eight  pence  of  lawfull  money  of  England 
att  the  twoe  most  vsuall  feasts  in  the  yeare,  that  is  to 
say,  att  the  Feast  of  the  Anunciacon  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  and  the  Feast  of  Saint  Michaell  the  Archangell, 

90 


402  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

An  early  by  even  and  equal  porcons."  The  document  extended 
Patent  warnings  to  those  who  might  infringe  the  patent,  detailed 
described,  the  powers  of  search  in  cases  of  supposed  infringement, 
and  required  "  all  and  singular  justices  of  peace,  maiors, 
sheriffs,  bayliffs,  constables,  headboroughs  and  all  other 
officers  and  ministers  "  to  be  "  favouring,  helping,  ayding 
and  assisting  vnto  the  said  Edmond  Blood."  This  paper, 
sealed  with  the  private  seal  of  the  monarch,  made  the 
grant  revocable  in  case  "  it  shall  bee  made  appeare  vnto 
vs  ....  or  any  six  or  more  of  our  privy  councell  that 
this  our  grant  is  contrary  to  law  or  prejudiciall  or  incon- 
venient or  not  of  publique  vse  or  benefitt  or  ...  is  not 
a  new  Invencon." 

Patents  of  more  intrinsic  importance  also  involving 
the  treatment  of  waste  silk  have  been  taken  out  since 
Blood's,  but  in  none  of  these  is  there  an  equal  charm  and 
quaintness  of  language,  and  the  fact  must  condone  a 
digression  not  absolutely  necessary  to  the  proof  that 
waste  silk  has  a  long  history. 

Inven-  Various    patentees    of    the    18th    century    enumerated 

tion  in        silk  as  one  of  the  fibres  capable  of  manufacture  upon  the 
18th  machines  of  their  invention.     Dr.   Cartwright  did  so  in 

Century,  respect  of  the  machine-comb  which  he  devised  primarily 
for  treating  wool,  but  this  and  other  references  have  to 
be  dismissed  as  speculative  and  self-protective  claims 
by  patentees.  The  invention  of  Thomas  Wood,  manu- 
facturer of  cotton,  Holcombe,  Bury,  Lanes.  (No.  1130  of 
1776),  may  be  mentioned  not  specifically  for  its  utility 
or  importance — for  it  does  not  appear  that  the  machine 
described  could  have  worked — but  as  some  evidence  that 
waste  silk  was  then  occupying  attention  in  Lancashire. 
Wood  invented  a  "  machine  or  instrument  for  carding  and 
roving  silk,  cotton  and  sheep's  wooll."  Silk  is  placed 
first  in  the  title,  although  the  body  of  the  document  treats 
of  "  cotton,  sheep's  wool  &c."  in  one  instance,  and  solely 
of  "  the  cotton "  in  another.  A  patent  taken  out  by 
Sharp  and  Whittemore  in  1799  for  a  machine  to  make 
cards  for  carding,  cotton,  wool  and  silk  gives  firm  evidence 
that  silk  was  then  being  carded,  and  the  fact  is  well  attested 
in  other  ways. 


Silk  Spinning,   Receiving  and  Opening  Raw 

Material — Silk  Waste. 


Plate  XL///.  Silk  Spinning,  Boiling  or  De-gumming — Silk  Waste. 


WASTE   SILK. 


403 


The  most  momentous  technical  development  within  the  Notable 
English  spinning  industry  of  the  last  hundred  years  is    Tech- 
one  that  has  been  almost  totally  disregarded  by  the  larger   nical 
public.     Attention  has   been   drawn  to  new  silk   combs   Develop- 
and  to  the  utilisation  of  new-old  forms   of  silk  waste,   ment. 
but  these  are  not  of  supreme  consequence.     The  great 
and  the  distinctive  change  was  the  supersession  of  the 
old  method  under  which  a  fibre  naturally  long  was  cut 
deliberately  into  short  lengths  and  prepared   and  spun 
in  the  manner  proper  to  fibres  naturally  short ;    in  fact 
by  means  not  very  different  from  those  used  for  cotton. 
Long  fibres  are  more  valuable  textile  materials  than  short 
ones,  and  to  make  long  ones  short  is  a  step  contrary  to 
good  management.     The  improvement  which  exceeds  all 
others  in  importance  was  plainly  that  which  abolished 
the  old  necessity  for  depreciating  and  disfiguring  the  raw 
material  and  allowed  advantage  to  be  taken  of  the  inherent 
quality   of  good  length.     The  change  implied    the  pro- 
duction of  a  stronger  and  more  lustrous,  although  not 
necessarily   more   even   yarn.     And   to   set   at   rest   any 
doubt  of  the  reality  and  magnitude  of  the  improvement 
it  suffices  to  point  out  that  it  has  been  adopted  by  every 
spinning  firm  in  the  English  trade,  and  with  not  more 
than  three  exceptions  is  the  only  system  in  use  in  English 
mills  now,  or  for  many  years  past. 

In  tracing  the  course  of  the  change  which  led  English    Gibson 
silk  spinners  to  abandon  the  example  of  cotton  and  to   and 
make  the  methods  pursued  in  spinning  worsted  or  long   Camp- 
flax  as  their  model,  it  is  necessary  to  refer  at  some  length   bell 
to  the  English  patent  7228  of  1836.     Under  this,  John   Patent. 
Gibson,  of  the  City  of  Glasgow,  throwster,  and  John  Gordon 
Campbell,   of  the  same  place,   merchant,   obtained  pro- 
tection for  a  "  new  or  improved  process  of  manufacture 
of  silk,  and  silk  in  combination  with  certain  other  fibrous 
substances."     Eight  claims  were  registered  : 

(1)  Discharging   from   silk   waste  when  the   same  is 

in  the  state  of  the  sliver  or  rove. 

(2)  Dyeing  silk  waste  in  the  sliver. 

(3)  Spinning  from  dressed  waste  of  long  fibres,  either 

in  the  gum  or  discharged. 


404 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Spinning  (4)  Spinning  silk  waste  of  long  fibres  in  combination 

of  long  with  flax  of  a  similar  length,  of  fibre, 

fibre  Silk  (5)  Spinning  yarn  from  silk  waste  of  long  fibre  in 

Waste.  combination  with  wool. 

(6)  The  application  of  a  new  process  to  the  throstle 

machine,  on  the  principle  of  the  long  ratch, 
for  the  new  and  useful  process  of  spinning 
silk  waste. 

(7)  Improvements  in  the  throstle  machine  by  which 

its  utility  in  spinning  silk  waste  is  greatly 
augmented. 

(8)  The  application  of  water  to  silk  waste  with  long 

fibres  in  the  process  of  spinning  with  the  long 

ratch. 

This  patent  is  the  earliest  upon  the  British  register 
relating  to  the  spinning  of  silk  waste  of  long  fibre,  and  is 
the  one  responsible  for  the  name  "Patent  Long  Spun" 
that  is  sometimes  still  applied  to  English  yarn.  Long 
and  costly  litigation  arose  out  of  the  grant  of  this  patent, 
and  the  decisions  therein  dispose  of  the  idea  that  this 
was  the  first  successful  attempt  to  avoid  the  reduction 
of  the  fibre.  Indeed  a  distinction  must  be  drawn  between 
yarn  technically  entitled  to  the  name  "Patent  Long 
Spun  "  and  yarn  produced  on  the  throstle  machine  and 
upon  the  principle  of  the  long  ratch. 

The  specification  outlines  the  processes  hitherto  adopted 
for  spinning  yarn  from  silk  waste : 

(a)  Passing  the   waste   through   a   breaker   to   clear 

out  the  more  stubborn  or  knotty  ravelings. 

(b)  Passing  the  waste  through  dressing  machines — 
either  in  the  gum  or  discharged  state. 

(c)  Cutting  the  dressed  silk  into  lengths  of  two  inches, 

more  or  less,  in  a  cutting  machine,  and  if  need 
be  discharging  and  drying. 

(d)  Scutching  the  material  before  carding. 

Old  (e)  After  carding,  preparing  the  roving  by  a  similar 

and  engine  to  that   used   for   cotton  and   spinning 

New  on  the  mule  jenny,  on  a  similar  principle  to 

Methods.  that  of  the  cotton  jenny. 


WASTE  SILK. 


405 


These  processes  correspond  with  those  in  use  to-day 
in  the  few  mills  in  which  the  short-spun  method  survives. 
There  follows  in  the  patent  a  description  of  "  our  novel 
process  by  which  we  produce  our  new  or  improved  yarn 
or  thread,"  a  few  lines  of  which  are  enough  to  proclaim  the 
source  from  whence  the  patentees  drew  their  inspiration  : 
"  The  silk  waste  having  been  dressed  in  the  usual 
way  .  .  .  either   discharged   or   in   the   gum,   we 
submit  it  to  the   drawing,   roving  and  spinning 
machinery,   thereby   entirely   obviating   the   sup- 
posed necessity  of  cutting  or  shortening  the  fila- 
ments of  silk  waste,  a  destructive  process,  which 
has  heretofore  been  considered  as  an  indispensable 
sacrifice.  .  .  . 

"  The  kind  of  machinery  we  have  found  to  answer 
best  for  the  drawings  and  rovings  of  dressed, 
heckled  or  carded  silk  waste  of  long  fibres  is  the 
same  as  that  used  by  flax  spinners,  and  we  adopt 
the  same  methods  as  are  practised  by  them  with 
long  or  cut  line  flax." 

An  action  at  law  disposed  of  the  validity  of  the  salient 
claims  in  Gibson  and  Campbell's  patent,  and  the  printed 
specification  issued  by  the  Patent  Office  is  followed  by  a 
disclaimer.  The  claims  (6),  (7)  and  (8)  referring 
respectively  to  the  use  of  the  throstle  machine,  improve- 
ments in  that  machine  and  to  the  process  of  web  spinning 
are  formally  abandoned.  The  action  Gibson  v.  Brand, 
although  an  industrial  cause  celebre,  would  seem  to  be 
generally  unknown  to  the  present  generation  of  silk 
spinners.  The  case  is  a  leading  one  in  the  annals  of 
English  patent  law,  and  the  various  legal  points  disposed 
of  in  the  judgment  give  it  an  important  place  in  hand- 
books of  the  law  of  patents.  As  many  as  a  dozen  references 
to  Gibson  v.  Brand  occur  in  one  standard  manual  of 
British  patent  law,  and  the  case  is  reported  at  length 
in  Webster's  Report,  p.  627,  Manning  and  Granger  I,  p.  79, 
Scott's  New  Report,  p.  844,  Law  Journal  Report,  New  Series, 
Common  Pleas,  p.  177.  The  case  was  heard  in  1840, 
when  plaint  was  made  that  the  defendant  had  "  directly 
and  indirectly  made,  used  and  put  in  practice  the  said 


Adop- 
tion of 
Flax 
Spinning 
Process. 


Patentee 
in  the 
Law 
Courts. 


406 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Patentee  invention,  and  counterfeited,  imitated  and  resembled  the 
in  the  same."  The  defendant  pleaded  that  Gibson  and  Campbell 
Law  were  not  the  first  inventors  and  that  the  invention  was 

Courts.  not  new.  It  was  proved  that  Brand  had  ordered  silk 
waste  to  be  spun  by  certain  persons  by  a  process  similar 
to  that  described  and  had  sold  the  silk  so  spun.  It  was 
held  proved  that  the  yarn  produced  by  the  plaintiff's 
process  was  very  superior  in  value  and  beauty  to  that 
spun  on  cotton  machinery.  Evidence  was  given  on  the 
part  of  the  defendant  that  long  before  the  date  of  the 
patent,  silk  waste  in  the  long  uncut  fibre  had  been  spun 
by  the  common  machinery  for  spinning  flax,  and  had  been 
sold  in  large  quantities.  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Tindal, 
Mr.  Justice  Cresswell,  Mr.  Justice  Coltman  and  Mr.  Justice 
Erskine  concurred  in  upholding  the  decision  given  in  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas.  The  remarks  of  the  last-named 
deal  explicitly  with  the  question  of  originality.  He 
observed  : 

"  It  appears  that  the  process  of  spinning  silk  waste 

with  an  uncut  fibre  had  been  before  practised. 
"  It  is  said  indeed  that  this  was  done  in  secret,  and 
that  it  had  not  been  made  public,  and  undoubtedly 
if  this  fact  were  made  out  I  should  agree  that  this 
would  be  no  objection  to  the  patent.  But  I  think 
there  was  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  to 
some  extent — and  indeed  to  a  considerable  extent 
— the  process  had  been  publicly  practised  before 
the  patent  was  taken  out ;  although  it  had  not 
been  carried  to  such  a  state  of  perfection  as  under 
the  plaintiff's  patent." 

An  The  judicial  decisions  give  substantial  assurance  that 

Im-  a  process  having  the  same  main  effect  as  that  patented 

portant      by  Gibson  and  Campbell  had  been  carried  on  before  1836, 
Judg-         and  after  the  formal  disclaimers  made  by  the  patentees, 
ment.         little  of  the  original  subject  matter  remained.     The  patent 
became  one  for — 

(a)  Discharging  in  the  sliver  or  rove. 

(b)  Dyeing  in  the  sliver. 

(c)  Spinning  long  fibres,   either  in  the  gum  or  dis- 
charged state. 


WASTE  SILK. 


407 


(d)  Spinning  silk  in  combination  with.  flax.  An 

(e)  Spinning  silk  in  combination  with  wool.  Im- 
The  word  "  New  "'  was  struck  out  from  the  title,  and    portant 

only  "  An  Improved  Process  of  Manufacture  "  remained.  Judg- 
The  information  gleaned  from  Patent  Office  records  ment. 
is  supplemented  by  additional  facts  extracted  with  great 
care  and  patience  by  Messrs.  J.  and  T.  Brocklehurst  and 
Sons,  Limited,  throwsters  and  spinners  of  Macclesfield, 
from  the  archives  of  their  firm.  From  these  it  has  been 
learned  that  the  methods  pursued  by  Gibson  and  Campbell 
proved  very  successful,  and  that  yarn  produced  by  them 
was  used  in  many  fabrics  with  good  results.  A  number 
of  manufacturers  introduced  similar  methods  without 
licence  from  the  patentees,  and  the  legal  proceedings 
against  these  parties  brought  both  Gibson  and  Campbell 
to  insolvency  in  1840.  In  this  year  Messrs.  Brocklehurst, 
together  with  Mr.  William  Wanklyn,  silk  manufacturer, 
of  Manchester,  came  to  the  aid  of  the  patentees,  raised 
money  for  their  assistance,  and  pressed  the  proceedings 
to  the  conclusion  that  has  already  been  detailed.  In 
consideration  of  their  help,  Messrs.  Brocklehurst  and 
Wanklyn  were  given  the  right  to  use  the  process,  free  of 
further  cost,  and  to  participate  in  any  extension  or  renewal 
of  the  amended  patent  rights. 

The  patent   rights   were   extended.     The   English   and 
Irish   rights   expiring  in    1850,    and   the   Scottish   rights 
expiring  in  1851,  were  each  extended  for  six  years  by  the 
Privy  Council,  for  the  principal  reason  that  the  patentees 
had  lost  considerably  upon  their  undertaking  up  to  that 
time.     Under  the  terms  of  the  agreement  made  ten  years 
before,  Messrs.  Brocklehurst  were  automatically  to  benefit    Exten- 
from  any  extension  without  further  expense.     They  came   sion  of 
again,  however,  to  the  assistance  of  the  owners  of  the   Life  of 
patent  in  the  expense  of  the  renewal.     Mr.  Wanklyn,  on   Patent, 
this   occasion,   took  no  part  in  the  matter,   but  James 
Holdforth  and  Son,  of  Leeds,  joined  in  the  costs  of  the 
appeal,  and  became  entitled  thereby  to  exercise  the  right 
of  manufacture  on  the  same  terms  as  Messrs.  Brocklehurst. 
John    Gordon    Campbell    had    meanwhile    died,    and    his 
brother  Charles  Campbell  stood  as  sole  representative  of 


408 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Licenses     the  original  holders  of  the  patent.     The  right,  therefore, 
to  Manu-  to  discharge  silk  waste  in  the  sliver,  and  to  apply  to  yarn 
facturers.  the  name  "  Long  Spun,"   and  to  stamp  the  yarn  with 
the  words  "  By  Royal  Letters  Patent  and  Letters  of  the 
Licence,"  vested  principally  with  the  firms  of  Campbell 
of  Glasgow,  Brocklehurst  of  Macclesfield,  and  Holdforth 
of  Leeds.     Terms  were  made,  however,  with  certain  other 
spinners,  and  the  following  firms  held  licences  until  the 
expiry  of  the  extended  patents  in  1856  and  1857 : 
Hind  and  Co.,  Lancaster. 
Briggs,  Castleton  Hill,  Rochdale. 
Thomas  Atkinson,  Booth  Town,  Halifax. 
Muir  and  Co.,  Port  Dundas,  Glasgow. 
The  ruling  in  Gibson  and  Brand  proved  that  silk  waste 
of  long  fibre  had  been  spun  independently  of  any  patent 
before   1836,  and  there  is  contemporary  testimony  that 
long  fibre,  discharged  not  in  the  sliver  but  in  the  undressed 
state,  was  spun  in  Brighouse  before  1852  ;  in  other  words, 
before   the   expiration   of   the   extension   of   the   patent. 
Burrow  and  Monk,  who  were  pioneers  of  the  silk  spinning 
trade   in    Brighouse,    practised    the    short-spun    method 
originally,  but  with  the  assistance  of  workmen  obtained 
from  Holdforths  of  Horsforth,  Leeds,  manufacturers  began 
to  use  the  long-spinning  process  in  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  still  carried  on  in  the  town.     On  the  other  hand, 
certain  old-established  spinners  waited  until  the  expiration 
of  the  patent  rights.     At  the  short-spinning  mill  at  Galgate 
the  machinery  for  long-spinning  was  installed  in   1863, 
and  was  set  to  work  in  1864.     At  Triangle,  near  Halifax, 
Mr.  Hadwen,  who  had  begun  as  a  cotton  spinner  in  1800, 
added  short-spun  silk  to   the  list  of  his  manufactures  in 
the   year   1826   and  long-spun  in   1858.      At   Congleton, 
A  Messrs.  Reade,  who  became  short  spinners  in  1829,  after 

Pioneer  carrying  on  silk-throwing  and  weaving  from  1784,  began 
Firm.  long-spinning  in  1859,  or  later.  The  pleas  before  the 
Privy  Council  made  on  behalf  of  the  Glasgow  patentees, 
suggest  that  the  improved  system  of  working  was  not  im- 
mediately lucrative,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  tradition  that  some 
persons  hastened  to  take  up  long-spinning  before  the  method 
had  been  brought  to  a  satisfactory  degree  of  perfection. 


Silk  Spinning,  Dressed  Silk  Spreading — Silk  Waste. 


Plate  XLIV. 


ilk  Spinning,  Combing — Silk  Waste. 


WASTE  SILK.  409 

The  defendant  Brand  in  the  momentous  action  was  Scottish 
probably  a  neighbour  of  Gibson  and  Campbell.  That  Spinners, 
he  was  not  a  spinner  of  silk  waste,  but  had  spinning  done 
for  him  by  others  appears  from  the  evidence.  Harvey, 
Brand  and  Co.,  and  Robert  Brand  and  Co.,  of  1,  Ingram 
Street,  Glasgow,  were  throwsters  and  silk  gauze  manu- 
facturers, and  it  is  possible  that  the  defendant  belonged 
to  one  or  other  of  these  firms.  The  connection  of  the 
first-named  firm  with  the  silk  industry  is  mentioned  in 
an  article  in  the  7th  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica 
(1842),  which  expresses  the  writer's  "  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments to  Messrs.  Harvey  Brand  and  Co.,  of  Glasgow, 
whose  beautiful  silk-throwing  factory  at  Blackball,  Paisley, 
was  opened  to  him." 

The  same   article   refers  to  silk-spinning  in  Edinburgh 
in  terms  which  leave  no  doubt  of  their  meaning : 

"Messrs.  Wm.  Casey  and  Co.,  of  Castle  Mills,  Edin- 
burgh,   have    it    in    contemplation    to    introduce 
such  alterations  in  the  spinning  of  silk  waste  as 
will  supersede  the  cutting,  carding  and  scutching 
processes.     This  improvement  they  mean  to  effect 
by  adopting  the  principles  of  flax-spinning,  in  place 
of  treating  the  waste  in  the  manner  of  cotton, 
the   uncut   filaments   being   drawn   into   a   sliver 
by  a  modification  of  the  flax  gill." 
Messrs.  Casey  presumably  had  the  result  of  the  Gibson 
lawsuit  in  mind,  and  at  all  events  made  no  secret  of  their 
intentions.     Whether   Michael    Wheelwright   Ivison,   silk- 
spinner,  residing  in  Hales  Street,   Edinburgh,  was  con- 
nected with  their  firm  remains  an  open  question.  *    What  is    Work 
known  is  that  Ivison  took  out  the  English  patent  7600  of   of 
1838  for  objects  similar  to  those  of  Gibson  and  Campbell    Edin- 
and  of  William  Casey  and  Co.     A  single  sentence  suffices   burgh 
to  show  that  projects  for  long-spinning  engaged  attention    Firms, 
in  several  Scottish  quarters  in  the  later  'thirties  : 

"  In  carrying  out  my  invention,  silk  waste  is  to  be 
obtained  in  the  condition  it  is  delivered  from  the 
combing  without  having  undergone  the  process 
of  cutting  and  carding." 

*  The  name  of  M.  W.  Ivison  appeared  in  the  Glasgow  Directory  of  1835-36  under  the  head 
"  Silk  Spinner,"  but  was  absent  from  the  edition  of  1839-40. 


410 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


John  Gibson,  with  Thomas  Muir,  described  as  silk 
manufacturers,  Glasgow,  took  out  in  1840  a  further  patent 
(No.  8641)  to  clean  foul  silk  waste.  The  waste,  converted 
into  a  sliver  or  rove  and  reeled  into  hank,  was  immersed 
in  water  until  saturated,  then  wrung  well  at  a  wringing 
post  and  scutched.  "  We  find,"  says  the  specification, 
"this  saturation  has  the  effect  of  making  the  fine  fibres 
adhere  to  each  other  more  closely,  while  the  scutching, 
without  disturbing  the  natural  adhesiveness  of  the  fine 
fibre,  throws  out  or  partly  detaches  the  nibs  and  coarse 
or  unequal  filaments."  It  does  not  appear  that  any 
notable  results  followed. 

The  spinning  of  waste  silk  has  been  shown  to  have  a 
longer  history  than  can  be  inferred  from  the  date  of  the 
foundation  of  any  existing  spinning  mills.  It  was,  how- 
ever, to  the  age  of  existing  mills  that  the  Silk  Club  of 
Manchester  referred  in  contesting  Mr.  Samuel  Cunliffe 
Lister's  right  to  be  regarded  either  as  the  founder  of  the 
spinning  branch  of  the  trade  or  as  the  first  to  employ  the 
waste  silks  of  India.  A  letter  from  this  Association  of 
silk  spinners  appeared  in  the  Bradford  Observer,  24  March, 
1887,  and  this,  with  Mr.  Lister's  reply,  effectually  disposes 
of  both  points : 

"Sir, 

With  reference  to  the  accounts  which  have  appeared 
recently  concerning  Mr.  S.  Lister  and  his  connection  with  the 
spun-silk  industry,  we  venture  to  ask  the  following  question : 

(1)  Seeing  that  there  are  some  firms  (or  their  pre- 

decessors) which  have  been  engaged  in  spinning 
waste  silk  for  nearly  100  years,  how  is  it  that 
Mr.  Lister  can  be  said  to  be  the  introducer  of 
this  branch  of  the  trade? 

(2)  Inasmuch  as  some  are  now  living  who  over  50 

years  ago  worked  the  waste  silks  of  India, 
can  it  be  explained  how  Mr.  Lister  was  the 
first  to  introduce  the  use  of  this  material  ? 

(3)  What    is    the    quality    of    the    waste    silk    that 

Mr.  Lister  purchased  originally  at  Jd.  per  Ib.  ? 
We   ask   these   questions   without   the   slightest   desire 
to  throw  any  doubt  upon  the  services  that  Mr.  Lister 


WASTE  SILK.  411 

has  conferred  upon  the  branch  of  industry  in  which  he 
is  engaged,  but  we  feel  that  it  would  be  more  satisfactory 
if  some  explanation  of  the  above  could  be  given. 

THE  SILK  CLUB. 
Victoria  Hotel, 

Manchester, 

March  22nd,  1887." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Lister  sent  the  following  reply  : — 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Bradford  Observer. 

Sir, — Allow  me  to  reply  to  the  queries  of  my  friends    A  Reply 
of  the  Silk  Club,  published  in  your  issue  of  Thursday.  to  Criti- 

It  would  just  be  as  true  for  someone  to  say  that  he  cism. 
was  the  first  to  use  pig  iron  as  for  me  to  say  that  I  was 
the  first  to  utilise  silk  waste.  All  silk-producing  nations 
have  from  time  immemorial  used  their  waste  silk  of  the 
better  class  with  more  or  less  skill,  and  do  so  now.  It  is 
nothing  but  our  superior  machinery  and  mode  of  treat- 
ment that  enable  us  to  pay  a  higher  price  than  the  native 
user,  and  that  causes  it  to  come  to  our  markets.  With 
regard  to  its  use  in  England,  I  should  imagine — although 
I  have  no  positive  data — that  it  would  be  about  the  time 
I  was  born,  say  some  seventy  or  eighty  years  ago,  when 
it  was  first  spun  by  machinery  in  this  country.  I  remember 
well  the  first  time  that  I  saw  anything  of  the  kind  was 
at  Messrs.  Holdforths'  mill  at  Leeds — I  think  in  1846. 
Having  at  that  time  gained  some  notoriety  in  wool- 
combing,  Mr.  Holdforth  asked  me  to  come  over  and  see 
his  silk-dressing  machine,  and  to  improve  it  if  I  could. 
I  thought  then,  and  still  think,  that  it  was  one  of  the 
rudest  and  crudest  of  machines,  but,  as  I  know  to  my 
cost,  very  bad  to  beat.  I  had  no  idea,  when  examining 
it  carefully  for  the  first  time,  of  the  long  years  of  toil  and 
trouble,  and  the  ruinous  sums  it  would  cost  me  before 
I  should  be  able  to  master  it — and  I  am  not  so  sure  that 
I  have  succeeded  even  now,  after  forty  years  (that  is, 
for  all  sorts) — but  I  can,  at  any  rate,  say  that  I  have,  First 
so  far  as  I  know,  invented  and  patented  the  first  self-  Self- 
acting  dressing  machine,  with  plenty  of  room  for  improve-  Acting 
ment  for  those  who  may  come  after  me,  as  I  consider  Dressing 
my  working  days  are  now  over.  Machine. 


412 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Then  as  to  the  waste  silks  of  India,  I  believe  that 
Messrs.  Holdforth  were  using  at  the  time  I  visited  their 
works  the  J.R.W.  chassum,  known  as  European  filature, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  other  people  were  also  ;  but  the 
waste  silk  that  cost  me  so  much  time,  trouble,  and  expense 
to  use  profitably  was  the  native  filature  chassum.  The 
late  Mr.  Spensley,  who,  no  doubt,  will  be  remembered 
by  many  members  of  the  Club  as  being  one  of  the  chief 
waste  silk  brokers,  first  called  my  attention  to  it — that 
would  be  about  1857 — and  he  said,  laughing,  that  they 
had  tried  to  use  it  as  manure,  but  that  it  would  not  rot. 
At  that  time  I  had  no  knowledge  of  silk  waste,  and  to  my 
inexperienced  eyes  it  looked  more  like  oakum  than  any- 
thing else.  However,  after  some  experiments,  I  bought 
a  few  bales,  say  thirty  or  forty,  at  Jd.  per  pound,  and 
afterwards  cleared  the  lot  at  Id.  to  IJd.  Years  afterwards, 
when  I  had  perfected  my  machinery  at  a  vast  cost,  I  had 
almost  the  entire  trade  in  my  hands,  and  imported  regu- 
larly, year  after  year,  several  thousand  bales — in  fact, 
at  that  time  I  scarcely  used  anything  else — and  now  I 
scarcely  use  a  bale.  It  all  goes  abroad,  where  all  our 
trade  will  eventually  go.  Long  hours,  cheap  labour,  and 
hostile  tariffs  will  tell  more  and  more  as  time  goes  on. 
There  were  two  reasons  why  the  trade  could  not  and  did 
not  use  native  filature  chassum,  and  other  low  wastes ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  even  to  this  day,  although  not 
to  the  same  extent.  First,  at  that  time  good  waste  was 
so  cheap,  and  the  cost  of  dressing  low  materials  so  high, 
that  it  did  not  pay  with  the  ordinary  machinery,  and 
required  special  machinery  invented  and  constructed  before 
it  could  be  used  with  profit.  Then  again,  supposing  it 
could  have  been  dressed  at  that  time  with  the  comparatively 
rude  gill  boxes  then  in  use,  no  one  could  make  level  yarn 
from  it.  The  intersecting  gill — the  invention  of  my  last 
partner,  Mr.  Warburton — has  changed  all  that,  and  made 
it  now  comparatively  easy,  whereas,  when  the  sliver  of 
combed  native  chassum  was  drawn  from  my  patent  silk- 
combing  machine,  it  was  as  level  as  a  roving,  and  no  one 
in  Europe  could  or  did  make  any  yarn  comparable  to  it. 
When  Manningham  Mills  were  burned  down,  in  1872 


Spinning,  Drawing  Preparatory  for  Spinning — 

Silk  Waste. 


Plate  XLV .  Silk  Spinning,  Drawing  Preparatory  for  Spinning — 

Silk  Waste. 


WASTE   SILK.  413 

I  think,  I  had  orders  for  a  year's  production.     The  raw    Waning 
material  was  costing  me  from  6d.  to  Is.  2d.,  and  I  was   Pros- 
selling  on  the   Rhine  two-fold  60s.  for  24s.   per  pound,    perity. 
My  respected  friends  of  the  Silk  Club,  we  should  all  like 
those  very  pleasant  and  prosperous  days  to  come  back 
again,  but,  alas  !  I  am  afraid  they  will  never.     In  these 
evil  days  the  raw  material  is  double  the  price,  and  the 
yarn  less  than  one-half,  and  if  there  be  any  profit  at  all, 
it  goes  to  the  foreigner.     In   conclusion,   let  me  say  I 
sincerely  wish  prosperity  to  the  Club  and  the  trade. 

I  am,  &c., 

S.  CUNLIFFE  LISTER. 
Swinton,  March  26th,  1887. 

P.S. — I  suppose  that  the  reason  of  the  Silk  Club  asking 
for  explanations  arises  from  the  terms  in  which  the  Albert 
medal  was  awarded  to  me ;  but  I  had  nothing  to  do  with 
that,  as  I  was  ill  in  bed  at  the  time.  I  quite  agree  in 
thinking  that  some  alteration  ought  to  be  made  more 
in  accordance  with  the  facts,  and  I  shall  endeavour  to 
have  such  alteration  made  by  the  Council  of  the  Society 
of  Arts,  as  I  have  not  the  slightest  wish  to  have  accorded 
to  me  that  to  which  I  am  not  fairly  entitled." 

Mr.  Lister  was  as  good  as  his  word  in  the  matter  of 
the  award  of  the  Albert  medal,  bestowed  upon  him  in 
1886.*  A  letter  from  him  was  received  by  the  Society, 
suggesting  some  amendment  of  the  terms  in  the  final  clause 
of  the  award.  The  Council  of  the  Society  of  Arts  were  of 
opinion  that  it  would  not  then  be  possible  to  vary  the 
terms  which  had  been  made  public  about  a  year  before. 

In  Lord  Masham's  Inventions  a  more  extended  account 
is  given  of  that  which  Mr.  Lister  did  invent.  Lord  Masham 
wrote :  The 

"  In  1859  we  succeeded — I  and  my  partner,  Mr.  James  First 
Warburton — in  making  the  first  silk  comb,  which  Silk 
we  patented  in  our  joint  names.     From  the  begin-  Comb, 
ning  it  made  a  first-rate  sliver  and  fairly  clean 

*  The  terms  of  the  award  to  Mr.  Lister  of  the  Albert  Medal  of  the  Society  of  Arts  are  thus 
reported  in  the  Journal  of  the  Society,  June  4,  1886  : — 

"The  Council  of  the  Society  of  Arts  have  (with  the  approval  of  the  President, 
H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales)  awarded  the  Albert  Medal  to  Mr.  Samuel  Cunliffe 
Lister  for  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  the  textile  industries,  especially  by 
the  substitution  of  mechanical  wool-combing  for  hand-combing,  and  by  the  intro- 
duction and  development  of  a  new  industry  and  the  utilisation  of  waste  silk." 


414  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

The  work,  but  its  great  fault — a  fatal  one — was  that 

First  it  produced  so  little  top  and  made  so  much  noil 

Silk  that  it  did  not  pay.  .  .  .  The  mechanical  arrange- 

Comb.  ment  was  admirable,  and  it  did  what  had  never  been 

done    before.     It    produced    a    splendid,    regular 

and  even  sliver,  just  what  was  wanted  in  the  spun 

silk  trade. 

"  Net  silk,  Italian,  was  at  that  time  (1859)  worth  over 
40s.  a  pound,  and  was  anything  but  level  and 
free  from  lumps  and  other  imperfections,  whereas 
our  Manningham  spun  silk  yarn  was  in  many 
respects  superior  and  was  used  as  a  substitute. 
"  I  was  greatly  helped  by  my  partner  ....  but 

he  took  little  interest  in  working  it." 
The  Lister  silk-comb  upon  this  confession  shared  the 
common  defect  of  other  substitutes  for  the  flat  dressing 
frame  which,  now  as  in  1846,  remains  the  mainstay  of 
the  English  silk-spinner.  The  intersecting  gill — a  drawing 
machine  with  teeth  above  and  teeth  below — used  nowa- 
days by  spinners  in  preparing  the  shorter  fibres  for  spinning, 
and  employed  principally  upon  yarns  made  from  the  third 
and  fourth  drafts  of  dressed  silk,  is  claimed  both  in  the 
letter  and  book  as  Mr.  Warburton's  discovery. 
Lord  Masham's  book  "says  : 

"  The  best  thing  Warburton  did  was  to  invent  the 

intersecting  screw  gill,  which  may  be  said  to  work 

two  sets  of  fallers  or  gills,  one  up  and  the  other 

down,  but  intersecting  each  other. 

"  I  have  no  copy  of  the  patent,  nor  do  I  remember 

when  it  was  invented,  but  in  after  years  I  had 

The  good  reason  to  know  something  about  it.    At  first, 

Inter-  and  for  many  years,  the  English  spinners  would 

secting  not  look  at  it,  but  after  a  time  Messrs.  Greenwood 

Screw  and  Batley  took  it  in  hand,   and  being  always 

Gill.  first  class  in  their  work,  made  it  work  so  admirably 

that  the   foreign   spinners   adopted  it,   and   with 

such  success  as  to  make  nearly  as  good  yarn  out 

of  hand-dressed  silk  as  I  could  with  the  comb, 

which  they  had  never  been   able   to   do  before, 

as  with  the  ordinary  preparing  machinery  they 


WASTE   SILK.  415 

could  never  make  it  level  and  free  from  thick  and   Silk 
thin  places.     It  is  very  remarkable,  but  absolutely   Comb 
true,  that  this  very  machine  was  the  means  of   super- 
killing  the  silk  comb,  which  for  some  years  was   seded. 
immensely  profitable. 

"  At  one  time,  especially  for  velvets,  Lister  and  Co. 
could  command  almost  any  price  for  their  yarns, 
but   this   intersecting   gill    changed   this,    as   the 
yarn  from  the  hand-dressed  silk  was  nearly  as 
level  and  good  as  the  machine-combed." 
It  appears  that  Mr.   Lister  was  more  appreciative  of 
the  merits  of  the  intersecting  gill  machine  than  were  some 
of  his  English  competitors.     Lister  and  Co.  were  amongst 
Greenwood    and     Batley's    earliest     customers    for    the 
machines,  and  it  may  be  supposed  that  the  intersecting 
gill  assisted  the  Lister  silk-comb  in  producing  an  excep- 
tionally uniform  yarn.     The  supposition  is  favoured  by 
Lord  Masham's  repeated  declaration  that  his  advantage 
vanished  when  his  Continental  competitors  adopted  the 
same  machine. 

The  comb  was  superseded  in  its  inventor's  own  mill,   The 
and  he  has  added  :  Self- 

"  We  had,  much  against  my  will,  to  adopt  the  old   acting 
system  of  hand-dressing,  and  we  have  some  now.    Dressing 
The   hand-dresser   could   always   beat   the   comb   Frame, 
in  the  yield,   the  proportion   of  top  to  noil,   so 
that   it   could   always   produce   a   cheaper   yarn ; 
and    when   by    improvements    in    preparing    and 
drawing  they  succeeded  in  getting  a  level  yarn, 
the  comb  became  obsolete  and  worthless  except 
for   some   special   purposes,   especially   making   a 
very  superior  sliver. 

"  We  had  not  many  hand-dressing  machines,  and 
when  one  day,  walking  round  and  looking  at 
them  with  vexation  and  disdain,  as  I  thought  it 
a  terrible  humiliation  that  I  (of  all  men)  should 
be  obliged  to  adopt  them,  it  suddenly  occurred 
to  me  that  I  could  make  a  self-acting  frame. 
"  To  my  great  delight,  my  self-acting  frame  went  to 
work,  so  far  as  I  remember,  without  a  single 


416 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


The  alteration,  and  is,  I  believe,  at  work  to-day.     It 

Self-  did  not  make  a  sliver  (it  made  a  lap).     The  sliver 

acting  was  an  improvement  that  was  made  afterwards. 

Dressing  It  is  an  immense  and  costly  machine,  and  requires 

Frame.  a  great  deal  of  room  and  power.     The  first  twenty 

cost  us  considerably  over  £1,000  each.  .  .  .  Mr.  W. 

Watson  has  considerably  improved  them,  for  which 

he  has  taken  several  patents/' 

The  two  pieces  of  machinery,  the  silk-comb  and  the 
self-acting  dressing  frame,  are  the  inventions  that  the 
waste  silk  spinning  trade  owes  to  Lord  Masham's 
initiative.  Their  influence  has  been  less  felt  than  his 
part  in  the  development  of  the  Reixach  plush  loom, 
but  to  arrive  at  a  complete  estimate  of  the  great  manu- 
facturers' mechanical  achievements  one  has  to  go  outside 
the  silk  trade  and  consider  the  work  done  by  him  in  per- 
fecting the  wool-comb. 

The  In  the  course  of  its  manufacture,  spun  yarn  is  "  gassed," 

Yam-  i.e.,  is  passed  through  a  gas  flame  to  burn  off  protruding 
Cleaning  ends  of  its  constituent  fibres,  which,  left  untouched, 
Patent.  obscure  the  play  of  light,  and  hence  the  lustre  of  the 
thread.  Some  ash  remains  to  sully  the  colour  of  the 
yarn,  and  it  was  at  one  time  usual  to  send  yarn  out  in  a 
distinctly  dirty-looking  state.  Then  came  the  invention 
by  which  yarn  was  gassed  as  one  part  of  the  operation, 
and  cleaned  as  the  other  part,  and  the  name  "  gassed  and 
cleaned  "  came  into  being.  The  improvement  is  traceable 
to  two  inventions  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Prince  and  Mr.  James 
Tomlinson,  machine  maker  of  Rochdale,  who  took  out 
patents  Nos.  141  and  2194  of  1868,  for  a  means  of  drawing 
yarn  from  the  bobbin,  gassing  it  and  passing  it  "  round  a 
number  of  caps  to  obtain  friction  enough  to  clear  the 
loose  fibre  and  smoothe  the  yarn."  These  patent  rights 
and  the  machines  for  the  purpose  were  sold  to  Lister  and 
Co.,  of  Manningham  Mills,  in  1871  or  1872.  Subsequently 
according  to  information  which  has  been  supplied  by  Tomlin- 
son (Rochdale),  Ltd.,  licences  to  work  the  machines  were 
granted  by  Mr.  Lister,  or  by  Lister  and  Co.,  to  various  other 
spinners.  The  caps  or  bars  are  referred  to  as  "  Lister's 
cleaning  bars "  in  machine  catalogues  of  the  present  day. 


mm  mm 


lfy  Spinning — Spinning  Silk  Waste 


Plate  XLVl.  Silk  Spinning,  Gassing  and  Cleaning  Yarn — Silk 

Waste. 


WASTE   SILK.  417 

The  imports  of  waste  silk  afford  an  index  to  the  growth  The 
of  the  spinning  industry,  although  not  at  all  times  a  Growth 
perfect  one,  because  spinners  have  had  much  larger  of  Silk- 
quantities  of  home  waste  at  their  disposal  in  some  periods  spinning, 
than  in  others.  The  English  silk-throwing  trade  has 
undergone  great  fluctuations,  and  the  importation  of  waste 
has  not  always  been  equally  practicable.  The  English 
duty  on  silk  waste  in  1787  was  fourpence  a  pound,  a  charge 
which  would  represent  one  shilling  a  pound  on  the 
yarn  produced  from  it.  In  1819,  the  tariff  stood  at  the 
prohibitive  level  of  four  shillings  a  pound,  or  £22  8s.  per  cwt., 
and  3s.  9d.  a  pound  on  waste  from  India.  The  impost 
was  reduced  in  1824  to  threepence  a  pound,  regardless  of 
origin,  and  so  remained  until  1826,  when  it  was  further 
reduced  to  one  penny.  In  1829  the  tax  of  a  penny  a  pound 
was  changed  to  the  nominal  rate  of  one  shilling  per  hundred- 
weight, and  later  this  rate  was  halved  in  the  case  of 
material  from  British  Possessions,  and,  later  still,  was 
removed  entirely.  The  imports  of  waste  during  the 
earlier  years  of  the  factory  era  have  been  stated  in  suc- 
cessive Parliamentary  papers  as  follows  : 

Average.  Ibs. 

1815,  1816,  1817      ..          ..          27,000 

1821,  1822,  1823       ..          ..          74,000 

1831,  1832,  1833       ..          ..        688,369 

1839,  1840,  1841       ..          ..     1,055,737 

The  foregoing  statement  does  not  disclose  the  fact  that  Imports 
imports  for  consumption  in  1834  were  over  one  million  of 
Ibs.,  over  one  million  in  1835,  and  over  1J  millions  in  Waste. 
1836.     Such  totals  are  sufficient  signs  of  the  existence  of 
a    considerable    consumption,    and    there    are    numerous 
independent  evidences  that  the  spinning  trade  was  becom- 
ing established.     Fuller  particulars  are  to  be  found  in  the 
chapters   relating  to   local  industry   concerning  the  mill 
opened  at  Galgate  in  1792,  in  Leeds  before  1812,  in  Halifax 
before  1822,  in  Congleton  in  1829,  in  Brighouse  in  the 
1840's,  and  that  described  by  Arthur  Young  in  Kendal 
in  1769. 

In  1844,   according  to  Geo.  Dodd  in  British  Manufac- 
tures,  mills  devoted  to  silk-spinning  in  contradistinction 


418  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Man-          to    silk-throwing,    had     "  increased    to    an    astonishing 
Chester       extent  in  the  last   few  years,   and    are  situated    chiefly 
Spinning    in   Manchester."       The    yarn  produced  was   "for   cheap 
Mills.          shawls,    handkerchiefs   and   other  articles,   by   a  process 
nearly  resembling  cotton  spinning  ;    thus  opening  up  an 
entirely  new  manufacture  and  bringing  into  use  a  com- 
modity which  was  formerly  almost  useless." 

Some  other  contemporary  information  is  found  in 
McCulloch's  British  Empire  (1837),  in  which  it  was 
said : 

"  A  great  many  Bandanas  (particularly  in  1834) 
were  manufactured  from  spun  silk  for  the  advan- 
tage of  claiming  the  drawback  of  3s.  6d.  allowed  on 
exportation,  the  amount  of  which  in  many  cases 
realised  a  large  percentage  on  the  manufactured 
value.  On  the  opening  of  the  trade  in  1826  a 
great  stimulus  was  given  to  the  manufacture  of 
low  silk  goods  generally,  and  this  in  particular, 
owing  to  the  drawback  allowed  on  all  manu- 
factured goods  above  the  value  of  14s.  per  Ib.  ;  a 
certificate  or  debenture  for  a  corresponding  weight 
of  Italian  organzin  imported  being  produced  to 
entitle  the  exporter  to  this  advantage.  Many 
Bandanas  were  in  consequence  made  of  so  inferior 
a  silk  as  barely  to  exceed  the  manufactured  value 
required  by  the  Act.  This  trade  was  also  pro- 
moted by  the  low  price  of  the  debenture 
certificate,  which  in  the  first  instance  was  to  be 
obtained  at  ld.-2d.  per  Ib.  ;  but  the  demand  for 
debenture  increasing  in  consequence  of  the  large 
quantity  of  low  manufactured  silks  bought  for 
exportation,  the  price  speedily  advanced  ;  in  1834 
it  was  selling  at  Is.  3d.  per  Ib.,  and  its  present 
price  is  2s.  7d.,  with  every  prospect  of  a  further 
increase.  The  inducement,  therefore,  to  export 
the  low  goods  has  to  a  great  extent  ceased,  and 
the  manufacture  of  them  has  consequently  been 
Low  much  reduced.  The  low  price  at  which  Indian 

Grade  Bandanas    could    be    purchased    in    the    market 

Goods.  interfered  with  this  manufacture,  and  has  led  to 


WASTE   SILK.  419 

the  production  of  better  qualities  and  more 
tasteful  patterns  in  order  to  meet  this  com- 
petition." 

The  employment  of  spun  waste  in  this  direction  was 
mentioned  also  by  Mr.  R.  Baggally  in  evidence  before 
the  House  of  Commons  Committee  of  1832,  when  it  was 
said  "  spun  silk  may  be  purchased  at  Macclesfield  for  3s. 
a  lb.,  woven  into  bandanas,  and  receives  a  bounty  on 
exportation  of  3s.  6d." 

The   adventitious   demand   for  Bandana  handkerchiefs  The 
was  probably  responsible  for  the  appearance  of  numbers  Trade  in 
of  new  spinners  about  this  time,  and  the  same  demand  Bandana 
may    have    tempted    silk    throwsters    into    the    spinning  Hand- 
business.     Indeed   a   firm   in    Congleton,    founded    long  kerchiefs, 
before  as  a  throwing  and  weaving  concern,  commenced  silk- 
spinning  in  1829,  or  three  years  after  the  opening  of  this 
trade  by  which  time  the  import  duty  on  waste  had  been 
reduced  to  a  nominal  charge.     Soon  after  1834  silk  warps 
began  to  be  used  in  manufacturing  stuff  goods  in  Bradford, 
and  to  provide  a  more  constant  market  for  yarn  than  the 
bounty-fed  and  short-lived  Bandana  business.     "  Bandanas, 
plain  and  figured  Barcelonas,  and  fancy  and  gauze  hand- 
kerchiefs of  entire  silk  "  —to  quote  further  from  McCulloch 
— constituted  the  handkerchief  trade  of  the  period.     He 
added  that  "  the  bulk  of  the  silk  employed  is  consumed 
at   Manchester   and   Macclesfield  in  the   manufacture   of 
Bandanas  and  Barcelonas,"  the  remainder  was  used  at 
"  Paisley,  Glasgow  and  elsewhere  in  the  manufacture  of 
gauze  and  fancy  handkerchiefs."      Paisley  used  spun-silk 
for  many  of  its  famous  shawls  and  table  cloths,  and  a  living 
spinner  remembers  the  good  trade  with  Paisley  in  1848. 

Further    developments   in   the    consumption    of   waste   Spun 
silk  are  reflected  in  McCulloch's  presentation  of  the  average   Silk  for 
imports  in  certain  later  years.     From  the  average  slightly   Paisley 
exceeding  one  million  Ibs.  in  1839-41,  the  progress  was  as   Shawls, 
follows  : 

1850-52 1,693,000  »*. 

1861-65 3,349,000  „ 

1865-67 3,126,000  „ 

(Subsequent  to  the  Anglo-French  Treaty.) 


420 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The 
Intro- 
duction 
of  Long- 
spinning. 


A  Short 
Era  of 
Pros- 
perity. 


The  decade  of  the  'thirties  may  be  distinguished  as 
that  of  Bandanas  and  the  introduction  of  the  principle 
of  long-spinning.  The  'forties  stand  out  as  the  period 
of  development  in  and  around  Manchester,  and  of  the 
inception  of  silk-spinning  in  Brighouse.  The  'fifties  were 
the  years  of  the  demand  from  Bradford  and  Paisley 
and  the  beginnings  of  spinning  in  Bradford.  The  'sixties 
brought  the  Anglo-French  Treaty  and  the  removal  of 
duties  from  foreign  manufactured  silk.  In  1861  the 
American  Civil  War  broke  out,  and  in  1862  the  supply  of 
cotton  from  that  country  was  equal  only  to  one-third  of  the 
requirements.  The  next  two  years  brought  no  relief, 
and  not  until  1865-66  did  the  cotton  supply  resume  the 
normal  course.  The  Cotton  Famine,  the  greatest  of  all 
the  calamities  that  have  befallen  Lancashire,  put  a  premium 
on  all  materials  capable  of  replacing  cotton,  and 
fortunes  were  made  out  of  substitutes.  Beddings  stuffed 
with  silk  waste  found  their  way  into  the  market,  and 
men  who  picked  up  the  material  at  three-halfpence  a 
pound  sold  it  again  at  half-a-crown. 

Silk  materials  were  high  in  price  in  the  period  between 
the  Cotton  Famine  and  the  outbreak  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War,  and  their  values  at  the  end  of  the  decade 
are  shown  in  this  quotation  from  a  broker's  circular  : 

CIRCULAR  OF  T.  AND  H.  LITTLEDALE,  OF  LIVERPOOL. 
7  Jany.,  1869. 


Foreign 


per  Ib. 


5/3  to 

6/3  „ 

2/-  „ 

3/6  „ 

1/2  „ 

2/-  „ 

20/-  „ 


6/6 


Gum  waste 
Do.  good  to  fine 
Do.  knubs  and  husks 
Turkey  do. 
East  India  Chassum 
„         ,,       Cocoons 
Raws — Tsatlees 
Canton     . . 

So  well  informed  an  authority  as  the  late  Mr.  Joseph 
Boden  called  the  period  1870-6  "  the  most  prosperous 
in  the  history  of  the  trade,"  and  as  in  his  own  person 
he  "paid  buyers  10s.  per  Ib.  clear  profit  upon  their 
purchase  of  a  year  before,"  the  opinion  was  well 
founded.  Without  knowing  precisely  what  profits 


4/6 

7/- 

2/8 

4/- 

26/- 

20/- 


WASTE  SILK.  421 

spinners  did  make  in  this  period,  he  estimated  that  those  A  Short 
who  avoided  too  heavy   contract  obligations  may  have  Era  of 
made  as  much  as  15s.  per  Ib.  upon  yarn.     The  demands  Pros- 
of  the  lace  and  fancy  dress  goods  trades,  coupled  with  perity. 
the    disabilities    under    which    Continental    competitors 
suffered  during  this  time  of  war,  created  these  abnormal 
opportunities  of  money-making. 

The  'eighties  brought  plushes  which  were  close  imitations 
of  seal  fur  into  favour,  and  created  a  large  demand  for 
tussah  yarn,  and  the  profits  were  still  good  enough  to 
tempt  Yorkshire  capital  from  other  trades  into  the  busi- 
ness. The  early  'nineties,  after  a  discouraging  opening, 
provided  a  large  business  in  Balernos  of  Bradford  make, 
in  which  spun -silk  was  used  in  conjunction  with  worsted 
and  cotton  for  stripes.  Crepe  de  Chine,  blouse  cloths 
and  moirette  skirt  cloth  came  into  new  prominence  and 
consumed  large  quantities  of  yarn.  The  advent  of 
mercerised  cotton  in  the  later  'nineties  may  have  exercised 
some  influence  in  giving  the  decade  1900-1909  a  humdrum 
tone.  The  American  panic  of  1907  adversely  affected 
the  business,  and,  allowing  for  incidental  fluctuations, 
there  was  a  general  increase  in  the  price  of  raw  materials. 
The  opening  years  of  the  succeeding  decade  have  brought 
a  renaissance  of  the  demand  for  pile  fabrics  made  from 
tussah  yarn  and,  in  view  of  the  inroads  made  by  com- 
peting bright  materials,  the  development  must  be  regarded 
as  a  fortunate  one.  Raw  materials  have  risen  to  higher 
peaks  than  in  the  decade  preceding,  and  classes  of  silk 
waste  formerly  neglected  by  Continental  spinners  have 
now  to  be  bought  in  competition  with  them. 

The  history  of  the  effective  employment  of  the  waste  The 
of  brown  silk,  the  produce  of  the  wild  or  oak-fed  worm  Waste  of 
began  in  the  'eighties  of  the  last  century.      The  product  Brown 
had  been  known  before  that   decade,   and  Mr.   Lemuel  Silk. 
Clayton,  of  Halifax,  spoke  in  1879,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  of  seeing  a  large  quantity  four  or  five 
years  before  in  the   Lower   Thames   Street   Dock  ware- 
houses.    The  material  was  said  to  have  been  unfavourably 
regarded  in  London  and  to  have  been  removed  to  Man- 
chester, where  it  remained  unsold  for  two  or  three  years. 


422 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The 

Waste  of 
Brown 
Silk. 


The 
Advent 
of  Tussah 
Yarn. 


Mr.  H.  T.  Gaddum,  of  the  eminent  Manchester  merchant 
firm,  in  a  communication  to  Sir  Thomas  Wardle,  declared 
his  inability  to  say  when  the  importation  of  this  article 
began.  Before  the  last  months  of  1883,  it  had  been 
consumed  at  prices  ranging  from  6d.  to  lOd.  a  pound  to 
make  "  a  low-priced  yarn  for  the  manufacture  of  a  variety 
of  different  goods  requiring  a  glossy  cheap  silk."  Up  to 
that  date  the  material  had  apparently  owed  its  market 
rather  to  its  comparative  cheapness  than  to  the  especial 
characteristics  distinguishing  it  from  white  and  yellow 
silks,  the  produce  of  the  cultivated  worm. 

Sir  Thomas  Wardle  elicited  from  the  Lyons  Chamber 
of  Commerce  the  information  that  until  the  'eighties  tussah 
silk  waste  was  even  less  known  there  than  in  England. 
The  Chamber  had  no  knowledge  of  any  importation  before 
1879,  nor  did  several  Lyons  and  St.  Etienne  merchants, 
whose  experience  was  sought.  In  1879,  53  bales  of  raw 
tussah  and  59  bales  of  tussah  waste  were  brought  into 
Lyons,  and  in  the  following  year  375  bales  of  raws  and 
147  bales  of  waste.  Although  the  exact  date  of  the  intro- 
duction of  tussah  silk  has  not  been  found,  there  is  a  refer- 
ence in  British  Manufacturing  Industries  (1877)  which 
seems  to  assign  an  earlier  date  than  that  suggested  by 
Mr.  Clayton.  In  a  contribution  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Cobb, 
Secretary  of  the  Silk  Supply  Association,  these  -passages 
occur : 

"  The  great  stimulus  given  to  the  consumption  of 

tussahs    has    been    the    invention    of    machinery 

for  dressing,  carding  and  spinning  these  cocoons 

with  waste  and  floss  silk  of  a  higher  class." 

"  What   beautiful   fabrics   may   now   be   made   from 

tussahs  and  waste  silk  was  shewn  by  the  exhibits 

of  manufactured  spun  silk  in  1873." 

This  allusion  to  an  invention  is  obscure,  for  none  was 

needed.     Tussah  and  white  silk  are  dressed  on  precisely 

the  same  machines,  and  for  occasional  purposes  are  still 

intermingled  in  one  yarn.     Spinners  prefer,  however,  to 

dress  them  separately  and  to  blend  the  two  sorts  in  course 

of  the  drawing  operation,   and  it  is  improbable  that  a 

system  of  mixing  the  wastes  together  at  an  earlier  stage 


WASTE   SILK.  423 

could  have  presented  any  advantage.     The  materials  are  The 
mixed  in  order  to  obtain  a  lighter  "  natural  "  (i.e.  undyed)  Advent 
colour  than  is  given  by  tussah  alone,  and  they  may  also  of  Tussah 
be  mixed  in  yarns  for  dyeing  to  relatively  dark  shades.  Yarn. 
The  admixture  is  rather  exceptional  than  usual,  but  the 
suggestion  that  it  was  in  mixtures  that  tussah  first  came 
into  use  is  of  interest  on  the  technical  side.     It  is  probably 
to  the  Paris  Exhibition  that  the  further  passage  refers, 
and  the  "  beautiful  fabrics  "  doubtless  include  the  specimen 
of  silk  sealskin  in  which  tussah  waste  found  its  supreme 
utility. 

In  1883,  or  thereabout,  the  special  qualities  of  tussah 
obtained  recognition,  and  the  price  rose  from  lOd.  to  2s.  3d. 
per  Ib.  under  the  influence  of  the  demand  for  imitation 
sealskin  cloth.     Re-action  followed,  and  the  price,  after 
falling  to  Is.  6d.,  rose  to  3s.  3d.  in  1887,  at  which  date 
imitation  sealskins  were  having  a  great  vogue  in  America.    * 
Tussah   waste   became   a   more   marketable   article   than 
tussah  net  silk,  and  spinners  began  to  buy  tussah  raws  at 
4s.  a  pound  and  to  cut  the  hanks  and  reduce  them  to  the 
form  of  waste.     They  paid — according  to  Mr.  Gaddum's 
letter — as  much  as  5s.  3d.  per  Ib.     Then  the  manufacture  The 
of  sealskins  having  been  seriously   overdone,   prices  fell  Demand 
back  to  3s.  4d.-3s.  6d.  for  raw  tussah,  and  Is.  2d.-ls.  3d.  for  Imi- 
for  tussah  waste  in  1891,  and  ten  years  later  the  waste  tation 
was  once  more  a  drug  at  prices  lower  than  in  1883.     These  Sealskin 
particulars    emphasise    the    truth    that    silk    values    are  Cloth, 
singularly  subject  to  fluctuation.     The  experience  has  been 
repeated  since,  and  tussah  waste  in  1912,  again  in  response 
to  a  fashion  for  long-piled  plushes,  reached  2s.  3d.,  the 
price  attained  when  it  first  came  into  public  favour. 

In  a  paper  in  June,  1891,  before  the  Society  of  Arts, 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  related  his  share  in  the  turning  of 
tussah  waste  to  its  highest  economic  purpose.  Being 
unable  to  interest  English  manufacturers  in  tussah,  he 
caused  a  quantity  to  be  dyed  black  and  took  it  to  Crefeld 
with  an  offer  to  pay  a  German  manufacturer  to  convert 
it  into  cloth.  This  was  in  1872,  and  the  fabric  then  made 
and  publicly  displayed  first  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  and 
afterwards  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  was  believed 


424 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Effect 
of 

McKinley 
Tariff. 


Decline 

of 

British 

Silk 

Spinning. 


by  Sir  Thomas  Wardle  to  be  the  first  plumose  fabric 
ever  made  from  this  species  of  material.  If  Crefeld  was 
the  cradle  of  the  trade,  England  was  its  growing  ground, 
and  at  Manningham,  Saltaire,  Queensbury,  Huddersfield 
and  Rochdale  large  manufacturing  developments  followed. 
Exports  of  seal  plushes  from  the  Bradford  district  to  the 
United  States  rose  from  a  value  of  £11,000  in  1883  to 
£535,000  in  the  year  1888.  For  two  years  longer  the 
trade  was  maintained  at  a  value  of  £400,000,  to  be  cut 
down  to  a  nominal  total  by  the  McKinley  Tariff  guillotine 
and  the  sating  of  American  demand.  Crefeld  and  Elberfeld 
made  their  original  plushes  by  hand-loom,  whereas  the 
English  makers  used  power  machines  to  produce  the 
two  millions  worth  sent  to  America  in  1883-1890,  and 
the  large  quantity  sold  in  the  home  and  Continental 
markets. 

Silk-spinning  has  had  its  reverses  as  well  as  its  successes, 
and  although  the  trade  as  a  whole  is  larger  than  ever, 
its  path  is  strewed  with  the  wrecks  of  fallen  firms.  Before 
Mr.  Chamberlain's  Tariff  Commission  in  1905,  Mr.  A.  J. 
Solly  deposed  that  of  24  silk-spinning  concerns  existent  in 
England  in  1870,  only  nine  then  remained.  There  had 
been  newcomers,  but  of  the  older  firms  nine  had  failed 
and  six  withdrawn  from  the  business.  Thirty  separate 
undertakings  existed  in  1886,  and  by  1904  this  number 
had  contracted  to  that  of  1870.  In  thirty-four  years 
there  occurred  seventeen  failures  and  eleven  voluntary 
stoppages.  Allowing  duly  for  those  processes  of  growth 
and  decay  which  take  place  in  the  industrial  as  in  the 
physical  world,  the  record  is  still  a  significant  one  and 
hardly  matched  in  the  larger  branches  of  the  textile 
trade. 

Spinners  follow  the  changes  of  numerous  and  fickle 
trades,  and  there  is  every  assurance  that  the  defection 
pHarge  markets  has  been  prejudicial  to  them.  However, 
it  is  not  alone  to  the  closing  of  markets  that  we  are  to  look 
for  the  reasons  of  this  formidable  list  of  mortality  among 
firms  engaged  in  the  business.  Silk  is  subject  to  fluctua- 
tions, and  spinners  caught  unprepared,  or  lacking  capital 
beyond  that  demanded  for  their  daily  needs,  are  exposed 


WASTE  SILK.  425 

to  heavy  risks.     In  rising  markets  the  spinner  short  of 
surplus  funds  is  unable  to  buy  as  freely  as  he  would  wish, 
and  upon  a  fall  of  values  he  is  not  strong  enough  to  hold 
in  stock  materials  which  may  fetch  better  prices  later. 
Fortunes  have  been  made  out  of  fluctuations  in  value,  and  A 
similarly  fortunes  have  also  been  lost.     Rapid  rises  followed  hazard- 
by  sudden  falls  are  bad  alike  for  rich  spinners  and  poorer  ous 
ones,  for  the  spinner  cannot  escape  from  his  obligations  Business, 
to  his  .suppliers  of  waste,  and  the  yams  sold  at  top  prices 
in  the  period  preceding  the  fall  are  too  often  never  delivered. 
Prices  have  only  to  rise  high  enough  and  fall  low  enough 
and   they  strain   the   resources   of   the  strongest.     When 
the  fluctuation  is  less  extreme,  all  the  difference  between 
success  and  failure  lies  in  the  ability  to  tide  over  a  time 
of  adversity.     Those  who  buy  too  late  and  sell  too  soon 
are  manifestly  unable  to  hold  their  ground  in  the  struggle 
to  survive. 

Sudden  fluctuations  in  the  price  of  silk  waste  have  been 
traced  to  different  reasons.  Short  crops,  due  to  disease 
among  silk-worms,  war  and  large  speculative  buying,  have  at 
different  times  driven  up  the  price.  The  heaviest  falls 
have  been  attributable  to  financial  panics,  commonly 
having  their  origin  in  America.  It  is  easy  to  appreciate 
the  consequences  of  a  doubling  of  the  price  of  raw  material 
within  a  period  of  months,  followed  by  a  headlong 
descent  to  a  lower  level  than  at  the  beginning.  Such 
movements  have  been  known  in  the  purchase  price  of 
waste,  and  they  are  magnified  three  times  in  the  cost 
price  of  yarn.  The  late  Mr.  Joseph  Boden,  of  Manchester, 
named  some  of  the  extreme  limits  of  fluctuation  in  his 
paper  to  the  Silk  Association  in  1905.  He  showed  that 
in  the  year  1793  spinners  paid  about  5s.  for  waste  to  make 
into  yarn  selling  at  about  17s.  a  pound.  In  1870-76 
two-fold  60s.  yarn  sold  at  27s.  to  31s.  per  lb.,  and  it  was 
added — "  as  good  yarn  as  that  sold  at  27s.  has  within  the 
past  three  years  been  obtainable  at  6s.  3d."  There  are  Fluctua- 
long  intervals  between  these  dates  and  the  fluctuations  tions 
noted  in  the  waste  market  occurred  within  a  long  span,  which 
"  During  the  past  40  years,"  Mr.  Boden  said,  "  the  prices  spell 
of  silk  have  varied  enormously — China  waste  between  2s.  failure. 


426 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Fluctua- 
tions 
which 
spell 
failure. 


Silk 
Shoddy, 


and  10s.  6d.,  mixed  French  between  Is.  lOd.  and  9s.  6d., 
China  tussah  waste  between  5£d.  and  3s.  Id."  Periods  of 
quiescence  have  fortunately  been  known,  but  a  trade  is 
unmistakably  speculative  in  which  fluctuations  of  from 
500  to  700  per  cent,  are  possible.  At  its  lowest  recorded 
prices  silk  waste  is  still  relatively  an  expensive  commodity. 
The  yarn  made  from  it  fetches  much  more  than  cotton  yarn 
or  worsted,  but  the  by-products  generated  in  the  course 
of  dressing  and  spinning  waste  are  not  correspondingly 
valuable.  The  effect  of  this  disparity  is  easy  to  appreciate. 
As  yarn,  the  waste  spun  and  delivered  may  be  worth  9s. 
a  pound  in  an  ordinary  case,  but  as  spoilt  material  its 
value  is  more  like  ninepence.  Therefore  unless  the  spinner 
checks  the  production  of  waste  upon  his  own  machinery 
at  every  point,  and  adopts  every  available  means  of 
reducing  this  source  of  expense,  a  heavy  and  insidious 
drain  is  made  on  his  resources.  The  possible  number  of 
leaks  in  a  spinning  mill  is  great,  and  it  is  not  in  spinning 
silk  alone  that  an  unregulated  and  unsuspected  excess 
production  of  spinners'  waste  has  brought  disaster  to 
individual  concerns. 

The  lowest  reaches  of  the  waste  silk  industry  have  a 
greater  antiquity  than  might  be  supposed,  and  in  point 
of  age  the  production  of  silk  shoddy  may  rival  that  of 
wool.  The  present  woollen  rag-pulling  industry  of  the 
West  Riding  is  dated  from  the  setting  up  of  a  rag-grinding 
machine  in  Batley  in  1813  by  Benjamin  Law.  There  are 
vague  rumours  of  an  earlier  beginning  in  Brighouse, 
and  in  any  case  it  is  certain  that  fibre  recovered  from 
worsted  yarn  had  been  introduced  into  cloths  at  much 
more  distant  dates.  It  was  in  1801  that  three  Scotsmen, 
Thomas  Parker  of  Broomward,  Glasgow,  Esquire,  and 
William  Telfer  and  Alexander  Affleck  of  the  same  city, 
mathematical  instrument  makers,  patented  (No.  2469) 
"  improvements  in  preparing  and  manufacturing  flax, 
hemp,  silk  and  other  materials." 

So  far  as  it  related  to  silk,  the  patent  was  for  a  machine 
"  for  preparing  wove  silk  ....  from  articles  that  have 
been  wore "  ;  in  short  for  reducing  silk  rags  to  their 
ultimate  filaments.  The  machine  is  substantially  that 


WASTE   SILK.  427 

which  the  woollen  trade  knows  as  a  grinding  machine  Silk 
or  "  devil,"  and  its  product  might  by  similitude  be  called  Shoddy, 
silk  shoddy.     The  nature  of  the  machine  can  be  learned 
from  the  description  given  by  its  inventors  : 

"  Fig.  1.  A,  a  cylinder  set  with  sharp  teeth  in  rows 
across  the  cylinder  in  a  standing  direction,  for 
carding  or  reducing  the  article  to  be  prepared  or 
teazed.  B,  a  circular  brush  placed  below  the 
.  cylinder,  and  made  to  go  at  greater  speed  than 
the  cylinder,  by  which  the  article  teazed  or 
carded  is  brushed  off,  and  the  teeth  kept  con- 
stantly free  to  produce  their  full  effect.  C,  a  pully 
that  drives  the  cylinder,  &c.  D,  the  rollers  through 
which  the  articles  to  be  teazed  pass  to  the  teeth 
of  the  cylinder,  the  upper  roller  being  sufficiently 
weighted  to  keep  the  articles  firm  between  the 
rollers.  E,  a  flat  brush  placed  across  the  cylinder, 
to  keep  the  articles  to  be  carded  down  to  the  teeth 
of  the  cylinder,  and  also  to  displace  them  by  a 
motion  given  to  the  brush  endways.  F,  a  worm 
on  the  end  of  the  cylinder  A.  G,  a  face  wheel  on 
the  end  of  one  of  the  rollers  D.  H,  the  feeding 
cloths,  represented  by  Fig.  2,  or  the  under  cloth  a. 
The  articles  to  be  teazed  are  spread,  in  order  to 
be  drawn  under  the  upper  feeding  cloth  6,  by 
which  they  are  conveyed  smooth  to  the  rollers, 
and  through  them  to  the  teeth  of  the  cylinder. 
"  Fig.  3,  rollers  attached  to  the  same  machine,  or 
placed  on  a  separate  frame,  with  cutting  wheels 
raised  on  the  rollers  to  cut  articles  of  silk  into 
breadths  required,  in  order  to  their  being 
teazed." 

The  by-product  of  one  branch  of  textile  industry  becomes 
the  raw  material  of  another  as  a  matter  of  course.     The 
spun-silk  trade  is  fed  with  the  remains  of  silk-reeling  and 
silk-throwing,  much  as  the  woollen  industry  is  supplied  with 
the  leavings  of  the  worsted  processes.     The  manufacture 
of  spun  yarn  of  long  fibre  involves  the  production  of   Spun 
large    quantities    of    noils    and    of    smaller    quantities   of    Silk 
spinning    waste,    all     capable    of     further     employment   Trade. 


428 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


in  yarn  of  another  class.  Producers  of  short-spun  yarn 
take  the  noils  from  the  dressing-frames  of  the  long-spinners 
and  re-comb  them,  extracting  in  the  process  all  fibres 
of  a  certain  length  suitable  for  their  purposes.  The  soft 
waste  engendered  in  spinning  is  freed  from  its  oil  and  dirt 
and  made  to  do  service  in  company  with  material  from 
other  sources.  The  one  process  is  the  complement 
of  the  other  in  making  the  fullest  use  of  the  supply. 
Noil  When  the  short-spinner  has  taken  out  from  the  noils 

Spinning,  such  portions  as  he  can  employ,  there  remains  a 
residue  of  some  80  or  90  per  cent,  of  exhaust  noils,  too 
short,  and  too  much  curled  into  "  nibs,"  to  be  eligible  for 
yarn  of  fine  count.  This  supply  is  the  natural  food  of  the 
noil  spinner,  whose  products  serve  a  different  range  of 
purposes.  Noils  are  mixed  with  woollen  to  give  "  snow- 
flake  "  effects  in  tweeds,  or  thick  slubs  in  grotesque  novelty 
yarns.  Chenille  yarn  is  made  from  noils,  and  by  virtue 
of  their  non-inflammable  nature  and  cheapness  they  are 
employed  also  for  making  cloth  for  ammunition  bags. 
Yarn  suitable  for  stripes  in  tweeds  and  for  embellishing  the 
ends  of  pieces  of  cotton  or  woollen  cloths  is  made  from 
the  better  and  brighter  qualities  of  material.  Noils 
suitable  for  no  higher  purpose  are  consumed  in  a  lower 
department  of  the  waste  silk  industry,  the  manufacture  of 
sponge-cloths  for  the  cleaning  of  machinery.  The  natural 
affinity  of  silk  for  oil,  which  is  as  marked  as  its  antipathy 
for  water,  promotes  their  use  in  this  direction,  as  does  the 
immunity  from  risk  of  spontaneous  combustion,  which  is  to 
be  gained  by  using  cloths  of  pure  noil  silk. 

Products       The  products  of  the  waste  silk  industry  lend  themselves 
and  By-     in  the  main  to  a  summary  in  this  form : — 
products.  Waste  silk  from  the  reeler  and  throwster 


Drafts  for 
long-spinning 

1 
Drafts  for 
short-spinning. 

Noils  for 
recombing. 

I  I 

Long  noil  fibres  Exhaust  noils  for 

for  short-spinning.      inferior  purposes. 


WASTE   SILK.  429 

The  spun  yarn,  the  produce  of  the  drafts  manufactured  Products 
in  this  country,  is  distinguished  for  its  strength,  lustre  and  By- 
and  purity,  and  is  mainly  used  for  one  or  other  of  the  products, 
following  purposes  : 

Weaving  :  Plain  cloths,  plushes,  stripings  or  border- 
ings,  handkerchiefs,  ribbons,  upholstery  goods  and 
trimmings,  small  wares. 

Knitting :    All  silk  or  wool  and  silk,  garments  and 

.  undergarments,  ties,  &c. 

Lace  making :    Calais  and  Nottingham  laces. 

Sewing :  Machine  twist,  embroidery,  crewel,  crochet. 
The  consumption  on  weaving  account  is  the  chief  one, 
and  the  requirements  of  the  plush  trade  have  for  some 
time  been  the  largest.  The  hosiery  trade  takes  a  small 
but  increasing  proportion  of  the  whole,  and  is  a  trade 
which  in  itself  has  undergone  a  wonderful  expansion  of 
late  years.  Material  that  washes  well  and  wears  well  is 
indispensable  for  many  knitted  articles,  and  in  these 
qualities  spun-silk  possesses  an  advantage  over  its  nearest 
competitors.  The  lace  trade  is  singularly  susceptible 
to  dictates  of  fashion,  and  although  Continental  tariffs 
have  a  discouraging  effect  on  the  consumption  of  English 
silk,  English  yarn  is  exceptionally  suited  for  the  funda- 
mental needs  and  commands  a  sale  in  foreign  centres  of 
lace  manufacture  despite  the  handicap  of  the  lace  market. 
Sewing  silks,  in  which  class  are  included  those  for  needle-  Sewing 
work  in  general,  are  a  speciality  of  English  spinners,  Silks, 
and  the  solid  virtues  that  make  English  silk  threads 
best  for  lace  assist  the  demand  for  sewing  silks.  Dyed 
sewing  silks  are  better  able  to  resist  wear  and  atmospheric 
influences  than  the  mercerised  cotton  that  has  replaced 
them  for  many  purposes.  The  railway  and  steamship 
companies  in  charging  ultra-heavy  rates  of  carriage  on 
consignments  consisting  in  large  part  of  wood  and  paper, 
embarrass  this  branch  particularly,  and  the  natural  dis- 
parity of  price  between  silk  and  cotton  is  accentuated 
disproportionately  by  the  heavy  retail  profits  taken  on 
threads  for  domestic  use. 

At  present  waste  silk  is  spun  into  yarn  by  some  22 
mills  established  in   Yorkshire,   Lancashire,   Cheshire  ajid 


430 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Sewing  Staffordshire,  concerning  which  fuller  particulars  are  given 
Silks.  in  the  chapters  treating  of  these  localities.  It  is  found 
from  analysis  of  the  import  and  export  returns  that  there 
was  retained  for  consumption  in  the  five  years  1907-11 
an  average  of  seven  million  Ibs.  of  foreign  knubs,  husks 
and  waste  of  silk.  To  this  may  be  added  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  waste  produced  in  winding  and  throwing 
net  silk  in  this  country  ;  a  quantity  of  probably  40,000  Ibs. 
Applying  the  customary  formula  that  3  Ibs.  of  waste  yields 
1  Ib.  of  yarn,  an  output  of  2,347,000  Ibs.  of  yarn  may  be 
estimated.  The  estimate  does  not  materially  differ  from 
the  2,306,000  Ibs.  returned  as  the  output  in  the  1907 
Census  of  Production.  There  are  signs  that  the  production 
has  increased  since  the  taking  of  the  census.  Imports  of 
raw  material  have  been  larger  in  the  later  years  of  the 
quinquennium  ;  trade  has  been  brisker  and  new  and  more 
efficient  machinery  has  been  brought  into  use. 

Silk  is  too  much  exposed  to  variations  in  price  to  make 
quotations  a  good  basis  of  comparison,  but  its  values  are 
always  high  relatively  to  those  of  wool  or  cotton,  and  if 
in  comparison  with  the  output  of  worsted  or  cotton  yarns 
that  of  waste  silk  looks  small,  it  has  to  be  remembered 
that  the  volume  recorded  for  1907  gave  a  value  of  roundly 
one  million  sterling. 

Output  The    approximate    output   being   known,    it   is   simple 

and  arithmetic  to  calculate  the  number  of  spindles  required 

Values.       for  its  production.     There  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion 

as  to  the  average  count  of  yarn  produced  at  any  one  time 

and  the  number  varies  with  the  demand,  but  spinners 

for  the  most  part  have  proportioned  their  machinery  to 

produce  2/60's. 

"  Two-thirds  of  the  whole  of  the  yarn  produced  in 
the  spun  silk  trade  in  England  is  made  in  two-fold  60's," 
said  Mr.  William  Watson  to  the  Tariff  Commission  in  1905. 
Yarn  of  this  denomination  is  made  by  combining  two 
threads  of  120's  (120  x  840  yards),  and  the  output  of  one 
ring  spindle  is  some  13  Ibs.  per  annum  of  thread  of  this 
fineness.  Were  all  the  spinning  frames  ring-frames,  it 
could  be  shown  that  177,400  spindles  would  be  required  to 
spin  2,306,000  Ibs,  of  yarn.  Many  thousands  of  the 


WASTE   SILK.  431 

slower    flyer    frames    remain    in    use    however,    and   the   Output 
estimate  must  be  increased.     A  total  of  200,000  spinning   and 
spindles  does  not  appear  to  be  an  excessive  allowance,  the   Values, 
less    so    in    view    of    the    information     obtained     from 
the  manager  of  a  large  spinning  mill.     Adding   together 
coarse  yarns  and  fine  ones  and  including  frames  which  must 
be  run  slowly  with  those  which  may  be  run  fast,  the  records 
of  the  mill  show  that  209,000  spindles  would  be  required 
to  turn  out  in  one  year  the  quantity  named  in  the  Census. 

Some  of  the  machinery  required  is  very  expensive 
when  compared  with  the  average  cost  of  conventional 
textile  machines  ;  the  raw  material  is  costly  ;  the  time 
consumed  in  process  is  relatively  long,  and  consequently  the 
capital  engaged  is  correspondingly  greater  than  for  an  equal 
number  of  worsted  or  cotton  spindles.  An  amount  between 
£4  and  £5  per  spinning  spindle  is  not  an  excessive  sum 
to  allow,  and  it  may  be  computed  with  rough  accuracy 
that  the  British  waste  silk  spinning  industry  employs  a 
capital  sum  of  one  million  sterling  at  the  present  time. 

Both   in   methods   and   in   products   the   English   silk 
spinning   industry    differs    from    that    of   the    Continent. 
The  typical  product  of  English  mills  is  a  yarn  of  long 
fibres,  spun  from  materials  from  which  the  natural  silk 
gum    has    been    thoroughly    boiled    out.     That    of    the 
Continental  mills  is   a  yarn   of  fibres  shorter  than  the 
English,  and  from  which  the  gum  has  been  more  or  less 
incompletely  removed  by  a  process  of  fermentation.     The 
English  yarn  is  the  stronger  of   the  two,  and   the  more 
lustrous  in  the  first  instance,  for  the  lustre  of  "  schappe  " 
or  Continental  yarn  is  developed  in  subsequent  processes. 
The   presence   of   sericin   or   animal   gum   facilitates   the 
working  of  silk  in  certain  forms  of  machine  combs  and 
assists    in    the    production    of    a    round    thread     from    British 
relatively    short-fibred    materials.      Continental    spinners   and 
are  able  to  use  shorter  fibre  than  the  majority  of  English   Foreign 
mills,  and,  with  the  assistance  of   cheap  labour,  to  turn    Trade 
out  a  cheaper  but  different  yarn  from  the  English.     Conti-    com- 
nental  spinners  of  certain  qualities  of  yarn  compete  with   pared. 
English  users  of  the  short-spun  process  for  the  noils  rejected 
in  dressing  long  silk. 


432 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


British  According   to   Mr.    Boden's   address,   to   which   earlier 

and  reference  has  been  made,  J.   S.   Alioth  and  Co.   started 

Foreign  the  first  spinning  factory  in  Europe,  beginning  in  1822  in 
Trade  Basle,  and  transferring  their  machines  to  Arlesheim  in  1824. 
com-  By  amalgamation  their  firm  became  Chancel,  Veillon, 

pared.  Alioth  and  Co.  in  1872,  and  later  La  Societe  Industrielle 
de  Schappe.  Old  as  the  hand-spinning  process  is  known 
to  be  upon  the  Continent  of  Europe,  the  larger  develop- 
ments of  factory  spinning  are  a  product  of  the  last  half- 
century.  One  of  the  witnesses  before  the  Tariff  Com- 
mission (1905),  speaking  partly  upon  hearsay,  said  : 

"  In  1861,  my  information  is  that  there  was  practically 
only  one  silk-spinning  firm  on  the  Continent, 
and  that  was  in  France.  In  1866  there  were 
three  firms  alone  spinning  more  than  all  the 
English  firms  put  together  and  many  small  ones. 
At  the  present  day  there  are  two  foreign  spinners 
who  certainly  spin  more  than  all  the  24  English 
spinners  together." 

English  The  rapid  advance  after  a  relatively  late  start  owes 
Textile  much  to  the  employment  of  English  textile  machinery, 
Machi-  with  which  certain  departments  of  Continental  spinning 
nery  mills  are  generally  equipped.  Lord  Masham's  reference  to 

Abroad,  the  introduction  upon  the  Continent  of  the  English  inter- 
secting gill  machine  (p.  415),  bears  upon  this  point,  and 
there  is  a  suspicion  that  the  example  of  a  Manchester 
firm  also  had  its  effect.  So  long  as  the  machines  used 
by  this  firm  for  spinning  waste  were  confined  to  a  secluded 
valley  in  the  Canton  Vaud  there  was  a  marked  superiority 
in  their  product  over  that  of  Continental  mills  in  general. 
When  the  machines  were  removed  to  near  Milan,  their 
existence  became  more  generally  known,  and  their  adoption 
by  foreign  spinners  followed.  On  the  Continent,  spinning 
has  made  most  progress  in  the  countries  identified  with 
the  production  and  manufacture  of  silk  at  large,  and 
these  countries  in  general  have  pursued  a  protective  fiscal 
policy. 

An  estimate  quoted  from  a  French  source  places  the 
current  annual  production  of  spun  waste  yarn  in  the  whole 
world  at  5,500,000  kilogrammes  (roughly  12,000,000  Ibs.). 


WASTE   SILK.  433 

The  German  production,  disclosed  by  the  census  of  1907, 
is  2,457,000  Ibs. ;  an  amount  produced  upon  only  69,590, 
spindles.  The  inference  is  that  the  yarn  is  not  com- 
parable with  British  and  consisted  mainly  of  spun  noils. 
Mr.  Boden,  in  1905,  assessed  the  world's  production  at 
about  15|  million  Ibs.,  allotting  11  millions  to  the  Continent, 
3  millions  to  England,  and  1J  millions  to  China,  Japan, 
America  and  India.  The  production  has  increased  since 
that  year,  and  notably  so  in  the  case  of  Japan. 

Japanese  silk-spinners  have  cheap,  if  not  very  efficient   Japan 
labour    at    their    service,    and    are    supposed    to    derive    Trade, 
advantages  in  more  than  one  way  from  their  proximity 
to  the  sources  of  supply.     Freight  is  saved,  and  they  are 
able  to  receive  the  waste  wet  from  the   cocoon-reeling 
machines  with  its  gum  in  a  condition  lending  itself  more 
freely  to  discharging  than  had  the  material  been  dried 
for  transport. 

The  export  trade  is  detailed  in  the  following  tables  :- 

EXPORT   OF   SILK   SPUN   YARN   FROM   JAPAN. 
(Official  Tables.) 

Countries.  1908.  1909.  1910.  1911. 

Ibs.  Ibs.  Ibs.  Ihs. 

America        ..  118  3,216  50  3,331 


British  India 

Great  Britain 

China 

Other  Countries 


126,973  214,413  302,751  375,586 

1,978  31,782  29,951 

661  9,363  1,452  338 

131  2,568  107  8,364 


127,883     231,538   336,142     417,570 


There  is  an  additional  export  from  Japan  of  silk  drafts, 
i.e.  of  waste  silk  freed  from  gum  and  dressed  in  readiness 
for  lapping,  drawing  and  spinning. 

The  spinning  industry  of  the  United  States  is  a  com-    Spinning 
paratively  small  one,   employing  some   130,000  spindles,   in  the 
according  to  the  Census  of   1909,   and  the  spindles  are   United 
distributed  over  six  States.     There  were  24,000  in  Con-    States, 
necticut,   where   the   Cheney   Brothers   started    the   first 
American    silk    spinning    mill    in    1868,    obtaining    their 
machines     from     England.     In     1909     there     were     in 
Massachusetts    11,500    spindles,    in    New    Jersey    34,000, 
in  New  York  26,000,  with  a  similar  number  in  Pennsylvania, 
and   in   Rhode   Island   7,000.     No    distinction   is   drawn 
between   spinning   and   twisting   spindles   in   the   official 

SB 


434 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Spinning 
in  the 
United 
States. 


Waste 

Silk 

Statistics. 


return,  so  that  of  the  spindles  enumerated  only  a  certain 
number  are  as  productive  in  the  initial  sense.  It 
would  appear  from  the  census  reports  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  waste  silk  spun  in  America  is  for  consumption 
by  the  producer,  not  for  sale  in  the  state  of  yarn.  The 
quantities  spun  for  sale  have  been  returned  at  their 
ferent  dates  as : 


1899.  1904.  1909. 

Ibs.  Ibs.  Ibs. 

437,459  570,529  779,462 

The  spun  silk  used  in  America  includes  the  imports, 
which  are  considerable,  and  the  totals  recorded  as  used 
have  been : 

1899.  1904.  1909. 

Ibs.  Ibs.  Ibs. 

1,550,291  1,951,201  2,212,972 

The  following  share  quotations  of  large  schappe  spinning 
companies,  contained  in  a  circular  of  August,  1912,  testify 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  industry  upon  the  Continent : 


Filature  Lyonnaise  de  Schappe 
Filature  de  Schappe  de  Lyon 
Filature  de  Schappe  de  Russie 
Filature  de  Schappe  de  Bale 


Capital. 

Francs. 

2,000,000 

12,000,000 

5,000,000 

12,000,000 


Share. 
Francs. 

500 
1,000 
1,000 
1,000 


Quoted. 
1,200 
4,000 
3,500 
4,000 


One  other  highly  successful  Continental  undertaking 
is  an  Italian  one,  the  Societa  per  la  Filatura  del  Cascami 
di  Seta,  Milan. 

Of  late  years  Continental  spinners  have  become  users 
of  forms  of  waste  such  as  the  Steam  Waste  from  Canton 
—long  the  staple  material  of  the  English  industry — which 
formerly  they  did  not  use.  They  employ  also  some 
wastes  of  filatures  and  throwing  mills  in  Western  countries, 
and  the  following  tables  of  exports  from  the  Far  East 
indicate  at  least  roughly  the  consumption  within  the 
countries  named  : 


EXPORTS   OF   SILK  WASTE   FROM   CHINA. 
(Messrs.    Arnhold    Karberg    and    Co.'s    Tables.) 
Countries.  1909-10. 

Picul  Bales. 

France  49,202 

England  26,763 

Italy,  Sweden  and  Germany  . .  14,927 

Japan 14,740  17,3?1 


1910-11.  1911-12. 

Picul  Bales.     Picul  Bales. 

57,580  63,988 

23,116  28,139 

18,232  22,074 

12,754 


WASTE  SILK. 


435 


Countries. 


America 
Trieste,  Austria 
Sundry 

Total  for  three  seasons 


1909-10. 

1910-11. 

1911-12. 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

1,568 
658 
504 

2,407 
1,070 
273 

3,922 
615 

108,362 

120,089 

131,492 

Messrs.  Arnhold  Karberg's  table  relating  to  the  whole  Chinese 
of  China  is  followed  by  that  of  Messrs.  Herbert  Dent  and  Figures. 
Co.,  referring  exclusively  to  Canton : 


EXPORTS   OF   SILK  WASTE   FROM   CANTON. 


(Messrs.  Herbert  Dent  and 

Co.'s  Tables. 

Seasons  1902-3 

to  1911-12  (June  1—  May 

31). 

Seasons.                         England. 

Continent. 

America. 

Bombay. 

Total 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

Picul  Bales. 

1902-03 

19,261 

10,218 

979 

3,591 

34,059 

1903-04 

19,043 

10,981 

1,201 

2,606 

33,831 

1904-05 

16,318 

11,135 

2,657 

3,949 

34,059 

1905-06 

16,267 

10,338 

2,410 

3,823 

32,838 

1906-07 

14,255 

9,759 

2,811 

3,319 

30,144 

1907-08 

18,907 

12,477 

2,251 

4,491 

38,126 

1908-09 

20,214 

8,502 

3,301 

3,116 

35,133 

1909-10 

12,328 

16,199 

4,681 

3,631 

36,839 

1910-11 

14,084 

14,978 

8,026 

4,032 

41,120 

1911-12 

9,618 

11,349 

7,055 

2,772 

30,794 

Totals  for  ten  seasons     .  .     160,295 

115,936 

35,372 

35,330 

346,933 

It  is  shewn  by  the  official  return  of  exports  of  waste 
silk  from  Japan  that  the  Japanese  production  obtains 
greater  appreciation  from  Continental  than  British  con- 
sumers : 


EXPORT   OF   SILK  WASTE   CURLIES   AND   KNUBS  FROM 

JAPAN. 

(Official  Tables.) 

Countries.                              1908. 

1909. 

1910. 

1911. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

0)8. 

America 

227,715 

179,611 

220,901 

289,968 

Austria-Hungary 

482,219 

405,305 

260,400 

485,761 

France 

7,306,141 

6,777,688 

7,127,554 

6,100,272 

England 

251,133 

75,789 

41,774 

402,439 

British  India 

129,291 

56,143 

69,807 

91,062 

Italy      .  . 

2,008,598 

1,374,202 

2,186,264 

1,823,556 

Switzerland 

1,038 

11,653 

694 

373 

Other  Countries 

30,051 

24,031 

19,361 

31,287 

10,436,186 

8,904,422 

9,926,755 

9,224,618 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

77,305 

65,958 

73,524 

68,331 

A  difficulty  in  the  way  of  presenting  a  complete  record  British 
of  the  imports  of  silk  waste  into  Great  Britain  lies  in  the  Import 
inclusion  of  waste  noils  along  with  knubs,  husks  and  waste,  Statistics 


436 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


British  in  the  Statistical  Abstracts  for  the  United  Kingdom,  from 
Import  whence  the  following  particulars  have  been  derived.  The 
Statistics.  Abstracts  fail  to  show  the  re-exports,  and  only  when  these 

are  deducted  is  the  net  quantity  available  for  consumption 

known. 

IMPORTS  INTO  UNITED  KINGDOM.— SILK  KNUBS,  HUSKS   AND  WASTE. 


1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 


23,031 
30,550 
29,198 
31,360 
38,984 
33,866 
31,815 
35,141 
33,787 
29,663 
24,282 
32,887 
38,268 
65,002 
54,119 
44,277 
62,064 
67,239 
53,047 
68,026 
65,892 
83,466 
79,435 
70,634 
77,556 
46,392 
56,839 
58,469 
56,435 
62,923 
54,774 
70,821 
77,256 
60,720 
48,162 
55,782 
66,782 
71,450 
72,055 
66,348 
66,299 
64,669 
68,132 
78,028 
81,261 


Average  3  yrs. 

£16.31] 

27,593  cwts. 

16.17 

17.78J 

15.68 

16.03 

Average  10  yrs. 
33,005  cwts. 

17.98 
14.46 

13.27 

12.29 

13.69 

13.47 

11.94 

12.53J 

13.64 

14.- 

13.29 

Average  10  yrs. 
63,256  cwts. 

14.50 
13.30 

12.73 

11.99 

12.38 

11.83 

11.32, 

11.221 

10.62 

11.40 

10.08 

Average  10  yrs. 
63,209  cwts. 

9.68 
8.98 

8.66 

8.40 

7.70 

7.81, 

Q      _ 

8  '.38 

8.57 

7.98 

Average  10  yrs. 
64,039  cwts. 

8. 

7.72 

8.17 

9.49 

9.10 

8.50, 

Average  2  yrs. 
79,644  cwts. 

8.70\ 
9.06/ 

Average  3  yrs. 
£16.75 


Average  10  yrs. 
£14.13 


Average  10  yrs. 
£12.89 


Average  10  yrs. 
£9.45 


Average  10  yrs. 
£8.48 


Average  2  yrs. 
£8.88 


The 
Fall  in 
Prices. 


From  the  grouping  by  decennial  periods  it  appears 
that  the  gross  imports  of  waste  silk  and  noils  rose  from 
about  half  that  amount  to  63,000  cwts.  in  1880-89,  and 
for  two  decades  remained  at  that  level,  with  a  rise  to 
nearly  80,000  cwts.  in  1910-11.  The  average  prices 
reveal  a  long  fall,  but  with  some  appreciation  in  the  last 
decade. 


WASTE  SILK. 


437 


A  more  exact  account  has  been  summarised  from  the 
Annual  Statement  of  Trade,  covering  a  period  of  five 
recent  years. 


1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 


Exports  Foreign  and  Colonial, 

Imports.  Knubs,  Husks  and  Waste. 

Cwts.  Cwta. 

64,245  4,254 

61,388  2,022 

65,149  4,362 

72,320  6,999 

73,171  7,727 


Available  for 
Home  Consumption. 
Cwts. 

59,991 

59,366  Average 

60,787  6,965,500 

65,321  Ibs. 

65,444 


Separating  the  years  to  accord  with  the  decennial 
grouping,  it  appears  that  since  1909  the  industry  has 
had  65,000  cwts.  of  waste  at  disposal,  in  lieu  of  the  60,000 
of  the  preceding  triennium. 

Imports  of  waste  silk  noils  are  inconstant  in  quantity 
and  are  not  all  retained  for  consumption.  Of  late  there 
has  been  a  marked  rise  in  these  imports  : 

WASTE  SILK  NOILS  (FOREIGN  AND  COLONIAL). 


1907  . . 

1908  . . 

1909  . . 

1910  .. 

1911  .. 


Exports 

Imports.  Foreign  and  Colonial 

Cwts.  Cwts. 

2,054  753 

3,281  402 

2,983  198 

5,708  1,198 

8,090  2,521 


Available  for 
Home  Consumption. 
Cwts. 
1,301 
2,879 
2,785 
4,510 
5,569 


The  export  of  silk  noils,  the  by-product  of  English  silk 
spinning  also  exhibits  variation  : 

EXPORTS  WASTE  AND  WASTE  NOILS,   PRODUCE  OF  THE  U.K. 
1907  . .          . .          6,753  cwts.  1910     . .          . .          10,995  cwts. 

1908..          ..          6,571      „  1911      ..          ..          19,024      „ 

1909  ..          . ,         7,743      „ 

Marked  fluctuations  occur  in  the  imports  into  the 
United  Kingdom  of  foreign  spun  yarn,  and  these  are 
attributable  to  changes  in  the  fashion  for  goods.  For 
instance,  a  good  demand  for  velvets  stimulates  the 
purchasing  of  schappe  weaving  yarns  for  English  looms. 

IMPORTS  OF  SPUN  SILK  YARN  (DYED  OR  NOT). 


Germany 
Belgium 

France 

Switzerland 

Italy          

Other  foreign  Countries 


1907. 
Ibs. 

16,877 

33,850 

64,678 

147,507 

64,458 

5,091 

332,461 


1908. 
Ibs. 

34,983 

25,381 

68,844 

156,722 

11,018 

800 

297,748 


1909. 

1910. 

1911. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

tins. 

30,682 

41,592 

43,406 

23,548 

29,461 

22,997 

96,147 

153,213 

218,168 

172,867 

210,338 

228,409 

21,811 

33,028 

78,610 

2,500 

43,197 

32,542 

347,555 


510,829 


624,132 


438 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


RE-EXPORTS   SPUN  SILK  YARN. 

1907.      1908.       1909.       1910.       1911. 

Ibs.        Ibs.         0)8.         Ibs.        Ibs. 

20,144  21,928  21,425  20,965  10,915 

FOREIGN  YARN  RETAINED  FOR  CONSUMPTION. 

1907.  1908.  1909.  1910.  1911. 

312,317  275,850  326,130  489,864  613,217 

Mis-  The  origin  assigned  to  the  import  entries  cannot  in  all 

leading  cases  be  trusted  implicitly,  as  goods  passing  in  transit 
Returns,  through  several  countries  are  apt  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
country  of  last  departure.  It  may  be — for  example— 
that  portions  of  the  imports  from  the  Netherlands  and 
Belgium  have  their  real  origin  in  Switzerland,  France 
or  Italy. 

In  the  same  way  the  destinations  ascribed  to  exports 
are  not  always  final,  and  confusion  is  common  in  goods 
passing  overland  through  the  nearer  European  ports. 
A  detailed  table  of  the  exports  of  yarn  in  five  past  years 
is  appended : 


Germany  . . 

Netherlands 

Belgium    . . 

France 

Switzerland 

Spain 

U.S.  America 


British  India 
Straits  Settlements 
Australia 

Canada     

Other  British  Countries 


TS  BRITISH  SPUN  SILK  YARN  (DYED   OR  NOT    DYED). 

1907. 

1908. 

1909. 

1910. 

1911. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

109,394 

45,238 

81,762 

99,053 

77,180 

26,542 

12,134 

7,261 

4,484 

2,160 

8,312 

4,981 

1,140 

2,094 

6,297 

126,036 

105,049 

81,504 

64,582 

45,690 

15,932 

18,312 

11,427 

13,464 

10,806 

314 

10,803 

11,165 

9,513 

10,124 

535,948 

359,460 

779,616 

924,864 

956,061 

untries 

40,532 

61,745 

53,246 

70,206 

58,326 

863,010 


617,722         1,027,121         1,188,260         1,166,644 


95,309 

90,835 

83,967 

106,578 

54,626 

37,837 

52,812 

43,363 

46,963 

67,791 

16,267 

32,070 

17,175 

28,896 

30,334 

19,403 

12,568 

23,682 

39,073 

37,456 

3,721 

15,514 

5,450 

10,093 

6,489 

172,537 
1,035,547 


203,799 


173,637 


231,603 


196,696 


821,521         1,200,758         1,419,863         1,363,340 


Yarn  The  table  is  headed  "dyed  or  not  dyed,"  and  it  will  be 

Exports,  understood  that  the  particulars  include  thread  for  sewing, 
embroidery  and  kindred  purposes,  as  well  as  yarns  for 
lace  making,  knitting  and  weaving.  Read  in  conjunction 
with  the  Census  of  Production  (1907),  it  becomes  clear 
that  roughly  one-half  of  the  silk  yarn  spun  in  England 


WASTE  SILK.  439 

is  exported,  unwoven  or  unworked.  The  balance  finds  Yarn 
its  way  into  home  industry,  but  is  not  all  ultimately  con-  Exports, 
sumed  within  the  Kingdom,  as  portions  enter  into  manu- 
factured goods  which  are  subsequently  sold  abroad.  It 
is  the  case  also  that  a  small  proportion  of  the  yarn  exported 
finds  its  way  back  into  the  home  market  in  the  form  of 
later  stage  manufactured  materials,  perhaps  most  frequently 
in  the  form  of  lace  or  embroidery  than  of  woven  tissues. 
No  statistics  display  either  these  exports  of  spun  silks 
woven  or  these  re-entries  of  British  yarn  in  the  form  of 
lace. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE. 

Silk,  in  its  development  from  the  cocoon  of  the  silk- 
worm into  the  finished  product  of  the  loom,  passes  through 
several  processes,  each  process  giving  occupation  to  a 
different  set  of  more  or  less  skilled  operatives  and  forming 
a  separate  branch  of  silk  manufacture.  This  will  have 
been  realised  by  the  reader  from  the  general  statements 
in  previous  chapters,  but  it  now  becomes  necessary  to 
describe  more  in  detail  the  operations  themselves  and 
to  point  out  the  necessity  for  these  different  departments 
of  the  trade. 

Sericulture  and  Reeling,  Throwing,  Conditioning,  Spin- 
ning,* Dyeing,  Winding,  Warping,  Beaming,  various  classes 
of  Weaving — including  Trimming  and  Braid-making — Silk 
Finishing,  Textile  Machine-making,  Mounture  and  Harness- 
building,  Designing  and  Draughting  on  ruled  paper,  and 
many  other  minor  trades,  as  well  as  the  wholesale  and  retail 
dealing  in  the  raw  or  manufactured  material  or  the  finished 
products  are  all  comprised  under  the  general  name  of 
Silk  Manufacture. 

Introduced  at  first  from  abroad,  all  branches  of 
the  trade,  except  sericulture,  gradually  became  settled 
departments  of  British  industry.  They  give  to-day,  as 
they  did  in  the  past,  interesting  and  useful  occupation 
to  large  numbers  of  British  people. 

The  first-named  branch,  viz.,  the  breeding  of  silk-worms 
and  the  reeling  of  raw  silk  from  the  cocoons  has  never 
been  commercially  successful  in  this  country.  Although 
many  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  this  branch, 
especially  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 

*  See  Chapter  XXXIII,  Waste  Silk,  Origin  and  Uses. 
440 


VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  441 

they  have  always  for  some  reason  or  other  failed.  In 
its  first  stage,  therefore,  the  preparation  of  raw  silk  has 
never  become  a  British  industry. 

Silk-throwing  is  the  name  given  to  the  process  of  twisting 
the  combined  threads  of  raw  silk  in  such  a  manner  that   Silk 
the  silk  is  rendered  hard  and  even  enough  to  be  used  for   Throw- 
weaving  and  other  purposes  requiring  strength,  elasticity,    ing. 
and    regularity    of    size.     "  In    the    throwing    mill    the 
raw .  silk    fibre    goes   through   many   processes    including 
sorting,    washing,    drying,    winding,    cleaning,    twisting, 
doubling    or    folding,    second    twisting,    steaming,    sizing 
and  reeling  or  skeining,  and  in  all  these  infinite  care  has 
to  be  exercised  in  order  to  produce  a  perfect  thread."* 

The  Italians  have,  ever  since  they  learned  the  art  of 
manipulating  silk  from  the  East  in  the  twelfth  century, 
been  the  manufacturers  of  the  best  thrown  silk,  and  they 
are  continually  studying  to  improve  their  processes 
and  appliances  for  the  work.  They  jealously  guarded 
the  secrets  of  their  inventions,  and  it  was  not  until  1717, 
when  John  Lombe  returned  to  England,  after  living  some 
years  in  Italy,  where  he  had  learned  the  secrets  of  the 
process  while  working  as  a  journeyman,  that  perfectly 
thrown  silk  was  manufactured  in  Great  Britain.f 

Introduced  by  John  and  Thomas  Lombe,  who  erected 
successful  silk -throwing  mills  at  Derby,  silk  -  throwing 
became  in  the  eighteenth  century  an  important  branch 
of  British  industry :  not  only  at  Derby,  were  .silk-throwing 
mills  established,  but  at  Southport,  Macclesfield,  Congleton, 
Leek,  St.  Albans  and  other  places.  Many  of  these  throwing 
mills  are  still  at  work,  for  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that, 
although  other  countries  produce  the  raw  silk  fibre,  English 
manipulation  of  it  is  still  superior  in  many  respects  to 
that  practised  in  other  countries.! 

Silk-conditioning  is  a  process  of  testing,  through  which   Silk 
freshly  imported  raw  or  thrown  silk  is  passed  in  the  interest   Condi- 
of  the  purchaser.     It  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  natural   tioning. 
affinity    which    the    beautiful    thread    produced    by    the 
silk-worm,  especially  in  its  natural  undyed  state,  has  for 

*  Silk,  by  Luther  Hooper. 

f  See  Silk  Manufacture  in  Derby,  p.  198. 

j  See  note  in  Appendix,  Statistics  of  Silk-throwing. 


442 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Silk  water.     As  much  as  one-third  its  own  weight  of  water 

Condi-        may  be  absorbed  by  a  given  weight  of  raw  silk  without 

tioning.      its  feeling  wet  to  the  touch.     It  is   obvious,   therefore, 

that  considerable  loss  might  fall  on  the  purchaser  of  a 

bale  of  silk,  which  is  sold  by  weight  at  a  price  varying 

generally  from  16s.  to  24s.  per  lb.,  unless  some  means  of 

ascertaining  the  quantity  of  water  absorbed  and  retained 

in  it  could  be  accurately  determined. 

As  early  as  1799  an  agreement  was  come  to  by  merchants 
in  the  silk  trade*  for  regulating  the  allowances  to  be 
made  for  tare  and  tret  on  bales  of  silk  as  they  arrived 
from  abroad,  but  in  this  agreement  nothing  was  allowed 
for  humidity,  and  it  was  not  until  1851  that  attention  was 
called  to  the  fact  that  a  further  allowance  was  reasonable 
on  this  account,  and  a  scientific  means  of  discovering 
the  exact  weight  of  water  absorbed  by  the  silk  was  intro- 
duced into  this  country.  At  the  International  Exhibition 
held  in  London,  in  that  year,  an  appliance  was  shown 
by  means  of  which  a  few  skeins  of  silk  from  the  centre 
of  each  bale  could  be  dried  by  applied  heat  and  weighed 
in  grammes  with  the  greatest  ease  and  exactness  both 
before  and  after  the  drying.  Any  diminution  in  weight 
after  this  testing  indicated  the  extra  allowance  for  humidity 
to  be  made  to  the  purchaser  on  the  whole  bale.  Some- 
times this  super-allowance  on  a  bale  of  silk  amounts  to  as 
much  as  six  pounds  sterling.! 

The  attention  of  silk  merchants  and  manufacturers 
having  been  directed  to  the  matter  soon  after  the  Exhibi- 
tion, a  French  merchant  named  De  Larbe  purchased  the 
necessary  machinery  and  commenced  business  in  London 
as  a  silk  conditioner. 

This  undertaking,  probably  because  it  was  a  private 

venture,  was  not  much  supported,  and  would  have  been 

discontinued  had  not  a  scientific  gentleman,  a  Mr.  Chabot, 

of  Huguenot   descent,   who  had   been  interested  in  silk 

Allow-        dyeing,  induced  several  manufacturers  to  form  a  limited 

ance  for     company  to  take  over  M.  De  Larbe's  business  in  their 

humidity,  own  interest.     The  first  Directors  were  Thomas  Brooks, 

*  For  a  list  of  these  merchants  see  Appendix,  note. 

t  It  was  agreed  that  11  per  cent  of  water  is  natural  to  the  fibre,  accordingly  tare  is  allowed 
only  on  moisture  in  excess  of  that  amount.  For  a  scientific  description  of  the  machine  and 
process,  see  Appendix. 


VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  443 

Martin  Cornell,  Edward  Fox,  Richard  Harrison,  George    Work 
Kemp,  William  Kemp  and  Henry  Soper.     The  company    of 
commenced  operations  in  1859.     The  first  premises  were    London 
in  Alderman's   Walk,   Bishopsgate   Churchyard,   and   the   Corn- 
Company   afterwards   removed  to  Worship   Street,   Fins-   pany. 
bury. 

In  1901,  in  consequence  of  the  falling  off  of  the 
volume  of  trade,  it  was  decided  to  approach  the  London 
and  India  Dock  Company*  with  a  view  to  their  purchasing 
the  business  and  plant.  This  they  consented  to  do,  and 
the  plant  was  re-erected  in  a  building  attached  to  their 
up-town  warehouses  in  New  Street,  Bishopsgate. 

The  Directors  of  the  Company  at  the  time  of  the  transfer 
were  Arthur  W.  Bailey,  Frank  Warner,  Henry  J.  Offord, 
W.  R.  Fox,  Herbert  A.  Walters  and  William  Stokes. 
Henry  A.  Titford  was  Secretary  and  Manager,  and  he 
still  supervises  the  work  for  the  Port  of  London  Authority. 

Winding  and  re-winding  play  an  important  part  in 
the  operations  of  silk-throwing,  but  beyond  this  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  winding  required  in  preparing  silk  for 
different  uses  in  the  textile  industry,  as  well  as  for  sewing, 
embroidery  and  kindred  arts,  in  which  a  vast  quantity  of 
silk  thread  is  used.  This  being  so,  silk-winding  is  an  im- 
portant separate  branch  of  silk  manufacture.  Winding 
silk  from  the  long  skeins  on  to  reels  or  bobbins  has 
been  done  by  means  of  special  machinery  from  very 
early  times.  Machines  capable  of  winding  a  great  many  Silk 
bobbins  at  once  were  not  uncommon  in  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Winding, 
small  machines  of  cranks  and  pulleys  were  worked  with 
foot  treadles,  but  larger  ones  were  actuated  by  a  heavy 
wheel  turned  by  water  or  other  power.  Since  then,  how- 
ever, innumerable  contrivances  have  been,  from  time  to 
time,  invented  and  utilized  in  this  branch  of  the  silk 
industry,  with  the  result  that  mechanical  silk -wind- 
ing at  its  best,  falls  little  short  of  perfection.  Large 
factories  are  organised  and  devoted  to  this  work  alone, 
and  an  immense  number  of  workers,  especially  women 
and  children,  are  employed  in  it.  Doubling,  sizing  and 
winding  of  differently  twisted  threads,  both  dyed  and 

*  Now  the  Port  of  London  Authority. 


444 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


undyed,  for  an  infinite  variety  of  purposes  is  carried  on 
in  these  factories,  and  much  skill,  as  well  as  very  exact, 
elaborate  and  costly  machinery,  is  required  in  preparing 
the  thread  for  modern  silk-weaving  by  hand  and  power, 
and  for  other  works  in  which  silken  thread  is  used. 
Silk  With  the  single  exception  of  weaving,  there  is  no  branch 

Dyeing,  of  silk  manufacture  of  such  paramount  importance  as 
that  concerned  with  dyeing.  At  the  same  time,  there 
is  no  textile  material  that  lends  itself  so  kindly  to  the 
processes  of  the  dyers'  art  as  silk,  or  so  well  repays  the 
artificer  for  the  necessary  care  and  skill  expended  on  it. 

The  importance  of  the  Dyers'  Craft  was  fully  realized  in 
the  Middle  Ages  and  the  period  of  the  Renaissance  ;  but 
nowhere  in  Europe  was  it  appreciated  and  fostered  more 
than  in  France,  after  the  introduction  of  silk-weaving 
to  that  country  from  Italy  in  the  fifteenth  century.  It 
was  perhaps  rather  in  the  beauty  of  the  colours  and  the 
excellence  of  the  dyes  used  than  in  their  delicacy  of  handling 
and  ingenious  weaving  that  the  French  silk  manufacturers 
finally  excelled  the  Italians,  who  had  hitherto  monopolized 
the  craft  of  silk-weaving  in  Europe.  In  France  laws  were 
made  and  strictly  enforced  regulating  the  methods  of 
dyeing,  especially  with  regard  to  silk.  There  were  two 
separate  guilds  of  dyers  recognised  by  law.  These  were 
Great  called  respectively  the  grand  and  lesser  dyers,  and  the 
and  Little  dyes  themselves  were  called  great  and  little  dyes.  Only 
Dyes.  common  goods  were  allowed  to  be  dyed  by  the  lesser  dyers, 
because  the  little  dyes,  although  brighter  and  more  various 
in  colour  than  the  great  dyes,  were  not  permanent,  and 
were  therefore  considered  unworthy  to  be  used  for  colouring 
such  precious  material  as  silk.  The  test  exacted  for 
classification  in  the  great  dye  class  was  :  "  Twelve  days' 
exposure  to  the  summer  sun  and  the  damp  air  of  night." 
If  the  dye  stood  this  test,  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  class  under  which  it  should  be  ranked. 

All  materials  dyed  by  the  great  dyers  were  examined 
by  a  Government  official  appointed  for  the  purpose,  and 
were  stamped  with  his  mark  as  a  guarantee  of  good  quality. 
The  penalties  for  deceitfully  using  inferior  dyes  on  good 
material  were  heavy  fines  and  suspension  or  expulsion 


VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  445 

from  the  Guild  of  Dyers.  If  the  latter  penalty  were 
enforced,  it  rendered  the  offender  an  outcast  from  the 
trade  either  temporarily  or  permanently. 

The  colouring  pigments  used  by  the  Guild  of  Great  Dyers  Vegetable 
were  few  in  number,  and  were,  with  the  exception  of  the  Dyes, 
crimson  of  cochineal,*  extracted  from  vegetable  substances. 
Woadf  furnished  the  blue  tints  ;  the  yellows  were  derived 
from  Welds  J;  and  the  reds  from  Madder  root.§  Welds 
dyed  upon  woad  produced  greens  ;  Welds  upon  Cochineal, 
orange ;  cochineal  upon  woad,  purple ;  while  cochineal 
upon  a  tin  mordant  gave  a  brilliant  scarlet.  A  great 
variety  of  colours  were  also  obtained  from  the  same  dye- 
stuffs  by  using  different  mordantsll  when  preparing  the 
silk  for  the  colouring  process. 

In  England  the  art  of  extracting  colours  from  vegetable 
substances  was  practised  in  very  early  times.  That  woad 
was  used  as  a  colouring  matter  for  personal  adornment 
by  the  ancient  Britons  is  common  knowledge,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  many  simple  vegetable  preparations 
were  used  for  colouring  the  homespun  wool  which  was  the 
famous  staple  product  of  Saxon  England,  but  little  is 
recorded  of  the  practice  of  the  dyer's  craft  in  this  country 
until  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  Company  of  Dyers 
was  incorporated  by  Edward  IV  (1472).  In  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI,  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  limiting 
the  variety  of  colours  the  dyers  might  use  to  "  Scarlet, 
Red,  Crimson,  Murrey,  Pink,  Brown,  Blue,  Black,  Green, 
Sadnew  Colour,  Azure,  Watchitt,  Sheep's  Colour,  Motley 
and  Iron  Grey."  It  is  impossible  now  to  assign  the 
exact  tints  to  some  of  the  colours  thus  quaintly  named, 
but  no  doubt  they  all  resulted  from  the  manipulation  or 
blending  of  the  few  natural  dye-stuffs  named  above. 

It  was  not  until  the  eighteenth  century  that  Indigo    The 
(introduced    to    France    from    India)    superseded    woad   Coming 
as  a  blue    dye.      It   was   known   much   earlier,    but   its   of 
use    was     strenuously     resisted,     notwithstanding     that   Indigo. 

*  Cochineal  is  derived  from  an  insect  of  the  species.     See  note  in  Appendix. 

f  Woad,  a  plant  of  the  Cruciferous  order,  common  in  Europe. 

j  Welds,  a  plant  of  the  Resedaceae  order,  common  in  Europe. 

§  Madder,  a  plant  of  the  Bubiacea  order,  very  widely  distributed. 

||  Mordants,  a  variety  of  the  alum  or  other  chemicals  in  solution.     In  vegetable  dyeing,  the 

silk  has  to  be   steeped   in  such  a  preparation,  in  order  that  it  may  take  the  dye-stuff 

evenly  and  permanently. 


446  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Prohibi-  the  colouring  matter  of  the  Indigo  plant  is  precisely 
tion  of  the  same  as  that  of  woad  and  that  the  intensity  of  the  blue 
Logwood,  extract  is  much  greater.  In  England  in  like  manner, 
Logwood,  which  was  introduced  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth, 
and  from  which  many  beautiful  dyes  were  derived,  was 
prohibited  under  severe  penalties.  The  Statute*  not  only 
authorised,  but  directed  the  "  burning  of  it  wherever 
found  within  the  realm."  Logwood  was  only  clandestinely 
used  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  but  the  Act  of  Elizabeth 
was  repealed  in  the  time  of  Charles  Ilf  by  another  Statute 
in  the  preamble  of  which  it  was  declared  that,  "  the  in- 
genious industry  of  modern  times  hath  taught  the  Dyers  of 
England  the  art  of  fixing  colours  made  of  logwood,  so  as 
that,  by  experience,  they  are  found  as  lasting  as  the  colours 
made  with  any  other  sort  of  dyewood  whatever." 

Many  other  Acts  of  Parliament  passed  from  time  to 
time  testify  to  the  importance  attributed  to  the  art  of 
dyeing  in  England.  These  Acts  were  not  only  intended 
to  regulate  the  use  of  the  dye-stuffs  themselves,  but, 
which  is  of  more  importance  in  the  permanence  and 
fastness  of  the  colour,  the  methods  of  preparing  and 
working  the  materials  to  be  dyed  in  preparation  for  the 
colouring  process. 

Aniline  With  the  rapid  development  of  the    textile   industries 

Dyes.  following  the  introduction  of  power-weaving,  the  art  of 
dyeing  became  of  the  greatest  commercial  importance, 
and  the  production  of  new  inexpensive  dye-stuffs  and 
easy  rapid  methods  of  applying  them  to  textile  materials 
engaged  the  attention  of  many  eminent  chemists. 

Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  William)  Perkin  early  in  the  last 
century  made  the  important  discovery  of  a  means  of 
extracting  dye-stuffs  of  various  brilliant  colours  from  coal- 
tar.  The  discovery,  however,  was  not  commercially 
applied  until  experiments  had  been  conducted,  both  in 
England  and  Germany — particularly  in  the  latter  country 
—for  at  least  thirty  years.  It  was  between  1855  and 
1860  that  the  new  coal-tar  or  aniline  dyes  were  brought 
to  a  sufficient  degree  of  perfection  to  warrant  their  use 


*  23rd  Elizabeth, 
f  14th  Charles  H. 


VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  447 

for    common    manufacturing    purposes,    and    they    were  Aniline 
accordingly  at  that  time  put  upon  the  market.  Dyes. 

At  first  the  coal-tar  colours  were  very  crude,  but  this 
fault  was  gradually  corrected,  and  when  they  were  skilfully 
blended  they  became  equal  in  quality  of  tint  to  the 
dye-stuffs  they  superseded,  but,  like  the  little  dyes 
of  ancient  times,  they  were  rather  fugitive,  and  had  the 
additional  disadvantage  that  they  faded  to  a  colour  that 
made  them  unsuitable  for  use  by  recognised  silk  manufac- 
turers. Had  they  been  employed  to  any  degree  by  the 
industry,  the  degradation  of  silk  would  have  been  of  a  two- 
fold character,  as  the  artificial  weighting  of  silk  had  at  this 
period  of  the  19th  century  reached  a  maximum  development. 
It  had  been  found  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century  that 
silk  had  a  special  affinity  for  certain  metallic  salts,  and 
that  bulk  and  weight  could  be  largely  increased  by  their  use, 
but  it  remained  for  the  dyers  of  the  nineteenth  century 
to  carry  this  art  to  such  perfection  that  sixteen  ounces 
of  silk  could  be  and  were  made  to  weigh  as  much  as 
thirty  or  more  ounces. 

In  course  of  time  some  of  the  aniline  dyes  were  con- 
siderably improved  in  permanence,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  alizerine*  colours  were  introduced  that  artificial 
dyes  could  be  considered  as  at  all  satisfactory  in  com-  Alizerine 
parison  with  the  ancient  vegetable  dyes.  When  the  Dyes, 
alizerine  dyes  are  properly  applied,  they  are  as  per- 
manent, if  not  more  so,  than  the  ancient  great  dyes, 
but  no  manufacturer  who  values  his  reputation  would  make 
use  of  these  materials  without  the  necessary  guarantees.  It 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  whatever  may  have  had  to  be 
done  under  the  stress  of  manufacturing  conditions  during 
the  Great  War,  there  has  never  been  shown  any  tendency 
during  periods  of  normal  trading  for  silk  manufacturers  to 
use  any  colouring  materials  less  fast  than  the  vegetable  dyes.f 

There  are,  broadly  speaking,  two  branches  of  dyeing 
in  general  use  in  silk  manufacture,  viz.,  yarn  dyeing  and 
piece  dyeing.  Most  of  the  best  silken  materials  are  dyed 
before  being  woven,  but  many  of  the  cheaper  kinds  of  stuff, 

*  Alizerine  Dyes. 

f  For  Statistics  of  Silk  Dyeing  in  Great  Britain  at  the  present  time,  see  note  in  Append**, 


448 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


both  for  dresses  and  furniture,  are  woven  of  hard,  unboiled 

silk,  and  are  afterwards  boiled  off  and  dyed  in  the  piece. 

Warping        Warping  and  beaming  were  under  the   old  system  of 

and  silk  manufacture  which  is  described  in  the    section   on 

Beaming.  Spitalfields,  separate  branches  of  the  trade,  but  since  the 

factory  system  has  prevailed,  the  warping  and  beaming 

are  simply  departments  of  the  silk-weaving  manufactory. 

Warping  ensures  that  the  requisite  number  of  threads 

of  any  desired  length  are  laid  in  such  order  that  when 

threaded  in  the  loom  the  weaver  can  trace   and    mend 

any  threads   that   may   be   broken   during   the    weaving 

process.     The  success  of  the  weaver  in  his  work  depends 

greatly  on  the  delicate  process  of  warping  being  accurately 

done.  * 

Beaming  or  Cane  spreading!  is  the  name  given  to  the 
operation  of  transferring  the  warp  from  the  warping  mill 
to  the  back  roller  of  the  loom,  and  is  also  a  work  requiring 
great  care  and  exactitude. 

Weaving.  The  most  important  branch  of  all  in  silk  manufacture 
is  that  of  weaving,  and  this  branch  is  again  divided  into 
two,  viz.,  the  Broad  weaving  division  and  the  Narrow. 
In  ancient  times  the  number  of  operatives  employed  in 
weaving  narrow  goods — ribbons,  tapes,  braids,  fringes, 
laces,  galloons,  etc., — which  were  all  woven  in  single 
widths,  far  exceeded  that  of  the  weavers  of  broad  silks 
for  dresses,  hangings,  furniture,  etc.  When,  however, 
after  much  opposition,  the  loom  for  weaving  narrow 
goods,  in  several  breadths  at  one  operation,  was 
introduced,  the  narrow  branch  of  weaving  sank  into 
insignificance,  in  point  of  the  number  of  operatives 
employed  by  comparison  with  the  broad  weaving 
branch. 

At  the  present  time  almost  all  narrow  goods  are  woven 

on  power-looms,  governed  by  Jacquard  or  other  machines, 

thirty   or  forty  breadths   at   a  time.     In  the   very  best 

Survival     work,    however,    and    for    special    upholstery    orders    the 

of  old         ancient  method  of  weaving  one  breadth  at  a  time  is  still 

methods,    in  use,  and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  within  a  hundred 

*  See  Handloom   Weaving,  Luther  Hooper. 
t  See  Chapter  1. 


Plate  XLVIL 


Weaver  of  Narrow   Webs. 


VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  449 

yards  of  Piccadilly  Circus,  in  the  heart    of  London,   a   Survival 
factory  may  be  found  in  which  such  looms  as  that  depicted   of  old 
in  the  accompanying  illustration  are  in  use.     On  these    methods, 
looms,  some  of  which  are  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old,  the  pattern  is  tied  up  by  the  weaver  himself  on  the 
harness  of  string  and  wood  in  such  a  manner  as  to  work 
out  automatically,  and  is  woven  in  single  breadths  exactly 
as  in  the  old  times.     The  reason  for  this  survival  is  that 
the  trimmings  made  in  this  factory,  and  a  few  others  in 
London,  are  for  special  upholstery  orders  for  which  only 
comparatively   short   lengths  of   a   particular   design   are 
required.     All  orders  for  large  quantities  would  now  be 
woven  on  power-looms  several  breadths  at  a  time. 

The  broad  silk  weaving  branch  is  again  sub-divided 
into  others  for  particular  kinds  of  work.  There  are  four 
sub-divisions  of  broad  silk  weaving.  These  are  the  plain 
and  fancy  branches  for  the  weaving  of  dress  materials, 
and  the  plain  and  figured  branches  for  weaving  stuffs 
for  furniture  and  hangings. 

Materials  for  costume,  as  well  as  mixed  goods  for 
furniture  and  hangings,  are  now,  for  the  most  part,  woven 
in  factories  on  power-looms.  A  considerable  quantity, 
however,  of  the  best  webs,  especially  in  the  furnishing 
branches  of  the  trade  are  still  made  on  hand-looms,  and 
notwithstanding  the  perfection  to  which  modern  textile 
machinery  has  attained,  there  are  certain  qualities  in 
good  hand-woven  materials  which  it  seems  impossible 
to  obtain  by  machine  weaving. 

Silk-finishing,  as  a  separate  trade,  may  be  regarded  as  a   Silk 
modern  branch  of  silk  manufacture,  but  the  after-finishing   Finish- 
of  certain  classes  of    silk  and  silk-mixed  goods  by  hot   ing. 
pressing  and  steaming  has  probably  been  practised  for  a 
long  period.     Well  woven  webs,  in  which  good  silk  or 
silk  mixed  with  other  yarns  has  been  used,  rarely  require 
more  expert  finishing  than  the  weaver  himself  can  give 
them    when    he    has    completed    the    weaving.     Inferior 
goods,  however,  whether  their  inferiority  consists  in  their 
workmanship    or    the    poverty    or    adulteration    of    the 
materials  used  in  their  manufacture,  invariably  owe  the 
appearance,  which  renders  them  saleable,  to  the  clever 

3  ? 


450  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Silk  processes  of  finishing  to  which  they  have  been  subjected 

Finish-      by  the  expert  silk-finisher.     At  the  present  time  the  trade 
ing.  of  silk-finishing  is  a  very  extensive  one,  and  exceedingly" 

ingenious  chemical  and  other  processes,  as  well  as  expen- 
sive and  elaborate  machinery,  are  made  use  of  in  the 
factories  where  it  is  carried  on. 

The  other  departments  of  trade  depending  on  silk 
manufacture,  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
chapter,  do  not  require  detailed  description  here  ;  their 
scope  and  importance  will  be  gathered  from  references 
to  them  in  succeeding  chapters,  if  they  have  not  already 
been  described  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  book. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE    DESIGNER   AND    DESIGNING — 
18TH  AND  19TH  CENTURIES. 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century   Silk 
that  the  demand  for  designs,  which  had  been  made  possible   Design- 
by  the  mechanical  inventions  of  the  eighteenth  century  for   ing. 
the  production  of  pattern  in  textile  work,  became  so  urgent 
that  the  profession  of  designer  became  a  separate  branch 
of  the  textile  industry.     At  the  same  time  it  is  known  that 
as  early  as  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
were  in  Spitalfields  a  few  artists  who  devoted  their  talents 
to  the  production  of  such  designs  and  drafts  as  the  silk 
weavers  from  time  to  time  required. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  these  early  designers  of 
silk  fabrics  were  all  of  French  nationality,  but  that  this 
is  not  the  case  is  proved  by  the  existence  of  a  very  large 
and  beautiful  collection  of  sketches  for  silken  fabrics 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  department  of  designs  and 
drawings  of  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 

A  very  valuable  purchase  of  a  set  of  early  eighteenth 
century  designers'  sketch  books  was  made  by  the 
authorities  of  the  Museum  in  1869.  The  books  contain 
more  than  six  hundred  designs  for  silk  damasks,  brocades, 
brocatelles  and  all  other  varieties  of  figured  silk  fabrics. 
Each  book  contained  also  a  beautifully  written  index, 
with  the  names  of  the  manufacturers  by  whom  the  designs 
were  purchased  and  appropriated.  Many  of  the  drawings 
bear  interesting  written  directions  for  working  out  the 
drafts  on  ruled  paper,  as  well  as  for  the  mounture  or  harness 
builder,  and  the  weaver. 


451 


452  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Eight-  The  earliest  of  these  interesting  drawings  do  not  bear 

eenth  the  names  of  the  designers,  but  in  one  dated  1705  the 
Century  name  of  Anna  Maria  Garthwait  appears,  and  from  that 
Designers,  time  forward  most  of  the  drawings  are  unmistakably  by 
her  hand.  On  one  of  them  she  has  written  "  Before  I 
came  to  London,"  and  on  another  "  When  I  was  in  York- 
shire/' but  these  brief  notes  are  the  only  biographical 
references  to  be  found  on  them.  These  early  designs, 
though  very  graceful  and  pretty,  are  not  so  particularly 
adapted  for  reproduction  in  silk  as  some  of  her  later  work. 
It  is  most  interesting  to  trace,  as  it  is  quite  possible 
to  do,  the  gradual  development  of  the  artist's  power  of 
design  and  adaptability  to  the  requirements  of  silk  textile 
technique.  The  drawings  were  all  preserved  in  books 
and  carefully  numbered  and  indexed.  The  name  of  the 
manufacturer  to  whom  each  drawing  belonged  is  also 
given.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  method  of  procedure 
at  that  time  was  for  the  designer  to  make  a  freely-drawn 
coloured  sketch  of  the  subject  as  nearly  to  the  size, 
as  well  as  the  finished  effect  of  the  proposed  material  as 
possible.  If  this  were  approved  by  the  manufacturer, 
the  designer  proceeded  to  divide  the  sketch  up  into  squares 
to  correspond  with  the  dividing  lines  of  the  ruled  paper 
on  which  the  working  drawings,  or  drafts,  were  to  be 
made.  Each  of  these  divisions  was  called  a  design,  and 
as  the  ruled  paper  drawing  was  generally  very  much  larger 
than  the  sketch  or  the  finished  woven  design,  this  ruling  in 
of  larger  squares  materially  assisted  the  draft-maker  in 
the  proportional  enlargement  of  the  drawing.* 

When  the  draft  was  completed  and  approved  it  was 
handed  over  to  the  manufacturer,  and  the  original  sketch 
replaced   in    the    sketch    book    and    indexed    as    appro- 
priated  by   the  purchaser.     Some   of  the   names   which 
appear  in  these  books  are  to  be  found  in  old  documents 
of  the  period.     Amongst  the  signatories  of  the  bye-laws 
Methods    of  the  Weavers'  Company,  which  were  issued  in  1737,  three 
of  names  occur,  Peter  Le  Keux,  in  the  design  book  called 

Working.   Captain  Le  Keux,  and  James  Leman,  assistants  of  the 

•  The  draft  being  divided  into  equates  also  assisted  the  weaver  in  tying  up  the  design 
on  the  "  simple  "  cords. 


Figured  Velvet  Loom,  worked  by  draw  boy,  before 
the  invention  of  the  Jacquard  machine. 


XLVlll 


Loom  for  Weaving  SiU^  Brocade,  worked  by  the 

same  method. 


THE  DESIGNER  AND  DESIGNING.         453 

Court,  and  Henry  Baker,  Liveryman.  In  the  index  in  one 
place,  Mr.  Baker  is  also  called  Captain  Baker.  These  master 
silk  weavers  were  probably  captains  of  the  "  trained  bands  " 
so  frequently  mentioned  in  eighteenth  century  records. 

Although  so  various  in  style  and  scale  and  representing 
the  work  of  over  thirty  years,  most  of  these  drawings  appear 
to  be  by  one  hand,  and  point  to  the  fact  that  Anna  Maria 
Garthwait  was  not  only  an  industrious  and  prolific  artist,   An 
but  one  of  great  individuality.     Born  in  Yorkshire,  and    English 
early  showing  a  natural   and   becoming  taste   for   orna-   Lady 
mental  design,  she  removed  to  London.     Here  her  rare   Designer, 
talent  for  arranging  floral  design  was  more  or  less  quickly 
appreciated  by  manufacturers,  to  whom  she  had  probably 
been    recommended  by  friends   in  Yorkshire.     After   in- 
dustrious application  to  work  and  eager  study  of  the  tech- 
nicalities of  silk -weaving,  there  came  assured  success  and 
constant  employment.     The  first  signed  drawing  is  dated 
1705,  and  the  last  1735,  and  if  the  high  remuneration  paid 
to  persons  having  the  rare  talent  for  design,  at  that  time, 
be  taken  into  consideration,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that 
this  enterprising  lady's  business  career  during  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  most  successful.   Seldom 
indeed  has  such  a  complete  record  of  an  artist's  work, 
connected  with  manufacture,  been  preserved. 

The  invention  of  the  Jacquard  machine  at  the  end  of    The 
the   eighteenth   century,    and   its   introduction   to   Great   Jacquard 
Britain  early  in  the  nineteenth,  had  the  effect  of  vastly   Machine, 
increasing  the   demand   for   textile   designs   so   that   the 
occupation  of  a  designer  became  one  of  the  most  remunera- 
tive to  which  a  youth  with  a  taste  for  drawing  could  be 
apprenticed. 

The  fundamental  idea  of  this  machine  consists  in  the 
substitution  of  a  band  of  paper,  perforated  with  holes 
to  correspond  with  the  ruled  paper  draft  of  the  design, 
for  the  weaver's  tie-up  on  the  cords  of  the  simple.  This 
device  was  first  applied  to  the  draw-loom  in  1725,  but 
in  1728  a  chain  of  cards  was  substituted  for  the  paper 
and  a  perforated  cylinder  was  also  added.  * 

*  For  a  description  of  the  draw-loom  and  its  mechanism,  see  Report  of  Lectures  on  the  Loom 
and  Spindle,  by  Luther  Hooper,  Royal  Society  of  Arts,  London,  1912  ;  also  Hand-loom 
Weaving,  John  Hogg,  London,  1911. 


454 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  These  early  contrivances  were  placed  by  the  side  of  the 

Jacquard  loom  and  worked  by  an  assistant.  In  1745  Vauconson 
Machine,  placed  the  apparatus  at  the  top  of  the  loom,  and  caused 
the  cylinder  to  rotate  automatically.  But  it  was  reserved 
for  Jacquard  to  carry  the  contrivance  to  such  perfection 
that,  although  many  slight  improvements  have  since  been 
made  to  it,  it  remains  to-day  practically  the  same  as  when 
it  was  introduced  in  1801,  and  this  notwithstanding 
the  astonishing  development  of  textile  machinery  during 
the  nineteenth  century  and  the  universal  adoption  of  the 
machine  both  for  hand  and  power-loom  weaving. 

Although  the  invention  was  introduced  in  1801  to  the 
French  public,  it  was  not  until  1820  that  a  few  Jacquard 
machines  were  smuggled  into  England  and  secretly  set 
up.  In  spite  of  much  opposition,  it  soon  came  into 
general  use,  first  and  particularly,  for  hand-looms  and 
silk  pattern  weaving,  but  afterwards  for  power-looms, 
so  that  now  all  kinds  of  fancy  and  ornamental  webs  are 
woven  by  its  means. 

As  a  piece  of  mechanism  this  machine  is  a  wonderful 
invention.  It  can  be  made  to  govern  all  the  operations 
of  the  loom  except  throwing  the  shuttle  and  actuating 
the  lever  by  which  it  is  put  in  operation.  It  opens  the 
shed  for  the  pattern,  changes  the  shuttle  boxes  in  proper 
succession,  regulates  the  take-up  of  cloth  on  the  front  roller 
and  works  out  many  other  details,  all  by  means  of  a  few 
holes  punched  in  a  set  of  cards.  At  first  the  machine  was 
only  adopted  in  the  silk  trade  for  the  weaving  of  rich  bro- 
cades and  other  elaborate  materials  for  dress  or  furniture ; 
but,  ever  since  its  introduction,  its  use  has  been  grad- 
ually extending  both  in  hand-loom  and  power-loom 
weaving. 

The   most   striking   change   the   use   of   the   Jacquard 

machine  effected  in  the  textile  arts  was  the  facility  it 

gave  for  quickly  substituting  one  design  for  another.     It 

Influence   was  only  necessary  to  lift  down  one  endless  band  or  set 

on  of   cards  and  substitute  another  in  order  to  change  the 

Design.      pattern. 

The  result  of  this  facility  was  that  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  witnessed  a  perfect  orgie  of  fantastic, 


THE  DESIGNER  AND  DESIGNING.         455 

inappropriate  ornamentation.     The  manufacturers  of  all  Influence 
sorts  of  ornamental  silk  and  fine  woollen  textiles  vied  on 
with  each  other  in  the  number  and  originality  of  their  Design, 
designs.     The  profession  of  designer  may  almost  be  said 
to  be  an  outcome  of  Jacquard's  invention.     Previously 
to  this  time  the  master  weaver,  or  some  person  in  practical 
touch  with  the  looms,  had  arranged  or  adapted  the  design, 
which,  when  tied  up  on  the  loom,  was  in  some  cases  good 
for  a  lifetime,  and  a  few  good  designs  were  all  that  a 
master  weaver  required.     But  with  the  introduction  of  the 
new  draw-engine,  as  the  machine  was  called,  all  this  was 
altered  and  a  restless  change  of  pattern  and  fashion  in 
design  was  the  result. 

In  a  sensible  article  deprecating  this  state  of  things, 
a  writer  in  the  Journal  of  Designs,  April,  1849,  says : 
"  Nothing  would  be  a  better  comment  upon  our  previous 
remarks  as  to  the  inordinate  desire  for  new  patterns  than 
the  sight  of  our  table  loaded  with  spring  novelties  ;  it 
would  at  once  illustrate  the  present  aimlessness  of  design, 
and  the  hopelessness  of  any  good  arising  with  such  a 
condition  of  trade.  Novelty  !  Give  us  novelty !  seems 
to  be  the  cry,  and  good  or  bad,  if  that  be  obtained,  the 
public  seems  to  be  satisfied ;  perhaps  we  should  say 
that  the  bad,  being  generally  the  most  extravagant  is 
the  most  satisfactory  to  the  ignorant  public ;  and  that 
nothing  is  too  outre  to  be  purchased — aye,  and  even  worn 
by  those  who  would  be  indignant  were  their  good  taste 
called  in  question." 

In  another  part  of  the  Journal  it  is  stated  that  a  Common's  Vicious 
paper  in  1846  (No.  445),  reports  that,  out  of  8,000  designs  Fashions, 
registered,    7,000    belonged    to    woven    fabrics,    500    to 
paperhangings,  175  to  metal  work,  and  the  remainder  to 
pottery,  glass,  etc.     At  the  same  time  the  Customs  report 
of  the  value  of  exports  confirms  the  statement,  for  textile 
exports  were   valued   at  £29,000,000,  metals  £7,000,000, 
and  pottery,  glass,  etc.,  £1,000,000. 

In  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  designing  for 
textiles  and  other  manufactures  was  rightly  considered 
to  be  a  most  important  part  of  the  manufacturing 
business.  The  designer's  shop  was  looked  upon  as  one 


456  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Status        of  the  principal  departments  of  the  factory  or  group  of 

of  the         factories   with   which   it   was   connected.     Young   people 

early          aspiring  to  this  highly  paid  work  were  carefully  selected, 

Designer,  and,  after  a  preliminary  trial,  formally  apprenticed  for 

seven  years  to  learn  the  business.     High  premiums  were 

often  paid  for  this  introduction  to  and  training  for  a  lucrative 

occupation.     It  is  a  pity  that  so  few  of  the  original  drawings 

produced  in  these  old  designing  shops  have  been  preserved, 

for   those   that   have   escaped   destruction,   such   as   the 

Garthwait  collection  already  described,  are  of  the  highest 

excellence  and  entirely  appropriate   for  the  materials  for 

which  they  were  designed. 

As  soon  as  the  Jacquard  machine  was  introduced,  the 
demand  for  original  designs  so  vastly  increased  that  the 
drawing  departments  of  the  manufactories  to  a  great 
extent  discontinued  the  work  of  designing  and  were  entirely 
occupied  in  translating  the  more  or  less  amateurish  sketches 
of  the  numerous  tribe  of  artists  who,  without  any  technical 
training,  found  it  profitable  to  make  designs  and  carry 
them  round  for  sale  to  the  various  manufacturers.  To 
this  casual  system  of  originating  patterns  for  textile  and 
other  manufactures,  many  are  inclined  to  attribute  the 
terrible  state  of  degradation  to  which  the  art  of  ornamental 
designing  had  fallen  by  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 
It  was  from  this  state  that  the  National  System  of  Art 
Education,  after  much  mistaken  policy  and  many  futile 
experiments,  as  well  as  the  teaching  and  example  of  such 
artists  as  Digby  Wyatt,  Owen  Jones,  Charles  Dresser, 
William  Morris,  Walter  Crane,  and  many  others  whose 
The  names  are  associated  with  the  revival  of  arts  in  England, 

Degrada-  raised  the  art  of  commercial  designing  to  the  undoubtedly 
tion  of  high  position  it  had  reached  by  the  beginning  of  the  present 
Design.  century. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  MANUFACTURER — NEW  SYSTEM. 

The  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  witnessed  the 
passing  away  of  the  old  class  of  small  master  craftsmen  and 
the  organisers  of  domestic  manufacture  as  already  described, 
as  well  as  the  establishment  of  the  new  order  of  great 
manufacturer.  It  was  the  members  of  this  new  order 
who,  adopting  all  kinds  of  inventions  and  scientific  pro- 
cesses, built  large  factories,  filled  them  with  machinery, 
sought  out  all  new  inventions,  employed  multitudes  of 
"  hands,"  opened  trading  accounts  with  the  whole  world, 
and  proudly  set  Great  Britain  in  the  fore-front  amongst 
the  nations  in  manufacture  and  commerce. 

Owing  to  the  value  of  the  raw  material  of  silken  thread, 
and  the  skill  and  delicacy  required  in  its  manipulation, 
the  silk  weaving  trade  was  slow  to  adopt  the  changes 
which  in  other  branches  of  textile  work  had  so  rapidly 
taken  place.  Writing  as  late  as  1831,  Mr.  Porter,  in  his 
treatise  on  silk  manufacture,  says  that  "  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  use  of  the  power-loom,  however  it  may  be 
modified,  is  susceptible  of  much  extension  in  any  save  the 
commonest  branches  of  the  silk  manufacture." 

Since  the  time  that  the  above  was  written  the  improve-   Intro- 
ments  in  weaving  silk  by  power  have  been  so  rapid  and    duction 
so  successful  that  now  almost  all  plain  and  fancy  silk    of  the 
dress  materials,  as  well  as  low-class  furniture  silks  and    Power- 
silk  mixed  goods  are  woven  by  power  in  large  factories.       loom. 

In  the  preface  of  a  publication  written  by  the  late 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle,  in  which  he  describes  the  improve- 
ments in  power-looms  which  he  saw  in  France  in  1890, 

457 


458 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Intro-        the  author  writes  as  follows  :  "  The  object  of  this  brochure 

duction      is  simply  to  call  the  attention  of  the  British  silk  manu- 

of  the         facturer  to  the  gradual  but  certain  displacement  by  the 

Power-       power-loom  of  the  traditional  hand-loom  for  silk  weaving 

loom.          for  which  Lyons  has  for  centuries  been  so  famous,  and  to 

show  how  economics  in  production  in  silk  weaving  are 

being    effected    by    the    change/'     One    of    the    changes 

referred  to  by  Sir  Thomas  was  the  replacing  in  France  of 

the  old  style  of  domestic  manufacture  by  a  counterpart  of 

that  which  obtained  in  England  through  the  machine  factory 

system. 

In  recent  years,  therefore,  not  only  in  England  and 
France,  but  wherever  silk  is  woven  to  a  large  extent, 
the  hand-loom  is  giving  place  to  the  power-loom,  and  the 
system  of  domestic  weaving  to  factory  work.  The  triumph 
of  the  factory  system  over  that  of  domestic  manufacture 
is,  perhaps,  more  pronounced  than  that  of  the  power-loom 
over  the  hand-loom,  for  in  those  branches  of  the  trade 
where  the  hand-loom  still  holds  its  own,  the  hand-looms 
fitted  with  Jacquard  machines  are  for  the  most  part  grouped 
together  in  large  factories  where  better  oversight  and 
superior  economic  arrangements  are  possible. 

Although  it  was  in  London  that  one  of  the  first  large 
silk-weaving  factories  was  established,  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  ago,  the  system  has  seldom  proved 
a  success  in  this  ancient  centre  of  the  silk  trade.  Most 
of  the  factories  since  set  up  have  been  small  branches  of 
larger  ones  established  by  firms  in  the  provinces. 
First  The  first  important  and  successful  silk-weaving  factory 

London  in  London  was  that  of  Messrs.  Walters  and  Sons — after- 
Factory,  wards  known  as  Stephen  Walters  and  Sons.  This  was 
established  in  the  year  1824.  Shortly  after  that  date, 
however,  the  firm  established  another  factory  at  Ket- 
tering,  where  power-looms  were  set  up,  whilst  in  the 
London  factory  only  hand-looms  were  used.  Messrs.  T. 
Kemp  and  Sons  also  had,  a  few  years  after,  a  small  silk 
factory  in  Spitalfields  and  an  extensive  one  at  Sudbury  in 
Suffolk.  The  Spitalfields  factory  was  established  about 
1830,  and  the  Sudbury  one  was  organised  rather  later. 
Messrs.  Vavasseur  and  Rix's  London  factory  established 


THE  MANUFACTURER— NEW  SYSTEM.      459 

in  1850,  was   first   fitted   up   with  hand-looms  only,  but   The 

afterwards   power-looms   were   introduced.     This    firm   is   Modern 

still  carrying  on  business  in  the  old  district,  and  owns  Industry. 

the  only  old  established  silk  factory  in  London  still  at 

work.     Silk  factories  were   also   started   and   carried   on 

more  or  less  successfully  for  some  years  by  Messrs.  Robinson 

and  Co.,  Sanderson  and  Reed,  Foot  and  Sons,  and  J.  Kemp 

and  Co.    At  a  much  later  date,  Messrs.  Bailey,  Fox  and  Co. 

opened  a  factory  chiefly  for  power-loom  weaving  in  Old 

Ford! 

The  organisation  of  a  modern  silk  factory  on  a  large 
scale  differs  little,  if  any,  from  that  for  the  manufacture 
of  any  other  modern  commodity  of  commerce.  Such  a 
business,  if  it  is  to  succeed  under  the  stress  of  modern 
conditions,  requires  an  ample  supply  of  free  capital,  so 
that  the  management  may  be  relieved  from  the  strain 
of  mere  finance  and  be  able  to  make  purchases  to  the 
best  advantage  and  to  take  all  the  discounts  which  are 
associated  with  orders  for  cash  or  prompt  payment.  The 
foundations  of  success  lie  in  the  ability  to  buy  the  necessary 
raw  materials  at  the  right  time,  in  the  best  way  and  on 
the  most  advantageous  terms. 

The  site  selected  for  the  factory  should  be  in  a  neigh- 
bourhood where  there  is  an  ample  supply  of  water  suitable 
for  use  in  dyeing  operations,  but,  unfortunately,  in  Great 
Britain  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  district  where 
water  can  be  used  for  power  purposes  except  at  inter- 
mittent periods.     The  factory  should  also  be  built  in  a 
district  which  is  as  free  as  possible  from  the  grime  and 
smoke  of  great  centres  of  population,  and  yet  at  the  same 
time  in  a  locality  where  there  is  a  plentiful  supply  of 
the  right  type  of  female  labour.     It  has  been  stated,  and 
the  available  statistics  support  the  contention,  that  the 
silk  trade  gives    employment  to  a   higher  proportion   of 
female  labour  to  male  labour  than  almost  any  other  British 
industry,  the  ratio  of  women  to  men  so  employed  being  A 
about  eleven  to  five.     An  ideal  factory  should,  and  indeed  Field 
does,    enable    every    operation    from    the    time    the    raw   for 
material  enters  the  works  until  the  finished  product  is   Women 
consigned  to  the  customer,  to  be  performed.     In  order   Workers. 


460  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Self-  that  the  manufacturing  operations  may  be  properly  carried 

contained  out,  and  advantage  taken  of  the  latest  applications  of 
Organisa-  science  to  industry,  the  works  must  possess  an  adequate 
tion.  staff  thoroughly  trained  on  the  technical  side  and  the 

necessary  number  of  skilled  workers. 

The  various  stages  of  the  work  in  a  modern  silk  factory 
consist  of  the  throwing  or  the  spinning  of  the  raw  materials, 
as  described  in  earlier  chapters.*  The  equipment  of  the 
factory  comprises  machinery  for  the  winding,  warping, 
and  beaming  of  the  silk,  as  well  as  for  weaving,  dyeing, 
finishing,  printing,  blocking,  folding  or  boxing.  This  chain 
of  operations  implies  a  large  expenditure,  not  merely  in 
providing  the  main  machinery,  but  the  auxiliary  plant 
necessary  for  repair  work,  as  well  as  other  auxiliary 
mechanics'  shops.  In  addition  there  would  be  a  card- 
cutting  shop  and  departments  for  the  building  of  the 
mounture  and  the  harness  and  for  the  processes  of  warp 
cleaning  and  entering. 

The  general  management  of  such  a  business  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  broad-minded,  energetic,  capable  men, 
who  would  take  care  that  the  high  standard  of  efficiency 
they  set  for  themselves  should  be  present  in  the  depart- 
mental managers  and  in  all  sections  of  the  business.  The 
technical  staff  would  naturally  include  a  works  chemist, 
as  well  as  a  laboratory,  in  which  research  work  could  be 
carried  out  under  the  supervision  of  the  technical  expert. 
There  should  also  be  a  designer's  studio  and  a  draughts- 
man's atelier  for  the  preparation  and  extension  of  the 
designs  on  the  ruled  paper.  If  the  firm  is  to  be  a  successful 
enterprise,  equal  care  should  be  bestowed  on  the  selection 
of  those  responsible  for  the  commercial  side  of  the  under- 
taking. There  should  be  a  complete  organisation  for 
dealing  with  the  finished  products  in  home  and  foreign 
markets.  Those  engaged  in  overseas  trade  should  be  able 
to  speak  and  read  the  necessary  foreign  languages,  and 
The  have  instilled  into  them  the  necessity  for  quoting  to 

Com-  foreign  buyers  in  the  currency  of  the  country  which  is 
mercial  being  canvassed  for  business,  and  to  meet  in  other  ways 
Side.  the  wishes  of  customers  abroad. 

*  Silk-throwing,  see   Chapters   XVIII  and  XXXIV.        Silk-spinning,   see   Chapters   XX 
and  XXXIII. 


THE   MANUFACTURER— NEW  SYSTEM.      461 

Beyond  all  this,  the  management  should  be  ready  to 
adapt  itself  to  changes  of  fashion  and  to  initiate  new  modes 
by  showing  originality  in  cloth  construction  and  in  design 
and  colour  effects.  There  should  also  be  evident  a  willing- 
ness to  scrap  machinery  the  moment  it  shows  signs  of  being 
out  of  date,  and  only  to  work  with  the  most  modern 
equipment.  There  are,  fortunately,  in  Great  Britain  many 
factories  which  fulfil  these  somewhat  exacting  require- 
ments, and  which  have  attained  prosperity  by  a  rigid 
observance  of  the  conditions  on  which  success  is  founded. 

The  factory  system  made  more  rapid  progress  in  the 
provinces  than  in  London  when  modern  methods  of  manu- 
facture   began    to    permeate    the    industry.     At    Leek,   Lead 
Macclesfield,   Coventry  and    Manchester    the  power-loom  from 
was  adopted  at  an  earlier  date,  and  forced  upon  manu-   the 
facturers  the  employment  of  the  factory  system.     In  the  Pro- 
early  stages  of  the  industrial  revolution,  of  which  one  of  vinces. 
the  chief  outward  signs  was  the  building  of  workshops 
where  large  numbers  of  machines  could  be  installed,  there 
was  a  partial  attempt,  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the 
chapter*  dealing  with  the  particular  centre  of  the  industry, 
to  combine  the  power  system  with  cottage  working,  and  for 
this  purpose  arrangements  were  made  for  a  supply  of 
power  to  be  available  in  the  homes  of  the  workpeople. 
Modern  business  conditions,  however,  demand  that  manu- 
facturing costs  shall  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  possible 
level,  and  this  result  can  only  be  achieved  by  the  con- 
centration of  work  in  a  factory  established  and  managed 
on  the  lines  indicated  and  in  which  the  various  stages  of 
manufacture  are  under  constant  and  skilled  supervision. 

*  Chapter  XI,  "The  Coventry   Ribbon  Trade." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE    OPERATIVE    SILK    WEAVER — OLD    STYLE    AND 

NEW. 

The  old          The  difference  between  the  old  and  new  methods  of 

type  of       manufacture  and  their  effect   on  the  persons  employed 

Worker,     in  them  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  general  characteristics 

of  the  hand-loom  silk  weaver  of  the  old  style  and  the 

machine  factory  operative  of  the  present  day. 

The  manipulation  and  management  of  a  complicated 
silk  hand-loom  required  a  high  degree  of  skill,  delicacy 
of  handling,  patience  and  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  the 
weaver;  the  result  was  that  the  old  hand-loom  silk 
weavers,  especially  those  engaged  in  the  higher  branches 
of  this  interesting  employment,  were,  for  the  most  part, 
men  of  character  and  high  ideals.  They  loved  nature, 
poetry,  philosophy  and  science,  a  fact  proved  not  only  by 
the  many  literary  and  scientific  clubs  and  societies  which 
flourished  in  old  Spitalfields,  but  by  the  honourable  roll  of 
weavers  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  various 
departments  of  art,  science  and  invention. 

A  Lancashire  writer  contrasting  the  old  and  new  style 
of  cotton  and  linen  weaver  in  that  county  says  :    "  The 
Old    Handloom    weavers    were    broad-minded    and    had 
visions  of  a  world  happy  in  the  beauty  of  brotherhood, 
lofty  conceptions  of   the  purpose  of   existence    and   high 
hopes  for  the  future  destiny  of  the  human  race  ;    whilst 
the   factory    operatives    of    to-day  are    narrow    and  un- 
developed in  mind  and  body.       They,  as  a  class,  ignore 
Mechan-     all  serious  thought  or  study  in  their  leisure  hours,  and 
ism  and     seek  all  that  is  frothy  and  exciting  in  amusement  and 
Mentality  literature.     Put  into  concise  summary,  the  factory  peoples' 

462 


THE   OPERATIVE   SILK   WEAVER. 


463 


houses,  clothing,  food,  education,  amusement,  morals, 
and  religion  are  all  manufactured  goods  mixed  with  a 
deal  of  shoddy.  The  stuffiness,  narrowness,  frailness  and 
machine  automatism  of  the  factory  are  part  of  their  lives 
and  souls.  In  short  the  factory  folk  have  been  reduced 
as  far  as  their  work  is  concerned  literally  from  human 
beings  into  mere  hands." 

The  depressing  contrast  between  the  old  hand-loom 
weavers  and  the  modern  factory  hand  is  still  more 
pronounced  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  silk  trade.  A 
vivid  picture  of  a  silk  weaver  and  his  environment,  as  well 
as  many  interesting  references  to  the  state  of  trade  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth,  is  given  in  a  rare  pamphlet  preserved  in 
the  Guildhall  Library,  London. 

Samuel  Sholl,  the  author  of  the  pamphlet,*  was,  as  he 
tells  us,  "born  at  Taunton  in  Somersetshire,  on  the 
28th  January,  1752,  of  poor  though  not  mean  parents." 
Both  his  father  and  mother  were  weavers  and  belonged 
to  families  in  which  weaving  was  the  traditional  occupa- 
tion. Like  most  of  the  children  of  the  working  classes 
of  his  time,  he  had  very  little  schooling. 

Young  Sholl  continued  with  his  parents,  and  took  very 
kindly  to  his  father's  trade,  especially  to  the  inventive 
part  of  it.  Before  he  was  able,  for  lack  of  strength, 
actually  to  weave,  he  could,  as  he  writes,  "  put  up  a  foot 
figure,"  which  means  that  he  could,  reading  from  a  sketch, 
tie  the  headles  and  treadles  of  a  loom  together  in  such  a 
way  that  when  the  treadles  were  worked  in  a  certain  order 
by  the  weaver,  a  small  ornamental  pattern  could  be 
woven. 

Samuel,  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  feeling  himself 
capable  of  working  at  his  father's  trade,  and  having  his 
parents'  consent,  left  home  and  made  his  way  to  London. 
There  he  soon  found  that  he  was  less  proficient  in  the  trade 
than  he  had  supposed  and  underwent  much  privation. 
However,  he  learnt  much  more  of  his  business,  gained 
experience  of  life,  and  by  application  and  economy,  as  he 

*  A  Short  History  of  the  Silk  Manufacture  in,  England,  by  Samuel  Sholl.     Printed  and 
published  in  Brick  Lane,  London,  1811. 


Mechan- 
ism and 
Mentality 


An 

Instruc- 
tive 
Record. 


464  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Extracts    says,  "  surmounted  all  his  troubles."     Although  he  found 
from  work  in  various  shops,  Sholl  did  not  remain  very  long 

an  old        in  London.     He  had  an  offer  of  a  good  situation  in  his 
Pamphlet,  native  town,  which  he  accepted. 

At  this  time  Sholl  says  of  himself  :  "  I  was  always  fond 
of  old  men's  company,  and  used  to  think  they  knew  every- 
thing better  than  myself,  in  fact  I  used  to  think  this  of 
every  person  I  met.  It  took  me  a  considerable  time  to 
persuade  myself  out  of  this  opinion.  However,  as  various 
things  in  so  large  a  town  as  Taunton  were  frequently 
wanted,  I  thought,  after  some  inspection,  that  I  could 
make  improvements  in  looms  and  weavers'  tools.  Thus, 
under  every  disadvantage,  I  became  handicraftsman,  and 
by  the  time  I  was  twenty-one  could  make  and  mend 
looms,  shuttles,  etc.  I  soon  provided  myself  with  such 
a  set  of  tools  that  I  could  do  almost  anything  that  weavers 
wanted." 

Thus    prospering    in    Taunton,    Sholl,    before    he    was 

twenty  took  to  himself  a  wife.     Mrs.  Sholl  had  a  sister 

living  in  London,  married  to  a  silk  weaver,  and  from  this 

London      sister  she  constantly  received  glowing  descriptions  of  the 

in  the         attractions   of  the   great  City  and  the   advantages  of  a 

18th  silk  weaver's  occupation  and  chances  there.     After  he  had 

Century,    been  married  five  years,  Sholl,  in  response  to  a  pressing 

invitation   from   his   brother-in-law,   and   at  the   earnest 

desire  of  his  wife,  was  persuaded  against  his  inclination 

again   to   try   his   fortune   in   London.     Accordingly,    on 

July  23rd,  1776,  he  set  off  by  himself,  having  sold  his  goods 

and  left  his  wife  and  children  with  his  parents  till  he  could 

arrange  to  send  for  them. 

Sholl  was  disappointed  at  first  by  finding  that  his  wife's 
relations  could  not  help  him  to  any  work,  but  after  a  good 
deal  of  privation  and  ill-health,  which  he  describes  in 
detail  with  gruesome  enjoyment,  he  at  length  got  into 
regular  employment  as  a  silk  weaver,  sent  for  his  wife  and 
children,  set  up  his  home  and  little  workshop  in  Bethnal 
Green,  where  he  continued,  made  many  friends,  and  brought 
up  his  family.  Sholl  soon  became  known  in  the  weaving 
district  as  a  skilful  silk  weaver  and  an  ingenious  inventor, 
as  well  as  an  organizer  of  Weavers'  Clubs  and  Benefit 


THE   OPERATIVE   SILK   WEAVER. 


465 


Societies.     One  of  his  inventions  was  an  improved  loom   London 
for  silk  weaving,  for  which  the  Society  of  Arts  in  1789   in  the 
awarded    him    a    silver    medal    and    thirty    guineas.*   18th 
Remarking  on  this,  he  quaintly  says  :    "  It  may  be  proper  Century, 
here  to  say  a  word  or  two  by  way  of  caution  to  young 
men  of  a  speculative  turn  or  their  ingenuity  may  otherwise 
prove  a  serious  injury  to  them,  as  has  been  the  case  with 
many  to  my  knowledge.     This  imprudence  has  prevented 
others  from  meeting  with  that  assistance  which  might 
have  been  useful  to  them  and  beneficial  to  the  community. 
I  well  weighed  any  projects  before  I  set  out,  and  always 
found  the  trouble  worth  the  pains.     My  plan  was  to  get 
up  early,  perform  a  certain  portion  of  work,  and  thereby 
earn  sufficient  to  pay  every  one  their  just  due,  then  devote 
the  remainder  of  the  day  to  my  speculations/'f     In  com- 
mon with  so  many  mechanicians,  Sholl  sometimes  found 
that   others  had   been   before  him.     This  was  the   case, 
he  tells  us,  with  one  of  his  most  brilliant  inventions,  but 
the  nature  of  it  he  does  not  describe. 

On  the  whole,  the  autobiography  graphically  portrays  a 
skilful,  ingenious,  self-respecting,  Calvinistic — but  not  un- 
kindly— respectable  artisan  of  the  period  in  which  he 
lived.  He  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  best  class  of  silk 
weavers  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth. 

The  pamphlet  is  rounded  off  at  the  end  with  a  few  pages 
of   moral   reflections,    concluding   thus :     "  I    have    done 
with  temporal  things.     They  were  of  use  to  me  to  procure 
a   livelihood,  but    now   I  have   done — Farewell !     All  is   A 
worn  out  with  me.  Weaver 

My  Loom's  entirely  out  of  square,  and  a 

My  rollers  now  wormeaten  are  ;  Philoso- 

My  clamps  and  treadles  they  are  broke,  pher, 

My  battons  they  won't  strike  a  stroke  ; 
My  porry's  covered  with  the  dust, 
My  shears  and  pickers  eat  with  rust ; 

*  Society  of  Arts  Report. 

f  It  is  similarly  recorded  of  Samuel  Crompton,  the  inventor  of  the  mule  for  spinning,  that 
his  mother,  though  always  kind,  was  strict  and  insisted  that  he  should  weave  a  certain  length 
of  cloth  daily.  He  was  then  allowed  to  amuse  himself  with  mechanical  speculations  and 
music, 

I* 


466 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


A 

Weaver 
and  a 
Philoso- 
pher. 


Workmen 
Inven- 
tors. 


My  reed  and  harness  are  worn  out, 
My  wheel  won't  turn  a  quill  about ; 
My  shuttle's  broke,  my  glass  is  run, 
My  drolie's  shot — my  cane  is  done." 

The  first  part  of  the  pamphlet  written  by  Samuel  Sholl 
is  of  great  value  and  interest  to  the  student  of  industrial 
development.  It  gives  a  vivid  and  evidently  truthful 
account,  from  the  operative  silk  weaver's  point  of  view, 
of  the  attempts  made  by  the  most  intelligent  workmen 
to  maintain  their  privileges  and  customs,  to  improve 
themselves  in  the  technicalities  of  their  trade,  to  maintain 
a  fair  price  for  their  work,  and  to  defend  themselves 
against  foreign  competition  at  a  time  when,  from 
causes  which  have  already  been  discussed,  the  silk  industry 
of  Spitalfields  was  gradually  declining.  It  is  possible  to 
gather  from  this  artless  but  graphic  account  by  the  illiterate 
but  ingenious  silk  weaver  some  of  the  admirable  char- 
acteristics of  the  author  and  his  associates,  and  one  cannot 
but  admire  the  courage,  self  denial  and  perseverance  which 
they  displayed  in  their  endeavours  to  carry  out  schemes 
for  bettering  the  conditions  of  their  fellow  workers,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  most  of  their  plans  fell  short 
of  success. 

A  consideration  of  this  part  of  the  pamphlet  rightly 
belongs  to  the  section  treating  of  Trade  Unions,  and  will 
be  found  in  Chapter  XXXIX,  p.  494,  but  it  may  with 
advantage  be  read  at  this  point  in  the  above  connection. 

It  would  be  easy,  were  it  necessary,  to  multiply  instances 
of  the  admirable  characteristics  of  those  who  followed  the 
gentle  craft  of  silk  weaving  under  the  old  regime.  The 
annals  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Arts  and  many  other 
learned  societies  record  the  names  of  operative  silk 
weavers  who  were  awarded  medals  and  money  prizes  for 
additions  to  the  mechanism  of  the  loom,  for  new  pro- 
cesses of  weaving,  for  inventions  or  improvements  of  tools, 
or  for  their  achievements  in  mathematics,  astronomy, 
natural  history  and  other  branches  of  science.  These 
things  apart,  however,  from  the  old  silk  weaving  trade, 
when  thoroughly  mastered  and  industriously  practised  under 


THE   OPERATIVE   SILK   WEAVER.          467 

a  good  employer,  must  have  been  full  of  interest  and  have  A 

had  a  refining  influence.     Few  of  this  old  breed  of  silk  vanished 

weavers  are  left,  although  they  often  lived  to  a  great  age.   Type. 

One  such  died  a  year  or  two  ago  who  had  been  weaving 

for  just  upon  ninety  years.     Amongst  the  things  he  had 

treasured  were  a  most  interesting  collection  of  samples 

of  the  work  he  had  done,  drafts  for  tie-ups,  which  he  and 

his  father  before  him  had  used,  as  well  as  tools  and  all 

sort$   of  small  weaving  appliances.     He  had  begun  life 

as  a  drawboy,*  and  had  worked  his  way  up  to  a  perfect 

mastery  of  the  weavers'  craft  in  several  of  its  branches. 

In  contrast  to  the  variety  and  interesting  activity 
of  the  life  of  the  old  hand-loom  silk  weaver,  the  work  of 
the  machine  factory  hand  in  a  great  silk-weaving  mill 
would  appear  to  be  drab  and  uninteresting.  The  modern 
silk  loom  almost  does  the  work  by  itself  with  unerring 
exactness.  Everything  is  most  carefully  prepared  before 
the  silk  is  put  into  the  loom  by  different  workers, 
each  trained  to  do  only  one  small  thing  and  to  do 
it  perfectly.  Several  looms  are  supervised  by  a  mechan- 
ical engineer,  whose  duty  is  to  keep  all  their  parts  in 
working  order.  One  set  of  workers  spend  all  their  time 
clearing  the  warp  threads— that  is  cutting  out  knots 
and  small  knubs  of  untwisted  silk — as  these  would  hinder 
the  weaving  by  frequently  breaking  the  threads  when 
brought  into  contact  with  the  harness  and  reed.  Another 
class,  called  joiners  or  twisters,  joins  the  new  warp,  thread 
by  thread,  to  the  old  warp  ends,  which  are  left  in  the  loom 
for  that  purpose.  The  actual  weaver  has  little  to  do 
but  keenly  watch  the  loom,  hour  after  hour,  as  it  works,  The 
on  the  look-out  for  broken  threads  of  warp  and  weft,  modern 
and  for  the  emptying  of  the  spools  in  the  shuttles.  It  is  factory 
one  of  the  ironies  of  industry  that  the  supreme  skill  of  hand, 
one  man  in  devising  new  mechanical  processes  will  often 
reduce  his  fellow  workers  to  the  rank  of  machine  minders, 
until  fresh  channels  for  the  exercise  of  their  skill  can  be 
opened  up. 

*  A  weaver's  assistant,  whose  duty  was  to  draw  the  cards  in  order  to  form  the  design. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
PARLIAMENT  AND   SILK  MANUFACTURE. 

Although  it  has  been  necessary  in  previous  sections 
of  this  history  to  refer  incidentally  to  the  action  of 
Parliament  in  relation  to  manufacture  and  trade,  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  convey  to  the  reader  a  clear  con- 
ception of  the  amount  of  consideration  given  to  the  subject 
of  silk  and  its  manipulation  by  the  British  Legislature, 
nor  to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the  number  and  wide 
scope  of  the  statutes  which  have  been  passed  from  time 
to  time. 

From  the  date  of  the  Great  Charter,  and  even  in  earlier 
years,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  enactments  agreed  to 
by — to  quote  from  the  preamble  of  the  first  statute  of 
Edward  1, 1275 — "the  King  and  Council  with  Archbishops, 
Bishops,  Abbotts,  Priors,  Earls,  Barons,  and  all  the  com- 
monalty of  the  Realm,"  were  for  the  regulation  of  the  prices 
of  the  necessaries  of  life — bread,  meat,  wine,  beer,  etc.,— 
the  price,  methods  and  details  of  unskilled  labour  and  handi- 
craft, and  the  rights,  duties,  responsibilities  and  limitations 
Legisla-  of  masters  and  servants  and  of  traders  and  trading, 
tion  The  Statute  Book  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III  is  particu- 

m  the        larly  rich   in    records   of    this    kind   of    legislation  ;    no 
Four-         less   than   one   hundred   and   forty   statutes    relating    to 
teenth        trade  are  there   stated  to   have  been  discussed   by  Par- 
Century,    liament    and    confirmed    by  that    monarch    during    the 
fifty    years  of    his  reign — 1327  to  1377.      Two-thirds  of 
these    laws    had   reference   to    textile    manufacture,    and 
amongst  them  the  first  actual  reference  to  silk  occurs, 
as     stated    in    the    chapter     on     "  Beginning     of    Silk 

468 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  469 


Industry."  The  text  of  this  interesting  statute  freely 
translated  from  the  antique  French,  in  which  it  is  written, 
is  as  follows  : — 

"  37  Edward  III,  Cap.  VI.     Made  at  Westminster. 
"  Handicraftsmen    shall    use    but  one  Mystery,  but 

Handiworkwomen  may  work  as  they  did. 
"  It  is  ordained  that  artificers  or  handicraftsmen, 
merchants  and  shopkeepers  shall  be  restricted  to 
working  or  trading  in  one  kind  of  manufactured 
goods  only.  They  shall  declare  their  choice  before 
the  feast  of  Candlemas  to  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
The  Justices  are  directed  to  punish  offenders  against 
the  Statute  by  imprisonment  for  half  a  year,  or 
a  fine  at  their  discretion.  But  the  intention  of  the 
King  and  his  Council  is  that  female  brewers,  bakers, 
weavers,  spinsters  and  other  women  employed  upon 
works  in  wool,  linen  or  silk,  in  embroidery  and 
all  other  handiwork  may  work  freely  as  they  used 
to  do  before  this  time." 

From  this  time  forward  (1363)  there  are  occasional 
references  to  silk  in  the  statutes,  especially  in  the  laws 
which  were  framed  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the 
traffic  of  foreign  merchants  and  the  dress  of  different 
orders  and  classes  of  persons.  For  instance,  in  the 
ordinance  for  "  The  Diet  and  Apparel  of  Servants,"  after 
directing  that  the  servants  of  the  gentry  are  not  to  be 
extravagantly  fed  or  clothed,  but  are  to  be  treated  in 
accordance  with  the  estate  of  their  masters,  it  is  expressly 
forbidden  that  their  garments  should  be  embroidered 
with  gold,  silver  or  silk."  Other  statutes  direct  that 
neither  handicraftsmen  nor  yeomen  nor  their  wives  or 
children  are  to  wear  silk  in  any  form.  Again,  "  gentlemen 
under  the  estate  of  knights,"  unless  they  own  "  two  hundred 
mark  land  "  may  not  wear  "  cloth  of  gold,  silk  or  silver 
embroidered  vesture."  Those  having  the  latter  qualifica- 
tion, however,  may  wear  "  cloth  of  silk  and  a  ribbon 
sash  reasonably  garnished  with  silver." 

There  is  no  direct  reference  to  silk  manufacture  or 
silk  workers  in  the  printed  statutes  for  nearly  a  century 
from  the  date  of  39  Edward  III,  Cap.  VI,  where  women 


Legisla- 
tion 
in  the 
Four- 
teenth 
Century. 


First 
Refer- 
ence to 
Woman 
Workers 


470 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


workers  in  silk  are  first  mentioned.     It  is  certain,  however, 
that    the    trade   was    gradually    growing   in   importance, 
Protec-      and  that  it  was  regulated,  together  with  other  branches  of 
tion  for      textile  work,  by  the  laws  and  ordinances  made  for  the 
English      governance     of     handicraftsmen     in     general.     In     1455 
Traders.     (33  Henry  VI)  an  urgent  appeal  to  Parliament  for  pro- 
tection against  the  competition  of  foreign  traders,  who 
brought  ready  wrought  silken  goods  into  the   country, 
was  made  by  the  silk  women  and  spinsters  of  the  City  of 
London.     They    complained    that    great    detriment    was 
done  to  their  industry  by  the  intrusion  of  these  strangers. 
The  appeal  was  successful,  as  described  in   the  section 
on  alien  immigration,  and  an  experimental  measure  to 
take    effect    for    five    years    was    ordained     for     their 
protection. 

Arguments  for  and  against  prohibition,  protection, 
reciprocity  and  free  trade,  not  only  as  regards  foreign 
countries,  but  between  different  home  districts,  seem 
to  have  exercised  the  minds  of  our  forefathers  and  the 
ingenuity  of  their  law-makers  to  a  great  extent.  Previous 
to  the  reign  of  Edward  III  the  disputes  which  required 
authoritative  adjustment  and  regulation  were  for  the 
most  part  between  the  municipalities  and  the  more  or 
less  organised  trade  guilds  and  fraternities,  or  between 
handicraftsmen  or  traders  engaged  in  different  branches 
of  manufacture  and  commerce.  With  the  accession  of 
that  monarch,  however,  an  advance  from  a  municipal  to  a 
national  commercial  policy  took  place ;  and  foreign  artificers 
were  invited  to  settle  in  England,  in  spite  of  the  persistent 
opposition  of  the  guilds  of  native  merchants  and  craftsmen 
Politics  to  the  settlement  of  the  strangers.  The  general  action  of  the 
and  King  in  Council,  as  proved  by  the  frequent  confirmation 

Industry,  of  the  edicts  in  its  favour,  was  also  towards  freedom  of 
import  and  export  trade.  It  is  true  that  occasional 
ordinances  were  promulgated  prohibiting  the  import  or 
export  of  certain  commodities,  but  these  had  usually 
some  political  bearing,  as  when  the  export  of  wool 
from  Great  Britain  to  Flanders  was  forbidden  in  order 
to  force  the  Flemings  to  abandon  the  French  Alliance. 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  471 

A  good  specimen  of  the  early  statutes  which  embody  Politics 
this  generous  policy  in  regard  to  foreign  merchants  and  crafts-  and 
men  is  furnished  by  Cap.  I.  of  the  2nd  of  Richard  II  (1378).  Industry. 
This  is  also  interesting  as  giving  in  its  preamble  a  graphic 
idea  of  the  opposition  of  the  native  craftsmen  and  traders 
to  the  intrusion  of  strangers.     The  statute  may  indeed 
be  quoted  almost  at  length,  with  advantage.     It  read  : — 
"  Statutes    made    at    Gloucester,    Anno    2    Rich.    II, 
A.D.  1378. 

"  Our  Lord  the  King,  at  his  Parliament  holden  at 
Gloucester  the  Wednesday  next  after  the  Feast 
of  St.  Luke,  the  second  year  of  his  Reign,  amongst 
other  things  there  assented  and  accorded,  hath  made 
certain  Statutes  and  Ordinances,  as  well  for  the 
common  Profit  of  the  Realm,  as  for  the  main- 
tenance of  Peace  in  his  said  Realm,  in  the  form 
following : 

Cap.  I. 
"  All  Merchants  may  buy  and  sell  within  the  Realm 

without  Disturbance. 

"  First.     Because  that  before  this  time  in  the  time 
of  the  noble  King  Edward,   Grandfather  of  our 
Lord  the  King  that  now  is,  in  his  Parliaments 
holden    at    York  and   Westminster,  and  also  in 
this    present    Parliament,  great    complaint    hath 
been  made  to  our  said  Lord,  for  that  in  many 
Citties,  Boroughs,  Ports  of    the    Sea,  and    other 
Places  within  the  Realm  of  England,  great  damages 
and  outrageous  grievances  have  been,  and  yet  be 
done,  to  the  King  and  to  all  his  Realm,  by  the 
Citizens,  Burgesses  and  other  people  of  the  Citties, 
Boroughs,  and  other  Towns  and  Places  aforesaid,  A 
which  have  not  suffered,  nor  yet  will  not  suffer  Notable 
Merchants,  Strangers,  nor  other  that  do  bring,  carry  Enact- 
or  convey  by  sea  or  by  land  Wines,  avoir  de  pois  ment. 
Sustenance,  Victuals,    or    other   things  vendable, 
profitable,   and  necessary,  as  well  for  the  King, 
the  Prelates,  and  Lords,  as  for  all  the  Common- 
alty of   this    Land,  to   sell    or    deliver    the    said 
Wines,  Sustenance,  or  Victuals,  nor  other  things 


472 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


A 

Notable 
Enact- 
ment. 


A  Wel- 
come to 
Merchant 
Strangers. 


vendable  to  any  other  than  to  them  of  the  same 
Cities,  Boroughs,  Ports  of  the  Sea,  and  other  places, 
to  which  such  Wines,  Sustenance,  Victuals,  or  other 
things  vendable  were  and  be  brought,  carried  and 
conveyed. 

"  (2)  And  by  so  much  those  things  have  been,  and 
yet  be  sold  and  let  to  the  King,  to  his  Lords  and 
to  all  his  People,  by  the  hands  of  the  Citoyens, 
Burgesses  and  other  people  Denizens,  to  a  great 
and  excessive  Dearth  over  that  they  should  have 
been,  if  the  Merchant  Strangers  and  other  which 
bring  such  things  into  the  Realm  might  freely 
have  sold  them  to  whom  they  would. 

"  (3)  They  also  would  not  nor  yet  will  suffer  the  Mer- 
chant Strangers  that  do  come,  or  would  come 
within  the  Realm,  to  buy  woolls  and  other  Mer- 
chandises growing  within  the  Realm,  to  go,  travel 
and  merchandise,  or  abide  freely  as  they  were  wont 
to  do,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  King,  Prelates, 
of  the  Lords  and  all  the  Realm,  and  against  the 
common  profit,  and  against  the  Statutes  and  Or- 
dinances thereof  made  in  times  past  in  the  said 
two  Parliaments. 

"  (4)  Our  Lord  the  King  considering  clearly  the  coming 
of  Merchant  Strangers  within  the  Realm  to  be 
very  profitable  for  many  causes  to  all  the  Realm, 
by  the  assent  of  the  Prelates,  Dukes,  Earls,  Barons, 
and  the  Commons  of  the  Realm,  hath  ordained 
and  established  that  all  Merchants,  Aliens,  of 
what  Realms,  Countries,  or  Seigniories  that  they 
come,  which  be  at  amity  with  the  King,  and  of 
this  Realm,  may  from  henceforth  safely  and 
surely  come  within  the  Realm  of  England,  and  in 
all  Cities,  Boroughs,  Ports  of  the  Sea,  Fairs, 
Markets,  or  other  Places  within  the  Realm,  within 
Franchise  and  without,  and  abide  with  their  goods 
and  all  Merchandises  under  the  safeguard  and  pro- 
tection of  the  King  as  long  as  they  shall  please 
them,  without  disturbance  or  denying  of  any 
person. 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  473 

"  (5)  And  that  as  well  those  Merchants,  Aliens  and  A  Wei- 
Denizens,   and  every  of  them  that  will  buy  and  come  to 
sell  corn,   Flesh,    Fish,   and  all  Manner  of  other  Merchant 
Victuals  and  Sustenance,  and  also  all  manner  of  Strangers. 
Spicereis,    Fruit,   Fur,   and  all  manner  of    Small 
Wares,  as  Silk,  Gold  Wire  or  Silver  Wire,  Cover- 
chiefs,  and  other  such  small  ware,  may  from  hence- 
forth freely  and  without  denying  or  any  manner 
.   of  disturbance  as  well  in  the  City  of  London  as 
in  all  Cities,  Boroughs,  Ports  of  the  Sea,  Fairs, 
Markets,  and  other  places  within  the  Realm,  Sell 
and  Buy  in  Gross  and  in  Parcels  to  whom  and  of 
whom  they  please,  Denizens  or  Foreign. 

"  (6)  Except  the  King's  Enemies  and  except  that  all 
manner  of  Wines  shall  be  sold  by  the  said 
Strangers  in  gross  and  by  whole  vessels  and  not 
by  retale  by  any  in  the  said  Cities,  Boroughs  and 
other  Towns  Franchised,  but  only  by  the  inhabi- 
tants and  Freemen  of  the  same. 

"  (7)  And  as  to  all  other  great  wares  as  Cloth  of  Gold 
and    Silver,    Silk,    Sendal,   Napery,   Linen  Cloth, 
Canvas,  and  other  such  great  wares,  and  also  all 
manner  of  other  great  Merchandises  not  above  ex- 
pressed  whatsoever  they  be,  from  henceforth  as 
well  aliens  as  Denizens,  as  well    in  the  City  of   Home 
London  as  in  other  Cities,  Boroughs,  Ports  of  the   Re- 
Sea,  Towns,  Fairs,  Markets  and  Elsewhere  through  tailers 
the  said  Realm,  within  Franchise  and  without,  may   Pro- 
sell  the  same  in  gross  to  every  person  foreign  or   tected. 
Denizen  that  will  buy  the  same  free  and  without 
denying  (except  to  the  King's  Enemies  and  their 
Realms)  as  well  as  by  the  Bale,  Cloth,  or  by  whole 
Pieces  at  their  pleasure,  and  not  at  Retail,  upon 
pain  of  Forfeiture  of  the  same  Merchandises,  but 
only  the    Citizens  and   in    their   own  Cities  and 
Boroughs,  and   other  good   Towns  franchised,  to 
whom   (and  to  none   other  strange  merchant   of 
their  Franchise)  they  may. 

"  (8)  And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  them  without  Impeach- 
ment, to  unfold,  undo,  and  cut  in  their  same  proper 


474 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Privileges 

for 

Aliens 


Some 
Trade 
Regula- 
tions. 


Cities,  and  Boroughs,  the  great  Merchandises  and 
other  great  wares  aforesaid,  and  as  well  the  same, 
as  Wines  and  other  Merchandises  whatsoever  there 
to  sell  in  gross  and  by  retail  at  their  pleasure, 
paying  all  the  Customs  and  Subsidies  due,  notwith- 
standing any  Statutes,  Ordinances,  Charters, 
Judgments,  Allowances,  Customs,  and  Usages 
made  or  suffered  to  the  contrary. 

(9)  Which  Charters  and  Franchises,  if  any  there  be, 
they  shall  be  utterly  repealed  and  annulled,  as  a 
thing  made,  used,  or  granted  against  the  common 
Profit  of  the  People. 

(10)  Saving  always  to  Prelates  and  Lords  of  the  Realm 
wholly  their  liberties   and   Franchises,   that   they 
may  make    their    purveyances    and    Buyings    of 
Victuals,  and  of  other  their  necessaries,  as  they 
were  wont  to  do  in  old  time. 

(11)  And  saving  that  the  Ordinances  made  before 
this  time  of  the  Staple  of  Calais  be  holden  in  their 
force  and  virtue. 

(12)  And  it  is  not  the  King's  mind,  that  Merchants, 
Strangers  or  Denizens,  that  will  buy  and  sell  their 
Woolls,  Woollfels,  Wares,  Cloths,  Iron  and  other 
Merchandises,  at  Fairs  and  Markets  in  the  Country, 
should  be  restrained  or  disturbed  by  this  Statute 
to  sell  or  buy  freely  in  gross  or  at  retail  as  they 
were  wont  to  do  heretofore. 

(13)  And  if  it  so  happen,  that  from  henceforth  Dis- 
turbance   be    made    to    any  Merchant,   Alien   or 
Denizen,   or   other,  upon  the  sale  of   such  things 
in  City,  Borough,  Town,  Port  of  the  Sea  or  other 
place  that  hath  Franchise,   against    the    form    of 
this  Ordinance  ;    and  the  Mayor,  Bailiffs,  or  other 
that  have  the  keeping  of  such  Franchise,  required 
by  the  said   Merchants  or    other    in  their  name, 
thereof  to  make  remedy,    do  not  the  same,  and 
thereof  be  attainted  the  Franchise  shall  be  seized 
into  the  King's  hand  ;    and  nevertheless,  they  that 
have  done  such  Disturbance  against  this  Statute, 
shall  be  bound  to  render  and  restore  to  the  Plaintiff 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  475 

his  double  damages  that  he  hath  suffered  by  this   Regula- 
occasion.  tions  for 

"  (14)  And  if  such  disturbance  be  made  to  such  mer-  Alien 
chants  or  to  other  in  Towns  and  Places  where  no  Traders. 
Franchise  is,  and  the  Lord,  if  he  be  present,  or  his 
Bailiff  or  Constable  or  other  Warden  of  the  Towns 
and  Places,  in  absence  of  the  Lords  thereof, 
required  to  do  Right  and  do  not,  and  therefor 
be  duly  attainted,  they  shall  yield  to  the  Plaintiff 
his  double  Damages,  as  afore  is  said,  and  the 
Disturbers  in  the  one  case  and  in  the  other,  as  well 
within  Franchise  or  without  if  they  be  attainted 
shall  have  one  year's  imprisonment  and  be  ran- 
somed at  the  King's  will. 

"  (15)  And  it  is  ordained  and  established  that  the 
Chancellor,  Treasurer,  and  Justices  assigned  to  hold 
Pleas  of  the  Bang  in  the  places  where  they  come, 
shall  diligently  inquire  of  such  Disturbances  and 
grievances,  and  do  Punishment  according  as  afore 
is  ordained. 

"  (16)  And  nevertheless  the  King  shall  assign  by  Com- 
mission certain  people,  where  and  when  shall  please 
him,  to  inquire  of  such  Disturbances  and  griev- 
ances, and  to  punish  the  offenders  in  this  particular 
as  before  is  said." 

Two  interesting  points  in  the  above  Statute,  amongst  Effect  on 
many  others,  are :    (1)  The  Freedom  of  Trading  by  Alien  Home 
Merchants  set  forth  in  the  Act  was  such  as  would  only  Industry, 
affect  the  rich  wholesale  Merchants  of  the  cities  and  sea- 
ports, and  not  the  local  retail  traders  who  alone  had  the 
right  of  cutting  up  bales  of  cloth  and  parcels  of  goods 
and  selling  stuff  by  the  yard  or  small  weight  or  measure. 
(2)  The  lists  of  wares  mentioned  in  clauses  5  and  7,  small 
and  great  wares,  in  both   of  which  classes  silk  holds  a 
most  important  place. 

This  Act  of  Richard  II,  which  embodied  in  itself  all 
the  previous  political  legislation  as  regards  trading  and 
the  treatment  of  alien  merchants,  may  be  taken  as  setting 
forth  the  prevailing  attitude  of  the  English  lawmakers 


476  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Effect  on  in  those  respects  throughout  the  following  centuries. 
Home  It  is  true  that  owing  to  local  complaints  and  agitation, 
Industry,  in  seasons  of  more  or  less  temporary  distress,  petitions 
were  often  made  to  the  authorities  to  curtail  the  privileges 
of  alien  merchants  and  craftsmen,  to  whose  operations  and 
competition  were  generally,  and  very  naturally,  attributed 
the  distressful  circumstances  of  the  petitioners.  More 
or  less  temporary  and  local  edicts  were,  on  such  demands 
frequently  issued;  a  common  reason  for  the  departure 
from  the  ordinary  policy  being,  that,  "  the  poor  people 
may  be  set  on  work."  Legislation,  however,  limiting  the 
liberties  of  foreign  craftsmen  or  merchants  was  clearly 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule,  and  there  are  indications 
that  whenever  these  demands  were  acceded  to,  to  any 
great  extent,  or  for  any  long  period,  the  trades  and  crafts 
which  they  affected  gradually  declined  in  point  of 
excellence  of  workmanship. 

Although  the  good  treatment  of  foreign  merchants  would 
appear  to  be  sufficiently  provided  for  in  the  statute  quoted, 
it  was  evidently  found  necessary,  probably  because  the 
law  was  not  strictly  enforced  and  had  fallen  into  abeyance, 
to  restate  more  clearly  this  provision  of  the  Ordinance 
in  the  fifth  year  of  Richard  II.  An  Act  passed  by  Par- 
liament in  that  year  was  as  follows  : 

Laws  "  First  it  is  accorded  and  assented  in  the  Parliament, 

not  that  all  manner  of  Merchants  Strangers,  of  what- 

Enforced.  soever  nation  or  country  they  be,  being  in  amity 

of  the  King  and  of  his  Realm,  shall  be  welcome, 
and  freely  may  come  within  the  Realm  of  England 
and  elsewhere  within  the  King's  power,  as  well 
within  Franchise  as  without,  and  there  to  be 
conversant,  to  merchandise  and  tarry,  as  long  as 
them  liketh,  as  those  whom  the  said  Lord  the  King 
by  the  tenour  hereof,  taketh  into  his  protection 
and  safeguard,  with  their  goods,  merchandises 
and  all  manner  of  familiars.  (2)  And  for  so  much 
the  King  willeth  and  commandeth  that  they  and 
every  of  them  be  well,  friendly  and  merchant-like 
intreated  and  demeaned  in  all  parts  within  his 
said  Realm  and  Power,  with  their  Merchandises 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  477 

and  all  manner  of  Goods,  and  suffered  to  go  and  Laws 
come,  and  unto  their  proper  Country  peacefully  not 
to  return,  without  disturbance  or  Impeachment  Enforced, 
of  any." 

Nor  did  this  suffice,  for  in  the  eleventh  year  of  the 
reign  of  Richard  II  it  was  again  found  necessary  to  re- 
state the  whole  Statute,  and  still  further  to  strengthen  it 
by  many  references  to  the  statutes  of  the  "  Noble  King 
Edward,  Grandfather  to  the  King  that  now  is,"  in  which 
full  freedom  and  protection  was  given  to  the  alien  merchants 
to  traverse  the  land  and  to  seU  their  merchandise  whole- 
sale where  they  would.  It  ended  with  the  clear  announce- 
ment— in  Clauses  11  and  12 — as  follows  : — 

"  Our  Lord  the  King  seeing  clearly  that  the  said 
Statutes  if  they  were  holden  and  fully  executed, 
should  much  extend  to  the  profit  and  wealth  of  all 
the  Realm,  hath  ordained  and  established,  by 
the  assent  of  the  Prelates,  Dukes,  Earls,  Barons, 
Great  Men,  Nobles,  and  Commons  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  that  the  said  Statutes  shall 
from  henceforth  be  firmly  holden,  kept,  main- 
tained and  fully  executed  in  all  points  and  articles 
of  the  same,  notwithstanding  any  Ordinance, 
Statute,  Charter,  Letters  Patents,  Franchise, 
Proclamation,  Commandment,  Usage,  Allowance, 
or  Judgement  made  or  used  to  the  contrary. 
(12)  And  that  if  any  Statute,  Ordinance,  Charter, 
Letters  Patents,  Franchises,  Proclamation,  Com- 
mandment, Usage,  Allowance  or  Judgement  be 
made  or  used  to  the  contrary,  it  shall  be  utterly 
repealed,  avoided,  and  holden  for  none." 

The    16th     of    Richard    II,    Cap.    1,    was    evidently  Ebb  and 
framed  as  the  result  of  a  petition  of  the  Citizens  of  London.  Flow  of 
This  class,  who  were  becoming  very  wealthy  and  influential,  Legisla- 
represented  that  great  damage  was  done  to  their  business,  tion 
and  the  business  of  traders  and  craftsmen  in  general,  by 
the  alien  merchants   buying  and  selling   preferably  with 
one  another,  and  making  a  corner  to  themselves  in  certain 
manufactured  goods  and  raw  materials.     By  this  Statute 
it  was  made  illegal  for  an  alien  merchant  to  sell  to  another 


478 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Ebb  and    alien  merchant  either  foreign  goods  or  goods  purchased 
Flow  of      within  the  realm. 

Legisla-         There  followed  at  intervals,   evidently  in  response  to 
tion.  petitions  of  interested  manufacturers  and  traders,  more 

or  less  temporary  and  partial  statutes  against  carrying 
certain  manufactured  goods  or  raw  materials — the  latter 
generally  wool  in  one  form  or  another,  or  food  stuffs,  or 
gold  or  silver  out  of  the  country.  In  1429,  for  instance— 
8  Henry  VI,  Cap.  24 — it  was  ordained  that  "  None  shall 
pay  alien  merchants  in  gold,  but  in  silver  only,  and  that 
no  credit  was  to  be  given  to  foreigners." 

The  25th  Henry  VI,  Cap.  4,  is  a  Statute  of  Reciprocity, 
for  it  enacts  that  "  If  cloth  manufactured  in  England 
shall  be  prohibited  in  Brabant,  Holland  and  Zealand, 
then  no  merchandise,  growing  or  wrought  there  within  the 
Dominion  of  the  Duke  of  Burgoins,  shall  come  into  England 
on  pain  of  forfeiture." 

The  27th  Henry  VI,  Cap.  3,  ordains  that   "  Merchant 
Strangers  must  bestow  all  the  money  they  receive  for 
their  merchandises  upon  merchandises — English  goods— 
and  carry  forth  no  gold  or  silver,  on  pain  of  forfeiture." 

A  Statute  made  in  the  second  year  of  Edward  IV, 
Cap.  3,  is  headed :  "  Whosoever  shall  bring  into  this 
Realm  any  wrought  silk  to  be  sold,  concerning  the  mystery 
of  silk  workers,  shall  forfeit  the  same." 

The  text  of  this  Act  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  "  Alien 

Immigration  from  Italy."     It  clearly  states  that  it  was 

enacted  in  answer  to  the  petition   of  the  silk  workers 

and  throwsters  of   London,  where   a  great   industry  for 

spinning   silk    and   making   small   silk   wares   had   been 

developed.     In  Cap.   4  of  the  next  year  a  much  more 

comprehensive  and  definite  statute  was  framed,   as  the 

Prohibi-     complaints  and  petitions  of  the  makers  of  small  wares  of 

tion  of        different  sorts  were  added  to  those  of  the  silk  workers. 

Silk  The  list  of  small  wares  named  is  so  interesting  as  to  be 

Imports,    worth   quoting  in  full :    "  Woollen   caps,  woollen   cloths, 

laces,  corses,  ribbands,  fringes  of  silk,  fringes  of  thread,  laces 

of    thread,   silk   twined,   silk  in   any  wise   embroidered, 

laces  of  gold  or  of  silk  and  gold,  saddles,  stirrups,  or  any 

harness  pertaining  to  saddles,   spurs,   bosses  of   bridles, 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  479 

andirons,  gridirons,  any  manner  of  locks,  hammers,  pinsors,   Restric- 
firetongs,  dripping  pans,  dice,  tenis  balls,  points,  purses,   tion  of 
gloves,  girdles,  harness  for  girdles  of  iron,  latten,  steel,   Imports, 
tin  or  of  alkemine,  any  wrought  of  any  tawed  leather,  any 
tawed   furs,   buskins,   shoes,   galoches,    or   corks,   knives, 
daggers,  woodknives,  bodkins,  sheers  for  tailors,  scissors, 
razers,    chessmen,    playing    cards,    combs,   pattins,    pack 
needles,  any  painted  ware,  forcers,  caskets,  rings  of  copper, 
or   of    latten   gilt,   chaffing-dishes,   hanging    candlesticks, 
chaffing    bells,    facing    bells,    rings    for    curtains,    ladles, 
scummers,  counterfeit  basons,  ewers,  hats,  brushes,  cards 
for   wool,  white  wire    or    any   of   those   wares    or   chaf- 
fers." 

In  the  first  year  of  Richard  III,  1483,  an  Act  was  passed 
for  the  further  restriction  of  Alien — especially  Italian — 
Merchants.  This  was  in  response  to  a  petition  of  the 
Citizens  of  London,  in  which  they  complained  of  the 
great  prosperity  of  the  large  number  of  alien  merchants 
who  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  London  and  not  only 
traded  and  competed  with  English  merchants,  but  intro- 
duced alien  handicraftsmen  and  servants  to  the  detriment 
of  native  workmen  and  servants  in  London  and  other 
great  cities.  In  consequence  of  this  petition,  the  Act 
1  Richard  III,  Cap.  9,  was  framed.  In  it,  in  addition  to 
the  restrictions  of  former  Acts,  aliens  were  forbidden  to 
be  hosts  to  aliens,  to  have  servants  or  workmen  other 
than  natives  of  England,  to  practise  any  handicraft  them- 
selves or  to  take  apprentices.  Merchants  were  not  to 
hold  wares  they  had  purchased  or  brought  from  abroad 
longer  than  eight  months  ;  they  must  carry  them  away  Alien 
to  other  parts  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  or  forfeit  Traders 
them.  Moreover,  aliens  might  not  deal  at  all  in  English  lose 
woven  cloth.  Privi- 

In  Cap.  10  of  the  same  year's  Parliament  the  prohibition   leges, 
of  small  silk  goods  is  extended  for  ten  years  longer. 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  VII,  1485-1509,  only  one  small 
Act  relating  to  this  subject  is  recorded.  It  is  Cap.  21, 
year  19.  It  continues  the  prohibition  of  small  silk  wares, 
but  gives  free  admission  to  all  great  works  as  well  as  silk 
in  a  raw  state. 


480 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Regula-         From  this  date  the  Parliamentary  authorities  seem  to 
tion  of       have  concerned  themselves  for  a  considerable   time  more 
Home        about  the  perfecting  of  the  productions  of  manufacture 
Trade.        in  the  country   and  the   welfare  of   the    English  handi- 
craftsmen   than   the   regulation    of    the    trade    of    alien 
merchants.     The  examination  and  official  sealing  of  goods  ; 
the   production  of   raw  material  and   safeguards   against 
adulteration ;  the  number  of  apprentices  a  master  might 
keep  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  his  journeymen,  as 
well   as   the  hours  of    their  labour  and   the   periods  for 
which  they  might  be  hired ;  how  the  servants  were  to  be 
housed  ;  the  food  with  which  they  were  to  be  fed  and  the 
holidays  they  were  to  enjoy,  and  the  number  of  times  in 
the  year  they  were  to  attend  church,  were  all  regulated  by 
a  bewildering  number  of  special  Statutes. 

These  Statutes  had,  by  the  year  1562,  the  fifth  year  of 

the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  become  so  numerous  and  in 

some  respects  so  contradictory  that  it  was  found  necessary 

to  codify  and  revise  them.     This  was  the  origin  of  the 

The  great  Act  of  Elizabeth  known  as  the  "  Act  of  Apprentices," 

Great         and  although  from  time  to  time  this  Act  was  modified, 

Act  of        and  sometimes  partially  fell  into  abeyance,  it  continued 

Eliza-         for  more  than  two  centuries  and  a   half   the  beneficent 

beth.          Charter  of  the  artisan  and  labourer  and  in  great  measure 

the  safeguard  of  the  industrious  poor  from  the  oppression 

of  capital.     It  is  remarkable  that  it  was  while  this  Act 

was  in  force  that   the   most   prosperous   period   the   silk 

industry  in  England   has    ever   known  was   enjoyed   by 

both  masters  and  journeymen  alike. 

As  this  Act,  its  provisions  and  its  effects  both  when 
in  force  and  in  neglect,  has  been  several  times  referred 
to  in  this  book,  it  is  not  necessary  to  recapitulate  in  full 
the  details  of  its  forty-eight  clauses.  It  will  be  sufficient 
to  quote  its  Preamble  and  briefly  to  enumerate  the  subject 
matter  of  the  clauses  as  given  in  the  marginal  notes  of  the 
Statute  Book. 

"  Anno  Quinto  Reginae  Elizabethee. 

"  Cap.  IV. 

"  Although  there  remain  and  stand  in  Force  presently 
a  great  number  of  Acts  and  Statutes  concerning 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  481 

the  Retaining,  Departing,  Wages  and  Orders  of  The 
Apprentices,  Servants  and  Labourers,  as  well  in  Great 
Husbandry  as  in  divers  other  Arts,  Mysteries  and  Act  of 
Occupations  ;  (2)  yet  partly  for  the  imperfection  Eliza- 
and  contrariety  that  is  found,  and  doth  appear  in  beth. 
sundry  of  the  said  Laws,  and  for  the  Variety  and 
number  of  them ;  (3)  and  chiefly  for  that  the 
Wages  and  allowances  limited  and  rated  in  many  of 
.  the  said  Statutes  are  in  divers  places  too  small, 
and  not  answerable  to  this  time,  respecting  the 
advancement  of  prices  of  all  Things  belonging  to 
the  said  Servants  and  Labourers ;  (4)  the  said 
Laws  cannot  conveniently,  without  the  great  grief 
and  burden  of  the  poor  Labourer  and  hired  Man, 
be  put  in  good  and  due  execution ;  (5)  And  as 
the  said  several  Acts  and  Statutes  were,  at  the 
time  of  the  making  of  them,  thought  to  be  very 
good  and  beneficial  for  the  Commonwealth  of  this 
Realm  (as  divers  of  them  yet  are),  So  if  the  Sub- 
stance of  as  many  of  the  said  Laws  as  are  meet 
to  be  continued,  shall  be  digested  and  reduced 
into  one  sole  Law  and  Statute,  and  in  the  same 
an  uniform  Order  prescribed  and  limited  concern- 
ing the  wages  and  other  Orders  for  Apprentices, 
Servants,  and  Labourers,  there  is  good  hope  that 
it  will  come  to  pass,  and  that  the  same  Law 
(being  duly  executed)  should  banish  Idleness, 
advance  Husbandry  and  yield  unto  the  Hired 
Person,  both  in  the  time  of  scarcity  and  in  the 
time  of  Plenty,  a  convenient  proportion  of 
Wages." 

In  the  first  and  second  clauses  of  the  Statute  all  former   Repeal 
laws  with  regard  to   keeping,   hiring,   working  and  dis-   of 
charging      handicraftsmen,      servants,      labourers      and   many 
apprentices  are  repealed.  former 

The  third  clause  enacts  that  no  servant  or   craftsman   Laws, 
shall  be   hired   for  a   less   time   than  a  whole  year.     A 
long  list  of  crafts  is  given  to  which  this  rule  applies  and 
in  this  list  silk  weavers  and  other  textile  workers  occupy 
a  place. 


482  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Repeal  The  fourth  clause  enacts  that  every  unmarried  person 

of  old         under  thirty  years  of  age  shall  marry,  and,  having  no 
Laws.         occupation  or  property,  shall  be  compelled  to  undertake 
some  kind  of  service. 

The  fifth  clause  forbids  discharging  a  servant  before 
the  end  of  his  or  her  agreed  term  of  service  except  "  consent 
be  given  by  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  or  the  Mayor  of 
the  City  or  Town  where  the  parties  inhabit." 

Sixthly,  "No  servant  shall  depart  or  be  put  away  but 
upon  a  Quarter's  Warning/' 

The  seventh  clause  provides  that  any  persons  having 
no  occupation  or  property  shall  be  compelled  to  serve 
in  husbandry. 

The  next  fixes  the  punishment  of  persons  who  discharge 
their  servants  without  due  warning  and  of  servants  who 
leave  their  employers  in  the  same  manner. 

The  ninth  clause  provides  for  the  punishment  of  servants 
who  "  perform  not  their  duty." 

The  tenth  prescribes  that  no  hired  person  shall  be  absent 
from  or  leave  his  occupation  without  a  written  permit. 

The  eleventh  that  no  person  may  be  hired  without  a  testi- 
monial from  his  last  master,  and  "If  any  person  be  found 
with  a  false  testimonial  he  shall  be  whipped  as  a  vagabond." 
In  the  twelfth  clause  the  hours  of  labour  are  fixed. 
The  thirteenth  states  "  No  artificer  or  labourer  shall  depart 
before  his  work  be  finished." 

The  fourteenth  clause  is  an  amplification  of  the 
thirteenth. 

Fore-  The  fifteenth  clause  is  a  very  important  one,  and  is  of 

runner       great  interest  in  connection  with  the  Silk  industry,  for 

of  on  it  were  based,  two  centuries  later,  the  noted  Spitalfields 

Spital-       Acts  of  1773,  1792  and  1811.     This  clause  instructed  the 

fields          Justices  of  the  Peace  yearly  to  assess  the  wages  of  artificers 

Acts.          and  all   hired  persons.     This   clause  is   the   longest   and 

most  elaborate  in  the  whole  Statute,  and  it  is  followed 

by  five  others  in  which  arrangements  for  publishing  the 

price  lists,  the  hearing  of  appeals,  the  fines  for  Justices 

neglecting    their    duty    and    for    masters    and    servants 

giving  or  taking  more  or  less  than  the  rates  of  wages 

fixed. 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  483 

The  punishment  of  servants  who  assault  their  masters    Fore- 
or   overseers  is   defined  in  the  twenty-first   clause,   and    runner 
the  three  following  clauses  provide  for  the  extraordinary    of 
work  of  the  hayfield  and  harvest.  Spital- 

Af ter  that  the  Statute  deals  with  the  taking  and  keeping    fields 
of  apprentices  as  follows  : —  Acts. 

Clause  XXV.  Husbandmen  may  take  apprentices. 
(XXVI.)  Every  householder  dwelling  in  Town  Corporate 
may.  take  an  apprentice  for  seven  years.  (XXVII.)  Mer: 
chants  may  take  no  apprentice  but  such  as  whose  parents 
have 'property  of  the  clear  yearly  value  of  forty  shillings 
by  inheritance  or  freehold.  Various  regulations  for 
apprenticeship  and  apprentices  are  arranged  for  and  stated 
in  the  remaining  twenty-one  clauses  of  the  Act.  The  most 
important  points  being  that  "  No  master  may  keep  more 
than  three  apprentices  unless  he  employs  one  journeyman, 
and  for  every  other  apprentice  another  journeyman,"  and 
that  "  no  person  may  practise  any  art  or  mystery  unless 
he  has  served  an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years  to  it." 

With  the  exception  of  one  Act  for  the  prohibition  of 
small  wares  ready  wrought  from  foreign  countries,  two 
for  regulating  some  details  of  the  making  of  woollen  cloth, 
and  three  forbidding  the  use  of  inferior  dye-stuffs,  there 
are  no  more  Parliamentary  Acts  on  record  dealing  with 
trade  or  handicraft  between  1562,  the  date  of  the  passing 
of  Elizabeth's  "  Act  of  Apprentices"  and  1662,  the 
34th  of  King  Charles  II. 

The   absence   of  any  legislation  during  all  this  time — 
exactly  a  century— seems  to  point  to  the  fact  that  the  arts, 
handicrafts  and  trade  in  general  in  England  were  prosper- 
ing.    There  is  other  evidence  to  show  that  this  was  the 
case,  as  well  as  that  population  and  wealth  were  rapidly 
increasing.     It  may  also  be  inferred  that  the  regulations 
of  the  Act  of  Elizabeth  in  regard  to  apprenticeship,  labour 
and  wages  were  generally  approved,  together  with  those  of  Pros- 
the  other  three  Statutes  which  had  to  do  with  the  rights   perous 
and  privileges  of  alien  merchants,  artificers,  and  traders   Indus- 
and  the  prohibition  of  certain  foreign  goods.  trial 

In  the  above-named   year,  however  (34th   Charles   II,   Condi- 
1662),  complaints  seem  to  have  been  made  to  Parliament  tions. 


484  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Pro-  that  the  prohibition  of  small  wares  provided  for  in  pre- 

hibitory     vious  Statutes  were  being  evaded.     A  new  Statute  was 

Enact-       therefore  passed,  embodying  the  former  prohibitory  Acts 

ments.        and  reviving  and  adding  to  the  penalties  for  attempting  to 

evade  them.    As  is  so  often  the  case  with  these  old  Statutes, 

the  Preamble  is  most  instructive  and  should  be  quoted : 

"  Anno    decimotertio   and    quarto    Caroli    II.   Regis 

Cap.  XIII. 

"An  Act  prohibiting  the  Importation  of  Foreign, 
Bonelace,  Cut  work,  Imbroidery,  Fringe,  Band- 
strings,  Buttons  and  Needlework. 
"  WHEREAS  great  numbers  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Kingdom  are  imployed  in  the  making  of  Bonelace, 
Bandstrings,  Buttons,  Needlework,  Fringe  and 
Embroideries,  who  by  their  industry  and  Labour 
have  attained  and  gained  so  great  skill  and  Dex- 
terity in  the  making  thereof,  that  they  make  as 
good  of  all  sorts  thereof,  as  is  made  in  any  Foreign 
part,  by  reason  whereof,  they  have  been  able 
heretofore  to  relieve  their  poor  Neighbours,  and 
Maintained  their  families,  and  also  enabled  to  set 
on  work  many  poor  Children,  and  other  Persons 
who  have  small  means  or  maintenance  of  living 
other  than  by  their  labours  and  endeavours  in  the 
said  Art ;  (2)  And  whereas  the  persons  so  em- 
ployed in  the  said  Mystery  have  heretofore  served 
most  parts  of  this  Kingdom  with  the  said  wares. 
And  for  the  carrying  on,  and  Managing  the  said 
trade,  they  have  procured  great  quantities  of 
Thread  and  Silk  to  be  brought  into  the  Kingdom 
from  Foreign  parts,  whereby  his  Majesty's  Customs 
and  Revenues  have  been  much  advanced.  (3) 
Until  of  late,  that  great  quantities  of  Foreign 
Bone-lace,  Band  strings,  Needle-work,  Cut-work, 
Fringe,  Silk  Buttons  and  Embroidery  were  brought 
into  this  Kingdom  by  Foreigners  and  Inhabitants 
of  this  Kingdom,  and  sold  to  shopkeepers  and 
Acts  of  others  Dealers  in  the  said  commodities,  as  well 

Charles  Wholesale  as  Retail,  without  ever  entering  of  the 

II.  same  in  any  of  his  Majesty's  Custom  houses,  or 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  485 

paying  any  duty  or  custom  for  the  same.  (4)  By  Acts  of 
means  whereof  the  said  Trade  and  calling  is  of  Charles 
late  very  much  decayed,  those  imployed  in  the  II. 
said  callings  very  much  impoverished,  the  Manu- 
facture much  decreased  and  great  quantities  thereof 
already  made,  left  on  their  hands  that  make  it, 
his  Majesty  defrauded  and  many  thousand  poor 
people,  formerly  kept  on  work  in  the  said  Art, 
like  to  perish  for  want  of  imployment.  (5)  There 
being  daily  great  sums  of  money  exported  out  of 
this  Kingdom  for  the  buying  and  fetching  in  of 
the  said  commodity,  to  the  great  impoverish- 
ment of  the  Nation  and  contrary  to  several 
statutes  made  1st  King  Richard  III,  3rd  King 
Edward  IV,  19th  King  Henry  VII,  5th  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  to  a  late  proclamation  made  by 
his  Majesty  that  now  is,  dated  the  20th  Day  of 
November  last,  for  the  putting  of  the  said  Laws 
into  Execution." 

In  Cap.  15  of  the  same  year  of  Charles  II,  an  Act  for 
regulating  the  Trade  of  Silk  Throwing  was  passed,  and    Regula- 
from  its  preamble  the  importance  of  that  branch  of  silk   tion  of 
manufacture  in  the  seventeenth  century  may  be  gathered.    Silk 
The  large  number  of  persons  stated  to  be  employed  at   Throw- 
this  time  in  the  industry  has  been  by  some  authorities  sup-   ing. 
posed  to  be  exaggerated  or  the  figures  to  be  a  misprint. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  machinery  in  use 
for  silk-throwing  at  that  time  in  England  was  of  a  very 
primitive   construction,   so   that   the   necessary   doubling 
and  twisting  required  by  the  exceedingly  fine  thread  of 
raw  silk,  in  order  to  make  it  thick  and  strong  enough  for 
use,  gave  employment  to  a  great  many  more  persons  than 
was  the  case  when    more    perfect  machinery  had   been 
invented  and  introduced  at  a  later  period.     The  preamble 
of  the  Act  is  as  follows  :— 

"  WHEREAS  the  Company  of  Silk  Throwers,  within  the 
City  of  London  and  Liberties,  and  all  their  ser- 
vants and  apprentices  within  four  miles  thereof 
quinto  Caroli  primi  are  incorporated  and  made  one 
Body  Politick,  and  are  known  by  the  name  of  the 


486  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Regula-  Master,  Wardens,  Assistants  and  Commonalty  of 

tion  of  the    Trade,    Art,    or    Mystery    of    Silk  Throwers 

Silk  of   the   City   of   London.     (2)  And   whereas   the 

Throw-  said   trade  is   of   singular   use,   and  very  advan- 

ing.  tageous  to  this  Commonwealth  by  imploying  the 

poor,  there  being  imployed  by  the  said  Company 
in  and  about  the  City  of  London  (as  is  expressed 
in  their  petition)  above  Forty  Thousand  Men, 
Women  and  Children,  who  otherwise  would 
unavoidably  be  burdensome  to  the  Places  of  their 
Abode.  (3)  And  Whereas  the  present  Governors 
of  the  said  Company  by  their  petition,  pray  an 
enlargement  of  their  Charter,  whereby  they  may 
be  the  better  enabled  to  avoid  the  many  deceipts 
and  inconveniences  they  daily  meet  withal  by 
Intruders,  who  have  not  been  brought  up  Apprentices 
to  the  said  Trade,  and  others  who  settle  themselves 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  said  Charter,  on  purpose 
to  avoid  the  searchers  and  Supervision  of  the 
said  Governors,  by  which  means  they  are  at 
liberty  to  make  and  vend  what  wares  they  please, 
to  the  Disparagement  of  the  said  Trade  and  Dis- 
couraging of  the  Petitioners,  and  all  others  of  the 
said  Trade  that  have  duly  served  Apprentice  there- 
unto, according  to  the  known  Laws  of  this 
Nation." 

The  Statute  of  ten  ordinances  following  this  preamble 
was  passed,  making  it  punishable  by  a  fine  of  forty 
shillings  for  every  month  if  any  person  not  belonging  to  the 
Company  of  Throwsters  practised  the  trade  within  twenty 
miles  of  London. 

Pains  Mention  of  silk  is  again  made  in  a  curious  Act  entitled  : 

and  "  An  Act  for  Burying  in  Woollen  only."      The  opening 

Penalties,  clause  of  which  is  as  follows  :— 

"  48  Caroli  II  Regis,  Cap.  IV. 

"  For  the  encouragement  of  the  woollen  Manufactures 
in  this  Kingdom,  and  Prevention  of  the  Exporta- 
tion of  the  monies  thereof,  for  the  buying  and 
importing  of  Linen.  (2)  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty  by  and  with  the 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  487 

advice  etc no  person  or  persons  whatso- 
ever shall  be  buried  in  any  shirt,  shift,  or  sheet 
made  of  or  mingled  with  Flax,  Hemp,  Silk,  Hair, 
Gold  or  Silver  or  other  than  what  shall  be  made 
of  Wool  only,  or  be  put  into  any  coffin  lined  or  faced 
with  anything  made  of  or  mingled  with  Flax, 
Hemp,  Silk  or  Hair.  (3)  Upon  pain  of  the  forfeiture 
of  the  Sum  of  Five  Pounds  to  be  imployed  to  the 
use  of  the  poor  of  the  Parish  where  such  person 
shall  be  so  buried." 

In  1668  another  Statute  for  silk  throwsters  was  passed,   Laws 
which    indicates    that    throwing    machinery    was    being   affecting 
improved,  and  by  this  means  many  people  were  thrown   Machi- 
out  of  employment.     The  purpose  of  the  Bill  is  to  limit   nery. 
the  number  of  spindles  a  throwster  might  have  at  work 
on  his  machines  at  one  time. 

There  is  no  mention  in  the  Statutes  of  James  II  of 
the  most  important  event  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
British  silk  manufacture :  the  immigration  of  the 
Huguenot  silk  weavers  from  France  (1685).  There  is 
extant  a  copy  of  a  Petition  to  Parliament  promoted  by 
the  Weavers'  Company  of  London  against  the  refugees 
being  allowed  to  set  up  in  business  on  the  score  of  their 
not  having  served  apprenticeship  in  the  country,  but 
the  petition  was  refused  and  no  action  was  taken  by 
Parliament. 

In  1690,  2  William  and  Mary,  Cap.  9,  the  importation 
of  thrown  silk  from  Turkey,  Persia,  East  India  and  China 
was  forbidden,  but  from  Italy  and  Sicily  it  was  allowed  if 
brought  direct  in  English  ships.  This  exception  in  the 
case  of  Italian  thrown  silk  is  due  to  the  fact  that, 
although  English  thrown  silk  at  that  time  was  equal  in 
quality  to  that  imported  from  the  East,  none  but  Italian 
thrown  organzine  silk  was  evenly  twisted  and  strong 
enough  for  the  warps  of  the  rich  damasks,  brocades  and  other 
broad  works  which  were  becoming  such  an  important 
branch  of  British  industry. 

The  next  Act  of  Parliament  of  interest  in  connection    War 
with  silk  manufacture  is  that  of  2   William  and  Mary,    Taxa- 
Cap.   14,  which  was  introduced  with  a  view  to  raising   tion. 


488 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


money  for  prosecuting  "  War  with  France  and  reducing 
Ireland."  Amongst  a  very  large  number  of  commodities 
it  was  proposed  to  tax,  the  following  are  named  :  "  All 
Callicoes  and  all  other  Indian  linen,  all  wrought  silks 
and  other  manufactures  of  India  and  China  (except  Indigo). 
All  wrought  silks  from  any  other  place  at  half  the  duty, 
and  all  raw  silks  imported  from  China  or  from  the  East 
Indies." 

Parlia-  In  1693  the  attention  of  Parliament  was  called  to  the 

ment  fact  that  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  fine  thrown  silk — the 
and  production  of  Italy,  Sicily,  and  Naples — was  proving 

Italian  greatly  prejudicial  to  the  silk  manufacture  of  the  nation, 
Thrown  and  if  longer  continued  would  result  in  its  total  loss.  It 
Silk.  was  therefore  enacted  that  "  It  shall  be  lawful  for  any 

person  or  persons  who  do  or  shall  reside  in  their  Majesties' 
dominions,  to  bring  into  this  Kingdom  from  any  port  or 
place  whatsoever  without  any  restriction  (excepting  the 
Ports  of  France)  fine  Thrown  silk  of  the  growth  or  produc- 
tion of  Italy,  Sicily  and  Naples."  A  few  years  later 
this  permit  was  extended  to  Leghorn. 

By  the  provision  of  the  second  part  of  7  and  8  of 
William  III,  Cap.  20,  a  penalty  of  forty  pounds  and 
forfeiture  of  the  goods  is  to  be  exacted  from  any  person 
exporting  a  stocking  knitting  frame  or  any  parts  of  such 
a  machine.  The  matter  is  explained  in  Clause  VIII  as 
follows : — 

"  And  whereas  a  very  useful  and  profitable  Inven- 
tion, or  Mystery,  hath  been  lately  found  out  for 
the  better  and  more  speedy  making  and  knitting 
of  Silk  and  Worsted  Stockings,  Waistcoats,  Gloves, 
and  other  wearing  necessaries,  whereby  great  Quan- 
tities are  wrought  off  in  a  little  time,  his  Majesty's 
Dominions  abundantly  supplied,  and  great  Quantities 
exported  into  foreign  Nations,  to  the  increase  of 
his  Majesty's  customs,  and  the  improvement  of 
Trade  and  Commerce  ;  And  whereas  several  of 
Prohibi-  the  Frames  or  Engines  for  the  making  and  Knitting 

tion  of  of  such  Stockings,  and  other  wearing  necessaries  have 

Machinery  been  of  late  exported  out  of  this  Kingdom  whereby 

Exports.  the  said  commodities  have  been  made  in  Foreign 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  489 

parts  which  were  heretofore  made  in  this  Kingdom 
only  to  the  great  discouragement  of  the  trade  in 
general,  and  detriment  of  the  said  Mystery  of 
Framework  Knitting,  and  the  impoverishment  of 
many  families  which  have  been  thereby  main- 
tained. For  the  prevention  of  which  inconveniences 
for  the  future  be  it  enacted,"  &c. 

Several  special  Acts  of  Parliament  were  passed  during   Sanction 
the  jeigns  of  William  and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne  for  the   to  a 
purpose    of   strengthening   the   position    of    a    Chartered   Mono- 
Company    called    the    Royal    Lustring    Company.     The   poly. 
Huguenots   had   introduced   the   weaving   and   particular 
finishing   of   a   class   of  silken  materials   called  lustrings 
(lutestrings),    alamondes  and  reinforces.     There   being   a 
great  demand  for  these  goods,  it  was  deemed  advisable 
to  grant  a  monopoly  to  a  company  for  examining,  sealing 
and  guaranteeing  the  quality  of  all  such  silks  produced 
in  London.     The  Company  also  had  powers  to  seek  out 
and   claim  all  unauthorised  works  and  smuggled  goods 
of  the  kind,  which,  owing  to  the  heavy  taxes  imposed  on 
foreign  silks,  were  frequently  to  be  found.     The  Lustring 
Company  was  very  prosperous  while  the  fashion  for  wearing 
these  materials  lasted,  and  at  one  time  the  shares  which 
were  issued  at  £5  2s.  rose  to  £105.     The  monopoly  was 
granted  for  fourteen  years,  but  before  that  period  expired 
the  fashion  changed,  the  demand  almost  ceased,  and  the 
Company  was  wound  up. 

Silks,  both  wrought,  raw  and  thrown,  are  frequently   Restric- 
mentioned  in  the   many   Acts   for  special  war  taxation   tion  of 
passed   in   the   latter   part   of   the   seventeenth   century.   Imports. 
Duties  varying  from  10  per  cent  to  20  per  cent  were  put 
on  or    repealed    as   the  advice    or    petitions    of    various 
interested  persons  or  the  exigencies  of  the  Government 
seemed    to    require.     In    1700,    the    importation    of    all 
wrought  silks  from  the  East  was  prohibited,  and  heavy 
penalties  imposed  not  only  for  importing  but  for  wearing 
them.     Buttons  and  button-holes  covered,  and  sewn  with 
other  materials  than  silk,  exercised  the  minds  of  the  law- 
makers of  this  time,  and  three  lengthy  Statutes  were  framed 
and    grievous    penalties    threatened    to    button    makers, 


490 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


tailors,  sempstresses  and  wearers  of  button-holes  sewn 
with  any  thread  other  than  silk,  and  to  persons  making 
use  of  buttons  covered  with  material  which  had  no  ad- 
mixture of  silk. 

Proposed  In  the  year  1713,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of 
Trade  Utrecht,  a  commercial  treaty  with  France  was  also  signed 
Treaty  provisionally,  under  which  the  manufactures  of  each 
with  kingdom  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  other  upon  the 

France,  payment  of  low  ad  valorem  duties.  This  treaty  was, 
however,  violently  opposed  by  the  English  manufacturers, 
especially  by  those  engaged  in  textile  trades.  Innumerable 
petitions  were  presented  to  Parliament  against  its  ratifica- 
tion ;  and,  after  many  heated  debates,  the  Bill  for  rendering 
the  treaty  of  commerce  effectual  was  rejected  in  the  House 
of  Commons  by  a  small  majority. 

In  the  petition  presented  on  this  occasion  by  the  Weavers' 
Company  of  London,  it  was  stated  that  "  all  sorts  of  black 
and  coloured  silks,  gold  and  silver  stuffs  and  ribands  were 
made  here  as  good  as  those  of  France  "  ;  and  that  the 
silk  manufacture  at  that  time — 1713 — was  "  twenty  times 
greater  than  in  the  year  1664." 

Mention  also  is  made  in  a  Statute  of  8  George  I — 1721 — 
of  the  great  increase  of  the  silk  trade  in  Great  Britain, 
and  encouragement  is  given  for  exporting  manufactured 
silk  goods.  The  preamble  is  as  follows  :- 

"  May  it  please  your  most  excellent  Majesty,  whereas 

the  Wealth  and  prosperity  of  this  Kingdom  doth 

very  much  depend  on  the  Improvements   of  its 

Manufactures,  and  the  profitable  Trade  carried  on 

by  the   Exportation   of   the    same,  which    Trade 

ought,  by  all  proper  means  to  be  encouraged,  for 

the  more  comfortable  support  and  maintenance  of 

great  numbers  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  employed 

in  the  making  and  working  of  such  goods,  and 

for  the   enlargement  of   the   commerce  of   Great 

Britain ;     and   whereas   the   manufacture   of   silk 

stuffs  and  of  stuffs  mixed  with  silk,  which  is  one 

An  of  the  most  considerable  Branches  of  the  Manu- 

Act  of  facture  of  this  Kingdom,  has,  of  late  years,  been 

George  I.  greatly  improved  in  this   Kingdom,  and  there  is 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  491 

reason  to  believe  that   the   exportation  of   them   An 
into   Foreign   Ports  would    considerably  increase,   Act  of 
were  it  not  obstructed  and  hindered  by  reason  of   George  I. 
the  high  duties  payable  upon  the  importation  of 
Raw    and    Thrown    silk,  without    any  allowance 
being  made  upon  the  said  silks  when  wrought  up 
and  exported  ;    and  in  Regard  the  said  Raw  and 
Thrown  Silk  when  exported  unmanufactured,  do 
draw  back  great  part  of  the  duties  paid  inwards  ; 
and  it  seems  just  and  reasonable  that  the  said  silks 
should  also  enjoy  the  same  Benefit  and  Allowance 
upon  the  Exportation  of  them.    Therefore  we,  your 
Majesty's    most    dutiful   and    loyal   subjects,   the 
Commons  of  Great  Britain  in  Parliament  assem- 
bled, do  humbly  pray  your  Majesty  that  it  may 
be  enacted  ;    and  be  it  enacted  by  the  King's  most 
excellent  Majesty  &c."     Here  follows  the  Statute 
allowing  a  rebate  on  exportation  on  (1)  all  ribbons 
and  stuffs  made  in  Great  Britain  of  silk  only  ;   (2) 
all  silks  and  ribbons  made  in  Great  Britain  of  silk 
mixed  with  gold  or  silver  ;     (3)  all  silk  stockings, 
silk  gloves,  silk  fringes,  silk  laces,  and  stitching  or 
sewing  silk  ;   (4)  for  all  stuffs  of  silk  and  grogram 
yarn  ;    (5)  for  all  stuffs  of  silk  mixed  with  linen  or 
cotton ;    (6)  for  all  stuffs  made  of  silk  mixed  with 
worsted.     The  rebate  allowances  ranged  from  six- 
pence to  four  shillings  per  pound  weight  avoirdupois. 
In  1725,  12  George  I,  Cap.  34,  the  first  of  the  Statutes 
known    as    the    Combination    Acts    was    passed.     These 
became  more  severe  in  their  provisions  at  a  later  date, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  custom  of  regulating  workmen's 
wages  by  the  justices — arranged  for  by  the  Act  of  Eliz- 
abeth— fell  into  abeyance,  in  consequence   of  which  the 
artizan  had  no  defence  against  the  oppression  of  a  bad 
master. 

In  1732,  5  George  II,  Cap.  8,  a  special  Act  of  Parliament   Grant  to 
was    passed     awarding    fourteen     thousand    pounds    to   Thomas 
Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  who  had  at  great  expense  to  himself   Lombe. 
and  by  the  patient  labour  of  fourteen  years — during  which 
time  his   original  patent   expired — perfected   the   art   of 


492 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  silk-throwing  and  erected  large  mills  and  machinery  by 

Grant         means  of  which  the  work  could  be  done  in  England  even 
to  more  perfectly  than  in  Italy.* 

Thomas  During  the  reign  of  George  II  two  Statutes  against 
Lombe.  fraud  in  the  silk  trade  were  passed  and  some  changes 
in  the  duties  payable  on  foreign  imported  goods  were 
made.  Reductions  were  also  made  in  the  duties  on 
raw  and  thrown  silk,  but  the  most  significant  and  most 
frequent  theme  of  the  petitions  presented  to  Parliament 
by  the  silk  weavers  and  manufacturers  of  London  at  the 
period  was  that  of  the  total  prohibition  of  all  foreign- 
wrought  silks.  This  object  was  not  gained  till  1773,  when 
an  Act  strictly  prohibiting  the  importing  and  wearing  of  all 
foreign-wrought  silk  was  passed  and  remained  in  force 
until  1826. 

Of  this  time  of  strict  prohibition,  Mr.  Porter,  writing 
in  the  year  1831,  points  out  that  British  manufacturers  of 
silken  goods  being  thus  secured  in  the  monopoly  of  the 
home  market,  and  in  the  British  dependencies,  gradually 
became  careless,  and  their  productions  deteriorated  ;  he 
also  admits  that,  though  the  volume  of  trade  was  steadily 
increasing  notwithstanding  frequent  seasons  of  depression 
due  to  changes  of  fashion,  the  position  of  the  operative 
weaver,  even  in  times  of  prosperity  for  the  manufacturer, 
was  always  one  of  uncertainty  and  wretchedness. 
Regula-  The  operation  of  the  local  Spitalfields  Acts,  for  the 
tion  of  regulation  of  the  London  silk  weavers'  wages — 1773,  1792 
Wages.  and  1801 — has  already  been  described  in  the  section 
dealing  with  Spitalfields.  The  beneficence,  or  otherwise, 
of  these  Acts  was  much  discussed  during  the  time  they 
were  in  force  ;  and  their  opponents  finally  succeeded  in 
obtaining  their  repeal  in  1824,  at  the  same  time  that  Parlia- 
ment decided  to  abandon  the  policy  of  prohibition. 

Beginning  in  1826  with  the  imposition  of  duties  on 
imports  of  wrought  silks  varying  from  25%  to  40%,  and 
on  raw  and  thrown  silks  of  from  one  shilling  to  five  shillings 
per  lib.,  the  tariff  was  gradually  reduced,  from  time  to 
time,  until  in  1846  the  duties  had  been  lowered  to  less 

*  This  story  is  fully  told  in  the  History  of  Silk  in  Derby,  and  the  Act  is  quoted  (for  it  is  very 
instructive)  in  the  Appendix. 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  493 

than  half  the  above  amounts  ;  but  it  was  not  till  1860 
that  the  policy  of  free  trade  so  prevailed  in  Parliament 
as  to  allow  the  Government  to  abolish  all  restrictions  on 
the  free  importation  of  both  wrought  and  raw  silk. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

TRADE     UNIONS    AND     ASSOCIATIONS    IN     SILK 
MANUFACTURE. 

The  primary  and  fundamental  object  of  Trade  Unions, 
like  that  of  the  ancient  Craft  Guilds,  is  to  secure  their 
members  in  the  independent,  unimpeached,  and  regular 
earning  of  their  daily  bread  by  means  of  their  trade  or 
craft.*  The  origin  and  development  of  the  fraternities 
which  flourished  in  the  Middle  Ages,  having  this  object 
in  view,  is  a  most  fascinating  study.  Their  history  begins 
at  the  time  when  families  began  to  be  gathered  together 
into  communities,  and  is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of 
all  the  large  towns  and  cities  of  mediaeval  Europe.  The 
general  history  of  Guilds  and  Trade  Unions  is  much  too 
extensive  a  subject  to  be  dealt  with  at  length,  but  it  is 
necessary,  in  a  history  of  silk  manufacture,  to  give  some 
account  of  the  formation  and  work  of  such  trade  societies 
as  have  affected  that  branch  of  commercial  activity. 
Methods  In  the  first  place  it  is  necessary  to  note  that  some  of 
and  the  methods  and  practices  of  Trade  Unions,  to  which  in 

Practices,  certain  quarters  much  objection  is  taken,  are  not  by  any 
means  modern  innovations  specially  designed  to  obstruct 
trade  and  cause  public  inconvenience,  but  are  attempts 
to  regulate  the  conflicting  rights  of  the  individual  worker, 
his  employer,  and  Society  at  large,  and  are  just  such  as 
were  practised  by  the  craft  guilds  of  earlier  times. 

Owing,  however,  to  the  great  volume  of  modern  trade 
operations,  the  competitive  system  of  business,  and  the 
discoveries  of  science,  the  modern  unions  and  associations 
differ  in  one  important  particular  from  their  prototypes, 

*  For  a  full  account  of  the  ancient  guilds,  see  Brentano  on  Guild*, 
494 


TEADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       495 

the  ancient  Craft  Guilds.     It  is  in  this  difference  that  the   Corn- 
cause  of  most  of  the  evils  complained  of  is  to  be  found,   parison 
This    point    of    difference    is    the    division    of    Trade  with 
Associations  into  two  separate  opposing  parties — one   of  old 
masters,  the  other  of  men — each  keenly  jealous  of  any   Guilds, 
advantage  the  other  may  gain.     But  even  here  there  is 
evidence  that  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  century  there  were 
disputes  and  division  in  some  of  the  largest  trades,  where, 
contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  many  journeymen  were  employed, 
and  masters  and  contractors  were  beginning  to  accumulate 
capital.     As  a  rule,  however,  the  ancient  guild  was  an 
association  of  masters  and  journeymen,  its  purpose  being 
the  defence  and  regulation  of  the  rights,  privileges  and 
duties  of  all  the  members  of  a  trade. 

The  extraordinary  development  of  commerce  and  manu- 
facture during  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century 
made  it  impossible  for  the  officials  of  the  ancient  Companies 
to  retain  control  of  the  trades  as  was  intended  when  they 
were  incorporated.  They  accordingly  gradually  ceased 
to  attempt  the  performance  of  this  task.  Such  as  had  no 
halls,  or  valuable  privileges  or  property  of  their  own, 
or  other  interest,  collapsed  entirely;  whilst  those  with 
possessions  continued  to  administer  their  property,  but 
retained  no  vital  connection  with  the  crafts  they  were 
established  to  protect  and  foster. 

As  long  as  the  Statute  of  Apprentices,*  passed  during   Statute 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  was  in  force,  the  position  of  the   of 
workman  in  most  trades  was  secure.     By  this  enactment,  Appren- 
which  revised  or  embodied  all  previous  legislation  of  the   tices. 
kind,  no  one  could  lawfully  exercise  or  carry  on,  either  as 
master  or  journeyman,  any  art,  mystery  or  manual  occu- 
pation except  he  had  been  brought  up  therein  and  had 
served  seven  years  as  an  apprentice.     Every  householder 
dwelling  in  city  or  market  town  might  take  apprentices 
for  seven  years  at  least.     Whoever  had  three  apprentices 
must  keep  one  journeyman,  and  for  every  extra  apprentice 
one   other   journeyman.     As   for   a   journeyman,   it   was 
enacted  that,  in  most  trades  no  person  should  retain  a 

*  6th  Elizabeth,  Cap.  4.     See  Appendix. 


496  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Statute      servant  under  one  whole  year,  and  no  servant  was  to 
of  depart  or  be  put  away  but  upon  a  quarterly  warning. 

Appren-  The  hours  of  work  were  fixed  by  the  Act  at  about  twelve 
tices.  hours  in  summer  and  from  daydawn  till  nightfall  in  the 
winter.  Wages  were  to  be  assessed  by  Justices  of  the 
Peace  or  by  town  magistrates  at  every  General  Sessions 
first  held  after  Easter.  The  same  authorities  were  to 
settle  all  disputes  between  masters,  journeymen  and 
apprentices,  and  especially  to  protect  the  last-named. 
A  later  Act*  expressly  extends  this  power  of  the  justices 
and  magistrates  to  fix  the  wages  of  all  labourers  and  work- 
men whatever. 

There  is  evidence  that  as  early  as  1710  this  Act, 
especially  as  regards  the  assessment  of  wages  by  the 
justices,  had  to  a  great  extent  become  non-effective.f 
In  that  year  the  justices  fixed  a  rate  of  wages  in  the 
woollen  weaving  trade,  but  it  was  not  carried  into  practice. 
This  led  to  attempts  at  further  lowering  of  prices  by  the 
masters  and  induced  the  men  to  combine,  and  many 
struck  work.  In  1723  an  Act  prohibiting  combinations 
of  workmen  in  that  trade  was  passed,  but  so  much 
discontent  continued  that  another  Act  in  the  following 
year  ordered  the  justices  once  more  to  fix  a  rate  of  wages. 
Against  this  the  masters  petitioned,  and  the  justices 
refused  to  act ;  whereupon  the  weavers  again  revolted 
in  very  large  numbers,  and  it  was  not  until  after  much 
loss  by  the  masters  and  suffering  by  the  men  that  the 
former  agreed  to  abide  by  the  provisions  of  the  Act.  When 
at  last  they  did  so  peace  was  restored. 

The  The  industrial  history  of  the  eighteenth  century  abounds 

Combina-  in  stories  of  trade  riots  and  strikes,  appeals  and  petitions 

tion  to  Parliament  for  the  regulation  of  different  trades,  the 

Act.  passing  of  new  and  the  confirmation  of  old  Statutes,  which 

proved  for  the  most  part  useless,  and  Acts  more  or  less 

severe  against  combinations  of  workmen  culminating  in 

the  Combination  Act  of  1799,  with  its  very  severe  penalties. 

Through  it  all  the  status  of  the  operatives  in  almost  all 

trades  was  falling  lower  and  lower.     There  is  no  better 

*  1st  James,  Cap.  4. 

•f  Brentano  on  Trade  Unions,  p.  104. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       497 

illustration    of    this    tendency   in    the    industrial    world  The 
than  is  furnished  by  the  story  of  the  change  from  the  Combina- 
old  order  to  the  new  in  the  manufacture  of  hosiery,  an  tion 
important  department  of  which  trade  was  concerned  in  Act. 
the  use  of  silk.  * 

Machinery  was,  at  a  very  early  time,  introduced  into 
the  manufacture  of  hosiery  in  England.     The  invention 
of    the    stocking-frame,    as    the    machine    for    knitting 
stockings  was  called,   by  a  poor  student  of  St.   John's 
College,  Cambridge,  appears  to  have  given  the  first  decided 
stimulus  to  the  silk  trade  on  anything  approaching  to 
a  large  scale.     In  addition  to  its  having  the  effect   of 
causing   the   abandonment   of   the   clumsy   woollen   hose 
of  the  period  and  replacing  them  with  a  light  and  elegant 
fabric  made  at  a  comparatively  low  cost,  the  use  of  the 
stocking-frame  enabled  production  to  be  so  increased  and 
cheapened  as  eventually  to  cause  the  establishment  of  a 
regular  trade  with  the  Continent.     Keyser,  in  his  Travels 
through  Europe  in  1730  writes  that,  "  at  Naples,  when  a 
tradesman   would   highly   recommend   his   silk   stockings, 
he    protests    they    are    '  right    English,'    and    of    course 
his    contemporary    on    the    banks    of    the    Thames    also 
protested  that   the   goods   made   on   the   same   machine 
at  the  same  time  in  the  little  English  town  of  Leicester, 
were  c  right  French.'  :      It  was  about  the  year  1589  that 
William  Lee  invented  the  stocking-frame,  but  it  was  not 
until  after  his  death  in  France,  to  which  country  despair- 
ing of  success  in  England,  he  had  carried  his  invention,   The 
that  the  manufacture  of    hosiery  on  the  stocking-frame   Influence 
became    fairly    established    in    this    country.     Lee    lived   of  Inven- 
and  struggled   on  in  Paris  till  1610,   when  he  fell  into   tion. 
great   poverty,    and    died   neglected    and   broken-hearted 
in   a  garret.     In  1620   it  is  recorded  that  the  immense 
value    of    the    stocking-frame    had    been    established    in 
England,   and  that   great  numbers   of  them  were  being 
made. 

The  trade  of  framework-knitting  was  not  well  established 
in  the  fifth  year  of   the   reign  of   Elizabeth  but   in   the 

*  During  the  18th  century  English  silk  stockings  were  in  great  demand  in  all  the  principal 
countries  of  Europe.     See  Felkin's  History  of  the  Hosiery  Trade, 

2  I 


498 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


The  year    1663,    Charles    II    incorporated    "  several    persons, 

Influence  by  the  name  of  Master,  Warden,  Assistants,  and  Society 

of  Inven-  of  the  Art  and  Mystery  of  Framework-Knitters,  of  the 

tion.  Citties    of    London    and    Westminster,    the    Kingdom    of 

England  and  the  Dominion  of  Wales,  for  ever,  with  power 

to    exercise   their   jurisdiction   throughout    England   and 

Wales ;  and  from  time  to  time  to  make  Bye-laws  for  the 

regulation   of  the  said   business   of   Framework-knitting, 

and  to  punish  persons  who  should  offend  against  such 

Bye-laws."     By  paragraph  33  of  the  Charter,  the  Master 

was  directed  to  "  inforce  the  Statute  of  the  5  Elizabeth, 

Cap.  4,  or  any  other  Statute  as  respects  apprentices  and 

the  occupations  of  the  trade." 

By  this  ordinance  of  the  Charter,  therefore,  the  trade 
of  framework-knitting  came  under  the  authority  of  the 
Elizabeth's  Act  of  Apprentices.  Little  notice  seems 
to  have  been  taken  of  the  Act,  and  the  masters  employed 
apprentices  in  large  numbers,  often  in  the  proportion  of 
ten  and  more  to  one  journeyman.  This  abuse  of  fixed 
legal  restrictions  is  not  surprising,  as  besides  the  lower 
wages  to  be  paid  to  an  apprentice,  the  parishes  often 
paid  bounties  to  the  amount  of  £5  for  every  boy  taken 
from  the  workhouse. 

By  this  system  adult  workers,  after  the  expiration  of 
Early  their  apprenticeship,  often  fell  into  great  poverty.*  They 
Strikes  therefore,  in  the  year  1710,  petitioned  the  Company  to 
and  carry  out  the  regulations  of  the  Charter  with  regard  to 

Riots.  apprentices.  The  Company  refused.  This  refusal  was 
followed  by  a  riot  of  the  workmen  ;  they  destroyed  about 
100  frames  and  threw  them  out  of  the  windows.  A  peace 
was  patched  up  between  the  masters  and  men  but  as  the 
system  of  parish  apprentices  was  continued,  the  trade 
became  overstocked  with  lawful  journeymen  without  em- 
ployment. In  1727  an  Act  was  passed  prohibiting  under 
the  penalty  of  death  the  breaking  of  frames,  which  was 
the  men's  chief  way  of  revenging  themselves  on  their 
masters,  t 

*  The  management  of  the  knitting-frame  required  comparatively  little  skill,  as  there  was 
little  to  learn,  so  that  the  apprenticeship  merely  added  to  the  numbers  of  unskilled  adult 
labourers,  for  whom  there  was  no  employment, 

f  Felkin. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       499 

On  May  22,  1745,  the  Company  ordained  new  bye-laws,*  Intro- 
which   were   confirmed   by   the   Lord   Chancellor.     These    duction 
bye-laws  contain  the  first  direct  mention  of  the  practice   of 
of  letting  out  frames  on  hire  to  the  workmen.     After  the   Hiring 
making  of  the  new  bye-laws,  the  Company  tried  to  enforce   System, 
its    authority    throughout   the   whole    country,  but,    not 
succeeding  in  obtaining  the  assistance  and  sympathy  of  the 
justices  and  magistrates,  lost  entirely  what  little  influence 
it  hftd  till  then  retained. 

One  of  its  last  efforts  was  to  send  deputies  to  Nottingham, 
the  greatest  centre  of  the  trade,  to  maintain  its  privileges, 
but  the  Nottingham  manufacturers  remained  recalcit- 
rant. They  were  already  employers  of  the  modern  style  ; 
they  had  not  served  a  seven  years'  apprenticeship  them- 
selves, and  employed  unlawful  workers,  such  as  journey- 
men who  had  not  served  their  legal  term  and  did  not  belong 
to  the  Company,  as  well  as  women  and  children  ;  they 
often  worked  with  large  numbers  of  apprentices,  one  having 
forty-nine,  without  employing  any  journeymen.  The 
Company,  relying  on  its  ordinances,  confirmed  by  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  threatened  to  enforce  these  masters' 
submission  by  law.  The  retort  was  that  the  members 
of  the  Company  did  not  themselves  keep  the  bye-laws  ; 
and  that  instead  of  preventing  frauds  and  oppressions, 
they  rather  committed  them  themselves.  It  was  said 
that  the  London  manufacturers  were  in  the  same  cate- 
gory as  those  of  Nottingham.  The  latter,  threatened  with 
lawsuits  by  the  Company,  petitioned  Parliament  and 
accused  the  Company  of  ruining  the  trade  by  monopolies. 
Parliament  seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  opinion  ;  the 
Company  became  quite  unable  to  enforce  its  bye-laws 
legally,  and  therefore  ceased  henceforth  to  exercise  any  Decay 
influence  over  the  trade.  of  the 

All    this    time    the    trade    of    framework-knitting   was   Society 
rapidly  expanding,  and  the  manufacturers  were   exceed-   of 
ingly   prosperous.!     Until  its    retirement  from  the    fray,   Frame- 
the   workmen   seem   to    have   had   hopes  that  the  Com-  work 
pany   would   find   means  to   better  their  condition,   but   Knitters. 

*  Journals  of  House  of  Commons,  vol.  xxvi,  pp,  790—794. 
•j-  Felkin. 


500 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


when  they  found  it  to  be  powerless  to  help  them,  and  all 
hope  was  gone,  they  formed  a  Trade  Union  under  the 
Stocking  name  of  the  "  Stocking  Makers  Association  for  Mutual 
Makers  Protection  in  the  Midland  Counties  of  England."  Its 
Associa-  special  object  was  to  make  regulations  as  to  apprentices, 
tion.  This  body  soon  became  so  powerful  in  Nottingham  that  it 

strongly  influenced  the  elections  of  Members  of  Parlia- 
ment. Mr.  Abel  Smith  was  thus  returned  without  opposi- 
tion in  1778,  when  the  members  of  the  Association  marched 
in  procession  before  his  chair,  accompanied  by  two 
Assistants,  the  Clerk,  and  other  deputies  of  the  London 
Framework  Knitters  Company.  *  '  This  formerly 
authoritative  body  had,"  says  Mr.  Felkin,  "  another 
opportunity  thus  given  them,  by  wise  and  timely  measures, 
to  have  rendered  themselves  useful  between  the  master 
hosiers  and  their  workmen.  The  high  rents  exacted  for 
frames,  with  certain  other  charges,  had  not  yet  settled 
into  a  legalised  custom ;  the  best  of  the  journeymen  and  the 
wisest  of  the  masters  might  have  been  conciliated,  and  the 
Charter  of  the  Company  revived  ;  but  the  time  was  wasted 
in  squabbles  about  fees,  and  the  Company  lost  its  last 
hold  on  the  trade." 

Except  for  the  mutual  support  afforded  by  their  own 
recently  formed  Union,  the  membership  of  which  in- 
creased and  which  improved  and  extended  its  organi- 
zation, the  workmen  had  no  protection  from  the 
oppression  of  their  employers.  The  laws  intended  to 
regulate  the  trade  equally  both  for  masters  and  their 
servants  were  not  yet  repealed,  but  they  had  become 
inoperative  by  reason  of  the  lax  administration  of  the 
justices  and  magistrates.  In  one  case,  indeed,  where  the 
moribund  London  Company  bestirred  itself  to  prosecute 
Law  a  manufacturer  for  taking  apprentices  contrary  to  law, 

a  Dead  the  manufacturer  w^as  condemned  certainly,  but  only  to 
Letter.  pay  one  shilling  damages.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  notwithstanding  that  the  hosiery  trade 
flourished  more  and  more,  and,  from  the  manufacturer's 
point  of  view,  became  very  successful,  the  workers 
benefited  little  and  wages  fell  to  a  very  low  level. 

*  Felkin. 


TRADE  UNIONS  AND  ASSOCIATIONS.      501 


In  1778  the  Framework  Knitters  Union  petitioned 
Parliament  for  a  legal  regulation  of  the  rates  of  payment, 
humbly  representing  that  "  in  consequence  of  low  wages, 
payment  of  frame  rents  and  excessive  employment  of 
child  labour,  they  were  unable  to  maintain  themselves 
and  their  families."  The  master  hosiers  made  a  counter 
petition,  and  as  a  result  a  Committee  was  appointed  to 
enquire  into  the  complaints  of  the  workmen.  In  the  end 
the. motion  for  enacting  a  law  according  to  the  petition  of 
the  workmen  was  vetoed.  When  this  happened,  the  em- 
ployers in  the  silk  branch  of  the  trade  attempted  at 
once  to  further  reduce  wages  25  per  cent,  and  a  strike  was 
the  immediate  result.  * 

In  February  of  the  following  year  the  framework- 
knitters  of  Nottingham  again  petitioned  the  House  for 
the  regulation  of  their  trades.  This  petition  was  followed 
by  others  from  Tewkesbury,  Godalming,  Derby,  London, 
Westminster,  and  Northampton.  Witnesses  from  all 
these  places  were  examined  by  a  Committee,  with  the 
result  that  shameful  exactions  on  the  workmen  by  their 
employers  were  unveiled.  According  to  the  evidence  of 
witnesses  examined,  wages  had  steadily  fallen  whilst  the 
prices  of  food  had  risen.  The  deductions  the  workpeople 
had  to  submit  to  for  frame  rent,  winding,  seaming,  needles, 
candles,  &c.,  had,  it  was  stated,  so  reduced  their  wages 
that  few  could  even  earn  the  six  shillings  named  as  the 
average  wage  in  the  former  petition.  The  chief  abuse 
was  in  connection  with  frame  rents,  and  as  the  same 
thing  occurred  in  the  following  century,  although  cer- 
tainly in  a  modified  form,  with  regard  to  the  Jacquard 
machines  hired  out  to  the  weavers  in  the  silk  weaving 
trade,  it  will  be  useful  to  quote  particulars  of  this  evidence. 

"  The  value  of  a  frame  is  from  £6  to  £8."  "  For  its  use 
the  workman  has  to  pay  rents  from  Is.  3d.  to  2s.  a  week/' 
"  The  workman  is  obliged  to  hire  these  frames  if  he  wishes 
to  get  work."  "  If  a  workman  has  a  frame  of  his  own 
he  is  refused  work."  "  This  rent  the  workman  has  to  pay 
whether  he  has  work  or  not,  during  sickness,  for  Sundays 
or  holidays,  or  when  he  has  no  materials,  which  the 

*  Felkin 


Earnings 
of 

Frame 
Knitters. 


The  Case 
of  the 
Workers. 


502 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  Case  employer  has  to  furnish."  "  Many  employers  stint  their 
of  the  workmen  from  making  more  than  a  certain  number  of 
Workers,  stockings  a  week,  although  they  could  make  more " 

evidently  that  they  might  thus  be  able  to  deduct  the 
more  frame  rent  from  a  certain  amount  of  wages.  The 
report  goes  on  to  say  that  "  The  workmen  had  to  buy 
from  the  employers  the  materials  for  making  the  stockings. 
The  latter  then  re-bought  the  stockings  from  the  workmen. 
But  they  also  often  made  excuses  to  leave  them  on  the 
men's  hands.*  The  workmen,"  says  the  Report,  "  were 
in  a  state  of  starvation.  They  had  to  submit  to  any 
conditions  of  their  employers.  A  number  of  workmen 
who  had  signed  the  previous  year's  petition  to  Parliament 
had  had  to  leave  off  work.  They  desired  a  Bill  fixing 
prices,  which  would,  as  they  thought,  produce  a  wholesome 
effect." 

The  House  of  Commons  considered  this  report,  and 
on  May  10th,  1779,  a  Mr.  Meadows,  one  of  the  members 
for  Nottinghamshire,  introduced  a  Bill  for  regulating  the 
trade  of  framework-knitting,  and  for  preventing  the 
frauds  and  abuses  therein.  It  was  ably  supported  by 
Mr.  Robert  Smith  (afterwards  Lord  Carrington),  who 
said  "  the  measure  was  moistened  and  saturated  by  the 
tears  of  the  poor  distressed  families  of  the  framework- 
knitters."f  Leave  was  given  to  bring  in  the  Bill,  with  only 
one  dissentient  voice.  Upon  this  the  employers  counter 
petitioned.  They  said  that  if  the  Bill  should  become 
law,  this  "  from  various  causes  "  would  be  most  injurious 
to  the  petitioners  and  to  the  wholesale  merchants  in  the 
trade  of  framework-knitting.  Another  Committee  was 
appointed,  which  was  once  more  to  inquire  into  the  state 
of  the  workmen.  On  the  9th  of  June,  it  reported  that 
the  former  statements  of  the  workmen  were  true,  and 
proposed  only  a  few  amendments  to  the  Bill  as  it  stood. 
The  second  reading  was  carried  by  twenty-four  against 
twenty-three.  On  the  third  reading,  it  was  thrown  out 
by  a  majority  of  fifty-two  to  eighteen.  J 

*  The  same  system  was  later  in  operation  at  Coventry  in  the  ribbon  weaving  trade. 

t  Felkin. 

j  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons,  vol.  xxxvii,  pp.  386,  396,  421,  441. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       503 

Mr.  Felkin  says  that  "  Upon  the  rejection  of  the  Bill  Reform 
great  excitement  of  the  workmen  ensued.  They  crowded  Riots, 
to  Nottingham,  broke  the  frames  of  the  manufacturers, 
threw  them  out  of  the  windows,  burned  a  house  down, 
and  destroyed  much  property  belonging  to  the  employers. 
More  than  three  hundred  frames  were  broken  on  this 
occasion.  The  whole  of  the  employers  then  promised, 
if  the  riots  should  at  once  cease,  to  remove  all  grievances. 
On  this  peace  ensued.  Public  opinion  seems  to  have 
been  on  the  side  of  the  journeymen,  for  the  workman 
accused  of  setting  fire  to  the  house  was  acquitted. 

The  workmen  found,  however,  that  there  was  no  legal 
remedy  for  their  grievances,  and  the  district  was  thrown  into 
a  state  of  ferment,  which  in  varying  degrees  lasted  till  the 
end  of  the  century.  The  system  of  rent-charge  for  the  use 
of  stocking  frames  became  fully  established,  and  for 
about  thirty  years  the  construction  of  machinery  was 
a  thriving  business.  The  cost  of  a  machine  bore  so 
small  a  proportion  to  the  rent  exacted,  that  many  persons, 
not  in  the  trade,  purchased  them  with  a  view  to  letting 
them  out  on  hire,  and  realized  a  handsome  profit  in  the 
business.  Partial  strikes  and  lock-outs  were  of  constant 
occurrence  ;  the  use  of  child  labour  vastly  increased,  and 
wages  became  more  and  more  precarious  and  dependent 
on  the  will  of  the  employers.  This  state  of  things  con- 
tinued till  1812,  when  the  Union  again  applied  to 
Parliament  for  the  enforcement  of  payment  by  statement 
lists  of  prices,  a  system  which  had  been  in  use  in  the  cotton 
weaving  trade  for  many  years,  but  though  a  Bill  embodying 
this  suggestion  passed  the  Commons,  it  was  unsuccessful 
in  the  Lords  and  was  abandoned.  On  this  the  workmen 
in  all  branches  of  the  trade  entered  into  the  Union  (1814). 
In  1813  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Elizabeth  was  considered  Act  of 
in  Parliament,  and  notwithstanding  that  petitions  in  Elizabeth 
overwhelming  numbers  poured  in  deprecating  its  repeal,  Repealed, 
but  suggesting  its  amendment,  the  counsels  of  the 
interested  manufacturers,  who  were  in  a  small  minority, 
prevailed,  and  in  1814  the  Act  was  repealed.*  By  this 
decision  Parliament  appeared  to  encourage  industrial 

*  300,000  for  amendment ;    2,000  for  repeal.     Hansard,  vol   xxvii,  p.  574, 


504 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Act  of        disorganisation.     This  condition  soon  became  the  prevailing 
Elizabeth  one  in  many  trades,  as  is   shown   by  the   Parliamentary 
Repealed,  reports  on  the  condition  of  the  ribbon  trade  and  silk  manu- 
facture   at  Coventry,    Nuneaton,  Macclesfield    and    other 
places  which  had  become  great  centres  of  silk  weaving.  * 

From  the  pamphlet  of  Samuel  Sholl,t  the  Spitalfields 
silk  weaver,  one  may  obtain  a  conception  of  the  formation 
of  the  first  Trade  Union  in  the  Broad  Silk  Weaving  branch 
of  manufacture.  Sholl's  narrative  of  the  origin,  con- 
stitution and  results  of  this  Union,  as  it  is  that  of  one 
who  took  part  in  its  formation,  and  was  himself  an  active 
member  of  it,  is  of  the  greatest  interest.  Speaking  of 
the  interval  between  the  prosperous  time  of  the  Spital- 
fields industry,  and  the  depression  which  prevailed  before 
its  close,  ShoU  says  :- 

"  But  in  process  of  time,  as  there  was  no  established 
price  for  labour  in  England,  there  was  great  oppression, 
confusion    and    disorder.     Many    base    and    ill-designing 
masters  took  the  advantage,  in  a  dead  time  of  trade,  to 
reduce  the  price  of  labour.     The  oppression  became  so 
insupportable  that  a  number  of  journeymen,  at  the  hazard 
of  their  lives,  resolved  to  make  examples  of  some  of  the 
most  oppressive  of  the  manufacturers  by  destroying  their 
works  in  the  loom.     This  they  effected,  but,  for  want  of 
prudence   in   their   conduct,   several   fell   victims   to   the 
cause  and  lost  their  lives."     Sholl  here  probably  refers 
to   the  same  incident   as   Felkin,   in  his  history   of  the 
Nottingham  lace  trade,  quotes.     That  author  speaks  of  the 
"  gruesome  sight  of  Spitalfields  weavers  hanged  in  front  of 
houses   where   they   had   destroyed   works   in   the  looms 
Joint          during  a  riot."     Sholl  continues :    "  These  considerations 
Action       awakened  the  feelings  of  some  of  the  thinking  and  well- 
by  discerning   part    of   the    journeymen    and    others.     They 
Masters      applied  to  the  magistrates,  particularly  Sir  John  Fielding, 
and            who  said  he  was  very  sorry  for  and  pitied  the  journeyman 
Men.          weavers  much,  and  recommended  a  few  of  them  to  meet 
and  draw  up  a  list  of  prices  for  their  various  works.     They 

*  For  the  details  of   this   story  of   the   frame   knitting   trade,   indebtedness   to   Professor 
Brentano's  research  is  acknowledged  by  the  author. 

t  The  biographical  portion  of  this  pamphlet  was  summarized  in  Chapter  XXXVII. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND  ASSOCIATIONS.       505 

should  also  get  some  of  their  masters  to  sign  it,  and  he   Joint 
would  try  to   obtain   an  Act   of  Parliament  to   enforce   Action 
the  same."  by 

Acting  on  the  advice  of  Sir  John  Fielding,  a  Committee  Masters 
of  Journeymen  and  Masters  was  formed  and  a  list  of  and 
prices  drawn  up.  The  provisions  of  the  Committee  were,  Men. 
however,  often  evaded.  There  were  certainly  frequent  dis- 
putes between  the  parties  concerned,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  enactment  of  13th  George  III,  Cap.  68,*  that,  as 
Sholl  says,  "  Peace  was  produced."  According  to  this 
Act,  the  justices  of  the  peace  or  the  Lord  Mayor,  were 
on  July  1st,  1773,  and  from  time  to  time,  after  demand 
to  do  so  had  been  made  to  them,  to  assess  the  wages  of 
the  journeymen  in  the  silk  manufacture.  Employers 
giving  more  or  less  than  the  assessed  wages  to  their  work- 
men, or  evading  the  Act,  as  well  as  journeymen  entering 
into  combinations  to  raise  wages,  were  to  pay  certain 
fines,  the  amount  of  which,  after  the  deduction  of  the 
necessary  expenses,  was  to  be  applied  to  the  relief  of 
needy  weavers  and  their  families. 

It  was  soon  found  that,  as  Sholl  explains  at  some  length, 
in  order  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  Act  and  benefit 
the  workmen  it  was  necessary  to  raise  money  for  legal 
and  other  expenses,  and  as  it  could  not  be  expected  that 
the  masters  would  subscribe  for  such  a  purpose,  the  jour- 
neymen must  do  it  themselves.     Moreover,  they  had  to 
be  careful  not  to   offend  against  the  Combination  Act. 
Having   stated   their   difficulties,    Sholl   continues :     "  In   First 
the  following  manner,  to  their  everlasting  honour,  some   Mutual 
zealous,    spirited    and    virtuous    men    proposed    to    form   Aid 
themselves  into  a  Society  in  the  year  1777,  or  thereabouts,   Society, 
for  mutual  assistance  should  any  of  their  masters  oppress 
them  or  refuse  to  abide  by  the  prices  for  work  authorised 
by   the   Justices   according   to   Act   of   Parliament.     The 
Society  or  Committee  was  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Union,  and  was  held  for  many  years  at  the  sign  of  the 
'Knave  of  Clubs'  in  Club  Row,  Bethnal  Green.     It  was 
governed  by  as  wise  a  set  of  articles  for  that  purpose  as 
could  be  passed.     The  principal   author  was  my  friend 

*  The  first  Spitalfields  Act. 


506 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


First          Adrian    Beaumanoir,    a    man    of    great    ingenuity    and 
Mutual      ability." 

Aid  Shell's  account  of  the  formation  and  vicissitudes  of  this 

Society.  Society  are  rather  involved  and  obscure,  but  from  it  it 
is  possible  to  gather  that  it  took  the  form  of  a  Committee 
of  delegates  from  each  of  the  Benefit  Clubs  and  Friendly 
Societies  which  were  so  numerous  among  the  Spitalfields 
weavers.  * 

The  objects  of  Beaumanoir  and  his  associates  were 
stated  in  the  preamble  of  the  rules  as  follows  :— 

"  To  secure  the  price  of  labour  in  the  broad  silk  weaving 
trade,  and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  law  should  any  master 
or  journeyman  transgress  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of 
Parliament  passed  in  1773."  There  was  to  be  a  Committee 
and  a  paid  secretary,  but  how  the  Committee  was  to  be 
elected  Sholl  does  not  state.  The  principal  work  of  the 
Committee  seems  to  have  been  to  collect  contributions 
from  the  members  of  existing  benefit  societies  and  others 
who  were  silk  weavers.  The  payment  of  a  small  sum 
weekly  seems  to  have  been  the  only  condition  of  member- 
ship, and  Sholl  complains  bitterly  that  except  in  times  of 
excitement  little  interest  was  shown,  and  that  conse- 
quently the  subscriptions  were  not  forthcoming.  The 
officials  were  to  meet  regularly  at  an  appointed  "  House 
of  Call,"  in  order  to  receive  reports  from  the  trade  and 
weekly  subscriptions.  The  stipulated  payment  was  a 
penny  a  week. 

In  course  of  time  Sholl  mournfully  records  there  were 

divisions  and  jealousies  about  procedure  and  management 

in  this  Union,  which  in  1791  culminated  in  the  formation 

of  a  second  Society,  having  the  same  objects  in  view  as 

Its  the  first. 

Status  Although  separated,  this  Society  appears  to  have  been 

and  on  friendly  terms  with  the  original  one.     It  is  probable 

Consti-       that  about  this  time  other  branches  were  formed,  meeting 
tution.        at   different  public-houses   and   representing  the   various 

*  It  is  claimed  by  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenot  immigrants  that  their  progenitors 
were  the  first  to  form  Benefit  Societies  amongst  working  folk  in  this  country.  If  this  be  true 
the  Clubs  thus  formed  by  the  immigrants  in  London  for  mutual  help  in  a  strange  country — 
where  they  had  no  claim  on  the  rates — formed  the  model  for  the  Friendly  Societies  which 
have  since  grown  to  such  colossal  proportions.  W.  H.  Manchee  (Proceedings  of  Huguenot 
Society,  vol.  10). 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND  ASSOCIATIONS.       507 

branches   of  the  silk  weaving  trade.     On  all  important 
occasions,  however,  all  the  societies  acted  together.     Sholl 
gives    an    account    of    one    such    occasion.     He    writes  : 
'  then  that  great  struggle  was  made  against  the  intention   Ban- 
of   introducing    Bandanna    handkerchiefs    in    a    wrought   danna 
state  in  this   country  from  India.    They    surreptitiously   Hand- 
introduced  a  clause  into  the  Bill  to  answer  their  purpose,    kerchief 
This  was   in  a  great   measure   successfully   opposed,  and   Agita- 
£302  3s.  5d.  contributed  to  pay  the  expense.     After  all   tion. 
expenses  had  been  paid,  a  compliment  was  given  to  each 
of  the  men  employed  on  this  important  occasion,  being 
five  in  number,  of  £10  each,  besides  their  daily  allowance 
when  on  business."     A  silver  medal  also  was  given.  "  For 
the  men  to  wear  on  their  breasts  on  all  suitable  public 
occasions."     Even  then  there  was  sufficient  cash  in  hand 
to  purchase  £150  bank  stock,  "The  money  to  be  used  only 
for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  introduction  of  silk  handker- 
chiefs in  a  wrought  state  into  this  country  in  the  future." 

In  1795  a  Committee,  consisting  of  delegates  from  the 
Union  of  Journeymen  and  from  a  Trade  Society  which 
the  masters  had  formed,  met  and  agreed  on  a  general  rise 
of  prices.  They  also  decided  the  rates  for  newly  intro- 
duced works  of  silk  mixed  with  other  materials  which  had  by 
the  Act  42  George  III,  Cap.  44,  been  brought  within 
the  scope  of  the  original  Act.  This  list  the  justices 
sanctioned,  and  the  advance  in  wages  was  as  Sholl  records 
obtained  "  by  peaceable  and  orderly  means." 

In  1802  an  attempt  was  made  by  Sholl  and  some  other 
men  of  like  disposition  to  unite  all  the  trade  in  one  Benefit 
Society,  men,  women  and  children,  in  five  different  classes. 
They  were  : — 

(1)  To   maintain   the   sick.     (2)  To   bury   the   dead. 

(3)  To  support  old  age.     (4)  To  educate  children.   Attempt 
(5)  To  reward  merit  in   the   several   branches  of       to 
the  trade.  Amal- 

Sholl's  account  of  this  proposal  is  very  lengthy,  but  gamate 
the  concluding  paragraph  is  so  characteristic  as  to  be  Benefit 
worth  quotation :  Societies. 

"  It  was  intended  to  have  given  every  year  to  the 
two  best  boys  in  the  trade  a  gold  and  silver  medal ; 


508 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Some  to  the  first  best  boy  the  gold  medal,  and  to  the 

quaint  second  the  silver   one,   with   appropriate   devices 

Regula-  and  inscriptions.     They   were   to   wear   them   on 

tions.  their  breasts  and  walk  in  public  one  on  the  right 

hand  of  our  president  and  the  other  on  the  left, 

on  our  yearly  feast  day,  and  to  sit  in  the  same 

manner  at  table. 

"  It  may  be  asked  by  some  how  is  all  this  to  be  paid 
for ;  I  answer  by  every  member  in  the  trade  (as 
provided  in  the  benevolent  articles  pointed  out), 
in  the  first  three  classes  to  pay  6d.  per  quarter, 
and  3d.  per  do.  in  the  other  two.  If  the  trade 
were  united,  how  soon  would  they  have  a  great 
stock,  with  no  other  need  for  it  than  to  apply 
it  to  the  above  benevolent  purposes  ;  as  there 
would  seldom  be  offenders,  for  they  then  would 
know  that  there  was  plenty  of  money  to  prosecute 
them,  whereas  the  disunited  state  we  are  now 
in  leads  them  to  think  we  are  not  able  to 
do  so.  To  encourage  genius  and  industry, 
it  was  also  intended  to  have  lectures  at  ap- 
pointed intervals,  which  would  tend  much  to 
improve  the  youth  of  our  trade,  in  its  true  art 
and  mystery." 

By  general  consent  the  Society  was  duly  started  and 
called  the  "  Benevolent  Society  of  United  Weavers."  A 
considerable  number  of  members  joined,  although  very 
important  impediments  occurred  at  the  same  time,  chief 
among  them  being  "  the  Act  to  arm  the  people  en  masse, 
passed  on  the  general  alarm  of  an  invasion  from  France 
(as  it  was  said),  so  the  people,  dreading  being  made 
soldiers,  fled  in  all  directions.  However,  we  persevered, 
and  after  considerable  trouble,  we  got  money  enough  to 
buy  some  bank  stock." 

Benevo-         Unfortunately,    this   well-planned    Union    was    doomed 
lent  to  failure,  for  after  surmounting  all  the  difficulties  of  its 

Society      initiation  the  treasurer  became  insolvent  and,  compounding 
of  with  his  creditors,  was  only  able  to  pay  five  shillings  in 

United       the   pound.     This   so   disheartened   the   majority   of   the 
Weavers,  members  that  they  withdrew.     After   some   deliberation 


XL/X 


T/ie   Weavers'  Flag. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       509 

the  few  remaining  subscribers  divided  what  was  left  of 
the  money  and  broke  up  the  Society. 

One  of  the  many  works  intended  by  the  United  Society  United 
of  Weavers,  which  thus  came  to  an  untimely  end,  was  Society 
the  production  of  an  example  of  silk  weaving  of  such  of 
superlative    excellence    as    to    confound    those    persons,  Weavers, 
especially   amongst   the    "  Nobility    and    Gentry    of   this 
Country,"   who  protested   "much  to   the  injury   of  the 
nation  at  large  and  of  the  silk  trade  in  particular,"  that 
British  ingenuity  in  silk  weaving  was  not  equal  but  far 
inferior   to   foreign,   especially   to   that   of   the   French.* 
The  proposal  was  to  weave  one  or  more  curious  flags  and 
publicly  exhibit  them.     By  this  means  the  authors  of  the 
scheme  hoped  to  put  an  end  for  ever  to  such  humiliating 
aspersions.     Notwithstanding    the    failure    of    the    great 
scheme,    this    detail   was   considered   by   some   members 
to  be  of  such  importance  and  so  likely  to  appeal  to  the 
popular  feeling  that  the  idea  of  weaving  the  flags  sur- 
vived the  general  wreck  and  after  a  time  was  proceeded 
with. 

On  March  7th,  1807,  a  Committee  of  five  of  the  original 
promoters  of  the  Union  met  at  the  Knave  of  Clubs,  and 
took  such  measures  as  resulted  in  subscriptions  to  the 
amount  of  £60  being  collected  by  August  1st  of  the  same 
year.  One  of  the  Trade  Societies  meeting  at  the  Golden 
Key,  Church  Street,  was  then  applied  to  to  make  choice 
of  such  persons  as  they  thought  fit  for  this  "  great  design." 
Five  were  selected,  viz.  :  Samuel  Sholl,  T.  Atkins,  E. 
Fletcher,  W.  Carter  and  J.  Boquez,  these  being  the  five 
original  promoters. 

This  Committee  of  five,  feeling — as  the  reporter  says—    National 
too  few  to  deal  with  so  important  an  undertaking,  applied   Flag 
to  two  other  Trade  Societies  for  additional  members  to   Corn- 
help  in  the  work.     They  also  applied  to  the  Permanent   mittee. 
Committee    of    Financef    for    the    same    purpose.     Two 
delegates  from  each  Society  were  chosen.     By  this  means 

*  Samuel  Sholl. 

t  This  appears  to  have  been  a  standing  Committee  elected  by  the  trade  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  money  for  legal  and  other  trade  expenses.  It  frequently  appears  in  Parliamentary 
reports  as  "  The  Finance  or  the  Society  of  the  Friends  of  Good  Intent. 


510 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


National    The  National  Flag  Committee  was  made  up  to  the  number 
Flag  of  eleven  members.     The  additional  names  were  J.  Benson, 

Com-          J.   McFarlin,   S.    Agambar,   J.    Lemere,   J.    Randall   and 
mittee.       T.  Frank. 

On  the  18th  June,  1807,  a  bill  was  printed  and  issued 
with  a  view  to  raising  more  money.  This  appeal  was 
sufficiently  successful  to  warrant  a  start  being  made  with 
the  actual  work,  though  some  thought  it  would  have  been 
more  prudent  to  have  waited  a  little  longer.  On  the 
13th  August  it  was  agreed  to  print  100  letters  and  direct 
them  to  the  most  skilful  persons  in  the  silk^weaving  trade 
inviting  them  to  bring  to  the  Committee  such  plans  as 
they  may  have  thought  worthy  and  suitable  for  such  a 
work.  As  the  result  of  this  invitation  at  the  appointed 
time,  various  plans  were  submitted  and  discussed.  The 
form  and  dimensions  of  the  banner,  as  well  as  the  arrange- 
ments for  weaving  it,  and  the  emblematic  figures  and 
devices  to  be  embodied  in  the  design,  were  all  settled. 
They  are  described  in  Sholl's  narrative  as  follows  :— 
"  The  work  was  to  be  two  yards  wide,  a  rich  crimson 
satin,  on  both  sides  alike,  brocaded  on  each  side  alike. 
Within  an  oval  was  to  appear  (1)  a  female  figure,  of  pensive 
aspect,  reclining  on  a  remnant  of  brocade,  lamenting  the 
neglected  state  of  her  favorite  art,  with  some  of  the 
implements  of  her  trade  lying  by  her.  (2)  Enterprise, 
finding  her  in  that  situation,  drops  on  one  knee  to  her, 
takes  her  by  the  right  hand,  and  raises  her  from  the  sitting 
position.  She  now  points  with  the  other  to  a  cornucopia 
pouring  out  the  horn  of  plenty  on  the  undertaking,  as 
an  emblem  of  the  liberality  of  the  British  Nation  to 
support  any  laudable  work.  Next  stands  Genius, 
touching  Enterprise  on  the  shoulder  with  the  left  hand, 
same  time  pointing  with  the  right,  to  tell  the  weavers 
that  what  she  is  lamenting  is  now  revived.  A  flag  is  made, 
the  Weaver's  Arms  in  it,  and  placed  on  the  Temple  of 
Fame.  Owing  to  the  border  going  straight,  there  must 
be  large  blanks  in  the  corners  ;  those  are  to  be  filled  with 
Descrip-  emblems  of  Peace,  Industry  and  Commerce  ;  whilst  above 
tion  of  appears  the  all-seeing  Eye  of  Divine  Providence.  The 
Design,  whole  edged  with  a  beautiful  border,  forming  at  one  view 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       511 

a   combination   of   figures   and   devices   emblematical   of   Descrip- 
an  over-ruling  Providence,  and  favoured  by  Heaven  with  tion  of 
the  blessings  of  Peace  and  Commerce,  the  Enterprising   Design. 
Genius    of    British    Artists    would    convince    surrounding 
nations    that    their    abilities    are    inferior    to    none,    if 
encouraged  and  protected." 

For  making  this  elaborate  drawing  a  designer  named 
G.  Blatch  received  three  guineas.  Various  suggestions 
embodied  in  it  were  paid  for  by  sums  of  a  guinea,  others 
only  received  the  thanks  of  the  Committee.* 

Having  settled  the  design,  a  workshop  was  taken, 
preparations  for  weaving  were  made,  and  a  draughtsman 
and  operative  weaver  were  chosen.  The  actual  weaving 
was  started  at  the  beginning  of  1808,  and  by  October  of 
that  year  subscribers  were  invited  to  see  the  work  in 
progress.  According  to  Sholl,  a  "  number  of  people  came 
and  spread  a  report  that  the  work  exceeded  all  their 
expectations." 

The  next  step  taken  was  to  approach  the  Society  of 
Arts  asking  for  inspection  of  the  work  and  encouragement 
for  the  weavers.  The  Council  of  the  Society  accordingly 
sent  some  of  its  members  to  view  it.  The  visit  is  thus 
reported  in  their  Journal. 

f"  The  Society  attended  with  pleasure  to  the  request 
of  the  silk  weavers,  and  appointed  a  Committee 
to    inspect    the    performance   in    the   loom,    who 
reported   to    the    Society   that    the    specimen    of 
weaving  then  exhibited  to  them  was  superior  to 
anything  of  the  kind  they  had  ever  seen  or  heard 
of  ;  and  that  it  was  well  deserving  of  the  attention 
of  the  Society.     The  Committee  recommended  to 
the  Society  that  their  silver  medal  set  in  a  broad 
gold   border   and   inscribed   to   the   Patrons   and 
Committee    of    the    Flag   Association    should    be   Grant  of 
presented  as  a  Bounty  to  them  and  as  a  mark  of  Society 
encouragement  for  the  great  exertions  they  had   of  Arts 
made    and    the    many    ingenious    devices    and  Medal, 
improvements  now  shown  in  this  valuable  branch 
of  weaving." 

*  For  technical  details  of  the  work,  see  note  in  Appendix. 
t  Vol.  27,  1809,  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 


512 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


The  Society  agreed  with  the  Committee,  and  the  medal 

inscribed  was  delivered  by  the  hands  of  his  Grace  the 

Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  President,  on  May  30th,  1809. 

Lack  of          The    Committee   imagined   that   this   ceremony   would 

Public        afford  a  good  opportunity  for  public  advertisement.     They 

Interest,    therefore  had  a  thousand  bills  printed  with  an  appeal  for 

subscriptions,  and  distributed  them  to  the  people  attending 

it.     The  result,  however,  did  not  answer  their  expectations, 

little  notice  being  taken  of  their  appeal.     Other  plans  were 

tried  in  order  to  revive  the  interest  of  the  trade,  as  by 

this  time  money  was  so  badly  needed  that  they  feared 

the  work  would  have  to  be  abandoned  and  the  two  years' 

work    wasted.     Sufficient     was     collected     to     pay     the 

operators  engaged  in  the  weaving,  but  debts  were  sadly 

accumulating. 

In  April,  1810,  still  another  attempt  was  made  to 
interest  the  public.  Advertisements  were  inserted  in  the 
Times,  the  Morning  Chronicle  and  the  Morning  Post  of 
April  30th  and  May  1st,  inviting  the  fashionable  world 
to  visit  and  inspect  the  banner  in  course  of  manufacture. 
To  this  invitation  only  one  person  responded — Mr.  Kincaid 
—and  the  treasurer  suggested  that  he  should  attempt 
to  interest  the  Queen  and  Princesses  in  the  work.  A 
copper-plate  of  the  Flag  was  engraved,  and  a  framed 
impression,  together  with  a  letter  from  the  Committee 
to  the  Queen,  entrusted  to  that  gentleman  to  convey 
to  her  Majesty  and  their  Royal  Highnesses,  who  were 
then  at  Windsor.  Upon  receiving  them  the  Queen  replied 
that  although  she  much  appreciated  the  present  of  the 
engraving  and  gladly  allowed  it  to  be  dedicated  to  her, 
she  could  not  at  that  time  arrange  to  visit  London  to 
see  the  work. 

Thus,  grudgingly  supported  by  the  trade,  ignored  by 

the  members  of  fashionable  society  whom  they  had  hoped 

to   astonish,   and   disappointed   of  Royal  patronage,   the 

The  Committee   bravely  persevered   until  March   23rd,    1811, 

Com-          at  which  date  the  work  was  completed.     It  had  taken 

mittee        two  men,  T.   Frank  and  T.   Atkins,  Junr.,  three  years, 

in  less  five  days,  to  draft  and  weave.     The  total  contributions 

Debt.         amounted  to  £571    17s.   4d.,   and  the  Committee  found 


TRADE   UNIONS   AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       513 

themselves  in  debt  to  the  sum  of  £381  4s.,  exclusive  of 
their  own  expenses.     The  weavers'  trophy,  after  having   An 
thus  cost  nearly  a  thousand  pounds,  was  first  sent  to  the  unfor- 
Society  of  Arts,  who,  having  inspected  it,  voted  a  bounty   tunate 
of    ten    guineas    towards    the    expenses.     It    was    next  fiasco, 
exhibited,  probably  at  a  public-house  in  Bethnal  Green, 
where  few  besides  the  poor  weavers  themselves  saw  it. 
After  a  short  time,  it  was  so  neglected  that  it  disappeared. 
It  was  generally  supposed  to  have  been  stolen  by  some 
emissary  of  the  weavers'  hated  rivals,  the  French. 

The  Union  of  representative  Silk  Weavers,  burdened 
with  debt,  seems  to  have  survived  this  crushing  dis- 
appointment but  a  little  while,  and  the  Flag  Committee, 
if  one  may  judge  from  the  remarks  of  the  author  of  the 
quaint  pamphlet  in  which  the  story  has  been  preserved, 
bitterly  regretted  the  unfortunate  undertaking. 

It  is  probable  that  many  more  or  less  permanent 
Committees  of  the  Trade  were  subsequently  formed  for 
special  purposes,  such  as  petitioning  Parliament, 
prosecuting  offenders  against  the  Spitalfields  Acts,  or 
getting  out  new  lists  of  prices,  but  with  one  exception 
there  seems  to  be  no  record  of  them  extant.  During  the 
time  the  local  Acts  were  in  force — 1773  to  1824 — there 
were  no  strikes  in  the  silk  trade  in  London.  In  the  higher 
branches  of  the  trade  the  operatives  required  great  skill, 
and  were  consequently  few  in  number.  There  was 
generally,  therefore,  enough  work  to  keep  them  reasonably 
well  employed.  But  in  the  lower  branches,  although 
prices  were  justly  regulated,  the  poverty  of  the  weavers 
resulted  from  insufficiency  of  work  for  the  great  numbers 
seeking  it,  and  the  faulty  system  of  domestic  manu- 
facture already  described  in  the  Spitalfields  section.  These 
conditions  obviously  could  not  be  altered  by  means  of  Trade 
strikes  or  combinations.  Condi- 

There  is  an  account  of  one  such  Trade  Committee  in   tions  at 
the  Morning  Chronicle,  February  9th,   1824,  just  before   end  of 
the    repeal    of    the    Spitalfields    Acts.     The    Society    or   18th 
Committee  of  Engine  Silk  Weavers*  were  urged  to  join  in  Century. 

*  The  Jacquard  machine  was  popularly  known  in  Spitalfields  as  the  Draw  Engine  when 
first  introduced.     This  was,  therefore,  the  Committee  of  Jacquard  Machine  Weavers. 

2  K 


514  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Trade  a  petition  to  Parliament  for  the  repeal  of  the  Combination 
Condi-  Acts.  When  the  proposal  came  before  the  meeting,  the 
tions  at  following  resolution  was  proposed  :  "  That  protected  as 
end  of  we  have  been  for  years  under  the  salutary  laws  and  wisdom 
18th  of  the  legislature,  and  being  completely  unapprehensive 

Century,  of  any  sort  of  combination  on  our  part,  we  cannot  there- 
fore take  any  sort  of  notice  of  the  invitation  held  out 
by  Mr.  Place."  When  this  resolution  was  put  by  the 
Chairman,  "  an  unanimous  burst  of  applause  followed, 
with  a  multitude  of  voices  exclaiming,  '  The  law,  cling 
to  the  law,  it  will  protect  us.'  * 

Although  during  the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century 
many  attempts  were  made  to  organise  and  maintain 
Trade  Unions  amongst  the  London  silk  weavers,  they  were 
never  continued  for  any  length  of  time,  nor  were  they 
successful  in  improving  the  conditions  of  their  own  members, 
much  less  those  of  the  silk  weavers  as  a  class.  This  was 
because  the  evils  which  the  mass  of  London  silk  weavers 
suffered  from  in  the  nineteenth  century  were  not  such  as 
could  be  obviated  either  by  combined  action  or  individual 
effort.  The  abject  poverty  which  they  endured  resulted 
not  so  much  from  low  prices  or  from  the  competition  of 
the  power-loom,  as  some  have  supposed,*  but  from  the 
fact  that  in  the  lower  branches  of  the  trade  there  was  seldom 
enough  work  to  keep  the  overwhelming  number  of  candi- 
dates for  it  fully  supplied. 

At  special  crises  in  the  trade  when  unemployment  was 
more   than   usually   prevalent,    it    was    easy    enough   to 
organise  great  demonstrations,  such  as  are  described  in 
contemporary  records  as  having  paraded  the  streets  with 
drums   beating   and   flags   flying  to   petition   Parliament 
against  some  obnoxious  enactment  or  encroachment  of 
the   hated   foreigner,    or   to   intimidate   some   oppressive 
master   or   unauthorised   rival   craftsman.     Such   demon- 
strations sometimes  degenerated  into  riots,  and  had  to 
Causes       be  dispersed  by  military  force  ;   at  other  times  they  were 
of  Unem-  successful  in  their  immediate  object  and  having  attained  it 
ployment.  were  disbanded.     Occasionally  flushed  with  unusual  success, 

*    It  was  not  till  quite  late  in  the  century  that  silk  to  any  great  extent  came  to  be  woven 
by  power  or  machine  looms. 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       515 

a  Union  or  Society  was  formed,  but  as  these  generally 
required  a  regular  subscription  from  members,  they  were 
always  short-lived,  the  weavers  being  too  poor  to  spare 
even  the  small  amount  at  which  the  subscription  was 
invariably  fixed. 

It  seems  that  almost  all  records  of   these  short-lived 
unions  are  lost,  as  they  were  naturally  considered  to  be  of   Union 
little  value  after  the  breaking  up  of  a  society.    An  excep-   of  Spital- 
tion,  however,  to  this  rule  must  be  made  in  the  case  of  the   fields 
last  Union  of  Spitalfields  Silk  Weavers,  which  was  wound   Silk 
up  at  a  special  general  meeting  held  on  January  17th,  1908,    Weavers, 
at  the  "Lord  Nelson,"  Type  Street,  Bethnal  Green,  at  which 
only  eleven  members  were  present.     At  this  meeting  it 
was  agreed  that  as  so  few  weavers  supported  the  Union 
it  could  not  be  continued,  and  that  after  all  expenses 
had  been  paid  the  balance  of  cash  in  hand  should  be 
returned  in  due  proportion  to  the  subscribers.    An  original 
copy   of   the   Rules   which   governed   this   Society   bears 
the  date  1877.    It  is  entitled  "  Rules  of  the  London  Broad 
Silk   Weavers'    Society  held  at    The  'Duke  of   Glo'ster,' 
Seabright  Street,  Bethnal  Green  Road."     The  first  Rule 
discloses  the  fact  that  the  Society  was  not  only  to  be  a 
Trade  Society,  but  a  Burial  Club  as  well.     The  subscription 
for  a  major  loom  was  one  penny  a  week  and  for  a  minor 
loom  a  halfpenny. 

In  1890,  the  weaving  of  furniture  silk  having  been  revived   Revival 
by   a  few  firms  who  had   adopted  modern  methods  of   of 
manufacture,    the    principal    one    being   Messrs.    Warner   Furni- 
and   Ramm,   of    Hollybush   Gardens,    Bethnal    Green,    a   ture 
Society  called  the  "  Amalgamated  Furniture  Silk  Weavers'    Silk 
Union  "  was  established.     It  had  a  membership  of  between  Weaving, 
one  and  two  hundred  weavers,  and  although  few  if  any 
difficulties  on  the  score  of  prices  arose,  it  had  a  fair  degree 
of  prosperity.     It  was  soon  after  this  reconstruction  of  the 
Union  that  the  Princess  Mary  Adelaide,  Duchess  of  Teck 
and  her  daughter,  now  Queen  Mary,  arranged  to  visit  the 
different  centres  of  silk  manufacture  as  described  in  her 
memoirs.*     The  visit  of  the  Princesses  to  the  factory  in 
Hollybush  Gardens  was  much  appreciated  by  the  weavers, 

*  A  full  quotation  from  the  memoirs  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  note. 


516  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Revival     who    expressed   their   gratification   in   a  letter  addressed 

of  officially  to  her  Royal  Highness  by  the  members  of  the  Union. 

Furni-  "  It  is  the  greatest  pleasure  that  falls  to  us  to  see  your 

ture  Royal    Highness    and    also    your    executive    Committee, 

Silk  exerting    yourselves    in    the    interests    of    British    Silk 

Weaving.  Industries,  and  we  believe  and  trust  that  through  your 

kind  endeavours  a  trade  that  was  one  of  the  foremost  of 

English  Industries  will  take  its  place   once  again,   and 

we  feel  convinced  that,  under  the  guidance  of  your  Royal 

Highness  and  the  noble  ladies  working  with  you,  we  are 

capable,  with  the  assistance  of  our  employers,  of  producing 

in  the  English  markets  silks  of  all  descriptions  to  suit  the 

class  they  are  intended  for." 

To  this  letter  the  Princess  Mary  directed  the  following 
reply  to  be  sent  :— 

"  Her  Royal  Highness  is  much  touched  and  gratified 
by  the  expressions  of  gratitude  which  you  have  expressed 
to  her  and  the  Committee  of  Ladies  working  with  her  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  Silk  Industry  in  England. 
Her  Royal  Highness  is  convinced  that  if  the  work  be 
carried  on  as  it  has  been  begun,  success  is  sure  to  attend 
the  effort  of  those  who  are  endeavouring  to  revive  the 
industry  ;  for  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  beautiful 
examples  of  silk  both  for  dresses  and  furniture  of  English 
manufacture  recently  exhibited  at  Stafford  House 
abundantly  prove  that  they  can  compare  favourably 
with  foreign  productions  of  the  same  kind,  and  that  the 
trade  in  England  has  only  to  be  fostered  and  encouraged 
in  order  to  raise  it  to  its  former  important  place  among 
Royal  the  principal  industries  of  the  country.  This  is  the  hope 
Interest,  of  her  Royal  Highness,  which  she  cordially  wishes  to  be 
realized." 

When  the  works  of  Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons  were 
removed  from  Bethnal  Green  to  Braintree,  the  Union 
was  moved  as  well. 

There  is  a  strong  trade  union  spirit  among  the 
Macclesfield  operatives.  The  Hand  Loom  Weavers' 
Union  dates  back  to  1849,  at  which  date  a  general  price- 
list  for  the  Macclesfield  Silk  Trade  was  compiled.  The 
outside  weavers  have  gradually  diminished  in  number  and 


TRADE   UNIONS  AND   ASSOCIATIONS.       517 

seceded  from  the  Union,  but  the  hand  loom  weavers  em- 
ployed on  premises  of  the  various  Manufacturers  have 
continued  the  Association  up  to  the  present  time.  In  1919 
the  few  outside  hand  loom  weavers  remaining  re-entered 
the  Hand  Loom  Weavers'  Union,  so  that  again  it  is  repre- 
sentative of  the  whole  of  the  hand  loom  trade. 

The  principal  Union  of  Workers  in  the  Macclesfield  Silk 
Trade  is  the  National  Silk   Workers'  Union,  which  was   Trade 
formed  in  February,  1903,  under  the  title  of  The  Maccles-   Unions 
field  Power  Loom  Weavers'  Association,  and  was  for  three  at 
or  four  years  confined  to  power  loom  weavers  only.     It   Maccles- 
gradually  increased  its  operations  until  it  now  practically  field, 
embraces  all  workers  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  sections. 

In  1917  its  rules  were  revised,  and  registration  ceased ; 
like  many  other  Societies  it  demanded  freedom  of  action, 
which  registration  precluded. 

The  Designers  became  organised  as  a  Trade  in  October, 
1913,  and  eventually  joined  up  to  the  National  Silk 
Workers'  Union  as  a  separate  Section.  In  September, 
1919,  the  Designers,  Card  Cutters,  Overlookers  and  Ware- 
housemen, formed  what  is  termed  an  Administrative 
Section  of  the  National  Silk  Workers'  Union,  holding 
separate  meetings  and  having  a  separate  Executive  Com- 
mittee, but  with  one  representative  on  the  Executive  of 
the  National  Silk  Workers'  Union. 

The  Dyers  and  Finishers  of  the  town  are  all  well 
organised,  being  members  of  the  National  Amalgamated 
Society  of  Dyers  and  Kindred  Trades,  whose  headquarters 
are  in  Bradford. 

Apart  from  affiliations  to  the  General  Federation  of 
Trades  Unions,  the  connecting  link  of  the  different  Silk 
Workers'  Unions  operating  in  Macclesfield  is  the  National 
Association  of  Unions  in  the  Textile  Trade,  whose  head- 
quarters are  also  in  Bradford. 

The  National  Silk  Workers'  Union  has  never  had  any 
connection  with  the  Hand  Loom  Weavers'  Association. 

A  later  development  is  the  formation  of  the  Joint 
Industrial  Council  for  the  Silk  Trade,  which  links  up 
various  sections  of  the  Trade  throughout  the  country  on 
both  the  Workers  and  Employers  sides. 


518  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

The  The  other  Trade  Union  claiming  a  considerable  member- 

leading  ship  amongst  Macclesfield  workers  is  the  Amalgamated 
Women's  Society  of  Women  Workers,  Throwers  and  Spinners,  whose 
Union,  headquarters  are  at  Leek.  To  this  body  the  bulk  of  the 

hard  silk  hands  belong. 

There  has  also  recently  sprung  up  the  Macclesfield  Power 

Loom  Tacklers'  Union,  which  has  its  own  agreement  with 

the  Employers'  Association. 


CHAPTER    XL. 
THE  SMUGGLING   TRADE. 

There  is  a  false  halo  of  romance  around  smuggling  which 
masks  the  fact  that  it  is  mere  law-breaking,  and  many 
have  assigned  the  smuggler  a  higher  place  than  he 
deserves.  He  lived  by  outwitting  the  revenue  officer  and 
bringing  to  groaning  taxpayers  the  benefits  of  cheap  silks, 
spirits,  and  tobacco,  and  might,  therefore,  from  some  points 
of  view,  be  regarded  as  a  public  benefactor.  Regarded 
at  close  quarters  his  business  was  only  sordid  and  linked 
with  mean  stratagems  and  violent  actions.  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  soulless  entity  that  he  defrauded,  and  the  fact 
that  somewhere  in  the  background  honest  traders  and 
workmen  may  have  been  suffering  from  the  effects  of  his 
wholesale  depredations  has  too  often  been  overlooked.  That 
the  smugglers'  operations  were  an  embarrassment  alike 
to  traders  and  to  the  rulers  of  the  country,  and  demoral- 
ising to  those  who  took  part  in  them,  may  be  readily  seen 
from  an  examination  of  the  public  records. 

The  stuff  of  which  the  silk  smuggler  was  made  can 
be  judged  from  an  examination  of  the  record  of  one  band, 
the  scourge  of  Kent.     The  Hawkhurst  Gang,  which  was  the  Notorious 
name  given  to  this  notorious  body  of  men,  was  tolerated  Gangs 
by  its  decent  neighbours  until  its  aggressions  could  be  no  in 
longer   withstood.     A    declaration  was   signed  expressing  Kent, 
abhorrence  of  and  determination  to  oppose  its  practice,  and 
a  young  army  officer  named  Sturt  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  troop  of   vigilantes — the  Goudhurst  Band  of 
Militia.     An    action    was    fought    in    1747    against    the 
smugglers,   led   by   Thomas   Kmgsmill,   alias  Staymaker, 
which  cost  three  smugglers'  lives  and  caused  many  wounds, 

519 


520 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Notorious  It  was  Kingsmill's  fate  to  be  executed  two  years  later, 
Gangs       with  two  companions,  and  his  body  was  hung  in  chains, 
in  Two  others  of  his  band  were  executed  for  housebreaking, 

Kent.        and  two  for   horse-stealing,  and   of  the  rest  some  were 
lodged  in  Newgate.     Furley's  History  of  the  Weald  of  Kent 
tells  their  story,  and  that  of  seven  Dorset  smugglers  con- 
demned at  Chichester  in  1749  for  the  murder  of  an  Excise 
officer  and  of  a  shoemaker  who  had  turned  informer. 

Perhaps  because  they  were   further  from  the   capital 
the  contraband  traders  of  the  south-western  coast  dealt 
less    in    silks    than    their    south-eastern    contemporaries. 
Yet  if  the  lines  of  the  Rev.   W.   Crowe,  apostrophising 
Burton  Cliff,  Bridport,  have  any  meaning,  silks  formed 
part  of  the  illicit  cargo  : 

".,...  Burton  and  thy  lofty  cliff  where  oft 
The  nightly  blaze  is  kindled  ;    further  seen 
Than  erst  was  that  love-tended  cresset,  hung 
Beside  the  Hellespont ;    yet  not  like  that 
Inviting  to  the  hospitable  arms 
Of  beauty  and  youth,  but  lighted  up,  the  sign 
Of  danger  and  of  ambush' d  foes  to  warn 
The  stealth-approaching  vessel,  homeward  bound 
From  Havre  or  the  Norman  Isles,  with  freight 
Of  wines  and  hotter  drinks,  the  trash  of  France 
Forbidden  merchandise.  ....  ." 

The  Dorset  smugglers  were  "  ever  remarkable,"  Charles 

Roberts  wrote  in  his  Social  History  of  the  Southern  Counties, 

"  for  their  quiet  manner  of  pursuing  their  illicit  calling." 

Instances   of   brutality   there   manifestly   had   been,   but 

"  never  a  series  of  violence  and  bloodshed  such  as  has 

disgraced  so   often  the  south-eastern   coast."     They  did 

not,  however,  lack  courage  or  determination,  for  at  Lyme 

Dorset     the   "  White   Wigs "   sheltered  and  refreshed  themselves 

Smug-      in  preparation  for  business  in  a  seaward  chamber  not  a 

glers.        hundred   yards   away   from   the   former   Custom   House, 

and  it  is  written  that  while  avoiding  the  use  of  superfluous 

violence  they  would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  deprived 

of  their  goods  when  their  numbers  were  strong  and  those 

of   the  revenue   officers  weak.     They  were  the  servants 

of  one  Gulliver,  who  lived  to  a  good  old  age  and  amassed 


THE   SMUGGLING  TRADE.  521 

a  large  fortune  at  the  business.  The  band  was  forty  or 
fifty  strong,  and  its  members  wore  a  livery  of  powdered 
hair  and  smock  frocks,  so  acquiring  their  distinctive  name. 

Trade    jealousies    account    for    some     allegations    of 
smuggling   made   in   past   records,   and   Thomas  Violet's 
address   to   the   Parliamentary   Committee   for   the   Mint 
(1650)  is  manifestly  not  free  from  a  spirit  of  jealousy. 
He  wrote  :    "  The  Customs  officers  can  tell  you  of  the   Effect 
disadvantage  and  ruin  brought  on  by  shopkeepers  and   on 
another   sort   of   disorderly   and   unskilful   traders   called    Shop- 
interlopers,    made   up    of   factors,    clothworkers,    packers   keepers, 
and  drawers,  who  are  the  importers  of  fine  spices,  silks 
both  wrought  and  unwrought,  fine  linen  and  other  fine 
commodities,  made  up  in  small  parcels  in  purpose  to  be 
stolen  on  shore  without  paying  Customs  or  Excise." 

Whether  the  size  of  the  package  was  controlled  by  the 
desire  to  defraud  or  by  the  limitations  of  trading  in  a 
small  way  may  be  a  moot  question.  Violet  is  not  an 
unprejudiced  witness,  but  it  may,  indeed,  have  been 
that  the  smaller  and  spasmodic  importers  of  the  day  gave 
more  trouble  to  the  Customs  officers  than  those  whose 
affairs  were  more  regular  and  in  large  bulk.  Violet's 
evidence  is  tainted  with  jealousy,  and  in  the  case  of 
Nicholas  Kennard  of  Rye,  prosecuted  in  1650  for  frauds 
upon  the  revenue,  there  hangs  the  suspicion  of  a  smuggler's 
quarrel.  The  general  character  of  the  testimony  offered 
in  the  records  which  have  been  preserved  constitute,  apart 
from  questions  of  personal  guilt,  an  engaging  relic  of  the 
period.  The  papers  are  conclusive  at  least  in  showing 
that  the  connection  with  smuggling  was  not  limited  to 
any  one  section  of  the  seaward  population  in  the  counties 
nearest  France. 

The  preamble   of  an  Act   of   1696-7  for  the   Further   The 
Encouragement    of    the    Manufacture    of    Lustrings    and   Royal 
Alamodes  relates  to  the  "  subtil  practices  of  evil  disposed    Lustring 
persons  "  guilty  of  importing  foreign  silks  without  paying   Com- 
the  "  rates,  customes,  impositions  and  duties,"  and  bears  pany. 
directly  on  a  matter  of  some  historical  importance  : 

"  Whereas  there   are  great   Quantities   of  Alamodes 
and  Lustrings  consumed  by  His  Majesties  Subjects 


522 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  which   till    of   late    Yeares   were   imported    from 

Royal  forreigne  Parts,  and  thereby  the  Treasure  of  the 

Lustring  Nation  much  exhausted,  but  are  now  manufactured 

Com-  in    England    by    the    Royall    Lustring    Company 

pany.  to  as  greate  Perfection  as  in  any  other  Countrey, 

whereby  many  Thousands  may  be  imployed.     And 
whereas   Provision   hath   been   made   by   diverse 
Laws  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  said  Manu- 
facture  and   for   preventing   the   Importation   of 
such   Forreign   Silks   without   paying   the   duties 
charged  thereon  which  have  been  frequently  eluded 
by  the  subtil  practices  of  evil  disposed  Persons." 
Going   further,   the   Act   attests   the   existence   at  this 
time  of  a  system  that  was  to  be  continued  and  developed 
more  highly  later,  for  it  menaced  those  who  : 

"  Shall  by  way  of  Insurance  or  otherwise  undertake 

or    agree    to    deliver  .  .  .  any    such    Goods     or 

Merchandize    and    every    Person  .  .  .  who    shall 

agree  to   pay   any   Sum   of   Money   Premium   or 

Reward  for  insuring  or  conveying  any  such  goods 

as  shall  knowingly  receive  or  take  the  same  into 

....  House,  Shopp  or  Warehouse." 

An  earlier  Act  (4th  William  and  Mary)  had  laid  a  penalty 

of  £500  on  the  import  of  prohibited  goods  or  goods  brought 

in  without  payment  of  duty.     This  further  Act  applied 

the  same  penalty  to  the  insuring  of  smuggling  transactions 

in  silks  and  prescribed  : 

"  For  the  more  easie  and  certaine  Recovery  of  the 
same  itt  is  hereby  further  enacted  that  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawfull  for  any  person  ...  to  sue 
for  or  prosecute  and  to  recover  the  said 
Penalty."' 

A  This  provision  was  soon  to  have  effects  of  great  moment 

notable      to   a  number   of   silk   merchants  in   London.     Seven   of 

Prosecu-    them,  John   Goudet,  David  Barreau,   Peter   Longueville, 

tion.  Stephen  Seignoret,  Rhene    Baudouin,    Nicholas    Santiny, 

Peter  Dehearce  and  a  solicitor,  John  Pierce,  were  indicted 

in  1698  "  for  High  Crimes  and  Misdemeanours."   Importers 

had  been  punished  before  for  trespasses  against  the  interests 

of  the  Lustring  Company,  but  not  to  such  purpose  as  in  this 


THE   SMUGGLING  TRADE.  523 

case  in  the  unfolding  of  which  an  elaborate  mesh  of  A 
duplicity  was  revealed.  The  conspirators  were  charged  notable 
among  other  offences  with  contriving  the  ruin  of  the  Prosecu- 
Lustring  Company.  It  is  certain  indeed  that  smuggling  or  tion. 
some  other  cause  brought  the  English  manufacture  near 
to  extinction,  for  of  the  768  looms  at  work  on  alamodes 
and  lustrings  in  1695-6,  less  than  fifty  were  working 
in  1698.  There  was  a  hint  of  a  foreign  plot  in  one  item 
of  evidence.  A  Mr.  Hoffman,  merchant  of  Lyons,  who 
in  1694  offered  alamodes  for  sale  to  Gabriel  Tahourdin, 
was  reported  as  saying  that  "  for  100,000  crowns  the 
patented  company  might  be  broke,"  and  that  he  was 
sure  the  town  of  Lyons  would  willingly  find  the  money. 
A  Mr.  Grubert,  French  merchant,  "  owned  there  was  a 
contribution  made  by  the  French  traders  to  secure  them- 
selves in  their  practices  of  running  French  silks  against 
the  Company,"  and  that  he  paid  twenty  guineas  as  his 
proportion  to  one  Lambert,  a  goldsmith.  Grubert's 
testimony  points  to  a  mutual  insurance  scheme  rather 
than  to  an  organised  attempt  to  break  the  Company  by 
subsidy. 

The  circumstances  had  another  spice  of  interest  arising  Illicit 
from  the  collusion  of  subjects  of  the  realm  with  the  King's   Trade 
enemies.     John    Brady,     master    of    the     30-ton     craft   in 
Providence,  held  a  passport  from  the   King  of  France,   French 
empowering  him  to  bring  over  his  vessel  in  ballast  to   Silks. 
Dieppe  and  Calais,  and  giving  him  liberty  to  go  to  Holland 
to  load  French  silks.     One  Captain  Joseph  Sanders,  who 
declared    himself    the    employer    of    Brady,    testified    to 
receiving  5s.   per  Ib.  freight  for  silks  and  6s.   for  laces. 
Brady  carried  for  Goudet  and  Barreau,  who  were  apparently 
the  chief  powers  in  the  illicit  import  of  French  silks  from 
Rotterdam  to  England.     The  conspirators  used  a  code 
for  their  written  messages,  in  which  "  Garance  "  meant 
alamodes.     When  they  wrote  "  Carts  "   or  "  Calosches," 
boats  was  intended.     "  Geneva  and  Bruges  "  meant  City 
of   Lyons,    "Ostend"    stood   for   Calais,    "Oxford'3    for 
London,   and   "Martin  Francar,"    "Daniel  Smith,"   and 
"  John   James    White "    were   all   synonyms   for   Goudet 
and  Co.     The  directions  were  sometimes  more  mysterious, 


524 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Illicit 

Trade 

in 

French 

Silks. 


Superi- 
ority of 
English 
Silks. 


for  the  orders  of  Samuel  Blundell,  of  the  Thomas  and 
Ellen,  were  to  deliver  his  cargo  of  silks  to  "  persons  who 
should  set  a  white  handkerchief  upon  a  stick." 

A  chief  of  this  traffic  in  Holland  was  De  la  Motte,  with 
whom  the  witness  Daniel  Baudouin  had  lived  two  years. 
De  la  Motte  owned  a  dozen  looms,  and  in  two  years  sent 
nearly  400  pieces  of  his  own  manufacture  to  England, 
as  well  as  25,000  pieces  of  French  goods.  The  book- 
keeper told  the  witness  the  goods  were  for  Seignoret, 
Baudouin,  Goudet,  Barailleau  and  Longueville.  The 
cloths  came  from  Lyons  to  Holland  via  Antwerp  and 
Lille,  and  Dutch  seals  were  put  upon  the  cloth  in  Rotterdam. 
Mr.  Rape  conducted  a  search  of  the  houses  in  London  in 
which  French  merchants  lived,  and  in  the  lodgings  of  one 
Ravaud  found  a  piece  of  French  alamode  under  the  bed, 
and  a  quantity  of  Lyons  seals  in  a  cupboard.  In  Peter 
Montbrun's  house  47  pieces  of  French  silk  were  discovered. 
At  this  time,  Lyons  had,  according  to  Peter  Lauze,  4,000 
looms,  each  making  ten  or  twelve  pieces  of  alamode 
yearly.  The  statement  was  disputed  by  the  prisoner 
Seignoret,  who  said  there  were  not  more  than  eight 
hundred. 

Had  the  French  goods  been  superior,  but  cheaper,  the 
competition  would  still  have  been  a  harassing  one,  but 
it  appears  that  they  were  inferior.  "  For  proof  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Company's  manufacture,"  some  of  its 
goods  were  seized,  by  arrangement  with  the  Government, 
as  though  they  had  been  French,  and  were  sold  side  by 
side  with  French  cloths  at  public  sale.  Some  of  the 
Company's  alamode  fetched  7s.  9d.  per  ell,  and  none  of 
the  French  goods  more  than  7s.  French  and  English  cloths 
were  mixed  to  give  another  demonstration,  and  the  English 
ones  were  adjudged  by  arbiters  to  be  worth  6d.-9d.  an  ell 
more  than  the  French.  An  account  of  the  sale  of  English 
goods  at  the  Custom  House  in  1695  is  given  in  the  Report 
of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  1698.  The 
record  of  the  first  lot  is  quoted  as  an  example  of  the 
rest. 


THE   SMUGGLING   TRADE.  525 

AN   ACCOUNT    OF    A    SALE    OF    FRENCH   SILKS,   BY    INCH    OF    CANDLE,   THE 

17ra  OF  FEBRUARY,    1695-6,   AT  THE  CUSTOMS  HOUSE.  lorltV  Of 


Lot  1.     Five  pieces  Narrow  Allamode  at  5s.  2d.  per  ell,  to  advance  Id.  each  bidding. 

Weight.  oi-i-r 

Ells.  Workmen.  Ib.  ozs.  Silks. 

No.  8428 62i         James  Plantier     . . 


Buyers. 


No.  8099..      ..      651         MarkMulers.. 


John  Mire,    No.  8177  . .      . .      66f         Jacob  Aubry 
6s.  2d. 


Prices  of  the  Lustring 

Company. 

2J  per  cent  discount. 
5s.  per  ell. 


No.  8162  ..      . .      64 J         Samuel  Clark 

No.  8092  . .      . .      64J         James  Dargent     . .      35 

The  trial  ended  in  the  fining  of  the  eight  principals 
no  less  a  sum  than  £19,500,  and  pending  its  payment 
they  were  lodged  in  Newgate.  The  money  was  paid  in 
the  succeeding  year,  and  applied  by  the  special  request 
of  the  House  of  Commons  to  the  erection  of  the  noble 
Hospital  for  Seamen  at  Greenwich,  then  in  course  of  erec- 
tion after  plans  prepared  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  The 
contribution  wrung  from  the  erring  silk  merchants,  supple- 
mented by  the  proceeds  of  lotteries,  the  yield  from  malt 
tickets  and  royal  and  other  subscriptions,  was  turned  thus 
to  a  purpose  of  which  the  nation  has  ever  been  proud. 

The  royal  subscription  and  the  smugglers'  fines  are 
mentioned  in  the  public  archives.  The  Treasury  papers 
contain  a  note  signed  by  Evelyn,  the  diarist  and  treasurer 
of  the  Hospital,  desiring  William  Lounds  to  "  put  their 
Lordships  in  mind  of  his  Majesty's  £2,000  due  at  Christmas, 
and  the  great  arrear  due  to  the  workmen  "  employed  on  the 
building.  The  Royal  reply  noted  on  the  document  was 
terse,  and  betrayed  signs  of  irritation  : 

"  The  King,  when  he  gave  intirely  to  ye  hospitall  the 

fines  of  ye  smuglers  was   pleased  to  declare  this 

payment  might  not  be  made  for  the  last  year." 

The  law  providing  regulations  for  the  disposal  of  seized 

silks     infringing     the     Lustring     Company's     monopoly 

prescribed  the  manner  of  their  sale,   and  forbade  their 

retention  in  the  home  market.     The  clause  read  : 

"  That  no  Alamodes   and   Lustrings  .  .  .  that  shall 
be  seized  ...  shall  be  consumed  or  used  in  this 
Kingdome,  but  shall  be  exported  againe  and  not   The 
sold  otherwise  on  Condition  to  be  exported,  And   Seamen's 
for  preventing  their  Consumption  in  England  the   Hospital, 


526 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Pro-  same  shall  immediately  on  Seizure  be  carried  to 

tection  the  Custome  House   Warehouse  in  London,  and 

of  those  such  as  are  forfeited  shall  be  sold  by  Inch 

English  of  Candle  on  Conditions  to  be  exported.  ..." 

Manu-  The   Royal   Lustring   Company,   as   instigators   of  the 

facturers.  Act,  displayed  at  once  their  own  foresight  and  their 
appreciation  of  the  astuteness  of  the  silk  merchants  by 
obtaining  one  more  provision : 

"  And  forasmuch  as  there  is  no  Reason  that  any 
of  his  Majesties  Subjects  should  have  Lustrings 
and  Alamodes  att  a  cheaper  rate  than  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Kingdome  or  that  it  should 
be  more  profitable  to  export  forreigne  Lustrings 
and  Alamodes  .  .  .  than  such  as  are  made  in 
this  Kingdome  ....  That  .  .  .  the  Exporter 
shall  not  be  intituled  to  receive  Drawback  or 
be  repaid  the  Duties.  .  .  .  Any  Law,  Statute, 
Customs  and  Usage  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing." 

The  exemplary  punishment  of  the  eight  Frenchmen 
was  not  without  deterrent  effects,  for  in  1703  Henry  Baker, 
Supervisor  of  Excise  in  Kent  and  Sussex,  reported  to  his 
superiors  : 

"  But  for  fine  goods,  as  they  call  them  (viz.,  silks, 
laces,  &c.),  I  am  well  assured  that  the  trade 
goes  on  through  both  counties,  though  not  in  such 
vast  quantities  as  have  been  formerly  brought  in 
—I  mean  in  the  days  when  (as  a  gentleman  of 
estate  in  one  of  the  counties  has  within  this 
twelve  months  told  me)  he  has  been  att  once, 
besides  at  other  times,  at  the  loading  of  a  wagon 
with  silks,  laces  &c.,  till  six  oxen  could  hardly 
move  it  out  of  the  place.  I  doe  not  think  that 
the  trade  is  now  so  carried  on  as  it  was  then." 

Effects  The  sterner  measures  would  seem  to  have  gradually 

of  lost  their  effects,  as  in  the  year  1746  the  Government  of 

Exem-  the  day  made  the  crime  of  assembling  "  to  the  number  of 
plary  three  or  more  with  fire-arms  or  other  offensive  weapons 
Punish-  to  aid  and  assist  in  the  illegal  landing,  running  or  carrying 
ment.  away  of  any  prohibited  goods  "  a  felony  punishable  by 


THE   SMUGGLING   TRADE.  527 

death.     While  the  high  duties  remained  in  force,  smuggling,    Effects 
and  the  degree  of  complicity  in  smuggling  indicated  by   of 
the  purchasing  of  contraband  goods,   was  not  contrary   Exem- 
to  the  moral  sense  of  the  time.     The  author  of  the  Wealth  plary 
of  Nations  saw  that  association  in  smuggling  led  to  con-    Punish- 
sequences  deplorable  enough,  but  his  blame  descended  on   ment. 
the  system  of  which  the  smuggler  was  only  a  product. 
"  To  pretend,"  said  Adam  Smith,  "  to  have  any  scruple 
about  buying  smuggled  goods,  though  a  manifest  encourage- 
ment to  the  violation  of  the  revenue  laws  and  to  the 
perjury  which  almost  always  attends  it,  would,  in  most 
countries,  be  regarded  as  one  of  those  pedantic  pieces 
of  hypocrisy  which,  instead  of  gaining  credit  with  any- 
body, seems  only  to  expose  the  person  who  affects  to 
practise  them  to  the  suspicion  of  being  a  greater  knave 
than  most  of  his  neighbours.     By  this  indulgence  of  the 
public,  the  smuggler  is  often  encouraged  to  continue  a 
trade,  which  he  is  thus  taught  to  consider  as,  in  some 
measure,  innocent ;   and  when  the  severity  of  the  revenue 
laws  is  ready  to  fall  upon  him,  he  is  frequently  disposed 
to  defend  with  violence  what  he  has  been  accustomed  to 
regard  as  his  just  property  ;   and  from  being  at  first  rather 
impudent  than   criminal,  he,  at  last,  too   often  becomes 
one   of   the   most   determined   violators   of   the   laws    of 
society." 

Kent  and  Sussex,  Essex  and  Suffolk  were  the  English 
counties  concerned  principally  in  contraband,  and 
McCulloch,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Commerce  (1844),  said  that 
in  the  two  first-named  : 

"  The  whole  body  of  labourers  may  be  said  to  be  in 
combination  with  the  smugglers  ;    and  numbers 
of  them  are  every  now  and  then  withdrawn  from 
their  usual  employment  to  assist  on  their  desperate 
adventures.     Lawless,     predatory     and     ferocious 
habits  are  thus  widely  diffused  ;    and  thousands 
who,    but    for   this   moral    contamination,    would   Adam 
have  been  sober   and  industrious,  are  trained  to   Smith 
despise  and  trample  on  the  law,  and  to  regard   on  the 
its  functionaries  as  enemies  whom  it  is  meritorious   Moral 
to   waylay   and   assault."  Aspect, 


528 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Smug- 
gling 
English 
Goods 
into 
France. 


Contem- 
porary 
Records. 


A  report  by  Mr.  Villiers  (later  Lord  Clarendon)  and 
Dr.  Bowring  sheds  light  on  the  smuggling  of  silk  in  the 
19th  century.  French  silks  were  conveyed  into  England 
without  duty,  and  to  an  extent  described  by  the  Director- 
General  of  French  Customs  as  vraiment  effrayante.  English 
goods  were  landed  secretly  in  France.  English  bobbinet 
was  a  prohibited  article,  but  the  Director-General  at  a 
period  circa  1830,  estimated  the  imports  at  £400,000  a 
year,  and  said  that  bobbinet  and  other  British  articles 
were  to  be  met  with  everywhere.  The  French  inter- 
national trade  was  mainly  over  the  land  frontiers,  but 
there  was  an  appreciable  sea-borne  traffic.  Owing  to 
the  numerous  octrois  the  cost  of  smuggling  into  France  was 
greater  than  into  England,  and  to  get  goods  through  to 
Paris  cost  on  the  average  25  to  30  per  cent.  Villiers  and 
Bowring  reported  that — varying  with  the  nature  of  the 
goods — 12  to  40  per  cent  was  the  commission  paid  in 
England.  So  highly  developed  was  the  business  that 
smuggling  agents  attended  regularly  on  'Change,  and 
security  was  given  for  the  completion  of  the  contracts 
made  there. 

"It  is  their  constant  practice,"  says  the  Report,  "  to 
deposit  the  value  of  the  goods  confided  to  their  care  in 
a  banker's  acceptance,  as  a  security  for  the  owner." 

McCulloch's  opinion  was  that  in  about  the  year  1840 
silks,  gloves,  ladies'  shoes  and  similar  articles  were  smuggled 
more  extensively  than  spirits.  French  writers  cited,  but 
not  named,  in  the  Dictionary  of  Commerce,  estimated  the 
average  exportation  of  silks  from  France  to  England 
between  the  years  1688-1741  at  £500,000  yearly.  The 
estimate  may  err  on  the  side  of  liberality,  but  after 
allowing  for  exaggeration  it  is  clear  that  the  trade  was  a 
considerable  one. 

A  notice  from  the  London  papers  of  April,  1837,  supports 
the  supposition  that  the  underground  traffic  in  silk  was 
expanding  at  that  time  : 

"  Notice  has  been  issued  by  Mr.  W.  Stuckey,  inspec- 
tor of  silk  of  St.  Botolph-lane,  near  the 
Customhouse,  intimating  that  representations 
made  to  him  inform  him  that  there  are  a  variety 


THE   SMUGGLING   TRADE.  529 

of  persons  in  the  metropolis  who  annually  defraud   Contem- 
the  revenue  of  nearly  £50,000  by  the  smuggling   porary 
of    foreign    manufactured    silks.     A    reward    of   Records. 
35  per  cent  is  therefore  offered  to  any  person  who 
shall   be   instrumental   in   the    detection    or   the 
conveyance  of  such  goods  and  likewise  seizure ; 
with  a  further  reward  on  the  conviction  of  the 
parties  according  to  the  penalty  inflicted." 
Additional  evidence  that  the  amount  of  smuggled  silk 
was  large  is  found  in  Mr.  Huskisson's  speech  in  the  House 
of  Commons  in  defence  of  the  removal  in  1826  of  the 
absolute  prohibition  upon  the  import  of  foreign-wrought 
silks.    He  said : 

"  I  have  lately  taken  some  pains  to  ascertain  the 
quantity  of  smuggled  silks  that  has  been  seized 
inland  throughout  the  Kingdom  during  the  last 
ten  years ;  and  I  find  that  the  whole  does  not 
exceed  £5,000  a  year.  I  have  endeavoured,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  get  an  account  of  the  quantity 
of  silk  goods  actually  smuggled  into  this  country. 
Any  estimate  must  be  very  vague ;  but  I  have 
been  given  to  understand  that  the  value  of  such 
goods  as  are  regularly  entered  at  the  Custom- 
houses of  France,  for  exportation  to  this  country, 
is  from  £100,000  to  £150,000  a  year;  and  this 
of  course  is  exclusive  of  the  far  greater  supply 
which  is  poured  in  throughout  all  the  channels 
of  smuggling  without  being  subjected  to  any 
entry." 

"  In  fact,  to  such  an  extent  is  this  illicit  trade  carried   Parlia- 
that  there  is  hardly  a  haberdasher's  shop  in  the  mentary 
smallest  village  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  which   Refer- 
prohibited  silks  are  not  sold  ;    and  that  in  the   ences. 
face  of  day  and  to  a  very  considerable  extent." 
Huskisson,     as    Chancellor    of    the    Exchequer,    had 
emphasised    the    reality   of    the    illicit    silk    trade    in  a 
more  dramatic  fashion : 

"  Honourable  members  of  this  House  are  well  aware 
that  bandana  handkerchiefs  are  prohibited  by 
law,  and  yet " — he  said,  drawing  one  from  his 


530 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Parlia-  own  pocket  with  a  flourish — "  I  have  no  doubt 

mentary  there  is  hardly  a  gentleman  here  who  has  not 

Refer-  got  a  bandana  handkerchief." 

ences.  Thus  there  is  justification  for  McCulloch's  contention  that : 

"  The  vigilance  of  the  Custom  house  officer  was  no 

match  for  the  ingenuity  of  the  smuggler.     At  the 

very   moment   when   the   most   strenuous   efforts 

were  made  to  exclude  them,  the  silks  of  France 

and    Hindostan    were    openly    displayed    in    the 

drawing-room  of   St.  James's   and  in  the  House 

of  Commons  in  mockery  of  the  impotent  legislation 

that  sought  to  exclude  them." 

The   silk   goods   conveyed   privily   by   night   into   this 

country  were  not  at  all  times   of  foreign  manufacture. 

Such   were   the   peculiar    circumstances    created    by   the 

tariff  change  in  1825  that  it  became  more  profitable  to 

circulate  certain  British-made  silks  through  the  smuggling 

agents  than  by  direct  sale  in  the  home  market.     The  goods 

were  sold  out  of  the  country  for  the  express  purpose  of 

being  smuggled  back  after  a  Customs  drawback  had  been 

received  upon  them.     When  the  statutory  monopoly  was 

removed  and  replaced  by  duties  on  manufactures  of  25 

or  30    per  cent,  taxes  were   still  imposed  upon   the  raw 

materials  from  which  silk  was  woven  in  this   country. 

In  order  to  rid  manufacturers  of  an  impediment  to  their 

foreign   trade,   it   was   provided   that   on   exporting   silk 

goods  they  should  be  entitled  to   draw  back  from  the 

Custom-house  the  duty  paid  on  an  equivalent  weight  of 

Italian    thrown    silk    exported.     The    exporter    had    to 

produce  a  receipt  or  "  debenture  "  showing  that  Italian 

silk  had  been  imported,  and  these  debenture  certificates 

passed  from  hand  to  hand.     They  were  bought  by  sellers 

of  wretchedly  inferior  qualities  of  silks.     It  was  nothing 

to  the   Customs  that  the  goods  exported   contained  no 

Smug-        thrown    silk — Italian    or    other — but    were    made    solely 

gling          with  a  view  to  reaping  the  bounty.     If  the  cloths  presented 

British       for  export  appeared  to  be  worth  more  than  the  14s.  a 

Silks  pound  specified  in  the  regulations,  and  if  it  were  shown 

into  that  some  one  had  indeed  paid  duty  on  Italian  thrown 

England,   silk,  the  debenture  had  to  be  honoured. 


THE   SMUGGLING  TRADE. 


531 


From  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Huskisson 
dealt  trenchantly  with  the  facts  as  to  this  branch  of 
trade : 

"  I  believe  it  is  universally  known,"  he  said,  "  that   Ban- 
a  large   quantity   of  bandana  handkerchiefs   are   dana 
sold  every  year  for  exportation  by  the  East  India  Hand- 
Company.     But  does  any  gentleman  suppose  that  kerchief 
these  bandanas  are  sent  to  the  Continent  for  the   Frauds, 
purpose    of    remaining    there  ?     No    such    thing ! 
They  are  sold  at  the  Company's  sales  to  the  number 
of  about  800,000  to   1,000,000  a  year  at  about 
4s.  each  ;    they  are  immediately  shipped  off  for 
Hamburg,     Antwerp,     Rotterdam,     Ostend     or 
Guernsey,  and  from  thence  they  nearly  all  illicitly 
find  their  way  back  into  this  country." 
The  importer  of  the  thrown  silk  on  which  the  refund 
was  obtained  sold  his  privileges,  and  may  with  the  proceeds 
have    cheapened    the    articles    into    which    the    material 
entered.     So  much  has  to  be  allowed  in  considering  the 
distortion  of  the  purpose  for  which  the  drawback  was 
provided.     It    may    not    have    mattered    to    Parliament 
whether  the  original  Italian  thrown  silk  or  some  other 
was  exported,  and  the  English  throwster  may  or  may  not 
have  had  cause  of  complaint  against  a  system  tampering 
with  the  margin  of  Protection  granted  to  him,  but  it  was 
clear  that  Parliament  could  not  countenance  indefinitely 
a  system  which  resulted   on  the  one  hand  in  cheating 
the  revenue  and  on  the  other  in  despoiling  the  consumer. 

"  These  bandanas,"  Mr.  Huskisson  pointed  out,  "  which 
had  previously  been  sold  for  exportation  at  4s.,  are  finally 
distributed  by  the  retail  trade  at  about  8s.  each." 

Debentures  could  be  bought  at  first  for  a  penny  or  two- 
pence a  pound,  although  later  the  price  rose  to  nearly 
three    shillings.     Certainly    in    the    beginning    the    trade 
would  seem  to  have  offered  extraordinary  opportunities 
of   profit   to   middlemen.     A   drawback   of   3s.    6d.    was 
collected  on  a  4s.  article,  and  the  remaining  sixpence  of 
cost,   swelled  somewhat  by  the   cost   of  the   debenture,   Large 
double  sea-freight  and  inland  charges,  resulted  ultimately   Profits 
in  a  realisation  of  8s.  at  the  drapery  counter.  Realised, 


532  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

End  of  Organised  smuggling  ended  only  when  the  inducement 

Organ-       to  smuggle  was  removed  by  a  reduction  of  duty  to  a 

ised  level  at  which  the  evasion  no  longer  paid.     So  long  as 

Smug-        the  duty  on  woven  silks  stood  at  30  per  cent,  and  men 

gling.         could  be  found  to  undertake  the  evasion  of  duty  in  return 

for  a  commission  of    12J   to    15   per   cent,  the   business 

flourished.     On  the  one  hand,  the  revenue  lost  a  large 

part  of  its  due  and  on  the  other  was  put  to  an  extravagant 

outlay  in  its  preventive  services. 

In  1825,  when  a  House  of  Commons  return  was  made 
of  the  value  of  goods  seized  by  the  preventive  officers, 
it    was    shewn    that    the    900,OOOZ6s.    of    tobacco,    the 
135,000  gallons  of  brandy,  the  42,000  yards  of  silk  and 
2,100  pieces  of  India  handkerchiefs  rescued  from  smuggling 
hands  realised  on  sale  some  £282,400.     The  upkeep  of 
the  preventive  service  exceeded  £2,000,000  in  the   same 
year.       The    credit   of    the   smugglers    was    lowered    as 
soon  as  the  duties  were  changed   by  Peel.      The   induce- 
ment   and    the    glamour    departed    together,    and   the 
Commissioners  of  Customs  reporting  on  the  change  said  : 
"  With  the  reduction  of  duties  and  the  removal  of 
all  needless  and  vexatious  restrictions,  smuggling 
has  greatly  diminished,  and  the  public  sentiment 
in  regard  to  it  has  undergone  a  very  considerable 
change.     The  smuggler  is  no  longer  an  object  of 
general  sympathy,   as  a  hero  of  romance ;    and 
people  are  beginning  to  awaken  to  a  perception 
of  the  fact  that  his  offence  is  not  only  a  fraud 
upon  the  revenue,  but  a  robbery  of  the  fair  trader." 
Smug-  Peel's   Commutation   Law,    reducing   the   duties   to   a 

gling  in  level  which  destroyed  the  economic  basis  of  the 
Scotland,  professional  smuggler's  trade,  rankled  in  the  minds  of  the 
smuggling  population.  The  "  Burning  and  Starving  Act  " 
was  the  name  found  for  it  by  smugglers  in  Dumfrieshire 
and  Galloway,  of  whose  operations  some  account  is  given 
in  an  Additional  Note  to  the  novel  Guy  Mannering. 
History  and  fiction  are  blended  together  in  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  portrayal  of  Dick  Hatteraick  in  that  book.  History 
in  the  shape  of  the  Additional  Note  says  :  "  The  prototype 
of  Dick  Hatteraick  is  considered  as  having  been  a  Dutch 
skipper  named  Yawkins  .  .  .  sole  proprietor  and  master 


THE   SMUGGLING   TRADE.  533 

of  a  smuggling  lugger  called  the  Black  Prince"     Yawkins   Smug- 
and  colleagues  had  as  their  principal  articles  of  unhallowed  gling  in 
commerce  spirits  and  tea ;    although  Hatteraick,  in  the  Scotland, 
novel,  drew  no  hard  and  fast  line  as  to  the  nature  of  his 
commodities.     His    men    wore    silk    handkerchiefs,    and 
it  would  be  unwarrantable  to  assume  that  ever  they  paid 
duty  on  them.     Julia  Mannering's  description  of  the  fight 
at  Hazlewood  shows  the  band  "  stripped  to  their  shirts  and 
trousers,    with    silk    handkerchiefs    knotted    about    their 
heads   and    all    well    armed    with    carbines,    pistols    and 
cutlasses."     Hatteraick  was  a  "  gude  sort  of  blackguard 
fellow — smuggler  when  his  guns  are  in  ballast — privateer, 
or  pirate  faith,  when  he  gets  them  mounted." 

The  Scottish  traffic  went  by  the  names  equally  of  the 
"  fair  trade  "  and  "  the  free  trade,"  and  Scott's  exciseman 
friend,  Joseph  Train,  testified  to  seeing  frequently  upwards 
of  two  hundred  men  assemble  at  one  time  on  the  Galloway 
coast  and  go  off  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  fully 
laden  with  contraband. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  deal  briefly  with  the  British 
customs  regulations  as  to  silk  imports. 

Silk   manufactures   were   not   to   be  imported   in   any   British 
vessel  under  70  tons  burden,  except  by  licence.  .  .  .  Customs 

Silk  goods,  the  manufacture  of  Europe,  are  not  to  be   Regula- 
imported  except  into  the  port  of  London  or  the  port  of  tions. 
Dublin  direct  from  Bordeaux,  or  the  port  of  Dover  direct 
from  Calais  (3  and  4  WiUiam  IV). 

When  the  shoot  or  the  warp  only  is  of  silk,  the  article 
is  to  be  considered  as  composed  of  not  more  than  one-half 
part  of  silk,  and  subject  to  the  ad  valorem  duty  of 
30  per  cent ;  but  if  the  shoot  or  the  warp  be  entirely  of 
silk,  and  a  portion  of  the  other  be  of  silk  also,  the  article 
is  to  be  considered  to  be  composed  of  more  than  one-half 
part  of  silk,  and  subject  to  the  rated  duties  at  per  lb., 
or  to  the  ad  valorem  duties  at  the  option  of  the  officers. 
(Minutes,  Commission  of  Customs,  14th  August,  1829.) 
But  in  all  cases  where  the  duties  charged  by  weight  upon 
mixed  articles  would  manifestly  exceed  30  per  cent,  by 
reason  of  the  weight  of  wool  or  other  ingredient  thereof 
besides  silk,  the  article  is  to  be  admitted  to  entry  at  value. 
(Minute,  19  December,  1831.) 


BOOK   FOUR. 


CHAPTER  XLL 
ROYAL  PATRONAGE. 

Refer-  Silk  has  been  identified   with   great   ceremonial   from 

ences  in     time  out  of  mind,  and  if  we  accept  the  view  that  the 

Chaucer.    Samite  of  Early  English  was  a  silken  fabric,  as  it  well 

may  have  been,  there  is  allusion  to  it  in  very  ancient 

records,  or  royal  marriages,  burials  and  progresses.     To 

actual  silk  there  is  reference   in   the  Morte  d?  Arthur  in 

the  lines — 

"  The  King  hyme  selfen  sette 

Under  a  sylure  of  sylke." 

In  Chaucer's  days,  too,  it  was  known,  as  witness : 
"  Of  donne  of  pure  dove's  white 
I  wd  yeve  him  a  fether  bad, 
Rayed  with  gold  and  right  sell  died, 
In  firm  black  satin  d' outre  mes, 
And  many  a  pillow  and  every  vere 
Of  cloth  of  Raines  to  sleep  on  soft." 
But  in  the  history  of  silk  nothing  is  more  striking  than 
the  frequency  with  which  royal  effort  has  been   made 
to  promote  its  culture  and  to  encourage  the  industry. 
Kings  and  Governments  and  Chartered  Companies  have 
not  only  abroad,  but  in  this  country,  given  it  a  direct 
support  that  they  have  accorded  to  no  other  branch  of 
commerce. 

In  medieval  days  there  were  sumptuary  laws  which 
limited  the  wearing  of  silk  to  the  great  only,  not  so  much 
as  is  often  supposed,  to  prevent  undue  extravagance, 
as  to  fix  the  position  and  calling  of  the  wearers  plainly 
before  others.  Thus  the  Act  of  1464  ordained  that  "  None 

534 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE. 


535 


of  the  Garters  or  their  wives  should  be  allowed  to  wear 
purple  or  any  manner  of  cloth  gold,  velvet  or  sable  furs 
under  a  penalty  of  20  marks.     That  none  below  Knights, 
Bachelors,  Mayors  and  Aldermen  and  their  wives  should 
wear   satin   or   ermine   under   a   penalty   of   10   marks." 
Gradually  these  restrictions  ceased  to  be  observed.     After 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  great  prosperity  dawned  for  all 
classes.     The  rich  silks  and  satins,  hitherto  reserved  for   Use  of 
the  use  of  the  great  ones  of  the  land,  were  more  generally   Silk  for 
worn  and  the  importance  attached  to  such  costly  fabrics   Corona- 
in  connection  with  Coronations   received   emphatic  testi-   tions. 
mony  in   various   directions.      It   was   under   Henry   VI 
that  silk  was  first  manufactured  in  England. 

The  Library  of  Westminster  Abbey  possesses  no  greater 
treasure  than  its  manuscript  of  Liber  Regalis,  which  may 
well  have  been  the  actual  copy  used  by  Richard  II  at  his 
crowning. 

In  this,  which  to  this  day  guides  the  Order  of  the  Sacring 
of  our  Bangs  in  minute  details,  there  is  explicit  reference 
to  the  use  of  silk,  as  in  the  direction  that  "  a  lofty  seat 
shall  be  prepared  in  the  royal  hall  and  be  suitably  adorned 
with  silken  cloths  of  gold  on  which  the  King  that  is  to 
reign  is  to  be  raised  with  all  gentleness  and  reverence  "  ; 
the  clergy  are  to  go  "  in  silken  copes  with  textus  censers 
and  the  other  things  suitable  to  the  procession "  ;  the 
three  swords  are  to  be  borne  by  "  three  earls  clothed  in 
silk  "  ;  the  canopy  held  during  the  Anointing  is  to  be  a 
"  square  cloth  of  purple  silk  carried  on  four  silvered 
lances,"  and  the  King  himself  is  to  wear  a  silken  tunic 
and  shirt. 

Some  light,  too,  is  thrown  on  the  quantities  of  silk  A 
required  at  a  Tudor  Coronation  by  the  document  from  Record 
the  Lord  Chamberlain's  Series  I,  preserved  at  the  Public  of 
Record  Office,   detailing    the    "  Emption  and  Provisions  Henry 
of  Stuff "  for  the  Sacring  of  Henry  VII.     The  patronage  VII. 
was    wisely    distributed,    and    the    "  fyne    blue    cloths," 
"  the  russet  clothe  for  the  King's  Confessors,"  "  the  rede 
worstedde,"  and  "  the  rishe  clothe  of  gold  tisshue  of  purpull 
grounde  for  a  longe  gowne  for  ye  King  "  were  bought  from 
diverse  good  citizens  described  sometimes  as  "  trillours  " 


536  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

A  or   drapers.     But  presently  there  is  the  whole   account 

Record       due    to    "  Cecyly    Walcot,    Silk   woman/'    who    supplied 

of  25  ounces  and  three-quarters  of  "  Eiban  of  damask  gold," 

Henry        "  Riban  of  Venys  gold  "    for  the  King's  gloves,   and  a 

VII.  quantity   of   other   gold   laces   and   ornaments.     Another 

"  silk  woman,"  Kateryn  Walshe,  received  a  very  similar 

order,  and  at  the  end  is  the  amount  due  to  "  George  the 

Kinge's  Taillour,"  who  among  many  other  things  made 

up  a  "  longe  mantelle  with  a  trayne  of  crimson  saten 

furred   with   menever,    at    a    cost    of   twenty    shillings," 

"  a  longe  gowne  of  purpull  velvet  furred  with  ermyns," 

"  a  cote  of  crimson  satyn  lined  with  white  fustian,"  "  a 

doublet  of  crymson  satyn,"  and  "  two  dalmaties,  one  of 

crymson  satyn  and  one  of  white  sarsinet." 

The  Holbein  portraits  of  Henry  VIII  leave  no  doubt 
as  to  his  admiration  of  velvet  trimmed  with  fur,  but  it  is 
recorded  that  his  hose  were  actually  of  cloth  unless  by 
chance  someone  brought  him  a  pair  of  silk  stockings  from 
Spain.  Gascoigne,  the  poet,  who  accompanied  Elizabeth's 
suite  on  her  visit  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  wrote  of 
"  The  Princelye  pleasures  at  the  Court  of  Kenilworth," 
makes  a  reference  to  knitted  silk  stockings  and  Spanish 
leather  shoes  as  the  greatest  ornaments  of  dress,  and 
certainly  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  wishing  to  make  a  valuable 
offering  to  Edward  VI,  could  find  nothing  more  desirable 
than  a  pair  of  silk  stockings. 

Elizabeth's    overwhelming    vanity    expressed    itself    of 

course  in  the  most  magnificent  silks  and  velvets  that  the 

looms  of  the  Continent  could  supply,  and  her  Silk-woman, 

Queen        Mrs.  Montague,  delighted  her  with  the  gift  of  a  pair  of 

Elizabeth  silk  stockings.     In  industrial  history,  there  is  perhaps  no 

and  story   better   known   than   the  Queen's   chilling  attitude 

William     towards  William  Lee,  the  inventor  of  the  mechanism  for 

Lee.  frame-work  knitting. 

Hand-knitting  in  these  days  had  become  an  almost 
universal  art,  though  in  this  country  it  was  rarely  applied 
to  silk.  Lee's  first  productions  were  made  of  stout  woollen 
yarn,  and  when  Lord  Hunsdon,  who  had  held  an  important 
command  in  the  military  force  raised  at  the  time  of  the 
Armada,  induced  her  Majesty  to  come  to  Bunhill  Fields 


&OYAL  PATRONAGE.  537 

to  see  the  inventor  at  work,  she  showed  little  admiration   Queen 
for    the    finished    product.     Lord     Hunsdon,    however,  Elizabeth 
believed  much  in  the  invention,  and  later  begged  that  a   and 
patent  or  monopoly  might  be  granted  to  Lee.     The  reply    William 
is  interesting,  and  indicates  how  this  imperious  woman   Lee. 
might  have  expressed  herself  in  regard  to  the  modern 
Trust : 

"  My  Lord,"  she  wrote  to  Hunsdon,  "  I  have  the  much 
love  'for  my  poor  people  who  obtain  their  bread  by  the 
employment  of  knitting  to  give  any  money  to  forward 
an  invention  that  would  tend  to  their  ruin  by  depriving 
them  of  employment  and  thus  make  them  beggars.  Had 
Mr.  Lee  made  a  machine  that  would  make  silk  stockings, 
I  should,  I  think,  have  been  somewhat  justified  in  granting 
him  a  patent  for  that  monopoly,  which  would  have 
appealed  only  to  a  small  number  of  my  subjects,  but  to 
enjoy  the  exclusive  right  of  making  stockings  for  the 
whole  of  my  subjects  is  too  important  to  be  granted  to 
any  individual."  Lee  worked  at  his  mechanism,  and 
by  1598  was  able  to  make  silk  hose  of  so  good  a  texture 
that  when  he  presented  a  pair  to  the  Queen,  she  was 
able  to  congratulate  him  upon  their  elasticity  and  even- 
ness, though  she  did  not  do  much  to  advance  his  efforts, 
and  the  inventor's  hopes  for  better  things  under  James  I, 
his  disappointments,  and  his  unfortunate  experiences  and 
death  in  France  belong  to  that  chapter  that  tells  the 
story  of  unrewarded  genius. 

James  I,  who  by  the  way  had  borrowed  in  Edinburgh 
from  the  Earl  of  Mar  a  pair  of  silk  hose  in  which  to  make 
his    appearance    in    England,    saying,    "  You    wd.    not 
have  your  King  appear  like  a  scrub  before  strangers," 
deserves  a  leading  position  among  the  English  sovereigns  James  I 
who  have  fostered   and   assisted  the  silk  industry.     On   assists 
the  site  on  which  Buckingham  Palace  now  stands  he  had   the 
his  own  Mulberry  Gardens  to  the  extent  of  four  acres,  Industry, 
and  he  had  ideas  of  following  the  example  in  this  direction 
to  Henry  IV  of  France.     At    Theobald's,    his    favourite 
country  seat  in  Essex,  he  also  maintained  a  silk  rearing 
centre,    and   there   exists   yet   the   warrant   to   pay   one 
Jennings,  "  Keeper  of  the  Garden  at  Theobald's,  £50  for 


538  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

James  I     making  a  place  for  the  silk  worms  and  for  providing 

assists        mulberry  leaves."     It  would  seem,  too,  that  he  liked  to 

the  watch  and  observe  the  habits  of  the  worms,  as  a  request 

Industry,  for  three  months'  expenses  on  the  part  of  one  of  his  grooms 

of  the  chamber,  Richard  de  Lacairlle,  was  duly  accorded, 

and  that  these  were  incurred   "  whilst  travelling  about 

with  the  King's  silk  worms  whithersoever  his  Majestie 

went." 

Beyond  this,  too,  James  made  a  really  serious  effort 
to  popularize  sericulture,  and  as  early  in  his  reign  as  1607 
he  granted  a  licence  to  William  Stallinge  to  print  a  book 
for  general  circulation  of  instructions  as  to  mulberry 
planting  and  culture,  the  breeding  of  silk  worms  and  the 
reeling  of  silk.  Moreover,  his  Majesty  addressed  the 
deputy  lieutenants  of  the  counties  and  other  landowners 
as  to  their  duty  in  regard  to  the  planting  of  mulberries, 
with  the  further  practical  information  that  10,000  mulberry 
trees  were  available  at  the  rate  of  6s.  a  hundred,  while 
among  the  State  Papers  at  the  Public  Record  Office 
is  still  preserved  the  Diary  of  Francis  de  Verton,  who 
travelled  over  the  Midlands  and  Eastern  Counties,  covering 
something  like  1,100  miles  to  distribute  no  fewer  than 
100,000  trees. 

Encour-  By  1611  Stallinge  had  9  Ibs.  of  silk  spun,  and  he  received 
agement  the  sum  of  £258,  disbursed  by  him  in  various  directions 
of  Seri-  in  the  effort.  Meantime,  Thoresby,  the  diarist,  has  a 
culture,  reference  to  the  length  of  satin  that  he  saw  woven  for  the 
Princess  of  Wales  from  English  reared  silk. 

The  annals  of  James's  reign  abound,  indeed,  with 
allusions  to  the  King's  desire  that  silk  should  be  pure 
and  well  dyed.  Adulteration  was  obviously  practised  in 
spite  of  sharp  enactments  and  the  threat  of  heavy  fines, 
until  in  a  charge  preferred  against  a  certain  partnership 
the  comment  occurs  "  there  never  was  worse  silk  made 
than  by  these  persons."  The  King's  efforts  were  not 
successful  in  creating  an  English  industry  in  the  growth 
of  silk,  but  his  policy  was  watched  with  great  interest  on 
the  Continent,  and  brought  in  large  numbers  of  throwsters, 
weavers  and  dyers,  who  settled  in  London,  and  whose 
demands  stimulated  the  efforts  of  the  early  East  Indian 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE. 


539 


Companies  to  bring  in  the  "goods  rawe  silk,"  to  which   Encour- 
such  frequent  reference  occurs.     James,  however,  through-   agement 
out   his   reign,   believed   in   sericulture,    and   it   is   quite   of  Seri- 
characteristic  that  towards  its  close  he  caused  a  letter   culture, 
to  be  addressed  to  the  Treasurer,  deputy  and  others  of 
the    Virginian    Company,    recommending    them    to    pay 
attention  to  the  breeding   of  silk  worms  in  preference 
to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco. 

In  the  troublous  reign  of  Charles  I,  when  the  Cavaliers 
wore  velvets,  brocades  and  lace,  there  appears  to  have 
been  little  attention  paid  to  the  home  industry,  and  the 
State  Papers  make  little  reference  to  it  save  to  record  an 
occasional  effort  to  evade  the  payment  of  duty.  With  the 
Puritans,  silk  was  of  course  a  mere  worldly  vanity,  and 
the  falling  off  in  the  demand  for  it  was  quickly  reflected 
in  diminished  imports  from  India  and  elsewhere.  Beauty 
and  colour  were  under  a  cloud  when  dress  and  surroundings 
were  of  sombre  severity.  The  Restoration  brought  about 
a  revival,  but  the  adulteration  begun  under  James  I 
was  not  forgotten,  and  unscrupulous  weavers  used  weighting 
and  bad  dye  to  such  an  extent  that  a  Bill  was  promoted 
in  Parliament  by  the  honest  manufacturers  to  enable 
them  to  deal  with  frauds  which  were  hopelessly  discrediting 
English  silk.  Delays  arose  in  connection  with  the  Bill, 
and  ultimately  relying  on  the  sympathy  of  the  King, 
manufacturers  resolved  to  petition  him  direct.  That  his 
reception  of  their  pleas  was  gracious  may  be  assumed, 
for  a  few  years  later  a  Bill  went  through  with  the  express 
object  of  encouraging  silk  manufacture  in  this  country. 

Two  other  events,  moreover,  show  that  the  King  was 
really  interested  in  the  industry,  for  an  effort  was  made 
in    Barbadoes — one    of    our    oldest    Crown    Colonies — to 
establish  silk  rearing,   and  in   1668   a  small   deputation 
arrived  on  the  Cornish  coast  bearing  the  first  four  hundred- 
weight of  silk  raised  there  as  a  gift  to  the  King.     The    Work  of 
second  event  was  that  the  King,  whose  interest  in  science   Charles 
and  progress  is  perpetuated  in  the  Royal  Society,  was   II. 
the  first  to  grant  a  patent  for  the  use  of  waste  silk.     This 
was  applied  for  by  one  Edmund  Blood,  of  Blackfriars, 
entitled  to  describe  himself  as  "  Merchant  to  the  Bang," 


540  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Work  of  who  set  forth  how  he  "  had  invented  a  manufacture  as 
Charles  to  making  a  rich  and  profitable  stuff — a  silk  shag,  com- 
II.  modious  for  garments  of  silk  waste,  which  was  never 

before  known  to  be  useful  in  this  Kingdome  except  for 
stuffing  quilts  or  sold  into  Holland  or  Germany  at  6d.  or 
8d.  a  Ib."  On  the  certificate  of  five  worthy  citizens  in 
trade  as  mercers  that  they  had  never  before  met  with  a 
fabric  like  it,  the  Attorney  General  commended  the 
application  to  the  King,  and  it  would  be  interesting  if  it 
could  be  traced  to  know  how  the  claim  of  the  inventor  was 
justified. 

Both  William  and  Mary  showed  a  considerable  interest 

in  silk  manufacture,  and  received  a  petition  from  a  number 

of  throwers,  "  who  had  brought  to  practice  a  certain  useful 

and  cheap  way  by  engines  of  winding  the  finest  raw  silk 

which   was   formerly    brought    ready   wound,   spun   and 

twisted    from    Italy."     They    asked    for    a    Charter    of 

Incorporation,  and,  at  the  Royal  command,  the  Solicitor 

General  made  enquiry  as  to  how  far  it  might  be  advisable 

to  accord  it.     That  he  went  about  his  task  sympathetically 

and  conscientiously  is  shown  from  his  report  preserved 

among  the  State  Papers  of  the  reign.     "  I  do  not  see," 

he  said,  "but  that  such  a  Charter  as  is  desired  will  be 

good  in  point  of  law,  if  it  shall  be  your  Majesty's  pleasure 

to  grant  it,  but  that  which  seems  to  require  the  chief 

consideration  is  how  far  it  will  be  convenient  and  for 

the  public  good.     Of  the  subject  matter  of  the  petitioners 

relating  to  the  silk  manufacture,  wherein  great  numbers 

of    your    Majesty's    subjects    are    employed,     I     have 

endeavoured  to  inform  myself,  touching  the  facts  alleged 

in  the  petition  and  also  what  influence  it  might  have 

upon  the   employment   and  business   of   your   Majesty's 

subjects,  concerned  in  the  winding,  spinning  and  weaving 

of  silk  in  case  you  should  be  graciously  inclined  to  gratify 

The  the  petitioners.     To  this  end  I  have  discovered  several 

Company  throwsters   and   others  concerned  in  the  making  of.  silk, 

for  who  acknowledge  it  to  be  true  that  the  finest  sort  of  silk 

Winding    is  not  wound  in  England,  that  a  great  deal  of  it  being  used 

Fine  here  is  imported  ready  wound,  and  also  that  that  sort 

Silk.  of  silk  can  be  wound  in  no  other  way  than  by  the  engines 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  541 

mentioned  in  the  petition.     They  also  say  that  if  the   The 
winding  of  fine  silk  in  great  quantities  was  carried  on  in  Company 
England,  the  throwsters  will  have  the  same  at  cheaper   for 
rates,  and  many  of  your  poor  subjects  will  be  employed  in   Winding 
the  spinning  and  twisting  of  the  silk  as  wound  here."    Fine 
The  King  and  Queen  decided,  therefore,  to  accede  to  the   Silk, 
request,  and  thus  came  into  existence  the  Company  for 
Winding  Fine  Silk." 

During  1693  King  William  was  conducting  the  cam- 
paign in  Flanders  Landen.  Queen  Mary  administered 
home  affairs  alone,  and  among  other  matters  to  which 
she  directed  her  attention  was  the  condition  of  the  silk 
weavers.  She  instructed  the  Earl  of  Nottingham  to 
ascertain  on  her  behalf  with  all  possible  dispatch  what 
quantity  of  fine  silk  there  was  at  the  time  in  England, 
in  the  manufacture  of  which  the  poor  were  usually 
employed,  and  for  how  long  the  supplies  would  last  them 
at  the  ordinary  rates  of  consumption.  There  was  good 
reason  for  the  enquiry  for  the  year  as  far  as  the  imports 
from  India  were  concerned  had  been  a  bad  one,  and  was 
one  of  three  at  the  close  of  the  18th  century  in  which  the 
East  India  Company  had  to  record  a  loss  in  this  com- 
modity. 

Under  Queen  Anne,  there  was  a  foreshadowing  of  modern 
"  dumping  "  methods  both  from  Lyons  and  from  Holland, 
then  rather  famed  for  plain  black  silks  as  "  rez  de  gennes," 
"  Peau  de  soys,"  and  "  black  mantua,"  but  of  direct 
Royal  intervention  on  behalf  of  the  industry  there  is  little 
sign.  The  same  was  the  case  under  the  Georges,  and 
even  Fanny  Burney's  intimate  revelations  as  to  the  dresses 
and  jewels  of  Queen  Charlotte  and  her  daughters  do  not 
throw  much  light  as  to  how  far  they  encouraged  Spitalfields 
and  the  home  products. 

Coming    to     George    IV,    however,    and    his    gorgeous   George 
Coronation,  we  find  a  direct  patronage  of  the  industry.   IV. 
Not  only  did  it  furnish  a  liberal  share  of  the  velvets  and 
satins   of  royal  mantles   and   Garter    robes,   but  it  was 
Spitalfields  that  produced  the  splendid  Pallium  that  we 
have    again    recently    had    the    opportunity    of    seeing. 
After  more  than  ninety  years  its  soft  and  supple  cloth  of 


542 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


gold  came  out  as  brilliant  and  untarnished  as  when  it  was 
first  worn.  Brocaded  into  it  in  exquisite  colouring  was 
the  Rose,  the  Shamrock,  the  Thistle  and  the  Eagle  of 
Sovereignty.  It  was  a  triumph  of  the  weaver's  craft, 
and  all  who  saw  it  closely  realised  how  far  English  skill 
had  advanced  in  this  direction. 

The  Queen    Victoria    also     had     her     Pallium     made    in 

Victorian  Spitalfields,  and  this  was  also  a  brocaded  cloth  of  gold. 
Era.  Throughout  her  long  reign,  Queen  Victoria  was  a  very 

consistent  supporter  of  the  English  silk  industry  in  that 
she  gave  warrants  to  well-known  firms  to  supply  her 
with  the  fabrics  she  required.  Poplin  also  was  much 
liked  by  her,  and  a  well  known  Irish  firm  used  to  provide 
her  annually  with  considerable  quantities.  The  reign  of 
Queen  Victoria  witnessed,  however,  the  heaviest  blow 
ever  inflicted  on  the  home  industry  in  the  abolition  of  the 
duty  on  manufactured  silks.  The  "  black  decades  "  from 
1860  to  1890  saw  factory  after  factory  closed  down,  and 
skilled  craftsmen  either  in  penury  or  turning  to  some 
other  trade. 

The    modern    revival    of    English    silks,    which    is    an 

established  fact,  and  is  recognised  by  the  artistic  sense 

of  Europe  and  America,  is  due  more  than  to  any  to  our 

present  gracious  Queen  Mary  and  her  beloved  mother, 

Influence  the  Princess  Mary  Adelaide,  Duchess  of  Teck.     Perhaps 

of  it  would  be  more  strictly  accurate  to  put  the  latter  name 

Duchess     first,  for  it  is  not  saying  too  much  to  state  that  her  Majesty 

of  Teck.     had   from  her  mother  the  education  which  has  enabled 

her  in  her  exalted  position  to  bestow  an  encouragement 

so  wise,  so  discriminating  and  so  appreciative  of  the  vast 

commercial  interests  involved  that  the  industry  stands 

to-day  in  a  position  infinitely  stronger  than  it  has  had 

since  the  duty  on  foreign  manufactured  silks  was  abolished. 

In  the  early  'eighties  of  the  last  century,  taste  in  dress 
and  domestic  surroundings  was  very  low  indeed.  The 
much  ridiculed  "  aesthetic "  cult  had  not  shed  its 
eccentricities  and  excrescences,  though  there  were  signs 
of  revolt  against  the  stodgy  utilitarianism — the  rosewood 
and  reps — of  the  'sixties.  And  the  silk  industry  had  fallen 
very  low  indeed.  The  Duchess  of  Teck,  patriotic  to  her 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  543 

finger    tips,    and    a    firm    upholder    of    every    British  Influence 
institution,  was  one  of  the  first  to  realise  that  a  great  of 
source  of  employment  and  prosperity  was  fast  dying  out,  Duchess 
and  indeed  was  almost  on  the  verge  of  extinction.     Her  of  Teck. 
circle  of  friends  was  wide,  and  touched  life  at  many  points, 
and  she  viewed  with  much  satisfaction  an  effort  made 
by  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Percy  Mitford,  to  bring  about  a  fashion- 
able  demand  for  English  silk  fabrics  in   1882.     It  was 
about  this  time  that  a  number  of  ladies  had  combined, 
not  wholly  unsuccessfully,  to  draw  attention  to  the  merits 
of  British  woollen  materials,   and  it  was  believed  that 
what  had  been  done  in   that   connection  might   also  be 
tried  in  regard  to  silk.     Thus  in  1882,  a  little  effort  was 
launched,  but  it  had  scant  effect,  in  spite  of  influential 
approval,  for  dressmakers  could  not  be  induced  to  move 
out  of  their  usual  grooves  of  purchase. 

The  Manchester  Exhibition  of  Queen  Victoria's  Jubilee 
year  marked  a  slight  movement  towards  better  things. 
More   exhibits   were   shown  in   the   English   silk   section 
than  had  been  anticipated,  and  it  was  beginning  to  be 
recognised  that  a  whole  new  field  of  enterprise  was  opening 
up  in   connection  with  tussore  and  wild  silks.     Among 
other  members  of  the  Royal  Family  to  visit  the  Exhibition, 
which   enjoyed    the    honour   of   inauguration   by   Queen 
Victoria,  was  the  Duchess  of  Teck,   and  she  permitted 
it  to  be  announced  that  she  should  do  all  in  her  power 
to  bring  about  a  fashionable  and  general  demand  for  the 
silks  woven  on  English  looms.     A  direct  outcome  of  this  Estab- 
exhibition  was  the  establishment  of  the  Silk  Association  lishment 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  uniting  the  leading  manu-  of  Silk 
facturers  of  the  Kingdom  for  their  mutual   advantage,  Associa- 
and    destined    to    become    the    important    organisation  tion. 
of  the   industry.     At  the  outset,   however,   it   was  not 
very  clear  how  this  body  could  come  into  any  effective 
touch  with  those  it   was   most  important  to   influence, 
namely    the    fashionable    ladies    and    their    dressmakers. 
A  Ladies'   Committee  was  therefore  suggested,  and  was 
duly  formed,  including  Lady  Egerton  in  the  chair,  the 
Duchess    of    Abercorn,    the   late    Countess    Spencer,    the 
Countess  of  Wharncliffe,    the  late  Countess  of  Lathom, 


544 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Royal  Lady  Arthur  Hill,  the  late  Baroness  Burdett  Coutts, 
President  Lady  Rothschild,  Lady  Wantage,  the  late  Lady  Knutsford, 
of  Ladies'  and  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Mitford.  The  Duchess  accepted  the 
Com-  presidency,  Lady  Egerton  of  Tatton  taking  upon  her  the 
mittee.  Honorary  Secretary's  duties. 

By  1890  the  scheme  was  in  working  order,  and  the 
Duchess  herself  drew  up  and  signed  the  first  report.  In 
the  course  of  this,  she  said  :  "  We  consider  that  the  time 
has  come  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  ladies  of  England 
to  the  revival  of  this  ancient  industry.  In  order  to  do 
this,  the  Committee  proposes  to  form  a  '  Ladies'  Silk 
Association'  on  an  extended  scale.  Its  numbers  will 
not  be  pledged  to  the  exclusive  purchase  of  English  made 
silks,  but  they  will  be  asked  to  interest  themselves  and 
their  friends  in  this  British  industry  and  to  make  enquiry 
for  and  inspect  English  silks  before  deciding  to  purchase 
those  of  foreign  origin." 

The  next  step  was  to  organise  the  first  Exhibition  of 

English  silks  ever  held,  apart,  of  course,  from  displays 

made  at  large  general  exhibitions.     It  took  place  at  the 

house  of  Lord  and  Lady  Egerton  of  Tatton,  and  was 

surprisingly   good   considering  how  slight  had  been  the 

encouragement  previously  given  to  manufacturers  to  devote 

themselves  to  fine  designs  and  the  best  craftsmanship. 

The  movement  grew,  and  before  many  months  were  over 

something   like    800   ladies   had   enrolled   themselves   as 

supporters.     It    was    an    undertaking    into    which    the 

Duchess  of  Teck  threw  her  heart  and  soul,  and  early  in 

1893  she  decided  to  make  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  chief 

centres  of  silk  weaving  to  include  Macclesfield,  Leek  and 

Bradford.     She   commenced  it,   however,   at   Spitalfields, 

at  the  old  works  in  Hollybush  Gardens  of  Messrs.  Warner. 

Now  that  things  can  be  seen  in  their  true  perspective, 

it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  visit  was  a  turning 

point   in   the   development   of   silk   manufacture   in   this 

First  country.      Accompanying      her      Royal     Highness     was 

Exhibi-      Princess  Mary,  and  by  her  command  her  usual  dressmaker 

tion  of       was  also  present.     No  detail  of  the  work  of  weaving  was 

English      passed  over  by  her  ;    even  the  processes  of    :<  reading " 

Silks.         the  design  of  a  sumptuous  brocade  and  transferring  it 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  545 

to  the  perforated  cards,  which  are  so  hopelessly  bewildering   Royal 
to  the  uninitiated,  she  grasped  in  all  details.     With  some  President 
of  the  bolder  designs  then  applied  chiefly  to  curtains  and   of 
wall   hangings   she   foreshadowed   the   modes   that   have   Ladies' 
since  become  fashionable,  realising  that  they  would  be  superb    Com- 
for  Court  trains  and  evening  cloaks.     She  inspected  lengths   mittee. 
on  the  looms,  and  more  than  once  made  a  singularly  happy 
suggestion  as  to  a  change  in  the  colouring.     To  the  men 
at  Work  at  the  looms  she  addressed  the  kindest  words  of 
encouragement,  and  she  left  amid  the  ringing  cheers  of 
those    who    vaguely    hoped    for    the    coming    of    better 
times. 

On  May  3, 1893,  the  nation  received  with  the  profoundest 
delight  the  news  of  the  engagement  of  Princess  May  to 
the  Duke  of  York.  Then  it  was  that  the  first  proof  of 
the  importance  of  the  visit  of  the  Royal  ladies  to  Spital- 
fields  was  made  plain.  For  both  the  Duchess  and  her 
daughter  decided  that  every  item  of  the  trousseau  should  Wedding 
be  of  English  manufacture.  To  Messrs.  Warner  came  Dress  of 
the  honour  of  providing  the  wedding  dress,  and  for  so  Queen 
historic  an  occasion  as  the  marriage  of  the  future  Queen  of  Mary. 
Great  Britain  no  effort  was  too  great  to  produce  something 
splendid  and  distinctive.  The  ground  was  of  white  satin, 
thick  and  rich,  yet  soft  and  susceptible  of  taking  graceful 
folds.  The  design  introduced  the  Tudor  rose,  in  that  form 
heraldically  adopted  since  the  wedding  of  Henry  VII. 
with  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edward  IV,  united  the 
erst-while  rivals  of  Lancaster  and  York,  and  with  it  were 
clusters  of  May,  symbolic  of  the  name  by  which  the  royal 
bride  was  affectionately  known.  Linking  these  were  silver 
ribbons  brocaded  into  the  fabric  and  tied  at  intervals  with 
true-lovers'  knots.  The  beauty  of  the  design  and  the 
weaving  were  the  fullest  vindication  of  the  merits  of 
English  silk,  and  those  who  saw  it,  as  some  were  privileged 
to  do  before  it  left  the  dressmaker's,  or  upon  the  fair  and 
gracious  wearer  at  the  beautiful  marriage  ceremony, 
realised  that  it  was  to  have  far-reaching  industrial  effects. 

The  ceremony  was  indeed  a  triumph  for  English  silk 
weavers,  for  in  deference  to  the  known  wishes  of  the 
bride,  the  ten  young  Princesses  who  accompanied  her  as 

in 


546 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Wedding   bridesmaids  were  all  dressed  in  English  made     silk  and 

Dress         lace.     According   to   a   long-established   tradition   of   the 

of  Royal   House,   its   brides   wear   white   for   their    "  going 

Queen        away  "  dress,  and  it  was  a  rich  cream  silk,  also  made  in 

Mary.         Spitalfields,  sumptuously  embroidered  in  gold,  that  the 

newly  wedded  Duchess  assumed  when  she  drove  with  the 

Duke  from  Buckingham  Palace  to  Liverpool  Street  Station, 

amid   the   enthusiastic   demonstrations  of  the  thousands 

who  had  turned  out  to  testify  to  the  popularity  of  both 

bride   and   bridegroom.     In   the   trousseau   were   several 

dresses  for  day  and  evening  wear  of  rich  brocades,  and 

the  lighter  fancy  silks,  as  well  as  some  in  Irish  poplin. 

After  her  daughter's  marriage,  the  Duchess  of  Teck 
continued  her  active  campaign  to  arouse  interest  in  the 
revival  of  silk.  She  visited  Stafford  to  open  an  exhibition 
there  of  silks,  and  both  at  Leek  and  Macclesfield  made 
short  speeches  expressive  of  her  intention  to  do  all  in 
her  power  to  encourage  the  movement.  Moreover,  it  was 
largely  due  to  her  advice  that  the  technical  schools  of 
silk  weaving  in  the  chief  centres  of  the  industry  have 
paid  the  fullest  attention  to  design,  which  was  a  primary 
necessity  in  competition  with  the  products  of  foreign 
looms.  As  Duchess  of  York,  her  present  Majesty  continued 
to  manifest  a  practical  interest  in  the  revival,  and  no 
one  rejoiced  more  sincerely  than  she  did,  as  it  became 
evident  that  the  industry  was  once  more  becoming  vitalised. 
It  fell  to  her  Royal  Highness  to  be  able  to  commend  it  to 
the  daughter  nations  over  seas,  for  when  the  great  tour 
Work  of  that  the  Duke  and  Duchess  undertook  in  1901  through 
Duchess  the  Dominions  and  Colonies  was  under  consideration, 
of  Teck.  she  again  gave  orders  that  all  her  dresses  should  be  of 
British  manufacture.  The  death  of  Queen  Victoria  occurred, 
as  will  always  be  sorrowfully  remembered,  only  two  months 
before  the  Duke  and  Duchess  were  to  have  started,  and  for 
a  week  or  two  it  was  uncertain  whether  the  great  progress 
would  be  carried  through.  But  King  Edward  understood 
how  widespread  would  be  the  disappointment  everywhere, 
if  plans  were  changed,  while  the  underlying  idea  of  the 
tour  had  never  been  that  of  mere  pleasure  or  sightseeing. 
There  were  high  Imperial  duties  to  be  fulfilled  throughout, 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  547 

and  it  was  therefore  appropriate  even  that  they  should 
be  performed  at  the  outset  of  the  new  reign.  One  thing, 
however,  was  a  matter  of  some  difficulty,  and  that  was  to 
prepare  an  adequate  outfit  in  deepest  mourning  for  the 
Duchess  in  the  limited  time  available.  It  was  done, 
nevertheless,  and  never  were  dresses  in  black  silks  and 
satins,  crepes  de  chine  and  wonderful  gauzes  more  beautiful 
or  varied  as  to  design,  while  everywhere  that  they  were 
worn  they  constituted  an  unsurpassable  demonstration  of 
what  English  manufacturers  could  achieve. 

Then  came  King  Edward's  Coronation.     Two  generations   Corona- 
— sixty-two    years    to    be    exact — had    passed    since   the   tion  of 
British  people  had  witnessed  a  ceremony  so  august,  or  so    King 
deeply  charged  with  religious  significance,  and  there  was   Edward 
a  search  into  all  precedents  and  records,  for  there  were  VII. 
hardly  any  whose  memory  could  be  relied  upon  as  to  the 
details   observed  in  1837.     Queen  Alexandra  was   asked 
to  give  encouragement  to  the  English  silk  weaving  industry, 
and  she   expressed   the   hope   that   ladies  attending  the 
Coronation  would  wear  English  woven  silks  and  velvets, 
a  wish  that  naturally   carried   great   weight. 

King  Edward's  patronage  of  English  skill  in  this  direction 
was  very  marked.  One  of  the  most  important  of  the 
ceremonial  vestments  that  the  Sovereign  assumes  in  the 
course  of  the  Sacring  is  the  Pallium  or  Imperial  mantle. 
It  is  placed  over  his  shoulders  by  the  Dean  of  Westminster, 
and  clasped  by  the  Lord  Great  Chamberlain.  As  soon  as 
the  King  is  seated  again,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
delivers  the  Orb  with  his  hands  and  pronounces  this 
exhortation : — "  Receive  this  Imperial  Robe  and  Orb, 
and  the  Lord  your  God  endue  you  with  knowledge  and 
wisdom,  with  majesty  and  power  from  on  high  ;  the  Lord 
clothe  you  with  the  Robe  of  Righteousness  and  with  the 
Garments  of  Salvation.  And  when  you  see  this  Orb  set 
under  the  Cross  remember  that  the  whole  world  is  subject 
to  the  Power  and  Empire  of  Christ  our  Redeemer." 

Custom   immemorial   has    ordained   that   this   Pallium   The 
should    be    of    cloth    of    gold.     Other    Sovereigns   before  Pallium 
Bang  Edward  have  had  the  National  Emblems  interwoven   of  Cloth 
as  a  brocaded  figuring  into  the  fabric  itself.    His  late  of  Gold, 


548 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


The  Majesty,   with   that   kindly   thoughtfulness   that   was  so 

Pallium  characteristic  of  him,  desired  that  the  ladies  of  the  Royal 
of  Cloth  School  of  Art  Needlework  should  have  a  part  in  the 
of  Gold,  preparation  of  this  vestment  by  embroidering  upon  it 
the  symbolic  devices,  and  it  was  to  Messrs.  Warner,  of 
Braintree,  that  the  task  of  producing  the  most  perfect 
ground  possible  in  plain  cloth  of  gold  was  entrusted. 
It  was  not  an  easy  task ;  there  were  technical  difficulties 
over  it  that  the  uninitiated  would  not  realise.  A  flat 
smooth  surface  would  have  been  wanting  in  light  and 
relief,  but  at  last,  after  patient  experiment,  the  problem 
was  solved  by  using  for  the  weft  a  twist  composed  of  one 
round  and  two  flat  strands  of  gold  thread  of  infinitesimal 
fineness.  The  gold  was  the  purest  that  could  possibly 
be  used,  and  contained  even  less  proportion  of  alloy  than 
the  sovereign  or  half-sovereign.  For  the  weft,  the  finest 
gold-coloured  silk  was  used,  and  the  result  was  a  truly 
magnificent  fabric  which  carried  the  lovely  embroideries 
of  the  Rose,  Shamrock,  Thistle  and  Eagle,  as  well  as  the 
Lotus  for  India  which  was  employed  emblematically  for 
the  first  time  upon  the  robe  of  a  monarch  who  was  Kaiser- 
i-Hind  as  well  as  King  of  England. 

Again,  the  Princess  of  Wales  wore  an  English  woven 

dress — a  lovely  satin  of  creamy  tint,  and  worked  in  a 

design  of  leaves  and  berries  in  gold  of  three  shades,  with 

her  train  of  violet  velvet  made  at  Sudbury.     Others  of  the 

Princesses  had  followed  her  example,  and  never  in  modern 

times  had  these  looms  been  so  busy  as  in  turning  out  the 

purple  velvet  of  royal  wear,  or  that  in  rich  crimson  for 

the  robes   of  the  peers   and   peeresses.     King   Edward's 

reign  saw  further  advances  towards  the  real  renaissance 

Encou-       of  the  industry,  and  again  the  Princess  of  Wales,  upon 

ragement  her  Indian  tour  in  1905,  gave  to  silks  of  English  make 

of  Indian   the  foremost  place  in  her  outfit,  including  some  of  the 

Industry,  fine    washing   types.     Nor    must    the    encouragement    of 

Queen  Alexandra  and  her  present  Majesty  to  the  effort 

to  establish  silk  weaving  in  Kashmir  be  forgotten.     The 

raw  silk  had  been  woven  in  England  for  the  Maharajah  of 

Kashmir,   and  Sir  Thomas   War  die  suggested  that  they 

should  be  shown  to  Queen  Alexandra.     The  Maharajah, 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  549 

through  the  India  Office,  asked  if  her  Majesty  and  her 
Royal  Highness  would  accept  lengths  of  them  in  the  form 
of  beautiful  black  brocades,  and  both  royal  ladies  received 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  as  their  bearer,  and  expressed  much 
admiration  of  the  quality  arid  texture  of  the  woven  silk. 

After  the  country  had  somewhat  recovered  from  its 
crushing  blow  in  the  unexpectedly  sudden  death  of 
King  Edward,  and  it  became  possible  to  think  again  of 
the  solemnities  of  the  Coronation,  their  present  Majesties  The 
gave  early  consideration  to  the  welfare  of  the  industry  in  Corona- 
connection  with  it.  The  Royal  Robe  Makers  were  tion  of 
instructed  that  the  long  velvet  mantle  that  would  be  King 
borne  by  eight  pages  was  to  be  of  English  velvet,  but  George  V, 
for  a  time  there  was  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  Pallium 
with  which  his  Majesty  would  be  invested.  Eventually 
the  King  decided  to  use  the  magnificent  specimen  of 
Spitalfields  weaving  already  described  as  having  been 
prepared  for  his  last  namesake  on  the  Throne.  But  the 
Supertunica  worn  under  the  Pallium  had  to  be  made 
afresh,  and  the  cloth  of  gold  had  to  match  precisely  the 
ground  of  the  Pallium.  Moreover,  his  Majesty  had  greatly 
gratified  the  Girdlers'  Company  by  consenting  to  accept 
from  them  the  belt  to  which  his  Sword  would  be  girt, 
and  the  Armill  or  Stole.  Enough  cloth  of  gold  had  there- 
fore to  be  prepared  for  these  purposes,  and  the  Armill  is 
of  especial  interest,  as  it  introduced  all  the  emblems  of 
the  daughter  nations  for  the  first  time  into  ceremonial 
use  on  such  an  occasion.  In  addition  to  the  Rose, 
Shamrock,  Thistle  and  Red  Dragon  and  the  Eagle  of 
Sovereignty,  there  was  the  Lotus  for  India,  the  Maple  for 
Canada,  the  Southern  Cross  for  Australia,  the  Four  Stars 
for  New  Zealand,  and  the  Mimosa  for  South  Africa,  thus 
constituting  a  new  precedent  of  the  highest  historical 
interest. 

The    Queen's    dress    and    train    were    also    of    much  Queen's 
significance,  as  her  Majesty  had  them  designed  in  view  dress  and 
of  their  importance  and  symbolism,  not  only  in  Westminster  train. 
Abbey,  but  also  for  the  Imperial  and  splendid  scene  at 
Delhi,  when  she  would  appear  beside  the  King  in  full 
Durbar.     The  ground  of  the  dress  was  white  satin  of  the 


550  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  most  sumptuous  character  it  was  possible  to  weave.     Upon 

Corona-      it,  the  workers  of  Princess  Louise's  School  in  Sloane  Street 

tion  of       worked  the  beautiful  scheme,  which  showed  the  English 

King          rose  and  the  cable  that  links  the  other  lands  with  it,  while 

George  V.  in  prominent  place  was  the  Star  of  India  and  the  Lotus, 

which  is  the  more  appropriately  employed,  as  it  is  not  only 

the  sacred  flower  of  the  country,  but  in  some  of  the  older 

mythologies  of  the  East  is  associated  with  the  Sovereignty 

of  the  waters. 

The  Queen  did  still  more  for  the  industry  in  her 
Coronation  year.  Early  in  the  season  she  caused  it  to  be 
announced  that  all  her  dresses  would  be  of  English  fabrics, 
and  loyally  her  costumiers  carried  out  her  orders.  Special 
designs  in  brocades  were  reserved  for  her,  and  she  gave  a 
new  note  of  dignity  and  splendour  to  them  in  some  bold 
and  striking  effects.  These  had  a  direct  influence  upon 
fashions,  and  rich  materials  became  imperative  for  Court 
trains  and  sumptuous  evening  cloaks. 

The  next  outstanding  event  in  Royal  patronage  of  the 

Silk  industry  was  the  personal  interest  that  the  Queen  mani- 

Exhibi-      fested  in  regard  to  the  great  Silk  Exhibition  at  Prince's 

tion  of       Rink  in  1912.     This  project  had  occupied  more  than  a  year 

1912.          in  preparation  ;  it  had  united  all  the  heads  of  the  industry 

in  a  common  purpose,  and  it  enjoyed  the  full  recognition 

of  the  Silk  Association,  whose  President,  Mr.  Frank  Warner, 

was  also  Chairman  of  the  Committee.     Not  only  did  most 

silk  weaving,  dyeing  and   printing  houses  of  importance 

take  part  in  the  display,  but  famous  modistes  and  shops 

in   high   repute   came   forward   to   illustrate   the   superb 

effects   of    British    silks   both  for   fashionable  wear  and 

for    artistic     draperies     and     hangings.     Mme.     Paquin, 

MM.     Reville     and     Rossiter,     Messrs.     John     Barker, 

Messrs.    Waring    and    Gillow,    Messrs.    Cowtan,     Messrs. 

Woolland  were  only  a  few  among  those  who  gave  this 

valuable  form  of  demonstration. 

The  Exhibition  was  opened  on  June  6th  by  the 
Princess  Christian,  and  the  following  day  it  was  visited 
by  the  Queen.  Upon  a  loom  in  the  Warner  display  from 
Braintree  a  Court  train  for  her  Majesty  was  being  woven 
in  a  lovely  shade  of  jade  green,  with  a  gold  brocading  so 


Plate  L. 


Loon  at  the  Silk  Exhibition,  Knightsbridge,  79/2— 
Weaving  Brocade  63in.  wide  forH.M.  The  Queen. 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  551 

complex  that  30,000  strands  were  involved  in  the  pattern.  Silk 
The  Queen  expressed  her  admiration  of  it,  and  made  a  Exhibi- 
thorough  inspection  of  every  exhibitor's  stand,  giving  tion  of 
several  orders,  and  showing  a  knowledge  of  technical  1912. 
details  that  surprised  many  of  the  experts.  This  visit, 
exhaustive  and  thorough  as  it  had  been,  was,  how- 
ever, far  from  the  end  of  her  Majesty's  gracious 
support.  On  June  12th,  the  welcome  and  gratifying 
announcement  came  that  the  King  intended  to  honour 
the  Exhibition  with  a  visit  of  inspection,  and  that  the 
Queen  would  accompany  him.  It  was  desired  that  the 
inspection  should  be  strictly  private,  and  in  order  to 
call  no  public  attention  to  the  presence  of  their  Majesties, 
even  the  usual  red  cloth  was  not  laid  across  the  pavement. 
The  President  and  the  Vice-Presidents,  among  whom 
were  Mr.  A.  Barnard  Cowtan,  Mr.  Francis  Durrant,  Mr.  E. 
W.  Cox,  Mr.  H.  C.  Marillier,  Mr.  A.  Pether,  Col.  Herbert 
Walters,  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Piggott,  and  Mr.  H.  Langridge, 
received  their  Majesties,  and  others  present  were 
Lady  Algernon  Gordon  Lennox  and  the  Hon.  Ivy  Gordon 
Lennox,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Percy  Mitford  and  Mrs.  Frank 
Warner.  After  a  few  general  comments,  his  Majesty 
began  his  round  of  inspection,  the  Queen  frequently  calling 
his  attention  to  particularly  noteworthy  features.  Some- 
thing thus  early  singled  out  was  the  magnificent  cope 
with  which  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  had  been  vested 
at  the  Coronation  of  King  Edward  and  of  King  George. 
For  ground  it  had  a  sumptuous  silk  of  Braintree  weaving, 
upon  which  the  correct  ecclesiastical  and  heraldic  decoration 
and  symbolism  had  been  designed  by  Miss  Beatrice  Cameron 
and  worked  by  Miss  Sheffield.  The  raw  silk  from  Kashmir 
was  also  examined  by  his  Majesty  with  extreme  interest 
as  likely  to  become  a  valuable  commercial  product. 

A  lovely  silk  carpet  of  such  close  weaving  that  a  hundred   Visit  of 
knots   were   employed   in   the   square   inch   was   ordered   King 
by  the  King  from  Messrs.  Charles  Hammonds'  display,  and   and 
the  Queen  was  so  much  pleased  with  its  harmonious  colouring    Queen, 
that  she  ordered  a  replica  in  fine  wool.     Messrs.  Fleming 
and    Watson,   who   had   a   series   of   reproductions   from 
Georgian  designs,  showed  a  beautiful  length  in  rose  colour 


552 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Visit  of  that  had  been  executed  to  the  order  of  the  Princess  Royal. 
King  At  the  fine  exhibit  of  Messrs.  Brocklehurst,  some  surprising 
and  statistics  were  mentioned  to  the  King,  who  smiled  with 

Queen.  gratification  at  the  statement  that  the  firm  has  in  constant 
employ  a  thousand  workers,  "  every  one  your  Majesty's 
British  born  subject."  A  like  number  are  in  regular 
work  at  Messrs.  Grout's  factory  in  turning  out  exquisite 
crepes,  ninons  and  soft  draping  materials.  At  Messrs. 
Cowtans'  the  King  paid  special  attention  to  some  rich 
lengths  that  were  being  executed  for  a  private  order,  and 
at  Messrs.  Stephen  Walters',  with  its  record  of  170  years' 
silk  weaving  in  England  the  King  was  interested  in  the 
silk  made  for  men's  ties  and  mufflers.  Meantime  the 
Queen  was  examining  much  that  she  desired  to  see  in 
fuller  detail  than  upon  her  former  visit.  Arrived  at 
Messrs.  Warner's  stand,  his  Majesty  gave  one  of  those 
proofs  of  his  sympathy  with  the  workers  that  have  endeared 
him  to  all  classes  by  inspecting  the  Court  train  that  Mr. 
T.  Wheeler  and  Mr.  H.  Spooner,  two  of  the  oldest  and 
most  experienced  of  the  Braintree  employes,  were  weaving. 
His  Majesty  asked  many  questions  as  to  the  technical 
aspect  of  the  work,  and  the  complications  of  "  reading  " 
so  elaborate  a  design.  The  King  was  informed  that  the 
same  man  had  woven  the  cloth  of  gold  for  the  ceremonial 
vestments  of  his  Coronation,  and  his  Majesty  at  once 
congratulated  him  on  "his  very  excellent  work." 

Nothing  escaped  the  King's  attention.  When  at  length 
the  tour  of  inspection,  that  would  have  been  tiring  to 
many,  was  at  an  end,  his  Majesty  graciously  expressed  to 
Mr.  Warner  not  only  the  great  pleasure  that  the  visit  had 
afforded  him,  but  his  satisfaction  with  his  continued 
efforts  to  advance  an  industry  which  showed  itself  so 
Notable  well  worthy  of  national  encouragement  and  support. 
Exhibits.  A  few  days  later  Queen  Alexandra  paid  the  exhibi- 
tion a  long  visit,  and  placed  a  number  of  orders. 
Princess  Louise,  Duchess  of  Argyll,  was  another  deeply 
interested  royal  visitor,  and  in  her  case,  concerned  so 
much  as  she  is  with  the  beautiful  embroideries  often 
executed  to  her  own  designs  at  the  Ladies'  Needlework 
Society,  the  inspection  had  the  direct  purpose  of  revealing 


ROYAL  PATRONAGE.  553 

what  was  available  as  a  ground   for  the  most  artistic 
needlecraft. 

As  a  memento  of  the  Exhibition,  the  Queen  graciously 
accepted  a  magnificently  bound  volume  containing  photo- 
graphs of  each  exhibitor's  display.  The  outcome  of  the 
Exhibition,  to  the  success  of  which  her  Majesty's  personal 
example  and  encouragement  had  so  signally  contributed, 
was  a  net  profit  of  £455  5s.  lOd.  Of  this  sum,  £400  was 
invested  for  the  permanent  benefit  of  the  Association's 
income,  and  the  balance  was  applied  to  the  practical 
purpose  of  enabling  the  Association  to  become  an  incor- 
porated body. 


Guilds. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

THE    WEAVERS    AND    OTHER   KINDRED    LIVERY 
COMPANIES. 

Ancient  In  his  masterly  essay  on  the  "  History  and  Development 
Trade  of  Guilds  and  Trade  Unions,"  which  although  written  in 
1870,  still  remains  the  best  exposition  of  the  subject, 
Dr.  Lujo  Brentano  traces  back  the  connection  between 
the  Livery  Companies  of  London,  which  still  for  the  most 
part  survive,  and  the  ancient  Guilds,  which  played  such 
an  important  part  in  the  development  of  Trade  and 
Craftsmanship  in  former  times.  These  ancient  corporations 
continued  to  exercise  more  or  less  control  in  the  various 
branches  of  trade,  with  which  they  were  formed  to  deal, 
until,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  operation  of  varied 
causes  shifted  the  centre  of  manufacture  from  London 
to  the  North  of  England.  This  revolution  in  trade  and 
manufacture,  together  with  the  individualist  tendencies 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  reduced  some  of  the  Livery 
Companies  to  the  position  which  they  now  occupy,  that  of 
being  associations  for  mutual  benefit  and  good  fellowship. 
It  is  probable  that  these  corporations  would  have  disap- 
peared altogether  long  since  had  it  not  been  that  many 
of  them,  becoming  in  course  of  time  very  wealthy,  had  de- 
voted large  sums  of  money  to  charity  and  to  the  promo- 
tion of  the  best  interests  of  their  crafts  through  technical 
education. 

The  triumph  of  the  Handicraftsmen  and  their 
Association  in  Guilds  having  the  right  to  elect  their  own 
Wardens  or  Deans,  and  other  officers,  and  having  power 
to  regulate  the  details  of  all  trade  matters  which  concerned 
their  various  branches  of  industry,  had — after  several 

554 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  555 

centuries   of  strife — become   complete  in  the   early  part   Ancient 
of   the   fifteenth   century.     In   London,    to    quote   again   Trade 
from  Brentano,  "  the  Craft  Gilds  appear  in  fuU  possession   Guilds, 
of  the  mastery  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.     The  privileges 
which  they  had  till  then  exercised  only  on  sufferance,  or 
on  payment  of  fermes,  were  now  for  the  first  time  generally 
confirmed  by  charter  to  them  by  that  monarch.     The 
authorities  of  the  City  of  London,  who  had  in  former 
times'  contended  with  all  their  might  against  the  Craft 
Gilds,  now  approved  of  their  Statutes ;    and  by  the  end 
of  the  fourteenth  century  most  of  the  trades  had  appeared 
before  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to  get  their  ordinance 
enrolled.     At  the  same  time,  they  each  adopted  a  particular 
Livery,  and  were  henceforth  called  Livery  Companies.*   Livery 
Edward  III  himself    became  a  member  of  one  of  them,    Com- 
that  of  the  Linen  Armourers,  as  the  Tailors  were  then    panies. 
called,  and  his  example  found  numerous  imitators  amongst 
his  successors  and  the  nobility  of  the  Kingdom. "f 

All  the  Livery  Companies,  at  the  time  of  their  incorpora- 
tion, as  well  as  the  Craft  Guilds,  of  which  they  were  the 
successors,  had  a  vital  interest  and  exercised  a  practical 
supervision  and  control  of  the  branches  of  industry  and 
commerce  with  which  they  were  nominally  connected.  They 
bargained  with  Kings  and  Over-Lords  for  Parliamentary 
rights  and  privileges  which,  when  obtained,  they  defended 
with  all  their  united  strength.  They  elected  members  of  the 
City  Corporation,  and  consequently  had  the  municipality 
under  their  control.  They  defended  their  various  trades 
and  crafts  from  the  encroachments  and  competition  of 
unattached  artificers  and  foreigners.  They  also  exercised 
a  more  or  less  wise  supervision  of  the  internal  affairs  of 
the  Guild,  maintained  the  standard  of  workmanship  and 
the  quality  of  the  goods  manufactured,  and  also  fixed  the 
amount  of  the  wages  of  the  journeymen  and  apprentices 
and  the  profits  of  the  masters.  They  regulated  the  number 
of  apprentices  and  workmen  a  master  might  employ,  looked 
after  the  welfare  of  members  in  sickness  and  misfortune, 
assisted  widows  and  orphans,  settled  disputes  of  all  kinds 

*  Fraternities  had  worn  liveries  previous  to  this  time,  but  now  they  became  official  and 
distinctive. 

I  Brentano  on  Guilds,  p.  58. 


556 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Livery 

Com- 

panies. 

Associa- 
tions  of 
Masters 
and 
Men. 


The 
Weavers' 


between  members,  insisted  on  a  due  observance  of  religious 
rites,  and  in  fact  exercised  what  would  now  be  resented 
as  a  grandmotherly  supervision  and  vexatious  control 
over  all  members  of  the  fraternity. 

The  close  association  of  masters  and  men  seems  to  have 
been  at  once  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  the  ancient 
Trade  and  Craft  Guilds  and  Companies.  It  answered  well, 
and  worked  without  friction  so  long  as  the  amount  of 
capital  invested  in  business  was  small  and  the  master 
laboured  in  close  association  with  his  men,  but  with  the 
increase  of  capital  and  the  expansion  of  trading  operations, 
a  gulf  between  the  master  and  the  artisan  opened  out  and 
gradually  became  wider  and  wider  as  the  interests  of  the 
two  classes,  instead  of  being  as  they  once  were  identical, 
became  more  and  more  antagonistic. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  this  division  of  masters 
and  men  into  two  opposing  camps  spread  into  all  branches 
of  industry,  but  was  specially  noticeable  in  the  silk,  cotton 
and  woollen  weaving  trades  in  London  and  wherever  else 
they  were  practised.  Whilst  this  separation  of  interests 
was  proceeding,  many  outbreaks  of  animosity  took  place 
and  there  was  much  smouldering  fire  of  discontent,  which 
was  only  kept  in  check  by  severe  legislation  against  com- 
binations of  workmen.  But  when  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  formation  of  Trade  Unions  became  legalised,  the  opposi- 
tion generally  broke  out  into  open  warfare,  the  weapons 
being  strikes  and  lockouts. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  the 
Livery  Companies  of  London  —  nearly  one-fourth  —  were 
concerned  with  the  regulation  of  the  silk  trade.  These 
were  :  The  Weavers,  the  Company  of  Merchant  Adven- 
turers and  the  several  other  Companies  formed  for  trading 
in  foreign  countries,  The  Mercers,  The  Haberdashers,  The 
Drapers,  The  Girdlers,  The  Merchant  Tailors,  The  Cloth- 
workers,  The  Dyers,  The  Broiderers,  The  Silk  Throwsters, 
The  Upholders,  The  Silkmen,  The  Hatband  Makers,  and 
The  Frame  Knitters. 

The  Weavers  justly  claim  to  be  the  most  ancient  of 
the  English  Handicraft  Guilds.*  There  is  evidence  that 

*  Their  first  Charter  was  granted  by  Henry  II,  but  like  the  Woolmen  their  Guild  was 
formed  long  before  his  time. 


Plate  LI. 


Charter  granted  to  the  Weavers'  Company  by 

Henry  II.— about  1155. 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  557 

a  Fraternity  of  Weavers  existed  in  Saxon  times  under   The 
the  name  of  Tellaij.  Weavers' 

But  the  history  of  the  Weavers'  Company  of  London  Corn- 
has  never  yet  been  adequately  treated  ;  and  much  research-  pany. 
work  remains  to  be  undertaken  before  it  will  be  possible 
to  clear  up  all  the  doubts  which  arise  as  to  the  organisation 
of  the  weaving  trade  in  London  between  the  first  charter 
of  the  Company  in  the  12th  century  and  the  first  of  the 
Minute  Books  now  extant,  which  dates  from  the  reign  of 
James  I.  What  is  written  here  must,  therefore,  be  taken 
as  subject  to  revision  in  the  light  of  fuller  knowledge. 
The  earliest  charter  of  the  Weavers'  Company,  which  is 
preserved  in  the  Companies'  archives,  is  an  Inspeximus  of 
Henry  II,  confirming  the  privileges  granted  to  the  Guild 
by  a  Charter  of  Henry  I,  and  although  undated  it  can, 
from  internal  evidence,  in  particular  the  names  and 
offices  of  the  attesting  witnesses,  be  attributed  with  some 
certainty  to  the  occasion  of  the  holding  of  a  Great  Council 
at  Winchester  in  the  month  of  September,  1155.  By 
the  charters  of  Henry  I  and  II,  it  was  granted  to  the 
Weavers  of  London  to  have  their  Guild  in  London,  and 
that  none  should  intermeddle  in  their  mystery  within 
the  City  or  in  Southwark  or  in  other  places  appertaining 
to  London,  except  he  were  a  member  of  their  Guild,  and  the 
Guild  became  liable  in  return  to  the  payment  of  an  annual 
rent  or  Ferma  Gildae  to  the  King  of  2  marks  of  gold.  Some 
indication  of  the  date  of  the  first  incorporation  of  the 
Guild,  under  Henry  I,  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
the  payment  of  the  Ferma  Gildse  is  duly  recorded  in  the 
earliest  Pipe  Roll  preserved  at  the  Record  Office,  which 
is  now  generally  attributed  to  the  year  1130. 

The   Weavers'    Company  is   therefore  not   merely   the   Oldest 
oldest  of  all  the  City  Companies,  but  was  incorporated    of  City 
at  least  sixty  years  before  the  grant  of  a  Commune  to  the   Corn- 
City  itself  in   1191.     Nor  is   this   early  incorporation   a   panies. 
peculiarity  of  the  trade  in  London.     The  same  Pipe  Roll 
of  1130  records  payments  of  their  Ferms  on  behalf  of  the 
weavers  of  Lincoln  and  Oxford,  and  the  Pipe  Rolls  of 
Henry  II  refer  to  weavers'  guilds  at  Winchester,  Hunting- 
don and  Nottingham. 


558 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Oldest  The  new  civic  authorities  quickly  came  into  conflict 

of  City  with  the  Weavers'  Guild.  On  March  20th,  1201-2, 
Com-  King  John,  in  return  for  an  undertaking  by  the  grantees 
panies.  to  pay  an  annual  ferm  of  20  marks  of  silver  in  lieu  of  the 
18  marks  theretofore  paid  by  the  Weavers,  actually 
granted  a  charter  to  the  City,  suppressing  the  Guild  of 
Weavers  in  London.  For  reasons  which  are  still  unknown 
this  attempt  at  suppression  failed.  The  City  quickly  fell 
into  arrears  with  the  payment  undertaken,  and  by  the 
year  1203-4  the  Weavers  were  once  more  credited  in 
the  Pipe  Rolls  with  their  annual  payment,  but  at  the 
increased  rate.  In  1223  we  find  the  Weavers'  Guild 
depositing  the  Charter  of  Henry  II  in  the  safe  custody 
of  the  Treasury  for  fear  it  should  be  extorted  from  them 
by  the  City,  and  in  1243  the  same  charter  was  inspected 
and  confirmed  by  a  charter  of  Henry  III. 

Dispute  This  dispute  between  the  Corporation  and  the  Weavers 
between  of  London  is  not  an  isolated  event.  Traces  exist  of  similar 
Weavers  trouble  in  other  towns,  where  the  Weavers  were  incor- 
and  porated  at  an  early  date,  and  notably  at  Oxford,  where 

Corpora-  the  Weavers  in  the  ninth  year  of  Henry  III,  were  fined 
tion.  a  cask  of  wine  to  the  King  for  a  writ  commanding  the 

Mayor  and  Provosts  to  let  them  have  their  former  liberties. 
Dr.  Brentano,  in  his  preface  to  the  Early  English  Text 
Society's  volume  on  Early  Craft  Guilds,  published  in  1870, 
arguing  from  Continental  analogies,  saw  in  these  disputes 
the  steps  by  which  the  wealthier  merchant  classes  sought 
to  subdue  the  handicraftsmen.  Subsequent  authors,  how- 
ever, and  notably  Dr.  Gross  and  Archdeacon  Cunningham, 
founding  their  opinions  upon  fuller  evidence,  doubt  the 
existence  in  England  of  such  a  class  struggle,  and  it  is 
suggested  that  the  early  incorporation  of,  and  subsequent 
attacks  on  the  weaving  trade  were  due  to  the  fact  that 
from  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  it  was  largely 
in  the  hands  of  foreign  immigrants.  If  that  theory  is 
correct,  a  history  of  the  Weavers'  Company  might  well 
have  as  a  subsidiary  title  "  Eight  Centuries  of  Alien 
Immigration." 

Whatever  the  cause  of  these  quarrels,  they  appear,  so 
far  as  the  London  Weavers  are  concerned,  to  have  been 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  559 

concluded  at  least  as  early  as  the  28th  year  of  Edward  I   Dispute 
(1299-1300),  for  in  that  year  the  Commonalty  of  the  Guild    between 
duly  presented  their  bailiffs  to  be  sworn  before  the  Mayor    Weavers 
and  Aldermen,  and  acknowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  the   and 
Mayor  to  determine  such  matters  touching  the  craft  as   Corpora- 
could  not  be  determined  by  the  Guild  Court.     The  Guild   tion. 
did  not  gain  a  long  respite  from  their  troubles  by  sub- 
mission.    The  Letter  Books  of  the  City  give  glimpses  of 
constant  disputes  caused  by  the  increasing  sub -division  of 
labour  in  the  cloth-working  industry,  and  the  consequent 
rival  claims  of  jurisdiction  of  the  weavers,  fullers,  dyers, 
tailors,  burdlers  and  fullers.    This  was,  no  doubt,  due  largely 
to  a  healthy  expansion  of  the  industry,  and  the  difficulties 
appear  to  have  been  more  or  less  accommodated  by  the 
arbitration  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  when  the  members 
of  the  Guild  were  called  upon  to  face  a  far  more  serious 
rivalry.     The    commercial    policy  of  Edward  III,  which 
marks  an  advance  from  what  may  be  called  a  municipal 
to  a  national  point  of  view,  beginning  with  the  sporadic 
encouragement   of  weavers  from   the   Low   Countries  to 
settle  in  England,  developed  into  a  general  statute  passed 
in  1337,  in  which  protection  was  extended  to  all  foreign 
weavers  practising  their  craft  within  the  realm,  and  the 
import  of  foreign  cloth  was  prohibited.     The  export  of 
wool  from  Great  Britain  having  been  prohibited  in  the 
previous  year  in  order  to  force  Flanders  to  abandon  the 
French  alliance,  there  followed  a  great  influx  of  Flemish 
weavers  into  England.     The  effect  upon  the  rigid  trade 
organization  of  the  time  must  have  been  considerable, 
and  the  pages  of  the  City  Letter  Books  and  the  material 
published  by  Madox  in  his  Firma  Burgi,  make  it  possible 
to  trace  through  the  course  of  the  next  century  the  repeated 
efforts  of  the  native  weavers  in  London  by  petitions  to 
Parliament  and  actions  in  the  Courts  to  force  the  foreign 
weavers  to  come  into  their  Guild,  or  at  least  to  contribute   Amalga- 
in  the  yearly  ferm.     These  efforts  do  not  appear  to  have  mation 
met  with  much  success.     Not  only  were  the  foreign  weavers   of 
expressly   exempted    from   the   necessity    of   joining   the   Guilds, 
native  Guild,  but  they  were  actually  granted  the  benefit 
of   independent   incorporation,    and   from    1372   onwards 


560  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Amalga-  the  Flemish  and  Brabant  Weavers,  and  from  1415  a  new 
mation  Guild  of  linen  weavers,  yearly  presented  their  officers  to  the 
of  Mayor  and  Aldermen  side  by  side  with  those  of  the  original 

Guilds.       Guild.     When  and  how  these  rival  Guilds  were  finally  absor- 
bed by  the  Weavers'  Company  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 

The  fusion  would  appear,  however,  to  have  taken 
place  about  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
VII.  The  ordinances  of  the  Company,  dated  the  seventh 
year  of  that  reign,  provide  that  one  of  the  Bailiffs  shall 
be  a  woollen  and  the  other  a  linen  weaver,  "  according 
to  the  olde  ordince,"  which  would  seem  to  show  that 
the  Guild  of  Linen  Weavers  had  been  absorbed  some  time 
previously,  and  a  deed  forming  part  of  the  title  of  the 
site  of  the  Company's  Hall  in  Basinghall  Street,  dated 
the  fourteenth  year  of  the  same  reign,  makes  mention 
of  three  Bailiffs  apparently  holding  office  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  If  that  is  so  the  unusual  number  may  have 
been  the  result  of  a  further  fusion  of  the  woollen  and 
linen  weavers  with  the  Flemish  and  Brabant  weavers, 
who  appear  to  have  united  in  one  body  of  foreign  weavers 
between  the  years  1371  and  1390.  By  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII,  a  return  had  been  made  to  the  normal 
number  of  two  Bailiffs.  The  constant  rivalry  of  the 
native  and  foreign  weavers  during  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  may  perhaps  account  for  the  fact 
that  in  London  the  Weavers'  Guild  failed  to  obtain  that 
position  in  the  City  which  would  have  been  won  if  they 
had  obtained  the  exclusive  control  of  what  was  then 
the  principal  industry  of  the  country,  agriculture  apart. 
Instead  we  see  the  rise  of  the  great  corporations  of 
capitalist  wholesale  merchants,  who  exploited  the  industry 
of  the  craftsman,  and  permanently  relegated  the  craft 
guilds  to  a  minor  place  in  the  civic  organisation.  The 
Mercers  (incorporated  1393),  the  Haberdashers  (1407), 
and  the  Drapers  (1439)  may  all  owe  their  importance  to 
the  inability  of  the  parent  company  to  assert  itself  in 
more  than  one  direction  at  a  critical  period. 

Control          Legal   proceedings   were   often   taken   to    enforce   the 

of  Trade,   control  of  the  trade  by  the  Company,  and  ordinances 

were  made  for  limiting  the  practice  of  the  craft  to  English 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  561 

weavers.  The  right  of  exercising  this  control  was  further  Control 
confirmed  by  an  Act  of  Henry  VII,  and  the  Com-  of 
pany's  rights  were  also  recognised  by  charters  of  Trade. 
Henry  VIII  and  Philip  and  Mary.  Bye-laws  regulating 
their  control  of  the  trade  were  made  and  approved  by 
Lord  Bacon  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  further  charters 
were  obtained  from  James  I  and  Charles  I.  During 
these  reigns,  too,  numerous  proceedings  were  taken  to 
establish  the  Weavers'  Company's  rights,  and  James  II 
extended  their  jurisdiction  to  20  miles  round  London. 
The  ultimate  extent  of  their  rights  was  settled  by  a  charter 
of  Queen  Anne,  granted  in  the  year  1707,  under  which 
they  still  remain  incorporated.  This  document  confirms 
their  former  charters  and  entrusts  to  the  officials  of  the 
Company  extraordinary  powers  of  supervision  and  control 
over  the  silk-weaving  trade. 

Economic  causes  were  at  work  during  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  which  gradually  limited  the 
scope  of  the  industry  of  which  the  Weavers'  Company  was 
the  guardian.  Other  companies  had  been  formed  for  dealing 
with  the  different  branches  of  the  trade.  The  crafts  of 
woollen  and  linen  weaving  became  separate  industries  ;  the 
weaving  of  braids,  tapes,  laces  and  ribbons  became  quite 
separated  from  the  broad- weaving  branch  ;  the  preparation 
of  thread  and  both  skein  and  piece-dyeing  also  employed 
large  numbers  of  craftsmen  and  women.  These  specialised 
industries  all  became  incorporated  in  separate  chartered 
fraternities.  Mercers,  drapers,  tailors,  dyers,  clothiers, 
broiderers,  framework-knitters,  girdlers,  silkmen,  silk 
throwers,  and  even  hatband  makers  all  became  thus 
incorporated,  so  that  to  the  Weavers'  Company  was  left 
only  the  branches  dealing  with  broad  silk  textiles.  In 
the  meantime,  however,  this  department  of  the  industry 
had  become  of  such  great  importance,  owing  chiefly  to  alien 
immigration,  that,  notwithstanding  the  separations  referred 
to,  the  Weavers'  Company  of  London  still  flourished. 

In    the    century    following    the    immigration    of    the   Hugue- 
Huguenots  the  silk  industry  in  London  grew  to  enormous   not 
proportions,  and  it  became  impossible  for  the  Company   Immi- 
to  exercise  the  supervision  of  the  trade  which  its  charter  gration. 

>* 


562 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Hugue-      allowed.     Much  spasmodic  activity  was,  however,  exercised 
not  by  the  Company  in  endeavouring  to  maintain  their  control 

Immi-  of  the  industry,  and  the  prevention  of  competition, 
gration.  Appeals  and  petitions  to  the  King  in  Council  were  con- 
stantly being  prosecuted  to  suppress  improved  machinery, 
the  sale  of  foreign  yarn,  and  the  exercise  of  the  Art  by 
foreigners.  At  one  time,  Daniel  Defoe  was  employed  to 
conduct  a  periodical  called  the  English  Manufacturer, 
advocating  the  use  of  English-made  goods  only. 

During  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  mass  of 
operative  weavers  in  Spitalfields  and  the  district  seem 
to  have  become  very  turbulent  and  unmanageable.  On 
one  occasion,  for  instance,  they  made  a  demonstration 
to  demand  Parliamentary  prohibition  of  the  use  oi 
printed  calicoes.  Troops  and  trained  bands  were  sent  to 
disperse  them,  but  they  were  not  prevented  from  tearing 
off,  in  angry  protest,  the  printed  calico  garments  of  ladies 
whom  they  encountered  in  the  streets. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  silk  weavers 

of  London  as  a  class,  if  one  may  judge  by  references  to 

them    in    contemporary    newspapers    and    Parliamentary 

reports,  were  very  much  changed  from  the  prosperous, 

orderly    and    respectable    [craftsmen    of    the    Huguenot 

immigration.     The   causes   of   this   change   have   already 

been  pointed  out  and  need  not  be  repeated,  but  the  fact 

that  such  a   change  had  taken  place   accounts  for  the 

Imper-       gradual   antagonism   of  interest   and   feeling   which  had 

fectly         sprung  up  between  the  Master  Weavers,  who  were  mostly 

Trained      Freemen   of  the   City   and   Liverymen   of   the   Weavers' 

Opera-       Company,  and  the  mass  of  imperfectly  trained  operatives, 

tives.          who  competed  with  each  other  for  employment  in  the  less 

skilful    branches    of   the   weaving   trade.     Disputes    and 

riots  were  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  and  appeals  and 

Policy        counter   appeals   to   Parliament   were   often   made,   with 

of  more   or  less   success,   by   the    Weavers'    Company,   the 

Prohibi-     Manufacturers,  the  Traders,  or  the  operative  weavers  by 

tion.  their  own  representatives.     Towards  the  end  of  the  century 

these  disagreements  seem  to  have  somewhat  decreased, 

and  a  certain  degree  of  prosperity  in  the  silk  weaving  trade 

resulted  from  the  adoption  by  Parliament  of  the  policy 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  563 

of  prohibition,   or  heavy  taxation,  on  all  manufactured 
silk  goods. 

In  common  with  the  other  City  Companies,  the  Weavers' 
Company,  during  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth,  gradually  lost  control  of  the  trade 
in  which  it  had  originated,  and  retaining  only  the  name 
and  endowments,  of  increasing  or  decreasing  value  as  the 
case  might  be,  of  the  ancient  Corporation,  became  little 
more  than  a  benefit  society  for  those  born  or  elected  to  a 
freeman's  rights  in  it. 

Of  late  years,  however,  some  of  the  City  Companies 
have  endeavoured  to  be  of  use  to  the  industries  for  the 
benefit  of  which  they  were  originally  incorporated,  and 
the  Weavers  have  not  been  behindhand  in  this  movement. 
They  have  tried  to  stimulate  the  declining  energy  and 
skill  of  the  few  remaining  silk  weavers  in  the  East  of 
London  by  offering  rewards  of  money,  badges,  certificates 
and  the  Freedom  of  the  Company,  which  carries  with  it 
the  Freedom  of  the  City  of  London,  to  successful  com- 
petitors for  their  prizes. 

Quite  recently  the  Company  have  undertaken  the  task    Weavers' 
of  furnishing  to  the  Board  of  Trade  a  panel  of  competent   Corn- 
jurors  to  serve  at  international  exhibitions  in  the  depart-   pany 
ment  of  textile  industries.     They  have  thus  been  brought   and 
into  friendly  relations  with  French  and  Belgian  representa-   Textile 
tives    of    these   industries.     A  Standing  Committee  has   Indus- 
been  formed  to   act  as  occasion  may  require  to   diffuse   tries, 
information  or  to  develop  the  industries  with  which  they 
are  nominally  connected.     This  keeps  them  in  touch  with 
the  requirements  of  to-day,  and  they  officially  state  that 
they  are  prepared,  to  the  extent  of  their  resources,  to  aid 
in  any  movement  tending  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
silk  weaving  craft. 

The  day  is  past  for  the  Weavers'  Company  to  attempt 
autocratically  to  govern  the  silk  industry,  but  it  can  and 
does  give  the  benefit  of  its  prestige  and  material  support 
to  well  directed  efforts  for  the  improvement  and  extension 
of  British  silk  manufacture.  In  this  endeavour  it  may 
well  be  inspired  by  its  ancient  motto,  "  Weave  Truth  with 
Trust." 


564  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

The  Weavers'  Company  was  very  zealous  in  support 
of  the  Republican  Party  during  the  Civil  War,  and  was 
greatly  impoverished  thereby  ;  it  never  wholly  recovered 
its  former  prosperity.  Curious  evidence  of  the  Company's 
poverty  is  afforded  by  many  old  documents  still  preserved, 
of  which  the  following  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Court  of  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  London,  dated  10th  Oct., 
1721,  is  an  example : — 

"  This    day    the    humble    Petition    of    the    Bayliffs, 

Wardens    and    Assistants    of    the    Company    of 

Weavers  was  presented  to  this  Court  and  Read 

praying  to  be  excused  from  their  attendance  on 

the  Lord  Mayor's  days  for  the  Term  of  Five  years 

in    consideration    of    their    great    Poverty    and 

Incapacity  of  Defraying  the  Expenses,  and  after 

hearing  several  of  the  Members  of  the  said  Company 

relating  thereto,  this  Court  doth  excuse  them  from 

their  attendance  on  the  next  Lord  Mayor's  Day." 

The   ancient   Hall   of  the    Weavers'    Company,  which 

stood   in  Basinghall  Street,  was  destroyed  in  the  Great 

Fire  of  London,  1666,  but  was  subsequently  rebuilt  on 

the  same  site.     The  new  building  was  described  as  a  "  Fine 

and  commodious  Hall,  the  interior  being  neat  and  good 

and  furnished  with  a  chaste  screen  of  the  Ionic  order."* 

In  1856  it  was  pulled  down  to  make  room  for  suites  of 

offices.      Since  then  the   Company   has   had   no  Hall   in 

which  to  meet. 

Charities.       The  Charities  administered  by  the  Weavers'  Company 
are  as  follows  : — 

Rowland  Morton  gave,  in  trust,  the  28th  July,  1664, 
several  parcels  of  land  to  trustees,  the  income  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  the  poor  almsfolk,  etc. 

Alexander  Hosea  gave,  19th  March,  1684,  property  in 
Holborn,  the  receipts  to  be  distributed  to  the  poor  of  the 
Company.  John  Hall,  Richard  Gervies,  John  Brigue, 
and  Samuel  Saunders  also  left  legacies,  the  interest  to  be 
given  to  the  poor  of  the  Company. 

James  Limborough,  the  25th  July,  1774,  bequeathed 
to  his  executors  a  fund  (now  represented  by  £2,633  4s.  8d. 

*  Maitland. 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  565 

India  3  per  cent.  Stock)  to  be  by  them  transferred,  after  Charities, 
the  death  of  his  wife,  to  the  Company  in  trust,  the  dividends 
to  be  applied  yearly  for  ever  for  the  support  of  an  evening 
lecture,  to  be  preached  every  Sunday  for  eight  months 
in  the  year,  beginning  in  September  and  ending  in  April. 
The  lecture  is  given  at  Christ  Church,  Spitalfields,  the 
dividends  being  paid  as  follow :  £50  to  the  lecturer,  who 
is  appointed  every  three  years  ;  about  £21  to  the  officers 
of  the  church,  for  the  expenses  of  lighting,  etc.,  and  the 
balance  to  the  Company. 

Nicholas  Garrett,  of  Wandsworth,  gave  to  the  Company, 
the  16th  of  July,  1725,  £1,000  in  East  India  Stock,  in  trust, 
after  the  decease  of  his  wife,  to  lay  out  part  in  the  purchase 
of  six  almshouses,  for  six  decayed  members  of  the  Com- 
pany, the  remainder  to  form  the  endowment.  Land  was 
purchased  in  Porter's  field,  now  Blossom  Street,  Norton 
Folgate. 

Thomas  Carpenter  gave,  the  29th  April,  1731,  £300 
in  trust,  that  the  Company  should,  with  the  annual  interest, 
purchase  coals  and  candles  for  the  six  poor  almspeople. 

Several  legacies  were  left  to  the  Company  for  the  purpose 
of  founding  almshouses.  James  Kymier,  Henry  Baker, 
Samuel  Mills  and  Thomas  Cook  were  among  the  donors. 
They  were  originally  erected  in  Old  Street  Road,  but  are 
now  transferred  to  Wanstead,  the  inmates  being  twelve 
poor  freemen  or  weavers  by  trade,  and  twelve  poor 
freewomen  or  widows  of  freemen  or  weavers  by  trade. 
The  men  receive  £20  each  per  annum,  and  the  women 
£12  10s.  per  annum. 

Lady  Morrison,  in  the  year  1871,  bequeathed  to  the 
Company  a  sum  of  £2,000  free  of  legacy  duty,  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  two  pensions  for  one  almsman  and 
one  almswoman,  the  recipients  to  be  called  "  Lady 
Morrison's  pensioners." 

There  are  pensions  of  £13,  £12,  £6,  and  £5  per  annum, 
payable  to  decayed  members  of  the  Company,  male  and 
female,  or  weavers  by  trade. 

The  fees  payable  to  the  Company  are  as  follows  :— 
Upon  taking  up  the  freedom,  by  patrimony,  £3  15s.  Od. ; 
by  servitude,  £3  7s.  Od.  ;  by  purchase,  £23  16s.  Od.  Upon 


566  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

admission  to  the  livery,  £25  12s.  Od.     Upon  election  to 
the  Court,  £157  10s.  Od. 

The  Woolmen. 

An  Although  the  Weavers  claim  to  be  the  most  ancient 

Ancient  of  the  London  Livery  Companies,  the  Woolmen  are  by 
Livery  some  authorities  supposed  to  be  of  even  greater  antiquity. 
Company.  Their  association  is  probably  coeval  with  the  wool  trade 
of  the  Kingdom.  They  seem,  however,  always  to  have 
been  considered  of  less  importance  than  the  Weavers, 
and  are  only  a  community  by  prescription  and  have  no 
charter.  They  have,  however,  the  right  of  ranking  among 
the  City  Companies,  and  have  a  Master,  Wardens,  and 
Assistants.  According  to  Maitland's  account  of  the 
Woolmen's  Company,  it  would  appear  that  they  were 
not  only  a  London  Company,  but  their  control  of  the  wool 
trade  extended  over  the  whole  country,  they  having 
fifty-two  halls,  with  Masters,  Wardens,  Assistants,  and 
Liverymen  in  different  centres  of  trade.  They  had  in 
Maitland's  time  no  hall  in  London,  and  no  recognised 
livery. 

The  Merchant  Adventurers. 

The  Society,  afterwards  known  as  the  Hamburg  Company, 
was  incorporated  by  Edward  I  in  the  year  1296. 

This  was  a  Trading  Company,  and  its  object  was  to 
obtain  exclusive  privileges  in  trading  with  foreign  countries. 
Although  this  Company  became  extinct  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  it  is  of  historical  importance  from  the  fact  of 
its  being  the  Association  of  Merchants  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  vast  maritime  trade  of  Great  Britain. 
The  merchants  of  the  Staple  (1389),  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  (1497),  the  Russia  Company  (1555),  the  Eastland 
Company  (1579),  the  Levant  or  Turkey  Company  (1579), 
the  East  India  Company  (1601),  the  African  Company  (1553), 
and  the  South  Sea  Company  (1710),  all  had  their  origin  in 
the  Fraternity  of  Merchant  Adventurers,  and  many  of 
them  in  greater  or  less  degree,  as  they  traded  in  the  com- 
modities of  the  East,  had  influence  on  the  development 
of  the  silk  trade  in  Great  Britain. 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES  567 

The  Mercers. 

The  Mercers  take  precedence  of  all  the  Companies  of  First  in 
London.  They  are  not  only  the  wealthiest  but  claim  Rank, 
to  be  the  first  of  all  the  fraternities  formed  in  London 
to  be  incorporated.  Their  charter  was  dated  A.D.  1393, 
the  seventeenth  year  of  Richard  II.  They  had  the 
monopoly  and  control  of  all  dealings  in  the  City  of  London 
in  silk  and  small  fancy  goods  such  as  laces,  fringes,  girdles, 
buttons,  etc.  They  became  so  wealthy,  that,  as  an  old 
writer  says,  "  when  the  Company  in  the  year  1698  accepted 
Dr.  Ashton's  project  for  providing  a  maintenance  for 
clergymen's  widows,  etc.,  they  settled,  for  that  purpose, 
a  fund  of  about  fourteen  thousand  pounds  per  annum." 
"  In  addition  to  this,  they  paid  about  three  thousand 
pounds  per  annum  in  charitable  benefactions." 

Sir  Henry  Colet,  Bart.,  Citizen  of  London,  Prime  Warden 
of  the  Mercers'  Company,  and  twice  Lord  Mayor  of  the 
City  of  London,  was  father  to  Dr.  John  Colet,  Dean  of 
St.  Paul's,  who  in  the  year  1509  founded  and  endowed 
St.  Paul's  School.*  Amongst  other  provisions,  written 
by  the  founder  himself  in  the  Old  Statute  Book,  are  the 
following : — 

"  Ajad  ordained  there  a  Master,  a  Sur-Master  and  a 
Chaplain,  with  sufficient  and  perpetual  stipends 
ever  to  endure ;  and  set  Patrons,  Defenders, 
Governors,  and  Rulers  of  the  same  school,  the 
most  honest  and  faithful  Fellowship  of  the  Mercers 
of  London." 

The  Drapers. 

Third   in   precedence   amongst   the   Livery   Companies    Livery 
of  London  is  the  Drapers  or  Linen  Drapers  as  they  were   Corn- 
originally  called.     The  members  of  this  fraternity  seem    panies 
to  have  at  first  been  limited  to  dealing  in  linen  goods,    of 
It  is  probable  that  they  were  forbidden  to  handle  woollen    London, 
or   silken   goods   for   fear   of   their   encroaching   on   the 
privileges  of  the  Woolmen  or  Clothiers  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  Mercers  on  the  other.     Later  they  were  allowed 
to  deal  in  silken  manufactured  stuffs  wholesale,  .but  it 

*  For  full  account  of  St.  Paul's  School,  see  Maitland's  History  of  London,  p.  932. 


568 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


was  not  until  quite  late  in  their  history  that  restrictions 
on  their  selling  silken  goods  retail  were  withdrawn  or  fell 
into  abeyance. 

Frater-          The  Fraternity  of  Drapers  was  incorporated  by  Letters 

nity  of      Patent  of  Henry  VI,  A.D.  1439,  by  the  title  of  The  Master, 

Drapers.    Wardens,  Brethren  and  Sisters  of  the  Gild  or  Fraternity 

of  the  Blessed  Mary  the  Virgin,  of  the  Mystery  of  Linen 

Drapers  of  the  City  of  London.     Their  arms  were  granted 

at  the  time  of  their  incorporation  by  Sir  William  Brugges, 

Garter    King    at    Arms,    and    confirmed    in    1561    by 

Clarencieux  King  at  Arms. 

The  Merchant  Tailors. 

The  next  Company  in  order  of  precedence  (the  seventh) 
more  or  less  interested  in  the  use  and  manufacture  of 
silk  is  that  of  the  fraternity  at  first  denominated  the 
Taylors  and  Linen- Armourers. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  by  Edward  IV, 
A.D.  1466,  but  many  of  the  members  of  the  Company 
being  great  merchants,  and  Henry  VII  himself  being  a 
member,  he,  by  Letters  Patent,  A.D.  1503,  re-incorporated 
the  Company  by  the  name  of  the  Master  and  Wardens 
of  the  Merchant  Taylors,  of  the  Fraternity  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  in  the  City  of  London.  In  an  early  account  the 
Company  is  said  to  have  a  stately  and  spacious  hall  to 
treat  of  their  business  in,  and  to  be  possessed  of  great 
estate. 

The  Haberdashers. 

Livery          The  dealers  in  narrow  silk  goods  and  other  small  wares 

Com-  from   Italy   were   called   Haberdashers   and   Milliners   or 

parties  Milaners.     They  were  incorporated  by  Henry  VI,  A.D.  1407. 

of  They  soon  became  of  great  importance  and  very  wealthy, 

London,  ranking  eighth  in  order  of  precedence. 

The  Dyers. 

This  Company,  one  of  the  twelve  most  ancient  of  the 
City  Fraternities,  was  incorporated  by  Edward  IV, 
A.D.  1472,  by  the  name  of  The  Wardens  and  Commonalty 
of  the  Mystery  of  Dyers,  London. 


WEAVERS  &  KINDRED  LIVERY  COMPANIES.  569 

The  Broderers  (Broideres). 

This  Society,  to  whose  members  silk  in  many  forms   A  Silk 
was  of  great  importance,  was  incorporated,  A.D.  1591,  by   Society. 
Elizabeth  in  the  third  year  of  her  reign.     Their  name 
was  the  Keepers  and  Company  of  the  Art  or  Mystery  of 
the  Broderers  of  the  City  of  London. 

The  Framework-Knitters. 

The  Company  of  Stocking  Knitters,  unlike  the  other 
City  Companies,  would  seem,  by  the  title  given  to  them 
at  their  incorporation  by  Charles  II  in  1663,  to  have 
had  control  of  the  trade  of  frame-knitting,  not  only  in 
London,  but  throughout  England  and  Wales.  Their  title 
was :  The  Master,  Wardens,  Assistants  and  Society  of 
the  Art  or  Mystery  of  Framework-Knitting  in  the  Cities  of 
London  and  Westminster,  the  Kingdom  of  England,  and  the 
Dominion  of  Wales. 

At  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  this  Company  the 
silk  stockings  made  by  the  frame-knitters  of  England 
were  famous  throughout  Europe  for  excellence  of  quality. 

The  Girdlers. 

The  girdle  was  anciently  a  very  important  article  of 
dress,  and  girdle-making  in  which  much  silk  was  used 
a  thriving  trade.  The  Girdlers  were  incorporated  by 
Henry  VI,  A.D.  1449,  and  their  charter  was  confirmed 
by  Elizabeth,  A.D.  1568. 

The  Gold  and  Silver  Wire  Drawers. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  by  Letters  Patent  of  Livery 
James   I,  A.D.   1632,  and    re-incorporated  by  charter  of   Com- 
William   and   Mary,    A.D.    1693.     The   members    of   this   panies 
Company  not  only  had  the  monopoly  of  drawing  ordinary   of 
wire,   but,   as    specially    mentioned    in    their   title,    "  the   London. 
making  and  spinning  of  gold  and  silver  thread  "  for  use  in 
rich  silk  brocades,  etc. 

The  Hatband  Makers. 

The  Company  of  Hatband  Makers  was  incorporated  by 
Charles  I  in  1638.  Maitland  has  a  note  on  this  Company 
as  follows : — "  This  Company  during  the  wear  of  rich 


570  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

silk  Hatbands,  was  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  but  the 
same  having  for  many  years  been  in  disuse,  the  trade  is 
almost  dwindled  to  nothing,  insomuch,  that  there  are  at 
present  but  two  or  three  of  the  Profession." 

The  Silkmen. 

Silk  By  the  seventh   year  of  Charles  I  the   importers  and 

Dealers      dealers  of  raw  silk  had  become  numerous  and  thriving 
and  enough   to   warrant   their   being   incorporated  as  a  City 

Im-  Company.     They   obtained   their   charter   in   the   month 

porters.      of  May  of  that  year,  A.D.  1631. 

The  Silk  Throwers. 

During  the  course  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  the  art  of 
silk  throwing  became  an  important  branch  of  the  silk 
industry,  and  large  numbers  of  people  obtained  their 
livelihood  by  practising  it.  It  was  recognised  as  a 
Fraternity,  and  was  constituted  a  Fellowship,  probably 
in  association  with  the  Weavers'  Company,  in  the  time 
of  James  I.  A  separate  Charter  of  Incorporation  was 
granted  to  the  Silk  Throwers  by  a  Statute  of  Charles  I  in 
1629,  with  the  title  "  The  Master,  Wardens,  Assistants, 
and  Commonalty  of  the  Trade,  Art  or  Mystery  of  Silk 
Throwers  of  the  City  of  London." 

In  common  with  the  Merchant  Adventurers  and  the 

other  Foreign  Trading  Companies,   the  Hatband  makers 

and  the  Silk  men,  the  Silk  Throwers'  Company  has  not 

survived  to  the  present  time.     This  is  probably  due  to 

Associa-     their    having    no    accumulated    property    in    trust    to 

tion  of        administer.     Until  very  recently  even  their  records  and 

Silk  Charter  had  disappeared,  but  the  latter  has  been  found 

Throwers,  amongst  some  old  deeds  in  a  City  office,  and  is  now  in  the 

possession   of    Wm.    Brouncker   Ingle,    Esq.,    the   Upper 

Bailiff  of  the  Weavers'  Company,  1915-16.     The  recovered 

Charter  and  Bye-Laws  are  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation, 

but  the  Minute  Books,  which  would  be  of  great  interest, 

have  not  yet  been  found. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND 

IRELAND. 

In  medieval  times  most  important  industries  had  their  Founded 
Guilds  for  the  regulation  and  support  of  their  respective  by  Sir 
industries,  and  the  ancient  Guilds  of  the  City  of  London  Thomas 
bring  down  to  modern  times  the  names  of  some  of  those  Wardle. 
interesting  Corporations.  It  was  only,  however,  in  the 
latter  portion  of  the  19th  century  and  the  opening  years 
of  the  20th,  that  there  was  a  resuscitation  if  not  of  the 
old  Guild  idea  at  all  events  of  the  congregating  together 
in  an  Association,  whether  as  a  self-contained  organisation 
or  as  a  section  of  a  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of  those  who 
are  engaged  in  a  particular  trade  or  industry.  A  notable 
example  is  the  Silk  Association  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland.  It  was  felt  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  that 
in  regard  to  the  silk  industry  an  attempt  should  be  made 
by  those  engaged  in  it  to  come  together  and  devise  some 
scheme  for  the  common  weal.  The  time  and  the  man 
were  found  in  the  year  of  the  Jubilee  of  Queen  Victoria. 
The  notable  Royal  Jubilee  Exhibition  held  in  Manchester 
in  1887  was  the  occasion  for  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Wardle, 
then  Mr.  Wardle,  of  Leek,  to  organise  a  silk  section  in 
connection  with  that  undertaking.  This  showed  to  the 
millions  who  visited  the  Exhibition  that  the  silk  industry 
of  the  United  Kingdom  had  not  by  any  means  been 
extinguished,  but  that  the  root  of  the  excellence  of  British 
manufacture  remained  in  it.  It  was  therefore  decided 
by  those  responsible  for  the  section  to  take  steps,  in  the 
spirit  of  self  help,  to  form  an  Association  for  the  trade. 

It  was  in  October,  1887,  that  a  Conference  was  held 
at  the  Exhibition  to  discuss  the  question.     The  Conference, 

571 


572 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Founded    which  was  presided  over  by  the  late  Sir  Joseph  C.  Lee, 

by  Sir        was  attended  by  the  most  important  Silk  Manufacturers, 

Thomas      Throwsters,    Raw    and    Waste    Silk    Dealers,    Merchants, 

Wardle.      Spinners,  Dyers  and  Finishers  in  the  country,  and  secured 

the    attendance    of    nearly    400    persons,    and    it    was 

unanimously    resolved    that    a    National    Committee    be 

appointed  to  form  an  Institute  or  Association  of  persons 

engaged  in  the  Silk  industry,   either  as  manufacturers, 

merchants,  or  retailers. 

The  Association  was  formed,  and  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir 
Thomas)  Wardle  was  appointed  President  and  Mr.  Arthur 
E.  Piggott,  of  Manchester,  Secretary.*  He  remained 
Secretary  until  1919,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  A. 
B.  Ball.  The  offices  of  the  Association  were  removed  to 
London  in  the  same  year.  One  of  the  first  actions 
taken  was  the  formation  of  sections  representing  the 
various  special  interests  of  different  members  to  work 
in  co-operation  with  the  London  and  other  Chambers  of 
Commerce  in  regard  to  such  matters  as  the  following : 
Silk  labour  questions,  the  establishment  of  Silk  agency 
centres  in  India,  the  Colonies  and  other  parts  of  the  world  ; 
the  training  of  teachers  for  mercantile  schools ;  the 
establishment  of  commercial  museums  and  exhibitions  ; 
the  establishment  of  tribunals  of  commerce  ;  the  regis- 
tration of  firms  ;  the  amendment  of  the  Bankruptcy  Law  ; 
the  amendment  of  the  Employers'  Liability  Act ;  the 
modification  of  the  Law  of  Arbitration  ;  the  consideration 
of  the  Merchandise  Marks  Act ;  the  Early  Closing  Bill ; 
the  Rating  of  Machinery,  etc. 

The  Sectional  Committees  appointed  were  the  Weaving 
and  Power  Loom  Committees  ;    the  Dyers  ;    Printers  and 
Finishing ;     the   Parliamentary ;     the   Publication ;     and 
Forma-      the  Finance.     It  was  also  resolved  that  the  Trade  Silk 
tion  of        Conditioning  Co.  Ltd.  be  asked  to  provide  better  facilities 
Ladies'       to  English  manufacturers  to  have  their  silk  conditioned. 
Com-  In  May,  1889,  in  consequence  of  action  taken  by  the 

mittee.       President  and  Lady  Egerton  of  Tatton,  a  Ladies'  Com- 
mittee was  appointed,  of  which  H.R.H.  the  Princess  Mary 

*  Mr.  Piggott,  in  June,  1912,  was  presented  with  a  testimonial  by  the  members  of  the 
Association  in  recognition  of  his  25  years  of  service. 


THE   SILK  ASSOCIATION.  573 

Adelaide,    Duchess    of    Teck,    became    President,    and   Forma- 
Lady  Egerton  Hon.  Secretary,  and  it  would  seem  that  in   tion  of 
the  following  year,  after  the  exhibition  which  was  then   Ladies' 
held,  the  Ladies'  Committee  became  merged  in  a  Ladies'    Corn- 
National  Silk  Association.     It  ought  to  be  pointed  out   mittee. 
that  the  movement  owed  much  to  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Percy 
Mitford,  sister  to  Earl  Egerton,  of  Tatton,  who  as  long 
since    as    1882    visited    Spitalfields    for    the    purpose    of 
ascertaining  the  state  of  the  trade  there,  and  although 
she  retired  from  her  official  position  on  account  of  ill- 
health,  has  never  down  to  the  present  time  failed  in  her 
interest  in  the  industry,  according  further  generous  help 
and  assistance  to  the  exhibition  held  in  London  in  1912. 
The  Ladies'  Association  has  done  much  good  work,  and 
has  owed  much  to  those  in  high  social  positions  who  have 
taken  an  interest  in  its  fortunes.     H.R.H.  the  Duchess 
of  York,  now  Queen  Mary,  on  the  death  of  her  mother, 
the  Duchess  of  Teck,  succeeded  her  as  President. 

The  efforts  of  the  parent  Association,  as  well  as  of  the 
Ladies'  Silk  Association,  which  has  from  its  foundation 
been  under  Royal  patronage,  have  enlisted  the  sympathetic   Royal 
recognition   of   King   George   and   Queen   Mary.     In  the   Patron- 
year  1901,  when  King  George  was  Prince  of  Wales,  he  first   age. 
became   Patron   of   the   Association,   a   patronage   which 
was    renewed    on    his    accession    to    the    throne,    when 
Queen    Mary    also    graciously    consented    to    become    a 
Patron. 

The  Association  had  felt  the  need  of  a  Journal  in  which 
general  information  in  connection  with  matters  of  interest 
to  or  affecting  the  industry  could  be  dealt.  Finally,  in 
the  year  1892,  the  Textile  Mercury  was  appointed  the 
official  organ  of  the  Association.  This  arrangement  has 
continued  until  the  present  day,  and  the  Textile  Mercury 
has  very  ably  and  devotedly  served  the  Silk  Association 
and  the  industry  generally  during  the  last  twenty-one 
years. 

The  Silk  Association  has  not  always  been  given  full 
credit  for  its  work.  One  feature,  however,  that  has  been 
steadily  kept  in  view  has  been  the  promotion  of 
technical  education,  and  in  1892  action  was  taken 


574  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Tech-  with  the  object  of  establishing  a  Silk  School  in 
nical  Manchester  in  conjunction  with  the  Technical  Instruction 
Educa-  Committees  of  the  Corporation  of  Manchester  and 
tion.  the  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster.  A  statement  of  the 

necessary  appliances  and  plant,  with  an  estimate  of  the 
cost,  were  supplied  by  a  Committee  of  the  Council  of 
the  Silk  Association,  at  the  request  of  the  Lancashire 
County  Council  Technical  Instruction  Committee,  and 
the  scheme  was  incorporated  in  the  plans  of  the  new 
building.  It  was  a  satisfaction  to  find  on  the  completion 
of  the  building  and  its  equipment  in  1902,  that  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Association  had  been  more  than  carried 
out,  and  that  there  had  been  brought  into  existence  an  ade- 
quate provision  for  a  higher  grade  technical  education  in 
various  branches  of  the  silk  industry.  This  has  taken 
the  form  of  a  centre  for  training  and  research  at  Leeds 
University,  the  committee  which  had  the  scheme  in 
hand  having  decided  after  visiting  Manchester,  Leeds 
and  Bradford,  that  Leeds  was  the  most  suitable  College 
of  University  rank  on  which  could  be  grafted  a  silk  school. 
The  financial  problem  has  been  solved  by  the  offer  of  the 
Worshipful  Company  of  Clothworkers  to  provide  the 
buildings  if  the  silk  industry  would  undertake  to  find  the 
capital  for  equipment.  The  Council  of  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion decided  to  accept  this  offer,  and  an  appeal  was  made 
for  a  sum  of  £15,000.  The  maintenance  charges  will,  it 
is  estimated,  be  provided  partly  by  a  scheme  of  research 
and  partly  by  the  help  of  the  University  and  the  Board 
of  Education.  The  principal  aims  of  the  school  are  to 
provide  scientific  instruction  for  those  preparing  to  take 
positions  in  the  industry,  to  promote  research  work,  to 
make  available  a  source  of  information  on  scientific 
questions  bearing  upon  industry,  and  to  stimulate  the 
application  of  science  to  industrial  processes  and  the 
development  of  artistic  tastes  in  relation  to  texture, 
design  and  colour. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1893  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion again  arranged  for  a  British  and  Irish  Silk 
Exhibition,  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland 
having  offered  the  use  of  Stafford  House  for  such  an 


THE   SILK  ASSOCIATION.  575 

exhibition.  The  Exhibition,  which  was  opened  on  the 
8th  of  May,  1894,  by  H.RH.  Princess  Mary  Adelaide, 
Duchess  of  Teck,  proved  an  unqualified  success  in  drawing 
the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  high  position  held  by 
British  silk  manufacturers  in  design  and  craftsmanship. 
At  the  close  of  the  Exhibition,  there  was  purchased  by 
the  principal  London  distributors  a  large  quantity  of  silk 
from  English  manufacturers,  and  the  industry  secured 
the  adhesion  of  the  principal  distributing  firms  in 
London,  and  also  several  of  the  leading  Court  dress- 
makers. 

In  1896  the  President  of  the  Association — Mr.  Thomas 
Wardle — received    the    honour    of    knighthood    and    the 
congratulations  of  his  many  friends  upon  this  expression 
of  appreciation  in  high  quarters  of  his  untiring  services 
on    behalf    of    the    silk    industry.     About    this    time    a 
deputation  attended  upon  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  then 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  and  represented  to  him  the 
views  of  the  Association  as  to  the  desirability  of  H.M. 
Government  affording  some  encouragement  and  assistance 
in    the    development    of    the    silk    industry,    particularly 
suggesting  that  the  Indian  Government  should  lend  an 
expert  to  examine  carefully  and  report  upon  the  prospects 
of  the  industry  in  Cyprus.     This  Mr.   Chamberlain  con- 
sidered  was   a   very   reasonable   request   and   worth   the 
consideration    and    adoption    of    the    Government.     The 
Colonial  and  Foreign  Offices  were  also  approached  with 
a  view  to  securing  an  exhibition  of  samples  representing 
the  silks  manufactured  in  other  parts  of  the  world  which 
compete  with  home  products  in  India  and  the  Colonies, 
such  Exhibition  to  be  arranged  through  the  Chambers  of   Co-op- 
Commerce  in  London,  Manchester,  Nottingham,  Maccles-   eration 
field,  Leek,  Coventry,  Glasgow,  etc.     As   a   result  there   with 
was  received  a  considerable  collection  of  silk  samples  from   Govern- 
many  places  abroad,  together  with  various  reports  and   ment 
information  in  connection  therewith,  from  H.M.  Consuls.    Depart- 
The  samples  were  a  series  of  silk  textiles  woven  in  China,   ments. 
and   an   interesting  group   of    the    production    of   Swiss 
looms. 


576  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Silk  At   the    Women's   Exhibition  in   1900,   an  interesting 

Section      Silk  Section  was  formed,  under  the  auspices  of  H.R.H.  the 

at  Duchess  of  Teck,  President  of  the  Ladies'  National  Silk 

Women's  Association,    and    her    Executive    Committee,    in    which 

Exhibi-      some  beautiful   silks   of   British   and   Irish   manufacture 

tion.  were  exhibited.     These  demonstrated  the  fact  that  British 

and  Irish  silks  were  not  inferior  in  design,  colouring,  or 

quality,  and  were  not  more  costly  than  those  produced 

by  more  successful  rivals  abroad. 

In  this  section  there  was  also  a  splendid  exhibit  by 
his  Highness  the  Maharajah  of  Kashmir  of  raw  silks  and 
beautiful  brocades  manufactured  from  the  Kashmir  silk 
by  Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons,  London  and  Braintree. 
This  interesting  case  illustrated  the  very  successful  attempt 
within  the  previous  four  years  to  introduce  sericulture 
into  Kashmir,  in  which  Sir  Thomas  Wardle  played  so 
important  a  part,  and  as  to  the  possibility  of  which 
Sir  George  Birdwood,  a  vice-president  of  the  Association, 
had  called  attention  as  far  back  as  the  year  1861. 

In  the  year  1901  commenced  the  agitation  by  the 
Association  for  the  amendment  of  the  Carriers'  Act, 
as  affecting  silk,  which  the  Association  has  persistently 
carried  on  from  time  to  time  since,  but  so  far  without 
the  desired  effect.  The  matter  is  a  simple  one,  but  none 
the  less  important.  By  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  passed 
in  1830,  and  before  railways  were  in  existence,  "  to  secure 
the  more  effectual  protection  of  mail  contractors,  stage- 
coach proprietors,  and  other  common  carriers  for  hire, 
against  the  loss  of,  or  injury  to  parcels  or  packages 
delivered  to  them  for  conveyance  or  custody,  the  value 
and  contents  of  which  shall  not  be  declared  to  them  by 
Carriers'  the  owners  thereof."  It  was  enacted,  therefore,  that 
Act  mail  contractors,  coach  proprietors,  and  carriers  should 

Agita-        not  be  liable  for  loss  of  certain  goods  above  the  value  of 
tion.  £10,  unless  the  value  and  nature  of  such  shall  have  been 

declared  by  the  sender,  and  increased  charges  paid  in 
regard  to  the  same  as  a  "  compensation  for  the  greater 
risk  and  care  to  be  taken  for  the  safe  conveyance  of 
such  valuable  articles  for  which  a  receipt  acknowledging 
the  same  to  have  been  insured  shall  be  given  if  required.'* 


THE   SILK  ASSOCIATION. 


577 


The  application  to  the  Board  of  Trade  for  the  release  of   Carriers' 
silk  from  this  Act  led  to  a  conference,  under  the  auspices   Act 
of  the  Bpard,  of  representatives  of  the  Association,  the   Agita- 
Silk  Club  and  the  Silk  Section  of  the  London  Chamber  of  tion. 
Commerce,    with    the     representatives    of    the    Railway 
Companies,  in  December,  1913.     It  was  not  found  possible 
to  obtain  the  assent  of  the  Railway  Companies  to  the 
repeal  movement,  but  as  from  September,  1914,  the  Railway 
Companies  agreed  that  whereas  in  the  past  goods  con- 
taining 30  per  cent,  and  over  in  value  of  silk  came  under 
the  operation  of  the  Carriers'   Act,  the  percentage   was 
raised  from  30  to  50  per  cent.  ;  the  Act  now  applies,  there- 
fore, to  parcels  of  goods  containing  more  than  50  per  cent 
in  value  of  silk.     The  agitation  will,  however,  be  continued 
until  an  absolute  repeal  of  the  Act  as  far  as  it  relates 
to  silk  goods  has  been  secured.     This  can  only  now,  it 
is  clear,  be  obtained  through  the  action  of  Parliament. 

The  question  of  the  unification  of  the  numbering  of 
the  counts  of  yarn  is  another  subject  which  has  received 
attention  and  satisfactorily  arranged.  It  was  in  the 
year  1902  that  the  union  with  the  Silk  Club,  Manchester, 
and  the  Silk  Association  was  decided  upon,  and  the  peri- 
odical joint  meetings  between  the  two  bodies  arranged. 

The  Association,  in  co-operation  with  the  Silk  Club, 
has  also  taken  steps  to  remedy  anomalies  which  exist  in 
connection  with  the  carriage  rate  of  silk  on  spools.  Silk  Railway 
on  spools  was  charged  for  as  if  the  whole  contents  of  the  Rates. 
package  were  silk  goods,  whereas  the  proportion  of  silk 
to  the  weight  of  wood  contained  in  spools,  boxes  and 
cases  is  very  small.  As  a  result,  a  meeting  was  arranged. 
at  the  Board  of  Trade  between  representatives  of  the  Silk 
Association  and  of  the  Railway  Companies,  for  a  discussion 
of  the  rates  in  question.  The  meeting  was  held  on 
March  15th,  1905.  Finally,  the  offer  was  made  to  come 
into  operation  in  January,  1906,  for  reduced  rates  for 
silk  on  reels  or  bobbins  from  Leek  to  various  specified 
places,  the  offer  being  accepted,  though  disappointment 
was  expressed  that  better  terms  had  not  been  secured. 

The    year    1904    was    the    occasion    of    an    important 
exhibition  in  Bradford,  which  established  the  reputation 


578 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


of  that  town  as  one  of  the  most  important  silk  manu- 
facturing centres  and  also  demonstrated  the  remarkable 
advance  made  in  recent  years  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
cheaper  kinds  of  silk  goods  and  of  fabrics  in  which  silk 
is  used  in  conjunction  with  other  yarns  such  as  wool, 
mohair,  cotton,  etc. 

In  1905  the  Association  interested  itself  in  matters  of 
Adultera-  the  adulteration  and  false  description  of  silk,  and  was 
tion  in  communication  with  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  President 

and  of  the  Board  of  Trade.     The  Board  expressed  its  willing- 

False  ness  to  consider  most  carefully  any  case  that  might  be 
Descrip-  submitted  to  them  in  accordance  with  the  regulations 
tion.  made  by  the  Merchandise  Marks  Act,  1691.  It  was  not, 

however,  until  1912  that  a  case  was  sent  up  to  the  Board 
of  Trade  and  a  prosecution  instituted,  and  it  is  satisfactory 
to  record  that  this  case  and  several  others  that  followed 
in  the  same  year  and  in  1913  and  following  years  were 
successful  in  obtaining  decisions  of  great  importance  to 
the  silk  industry. 

In  July,   1908,   arrangements  were  made  between  the 
Silk  Club  and  the  Silk  Association  for  a  joint  visit  to  the 
Franco-British     Exhibition     in     London.      The     various 
exhibits  were   closely  inspected  by  the  party,   who  had 
an    excellent    opportunity    of    comparing    the    respective 
merits  of  the  British  and  the  French  manufactures.     On 
the  whole  the  balance  of  opinion  seemed  to  be  in  favour 
of  the  French  exhibits,  and  criticism  was  centred  on  the 
lack    of    combination     and  method    shown    by    British 
exhibitors.     It  appeared   to  be  a  source   of  considerable 
satisfaction  to  the  members  of  the  Silk  Association  and 
the  Silk  Club   that  practically  the  sole   English    exhibit 
upheld  so  worthily  the  best  traditions  of  British  manu- 
facture.    This  function  was   the  last  occasion  at  which 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle   had    the    opportunity   to   meet  the 
Franco-      general   body    of   members,    his   long   and  useful    career 
British       terminating  on  the  3rd  of  January,  1909,   at  the  age  of 
Exhibi-      seventy-eight.     An  account  of  his  life  and  work  is  included 
tion.  in  the  chapter  on  Leek. 

The  Association  had  previously  (during  1908)  suffered 
loss  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Warner,  in  his  eightieth 
year.  Mr.  Warner  was  the  head  of  the  firm  of 


THE   SILK  ASSOCIATION.  579 

Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons,  and  father  of  Mr.  Frank  Warner,  * 

who  subsequently  became  President  of  the  Association. 

The  Association  further  sustained  a  loss  by  death  of  Mr.  Some 

James  Kershaw,  J.P.  for  Macclesfield,  which  took  place  on  Notable 

the  28th  March,  1908,  at  the  age  of  seventy.     A  very  useful  Members, 

and  much  respected  member  of  the  Council  was  removed  by 

the  hand  of  death  on  November  6th,  1908,  in  the  person  of 

Mr.  Matthew  Blair,  aged  seventy-one.  In  character,  as  stated 

in  the  Glasgow  Herald,  Mr.  Blair  was  modest  and  unassuming. 

An  old-fashioned  courtesy  pervaded  his  manner  to  those 

below  as  well  as  those  above  him. 

In  Sir  George  Birdwood,  who  died  in  1917  full  of  years 
and  honours,  the  Association  lost  an  original  member,  who 
maintained  an  active  interest  in  its  work  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  acted  as  a  Vice-President  for  many  years. 
The  Association  gave  recognition  to  his  varied  qualities 
by  electing  him  in  1915  as  the  first  honorary  member. 

Another  notable  member  whose  loss  by  death  took 
place  in  1917  was  Sir  Arthur  Lazenby  Liberty,  who  was 
also  a  Vice-President.  It  was  claimed  for  him  that  he 
was  the  first  to  embark  on  a  persistent  effort  to  raise  the 
artistic  standard  of  goods,  and  he  was  closely  associated 
with  the  revival  of  the  British  silk  industry.  Mr.  Frank 
Debenham  was  another  eminent  Vice-President,  whose 
loss  by  death  in  the  year  1917  removed  a  contemporary 
of  those  who  founded  the  Association.  Mr.  Thomas 
Hebert  Hambleton,  who  died  in  1918,  and  who  occupied 
an  important  position  in  the  Macclesfield  trade,  was  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  Association.  Other  recent 
losses  by  death  include  Mr.  J.  M.  Campbell,  Mr.  Edward 
Ellis  Marsden  and  Mr.  William  T.  Hall. 

Following  the  decease  of  Sir  Thomas  Wardle,  Mr.  Joseph 
Boden,  of  Messrs.  Kidd,  Boden  and  Co.,  Manchester,  was 
elected  in  January,  1909,  as  President  of  the  Association, 
and  held  office  for  the  ensuing  year.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Association  in  1910  Mr.  Frank  Warner,  of 
Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons,  was  elected  President  of  the 
Association,  a  position  he  retained  until  he  accepted  a 
special  war  appointment  at  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1917. 
On  his  retirement,  Mr.  Francis  Durant  was  elected 

*  Now  Sir  Frank  Warner,  K.B.E. 


580 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


President,  and  he  in  turn  was   succeeded  by  Mr.  H.  G. 
Tetley,  of  Messrs.  Courtaulds  Ltd. 

In  September,  1910,  a  joint  visit  of  the  members  of  the 

Silk  Association   and   of  the   Silk  Club   to   the   Brussels 

Exhibition  was  organised.      The    then  President    of   the 

Visit  to      Association,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission 

Brussels     for  the  Brussels,  Rome  and  Turin  Exhibitions,  conducted 

Exhibi-      the  party  to  the  Exhibition,  where  it  was  officially  received 

tion.  by  Mr.  U.  F.  Wintour,  the  Commissioner  General  of  the 

British    Section.      The    disastrous    fire    in    August    had 

destroyed  the  magnificent   display   of  British  silks,   but 

most    of    the    17    firms    who    at    first    participated    had 

again    installed    beautiful    exhibits,    which    were    much 

admired. 

It  was  also  decided  in  this  year  that  ladies  actively 
associated  with  the  silk  trade  could  become  members 
of  the  parent  Association.  The  Ladies'  National  Silk 
Association,  the  circumstances  leading  to  the  formation 
of  which  have  already  been  detailed,  is  a  social  body 
having  no  trade  members,  and  ladies  who  have  become 
members  of  the  Association  itself  are  those  who  in  the 
ordinary  way  would  be  ineligible  for  membership  of  the 
Ladies'  Association.  A  special  feature  of  the  work  of 
the  year  1911  was  in  the  important  direction  of  securing 
the  closer  co-operation  of  manufacturers  and  distributors, 
and  good  results  to  the  industry  have  followed  the  steps 
then  taken. 

The  principal  event  of  1912  was  the  holding  of  a  British 

Silk  Exhibition  in  London,  under  the  patronage  of  H.M. 

the   Queen.      A   strong   list   of   patronesses   was   secured 

including    H.R.H.    Princess    Christian,    who    opened    the 

Exhibition,  which  was  visited  by  the  King  and  Queen  and 

other  members  of  the  Royal  Family.     The  Exhibition  also 

Admis-       attracted   many    other   distinguished    visitors,    and   it   is 

sion  of       satisfactory  to  be  able  to  record  that  the  income  was  not 

Ladies        only   sufficient   to   cover   the   expenditure,   but   to   leave 

to  a  surplus  of  about  £460,  which  was  handed  over  to  the 

Member-    funds  of  the  Association.     Of  this  sum,  £400  was  invested, 

ship.  the  balance  being  set  aside  to  meet  the  cost  of  incorporating 

the  Association,  which  has  since  been  carried  out.     The 

year   of  the   Exhibition  was  also   distinguished    by    the 


THE   SILK  ASSOCIATION. 


581 


organisation  of  the  members  of  the  Association  into  sections 
including  throwsters,  spinners,  manufacturers,  dyers, 
merchants  and  wholesale  and  retail  distributors. 

One  very  important  matter  which  has  recently  been 
under  consideration  has  been  the  question  of  the 
adulteration  of  silk.  The  Committee  appointed  to  deal 
with  the  matter,  representative  of  all  branches  of  the 
trade,  made  the  following  recommendation : — 

"  That  pure  silk  shall  contain  no  added  mineral  or 
other  matter,  that  it  may  contain  all  or  part  of 
its  natural  gum,  and  that  any  unavoidably  added 
weight  caused  by  the  '  bona-fide '  process  of 
dyeing  is  permissible." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  Association  held  in 
Manchester  on  October  27th,  1914,  this  recommendation 
was  unanimously  adopted,  and  a  copy  of  it  forwarded 
to  the  Board  of  Trade. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  action  undertaken  by  the 
Association,  and  one  which  promises  to  have  the  most 
valuable  and  far-reaching  results  for  the  industry,  was 
the  inauguration  in  March,  1915,  of  a  scheme  of  scientific 
research  in  silk.  At  first  it  was  decided  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds  by  an  appeal  to  the  London  City  Guilds 
for  financial  help  to  supplement  the  subscriptions  to  be 
raised  from  those  engaged  in  the  industry,  but  the  estab- 
lishment by  the  Government  of  the  Scientific  and  Industrial 
Research  Advisory  Council  provided  an  opportunity  for 
the  adequate  treatment  of  this  subject,  and  a  Silk  Research 
Committee  having  been  formed,  it  was  resolved  that  the 
assistance  of  the  Scientific  Advisory  Council  should  be 
invoked  on  behalf  of  the  venture.  The  appeal  was  success- 
ful, and  a  three  years'  course  of  investigation  has  been 
carried  out  at  the  Imperial  College  of  Science  at  a  cost 
of  £1,000,  towards  which  sum  the  Government  provided 
£600  and  the  Association  £400.  In  order  to  conform  with 
the  conditions  laid  down  by  the  Department  of  Scientific 
and  Industrial  Research,  an  approved  Research  Association 
for  the  silk  industry  has  been  formed.  As  a  result  of 
the  formation  of  this  body,  research  work  will  be  carried 
out  on  a  larger  scale,  and  a  sum  of  £2,000  has  been 
allocated  for  this  purpose. 


Incor- 
poration 
of 

Associa- 
tion. 


Silk 

Research 
Com- 
mittee. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 
THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 

When  we  remove  ourselves  to  a  sufficient  distance 
from  an  imposing  pile  of  buildings,  or  a  vast  natural 
object,  we  are  able  to  estimate  truly  and  to  judge  correctly 
of  its  proportion,  importance  and  relation  to  other 
buildings  or  features  of  the  landscape,  although  we  may 
have  failed  to  realise  these  values  at  a  closer  view.  It 
is  so  with  the  events  which  make  history  about  which 
contemporary  opinions  differ  and  heated  partizans  have 
held  fierce  debates. 

The  World's  Fair,  as  the  great  International  Exhibition 
of  1851  was  called,  held  in  London,  was  such  an  event. 
We  are  now,  however,  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  it, 
in  point  of  time,  to  be  enabled  to  view  the  undertaking 
and  its  effects  in  true  perspective,  and  to  realise  that  it 
was  the  most  original  and  important  sociological  and 
industrial  undertaking  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  idea  of  bringing  the  works  and  productions  of  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  together  for  comparison  and 
peaceful  rivalry  was  a  truly  regal  one,  and  its  carrying 
out  and  consummation  was,  as  the  event  proved,  a  marvel 
of  skilful  organisation.  Moreover,  the  after  effects  of  the 
Exhibition  in  many  directions  were  as  far  reaching  and 
beneficial  as  they  were  unexpected. 

A  far-  The  idea  of  holding  an  Industrial  Exhibition  in  England 

reaching    similar  to  such  as  had  proved  successful  in  France  and 

Event.        Germany   was    first    mooted    by    Mr.    Francis    Whishaw, 

Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  at  one  of  the  Society's 

meetings  in  November,  1844.     Some  encouragement  was 

given  to  the  suggestion,  and  that  gentleman  visited  the 

582 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 


583 


various  centres  of  industry  and  endeavoured  during  several    Work 
months  to  bring  the  scheme  to  a  practical  issue.      He    of 
met,  however,  with  little  success,  and  it  was  not  until    Prince 
the  idea  had  been  taken  up  and  expanded  to  international    Consort 
proportions  by  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert,   who 
had  become  President  of  the  Society  of  Arts  in  the  mean- 
time, that  the  scheme  seemed  likely  to  be  carried  into 
effect. 

One  of  the  earliest  public  announcements  of  the  proposed 
Exhibition  was  made  in  the  Journal  of  Design,*  as 
follows  : — "  From  all  we  hear,  we  believe  that  his  Royal 
Highness,  as  President  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  is  engaged 
in  organising  the  means  of  forming  a  great  collection  of 
the  works  of  industry  of  all  nations,  to  be  exhibited  in 
London  in  1851,  and  that  measures  are  in  progress  for 
ascertaining  the  willingness  of  our  manufacturers  to  assist 
in  the  gigantic  undertaking.  With  this  view  we  believe 
his  Royal  Highness  has  authorised  two  or  three  gentlemen 
to  proceed  to  the  manufacturing  districts  to  collect  the 
opinions  of  the  leading  manufacturers  and  evidence  of 
their  desire  to  assist  his  Royal  Highness  in  order  that  the 
results  of  this  inquiry  may  be  submitted  to  her  Majesty's 
Government." 

Never,  perhaps,  was  a  proposal  made  which  at  once  pro- 
voked so  much  public  discussion  in  the  press,  not  only 
in  Great  Britain,  but  through  the  whole  civilised  world. 
A  quotation  from  one  specimen  of  the  most  reasonable 
of  the  opposition  effusions  may  be  given,  as  it  no  doubt 
voiced  the  narrow  opinions  of  a  large  class  of  manufacturers 
of  the  time.     "  And  it  (the  scheme)  will  come  to  nothing 
if  the  people  of  England  will  only  examine  what  its  effects 
will  be  upon  native  industry,  and  at  once  pronounce  their    A 
decision,  as  they  ought  to  do  for  their  own  safety,  against    Subject 
it."f      In  the  course  of  an  address  on  the  subject  of  the    of 
Exhibition,  a  conversation  with  a  French  manufacturer    World- 
was  quoted  by  Mr.  Hammersley,  Master  of  the  Manchester    wide 
School  of  Design.     "  The  French  gentleman  said,  speaking    Dis- 
of  the  Designers  in  a  certain  town  which  shall  be  nameless  :    cussion, 

*  Journal  of  Design,  vol.  n,  p.  44. 
f  Tracts  for  the  Million,  no.  vn. 


584 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Attitude     '  I  understand  that  a  number  of  your  designers,  manu- 

of  facturers  and  artizans  are  not   going   to   exhibit   in   the 

Manu-        Great  Exhibition  in  1851.'     I  said  I  thought  that  was 

facturers.  hardly  correct,   as  I  had  never  heard  in  England  that 

they  were  not.     He  said,  '  Oh,  but  it  is  true.'     I  thought 

it  was  queer  that  a  man  500  miles  from  that  town  should 

know  them  better  than  myself,  and  I  asked  him  his  reason 

for  stating  what  he  had  said.     He  replied,  '  Because  you 

dare  not  exhibit.'     That  was  a  stunner  to  me,   to  use 

anything   but   classical   language,    and   I   told   him   that 

I  did  not  see  why  they  dare  not.      He  said,  '  The  fact 

is  you  dare  not  exhibit  because  by  the  Exhibition  you 

will  show  how  much  you  are  indebted  to  us  for  what 

you  do.'"* 

The  Mayor  of  Nottingham,!  speaking  on  the  subject 
of  the  Exhibition,  said :  "  We  have  acted  too  much  as 
if  we  were  the  only  producers  of  goods,  and  that  mankind 
must  come  to  our  markets.  It  wiU  be  made  plain  that 
we  have  able  as  well  as  numerous  competitors,  and  that 
they  have  not  sacrificed  quality  to  price  to  the  extent 
that  we  have  done."  Again,  "  It  is  high  time  we  English 
add  to  our  capital  and  labour  a  much  larger  proportion 
of  handicraft  skill  and  good  taste." 

On  July  14th,  1849,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Buckingham 

Palace,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  ask  the  Government 

to     appoint     a     Royal     Commission     to     consider     the 

possibilities  of,  and,  if  possible,  to  carry  out  the  proposed 

scheme  for  exhibiting  a   collection   of  the  works   of   all 

nat'ons  in  London  in    1851.     This   Commission,  with  his 

Royal   Highness   Prince   Albert   as   President,   was   duly 

appointed,  and  at  once  commenced  work.     It  was  from 

the  first  stipulated  that  although  the  Government  of  the 

time    agreed    to    countenance    the    scheme,    no    financial 

Appoint-    help  would  be  given  to  it,  and  that  all  guarantees  and 

ment  of      subscriptions  were  to  be  of  a  private  and  voluntary  nature. 

Royal         In  the  face  of  much  active  and  often  scurrilous  opposition 

Com-          from   one  section   of   manufacturers,   the  press   and   the 

mission,     public,  and  stolid  indifference  on  the  part  of  others,  the 

*  Speech  delivered  at  Nottingham,  October  16th,  1850. 

t  W.  Felkin,  F.I.S.,  author  of  the  History  of  Machine-Made  Lace 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851.  585 

promoters  of  the  scheme  pluckily  set  to  work  and,  over-    No 
coming  all  difficulties,  gradually  brought  it  to  perfection   Govern- 
on  the  appointed  day.      One  writer  describes  the  event   ment 
thus  :      "  On  the  1st  May  punctually  to  the  very  day   Financial 
announced  so  long  as  sixteen  months  before,  the  Exhibition    Aid. 
was  opened  and  submitted  to  the  criticism  of  the  world. 
....  If  in  the  progress  of  the  great  work  there  has  been 
a  little  friction  it  is  now  altogether  forgotten  in  the  brilliant 
success  of  the  undertaking.     The  task  was  a  great  one, 
and  even  some  failures  would  have  been  excused;    but 
the  success  hitherto   has  been   quite  unmixed,   and  has 
surpassed  all  expectations.     Perhaps  never  since  the  world 
began  have  so  many  well  satisfied  faces  been  assembled 
together   as   are   now   daily   congregated   in   the   Crystal 
Palace.      Every   one   is   charmed.      As   for   the   opening 
ceremony,  it  is  pronounced  by  all  as  perfect,"   and  so 
on. 

The  daily  attendances  were  so  large  that  by  the  end 
of  the  first  month,  pecuniary  success  was  assured,  and 
discussion  at  once  began  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  profits 
at  the  end  of  the  Exhibition. 

The  Times,  in  a  leading  article,  describes  the  exhibition 
thus  :  "  The  Great  Exhibition  has  killed  everything  else. 
The  Court,  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  the  Nobility, 
the  Gentry,  the  Commonalty,  the  Army,  the  Police, 
Carriages,  Cabs,  and  Omnibuses  are  all  dancing  attendance 
upon  it.  The  shops  are  unfrequented,  the  places  of  public 
amusement  are  deserted,  even  the  railways  lose  their 
summer  excursionists,  Hampton  Court  and  Greenwich 
exhibit  in  vain  their  horse-chestnuts  in  bloom  and  their 
whitebait  in  season.  We  question  whether  even  the 
great  Derby  day  will  attract  so  large  a  fraction  of  a  million 
as  it  usually  does.  The  Exhibition  is  London,  &c.,  &c." 

Of  course,  the  omniscient  critics  who  are  ever  so  ready 
to  deprecate  the  productions  of  their  own  times  and  their 
own   people   took   advantage   of   this   opportunity.     For   Success 
instance,  in  a  pamphlet  on  the  Great  Exhibition  called   in  spite 
"  Stone  the  First  at  the  Great  Glasshouse,"  the  author   of 
writes :      "  The    foreigners    have    the    best    of   it.      The   Difficul- 
Americans  have  beaten   our  ships — picked   our  locks, —  ties. 


586  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Caustic  the  French  have  utterly  routed  our  attempts  at  goldsmiths' 
Criti-  work,  reduced  hors  de  combat  our  shining  wares.  The 
cism.  Austrians  have  shown  us  what  can  be  done  in  carving  and 
upholstery.  Ours  has  been  the  workmanship  and 
muscularity,  that  is  all.  Nobody  doubted  we  had  that. 
The  arts  of  design  and  the  fine  taste  that  deals  with  rough 
materials,  alas,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  are  nowhere. 
The  people's  mind  as  at  present  educated  does  not  admit 
of  it.  We  are  good  carpenters,  but  very  bad  cabinet 
makers.  We  have  a  world  at  command,  but  we  have 
not  the  divine  spirit  to  reduce  it  to  beauty." 

At  the  reception  of  the  Foreign  Commissioners  by  his 
Royal  Highness,  Prince  Albert,  on  the  14th  April,  1851, 
M.  Salandronge  de  la  Mornaix  was  deputed  to  express 
the  sentiments  of  the  Governments  severally  represented. 
In  his  energetic  expressions  of  their  respect,  the  Commissary 
told  the  Prince  that  "  Thanks  to  the  influence  of  her 
Majesty  and  his  Royal  Highness,  the  era  of  barbarous 
warfare  might  be  considered  as  terminated,  but  new 
lists  for  combat  were  offered  to  the  world,  in  the  struggle 
of  progress  and  civilisation  to  overthrow  by  their  over- 
whelming moral  force  the  remains  of  former  antipathies 
and  prejudices." 

Of    course,    it    has    long    been  evident  that  both  the 
optimistic  and  pessimistic  prophecies  of  the  effects,  local 
and  universal,  of  the  Exhibition  were  falsified  by  quickly 
following    events.      But,    broadly    speaking,    it    may    be 
A  claimed  for  this  Great  International  object  lesson  that  it 

Great         was  the  first  time  in  history  that  the  idea  of  the  possibility 
Object        or  even  the  desirability  of  the  friendship  of  nations,  and 
Lesson.       the  advantages  of  their  interdependancy  in  art  and  manu- 
facture, had  been  practically  demonstrated.     This  tempting 
general  subject  of  discussion  must,  however,  be  declined 
as  irrelevant  to  our  subject,  for  it  is  the  effect,  for  good 
or  ill,  of  the  Exhibition,  on  British  manufactures,  especially 
on  that  of  silk,  which  has  to  be  considered  in  this  work. 
From  the  first  rumour  that  an  International  Industrial 
Exhibition  was  proposed  to  be  held  in  England,  the  idea 
was  welcomed  and  eagerly  taken  up  by  foreign  manu- 
facturers, but  especially  was  this  the  case  in  France,  where 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 


587 


the  British  market  for  French  silks  was   considered  to 
be  of  great  importance. 

In  order  to  incite  British  manufacturers  to  emulation, 
reports  from  foreign  centres  were  translated  and  published 
in  England  by  the  promoters  of  the  Exhibition.  From 
one  of  these  reports  a  paragraph,  part  of  a  speech  on  the 
subject  given  by  M.  Dupin,*  may  be  quoted  as  exemplifying 
the  prevalent  feeling  in  France  on  the  matter.  Speaking 
of  silk  goods  in  particular,  M.  Dupin  said  :  "  I  now  come 
to  the  most  brilliant  of  our  textile  products,  to  the 
manufacture  of  silks.  Notwithstanding  the  high  duty 
which  England  continues  to  levy  on  French  silk  goods, 
which  is  a  flattering  admission,  we  have  here  the  propor- 
tions which  England  buys  from  us  in  comparison  with 
the  rest  of  the  world  "  : 

WOVEN   SILKS   IN   FRANCE. 
To 


Figured  Silks.  England. 

Figured  Silks  . .  20 

Plain  Silks       . .  ...  47 

Silk  Ribands  . .  57 

Silk  Mixed  Goods  . .  50 

Silk  Lace         . .  . .  51 

Fancy  Goods  . .  56 


To  all 
Countries. 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


100 

According  to  the  above  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  nearly 
half  the  silk  goods  manufactured  in  France  were  bought 
by  England.  It  was  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the 
French  manufacturers  readily  took  advantage  of  this 
opportunity  offered  them  of  showing  in  London  the  products 
of  their  looms  under  such  favourable  circumstances. 

It  was  probably  such  reports  as  these  that  eventually 
induced  the  Silk  Manufacturers  of  London  to  overcome 
their  scruples  and  consent  to  offer  their  woven  silks  for 
exhibition  on  equal  terms  with  those  of  their  traditional 
rivals,  although  they  had  at  the  outset  announced  their 
intention  of  abstaining. 

The  reasons  of  this  reluctance  to  exhibit  were  various, 
but  the  chief  one  appears  to  have  been  the  fear  that  some 

*  Extract  of  address  of  M.  Dupin ;    translated   and  published    by  Westminster    Social 
Committee. 


The 

Rivalry 
of 
France. 


Attitude 

of 

British 

Silk 

Industry. 


588 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


The  relaxations  of  the  duties  charged  on  foreign  goods  admitted 

Eivalry      into  this  country  would  result  from  their  exhibition   on 
of  equal    terms    with    those    produced    in    England.      This 

France.  timidity  was  the  natural  result  of  long  periods  of  pro- 
hibition and  heavy  duties  which,  according  to  the  best 
authorities  of  the  time,  demoralised  the  trade  and  rendered 
it  panic  stricken  at  the  least  sign  of  relaxation.  Few, 
if  any,  efforts  had  been  made  by  manufacturers  to  improve 
English  silken  goods,  either  technically  or  in  point  of 
design,  although  no  pains  had  been  spared  in  order  to 
imitate  foreign  goods  and  to  cheapen  their  manufacture 
so  as  to  undersell  the  foreigners'  high  priced  materials 
and  at  the  same  time  yield  a  good  profit  to  the 
manufacturer. 

The  higher  branches  of  the  trade,  in  which  design  and 
colour  were  of  course  all  important,   had  by  the  London 
manufacturers,    been    for    the     most    part,     abandoned 
to    the    French.     Except    in    the    growing    power-loom 
industry  of  the  North,  almost  all  enterprise  or  enthusiasm 
had  ceased  to  exist.     Although  it  was  still  estimated  that 
there  were  between   fourteen   and   fifteen   thousand   silk 
A  Low       weavers   in   the   East    of   London,    they   were   languidly 
Grade         engaged  in  weaving  low  grades  of  work  which  could  be 
Home         made  by  children,   or  equally  well  produced  on  power- 
Industry,  looms. 

The  high  prices  at  which  French  silken  materials  were 
sold  in  London  were  obtained  because  they  alone  had 
any  pretensions  to  refinement  of  design  and  beauty  of 
colour.  The  high  prices  given,  and  the  great  demand  for 
these  goods,  do  not  seem  to  have  inspired  the  Spitalfields 
manufacturers  to  emulation  to  any  appreciable  extent. 
They  probably  found  it  much  easier  and  more  profitable  as 
well  as  immediately  advantageous  to  supply  the  demand 
for  cheap  grades  of  plain  or  quite  simple  fancy  silks  to 
suit  the  tastes  and  pockets  of  the  consumers  who  could 
not  afford  to  purchase  high  priced  fashionable  goods  of 
French  make.  Under  these  conditions,  the  desire  and, 
consequently,  the  ability  of  Spitalfields  to  produce  fine 
goods  in  silk,  such  as  those  for  which  the  district  had 
originally  won  its  reputation,  were  becoming  less  and  less. 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851.  589 

Referring  to  the  decay  of  the  Silk  trade  in  England  at   Low 
the  time  of  the  Exhibition,  a  contemporary  writer  says  :    Grade 
"  Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  constant  tendency  to    Home 
avoid  the  production  of  decorated  silks  and  to  pay  more  Industry, 
attention  to  those  of  a  plain  character.     This  has  arisen 
since   the   time   when   restrictive   duties   were   taken   off 
French  silks  ;  and  the  manufacturer  who  formerly  depended 
on  hia  clandestine  means  for  obtaining  patterns  of  these 
fancy  productions  and  using  them  as  designs  for  his  own 
trade  was  compelled  to  forego  his  piracies  and  depend 
upon  some  original  source.     Now,  unfortunately,  he  had 
altogether   neglected    the    cultivation    of    the    taste    and 
talent  around  him,  and  in  his  hour  of  need  the  slender 
artistic  means,  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  provide 
for  the  purpose  of  copying,  failed  him  as  a  source  of  that 
originality  by  which  alone  he  could  now  hope  to  stand. 

"  The  disquietude,  therefore,  of  the  Silk  manufacturers 
of  this  country,  and  more  particularly  of  Spitalfields,  is 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  they  were  totally 
unprepared  for  such  a  competition  as  that  in  which  they 
were  called  upon  to  take  part.  Having  been  so  long 
used  to  depend  upon  others  rather  than  themselves, 
they  were  certainly  not  in  the  best  possible  condition 
to  exert  themselves  with  any  effect." 

Fortunately,  however,  though  thus  decayed,  the  old 
spirit  and  handicraft  cunning  of  the  Spitalfields  weavers 
were  not  quite  extinct,  and  the  Master  Weavers,  having 
been  persuaded  to  consent  to  enter  the  lists  in  competition 
with  their  foreign  rivals,  set  to  work  and  though  the 
time  was  short,  acquitted  themselves  well.  The  result 
of  their  efforts,  when  displayed  at  the  Exhibition,  was 
surprisingly  successful,  not  only  in  the  quantity  and 
variety  of  the  goods  displayed,  but  in  their  technique  and 
design  when  compared  with  the  sill$  works  of  other 
nations. 

In  an  article  describing  the  Exhibition  in  its  different   A 
sections,  the  reporter  of  the  Illustrated  London  News  wrote  :    Stimulus 
"  There   are   few   departments   of   the   Exhibition   which   to  Spital- 
will  be  examined  with  more  interest  than  that  of  the  Silk    fields. 
Manufacture,  since  it  is  one  of  those  in  which  the  well-known 


592  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Exhibition  as  a  Lesson  of  Taste*  "  ;  (3)  "  A  Report  made 
for  the  Institute  of  France  by  two  French  gentlemen 
sent  to  England  for  the  purpose."f 

A  The  lady  begins  her  report  of  the  Silk  Section  with  a 

Woman's  general  description  of  the  exhibits  and  a  comparison  of 
Criticism,  the  English  specimens  with  those  of  France  :  "  My  personal 
investigation  of  the  various  descriptions  of  silk  in  the 
Exhibition  having  commenced  in  that  department  of  the 
South  Gallery  entirely  set  aside  for  the  productions  of 
the  Spitalfields  looms,  it  is  to  them  that  I  wish  now  to 
direct  the  attention  of  my  readers.  Having  been  frequently 
informed  of  the  great  advantages  possessed  by  the  manu- 
facturers of  Lyons  in  the  climate  and  water  (used  for  the 
purposes  of  dyeing),  which  enable  them  to  produce  a 
brilliancy  and  perfection  unattainable  in  England,  I  was 
fully  prepared  to  see  even  the  best  of  our  British  silks 
excelled  in  effect  by  their  foreign  competitors.  In  the 
French  department  there  are  certainly  some  plain  satins, 
and  Gros  de  Naples,  the  chief  illustration  of  which  consists 
in  their  bright  and  vivid  tints,  and  which  are  in  this 
respect  unequalled,  but,  as  the  English  exhibitors  have 
in  general  selected  for  exposition  pieces  possessing  so 
much  elegance  of  design  as  to  render  them  less  dependent 
on  colour  for  their  beauty,  the  effect  produced  by  them 
on  my  mind  was  one  of  unmingled  admiration.  I  think 
that  those  ladies  who  have  from  patriotic  feelings 
systematically  patronised  the  productions  of  their  own 
country  will  be  enabled  to  pursue  their  principle  without 
any  sacrifice  of  taste  or  inclination." 

The  writer  then  gives  a  detailed  and  interesting 
description  of  the  brocades  designed  by  the  students  of 
the  Spitalfields  School  of  Design.  She  writes  :  "  On  two 
silk  dresses  contained  in  glass  case  16,  and  exhibited  by 
Mr.  Dear,  I  shall  have  to  touch  longer  than  I  have  on  any 
that  have  yet  passed  under  review.  They  are,  in  my 
opinion,  almost  the  Chef  d'Oeuvres  of  Spitalfields,  and 
Design.  I  must  recommend  them  to  all  lady  visitors  to  the 

*  By  R.  M.  Wornum — a  prize  essay  written  for  the    Art    Journal   Illustrated    Catalogue, 
for  which  a  price  of  a  hundred  guineas  was  awarded. 

•j-  Translated  and  published  in  the  Illustrated  London  News 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 


593 


Exhibition.  They  are  made  by  Campbell  and  Harrison, 
and  designed  by  the  pupils  of  the  Spitalfields  School  of 
Design,  to  whose  successful  progress  they  bear  ample 
testimony.  The  pattern  in  both  dresses  is  the  same.  It 
consists  of  bouquets  of  rather  small  flowers  connected 
with  each  other,  and  this  forming  elegant  stripes.  The 
ground  is  of  ribbed  silk,  in  one  instance  white  and  in  the 
other  black,  the  effect  of  both  being  equally  beautiful. 
The  material  appears  to  be  of  the  thickest  and  richest 
texture,  but  entirely  devoid  of  that  stiff  unyielding 
appearance  often  presented  by  silks  of  premiere  qualite, 
which  although  looking  as  if  they  could  justify  the  usual 
encomium  and  certainly  'stand  alone,'  appear  also  likely 
to  resist  every  attempt  made  to  impart  grace  or  elegance 
to  their  folds.  I  am  informed  that  a  dress  of  the  pattern 
just  described  either  has  been  or  will  be  presented  to 
the  Queen,  whose  steady  patronage  of  British  manu- 
factures has  so  essentially  benefited  this  class  of  her 
subjects.  ...  In  case  27  is  a  silk  the  property  of  Ho  well 
and  Co.,  the  peculiarity  of  which  is  that  it  is  watered  in 
the  loom,  or  rather  that  the  effect  of  watering  is  given  by 
alternations  of  silk  and  satin,  the  narrow  stripes  of  which 
follow  the  pattern  usually  given  by  the  process  of  watering. 
On  this  ground  is  brocaded  a  large  pattern  in  green  and 
lilac.  The  tout  ensemble,  though  it  must  be  called  hand- 
some, is  somewhat  too  showy  to  suit  the  taste  of  ladies  in 
general.  .  .  .  Messrs.  Carter,  Vavaseur  and  Bix  (No.  50) 
have  among  other  contributions  a  brocade  dress,  which, 
being  somewhat  of  a  novelty  as  well  as  being  very  pretty, 
it  would  be  unjust  to  omit  from  my  list.  The  ground  is 
dark  blue,  adorned  with  a  pattern  of  leaves  and  tendrils 
in  gold  colour  satin.  The  designer  appears  to  have  been 
ambitious  of  producing  an  effect  of  more  than  ordinary 
excellence,  since,  not  contented  with  the  simple  repre- 
sentation of  leaves,  he  has  also  successfully  imitated  their 
shadows.  This  is  done  in  Gros  de  Naples  of  a  shade 
rather  deeper  than  that  of  the  prominent  leaf.  .  .  ." 

Amongst  the  French  silks,  the  writer  notices  "  two 
dresses,  pink  and  green  with  scalloped  flounces  ornamented 
with  bouquets  very  elegant  .  .  .  crimson  and  black 


A 

Woman's 
Criticism. 


Praise 
for 

English 
Exhibits. 


8  P 


592  SILK  INDUSTRY. 

Exhibition  as  a  Lesson  of  Taste*  "  ;  (3)  "  A  Report  made 
for  the  Institute  of  France  by  two  French  gentlemen 
sent  to  England  for  the  purpose."f 

A  The  lady  begins  her  report  of  the  Silk  Section  with  a 

Woman's  general  description  of  the  exhibits  and  a  comparison  of 
Criticism,  the  English  specimens  with  those  of  France  :  "  My  personal 
investigation  of  the  various  descriptions  of  silk  in  the 
Exhibition  having  commenced  in  that  department  of  the 
South  Gallery  entirely  set  aside  for  the  productions  of 
the  Spitalfields  looms,  it  is  to  them  that  I  wish  now  to 
direct  the  attention  of  my  readers.  Having  been  frequently 
informed  of  the  great  advantages  possessed  by  the  manu- 
facturers of  Lyons  in  the  climate  and  water  (used  for  the 
purposes  of  dyeing),  which  enable  them  to  produce  a 
brilliancy  and  perfection  unattainable  in  England,  I  was 
fully  prepared  to  see  even  the  best  of  our  British  silks 
excelled  in  effect  by  their  foreign  competitors.  In  the 
French  department  there  are  certainly  some  plain  satins, 
and  Gros  de  Naples,  the  chief  illustration  of  which  consists 
in  their  bright  and  vivid  tints,  and  which  are  in  this 
respect  unequalled,  but,  as  the  English  exhibitors  have 
in  general  selected  for  exposition  pieces  possessing  so 
much  elegance  of  design  as  to  render  them  less  dependent 
on  colour  for  their  beauty,  the  effect  produced  by  them 
on  my  mind  was  one  of  unmingled  admiration.  I  think 
that  those  ladies  who  have  from  patriotic  feelings 
systematically  patronised  the  productions  of  their  own 
country  will  be  enabled  to  pursue  their  principle  without 
any  sacrifice  of  taste  or  inclination." 

The    writer    then    gives    a    detailed    and    interesting 

description  of  the  brocades  designed  by  the  students  of 

the  Spitalfields  School  of  Design.     She  writes  :    "  On  two 

Spital-        silk  dresses  contained  in  glass  case  16,  and  exhibited  by 

fields          Mr.  Dear,  I  shall  have  to  touch  longer  than  I  have  on  any 

School        that  have  yet  passed  under  review.     They  are,   in  my 

of  opinion,   almost   the   Chef  d'Oeuvres   of   Spitalfields,   and 

Design.       I    must   recommend    them    to    all    lady    visitors    to    the 

*  By  R.  M.  Wornum — a  prize  essay  written  for  the    Art    Journal   Illustrated    Catalogue, 
for  which  a  price  of  a  hundred  guineas  was  awarded. 

|  Translated  and  published  in  the  Illustrated  London  News 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 


593 


Exhibition.  They  are  made  by  Campbell  and  Harrison,  A 
and  designed  by  the  pupils  of  the  Spitalfields  School  of  Woman's 
Design,  to  whose  successful  progress  they  bear  ample  Criticism, 
testimony.  The  pattern  in  both  dresses  is  the  same.  It 
consists  of  bouquets  of  rather  small  flowers  connected 
with  each  other,  and  this  forming  elegant  stripes.  The 
ground  is  of  ribbed  silk,  in  one  instance  white  and  in  the 
other  black,  the  effect  of  both  being  equally  beautiful. 
The  material  appears  to  be  of  the  thickest  and  richest 
texture,  but  entirely  devoid  of  that  stiff  unyielding 
appearance  often  presented  by  silks  of  premiere  qualite, 
which  although  looking  as  if  they  could  justify  the  usual 
encomium  and  certainly  '  stand  alone/  appear  also  likely 
to  resist  every  attempt  made  to  impart  grace  or  elegance 
to  their  folds.  I  am  informed  that  a  dress  of  the  pattern 
just  described  either  has  been  or  will  be  presented  to 
the  Queen,  whose  steady  patronage  of  British  manu- 
factures has  so  essentially  benefited  this  class  of  her 
subjects.  ...  In  case  27  is  a  silk  the  property  of  Ho  well 
and  Co.,  the  peculiarity  of  which  is  that  it  is  watered  in 
the  loom,  or  rather  that  the  effect  of  watering  is  given  by 
alternations  of  silk  and  satin,  the  narrow  stripes  of  which 
follow  the  pattern  usually  given  by  the  process  of  watering. 
On  this  ground  is  brocaded  a  large  pattern  in  green  and 
lilac.  The  tout  ensemble,  though  it  must  be  called  hand- 
some, is  somewhat  too  showy  to  suit  the  taste  of  ladies  in 
general.  .  .  .  Messrs.  Carter,  Vavaseur  and  Rix  (No.  50) 
have  among  other  contributions  a  brocade  dress,  which, 
being  somewhat  of  a  novelty  as  well  as  being  very  pretty, 
it  would  be  unjust  to  omit  from  my  list.  The  ground  is 
dark  blue,  adorned  with  a  pattern  of  leaves  and  tendrils 
in  gold  colour  satin.  The  designer  appears  to  have  been 
ambitious  of  producing  an  effect  of  more  than  ordinary 
excellence,  since,  not  contented  with  the  simple  repre-  Praise 
sentation  of  leaves,  he  has  also  successfully  imitated  their  for 
shadows.  This  is  done  in  Gros  de  Naples  of  a  shade  English 
rather  deeper  than  that  of  the  prominent  leaf.  ..."  Exhibits. 

Amongst  the  French  silks,  the  writer  notices  "  two 
dresses,  pink  and  green  with  scalloped  flounces  ornamented 
with  bouquets  very  elegant  .  .  .  crimson  and  black 


594 


SILK  INDUSTRY. 


French  brocades,  and  one  with  a  white  ground  and  a  small  palm 
Silks.  leaf  pattern  in  blue.  ...  A  portrait  of  the  Pope  woven 
to  imitate  an  engraving  and  bearing  an  inscription  with 
the  information  that  it  was  woven  at  Lyons  in  1848 
( In  syn  di  profonde  reneraxione!  .  .  .  One  of  the  most 
elegant  brocades  in  the  building  has  a  white  ground, 
thickly  covered  with  a  pattern  of  delicate  green.  Part 
of  the  front  breadth,  however,  is  woven  of  a  much  darker 
shade  of  green  in  imitation  of  a  petticoat  from  which  the 
dress  is  represented  as  being  looped  back  at  intervals 
by  bunches  of  flowers.  The  effect  is  admirably  given,  and 
at  a  distance  one  would  not  easily  suppose  it  to  be  one 
flat  surface.  .  .  .  Handsome  as  are  many  of  the  materials 
already  noticed,  they  completely  sink  into  insignificance 
when  compared  with  some  moire  antique  shot  with  gold 
and  silver.  Of  these  dresses,  the  most  magnificent  I  ever 
saw,  there  are  four  specimens  in  different  colours — white, 
yellow,  pink  and  green.  The  last  is  shot  with  silver  and 
forms  a  most  beautiful  material  conceivable  for  Court 
or  full  dress.  .  .  .  More  pictures  and  portraits  of  which," 
the  writer  no  doubt  with  truth  says,  "  the  utmost  praise 
that  could  be  awarded  them  would  only  be  to  compare 
them  with  very  inferior  engravings."  The  lady  writer 
was  disappointed  with  the  French  velvets,  but  considered 
the  Genoa  velvets  to  be  unrivalled. 

Clumsy          It  is  interesting  to  note  how  frequently  the  terms  "  good 

Designs      taste  "  and  "  elegance  "  are  mentioned  by  all  writers  as 

and  crude  essential  qualities  in  architecture,  furniture  and  dress  at  the 

Colours,      period  in  which  the  Exhibition  was  held,  and  how  little 

of  these  essentials  were  exemplified  in  the  works  with  which 

the  Exhibition  was  crowded.      Not  only  from  the  report 

of  the  Lady  writer  above  quoted  is  this  to  be  gathered, 

but  from  actual  specimens  of  both  French  and  English 

textiles — especially  silks — a  few  of  which  remain,  out  of 

the  many  bought  by  the  Commissioners  from  the  exhibits, 

in  the  collection  of  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum.     These 

are  almost  without  exception  debased  by  clumsiness  and  inap- 

propriateness  of  design  as  well  as  extreme  crudity  of  colour. 

In  Mr.  R.  N.  Wornum's  essay  on  the  subject  of  "  The 

Exhibition  as  a  Lesson  in  Taste,"  he  says  :   "  It  is  evident 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851. 


595 


that  taste  must  be  a  paramount  agent  in  all  competitions  Lack 
involving  ornamental  design  when  the  means  and  methods  of 
of  production  are  equally  advantageous  ;  but  when  this  Origin- 
is  not  the  case,  the  chances  are  still  very  greatly  in  favour  ality. 
of  taste  over  mere  mechanical  facility,  provided  low  price 
be  not  a  primary  object."  After  a  general  discussion  of 
style  and  ornamentation  and  a  survey  of  the  various 
classes  of  objects  in  the  International  collection,  the  writer 
draws  the  conclusion  that  "  There  is  nothing  new  in  the 
Exhibition  in  ornamental  design  ;  not  a  scheme,  not  a 
detail  that  has  not  been  treated  over  and  over  again  in 
ages  that  are  gone  ;  that  the  taste  of  the  producers  is 
generally  uneducated,  and  that  in  nearly  all  cases  where 
this  is  not  so  the  influence  of  France  is  paramount  in  the 
European  productions ;  they  are  designed  almost 
exclusively  in  the  two  most  popular  traditional  styles  of 
that  country,  the  Italian  Renaissance  and  the  Louis  Quinze 
—with  more  or  less  variation  in  the  treatment  of  details. 
There  are  very  few  designs  of  any  European  country 
that  do  not  come  within  the  range  of  these  two  styles. 
The  few  Greek — so  called — specimens  and  the  Gothic 
samples  in  the  singularly  styled  Mediaeval  Court  are  almost 
the  only  exceptions  as  regards  European  design.  .  .  .  All 
the  most  able  designers  of  Italy,  France,  Austria,  Belgium 
and  England  have  selected  this  (Renaissance)  style  for 
the  exhibition  of  their  skill  ...  in  silks,  satins,  ribbons 
and  in  shawls,  there  does  not  appear  any  very  evident 
disparity,  but  it  is  notable  that  many  of  the  best  Lyons' 
specimens  are  manufactured  for  English  houses."  In  an 
article  on  the  textiles  in  the  Exhibition,  the  writer  of 
the  Art  Journal  Catalogue,  says  :  "  In  shawls,  silks, 
damasks,  laces,  carpets,  etc.,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
pronounce  any  decided  opinion  as  to  superiorities  ;  we 
venture  to  assert,  however,  that  no  ribbon  in  the  Exhibition 
can  compare  with  the  '  Coventry '  ribbon,  woven  from  Praise 
a  design  of  Mr.  Clack,  of  the  Coventry  School  of  for 
Design/ '  Coventry 

The   third  critic's  description  of  the  Exhibition  referred    Ribbons, 
to    originated   thus  : — At    an    early   stage    of   the    Great 
Exhibition,  the  Institute  of  France  deputed  two  of  its 


596 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


British  members,  the  eminent  political  economists,  MM.  Michel 
and  Chevalier  and  A.  Blanqui,  to  examine  and  report  upon 

French  the  great  undertaking.  The  following  is  taken  from  a  digest 
Exhibits  of  the  lengthy  report  drawn  up  by  M.  Blanqui.  In  the 
com-  opening  remarks,  speaking  of  the  Exhibition  generally, 

pared.  the  opinion  is  expressed  that  "  Never  was  a  finer 
opportunity  afforded  for  the  study  of  the  phenomena 
of  production  and  distribution  of  wealth  throughout  the 
world."  After  a  description  of  the  building  in  which 
the  collections  were  housed,  which  filled  them  with 
admiration,  the  report  proceeds  :  "  The  English  nation 
has  allotted  to  itself  half  the  space  contained  in  this 
magnificent  two-decked  vessel ;  the  other  half  has  been 
distributed  among  the  other  nations.  .  .  .  One  important 
matter  was  wanting  in  the  catalogue,  viz.,  the  prices  of 
the  objects  exhibited.  .  .  .  The  first  fact  noticeable  was 
that  France  and  England  appeared  as  the  two  great  rivals, 
and  all  the  other  nations  seemed  to  be  present  as  witnesses 
to  the  contest  for  supremacy.  As  far  as  mechanical 
processes  go,  France  and  England  seem  to  be  about  equal. 
....  But  when  we  quit  the  domain  of  the  mechanical 
arts  and  enter  that  of  taste,  the  difference  and  the  genius 
peculiar  to  each  nation  immediately  begin  to  be  felt. 
The  Universal  Exhibition  has  brought  to  light  this  fact 
to  the  honour  of  France,  and  has  furnished  us  with  new 
arguments  in  favour  of  commercial  freedom.  ..."  A 
critical  review  of  the  manufactures  of  England  is  then 
made,  which  ends  thus  :  "  The  distinctive  nature  of  the 
Exhibition  of  English  products  is  strength,  solidity  and 
extent.  All  the  elements  of  material  wealth  are  there 
displayed  in  a  methodical  order  from  coal  to  the  most 
complicated  machinery.  .  .  .  But  it  is  in  the  manufacture 
of  woven  fabrics  of  every  kind  that  France  has  displayed 
a  power  and  flexibility  of  production  which  are  incom- 
parable. ...  In  the  manufacture  of  silks,  Lyons  has 
even  surpassed  itself  at  the  Great  Exhibition.  .  .  .  The 
true  prosperity  of  our  country,  therefore,  rests  upon  the 
progressive  development  of  her  natural  industries,  that 
Lyons  is  to  say,  on  nearly  all  the  arts  on  which  skilfulness  of 
Silks.  hand  and  purity  of  taste  are  able  to  exert  their  influence." 


THE   EXHIBITION   OF   1851.  597 

"  To  these  alone  France  owes  the  high  position  she  Lyons 
has  taken  this  year  at  the  Universal  Exhibition.     They  Silks, 
only    require    air    and    light    for    their    extention  ;    they 
form  the  foundation  of  the  manufacturing  power  of  France, 
and  rest  upon  the  firm,   imperishable  basis  of  national 
genius  instead  of  existing  by  rule  and  artifices  like  those 
under  the  control  of  machinery  and  capital." 

So  far  as  can  be  estimated,  at  this  distance  of  time,  from 
the  illustrations  in  newspapers,  magazines  and  catalogues, 
as  well  as  from  descriptive  reports,  the  superiority  of  the 
French  exhibits — in  the  silk  department  at  least — was 
more  in  imagination  than  fact.  But,  however  it  may 
have  been  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
developments  of  recent  years  have  clearly  shown  that 
France  has  had  no  exclusive  possession  of  skill  or  taste 
either  in  Art  or  handicraft,  as  will  be  demonstrated  in  the 
succeeding  chapter  on  the  Arts  and  Crafts  movement  in 
relation  to  Silk  Manufacture. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  the  1851  Exhibition,  it 
is  worthy  of  notice  that  although  there  were  in  the  Indian 
and  other  Oriental  sections  of  the  collection  fine  specimens 
of  Textile  Art  and  Craft — especially  of  ornamental  silken 
and  woollen  goods — little  notice  was  taken  of  them  by  the 
critics  or  the  public.     This  is  more  remarkable  when  we 
consider  that  the  influence  of  Oriental  art,  both  at  previous 
and  succeeding  periods,  has  been  so  great  and  so  beneficial. 
One  reference,  indeed,  was  made  by  a  writer  when  describing 
the  shawls  of  Paisley — woven  by  means  of  a  Jacquard 
machine  in  imitation  of  the  shawls  of  India — to  the  effect  Paisley 
that  the  designs  of  Paisley  were  better  in  detail  than  and 
those  of  Cashmere,  although  the  general  effect  was  not  Indian 
perhaps  quite  so  good.  Shawls. 

The  Great  International  Exhibition  came  to  a  close 
in  the  October  of  1851,  after  being  in  many  respects  a 
huge  -success.  The  organisation  seems  to  have  been 
almost  perfect,  although  trouble  began  wrhen  the  difficult 
matter  of  awarding  the  prizes  came  to  be  dealt  with.* 
The  attendances  of  the  public  were  so  vast  that  a  surplus 

*  The  prize  lists  were  not  published  till  after  the  close  of  the  Exhibition,  and  the  system 
of  awarding  them  seems  to  have  given  great  dissatisfaction. 


598  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

of  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Commissioners  after  all  expenses  had  been  paid. 
By  the  Exhibition  a  great  impetus  was  given  to  British 
manufacture  in  its  higher  branches,  and  in  the  Silk  Trade 
this  was  particularly  the  case.  A  few  of  the  Spitalfields 
Silk  Manufacturers  discovered  that  if  they  exerted  them- 
selves they  could  produce  goods  that  were  equal  to  those 
of  their  traditional  rivals  the  French,  and  so  took  heart 
to  continue  the  endeavour  still  further  to  improve  their 
manufacture,  both  in  technical  and  artistic  qualities.  That 
they  were  particularly  successful  in  the  case  of  the  furniture 
silk  and  rich  dress  material*  branches  of  the  trade,  suc- 
ceeding Exhibitions  have  clearly  demonstrated. 

*  For  men's  wear. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

THE    ARTS    AND    CRAFTS    MOVEMENT    IN    RELATION    TO 
BRITISH   SILK  MANUFACTURE. 

The  germinating  idea  which  found  expression  in 
the  Exhibition  of  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Society,  held  in 
London  in  1888,  had  characterised  industrial  activity 
throughout  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
had  been  exemplified  in  full  activity  at  the  World's  Fair 
of  1851. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that,  early  in  the  century,  architecture    Influence 
and  all  the  arts  attendant  upon  it  had  fallen  into  a  state    of  me- 
of   lifeless   classicism   and  degraded    utilitarianism.      The   chanical 
few  persons — and  they  were  very  few — who  claimed  to  have  inven- 
judgment  in  matters  of  taste,  were  the  sole  patrons  as  well  as    tions. 
the  professors  of  art ;   and  even  these  had  no  appreciation  of 
any  but  lifeless  imitations  and  degenerate  replicas  of  the 
works  of  a  past  age.      The  general  public,  especially  the 
trading    and    manufacturing    classes,    were    obsessed    by 
admiration    and    astonishment    at    the    achievements    of 
mechanical  and  scientific  invention  and  its  application  to 
manufacture,  locomotion  and  the  development  of  material 
prosperity.      They,  therefore,  had  no  time  or  desire  for 
the  cultivation  of  aesthetic  delights.     All  the  legal  regula- 
tions and  safeguards  touching  the  relations  of  masters  and 
men  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and  in  the  early  years  of  the 
nineteenth     century     were     repealed.        So     little     was 
skilled  labour  in  demand  that  the  working  classes  were 
for  the  most  part  steeped  in  poverty  and  hopeless  degra- 
dation, the  consequence  of  low  wages  and  fierce  competition 
amongst  themselves. 

Chief  among  the  early  signs  of  the  renaissance  of  art 
in  England  were  the  revival  of  a  taste  for  Gothic 


600 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Architecture,  owing  to  the  influence  of  Pugin,  and  the 
original  work  of  Turner,  the  sturdy  self-reliant  father  of 
natural  English  landscape  painting.  Next  to  Turner  and 
Pugin  came  the  band  of  enthusiastic  young  painters  known 
Pre-  as  the  pre-Raphael  Brotherhood,  chief  amongst  whom 

Raphael  was  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti.  The  prophet  of  this  new 
Brother-  movement  was  Ruskin,  who,  in  1843,  while  yet  an  under- 
hood.  graduate  at  Oxford,  published  the  first  volume  of  his  great 
work,  "  Modern  Painters,"  which  at  once  took  its  place 
in  the  front  rank  of  Critical  Art  Literature.  In  the  preface 
to  this  noble  book,  the  author  stated  that  it  was  begun 
as  a  vindication  of  the  work  of  Turner  in  face  of  the  storm 
of  hostile  criticism  with  which  the  conventional  critics 
of  the  day  were  in  the  habit  of  greeting  each  new  pro- 
duction of  the  great  painter.  One  passage  may  be 
quoted  : — 

"  But  the  public  taste  seems  plunging  deeper  and 
deeper  into  degradation  day  by  day,  and  when 
the  Press  universally  exerts  such  power  as  it 
possesses  to  direct  the  feeling  of  the  nation  more 
completely  to  all  that  is  theatrical,  affected  and 
false  in  art ;  while  it  vents  its  ribald  buffooneries 
on  the  most  exalted  truth  and  the  highest  ideal 
in  landscape,  that  this  or  any  other  age  has  ever 
witnessed,  it  becomes  the  imperative  duty  of  all 
who  have  any  perception  or  knowledge  of  what 
is  great  in  art,  and  any  desire  for  its  advancement 
in  England  to  come  fearlessly  forward,  regardless 
of  such  individual  interests  as  are  likely  to  be 
inspired  by  the  knowledge  of  what  is  good  and 
right,  to  declare  and  demonstrate  wherever  they 
exist,  the  essence  and  authority  of  the  Beautiful 
and  the  True." 

Influence       The  influence  of  Ruskin  not  only  on  the  professional 

of  exponents   of   art,   but   on   the  public   taste   during   the 

Ruskin.      nineteenth  century  was  incalculable.     His  influence  was 

for  good,   because  he  undeviatingly  pursued  the  course 

definitely  indicated  in  the  beginning  of  his  first  work, 

from   the   preface   of   which   the     above   quotation   was 

taken. 


Plate  LIU. 


William  Morris, 


THE  ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      601 

One  instance  of  the  importance  of  Ruskin's  work  was   Influence 
its  effect  on  the  enthusiastic  coterie  of  undergraduates   of 
who  became  associated  in  a  life-long  friendship  at  Oxford   Ruskin. 
between  the  years  1853-1855  ;    and  to  whose  persistent 
devotion  to  the  principles  then  and  there  adopted  the 
world  owes  the  inception  and  development  of  the  Arts 
and  Crafts  Movement. 

At  the  end  of  January,  1853,  William  Morris  and  Edward 
Burne-Jones  met  within  three  days  of  their  arrival  at 
Oxford.  Morris  came  from  Walthamstow,  where  he  was 
born  in  1834,  and  Burne-Jones  from  Birmingham.  Within 
a  week  they  became  inseparable  friends.  In  a  short  time 
a  little  group  of  undergraduates,  congenial  spirits,  was 
formed  around  them,  which  some  years  later,  with  the 
addition  of  Rossetti,  founded  the  firm  of  Morris  and 
Company,  Fine  Art  workmen  in  painting,  carving,  furniture 
and  metals.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  friendships  thus 
formed  at  Oxford  lasted,  in  spite  of  many  vicissitudes, 
until  the  death  of  Morris  in  1896  ;  this  was  owing  no 
doubt  to  the  astonishing  personality  and  fascination  of 
Morris  himself,  who  was  always  the  central  figure  of  the 
group. 

Originally  both  Morris  and  Burne-Jones  intended  to 
enter  the  Church  ;  accordingly,  theology  and  literature 
were  their  first  studies  at  Oxford,  but  soon  the  intention 
of  taking  holy  orders  was  abandoned,  and  painting,  architec- 
ture, Gothic  decoration  and  illuminating  took  places  along 
with  literature  in  their  daily  interests,  and  in  all  these 
studies  the  writings  of  Ruskin,  as  Morris's  biographer 
says,  "were  gospel  and  creed'  to  them.*  The  same 
writer  says  that  "  it  was  from  Ruskin's  Edinburgh  lectures 
that  Morris  and  Burne-Jones  first  heard  the  name  of  Morris 
Rossetti  and  the  Pre-Raphaelite  school  of  painters  from  and 
which  they  received  and  to  which  they  imparted  so  pro-  Burne- 


found  an  influence.' 

Although  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Movement  was  particularly 
associated  with  the  name  and  personality  of  Morris,  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  by  the  time  Morris  and  Company 

*  Mackail,  Life  of  Wittiam  Morris,  Longman,  Green  and  Co. 


Jones. 


602 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


started  their  business  venture  in  Red  Lion  Square,  London, 
there  had  arisen  a  certain  demand  for  more  artistic  work 
in  many  departments  of  manufacture  than  could  readily 
be  supplied.  The  revival  of  Gothic  architecture  and 
decoration,  and  the  "  Oxford  movement,"  with  its 
insistence  on  gorgeous  ritual,  furniture  and  vestments 
in  religious  worship,  had  contributed  to  this  demand,  and 
the  "  application,"  as  it  was  called,  of  Art  to  Manufacture 
was  exercising  the  minds  not  only  of  the  amateurs  of 
Art,  but  of  business  men,  who  began  to  see  that  there 
was  "  money  in  it."  Government  schools  of  Art  and 
Design  were  being  requisitioned  and  founded  in  different 
centres  of  industry,  and  the  terms  and  catch  words  of 
the  studios  were  made  familiar  to  a  wider  circle  by  the 
publicity  given  to  the  new  movement  in  the  Press. 

Although  there  was  abundant  evidence  at  the  Exhibition 
of  1851  of  the  virility  and  extensive  scope  of  British 
manufactures,  there  was,  as  pointed  out  in  the  last  chapter, 
little  evidence  of  any  revival  of  the  art  of  decorative 
design,  or  of  judgment  and  taste  in  the  use  of  colour, 
throughout  the  huge  collection  of  ornamented  objects 
shown.  Nor  was  this  peculiar  to  the  British  Section, 
but  applied  to  all  European  nations,  as  far  as  can 
be  gathered  at  this  distance  of  time.  One  writer  describes 
the  general  effect  of  the  display  as  "  one  of  over 
ornamentation  and  crudity  of  colour,"  and  judging  from 
the  illustrations  in  catalogues  and  magazines  of  specially 
representative  exhibits,  this  criticism  was  just.  The 
numerous  works  in  the  silk  classes  of  all  sections,  as  will 
have  been  gathered  from  the  previous  chapter,  were 
particularly  open  to  the  above  charges. 

The  only  signs  of  the  revival  of  the  arts  of  design  in 
England  to  be  found  at  the  Exhibition  of  1851  were  in 
the  Furniture  of  the  Mediaeval  Court,  which,  according 
to  a  writer  in  the  Art  Journal,  "  formed  one  of  the  most 
striking  features  of  the  Exhibition,  and  attracted  a  great 
deal  of  attention."*  The  design  of  these  articles,  which 
were  mostly  pieces  of  Church  Furniture,  were  by  Pugin, 

*  It  is  true  this  was  not  a  unanimous  opinion. 


THE   ARTS  AND  CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      603 

and  the  execution  was  by  Mr.  Grace.      The  illustrations   Design 
given  of  some  of  these  objects  testify  to  the  justness  of   at  1851 
this  opinion.      It  is  evident  that  church  decoration  was   Exhibi- 
the  first  department  of  art  work  to  be  affected  by  the   tion. 
new  movement,  and  accordingly  we  find  that  the  earliest 
improvements  in  the  design  of  Silk  textiles  were  to  be 
seen  in  materials  intended  for  use  as  church  hangings  and 
ecclesiastical  vestments. 

The  International  Exhibition  held  in  Paris  in  1855 
does  not  seem  to  have  shown  much  improvement  in  the 
Silk  department  of  the  British  Section ;  in  fact  the  interest 
taken  in  it  by  the  Silk  manufacturers  of  England  was 
very  languid.  There  were  only  thirty  British  exhibitors 
in  the  whole  section,  but  as  soon  as  the  arrangements 
for  a  second  Exhibition  to  take  place  in  England  in  1862 
were  announced,  interest  seems  to  have  revived,  and  the 
improvement  displayed  in  the  technique,  design  and 
colouring  of  the  silken  webs  of  all  kinds  which  were  shown 
at  that  Exhibition,  was  very  remarkable  as  compared 
with  the  exhibits  of  1851. 

It  was  arranged  by  the  Society  of  Arts,  acting  in  con- 
junction with  the  Royal  Commissioners,  that  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1862  should  not  be  a  repetition  of 
that  of  1851,  at  which  no  restrictions  were  made  as  to 
the  quality  and  kind  of  goods  admitted,  but  that  it  should 
be  an  Exhibition  of  works  selected  for  their  excellence, 
illustrating  especially  the  progress  of  industry  and  art,    Silk  at 
and  arranged  according  to  classes  rather  than  to  countries.    Exhibi- 
Foreigners  were  to  be  admitted  on  the  same  terms  as  the   tion  of 
British.     Of  the  Silk  Section,  which  it  was  agreed  by  all    1862. 
reporters,    showed   a   great   advance   in   merit,    a   writer 
in  the  Art  Journal  speaks  highly,  but  singles  out  for  special 
notice  the  exhibits  of  Messrs.  Daniel  Walters  and  Sons, 
of  London,  which  consisted  of  "  Furniture  silks  in  great 
variety  of  texture  and  design."     The  writer  goes  on  to 
say  that  "  This  firm  have  long  been  leading  manufacturers 
of  this  important  class  of  fabrics  at  their  mills  at  Braintree 
and    Notley   in    Essex.      We   give   illustrations   of    four 
examples  of  their  very  beautiful  productions,  copied  for 
the  most  part  from  natural  leaves  and  flowers."      On 


604 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Improve- 
ments 
in 

English 
Silks. 


another  page  of  the  catalogue  some  works  of  the  same 
firm  are  reproduced  with  this  description  :  "  This  column 
contains  engravings  of  two  of  the  damask  silks  for  furniture 
manufactured  and  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Daniel  Walters 
and  Son.  They  are  of  the  highest  quality  in  manufacture, 
and  successfully  compete  with  the  best  productions  of 
the  Continent.  The  designs  are  in  all  cases  of  considerable 
excellence,  and  in  various  styles,  but  are  generally  quiet 
in  colour  and  pattern.  Messrs.  Walters  are,  we  believe, 
the  most  extensive  manufacturers  in  England  of  these 
productions." 

Other  manufacturers  showed  silken  materials  of  designs 
and  colouring,  which  testified  to  a  revival  of  decorative 
art,  that  was  taking  place  in  all  branches  of  manufacture. 

The  report  of  the  jury  in  the  Silk  Section  stated  that 
"  Our  silk  manufacturers  have  made  remarkable  progress 
since  1851  in  all  that  constitutes  superiority.  Whether 
in  design,  colour,  or  texture,  or  in  all  combined,  we  com- 
pare the  specimens  of  Silks  in  the  English  department 
with  what  were  exhibited  in  that  year,  the  improvement 
is  immense.  To  single  out  any  for  special  notice  would 
be  to  make  an  invidious  distinction  where  there  is  so 
much  general  excellence.  The  articles  in  which  this 
improvement  is  perhaps  most  obvious  are  moire  antiques, 
and  fancy  goods  of  almost  every  variety  that  is  exhibited. 
But  if  all  this  applies  to  broad  goods,  much  more  so  does 
it  to  the  ribbon  branch.  Coventry  has  made  strides  for 
which  we  were  not  prepared,  and  their  portion  of  the 
Exhibition  rivets  the  attention  of  the  most  careless  visitors, 
be  they  natives  or  foreigners.  In  no  respect  are  they, 
as  a  whole,  inferior  to  those  of  St.  Etienne,  while  as  com- 
pared with  the  productions  of  Switzerland  and  the 
Zollverein,  they  are  much  superior."  Later  in  the  report, 
referring  to  the  different  varieties  of  plain  silk  goods  which 
are  spoken  of  very  highly,  the  jurors  say  :  "  Buyers  of 
all  nations  have  already  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  of  comparison  which  the  present  Exhibition 
affords,  and  texture  for  texture  and  value  for  value, 
it  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  these  goods  of  English  pro- 
duction are  evener,  more  free  from  knots  and  floss,  and 


THE   ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      605 

generally  cheaper  than  foreign  silks  of  the  same  nominal   Improve- 
character."  ments 

Similar  reports  were  made  of  the  British  Silk  Exhibits   in 
in  the  Paris  International  Exhibition  of  1867,  but  it  will   English 
be  sufficient  to  quote  a  few  lines  from  the  official  report   Silks, 
of  that  Exhibition,  which  shows  the  remarkable  progress 
made  between  the  years  1851  and  1867  in  the  developing 
of  the  Silk  trade  in  Great  Britain  : 

"  Since  the  year  1851,  the  English  silk  trade  has  made 
great  progress,  notwithstanding  the  many  difficulties 
which  beset  its  path.  Between  the  years  1850  and  1861, 
the  number  of  silk  factories  in  the  United  Kingdom 
increased  from  277  in  the  former  year  to  771  in  the  latter." 
This  increase  in  the  number  of  factories,  although  showing, 
as  it  does,  that  the  silk  manufacturers  were  adapting  them- 
selves to  modern  conditions,  does  not  indicate  as  great 
an  increase  of  trade  as  would  appear,  for  side  by  side  with 
the  growth  of  the  factories,  the  decline  of  the  system  of 
domestic  manufacture  took  place  as  we  have  already 
seen.  The  important  fact,  however,  is  made  clear  by 
these  reports  that  the  quality  of  British  silk  goods,  both 
from  a  technical  and  an  artistic  point  of  view,  was  steadily 
improving. 

In  the  Decorative  Art  Section  of  the  catalogue  of  the   Decora- 
Exhibition  of  1862  is  found  the  name  of  the  firm  of  Morris,    tive 
Marshall,  Faulkner  and  Co.,  and  in  the  volume  of  reports   Art. 
of   the  juries,   the   following  reference   to   their  work  is 
made  : — "  Messrs.  Morris  and  Co.  have  exhibited  several 
pieces   of  furniture  tapestry,*  etc.,   in  the  style   of  the 
Middle    Ages.      The    general    forms    of    the    furniture, 
the    arrangement    of  the  tapestry  and  the  character  of 
the  details  are  satisfactory  to  the  archaeologist,  from  the 
exactness   of  the  imitation,   and   at  the  same  time  the 
general  effect  is  most  excellent." 

The  story  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  firm,  so  closely  associated  with  the  Arts 
and  Crafts  Exhibition  Society  of  London,  which  was 
formed  several  years  later,  is  given  fully  in  the  biography 

*  These  fabrics  were  of  course  embroideries.     It  was  not  till  many  years  afterwards  that 
Morris  took  up  tapestry  weaving. 


606  SILK    INDUSTRY. 

Decora-  of  Morris,  already  referred  to,  and  is  full  of  interest,  but, 
as  it  is  not  essential  to  the  present  history,  must  be  passed 
over  with  a  short  notice.  The  actual  association  of  the 
members  of  the  firm  began  on  the  llth  of  April,  1861, 
and,  to  quote  from  the  biography  :  "  Seldom  has  a  business 
been  started  on  a  smaller  capital.  Each  of  the  members 
held  one  share,  on  which  they  paid  £1.  On  this  and  on 
an  unsecured  loan  of  £100  from  Mrs.  Morris,  of  Leyton, 
the  first  year's  trading  was  done.  Premises  were  taken 
from  Lady  Day,  1861,  at  8,  Red  Lion  Square.  .  .  .  The 
ground  floor  of  the  house  was  occupied  by  a  working 
jeweller  ;  the  firm  rented  the  first  floor  for  an  office  and 
show-room,  and  the  third  floor,  with  part  of  the  basement, 
for  workshops."  The  circular  issued  by  the  new  firm  is  so 
interesting  and  informative  that  it  is  necessary  to  quote 
freely  from  it.  It  is  headed  "  Morris,  Marshall,  Faulkner 
and  Co.,  Fine  Art  Workmen  in  Painting,  Carving,  Furniture 
and  Metals."  The  names  of  eight  of  the  members  of  the 
firm  then  follow  in  alphabetical  order,  and  it  proceeds  : 
"  The  growth  of  Decorative  Art  in  this  country,  owing 
to  the  efforts  of  English  Architects,  has  now  reached  a 
point  at  which  it  seems  desirable  that  artists  of  reputation 
should  devote  their  time  to  it.  Although  no  doubt 
particular  instances  of  success  may  be  cited,  still  it  must 
be  generally  felt  that  attempts  of  this  kind  have  hitherto 
been  crude  and  fragmentary.  Up  to  this  time,  the  want 
of  artistic  supervision,  which  can  alone  bring  about 
harmony  between  the  various  parts  of  a  successful  work, 
has  been  increased  by  the  necessarily  excessive  outlay,  conse- 
quent on  taking  an  individual  artist  from  his  pictorial  labours. 

"  The  artists  whose  names  appear  above  hope  by 
association  to  do  away  with  this  difficulty.  ...  It  is 
anticipated  that  by  co-operation  the  largest  amount 
of  what  is  essentially  the  artists'  work,  along  with  the 
constant  supervision,  will  be  secured  at  the  smallest 
possible  expense,  while  the  work  done  must  necessarily 
be  of  a  much  more  complete  order,  than  if  any  single 
artist  were  incidentally  employed  in  the  usual  manner. 

"  These  artists  having  been  for  many  years  deeply 
Spirit.  attached  to  the  study  of  the  Decorative  Arts  of  all  times 


THE  ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      607 

and  countries,  have  felt  more  than  most  people  the  want   The 
of  some  one  place,  where  they  could  either  obtain  or  get   New- 
produced    work    of    a   genuine    and    beautiful    character.    Spirit. 
They  have,   therefore,   now  established  themselves  as  a 
firm,  for  the  production  by  themselves  and  under  their 
supervision  of— 

1.  Mural  Decoration,  either  in  pictures  or  in  Pattern 
Work,  or  merely  in  the  arrangement  of  colours  as  applied 
to  dwelling  houses,  churches,  or  public  buildings. 

2.  Carving  generally  as  applied  to  architecture. 

3.  Stained     glass,     especially    with    reference    to    its 
harmony  with  mural  decoration. 

4.  Metal  work  in  all  its  branches,  including  jewellery. 

5.  Furniture,   either   depending   for  its  beauty   on  its 
own  design,  on  the  application  of  materials  hitherto  over- 
looked,  or  on  its  conjunction  with  Figure  and  Pattern 
painting.     Under  this  head  is  included  embroidery  of  all 
kinds,   stamped  leather,   and   ornamental  work  in  other 
materials,  besides  every  article  necessary  for  domestic  use. 

"It  is  requisite  to  state  further,  that  work  of  all  the 
above  classes  will  be  estimated  for,  and  executed  in  a 
business-like  manner ;  and  it  is  believed  that  good 
decoration,  involving  rather  the  luxury  of  taste  than  the 
luxury  of  costliness  will  be  found  to  be  much  less  expensive 
than  is  generally  supposed." 

It  is  amusing  to  note  the  superior  and  grandiloquent 
tone  of  this  circular  and  the  magnitude  of  its  promises* 
in  comparison  with  the  inexperience  of  the  firm  and  the 
insignificance  of  the  capital  invested  in  it.     It  was  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  the  advent  of  Morris  and  Co. 
was  the  cause  of  much  ridicule,  criticism  and  jealousy  on 
the  part  of  many   established  firms   of  decorators  of  the 
time.      But  in  spite  of  opposition  and  lack  of  capital, 
the  virility  and  freshness  of  the  work  produced  by  the    Work 
firm,  the  versatility  of  the  members  of  the  firm,  especially   of  the 
of   Morris   himself,t    and   the   general   revival    of   public   Morris 
interest  in  decorative  art  enabled  the  Company  to  overcome   School, 

*  Mr.  Mackail  attributes  this  to  Rossetti,  who,  although  not  a  member  of  the  firm,  was 
the  trusted  adviser  of  the  young  men  at  the  beginning. 

t  Not  only  so,  but  Morris  was  independent  of  the  business  for  his  livelihood,  and  was  able 
to  finance  the  firm  when  necessary. 


608 


SILK    INDUSTRY. 


Art  and 

Technical 

Training. 


its  first  difficulties  and  carried  it  forward  with  increasing 
success  year  by  year. 

The  spirit  of  adventure  and  daring  which  is  evidenced 
by  the  circular,  and  the  inevitable  subordination  of  craft 
to  art,  which  resulted  from  the  members  of  the  firm  being 
all  artists  only  by  training,  proved  to  be  both  the  strength 
and  weakness  of  the  firm.  This  has  also  been  the  case 
with  the  numerous  associations  which  have  made  up 
what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Move- 
ment. They  were  strong  because  of  the  enthusiasm 
which  was  daunted  by  no  technical  difficulties,  and  weak 
because  the  artist  was  naturally  inclined  to  be  satisfied 
with  an  aesthetic  effect,  and  too  apt  to  neglect  the 
fundamental  quality  of  technical  perfection  necessary  to 
all  works  of  industrial  art. 

A  more  forcible  and  characteristic  example  of  the  fatal 
disadvantage  of  a  neglect  of  technical  knowledge  could 
not  be  given  than  that  furnished  by  an  important  piece 
of  decorative  work  impulsively  undertaken  by  Rossetti, 
Morris,  and  some  of  their  artist  friends,  some  of  whom 
afterwards  formed  the  Company  as  just  described. 

Rossetti's  friend,  Benjamin  Woodward,  architect,  was 
engaged  in  building  a  debating  Hall  for  the  Union  Society 
at  Oxford.  The  hall  was  just  roofed  in,  and  the  authorities 
agreed  with  the  architect  that  the  painted  decoration  of  the 
roof  and  walls  should  be  entrusted  to  Rossetti,  who  was 
at  liberty  to  choose  his  assistants  for  the  work.  As  soon 
as  this  was  settled,  Rossetti  enlisted  Morris,  Burne-Jones 
and  four  other  young  artists  to  begin  the  work  at  once. 
Morris's  biographer  says  in  his  account  of  the  under- 
taking : 

"  The  story  of  these  paintings,  of  which  the  mouldering 
and  undecipherable  remains  still  glimmer  like  faded 
ghosts  on  the  walls  of  the  Union  Library,  is  one  of 
work  hastily  undertaken,  executed  under  impossible 
conditions,  and  finally  abandoned  after  time  and 
labour  had  been  spent  on  it  quite  disproportionate 
to  the  original  design.  A  scheme  of  mural 
decoration  which  was  practically  new  in  England, 
and  which  involved  the  most  careful  preparation 


THE  ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      609 

and  the  most  complete  forethought,  was  rushed  Art  and 
into  with  a  light  heart ;  all  difficulties  were  Technical 
ignored,  and  many  of  the  most  obvious  precautions  Training, 
neglected.  None  of  the  painters  engaged  in  it 
had  then  any  practical  knowledge  of  the  art  of 
mural  painting,  nor  do  they  seem  to  have  thought 
that  any  kind  of  colour  could  not  be  applied  to 
4  any  kind  of  surface.  The  tradition  of  the  art  of 
fresco  painting  was  then  so  wholly  lost,*  that 
paintings  in  distemper  were  commonly  spoken 
of  as  frescoes,  and  were  expected  to  last  as  a  fresco 
painting  would.  The  walls  were  newly  built, 
and  the  mortar  was  damp.  Each  of  the  spaces 
to  be  painted  over  was  pierced  by  two  circular 
windows,  and  the  effect  on  the  design  as  well  as  on 
the  lighting  of  the  pictures  may  be  imagined. 
No  ground  whatever  was  laid  over  the  brickwork, 
except  a  coat  of  whitewash,  and  on  this  the  colour 
was  to  be  laid  with  a  small  brush,  like  water-colour 
on  paper." 

It  is  needless  to  pursue  in  detail  this  sad  story,  which 
inevitably  ended  in  failure.  Before  six  months  were 
completed,  the  picture  entrusted  to  Morris  had  so  faded 
that  nothing  plainly  appeared  but  a  solitary  head  above 
a  row  of  sunflowers,  and  all  the  other  pictures  were  in 
more  or  less  the  same  condition. 

It  could  not,  of  course,  for  a  moment  be  implied  that   Strength 
in  the  work  which  Morris  and  his  associates  afterwards   and 
undertook,    the    technical    side    was    as    light-heartedly    Weak- 
ignored  as  it  seems  to  have  been  in  this  first  disastrous  ness 
experiment ;    but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  even  if  Morris   of  the 
himself  gave  sufficient  consideration  to  the  craftsmanship   Move- 
of  the  various  kinds  of  work  to  which  he  from  time  to   ment. 
time  devoted  himself  so  ardently,  the  general  tendency 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  adherents  to  the  Arts  and  Crafts 
Movement  has  been  to  rest  satisfied  with  a  low  degree  of 
technical  merit  in  the  works  they  have  produced.     It  is 
questionable  whether  any  advance  in  workmanship  has 

*  This  is  not  correct,  although  it  was  no  doubt  unknown  to  the  artists  here  concerned. 

3  Q 


610 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Strength    been  made   as  the  result   of  the  movement,   but  it  is 

and  unquestionably  true  that  the  gradual  improvement  in  the 

Weak-        artistic   qualities   of  th6  industrial  productions  of  Great 

ness  Britain,  of  which  textile  manufactures  form  so  large  a 

of  the         part,  is  due  mainly  to  the  influences  which  led  to  the  for- 

Move-        mation  of  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Societies,  which,  as  we 

ment.         have  seen,  were  the  teaching  and  work  of  Pugin,  Ruskin, 

Rossetti,  and  the  Pre-Raphaelites,  to  which  brotherhood 

Morris  and  his  associates  belonged. 

The  art  of  silk-weaving  in  its  highest  branches, 
although  still  a  handicraft,  is  of  such  a  complicated  nature 
that,  although  many  local  guilds,  village  industries,  and 
societies  of  art  and  craft,  have  made  considerable  progress 
in  weaving  linen,  cotton,  waste  or  spun  silk  and  other 
materials,  the  weaving  of  fine  silk,  has  scarcely,  if  ever, 
been  attempted  by  them.  With  two  or  three  exceptions, 
therefore,  the  improvement  in  the  artistic  character  of 
British  silks  has  been  due  to  the  virility  and  enterprise  of 
old-established  firms  who,  surviving  the  disastrous  period 
of  transition  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  adapted 
themselves  to  the  new  conditions  of  the  trade — adopted 
new  methods  of  organisation,  and  were  especially  careful 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  Victorian  revival  of  decorative 
art. 

Morris  and  Co.  was  one  of  the  exceptions  referred  to. 

Later         It  was  not  until  1887  that  Morris  turned  his  attention 

Work  of     to  the  weaving  of  silk,  and,  as  usual  with  him,  became 

Morris.       absorbed  and  fascinated  with  the  work.     His  letters  of 

that  time  are  full  of  enthusiastic  references  to  the  splendid 

silk-weaving  he  intended  to  do  in  emulation  of  the  Eastern, 

early   Sicilian  and   Italian  brocade  and   velvet  weavers. 

He  was  recommended  by  his  friend,  Mr.  T.  Wardle,*  of 

Leek,  to  engage  a  Lyons  hand-loom  silk  weaver  to  set 

up  an  experimental  loom  in  the  workshop.     Morris  was 

soon  deep  in  the  study  of  the  mystery  and  idiosyncrasies 

of  the  Jacquard  machine. 

In  the  diary  of  a  member  of  the  firm  we  find  such 
entries  as  this :  "  Bazin  (the  French  weaver)  began  to 

*  Afterwards  Sir  Thomas  Wardle,  founder  of  the  Silk  Association  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland. 


Plate     LIV. 


Benjamin   Warner. 


THE   ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      611 

weave,  but  the  machinery  not  being  in  good  order,  he   Later 
was  unable  to  get  on  very  far."     And  again  :   "  The  cards   Work  of 
were   making   an  absurd   pattern.     W.M.  did  not   know   Morris, 
what  to  make  of  it."     But  the  initial  difficulties  were  at 
last    overcome,    and  Morris   busied   himself  in  designing 
and  working  out  patterns  and  dyeing  silks  for  the  damasks 
and  brocades,  which  afterwards  became  so  well  known  as 
the  work  of  the  firm. 

In  course  of  time  more  weavers,  drawn  from  Spitalfields 
and  other  traditional  centres  of  silk-weaving,  were  engaged, 
and  the  work  went  forward  and  became  an  established 
department  of  the  manufacture  of  the  firm.  In  the  list  of 
exhibits  of  Morris  and  Co.,  in  the  first  Exhibition  of  the 
Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition  Society  held  in  1888,  is  the 
following :  "  No.  50a,  Eight  specimens  of  silk  damask, 
hand-woven ;  designed  by  William  Morris,  executed  by 
Morris  and  Co." 

It  is,  however,  to  the  work  of  Warner  and  Sons, 
established  in  the  year  1870,  that  the  strong  position  of 
British  manufactured  silks  in  the  higher  branches  of  the 
trade  has  been  attributed.  This  firm  was  founded  by 
the  late  Mr.  Benjamin  Warner.  He  was  born  in  the 
silk-weaving  district  of  London  at  a  time  when  the  trade 
was  in  a  state  of  great  excitement  and  disorganisation. 

His  father  came  of  a  family  which  had  long  been 
associated  with  silk-weaving  and  possessed  many  relics 
of  the  Huguenot  immigration,  amongst  which  was  a  book 
of  patterns,  some  of  which  had  been  woven  in  Canterbury 
by  the  refugees  who  settled  in  that  city  and  afterwards 
removed  to  London.*  The  elder  Warner  was  a  harness 
maker,  mounture  builder  and  Jacquard  machinist,  a 
business  which  required  great  skill,  ingenuity  and  exactness 
in  order  to  carry  it  on  successfully.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  East  London  Pension  Society,  and  was 
its  Honorary  Secretary  from  its  formation  on  April  16th, 
1824,  till  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1839,  at  the  age 
of  forty  years. 

Benjamin  Warner  was  an  only  son,  and  at  his  father's  Benjamin 
death,  though  but  eleven  years  of  age,  was  taken  from  Warner. 

*  Canterbury  Book,  see  Appendix. 


612 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Benjamin  school  in  order  to  help  his  mother  to  carry  on  the  business. 
Warner.  His  education  was,  however,  continued  by  his  attendance 
at  evening  school,  and  later  at  the  Spitalfields  School  of 
Design,  the  first  State-aided  Art  School  founded  in  this 
country.  He  thus  became  especially  proficient  in  manu- 
script, and  augmented  his  slender  income  by  working 
at  night  for  a  firm  of  law  stationers  in  Chancery  Lane. 
He  was  throughout  life  distinguished  for  his  beautiful 
handwriting. 

At  first  the  Warner  business  was  only  that  of 
harness  building  and  machine  making,  but  one  Monsieur 
Bernier,  designer  and  draughtsman  to  the  trade,  wishing 
to  return  to  his  native  city  of  Lyons,  sold  his  business  to 
Benjamin  Warner,  who  was  able  to  add  the  business 
of  designing  to  that  which  he  had  already  carried  on  in 
Punderson  Place,  Bethnal  Green.  After  several  years  of 
this  quiet  development,  Mr.  Warner  saw  his  way  to  further 
enlarge  the  business  by  the  addition  of  another  branch. 
In  1870,  Mr.  Warner,  in  conjunction  with  two  partners, 
Messrs.  Sillett  and  Ramm,  established  a  small  silk-weaving 
factory  at  Old  Ford.  Here  the  most  intricate  and 
important  work  was  done  on  the  premises,  but  a  great  deal 
of  weaving  was  given  out  in  the  usual  way  to  domestic 
or  cottage  weavers.  The  business,  however,  soon  out- 
grew the  Old  Ford  factory,  and  a  larger  one  was  built 
and  furnished  in  Hollybush  Gardens,  Bethnal  Green.  A 
warehouse  and  showrooms  were  also  established  in  Newgate 
Street,  London,  almost  on  the  same  site  as  the  buildings 
the  firm  now  occupies.*  Notwithstanding  the  depression 
of  the  silk  trade  in  England  at  the  time  of  its  founding 
and  after,  as  well  as  the  serious  competition  of  the  French 
manufacturers,  the  new  firm  steadily  progressed,  and 
became  known  in  the  decorative  trades  not  only  for 
excellence  of  material  and  technique,  but  for  fine  artistic 
qualities,  which  had  undoubtedly  for  many  years  been 
lacking  in  webs  of  British  weaving. 

History  Owing  to  the  renaissance  of  Art  in  England,  which 
of  the  took  place  during  the  middle  portion  of  the  nineteenth 
business,  century,  the  work  of  British  artists  in  all  kinds  of  decorative 

*  These  are  in  the  temporary  occupation  of  the  Government. 


THE   ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      613 


designs  gradually  became  appreciated  and  in  demand 
throughout  Europe.  Those  manufacturers  who  were  wise 
enough  to  keep  abreast  of  the  movement  found  a  ready 
market  for  their  commodities  not  only  in  Great  Britain 
but  in  all  the  Continental  centres  of  art  and  fashion,  and 
in  America.  The  Warner  firm  was  one  of  such,  and 
the  silken  webs  manufactured  in  Hollybush  Gardens 
worthily  maintained  the  reputation  of  the  British  manu- 
facturer, even  when  displayed  in  Paris  amongst  the 
choicest  productions  of  the  French  looms. 

In  1893  the  Bethnal  Green  factory  was  rendered  historic 
by  a  visit  of  H.R.H.  Princess  Mary  of  Teck,  accompanied 
by  her  daughter  the  Princess  May,  now  her  Majesty  the 
Queen.  It  was  here  that  the  silk  brocade  for  the  wedding 
dress  of  the  Princess  May  was  woven,  and  since  that  time 
the  firm  has  had  the  honour  of  receiving  other  Royal 
orders,  amongst  which  were  the  Coronation  robes  of 
Bang  Edward  VII  and  those  of  his  present  Majesty  King 
George  V  and  Queen  Mary. 

In  1891  the  title  of  the  firm  was  altered  to  Warner  and 
Sons,  Mr.  Alfred  Warner  and  Mr.  Frank  Warner  being 
taken  into  partnership  after  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Ramm. 
The  firm  had  been  for  some  years  known  as  Warner  and 
Ramm,  Mr.  Sillett  having  retired  in  1875. 

In  1895,  after  the  firm  of  Daniel  Walters  and  Sons, 
of  Braintree,  had  ceased  operations,  the  Official  Receiver 
made  an  offer  of  their  mills,  plant,  and  machinery  to  Warner 
and  Sons.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  after  the  pur- 
chase, about  sixty  families  of  London  silk  weavers  were 
at  once  removed  from  Spitalfields  to  Braintree.  Many, 
however,  refused  to  leave  London,  and  for  some  years 
both  factories  were  kept  going  ;  but  finally  the  Hollybush 
Gardens  factory  was  closed  and  all  the  work  concentrated 
at  the  Braintree  mills. 

Thus,  by  means  of  strenuous  good  work,  foresight, 
pluck  and  perseverance,  Benjamin  Warner,  in  spite  of 
many  obstacles,  guided  the  fortunes  of  the  firm  from 
its  beginnings  in  the  little  East  London  workshop  to  the 
position  it  now  holds.  As  a  craftsman,  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  his  work  were  fine  colour  and  perfection 


Renais- 
sance of 
Art  in 
England. 


Warner 
Factories 
removed 
to 

Brain- 
tree. 


614  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Notable  of  drawing.  He  could  not  tolerate  careless  technique  or 
English  indifferent  design.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  "  In  his 
Work.  striving  after  perfection  the  webs  he  manufactured 
approached  more  nearly  to  the  highest  productions  of 
France,  in  its  best  periods,  than  those  of  any  other  English 
manufacturer."  And  also  "  that  much  of  the  present 
recovery  in  the  English  silk  industry  generally,  and  the 
world-wide  reputation  which  English  furniture  silks  in 
particular  have  of  late  years  obtained,  are  due  to  his 
persevering  efforts."  Mr.  Warner  continued  actively  to 
conduct  the  business  of  the  firm  until  his  78th  year,  which 
he  attained  in  1907,  12  months  before  his  death.  His 
successors  have  endeavoured  to  maintain  the  reputation 
he  built  up. 

In  1887  Messrs.  Warner  exhibited  specimens  of  their 
work  at  the  Jubilee  Exhibitions  at  London  and  Manchester. 
They  also  took  part  in  successive  exhibitions  in  various 
places,  but  it  was  at  the  International  Exhibition  held 
at  Paris  in  1900  that  they  were  awarded  their  first  gold 
medal.  This  success  has  been  added  to  from  time  to  time. 
Another  firm  which,  although  short-lived,  did  some 
remarkable  work  in  the  best  branches  of  furniture  silk- 
weaving,  was  the  English  Silk-Weaving  Company  of 
Ipswich.  The  interesting  story  of  this  undertaking  it 
is  unnecessary  to  relate,  but  it  must  be  mentioned  that 
some  of  the  productions  of  the  Ipswich  firm  were 
acknowledged  by  competent  judges  to  be  equal  in  design, 
colour,  and  technique,  to  any  silk-weaving  of  the  present 
or  any  other  period.  It  was  found  impossible,  however, 
to  keep  up  the  character  of  the  work  and  make  sufficient 
profit  to  warrant  continuing  the  business.  So  after  ten 
years  of  development,  the  Company,  which  was  a  limited 
one,  was  wound  up  and  the  work  discontinued.*  Two 
or  three  more  or  less  prosperous  silk- weaving  businesses  owe 
their  origin  to  the  Ipswich  Company,  the  most  successful, 
Furniture  perhaps,  being  the  Gainsborough  Silk- Weaving  Company, 
Silk  of  Sudbury,  Suffolk.  Mr.  Reginald  Warner,  who  directs 

Weaving,  this  business,  learned  the  art  of  silk-weaving  in  the  Ipswich 

*  A  spacious  factory  was  built,  and  over  thirty  looms  were  at  work  at  one  time. 


THE   ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      615 

factory,  and  the  high  merit  of  his  work,  both  technically  Furniture 
and  artistically,  is  widely  recognised.  Silk 

The  several  exhibitions  held  by  the  British  Silk  Weaving. 
Association  since  its  foundation  have  borne  witness  to 
the  gradual  advance  in  the  artistic  achievements  of  the 
British  silk  industry,  but  as  they  are  dealt  with  in  the 
special  chapter  on  the  work  of  the  Association,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  particularise  them  here. 

A  steady  advance  in  the  art  and  craft  of  silk-weaving 
in  Great  Britain  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  at  the 
several  International  Exhibitions  held  since  that  of  1867, 
referred  to  in  the  last  chapter.  It  would,  however,  prove 
tedious  to  quote  from  the  numerous  reports  and  critical 
articles  referring  to  British  silk  exhibits,  all  testifying 
to  the  same  fact.  It  will  suffice  to  give  some  extracts 
from  the  Commissioners'  report  of  the  silk  section  of  the 
Brussels  and  Turin  Exhibitions  of  1910  and  1911,  and 
briefly  to  review  the  Art  and  Craft  Sections  of  the  Ghent 
Exhibition  of  1913  and  the  special  British  Art  and  Crafts 
Exhibition  held  in  Paris  in  1914,  in  so  far  as  they  have  to 
do  with  the  art  of  silk-weaving.  At  the  Brussels  Exhibition 
the  report  of  the  Royal  Commission  states  that  "  The 
extent  and  beauty  of  the  silk  exhibits  formed  a  striking 
feature  in  the  important  collection  of  textiles  in  the  British 
section  of  the  Brussels  Exhibition.  Silk  goods,  always 
attractive  and  interesting,  and  more  easily  adaptable 
to  effective  exhibition  than  any  other  textile,  have  always 
held  a  prominent  position  in  foreign  sections,  particularly 
in  that  of  the  French,  whose  display  at  Brussels  was  both 
refined  and  elegant.  Excepting  the  French  collection  of 
gowns  .  .  .  the  exhibit  of  English  silks  or  other  dress 
materials  was  unsurpassed  in  variety  and  excellence  by 
any  other  country.  ...  In  fabrics,  almost  every  type 
and  variety  of  goods  was  shown.  Dress  silks,  both  plain 
and  broche  of  great  excellence,  showed  the  ability  of 
English  manufacturers  to  cater  for  this  important  branch  Success 
of  the  Silk  Market.  .  .  .  The  great  feature  of  the  British  at 
silk  section  w^as  the  magnificent  display  of  decorative  Foreign 
and  furnishing  silks.  The  display  received  universal  praise,  Exhibi- 
and  the  warmest  expressions  of  admiration  from  foreign  tions. 


616 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Success      experts     and     manufacturers,     who     are     the     keenest 

at  appreciators  of  skilled  artistic  workmanship. 

Foreign          "  It  had  long  been  known  that  in  this  branch  of  silk 

Exhibi-      manufacture  our  products  occupied  a  high  position,  but 

tions.          the  display  at  Brussels  established  beyond  doubt  that  in 

beauty  of  design  and  colour,  in  the  variety  and  suitability 

of    cloth   structure,    and   in   excellence    of   manufacture, 

they  are  not  excelled  by  the  productions  of  any  country, 

and  are  only  equalled  by  those  of  France.     The  goods 

shown   were   brocades,  damasks,  brocatelles,  lampas,  and 

figured  and  antique  velvets,  in  the  styles  of  the  sixteenth 

and    seventeenth    century,    Italian,    and   in    the    French 

periods  from  Louis  XIV  to  the  Directoire.      In  addition 

to    designs   of   the   modern   English   school,    there   were 

specimens   representative   of  the   olden   English  periods, 

such  as  Elizabethan,  Stuart,   William  and  Mary,  Queen 

Anne,  Chippendale  and  Adam.     A  feature  of  the  collection 

was  a  display  of  gorgeously  coloured  fabrics  richly  wrought 

with    gold    and    silver    metal    threads,    for    ecclesiastical 

purposes. 

"  At  Turin  the  British  manufacturers  of  decorative  and 
furnishing  silks  again  made  a  most  worthy  display,  equal 
if  not  superior  in  design,  colour  and  texture,  to  anything 
shown  in  the  foreign  sections." 

An  independent  report  of  the  Brussels  Exhibition  directs 
special  attention  to  the  exhibit  of  Messrs.  Warner  and 
Sons  and  their  success  in  the  silk  section.  "  Six  isolated 
show-cases  were  filled  with  a  great  variety  of  this  notable 
firm's  choicest  productions,  bearing  witness  to  its  great 
resources  in  the  manufacture  of  the  highest  classes  of 
furniture  fabrics.  Two  Grands  Prix,  with  the  felicitations 
of  the  Jury,  were  awarded  to  Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons 
for  their  exhibit. 

At  Turin  in  1911  the  same  firm  exhibited  silk  textiles, 
Recog-  tapestries  and  printed  fabrics  in  one  of  the  stately  rooms, 
nition  60  ft.  by  30  ft.,  which  were  provided  in  place  of  the  glass 
at  case  method  of  exhibiting.  The  awards  to  Messrs.  Warner 

Brussels     and  Sons  at  Turin  were  four  Grands  Prix,  with  felicitations, 
and  At  the  Ghent  Exhibition  of  1913,  in  the  British  Arts  and 

Turin.        Crafts  Section,  there  were  exhibited  forty-five  specimens 


THE   ARTS  AND   CRAFTS  MOVEMENT.      617 

of    Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons'  hand-woven  silks,  fourteen   Ghent 
of  Mr.  Edmund  Hunter's,  of  Letchworth,  and  twelve  of   and 
Messrs.    Morris    and    Co.      There    were    also    numerous   Paris, 
interesting  specimens   of  the  use  of  silk  in  embroidery 
and  of  silk  mixed  with  other  materials  in  simple  domestic 
hand-loom  weaving.     In  1914,   at  the  invitation  of  the 
French  Government,  a  British  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition 
was 'arranged  in  a  salon  of  The  Louvre.     The  principal 
exhibitors   of   woven   silk   in   this   collection   were   again 
Messrs.   Warner  and  Sons,  Messrs.  Morris  and  Co.,  and 
Mr.  Edmund  Hunter  ;   Messrs.  Warner  and  Sons  showing 
fourteen,  Messrs.  Morris  and  Co.  nine,  and  Mr.  Hunter 
six  specimens  of  their  finest  work. 

The  Arts  and  Crafts  Movement  has  stimulated  many 
efforts  to  weave  artistic  silken  fabrics,  most  have  had 
a  transitory  existence,  but  some  remain.  Amongst  the 
latter  are  the  London  School  of  Weaving  in  Davies'  Street, 
W.,  the  Cullompton  Weavers  in  Devon,  and  the  industry 
at  Windermere,  where  more  than  20  years  ago  Miss  Annie 
Garnett  added  to  what  is  known  as  "  The  Spinnery '' 
Schools  of  Spinning  and  Weaving,  the  first  silk  "  factory  '; 
in  the  district. 

"  The  Spinnery "  weaving  sheds  are  quite  primitive, 
and  only  hand  labour  is  employed,  many  of  the  villagers 
working  at  their  own  homes  in  spare  moments.  The 
textiles  woven  include  silks,  brocades,  satins,  muslins, 
throwans,  tweeds,  linens,  etc.,  and  all  embroideries  are 
worked  only  on  materials  made  in  "The  Spinnery,"  the 
designs  being  all  original  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
suggested  by  ancient  things.  The  work  is  done  in  a  quiet 
leisurely  way,  entirely  from  an  artist's  point  of  view,  to 
which  all  other  considerations  are  sacrificed,  and  the 
aim  of  the  workers  is  always  to  reach  the  best,  believing 
that  joy  in  labour  is  the  first  principle  of  true  art.  Each 
web  is  a  centre  of  interest,  built  up  in  design  and  colour 
from  the  beautiful  surroundings  in  which  "The  Spinnery" 
is  placed.  Further,  to  carry  out  this  idea  colour  schemes  British 
are  specially  grown  and  planned  in  the  garden,  whose  Schools 
flowers  pass  into  the  designs  used  in  the  brocades  and  of  Silk 
embroideries.  Weaving. 


618  SILK   INDUSTRY. 

Sir  It  would  be  impossible  to  close  this  chapter  without 

Arthur  reference  to  the  late  Sir  Arthur  Liberty,  who,  although 
Liberty,  not  engaged  in  the  production  of  silk  goods,  brought  a 
great  influence  of  an  artistic  nature  to  bear  on  the  work 
of  those  who  were.  About  35  years  ago,  Sir  Arthur, 
then  Mr.  Liberty,  introduced  the  soft  dress  satin  now 
universally  known  as  "  Liberty  "  satin,  the  graceful  charms 
of  which  were  brought  prominently  before  the  public  at 
the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889.  Then,  of  course,  followed 
the  Continental  imitations,  and  now  it  is  of  world-wide 
manufacture.  It  may  be  claimed  for  "  Liberty '  satin 
that  it  was  the  parent  of  the  multitude  of  soft  clinging 
silken  fabrics  which  are  now  generally  in  vogue  to-day. 
Certainly,  as  far  as  dress  fabrics  are  concerned,  Sir  Arthur 
Liberty,  trained  in  an  appreciation  of  colour  by  handling 
Eastern  productions  such  as  Chinese  embroideries,  Persian 
carpets  and  Indian  shawls  in  his  earlier  days,  greatly 
widened  the  range  of  colourings  and  established  a  taste 
for  certain  tones  of  colour  which  are  now  generally  referred 
to  as  "  art  shades."  Credit  is  also  due  to  him  for 
endeavouring  to  create  a  popularity  for  English  silks  by 
holding  from  time  to  time  exhibitions  of  home  productions 
at  his  premises  in  Regent  Street. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 
TECHNICAL  SOCIETIES  AND  THE  INDUSTRY. 

The  technical  aspect  of  silk  manufacture  has  been 
discussed  in  other  chapters,  but  no  history  of  the  industry 
would  be  complete  which  did  not  contain  some  reference 
to  the  work  done  by  certain  of  the  technical  institutions 
towards  the  encouragement  of  improved  methods  of 
manufacture. 

The  Royal  Society  of  Arts  has  been  more  closely 
associated  with  this  work  than  any  other  institution  of 
the  kind,  and  indeed  the  records  of  the  Society  show 
that  it  has  always  given  attention  to  the  encouragement 
of  the  textile  industries. 

The  first  paper  on  silk  contributed  to  the  transactions 
appears  to  have  been  that  read  by  the  Hon.  Daines 
Barrington,  and  is  published  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Royal 
Transactions,  issued  in  1784.  In  earlier  years  than  this,  Society 
however,  the  Society  had  offered  awards  in  connection  of  Arts, 
with  various  branches  of  the  silk  industry  ;  the  breeding 
and  rearing  of  silk  worms,  the  improvement  of  mechanical 
appliances,  and  in  other  fields.  It  is  true  that  although 
the  names  of  textile  machinists  such  as  Hargreaves, 
Arkwright  and  Crompton  do  not  appear  on  the  records 
of  the  Society,  these  do  contain  the  name  of  John  Kay, 
who  may  be  said  to  have  revolutionized  the  textile 
industry  by  his  invention  of  the  fly  shuttle.  It  was  not 
this,  however,  which  introduced  Kay  to  the  Society,  but 
his  apparatus  for  making  cards,  and  he  demonstrated 
the  working  of  this  machine  before  one  of  its  Committees. 
His  youngest  son,  William  Kay,  worked  at  the  same 
invention  and  received  an  award  of  50  guineas  for  an 

619 


620 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Royal  improvement  of  his  father's  apparatus.  Robert  Kay,  an 
Society  elder  brother  of  William,  brought  before  the  Society  an 
of  Arts,  improvement  of  the  wheel  shuttle,  which  it  is  believed 
was  in  the  form  of  the  drop  box.  This  feature,  which 
was  introduced  in  the  year  1760,  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  first  device  for  weaving  cross  striped  fabrics  con- 
tinuously, it  being  unnecessary  by  this  arrangement  to 
stop  the  loom  for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  shuttle. 
A  year  or  two  later  a  prize  of  £100  was  offered  for  improve- 
ments in  the  stocking  frame.  The  machines  submitted 
were  set  up  in  the  Machine  Room  of  the  Society,  and 
operated  by  expert  workmen.  Two  prizes  were  awarded 
in  connection  with  this  competition,  one  of  £80  in  the 
year  1765  to  Samuel  Unwin,  and  one  of  £100  in  the 
following  year  to  John  Why  man.  The  encouragement 
thus  given  to  the  stocking  weavers  was  a  great  advantage 
as  at  that  time  the  trade  was  in  a  very  depressed  condition, 
owing  to  the  competition  of  the  French  weavers. 

Concurrently  with  the  steps  thus  taken  to  place  the 
manufacturing  side  of  the  industry  on  a  firmer  foundation, 
the  Society  lent  its  aid  towards  the  various  projects  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  breeding  of  silk  worms,  and  a 
letter  published  in  the  Transactions,  bearing  the  date 
October  19th,  1777,  describes  the  experiments  carried 
out  by  Mrs.  Ann  Williams,  of  Gravesend,  who  at  that 
time  had  47  silk  worms  spinning,  and  who  describes  the 
methods  she  adopted  to  rear  what  she  refers  to  as  "  her 
favourite  reptiles."  She  was  awarded  a  prize  of  20  guineas. 
The  Transactions  of  the  Society  also  contain  reference 
to  the  attempt  made  to  obtain  silk  from  the  garden  spider, 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  finally  decided  that  the  English 
climate  was  not  suitable  for  the  rearing  of  silk  worms 
except  in  abnormal  seasons.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
19th  century  the  Society  resumed  its  scheme  of  making 
awards  for  improvement  in  the  mechanical  apparatus 
of  the  trade.  Thus,  in  the  year  1807,  a  prize  was  given 
to  A.  Duff  for  an  improvement  in  the  drawboy,  the  name 
Breeding  given  to  the  mechanical  apparatus  which  superseded 
of  Silk  the  boy  who  acted  as  the  weaver's  assistant.  The 
Worms.  Transactions  also  make  reference  to  the  work  of  J.  Sholl, 


TECHNICAL  SOCIETIES  AND  THE  INDUSTRY.  621 


who  in  the  year  1810  obtained  an  award  for  the  further  Im- 
improvement  of  the  drawboy,  and  prizes  were  given  for  prove- 
improvements  on  the  Jacquard  invention  which  came  a  ments 
little  later,  the  most  important  of  these  being  that  effected  in 
by  W.  Jennings,  a  weaver  or  loom  maker  of  Bethnal  Green,  Machi- 
who   suggested   a    method   by   which  the  height   of  the  nery. 
Jacquard  apparatus  could  be  reduced  and  the  machine 
made  in  a  size  which  enabled  it  to  be  installed  in  the 
weaver's  own  homes.     Other  improvements  which  obtained 
the  recognition  of  the  Society  included  a  new  form  of 
machine  for  winding  silk  for  Spitalfields'  weavers,  which 
was  introduced  in  1843.     The  main  feature  of  this  improve- 
ment was  the  substitution  of  friction  wheels  for  list  bands. 
There  are  few  references  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
for  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century  to  papers  submitted 
on  the  silk  industry,  but  a  number  of  important  contri- 
butions were  made  during  the  second  half  of  last  century. 
Sir  Thomas  Wardle  read  his  first  paper  dealing  with  the 
wild  silks  of  India  in  1879.     He  made  subsequent  con- 
tributions in  the  years  1885  and  1891,  and  in  1895  put 
on  record  the  improvements  which  had  taken  place  in 
the    designing,    colouring,    and    manufacture    of    British 
silks.     His  successor  in  the  presidential  chair  of  the  Silk 
Association,  Mr.  Frank  Warner,   continued  the   story  of 
the  British  silk  industry  in  two  papers,  which  were  read 
in  1903  and  1912.     An  important  series  of  articles  which 
appeared  in  the   Transactions  of   1873   from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Francis  Cobb  bore  the  title  "  Hints  to  Colonists  on 
the  Cultivation  of  Silk,"  and  the  same  authority  at  a  later 
date  made  a  contribution  on  the  rearing  of  silk  worm 
eggs  in  Great  Britain.     Another  well-known  contributor 
to  the  Society's  Transactions  was  Mr.   Thomas  Dickens, 
who  in  1855  read  a  paper  bearing  the  title  "  Commercial 
Considerations  of  the  Silk  Worm  and  its  Products,"  and 
in  1869  discussed  the  question  of  silk  supply.     Contribu- 
tions from  other  authorities  dealt  with  such  subjects  as 
the    improvement    of    silk    cultivation    in    India,    British   Notable 
silk   manufacture   from   the    commercial   standpoint,   the  Papers 
possibilities  of  silk  culture  in  New  Zealand,  and  English  on  Silk 
brocades  and  figured  silks.     It  is  a  fairly  comprehensive  Trade. 


622 


SILK   INDUSTRY. 


Notable     programme  for  a  Society  which  has  had  so  many  other 

Papers       outlets  for  its  activities,   but  which,   as    was    indicated 

on  Silk      by  the  reading  of  a  paper  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Hunter  on  "  The 

Trade.        Textile   Industries   of   Great   Britain   and   of   Germany," 

six  months  after  the  outbreak  of  war,  has  not  lost  its 

interest  in  one  of  the  oldest  of  British  industries. 

Some  useful  work  on  behalf  of  the  silk  industry  has 
also  been  done  by  the  Silk  Sub-Section  of  the  London 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  This  was  only  constituted 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Textile  Trade  Section  in 
1909,  but  it  at  once  set  to  work  to  deal  with  the  many 
subjects  calling  for  attention  and  has  done  good  work. 

One  of  the  principal  matters  dealt  with  in  the  year 
1909  referred  to  outstanding  questions  with  Japan  which 
related  more  particularly  to  the  designation  of  the  various 
types  of  silk.  This  subject  was  considered  of  such  import- 
ance that  deputations  waited  on  the  Japanese  Ambassador, 
the  Japanese  Minister  of  Commerce  and  Industry,  and 
the  Japanese  Consul  General. 

In  the  year  1910  the  formation  of  a  Silk  Trade  Section 
of  the  Silk  Sub-Section  of  the  Chamber  was  approved. 
A  subject  which  has  received  special  attention  of  the 
Section  recently  is  the  unjust  operation  of  the  Carriers' 
Act  of  1830  in  regard  to  the  carriage  of  silk  goods  on  British 
railways,  and  to  which  more  detailed  reference  is  made 
in  the  chapter  dealing  with  the  work  of  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion. Special  attention  has  also  been  given  by 
the  Section  to  cases  of  misdescription  of  silk  goods,  to 
artificial  silk  problems,  adulterations  and  classification  of 
silk,  export  of  silk  piece  goods,  the  Japanese  and  Belgian 
tariffs,  and  the  general  question  of  railway  rates. 

Another  technical  society  which  has  given  attention 
London  to  silk  trade  questions,  both  on  the  technical  and  corn- 
Chamber  mercial  sides,  is  the  Textile  Institute,  which  has  its  head- 
of  Com-  quarters  at  Manchester,  and  whose  activities  cover  the 
merce.  whole  field  of  textile  manufacture. 


ADDENDA.  622A 

The  firm  of  John    Hind  &  Co.  Ltd.,  dress  and  blouse  Wyke, 
manufacturers,  was  established  by  John  Hind  in  1851.     He  Bradford 
was  joined  by  his  brothers,  James  and  Adam,  in  1853  and 
the  business  was  carried  on  by  the  three  brothers  until  1881. 
In  that  year  Irvine  Hind,  the  son  of  John,  succeeded  James 
and  Adam  Hind  and  the  business  was  carried  on  as  John 
Hind  &  Company  until  1887.     From  that  year  Irvine  Hind 
appears  to  have  been  the  sole  partner  until  1904,  when  the 
business  became  a  private  limited  company  with  Irvine 
Hind  as  Managing-director. 

The  present  Governing-director  and  Chairman,  is  John 
Sugden  Smith,  who  received  his  art  and  technical  education 
at  the  Bradford  Schools  and  was  a  Silver  Medalist  in  the 
Examinations  of  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute 
in  1885.  His  personal  interest  in  the  Silk  Association,  of 
which  he  is  Vice-Chairman  of  the  Council,  the  British  Silk 
Research  Association  and  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Silk 
Production  at  the  Imperial  Institute,  has  been  of  marked 
value  to  the  deliberations  of  those  institutions. 

The  firm,  which  has  gained  much  credit  for  its  enterprise 
and  ability,  specialises  in  the  production  of  dress  and  blouse 
materials  and  in  shirtings  of  almost  endless  variety. 

The  business  which  was  started  at  Wyke  Mills  in  1851 
was  carried  on  there  for  more  than  half  a  century.  In 
the  year  1907  it  was  transferred  to  new  works  at  Woodside 
Mills.  This  is  a  typical  modern  establishment  in  which 
electricity  is  used  both  for  power  and  lighting  purposes. 

Another  firm,  A.  Hind  &  Sons,  who  are  manufacturers  of 
plain  and  fancy  silks  for  the  blouse  and  dress  trade  ;  silk 
and  other  sleeve  linings  ;  linings  for  ladies'  mantles  ;  plain 
and  fancy  moirettes  in  silk  and  cotton,  also  have  their 
works  in  Wyke. 

The  business  was  established  in  1881  by  Adam  Hind,  who 
retired  in  1894.  The  present  principal  of  the  business  is 
Fred  Hind,  who  is  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  West 
Riding  of  Yorkshire.  In  1918  Fred  Hind  took  into  partner- 
ship his  two  sons,  A.  R.  Hind  and  F.  M.  J.  Hind,  who  now 
assist  him  to  carry  on  the  business. 

The  works  at  City  Shed,  Wyke,  were  re-constructed  in 
accordance  with  the  latest  practice  in  1899. 


APPENDIX   B. 

Maitland's  History  of  London,  1775,  p.  799. 

"  Next  to  this  Field,  in  which  are  now  Duke  Street  and  Stuart  Street,  was 
the  dissolved  Priory  and  Hospital  of  our  blessed  Lady,  commonly  called  St.  Mary 
Spital,  founded  by  Walter  Brune  and  Rosia,  his  wife,  for  Canons  Regular.  Walter, 
Archdeacon  of  London,  laid  the  first  stone  in  the  year  1197.  William,  of  St.  Mary 
Church,  then  Bishop  of  London,  dedicated  it  to  the  honour  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
his  Mother,  the  perpetual  Virgin  Mary,  by  the  name  of  Domas  Dei  et  Bentse 
Marise  extra  Bishopsgate,  in  the  Parish  of  St.  Botolph." 
At  p.  X.  of  the  Report : — 

"  From  Spitalfields  your  Committee  took  evidence  of  a  Mr.  Ballance,  a 
respectable  Manufacturer,  who  stated  that  the  weaver  could  earn  at  the  time 
he  spoke  from  7s.  6d.  to  8s.  a  week  clear  of  deductions  :  but  that  to  do  this  he 
was  compelled  to  work  14  hours  a  day  :  and  that  this  labour  is  excessive  and 
is  incompatible  with  the  Weaver's  health ;  that  in  1826  he  could  earn  14s.  ;  and 
that  20s.  would  be  sufficient  pay  ;  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  support  them- 
selves at  their  present  earnings  ;  that  their  distresses  are  truly  appalling,  there 
being  many  men  who  used  to  support  their  families  with  credit,  who  are  mere 
paupers." 
At  p.  XII.  of  the  Report  it  is  stated  : — 

"  The  weekly  wages  a  fair  average  weaver  can,  if  fully  employed  14  hours 
a  day,  now  (1835)  earn  at  the  work  the  majority  of  weavers  are  employed  on 
(in  Great  Britain)  is  stated  in  evidence  by  weavers,  manufacturers  and  other 
witnesses  to  be  as  follows  : — 

At  Aberdeen  . .     3/6  to  5/6  net.  At  Perth     . .          . .     4/9  to  7/9  net. 

Dundee  . .     6/-  „  7/-     „  Preston  . .     4/9  „  6/1  gross 

Forfar  . .     6/-  „  Spitalfields        . .     7/6  „    8/-     „ 

Glasgow  . .     4/-  ,,  8/-  gross.  Stockport          . .     9/-  „ 

Huddersfield     . .     4/6  „  5/-     „  Nuneaton          . .     4/8 

Do.,  a  few    . .   16/-  „  Coventry  . .     7/6  net. 

Lanark  . .          . .     5/1  net.  Drogheda          . .     2/4  „  4/-     „ 

Manchester       . .     5/-  „  7/6     „  Belfast   . .          . .     3/6  „  6/6  gross 

Paisley  . .          . .     6/-  „  7/-  gross. 

Note  that  these  prices  are  for  weavers  in  full  work,  which  they  declared  was 
14  or  16  hours  a  day. 

In  1817  Handloom  weavers'  wages  throughout  the  country  averaged  4/3J 
per  week.  At  this  time  wheat  was  126/-  per  quarter.  This  was  the  worst  time. 
In  1800  the  average  wage  was  13/10,  and  wheat  then  sold  at  113/-,  to  which 
price  it  suddenly  rose  from  67 /-  of  the  previous  year. — Professor  J.  E.  Thorold 
Rogers  in  Six  Centuries  of  Work  and  Wages. 

The  vast  majority  of  silk  weavers  in  the  London  Trade  were  employed  011 
the  commonest  work,  for  which  4Jd.  to  6d.  a  yard  was  paid.  It  was  notorious 
that,  what  with  waiting  for  work  and  other  hindrances,  scarcely  half  a  weaver's 
time  was  occupied  in  actual  weaving,  hence  the  estimate  of  5/-  average  wage. 

Evidence  of  Dr.  Kay  before  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners  in  1837  says  : — "  A 
weaver  on  a  Jacquard  Loom  can  earn  25/- ;  on  a  Velvet  or  Rich  Plain  Silk,  16/- 
to  20 /-  ;  on  a  Plain  Silk,  12/-  to  14 /-  ;  or  with  bad  silk,  10 /-  or  even  8/-." 

In  the  same  Report  a  witness,  Mr.  William  Fletcher,  of  Coventry,  is  stated 
to  have  given  evidence  as  follows  : — 

"  There  was  a  middleman  called  an  undertaker,  who  took  work  (warps,  wefts, 
&c.)  from  the  Manufacturers  and  gave  it  out,  at  half  the  usual  rate  of  wages, 

624 


APPENDIX    B.  625 

to  young  weavers  who  were  bound  apprentice  to  him.  He  paid  himself  with 
the  other  half.  These  young  weavers  bound  to  him  for  5-7  years  were  from 
12  to  18  years  of  age,  and  the  best  workers  could  earn  3/-  a  week,  but  most  of 
them  earned  less." 

Norwich  Chapter. 

Samuel  Lincoln,  born  at  Hingham,  Norfolk,  baptized  there  24th  August, 
1622.  Died  1690  at  Hingham,  Mass. 

Great,  great,  great,  great,  grandfather  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  16th  President 
United  States. 

Samuel  Lincoln  was  apprenticed  to  Francis  Lawes,  Master  Weaver  of  Norwich, 
with  whom  he  took  ship  on  the  8th  April,  1637,  for  Boston,  in  the  American  Colony, 
where  he  arrived  20th  June  of  the  same  year. 

"  The  Ancestry  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  J.  Henry  Lea  and  J.  B.  Hutchinson. 
Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  Boston  and  New  York,  1909. 


APPENDIX   C. 


Restrictions 
on  Silk. 


Lombard 
Importation 
of  Worked 
Silks. 


The 

Prohibition 

of 

Importation 

Extended. 


Velvet 
and  the 
Knighthood. 

Detriment 
to  the 
Fur  Trade. 


SUMPTUARY  LEGISLATION. 

1337.  No  man  was  allowed  to  wear  anything  but  English  cloth,  except 
the  King  and  royal  family  ;  nor  any  man  to  wear  any  facings  of  silk  or  furs  but 
such  as  could  expend  an  hundred  pounds  a  year. 

ACTS    FOB    SlLKWOMEN. 

Whereas  it  is  shewed  to  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  in  his  said  Parliament 
by  the  grievous  Complaint  of  the  Silk  Women  and  Throwsters  of  the  Mystery  and 
Occupation  of  Silkworking  within  the  City  of  London,  how  that  divers  Lombards 
and  other  Strangers,  imagining  to  destroy  the  said  Mystery  and  all  such  virtuous 
Occupations  for  Women  .  .  .  ,  to  enrich  themselves  and  to  put  such 
occupations  to  other  lands  have  brought  and  daily  go  about  to  bring  into  the 
Realm  wrought  silk  throwen,  Ribbands  and  Laces  falsely  and  deceitfully  wrought, 
Corses  of  silk  and  all  other  Things  concerning  the  said  Mystery  and  Occupation 
ready  wrought,  in  no  Manner  wise  bringing  any  good  silk  unwrought,  as  they 
were  wont  to  bring  heretofore  .  .  . 

For  Reformation  whereof  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  .  .  .  hath 
ordained  .  .  .  That  if  any  Lombard,  or  any  other  Person,  Stranger  or 
Denizen  bring  any  wrought  Silk  .  .  .  Corses  which  come  from  Genoa 
only  except  .  .  .  the  same  .  .  .  shall  be  forfeit. 

1482-3.  Whereas  by  a  piteous  Complaint  ...  by  Men  and  Women 
of  the  hole  Craft  of  Silkewerk  of  the  City  of  London  and  all  other  Cities  Towns 
Boroughs  and  Villages  of  this  Realm  of  England,  it  was  shewed  how  .  .  . 
a  Restraint  was  made  that  certain  Things  of  Silk- work  ready  wrought  should 
not  be  brought  into  the  Realm  ;  after  which  Restraint  expired,  so  great  Multitude 
of  Silks  ready  wrought  as  Corses,  Ribbands,  Laces,  Call  Silk  and  Colein  Silk 
thrown  have  been  brought  ...  by  Merchants  Strangers  and  other,  that  all 
the  Workers  .  .-  .  have  been  grievously  impoverished  for  Default  of 
Occupation. 

Our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  .  .  .  hath  .  .  .  ordained,  that  no 
Merchant  Stranger  nor  other  person  after  the  Feast  of  Easter  next  coming  shall 
bring  into  this  Realm  .  .  .  to  be  sold  any  Corses,  Girdles,  Ribbands,  &c. 

1483-4.     Continued  for  10  years. 
1485.     And  for  20  years. 

1566.  "  No  Man  under  the  Degree  of  a  Knight  or  of  a  Lordes  soone  .  .  . 
shall  wear  any  Hatte  or  upper  Cappe  of  Velvet  ...  or  covered  with  velvet 
on  payne  to  forfayte  Tenne  shillings." 

1590.  Handicraftsmen  of  the  Mystery  of  Skinners  of  London  to  the 
Queen  : 

"  The  usual  wearing  of  furs  .  .  .  utterly  neglected  and  eaten  out  by  the 
too  ordinary  lavish  and  unnecessary  use  of  velvets  and  silks  drinking  up  the 
wealth  of  this  realm." — (Cecil  Papers.) 

626 


APPENDIX    C. 


627 


1602.     Prize  Carracks. 

Notes  of  the  price  obtained  at  the  sale.  Silk 

Raw  silk.     30 /-  little  pound. — (Cecil  Papers.}  Prices. 

1600-02.     Expenditure  on  Lady  Anne  Clifford's  education. 

Item  p'd.  for  sleave  silk,  xxxiiis.  Purchase 

,,        „      ,,    litel  silkworms,  vs.  for  a  child. 

„        ,,      „    a  pair  of  grene  worsted  stockynge  for  my  lady,  iiiis.  iiid. — 
(Papers  at  Skipton  Castle.} 

1594.  The  average  price  of  all  sort  of  [imported]  silks  one  with  another, 
per  pound,  15/-. 

2J  Ibs.  of  such  sorted  silks  will  make  5£  yards  of  the  best  "  Millame  tuffed    Official 
taffatas  "  amounting  to  37/6.  Calculation. 

The  customs  on  this  to  the  Queen  1/9.  Every  yard  of  tuffed  taffata  rated 
at  9/-  the  yard,  so  that  five  yards  yieldeth  in  customs  2/5J,  so  that  her  Majesty 
loseth  in  the  customs  of  every  pound  of  silk  made  into  tuffed  taffata,  of  that 
she  should  have  if  the  same  silk  were  woven  on  the  other  side  of  the  seas  and  brought 
hither  4Jd. 

Say  that  there  were  500  pieces  of  tuffed  taffataes  made  yearly  hi  the  realm, 
as  there  is  no  such  number  made  ;  and  every  piece  22  yard  and  6  Ibs.  of  silk  to 
every  piece,  so  there  were  but  2/1J  lost  in  every  of  the  custom  that  it  would  yield 
if  it  were  made  beyond  the  seas,  it  would  amount  in  loss  to  the  Queen  £54  2s.  6d. 

The  sealing  of  500  pieces  of  tuffed  taffataes  at  6d.  the  piece  were  but 
£12  10s.  Od.— (Cecil  Papers.} 

1666.     An  Act  for  Burying  in  Woollens  Onely. 

For  the  Encouragement  of  the  Woollen  Manufactures  of  the  Kingdome    The 
and  prevention  of  the  Exportation  of  the  Moneyes  thereof  for  the  buying  and    Mortuary 
importing  of  Linnen.     Bee   it   enacted     .     .     .     that     .     .     .     Noe   person   or    Use  of 
persons  whatsoever  shall  be  buryed  in  any  Shirt,  Shift  or  Sheete  made  of  or  mingled    Silk, 
with  Flax,  Hempe,  Silke,  Haire,  Gold  or  Silver  or  other  then  what  shall  be  made 
of  Wooll  onely,  or  be  putt  into  any  Coffin  lined  or  faced  with  anything  made 
of  or  mingled  with  Flax,  Hempe,  Silke  or  Haire  upon  paine  of  the  forfeiture  of 
the  summe  of  Five  pound  to  be  imployed  to  the  use  of  the  Poore  of  the  Parish     .     . 

Provided  that  noe  penaltie  .  .  .  shall  be  incurred  for  or  by  the  reason 
of  any  person  that  shall  dye  of  the  Plague. 

1667  and  1668.     An  Act  to  Right  the  Trade  of  Silk  Throwing. 

Whereas  the  Art  of  working  and  throwing  of  Silk  for  many  yeares  past  hath    Restrictions 
of  late  been  obstructed  by  reason  that  the  present  Master  and  Wardens — part    upon 
of  the  Assistants  and  Commonalty  of  the  Trade  Art  or  Mystery  of  Silk  Throwers    Output, 
of  the  City  of  London — have  endeavoured  to  put  into  execution  a  certaine  By-law 
by  them  made  neere  forty  years  since  restraining  and  stinting  the  Freemen  of 
the  said  Company  that  they  shall  not  worke  with  above  the   Number  of   One 
hundred  and  forty  Spindles  att  one  time  and  the  Assistants  of  the  said  Company 
with   above    the    number   of   Two    hundred    and    forty     .     .     .     which    is   an 
hindrance  to  the  Growth  and  Improvement  of  the  said  Art  and  a  restraint  to 
the  working  of  Silks  in  this  Kingdome     .     .     .     and  puts  the  Traders  in  that 
Comodity  upon  a  necessity  of  using  Forreign  Thrown   Silk :   Be  it  therefore 
enacted  that  the  said  By-law  is  hereby  void  and  null  and  the  said  Company  are 
hereby  disabled  from  making  any  By-law  for  the  future  which  shall  restrain 
or  limit  the  Number  of  Mills  Spindles  or  other  Utensils  to  be  imployed     ,     .     , 


628 


APPENDIX    C. 


Servants' 
Clothing. 


And  be  it  further  enacted  That  no  By-law  already  made  or  hereafter  to 
be  made  .  .  .  shall  or  may  limit  or  confine  any  Freeman  of  the  said 
Company  to  take  a  lesse  number  then  three  Apprentices  att  any  time. 

1621.    Scots  Law. 

"  Servants  shall  have  no  silk  on  their  cloaths  except  buttons  and  garters 
and  shall  wear  only  cloth  fusteans,  canvas  and  stuffs  of  Scotch  manufacture." 


1634.     Note  by  Secretary  Windebank  (of  the  Star  Chamber). 

Home  "  The  customs  of  silks  manufactured  were  wont  to  be  £14,000  yearly,  now 

Industry  they  yield  barely  £6,000  yearly,  the  reason  of  this  decay  is  the  manufacturing 

and  the  of  silks  by  strangers  here  in  England.     An  imposition  to  be  laid  upon  the 

Revenue.  strangers'  looms." — (Dora.  S.P.) 

A  Dyer's  1630.     Warrant  to  prepare  a  pardon  for  John  Trott  of  London,  silkman, 

Fine.  fined  £3,000  by  the  Court  of  the  Star  Chamber  for  false  dyeing  of  silk  on  payment  of 

£2,000  by  way  of  composition.— (Dora.  S.P.) 

1630.  An  informer's  letter. 

Method  "  Some  three  or  four  rich  silk  dyers  in  dyeing  raw  silk  use  slip  of  grindlestones 

of  Silk  and  dust  of  iron  and  steel  and  keeping  the  same  thirty  or  forty  days  in  working, 

weighing.       the  silk  draws  into  it  the  dross  of  the  said  stones  and  iron,  so  that  16  oz.  they 

make  36  oz.    The  writer  prays  that  he  and  such  as  he  shall  employ  to  endeavour 

about  the  reformation  of  this  abuse  may  have  some  reasonable  consideration 

for  the  same." 

1631.  An  informer's  reward. 

Disposal  "  George  Melvill  and  others  for  discovering  the  abuse  of  false  dyeing,  £1,600 

of  a  Fine,     out  of  fines  of  offenders  " 

Reformers  1636.     Alleged  that  the  silkmen  who  in  1631  obtained  a  charter  and  pretended 

and  Silk        to  work  a  reformation  had  since  been  the  worst  offenders  in  the  false  dyeing  of 
Dyeing.          silks.— (Dora.  S.P.) 

1636.    Katherine  Eliott,  wet  nurse  to  the  Duke  of  York,  represented  to  King 
Charles  I  that  : 

Deceits  "  Divers  persons  being  of  no  corporation  profess  the  trade  of  buying  and 

in  the  selling  silk  stockings  and  silk  waistcoats  as  well  knit  as  woven,  uttering  the 

Stocking        Spanish  or  baser  sort  of  silk  wherewith  the  said  commodities  are  made,  at  as 

Trade.  dear  rates  as  the  finest  Naples  and  also  frequently  vending  the  woven  for  the 

knit  although  in  price  and  goodness  there  is  almost  half  in  half  difference,  there 

being  no  usual  way  or  mark  to  deceive  the  subtilty.     Prays  a  grant  for  31  years 

of  the  sealing  of  silk  stockings,  half  stockings  and  waistcoats,  to  distinguish  the 

woven  from  the  knit,  receiving  from  the  salesman  Is.  for  every  waistcoat,  6d. 

for  every  pair  of  silk  stockings  and  4d.  for  every  half  pair." — (Dora.  S.P.) 

A  Sealing  1638.     Grant  to  Thomas  Potts  of  the  newly  erected  office  for  surveying 

Monopoly,     and  sealing  foreign  silks  with  a  fee  of  4d.  for  every  piece  sealed,  for  31  years. — 
(Dora.  S.P.) 

A  Dyeing  1637.     Petition  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Silkmen  of  London  corn- 

Ordinance,     plains  that  they  have  been  commanded  that  no  silks  should  be  dyed  before  the 
gums  were  boiled  off  and  that  no  black  but  Spanish  black  be  used.     (Dora.  S.P.) 


APPENDIX    C. 


629 


1635.     Star  Chamber  case  against  John  Milward,  Governor  of  the  Company  False 

of  Silkmen,  and  John  Aubrey  and  others  assisting,  for  combining  to  cause  great  Dyeing, 
quantities  of  silk  to  be  corruptly  dyed  and  sold. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

1635.     Petition  of  Edward,  Viscount  Conway  and  Killultagh  and  Endymion  The 

Porter,  that  no  plushes,  tuff-taffities,  damasks,  wrought  or  figured  satins,  silk  Width 

grograms,  silk  calimancoes,  wrought  grograms  or  stitched  taffities   be  made  of  of  Silk, 
less  breadth  than  full  half  yard  and  a  nail  within  the  list. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

1639.    Tuft-taffeta  and  broad  silk  weavers  complain  of  the  great  quantities  China  Woven 

of  silk  stuffs  lately  brought  from  China  and  sold  at  very  low  rate.  Goods. 

1639.     Complaint  that  by  a  certain  proclamation  they  are  compelled  to  pay  Dyers' 

16d.  the  pound  for  dyeing  which  was  wont  to  be  done,  accordingly  as  they  could  Prices, 
agree,  for  lOd.  or  12d.  the  pound  at  most. — (Dom.  S.P.) 


1639.     Order  of  the  King  in  Council  in  consequence  of  differences  between 
London  and  Canterbury  silk  weavers  : 

"  That  there  shall  be  as  has  been  since  the  erection  of  the  Silk  Office,  6d. 
the  pound  paid  upon  every  pound  of  silk  both  by  natives  and  strangers,  also 
6d.  more  by  strangers  and  2d.  by  natives  upon  all  silks  manufactured." — (Dom.    Sealing. 
S.P.) 


Differential 
Fees  for 


1639.     Representation  that  "  whereas  raw  silk  is  so  much  fallen  in  price  as    A  Fall 
that  from  32 /-  the  pound  it  decreased  to  25 /-  and  at  this  present  16/-  and  that    of  Price, 
there  is  only  8d.  in  the  pound  paid  thereupon  to  his  Majesty,  the  whole  surplus 
accruing  to  the  benefit  of  those  trading  in  that  manufacture. — (Dom.  S.P.) 


1623.     East  India  Company. 

Cost  in  India. 

Raw  Silk  . .         . .          8/- 

(Malyn's  Centre  of  the  Cirde  of  Commerce.) 


Sold  in  England. 
20/-perlb. 


Company's 
Profits. 


1599.    Charter  granted  on  31st  December  to  George,  Earl  of  Cumberland,    The  East 
and    215    knights,    aldermen    and    merchants,    constituting    the    East    India    India 
Company. 


1697.     Assaults  by  mobs  on  the  East  India  House. 


Company's 
Charter. 


1680.  "  The  English  formerly  wove  or  used  little  Silk  in  City  or  Countrey, 
only  Persons  of  Quality  pretended  to  it ;  but  as  our  National  Gaudery  hath 
increased  it  gre  more  and  more  into  mode  and  is  now  become  the  Common  Wear, 
nay  the  ordinary  material  for  Bedding,  Hanging  of  Rooms,  Carpets,  Lining  of 
Coaches  and  other  things  ;  and  our  Women  who  generally  govern  in  this  case 
must  have  Foreign  Silk ;  for  they  have  got  the  Name  and  in  truth  are  most 
curious  and  perhaps  better  wrought." — (Britannia  Languens.) 


Silk  in 

Common 

Wear. 


1680.     "  Silk  is   now  grown  nigh  as  common  as  wool  and   become  the  Silk 

cloathing  of  those  in  the  kitchin  as  well  as  the  Court ;  we  wear  it  not  onely  on  our  Stockings, 
backs  but  of  late  years  on  our  legs  and  feet  and  tread  on  that  which  formerly 
was  of  the  same  value  with  gold  itself." — (Ho well's  History  of  the  World.) 

1648.     "  One  of  the  new  Captains  of  the  Hamlets,  a  Silk-Throster  and  a  Lay 

Tub-Preacher."  Preaching. 


630 


APPENDIX    C. 


Silk 
for  the 
Scrofulous. 


False 
Packing 
in  Turkey. 


A  Silk 
Robbery. 


Imports 
1668-9. 


1664.  Church  wardens  provided   "  silk  strings  "  and   "  ribbond  "  for  the 
poor  children  of  either  sex  that  had  the  king's  evil,  at  a  cost,  about  the  year  1664 
of  5d.  and  7d.  each  ;    sometimes  the  charge  was  9d.     The  strings  for  the  poor 
of  the  parish  of  Minchinhampton  and  for  ribbon  in  1688  amounted  to  £1  5s.  Od. ; 
in  1689  to  7s.  4d. ;   in  1690  to  4s.  8d.     .     .     .     The  entries  continued  up  to  1736. 
— (Roberts'  Social  History  of  the  Southern  Counties.} 

1670.  Letter  of  the  Levant  Company  to  British  Ambassador  complains 
of  the  foul  condition  of  the  raw  silk  received  from  Turkey  and  asks  for  endeavours 
to  gain  a  full  allowance  of  tare,  "  which  may  be  done  by  enjoining  the  factors, 
out  of  each  parcel  they  buy,  to  clean  a  portion  and  according  to  that  to  estimate 
the  tare  of  the  whole. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

1665.  Advertisement   about  a    robbery  on    the  ship    "  Prince  William  of 
Emden,"  lying  at  the  Half  way  Tree  by  men  who  killed  the  master,  shut  up  the 
men  and  stole  a  bale  of  raw  sUk  value  £135. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

"  The  case  of  the  English  weavers  and  French  merchant  truly  stated,"  giving 
reason  for  discouraging  the  importation  of  foreign  wrought  silks. 

The  entries  of  silk  at  the  port  of  London  from  Michaelmas  1668  to  1669. 


WROUGHT  SILK. 

Foreign 
Manufactured. 


Italy 
Holland 
East  Indies , 
Flanders 
France 


39,457 
10,557 
14,370 
226 
1,400 


THROWN  SILK. 
Imported  and  Manufactured 

in  England. 
Italy  . .      87,216 

Holland       . .        2,878 
Flanders      . .        3,027 


RAW  SILK. 


Italy  . .      14,563 

Turkey        ..    249,502 
East  Indies..  248 


71,010  93,121  264,313 

Ferret  silk  from  Flanders,  imported  and  manufactured  in  England,  7,012. 
—(Dom.  S.P.,  1671.) 

The  1692.     Grant  to  Paul  Goudesly,  Peter  Le  Keux,  Hilary  Renew  and  132 

Alamode  others  concerning   "  the  new  invention  of  making,  dressing  and  lustrating  of 

Renforce  silks  called  black  Alamode,  Renforce  and  Lustrings. 

and  Lustring  Incorporation  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Alamode,  Renforce  and 

Company.  Lustrings. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

A  Drawback  1695.    The   Lustring   Company   were   allowed    £2,400    abatement    on  silk 

Privilege.         imported  from  Piedmont. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

Deceits  at  1654.     Letter  of  the  Levant  Company  to  the  British  Consul  at  Smyrna  : 

Smyrna.  "  Our  factors  abuse  us  in  passing  great  bales  of  silk  as  coals,  see  this  amended 

and  charge  what  is  short  of  our  due  consulage." — (Dom.  S.P.) 

A  Countess  1651.     Instructions  of  the  Council  of  State  to  the  Committee  of  Examiners 

at  Fault.         ordering  the  silks  seized  in  coming  from  foreign  parts,  belonging  to  the  Countess  of 
Devonshire  to  be  delivered  to  her,  she  paying  the  duties. — (Dom.  S.P.) 

Employ-  1681.     "  England  hath  already  the  principal  Trade  of  Woollen  Manufactures 

ment  of  and  now  a  quicker  vent  and  export  for  them  than  ever  it  had  in  the  memory  of 

the  Silk  any  man  living.     But  throughout  Christendom  I  have  ever  been  of  the  Opinion 

Trade.  that  generally  speaking  there  are  more  Men  and  Women  in  Silk  Manufactures 

than  in  Woollen  ;   of  which  likewise  England  hath  obtained  a  considerable  part, 


APPENDIX    C. 


631 


considering  the  short  time  since  our  Silk  Broad  Weaving  began  ;  which  was  but 
since  Mr.  Burlimach  brought  in  Silk  Diers  and  Throwsters,  towards  the  end  of 
the  late  King  James  or  beginning  of  King  Charles  the  First's  Reign.  And  I  am 
credibly  informed  the  number  of  Families  already  imployed  therein  in  England 
doth  amount  to  above  40,000.  Now  what  should  hinder  but  that  in  a  few  years 
more,  this  Nation  may  treble  that  number  in  such  manufactures  ;  since  the  East 
India  Company  have  of  late  years  found  out  a  way  of  bringing  raw  silk  of  all  sorts 
into  this  Kingdom  cheaper  than  it  can  be  afforded  in  Turkey,  France,  Spain, 
Italy,  or  any  other  place  where  it  is  made.  Insomuch,  as  with  East  Indian  Silks 
we  serve  Holland,  Flanders  and  some  other  markets  from  England. — ("  A  Treatise 
Wherein  is  Demonstrated  That  the  East  India  Trade  is  the  most  National  of  all 
Foreign  Trade.") 

1681.     "  The  Silks  which  the  Company  commonly  bring  in  are  the  main  part   The  East 
of  them  Taffaties  and  other  plain  or  striped  Silks  and  Pelongs,  such  as  are  not    India 
usually  made  in  England  but  imported  from  France,  Italy  and  Holland  ;   where 
lately  when  Pelongs  were  scarce,  many  were  made  and  imitated  at  Harlem  and 
and  from  thence  imported  into  England     .     .     . 

"  Taffaties,  Sarcenets,  &c.,  which  are  brought  from  India  cheaper  than 
than  they  can  make  them  at  Home.  Whereas  in  England  our  Silk  Manufacture 
consists  not  in  these  plain  silks  but  in  Flowered  Silks  and  Fancies,  changed  still 
as  often  as  the  Fashion  alters  .  .  ." — (A  Treatise,  v.  supra.} 

1681.  "  The  Dutch  have  a  standing  Contract  with  the  King  of  Persia  for 
all  his  Silk  ;  which  may  amount  to  600  Bales  yearly." — (A  Treatise,  v.  supra.) 

1689.     An  Act  for  the  Discouraging  the  Importation  of  Thrown  Silke  : 
Whereas  the  Importation  of  some  sorts  of  Throwne  Silks  with  this  Realme    Silk 
is  greatly  prejudicial!  to  the  Exportation  of  the  Woollen  Manufactures  thereof    and  the 
and  tends  very  much  to  the  Impoverishing  great  Numbers  of  Artificiers  whose    Woollen 
Livelyhood  and  Subsistance  depends  upon  the  Throwing  of  Raw  Silk  and  if  longer    Manu- 
permitted  may  endanger  the  Overthrowing  of  that  Art  or  Mistery  in  the  Nation  :    facture. 
And  whereas  of  late  great  quantities  of  Throwne  Silke  have  beene  imported  from 
severall  Parts — Places  in  Europe  which  are  not  the  places  of  its  Growth  or  Pro- 
duction and  thereby  the  true  interest  and  meaning  of  the  Art  made  in  the  twelfth 
years  of  King  Charles  the  Second  Entitled  An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  and 
Increasing  of  Shipping  and  Navigation  is  evaded  :     For  the  prevention  of  which 
mischiefs   and   for  the   better   Encouraging   the  severall   Manufactures   of  this 
Kingdome  and  of  that  usefull  and  Nationall  Trade  with  Turkey  and  the  better 
supporting  the  Art  of  Throwing  Silke  in  this  Realme  and  the  Poore  therein 
employed,   Bee  it  declared  and  enacted     .     .     .     That  the  Throwing  of   Silk 
is  not  nor  ought  to  be  construed  a  Manufacture  within  the  intention  of  the  said 
Act  for  the  encouraging  and  Increasing  of  Shipping  and  Navigation  and  that 
noe  Throwne  Silke  of  the  Growth  or  Production  of  Turkey,  Persia,  East  India    An 
or  China  or  of  any  other  Country  or  place  (except  onely  such  Throwne  Silke  as    Embargo 
is  or  shall  be  of  the  Growth  or  Production  of  Italy,  Sicily  or  of  the  Kingdome  of    on  Eastern 
Naples  and  which  shall  be  imported  in  such  Shipps  or  Vessells  and  navigated    Silk. 
in  such  manner  as  in  the  said  Act  of  Navigation  is  directed  or  allowed     .     .     . 
and  which  shall  come  directly  by  Sea  and  not  otherwise)  shall  at  any  time  after 
the  five  and  twentyeth  day  of  May  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  ninety  be  brought  or  imported  into  the  Kingdome  of  England 
Dominion  of  Wales  the  Islands  of  Jersey  or  Guernsey  or  the  Towne  of  Berwicke 
upon  Tweede  under  the  Penaltie  and  Forfeiture  of  all  such  Throwne  Silke  soe 
imported     .     .     .     one   moyety  whereof   shall  be  to   the  use  of  the   King  and 
Queene  Majestyes     .     .     .     and  the  other  moyety  thereof  to  such  person  or 
persons  as  shall  seize  informe  or  sue  for  the  sume  to  be  recovered  by  Bill  Plaint 


632 


APPENDIX    C. 


Information  or  other  Action  in  any  of  their  Majesties  Courts  of  Record  wherein 
noe  Essoigne  Protection  or  Wager  of  Law  shall  be  allowed. 

1693.     An  Act  for  the  importation  of  fine  Italian,  Sicillian  and  Naples  Thrown 
Silke  : 

The  "  Whereas  it  hath  been  found  by  experience  that  the  importation  of  Italian, 

Use  of  Sicillian  and  Naples  Silk  by  the  ways  prescribed  by  (Act  2  W.  &  M.)  in  regard 

Italian  of  the  great  difficulties  and  hazard  occasioned  by  the  present  War  with  France 

Silk.  is  greatly  prejudicial  and  if  longer  continued  will  endanger  the  losse  of  the  Silk 

Manufactory  of  this  Nation  be  it  therefore  enacted     .     .     .     That  from  and 

after  the  Twentieth  day  of  December  One  thousand  six  hundred  ninety  and 

three  it  shall  and  may  be  lawfull  to  and  for  any  person     ...     to  import  or 

bring  into  this  Kingdom  from  any  Part  or  place  whatsoever  (excepting  the  Ports 

of  France)  during  the  pressent  Warr  with  France  and   three  months  after  fine 

Throwne  Silk  of  the  growth  or  production  of  Italy  Sicily  or  Naples. 

Names  of  Provided  always  That  this  Act  nor  any  thing  herein  contained  shall  extend 

Italian  to  give  liberty  to  bring  over  land  and   import  any   Italian  thowne   silke   that 

Qualities.       shall  be  courser  then  a  sort  thereof  knowne  and  distinguished  by  the  name  of 

Third  Bolonia  Nor  any  Sicilian  Throwne  Silk  that  shall  be  courser  then  a  sort 

knowne     ...     by  the  name  of  Second  Orsoy  nor  any  sorts  of  Silks  commonly 

called  Trams  of  the  growth  of  Italy  Sicily  or  Naples     .     .     . 

1662.     14  Car.  II,  p.  407,  Vol.  V.     An  Act  for  regulating  the  Trade  of  Silk 
throwing  : 

The  Whereas  the  Company  of  Silke  throwers  within  the  City  of  London  and 

Throwsters  Liberties  and  all  theire  Servants  and  Apprentices  within  foure  Miles  thereof  were 
Company.  quinto  Caroli  primi  incorporated  and  made  one  body  politique  and  are  known 
by  the  name  of  the  Master  Warders  Assistants  and  Commaltie  of  the  Trade  Art 
or  Mystery  of  Silke  throwers  of  the  City  of  London  :  And  whereas  the  said  trade 
is  of  singular  use  and  very  advantageous  to  this  Common  wealth  by  imploying 
the  Poore  there  being  imployed  by  the  said  Company  (as  is  expressed  in  theire 
Petition)  above  Fourty  thousand  Men  Women  and  Children  who  otherwise  would 
unavoidably  be  burthensome  to  the  places  of  theire  aboade :  And  whereas  the 
present  Governours  of  the  said  Company  .  .  .  pray  an  Enlargement  of 
their  Charter  whereby  they  may  be  the  better  enabled  to  avoid  the  many  Deceipts 
and  Inconveniences  they  dayly  meet  withall  by  Intruders  who  have  not  beene 
brought  upp  Apprentices  to  the  said  Trade  and  others  who  settle  themselve  beyond 
the  limitts  of  the  said  Charter  on  purpose  to  avoide  the  Searches  and  Supervision 
of  the  said  Governours  by  which  meanes  they  are  att  Liberty  to  make  and  vend 
what  wares  they  please  to  the  disparagement  of  the  said  Trade  and  discouraging 
of  the  Petitioners  and  all  others  .  .  .  that  have  duely  served  Apprentice : 
Throwsters'  For  remedy  whereof  Bee  it  enacted  .  .  .  That  from  after  the  Twenty 

Apprentices,  fifth  day  of  December  ...  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  One  thousand  six 
hundred  sixty  and  two  no  Person  or  Persons  whatsoever  shall  directly  or 
indirectly  use  exercise  continue  or  sett  up  the  said  Trade  Art  or  Mystery  .  .  . 
unlesse  such  as  are  or  shall  be  Apprentices  ...  or  shall  have  served  seven 
yeares  Apprentiship  thereunto  att  the  least  upon  pain  that  every  person  so 
offending  .  .  .  shall  pay  forfeit  and  lose  the  sum  of  Forty  shillings  for  every 
moneth  the  said  persons  shall  use  and  exercise  the  said  trade  .  .  . 

Be  it  further  enacted     .     .     .     That  all  and  every  person  persons  whatsoever 

now  using  or  exerciseing  as  Masters  the  said  Art  Trade  or  Mystery     .     .     .    att 

the  least  within  the  said  Cities  of  London  and  Westminster  and  the  several  suburbs 

thereof  or  within  twenty  miles  compasse  of  them     .     .     .    shall  be  admitted 

and  are  enjoyned  to  enter  themselves  into  the  said  Societie  or  Corporation     .     .     . 

Thefts  And  whereas  there  is  a  necessity  lying  upon  the  Silk  throwers  to  deliver  to 

of  Silk,          these  Winders  or  Doublers  considerable  quantities  of  silke  which  being  of  good 


APPENDIX    0. 


633 


value  is  by  evil  disposed  person  many  times  unjustly  deceitfully — falsly  purloined 
imbezeled  pawned  sold  and  detained  to  the  great  damage  arid  sometimes  the 
utter  undoing  of  the  Thrower  whoe  employes  the  said  person.  Bee  it  further 
enacted  .  .  .  That  every  such  silke  winder  and  doubler  who  shall  att  any 
time  .  ,  .  purloyn  imbezell  &c.  any  part  of  silk  delivered  ...  by 
any  Silk  thrower  .  ,  .  that  in  every  such  case  .  .  .  the  Winder  or 
Journey  man  so  offending  as  the  buyer  and  Buyers  Receiver  and  Receivers  of 
such  Silke  being  thereof  lawfully  convicted  by  confession  of  the  party  .  .  . 
or  by  one  Witness  upon  Oath  in  give  and  make  to  the  party  and  parties  greived 
such  jrecompence  and  satisfaction  for  such  theire  damage  and  losse  and  charges 
.  .  .  as  by  the  said  Justice  or  Justices  or  Cheife  Officers  shall  be  ordered  and 
appointed. 

Provided  that  no  more  damage  be  given  or  awarded  then  the  party  greived 
shall  prove  hee  is  damnified  and  hath  expended     .     .     .     And  if  the  party  or 
parties  shall  not  be  able  or  sufficient  to  make  recompence     .     .     .     nor  doe  make 
recompence  or  satisfaction  within  fourteen  dayes     .     .     .     then  the  Party  or    The 
Parties     .     .     .     shall  be  apprehended  and  whipped  or  sett  in  the  Stocks  in    Stocks 
the  place  where  the  Offence  is  committed  or  in  some  Markett  Towne  in  the  said    for 
County  neare  unto  the  place     .     .     .     and  for  the  second  Offence  to  incur  the  like    offenders, 
or  such  further  punishment  by  whipping  or  being  put  in  the  Stocks  as  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace     .     .     .     shall  in  their  discretion  thinke  fitt  and  convenient     .     .     . 
Provided  alwaies  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawfull  to  and  for  any  Freeman  of  the 
said  Company  of  Silk  Throwers  to  sett  on  work  and  imploy  any  Person  or  Persons 
being  Native  Subjects  to  His  Majesty  and  no  others  whether  they  be  Men  Women 
or  Children  to  turn  the  Mill  tye  threads  double  Silke  and  wind  Silke  as  formerly 
they  have  used  to  doe  although  such  Person  or  Persons      .     .     .    shall  not  have 
served  or  been  bred  up  as  Apprentices  to  the  Trade     .     .     . 

Provided  and  be  it  enacted  that  the  said  Corporation  shall  not  by  vertue  of  this 
Act  .  .  .  make  any  Orders  Ordenance  or  By-Lawes  to  sett  any  Rates  or 
Prices  whatsoever  upon  the  Throwing  of  Silk  to  bind  or  inforce  their  Members 
to  worke  att  but  that  theire  respective  Members  shall  be  left  att  Liberty  to 
contract  with  their  respective  Imployers  and  also  with  the  Person  that  they 
imploy  at  such  Rates  as  they  .  .  .  shall  agree  upon. 

1692.     A  Joint-stock  Throwing  Company. 

Proceedings  upon  the  petition  of  John  Sherbrook,  Samuel  Howard,  Robert 
Aldersey  and  Humphrey  Simpson  of  London,  merchant,  Thomas  Bates,  Barton 
Hollyday  and  Thomas  Lessingham  of  London,  silk  throwers  on  behalf  of  them- 
selves and  others.     They  show  that  they  and  several  others  concerned  with  them    Improve- 
have,  with  great  expense  and  industry,  brought  to  practice  a  certain  useful  and    ments  in 
cheap  way,  by  engines,  of  winding  the  finest  raw  silk  which  was  formerly  brought    Silk 
ready  wound,  spun  and  twisted  from  Italy.    They  propose  to  bring  raw  silk   Throwing, 
from  Italy,  Turkey  and  other  countries,  and  by  that  means  to  employ  vast  numbers 
of  poor  people  and  save  considerable  sums  of  money  paid  for  the  silk  now  imported 
ready  twisted  from  foreign  parts.     In  regard  such  undertaking  will  require  several 
thousand  pounds  stock  for  the  management  of  the  same,  which  amount  be  raised 
nor  the  undertaking  so  well  managed  as  by  a  joint  stock,  they  pray  to  be  incor- 
porated by  the  name  of  the  Governor's  Company  for  working  fine  raw  silk. 
—(Dom.  S.P.) 

1692.  Warrant  to  prepare  a  Bill.  Provisoes  to  restrain  the  Corporation 
from  throwing  or  winding  any  Turkey  silk. 

1696-7.  Portions  of  an  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Manufacture  of 
Lustrings  and  Alaniodes. 


634 


APPENDIX    C. 


A  Relief  And  whereas  several  Weavers  have  certaine  Pieces  of  Black  Alamodes  and 

from  Lustrings  by  them  which  have  been  sealed  by  the  Officers  of  the  Customs  or 

Sealing.  Royal  Lustring  Company  and  are  lyable  by  Law  to  be  forfeited  .  .  .  and 
the  said  Weavers  would  incurr  other  Penalties  yett  in  Commiseration  of  their 
condition  itt  is  hereby  further  enacted  that  all  and  every  such  Pieces  of  Alamodes 
and  Lustrings  as  doe  or  shall  appeare  upon  both  by  One  or  more  credible  Wit- 
nesses (who  have  never  been  prosecuted  for  importing  Goods  without  paying 
the  Duties  .  .  .  )  to  be  manufactured  within  this  Realm  .  .  .  shall 
be  brought  to  the  Royal  Lustring  Companies  Warehouse  and  the  Evidence  .  .  . 
being  there  produced  shall  be  marked  and  sealed  gratis  .  .  . 

And  be  it  further  enacted  That  all  Black  Alamodes  and  the  Lustrings  where- 
soever manufactured  which  shall  be  formed  in  the  Custody  or  Possession  of  any 
Person  or  Persons  not  marked  and  sealed  with  the  Mark  and  Seale  of  the  Custom 
House  or  of  the  Royal  Lustring  Company  .  .  .  are  hereby  declared  and 
adjudged  to  be  forfeited. 

1697-8.     An  Act  for  settling  and  adjusting  the  Proportion  of  Fine  Silver  and 

Silk  for  the  better  making  of  Silver  and  Gold  Thread  : 

Regulations  "  No  guilt  wire  shall  be  couloured  with  Verdigrease  or  Dead  Head  or  any 

for  other  forced  Colour     .     .     .     And  for  all  Gold  and  Silver     .     .     .     reduced  into 

Wrapping     Plate  there  shall  be  allowed  at  the  least  Six  Ounces  of  plate  to  cover  Four  Ounces 
Wire.  of  Silk  the  finest  of  which  Silk  shall  not  run  above  Sixteen  Yards  to  the  Peny 

Weight  Troy     .     .     . 

"  For  the  future  all  Gold  and  Silver  Plate  shall  be  spun  close  upon  well  boiled 

and  light  dyed  Silk  only  (except  Frost  being  run  thin  and  spun  upon  differing 

coloured  Silk)." 


1697-9.  The  Lustring  Company's  Silk.  And  whereas  the  said  Royal  Lustring 
Company  have  Seventeen  Bails  of  Fine  Italian  Thrown  Silk  in  Amsterdam  .  .  . 
(Statutes.) 

1709.  An  Act  for  employing  the  Manufacturers  by  encouraging  the  Con- 
sumption of  Raw  Silk  and  Mohair  Yarn  : 

The  Whereas  the  Maintenance  and  Subsistence  of  many  Thousands  of  Men  Women 

Regulation  and  Children  within  this  Kingdom  depends  upon  the  making  of  Silk  Mohair  Gimp 
of  Button-  and  Thread  Buttons  and  Button-holes  with  the  Needle  and  great  Numbers  of 
Covering  Throwsters  Twisters  Spinners  Winders  Dyers  and  others  are  employed  in  pre- 
and  paring  the  Materials  .  .  . 

Button-hole  And  whereas  the  Silk  and  Mohair  ...  is  purchased  in  Turkey  and 
Bindings.  other  Foreign  Parts  in  Exchange  for  the  Woollen  Manufacture  of  Great  Britain 
.  .  .  an  Act  was  made  in  the  Tenth  Year  of  the  Reign  of  His  late  Majesty 
King  William  the  Third  (of  glorious  memory)  intitled  an  Act  to  making  or  selling 
Buttons  made  of  Cloth  Serge  Drugget  or  other  Stuffs  .  .  .  but  that  the 
intended  Encouragement  by  the  said  Act  has  in  a  great  Measure  been  rendred 
ineffectual  by  a  late  and  unforeseen  Practice  of  making  and  binding  of  Button- 
holes with  Cloth  Serge  Drugget  or  other  stuffs  ...  to  the  great  Discourage- 
ment of  and  Abatement  in  the  consumption  of  Raw  Silk  and  Mohair  Yarn  and 
the  utter  ruin  of  numerous  Families.  Be  it  enacted  .  .  .  that  no  Taylor 
and  other  Person  whatsoever  .  .  .  shall  make  sell  set  on  use  or  bind  .  .  . 
on  any  Clothes  or  Wearing  Garment  any  Button  or  Button-Holes  made  of  or 
used  or  bound  with  Serge  Drugget  Frize  Camblet  or  any  other  Stuff  of  which 
clothes  are  usually  made  upon  Forfeiture  of  the  Sum  of  Five  Pounds  for  every 
Dozen  of  such  Buttons  and  Button  Holes. 


APPENDIX    C. 


636 


1719.     Defoe  on  the  Spitalfields  Riots. 

"  This  is  certainly  a  Truth  that  none  can  Contradict,  that  the  Humour  of    Calico 
the  People  running  so  much  upon  the  wearing  painted  or  printed  Callicoes  and    and 
Linnen,  is  a  great  Interruption  to  our  Woollen  and  Silk  Manufactures,  lessens    Silk, 
thus  Consumption,  and  by  Consequences  takes  from  the  Poor  so  much  of  their 
Employment  as  bears  a  Proportion  to  the  Decrease  of  Consumption. 

"  .  .  .  The  universal  Female  Fancy  that  pushes  us  upon  such  a  great 
Consumption  of  Callicoes  gives  room  for  ;  and  sets  all  our  Trading  and  Sea-faring 
People  upon  running  in  a  prodigious  quantity  of  Foreign  Callicoes,  that  is  to  say 
Calliopes  printed  by  Foreigners." — (Mist's  Journal,  June  27.) 

1719.  "  We  are  oppressed  and  insulted  here  in  the  open  streets  .  .  . 
we  are  abused  frighted,  stript,  our  clothes  torn  off  our  backs  every  day  by  Rabbles, 
under  the  pretence  of  not  wearing  such  clothes  as  the  Weavers  please  to  have  us 
wear." — (Mist's  Journal,  Aug.  15.) 

1719.  "  We  will  find  out  particular  Manufactures  suitable  for  our  wear, 
and  fix  our  fancies  upon  them,  beautifj^  and  adorn  them  in  our  own  Work,  and  make 
them  as  gay  and  as  Pretty  together  as  Callicoes,  such  as  Spittlefields  never  saw 
.  .  .  Let  the  Weavers  therefore  consider  .  .  ." — (Mist's  Journal,  Sep.  12.) 


Northamp- 
tonshire 
Manu- 
factures. 


1739.     Goods  made  of  long  wool,  silk,    mohair  and  cotton  mixed  : — 

Norwich  crapes.  Stockings.  Alapeens. 

Silk  druggets.  Spanish  poplins.  Anterines. 

Hair  Plush.  Caps  and  gloves.  Silk  sattenets. 

Hair  camblet.  Venetian  poplin.  Bombasins. 

and  divers  sorts  of  different  stuffs  both  figured,  clouded  spotted,  plain  and  striped, 
too  tedious  to  name. — ("  Observations  on  Wool,  and  the  Woollen  Manufacture 
by  a  Manufacturer  of  Northamptonshire.") 

1760.     The  East  India  Company  introduced  the  Italian  mode  of  reeling  silk 
into  India. 

1783.    The  English  Silk  Duties. 

The  saying  of   Dr.  Swift  that  in  the  arithmetic  of  the  Customs  two  and  Dr.  Swift 

two,  instead  of  making  four,  make  sometimes  only  one,  holds  perfectly  true  in  on  the 

regard  to  such  heavy  duties,  which  ought  never  to  have  been  imposed. — (Ency.  Silk  Duties. 
Brit.) 

1783.     The   Export   Bounties. 

The  bounties  sometimes  given  upon  the  exportation  of  home  production    Re-Landed 
and  the  drawbacks  which  are  paid  upon  the  re-exportation  of  the  greater  part  of    Goods, 
foreign  goods  have  given  occasion  to  many  frauds  and  to  a  species  of  smuggling 
more  destructive  of  the  public  revenue  than  any  other     .     .     .     The  goods, 
it  is  well  known,  are  sometimes  shipped  and  sent  to  sea,  but  are  soon  after 
clandestinely  re-landed. — (Ency.  Brit.) 

1800-25.     Bombazines  in  Keighley. 

These  goods  were  made  with  silk  warps  and  worsted  weft  spun  from  fine    Yorkshire 
Norfolk  or  Kent  wool,  the  worsted  being  thrown  upon  the  face.     There  were    Bom- 
two  widths  of  this  article,  the  narrow  about  18-19  inches  and  the  broad  40-50    bazines. 
inches  wide.     They  were  principally  sent  abroad.     The  late  John   Rish worth, 
Fell  Lane,  made  this  class  of  goods  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  18th  century. — 
(Textile  Manufacture  in  Keighley,  John  Hodgson,  1879.) 


636  APPENDIX    C. 

1822.     British  Crape. 

Worsted  Stephen  Wilson  patented  (No.  4714)  his  "  British  Crape,"  employing  two 

Crape.  wefts  of  worsted  on  a  common  worsted  or  other  warp  ;    these  wefts  being  spun 

from  five  to  seven  times  harder  than  for  ordinary  weaving  and  having  their  twist 

in  opposing  directions. 

1825.     Advertisement  at  Macclesfield,  19th  February. 

Workpeople  "  ^°  overseers>  guardians  of  the  poor  and  families  desirous  of  settling  in 

'  Macclesfield. 

"Wanted  immediately  from  4 — 5,000  persons  from  seven  to  twenty  years 
ot  age  to  be  employed  in  the  throwing  and  manufacturing  of  silk.  The  great 
increase  of  the  trade  having  caused  a  great  scarcity  of  workmen,  it  is  suggested 
that  this  is  a  most  favourable  opportunity  for  persons  with  large  families  and 
overseers  who  wish  to  put  out  children. 

"  Applications  to  be  made,  if  by  letter  post-paid,  to  the  printer  of  this 
paper." 

1825.  Advertisement  at  Macclesfield. 

"  Wanted  to  be  built  immediately  one  thousand  houses." 

1826.  Manufacturers'  Costs. 

"  Some  of  these  statements  make  the  cost  of  manufacturing  plain  goods  in 
this  country  44  per  cent,  above  that  in  France  and  considerably  more  on  figured 
and  fancy  articles." 

Mr.  John  Williams,  Member  for  Lincoln  : 

"The  business  of  silk-throwsters  occupied  about  one-third  of  the  capital 
in  the  Trade."— Hansard,  23/2/1826. 

(Mr.  Ellice's  Motion  for  a  Select  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Silk  Trade.) 

1835.     Failures  of  Throwsters. 

Want  of 

Capital.  ^e  *ate  fauure  among  the  English  throwsters  may  be  ascribed  to  their 

want  of  sufficient  capitals  in  a  trade  so  susceptible  of  variation  from  the  caprices 
of  fashion  and  from  the  fluctuation  of  the  money  market. — (Ure's  Philosophy  of 
Manufactures.) 

PATENT  SPECIFICATIONS. 
SOME  I?TH  CENTURY  PATENTS. 

1681.  No.  213.  John  Joachim  Becher ;  a  new  way  or  instrument  for  the 
winding  of  silks. 

1690.     No.  265.     John  Barkstead  ;    the  winding  and  throwing  of  silks. 

SOME  18TH  CENTURY  PATENTS. 
Lombe's  Patent. 

1718.  No.  422.  Thomas  Lombe  :  "  Found  out  and  brought  to  perfeccion 
three  sorts  of  engine  ;  one  to  wind  the  finest  raw  silk,  another  to  spin  and  the 
other  to  twist  the  finest  Italian  raw  silk  into  organzine  in  great  perfeccon,  which 
was  never  before  done  in  this  our  kingdom. 

1725.  No.  482.  Thomas  Teeton  :  "  An  engine  or  machine  called  a  straiter 
for  the  better  and  more  easy  perfecting  the  throwing  and  manufacturing  of  all 
sorts  of  fine,  single  and  double  raw  silk." 

1703.    No.  519.     Richard  Wilder  :    Improvements  in  throwing. 


APPENDIX    C.  637 

1733.     No.  542.     John  Kay  :    The  fly-shuttle. 

1744.  No.  611.  George  Garrett :  Method  of  combing  wool  with  silk  to  be 
used  instead  of  mohair  yarn  for  "  lutherines,  rufferines,  princes  stuff  or  prunellas 
which  was  chiefly  used  in  making  clergymen's  gowns." 

1765.  No.  823.  Richard  Williams  :  Making  fine  thin  and  light  cloth  of  silk 
and  wool  with  the  same  appearance  as  superfine  Spanish  cloth  and  Irish  ratteen  ; 
the  warp  of  slack  thrown  silk,  the  shoot  "  superfine  Spanish  abb  yarn." 

1769.  Richard  Arkwright :   Water  frame. 

1770.  No.  960.    Peter  Noaille  :   Crossing  silk  in  throwing. 

1770.     No.  974.    Thomas  Crawford's  Winding,  tramming  and  doubling. 

1772.  No.  1009.  Samuel  Unwin :  Machinery  for  "  winding,  doubling 
and  running  of  silk,  &c." 

1772.     No.  1013.    John  Crumpler  :  Throwing  to  make  silk  and  tiffany. 

1776.  No.  1123.  James  Woolstenholme  :  "  New  kind  of  goods  '  velvateens,' 
being  an  improvement  on  velvarets,  '  far  superior/  " 

1784.  No.  1437.  Joshua  Bennett :  A  stuff  called  "  Prince's  everlasting 
union  "  of  worsted,  mohair  and  silk. 

1786.  No.  1524.    Nicholas  Gordelier :    Throwing  and  winding. 

1787.  No.  1606.     Thomas  Sandys  :     Throwing  and  organzining. 

1792.  No.  1896.  Peter  Atherton :  Machine  for  twisting,  winding  and 
doubling. 

OLD     ADVERTISEMENTS. 
1813.     Tottenham  Mills. 

TO  SILK-THROWSTERS,  Manufacturers,  and  others,  requiring  sub- 
stantial and  extensive  Premises,  most  judiciously  planned,  capable  of  carrying 
on  one  of  the  first  concerns  in  the  Silk  Line  in  all  its  branches,  with  a  powerful 
Steam  Engine  on  the  most  approved  principle,  well  supplied,  four  miles  from 
London,  and  near  the  navigable  river  Lea. — To  be  SOLD,  by  Private  Contract, 
all  those  newly-erected  Premises,  called  Tottenham  Silk  Mills,  comprising  a  good 
family  House,  with  three  others,  and  one  for  the  superintendent,  with  large  garden, 
yards,  engine-house,  and  requisite  buildings  ;  two  factories,  four  stories  high, 
one  of  which  is  completely  fitted  up  with  machinery,  on  the  new  and  most 
approved  principle,  ready  for  use,  and  warmed  by  steam  pipes  ;  the  whole  is 
inclosed  by  a  high  boundary  wall ;  adjoining  which  is  about  10  acres  of  very 
rich  meadow  land,  well  supplied  with  water ;  the  whole  held  under  a  very  long 
lease,  at  a  moderate  ground-rent.  For  particulars  apply  personally  on  the 
premises.  Time  will  be  given  for  payment  on  approved  security. — (Advertise- 
ment.) The  Times,  31st  Dec.,  1813. 


638  APPENDIX    C. 

1813.     Parish  Children. 

TO  PARISH  OFFICERS.  Wanted  immediately,  10  or  12  HEALTHY 
STRONG  GIRLS,  for  a  silk  manufactory  in  the  country,  from  the  age  of  nine 
to  twelve  years — the  utmost  care  will  be  taken  of  the  children's  morals  and  health. 
School  will  be  kept  of  a  Sunday,  for  their  education  ;  20  or  30  more  will  be  wanted 
soon.  Enquire  at  No.  18,  Paternoster-row. — (Advertisement.)  The  Times, 
1st  Dec.,  1813. 

1813.    A  Sales  Notice. 

AUTUMN  and  WINTER  DRESS,  in  all  seasonable  colours,  of  the  best 
quality,  in  velvets,  superfine  Merino  wool  cloths,  poplins,  lustres,  bombazeens, 
cottage  stuffs,  sarsnets,  satins,  elegant  long  and  square  silk  India  shawls,  veils, 
hosiery,  &c.,  to  the  amount  of  20,000?.  ;  together  with  an  entire  new  elegant 
article  for  Dresses,  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  autumn  season,  and  warranted  for 
durability,  at  only  3s.  a  yard,  worth  5s.,  the  whole  of  the  above  having  been  purchased 
in  lots  for  ready  money,  from  the  needy  manufacturers,  which  enables  the  proprietors 
to  submit  them  to  the  inspection  of  the  fashionable  world,  on  singularly  advan- 
tageous terms,  viz.,  from  20  to  50  per  cent,  cheaper  than  the  regular  trade  prices  ; 
by  way  of  explanation  of  the  charge  of  the  whole,  the  prices  of  the  velvets  and 
Merino  wool  cloths  for  pelisses  and  mantels,  are  from  3s.  to  6s.  under  the  regular 
charge  ;  the  satins,  lustres,  bombazeens,  poplins,  and  plain  and  twilled  sarsnets, 
from  Is.  6d.  to  4s.  under  price  ;  the  long  and  square  India  silk  shawls,  and  all 
articles  of  family  mourning,  are  equally  cheap.  This  will  well  suit  ladies  or 
gentlemen  who  have  commissions.  No  abatement  is  ever  made  from  the  marked 
price. — R.  THOMAS  and  Co.,  193,  Fleet  Street,  corner  of  Chancery-lane. — 
(Advertisement.)  The  Times,  17th  September,  1813. 

1813.    Fashionable  Goods. 

SUPERFINE  CLOTHS  and  VELVETS  for  Ladies  Dresses,  in  the  following 
and  other  fashionable  colours  :  emerald  greens,  beet  roots,  rubies,  maroons, 
crimson,  scarlets,  carmine  purples  ;  also  innumerable  shades  in  elegant  drabs, 
together  with  black  and  white,  and  various  other  colours  ;  also  sattins,  poplins, 
bombazeens,  lustres,  sarsnets,  and  family  mourning.  The  largest  stock  in  London 
of  the  above  prime  articles  are  offered  to  the  fashionable  public  by  THOMAS  and  Co., 
west-corner  of  Chancery-lane.  The  above  stock  will  be  an  acquisition  to  Ladies 
or  Gentlemen  who  have  large  commissions,  or  traders,  who  have  to  recharge 
their  goods,  having  been  purchased  under  peculiar  circumstances,  20  to  40  per  cent, 
saved.  T.  and  Co.  make  no  profession  of  manufacturing,  but  remind  purchasers 
that  ready  money  is  the  loom  amongst  makers  and  other  dealers  that  commands 
goods  at  the  lowest  prices.  No  abatement  from  a  regular  marked  price.  Letters 
must  be  paid. — (Advertisement.)  The  Times,  27th  November,  1813. 

1813.     The  Shawl  Trade. 

ORIENTAL  and  EUROPEAN  COSTUME.— EVERINGTON  respectfully 
announces  to  the  Nobility,  Merchants  and  the  Public,  that  he  has  on  sale  a  splendid 
Selection  of  Indian,  Scotch,  Parisian,  Abyssinia,  Patent  Seal  Wool,  Cashmere, 
Vigonia,  La  Plate,  Valencia,  Merino,  Welch  Whittle,  and  Don  Cossack  Shawls. 
The  designs  are  the  most  magnificent  of  Oriental  and  European  costume,  the 
colours  beautifully  variegated,  and  of  matchless  brilliancy.  To  be  had  exclusively 
at  his  Warehouse,  wholesale,  retail,  and  for  exportation.  The  full  value  given 
for  India  shawls,  fine  worked  muslins,  &c. — 10,  Ludgate-street,  near  St.  Paul's. — 
(Advertisement.)  The  Times,  29th  November,  1813, 


APPENDIX    C. 


639 


1813.    SATIN  GAUZE. 

"  We  understand  that  the  grand  article  now  in  request  among  the  most 
distinguished  Belles  of  Fashion  is  the  beautiful  Cossack  Satin  Gauze,  manufactured 
solely  by  Layton  and  Shears,  No.  11,  Henrietta -street,  Covent-garden  ;  it  is  an 
article  of  unprecedented  beauty.  The  superb  collection  of  white  and  coloured 
satins,  rich  figured  sarsnets,  &c.,  are  sold  at  the  above  celebrated  house,  at  5s. 
in  the  pound  cheaper  than  any  where  else  in  the  metropolis." — (Advertisement.) 
The  Times. 

QUOTATIONS. 

A  Kachari  Proverb  (Assam) : 

"  If  the  milk  is  good  what  matters  the  quantity ; 
If  the  cloth  is  silk,  what  matter  if  it  be  torn." 
— (Silk  Cloths  of  Assam,  B.  C.  Allen.) 

1541.     An  Act  for  Greate  Horses  :  Silk-weaving 

"  And  all  and  every  other  person  temporall     .     .     .    whos  Wiff     .     .     .  and  the 

shall  were  any  goun  of  sylke     ...     or  any  Frenche  hood  or  bonnet  of  Velvett  National 

.     .     .     shall  kepe  one  (charger)  for  the  Saddill."  Defence. 

1699.     "  The  Weavers  and  Silk  and  Mohair  Throsters  of  London  are  so  very   Contem- 
Numerous  a  Company,  that  according  as  they  flourish  or  fail,  most  other  Trades   porary 
feel  the  good  or  ill  effects  of  it.  Progress. 

"...  From  the  Restoration  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  to  the  beginning 
of  the  present  Revolution,  this  profitable  and  necessary  Broad-Weaving  Trade 
was  increased  19  parts  in  20  to  what  it  was  before. 

"  .  .  .  That  happy  and  Ingenious  Invention  of  both  Silk  and  Worsted 
Crapes,  gave  new  Life  both  to  the  Wooll  and  Silk  Manufactory. 

"...     This    profitable    and    necessary    Trade    of    Silk    throwing    and    Seamen's 
weaving,  by  which  vast  Multitudes  of  People     .     .     .     lately  lived  comfortably.    Wives  as 
First  in  the  winding  it  raw,  whereby  Thousands  of  Seamens  Wives  and  Children    Silk- 
and  other  People  many  miles  round  the  City  (who  now  starve)  earned  their  Bread,    workers, 
to  perfect  it  for  the  Throster. 

"  .     .     .     When  our  London  and  Canterbury  Weavers  against  the  Spring-    Eastern 
trade  have  provided  many  Thousand  pounds  worth  of  Lustrings  Tabby's,  and    Corn- 
other  as  good  Silks  as  the  World  can  afford,  in  comes  an  East  India  ship  freight    petition, 
with  Dammask  and  Sattins,  which  being  exposed  on  their  Stage  makes  the  Mode 
for  that  Spring ;    and  the  English  Fabricators  must  keep  that  years  Goods,  or 
sell  them  to  vast  loss     .     .     .     Thus  for  several  years  have  the  London  and 
Canterbury    Weavers     been    disappointed     .     .     .     and    fallen    into     worsted 
Weavers." — "  England's  Advocate."      "An  Intreaty  for  Help  in  Behalf  of  the 
English  Silk-Weavers  and  Silk  Throsters."     1699. 

1719.   . "  How  can  we  sit  still  and  see  the  Bread -taken  out  of  our  labouring  The 

Peoples  Mouths,  even  by  those  very  Men  who  ought  to  be  equally  concerned  Competi- 

with  us  to  prevent  it  ?     The  Weaving  and  Use  of  Callicoes  is  evidently  the  Ruin  tion  of 

of  our  Manufactures.     .     .     .     'Tis  a  great  Mistake  to  suggest  that  Spittlefields  Cotton, 
alone  complains.     .     .     ." — "  A  Brief  State  of  the  Question  between  Callicoes 
and  the  Woollen  and  Silk  Manufacture."     1719.     Anon. 

"It  is  not  the  printed  Callicoes  or  Linens  that  hinder  the  Manufacture  of    Dutch  and 
Raw  Silk,  but   the  great   Quantities  of  wrought  Silks  imported  from  Holland    Italian 
and  Italy."— "A  Brief  Answer."     Mr.  Asgil,  1719,  Silks. 


640 


APPENDIX  C. 


1735.     The  Silken  Trade  in  Ireland. 

The  "  Eight  Silk-Throwers  may  work  fine  and  coarse  Silk  Weekly  300  Weight, 

Irish  besides  Italian-thrown  Silk  made  use  of.     Ribbons  and  Silks  made  in  Ireland 

Industry,    are  good,  as  are  their  Shaggs,  Velvets  and  Garden-Sattins,  and  Brocades  of  Silk, 

Gold  and  Silver,  equal  those  made  in  England  ;    but  the  Expence  attending  the 

several  Operations  Silk  pass  through,  before  compleatly  Manufactured,  being  much 

the  same  in  Ireland  as  in  England  ;    Irish-made  Silks  are  not  to  be  exported  to 

Profit."  —  "  Thoughts   on    Trade  "   (presented    in   MS.    to  several   Members    of 

Parliament).     By  E.  A.  Lloyd,  Silkthrowster. 


1828.     Average  Rates  of  Throwing  in  England. 

SIMPLE  FA9ON  OR  WEIGHT  AND  WASTE. 


Italian  or  Bengal  Tram 
Do. 


for 


Do. 

Do. 

Organzine 
Do. 
Do. 


Singles 
Do. 


Deniers. 

8. 

d. 

24  to  30 

2 

9 

30  ,  40 

2 

3 

40 

,  50 

1 

9 

50 

,  70 

1 

6 

18 

,  22 

5/-  to  5 

6 

24 

,  29 

4 

6 

30 

,  48 

avg.     4 

0 

per  Ib. 


N.B. — At  these  prices  no  washing  of  silk  is  allowed.     If  washing  be  allowed, 
the  Throwster  would  gladly  undertake  it  at  I/-  per  Ib.  less. 


GRANDE  FA$ON   (Weight  for  Weight). 
Deniers. 


Organzine 
Do. 


Fine  Singles   . . 
Middling    Do. 
Coarse        Do. 


. .     for       24  to  28 
••      „         28   „   50 
BRUTIA  SILKS. 


S.    d. 

6    0 

4    9 


Simple  FaQon.    Grande  Fa$on. 

2/-  2/9 


COSTS  IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND. 


England. 
Cost  in  Italy 
Export  Duty,  Lombardy 
Expenses  to  Calais 
Import  Duty 
Throwing  in  England 
Waste,  say  5  per  cent. 


20 


2 
1 

25 


d. 
0 

10 
5 
1 
9 
21 


France. 
Cost  in  Italy 
Export  Duty 
Expenses  to  Lyons 
Throwing 
Waste,  say  5  per  cent. 


s.     d. 

20    0 

10    0 

2 

2    2j 
1     1] 


24    4J 


AVERAGE  PRICE  OF  WEAVING  PER  YARD. 

In  France.  In  England. 

Gros  de  Naples         ....  6d.  . .  7d. 

Figured  dress  silks   . .         . .         8d.— 9d.          . .  I/- 

Light  Satins  ..          ..  6d.  ..  7d. 

Heavy  Satins  ..          ..  lOd.  ..  l/- 

—A  View  on  the  Silk  Trade,  1828.     Richd.  Badnall,  London. 

1828.  "  I  cannot  avoid  expressing  my  decided  opinion,  that  where  a  Silk 
factory  is  fully  employed  and  where  the  machinery  is  good,  at  the  present  price 
of  Throwing  Silk,  and  at  the  present  low  rates  of  wages,  the  Silk  Throwster  can 
have  no  cause  whatever  to  complain." — (Badnall.) 


APPENDIX  C.  641 

BRITISH  MUSEUM  AND  GUILDHALL  RECORDS. 

The  records  of  the  Guildhall  and  the  British  Museum  throw  considerable 
light  on  conditions  in  the  silk  trade  at  various  periods,  and  in  what  follows 
some  of  the  more  interesting  of  these  records  are  reproduced  in  chronological 
order.  Those  at  the  Guildhall  it  will  be  noted  date  from  the  early  part  of  the 
16th  century  and  those  from  the  British  Museum  from  the  early  years  of  the 
17th  century. 

The  records  deal  with  a  great  variety  of  subjects  particularly  with  the 
relations  between  immigrants  and  home  weavers  and  the  inactments  made  from 
time  to  time  to  preserve  the  purity  of  silk  fabrics. 

GUILDHALL     RECORDS. 
17th  June.      Thomas  Exmewe,  Mayor  [1518]. 

Att  this  Court  came  George  Medley  and  Edmund  Wotton  Wardens  of  the 
Mercers  and  presented  to  the  same  Alverey  Ravson  mercer  to  whome  they  have 
geven  th 'office  of  Coen  Weier  of  Silks  in  the  stede  and  place  of  Thomas  ffisher 
deceased.  Et  admissus  etc. — Letter  Book,  N,fo.  82b. 

llth  February,  9  James  I  [1611-2]. 

Whereas  the  righte  honorable  the  Lord  Maior  having  receaved  informacion 
of  a  greate  quantity  of  corrupte  and  folse  silke  comonly  called  heavy  Waighte 
silke  which  was  locked  opp  in  a  great  Chest  in  the  house  of  Josephe  Cocke  a 
silkeman  free  of  this  Citie  did  there vpon  send  some  officers  to  make  searche  for 
the  same,  who  being  resisted  by  the  said  Cocke  and  absolutely  denyed  to  have 
righte  or  searche  thereof  his  Lopp.  did  therevppon  comit  the  said  Cocke  to  prison 
for  his  contempt  and  disobedyence  therein.  And  afterwardes  conventing  him 
to  this  Courte  upon  Saterday  last  who  in  open  Courte  being  demaunded  whether 
he  wold  submitt  himselfe  to  the  authority  of  his  Lop.  and  suffer  the  said  silke 
to  be  serched  and  scene  and  so  to  be  enlarged  of  his  ymprisonment  he  utterly 
refused  so  to  doe  offering  bayle  for  his  fourthcominge  and  thinckiiig  thereby 
to  avoyd  any  course  that  should  be  taken  by  his  lop.  for  the  serche  and  vew  of 
the  said  silke.  Wherevpon  the  said  Cocke  being  convented  before  the  righte 
honourable  the  Lordes  and  others  of  his  Matyes.  most  honorable  Privy  Councell 
vpon  Sunday  last  and  there  Lopps.  having  heard  at  large  what  could  be  obiected 
by  Cocke  in  his  excuse.  And  finding  his  aunsweare  full  of  obstinacy  and  neglecte 
of  his  Lops,  authority  in  this  behalf e  did  order  and  decree  that  Mr.  Sheriff es  or 
either  of  them  should  repayre  to  the  house  of  the  said  Cocke  and  there  take  Inte 
order  for  the  searche  and  vewe  of  the  said  silke  in  the  presence  of  the  said  Cocke 
and  to  proceed  with  it  yf  it  shoud  be  found  false  and  defective  according  to  the 
vsage  and  custome  of  this  Citye  in  like  cases.  And  further  the  said  Cocke  was 
by  there  Lops,  comitted  to  the  Marshallsey  vntill  other  order  be  taken  where 
he  now  remayneth.  Now  this  day  Mr.  Sheriff  es  made  reporte  to  this  Courte 
That  they  in  the  prsence  of  Mr.  John  Gore  Mr.  Aldram  Deputy  Mr.  Dyos  the 
cities  remembrauncer  and  other  good  citizens,  and  also  in  the  presence  of  the 
said  Josephe  Cocke  himselfe  who  was  sent  for  to  that  purpose  caused  the  chest 
to  be  opened  and  ther  found  two  hundreth  thirtye  fower  poundes  and  six  ounces 
of  heavy  dyed  silke  which  they  caused  to  be  delivered  to  the  custody  of  the 
Chamblaine  of  this  citie.  This  Courte  (approving  and  allowinge  the  carefull 
proceeding  of  Mr.  Sheriffes)  doe  order  that  an  Inquest  of  Office  be  presently  drawne 
and  a  Jury  sumoned  to  be  sworne  tomorrowe  morninge  in  the  Kings  Courte 
holden  before  the  Lord  Maior  and  Aldren  of  this  City  to  enquire  whether  the  said 
silke  be  falsely  and  corruptly  dyed  to  the  deceipte  of  his  Matyes.  subiects  yea 
or  no.  To  th'end  such  further  proceedings  may  be  taken  as  shalbe  fitt. — Letter 
Book,  E.E.,  fo.  36. 

2  s 


642 


APPENDIX   0. 


Letter  from   Sir   Thomas   Bromley,   Lord   Burghley,   the   Earl   of   Sussex, 
Sir  James  Croft,  Sir  Christopher  Hatton  and  Sir  Francis  Walsingham. 

From  Letter  Book  Z,  fo.  134.     Also  entered  in  Journal  21,  fo.  104. 

After  our  right  hartye  comendacons.  Whereas  the  Queenes  Matie.  ys  geven 
to  vnderstand  that  of  late  the  pryces  of  Velvets  and  all  other  sylkes  are  verye 
much  enhaunced  w'thout  any  iust  cause,  onelye  vppon  a  greedye  desyre  of  Gayne 
to  sell  the  same  at  their  pleasure  at  this  tyme  appoynted  for  a  solempne  assemblye. 
fforasmuche  as  suche  gentlemen  as  are  to  gyve  their  necessarye  attendance  vppon 
her  Maties.  p.sone  fynde  themselves  verye  muche  a  grieved  wth  the  excessive 
charge  thereof,  And  we  are  credyblye  enformed  that  not  longe  sythen  the  same 
were  solde  at  suche  rates  or  at  lesse  as  are  contayned  in  a  scedule  hearin  inclosed. 
Wee  have  thught  convenient  to  signyfye  so  much  vnto  you  and  to  requyre 
you  in  her  Maties.  behalf e  furthwth  vppon  receipt  herof  to  send  for  all  such  psons. 
of  anye  the  companyes  of  that  Cytye  as  comonlye  vse  to  sell  anye  such  sylkes 
and  wares  and  to  comaunde  them  that  from  hencefurthe  they  forbeare  to  sell 
anye  sortes  of  suche  stuff  e,  but  accordinge  to  such  rates  as  are  conteyned  in  the 
said  scedule  as  they  and  everye  of  them  will  vppon  her  highnes  indignacon  and 
theire  pill  answere  theire  contempte.  And  so  prayenge  you  that  hereof  there 
be  no  defaulte,  we  byd  you  right  hartelye  farewell,  fTrom  St.  James  the  seconde 
of  Aprill  1581. 

Yor.  lovinge  frendes, 

Bromley  Cane.         W.  Burghley.         T.  Sussex. 
James  Croft.  Chr.  Hatton.          Fra.  Walsingham. 


A    RATE    OF    CLOTHE    OF    GOLDE    AND    SlLKE. 


*Clothe  of  golde  of  two  threedes 
Of  syngle  threed 
Of  Myllen  makinge 
Velvet  Crymosyn 
and  purple 


in  (  xxviijs. 

Grayne       *  xxvjs.  viijd. 

Of  three  pyles 
Of  two  pyles 

Of  pyle  Di 

Of  Resortat 

Of  2  pyles 

Of  pile  Di 

Of  Resort' 

Sattyn  Crymosyn  and  purple,  in  grayne 

Of  Genoa 
Of  Bolonia  best 
Of  Bolonia  Second  . . 
|     Of  Florence  best 
\,    Of  Ordynarye 

Damaske  of  the  kyndes  for  the  lyke  pryces. 
Taffytas  Crymosyn  and  purple  in  grayne  the  ell      . . 

Rych 
Taffitas  black  and  Colors     [     Second 

Ordynarye 


Velvet  black 


Velvet  of  Colors 


Sattens  blacke  and  Colors   [ 


liijs.  iii 
xxx  vs. 
xxxs. 


xxvjs.  viijd. 
xxiijs.  iiijdf. 

XX  j  S. 

xviijs. 

xxs. 

xviijs. 

XVJS. 

xiijs. 
xiijs. 
xiijs. 

XJJS. 

xj*. 

xs. 


XVJS. 

xvs. 

xiijs. 

xjs. 


*  Explanation  of  the  prices  is  as  follows  :— 53/4,  35/-,  30/-,  28/-,  26/8,  26/8,  23/4,  21/-, 
18/-,  20/-f  18/-,  lf>/-,  13/4,  13/4,  13/4,  12/-,  ll/-,  10/-,  16/-,  15/-,  13/4,  ll/-,  9/-,  8/-,  6/8,  5/-, 
*/-,  13/4,  10/-. 


APPENDIX  C. 


Taffetas  Sarcenett  the  ell 


Geon  wtout  corde     . .         Ixs. 
Wyth  corde  . .         viijs. 


Seconde  sorte  . .         vjs.  viijd. 

Thyrde  sort  . .         vs. 

Ordynarye     . .          . .         iiijs. 

Svlke  crro^raviie  /         Of  the  best        "          ' '          **%*'  "*'*• 

Of  the  Second  . .         xs. 

The  seconde  of  Aprill   1581. 

T.  Bromley  Cane*.        W.  Burghley.         T.  Sussex. 
James  Croft.  Chr.  Hattoii.          Fra.  Walsingham. 

Guildhall  Journal  I,  72&.     (29  Feb.,  1419-20.) 

Die  Jouis  ultimo  die  Februarii  Anno  Henrici  VM,  septimo  Maior  Recordator 
Knolles  Merlawe  R.  Chichelo  Waldern'  Crowmer  Fauconer  Wotton  H.  Barton 
W.  Seuenoke  Norton  Widington  Pyke  Perueys  Michell  Reinwell  Radulfus  Barton 
Pyke  [sic]  aldermanii  J.  Botiller. 

Licet  tamen  nullus  operaretur  [sic]  infra  Civitatem  nisi  per  dispensacionem 
istius  Curie*  vel  nisi  liberus  fuerit  istius  Civitatis  Quia  tamen  alieni  textores 
panni  linei  sunt  pauperes  et  necessarii  communi  proficuo  tocius  populi  Ideo  per 
dispensacionem  istius  Curie  admittuntur  in  priuatis  venellis  locis  et  sameris  suis 
operari  Ita  quod  dum  exercent  operacionem  lineam  sint  sub  scrutineo  et  superuisu 
Magistrorum  liberorum  Telariorum  linei  panni  &c. 

[Translation.] 

On  Thursday  the  last  day  of  February  in  the  7th  year  of  Henry  V.  The 
mayor,  recorder,  Knolles,  Merlawe,  R.  Chichelo,  Waldern,  Crowmer,  Fauconer, 
Wotton,  H.  Barton,  W.  Sevenoke,  Norton,  Widington,  Pyke,  Perveys,  Michell, 
Reinwell,  Ralph  Barton,  Pyke  [sic],  aldermen  ;  J.  Botiller. 

Although  no  man  may  work  within  the  city  except  by  dispensation  of  this 
court,  or  unless  he  be  a  freeman  of  this  city,  yet  because  foreign  weavers  of  linen 
cloth  are  poor  and  necessary  to  the  common  profit  of  the  whole  people  ;  therefore 
by  dispensation  of  this  court  they  are  admitted  in  private  lanes,  places,  and 
their  chambers,  to  work.  So  that  while  they  exercise  linen  work  they  be  under 
the  scrutiny  and  supervision  of  the  Masters  of  the  free  weavers  of  linen  cloth, 
&c. 

Guildhall  Journal  4,  576.     23  Hen.  VI.  [1444^5], 

Die  Veneris  viij.  die  Januarij  M.  et  Aldr.  vt  supa. 

Isto  die  consideratum  est  quod  telarii  extranei  recipiantur  ad  juramentum 
suum  ut  [solet  ?],  et  quod  soluantur  annuatim  camerario  civitatisf  quinque 
marcas  sterlingorum  ad  quod  fideliter  faciendum  ipsi  annuatin  die  recepcionis 
Juramenti  sui  inueniant  quator  de  retabilioribusj  personis  mistere  sue  qui  se 
obligent  per  vium  recognitionis  ad  soluendam  summam  supradictam  Anno  tune 
sequenti  ad  quam  ordinacionem  perpetuis  temporibus  observandam  ipsorum 
custodes  astringuntur  vinculo  iuramenti  et  eorum  successores  imperpetuum 
erunt  conformatim  obligati  pro  quo  summa  dicti  telarii  erunt  examinati 
de  contribucione  quacunque  facienda  domino  Regi  de  pensione  xx.  marcarum 
ei  annuatim  soluendarum  et  crescente  ipsorum  numero  crescet  dicta  pensis 
secundum  ratam  porcionem  dicte  summe  ad  numerum  xxj.  personarum 
predictarum  [sic]. 

*   Interlined :  Videlicet  festo  Finis  Pasche  proximo. 

t  Interlined :  "  ad  festum  lohannis  Baptiste  et  Vatalia  Domini  per  equates  porciones." 

f  sic :  atabilioribua  ? 


644  APPENDIX    C. 

[Translation.] 

On  Friday  the  8th  of  January.     Mayor  &  Aldermen  as  above. 

On  this  day  it  is  considered  that  foreign  weavers  be  received  to  their  oath 
as  [is  wont]  and  that  they  pay  yearly  to  the  chamberlain  of  the  city  5  marks 
sterling,  and  that  faithfully  to  do  this  they  find  yearly,  on  the  day  of  the  receipt 
of  their  oath,  four  of  the  more  [substantial]  persons  of  their  mystery  who  shall 
bind  themselves  by  way  of  recognizance  to  pay  the  sum  aforesaid  in  the  following 
year ;  to  observing  the  which  ordinance  for  all  time  their  wardens  are  bound 
by  the  chain  of  an  oath  and  their  successors  shall  be  for  ever  conformably  bound 
for  which  sum  the  said  weavers  shall  be  examined  of  every  contribution  to  be 
made  to  the  lord  King  of  the  pension  of  20  marks  payable  yearly  to  him,  and 
as  their  number  grows  the  said  pension  grows  according  to  the  due  portion  of  the 
said  sum,  to  the  number  of  the  21  persons  aforesaid. 

28  Nov.,  1497.     Mayor  and  Aldermen. 

Memorandum  that  on  Tuesday  the  28th  November  in  the  13th  year  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh  it  was  agreed  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
that  the  Indenture  and  Composition  between  the  Weavers  denizens  and 
Weavers  strangers  should  be  on  their  Petition  entered  of  Record  : — 
This  Indenture  made  &c.  betwen  the  BaillifTs  Wardeyns  and  ffelauship  of 
Weuers  denezyns  on  the  one  ptie.  and  Rowland  Marten  henr.  Asshe  Willam. 
Taute  hobard  Stakeman  Michell  Passe,  James  Willamson  henr.  Busshe  John 
Shillyng  Simon  Marten  Petre  Defile  Willam.  Marten  Cornelys  Wanderwell 
Mathewe  laurens  Andreau  Clerk  Philip  Deboke  Deryke  Wanelew  Mark  Kyng 
Reyngnold  Arde  Andrewe  Busshe  John  Holand  Angell  Selonder  Barnard 
Reymond  Corneles  lukenor  henr.  Gonner  and  Watkyn  Wandoffe  Weuers  alienes 
enhabited  in  the  Cite  of  london  and  the  suburbes  of  the  same  and  in  the  Burgh 
of  Southwerk  on  the  other  partie  Witnesseth  that  where  vppon  dyeds  variaunces 
and  Cont'uersies  before  this  tyme  hadde  and  moued  betwen  the  said  parties 
dyeds  accordes  agrements  and  composicions  haue  ben  had  and  made  before  this 
tyme,  And  sithen  that  dids  variaunces  and  Cont'uersies  hath  ff alien  betwen 
the  said  parties  aswell  for  the  breche  and  non  p'fourmance  of  the  said  Agrements 
and  Composicions  as  for  dids  other  maters  and  causes  conc'nyng  the  said  pties. 
in  and  for  the  exc'cisyng  of  their  said  Crafte  and  otherwise  not  comprised  in 
the  said  Agrements  nor  Composicions,  And  therfore  no  we  for  the  adnowdyng 
and  eschewyng  of  ye  said  variaunces  Cont'uersies  and  debates  and  for  a  fynale 
peas  accorde  and  vnytie  to  be  had  and  p'petually  to  contynue  betwen  the  said 
parties  in  tyme  to  come.  It  is  no  we  fynally  accorded  Aggreed  and  couenanted 
betwen  the  said  parties  as  hereaft.  doeth  ensue  any  Corporacion  concord  Aggre- 
ment  and  Composicion  heretofore  hadde  or  made  betwen  the  said  parties  and 
their  p'decessours  or  any  of  them  in  anywise  not  wt.stondyng  that  is  to  say  : 

the  first       It  is  accorded  and  aggreed  betwen  the  said  parties  that  the  said  Weuers  denezeyns 

Article  Citezyns  and  the  said  Weuers  alienes  enhabited  and  all  they  that  hereaft. 
shall  en  trite  in  the  said  Cite  Suburbes  and  Burgh  shalbe  from  hensfurth  hadd 
reputed  and  taken  as  one  entier  ffealiship  of  the  said  Gilde  of  Weuers  denezeyns 
any  Corporacion  or  ordenance  heretofore  had  or  made  notwithstondyng. 

the  scde.  And  also  yt  is  aggreed  and  couenanted  betwen  the  said  parties  that  the  said 
Rowland  Marten  henr.  Asshe  Willam  Taute  hobard  Stakeman  Michell  Passe 
James  Willamson  hern.  Busshe  John  Shillyng  Simond  Marten  Petre  Deffle 
Willam  Marten  and  Cornelys  Wandewell  at  the  specyall  labor  of  the  said  Weuers 
denezyns  shalbe  accepted  taken  and  enhabited  to  be  firemen  of  the  said  Citie 
in  the  said  Crafte  of  Weuers  and  have  and  enioye  all  the  libties.  and  priuelages 
appteynyng  and  belongyng  to  the  same.  Also  it  is  couenanted  and  agreed  betwen 

the  Hide,     the  said  parties  that  the  said  Mathewe  lawrence  Awdrean  Clerk  Philip  Debloke 


APPENDIX  C.  645 

Deryk  Wanclewe  Markas  Kyng  Reynold  Arde  Andrewe  Busshe  John  holand 

Angell  Selonder  Barnard  Remond  Cornelys  lukenor  henr.  Gonner  and  Watkyn 

Wandeffe  and  all  other  Weuers  of  Wolen  or  lynnen  alienes  that  no  we  be  or  hereaft' 

shall  come  and  be  in  this  Realme  of  England  shall  at  their  pleasur  set  up  shopp 

and  vse  their  Crafte  and  occupaciori  within  the  said  Cite  Suburbes  and  Burgh 

wtoute  geynsaying  int'vpcion  or  impedyment   of  the  said  Weuers  denezeyns 

or  of  the  Weuers  Citizeyns  of  the  said  Cite  or  any  of  their  Successours  paying 

at  the  settyng  vp  of  their  said  Shoppes  to  the  Weuers  denezeyns  and  their  suc- 

cessours  iiijs.  or  a  juell  of  the  same  value  and  also  paying  for  eu'y  loome  aswell 

lynnen  as  wullyn  to  the  said  Weuers  denezeyns  Citezyns  and  their  Successours 

yerely  aft'  the  rate  as  the  same  Weuers  denezeyns  Citezyns  shall  pay  toward 

their  charges  of  their  ffeofferme  to  the  kyng  our  sovreign  lord.     And  also  it  is 

couenanted  and  aggreed  that  if  the  said  Weuers  denezeyns  Citezyns  or  their    the  iiiith. 

Successours  hereaft'  shall  enhable  any  of  the  said  Mathewe  lawrence  Awdrean 

Clerk  Philipp  Deboke  Derike  Wanclewe  Markas  Kyng  Reynold  Aide  Andrewe 

Busshe  John  holand  Angell  Selonder  Barnard  Remond  Cornelys  lukenor  henr' 

Gonner  or  Watkyn  Wandoffe  or  any  oth'  Weuers  aliene  or  Straunger  that  shall 

hereaft'  sette  vp  shop  in  the  said  Cite  Suburbes  Burgh  to  be  accepted  firemen 

in  the  said  Cite  of  the  same  Crafte  that  then  all  such  p'sones  as  they  shall  so 

enhabile  shalbe  come  firemen  of  the  said  Cite  of  the  same  Crafte  if  the  pryuelages 

rules  and  ordenances  of  the  said  Cite  will  it  suffre  withoute  any  thing  paying 

to  the  said  ffealiship  of  Weu's  denezeyns  but  to  pay  such  charges  as  shalbelong 

onely  to  the  Chambre  of  london.    And  also  it  is  aggreed  betwen  the  said  parties     the  vth. 

that  the  said  Mathewe  laurence  Awdreaw  Clerk  Philip  Deboke  Deryk  Wanclewe 

Markas  Kyng  Reygnold  Arde  Andrewe  Busshe  John  holand  Angell   Selondre 

Barnard  Remond  Cornelys  lukenor  henr'  Gonner  and  Watkyn  Wandoffe  and 

all  oth'  Weu's  aliens  Straungers  that  shall  sette  vp  shopp  in  the  said  Cite  Suburbes 

or  Burgh  shall  accept  and  sette  aworke  all   workemen  instructed  in  the  said 

occupacion  aswell  foreyns  and  alienes  as  denezeyns  wt'oute  lette  or  Int'upcion 

of  the  said  Weuers  denezeyns  or  Citezyns  or  their  Successours.     And  also  it  is     the 

aggreed    that   the   said    Rowland    Marten   henr'    Asshe   Willam   Taute   hobard 

Stakeman  Michell  Passe  James  Willamson  henr'  Busshe  John  Shillyng  Simond 

Marten   Petr   Defile   Willam    Marten   Cornelys   Wanderwell    Mathewe   lawrence 

Awdreaw  Clerk  Philip  Debocke  Deryk  Wanclewe  Markas  Kyng  Reyngold  Arde 

Andrewe  Busshe  John  holand  Angell  Selondre  Barnard  Remond  Cornelys  lukenor 

henr'  Gonner  and  Watkyn  Wandoffe  shall  have  and  enioye  all  such  Apprentices 

Journeymen  an  S'aunts  as  they  no  we  have  accordyng  to  their  Couenantes  and 

Aggrements  withoute  lette  or  int'rupcion  of  the  said  Weuers  Citezeyns  or  their 

Successours.     And  that  from  hensfurth   the  same  Weuers   Straungers  shall   in    the 

nowise  take  an  App'ntice  but  if  he  be  born  vnder  ye  obleyzaunce  of  the  Kyng 

our  sov'reign  lord.     And  also  it  is  aggreed  betwen  the  said  parties  that  the  said     the  viiith. 

Mathewe  lawrence  Awdrean  Clerk  Philip  Debocke  Derik  Wanclewe  Markas  Kyng 

Reyngnold  Arde  Andrewe  Busshe  John  holand  Angell  Selondre  Barnard  Remond 

Cornelys  lukenor  henr'  Gonner  and  Watkyn  Wandoffe  and  all  others  Weuers 

alienes  Straungers  that  hereaft'  shall  sette  vp  Shopp  wt'un  the  said  Cite  Suburbes 

or  Burgh  their  s'aunts  or  Journeymen  shalbe  vndre  the  obedience  rule  correcion 

and  gov'nance   of  the  said  Weu's   denezeyns  Citizeyns  and   their  successours. 

And  also  it  is  aggreed  that  eu'y  eleccion  of  the  Baillies  or  Wardeyns  of  the  said     the  ixth. 

Gilde  or  Weuers  denezeyns  ij.  p'sons  of  the  Weu's  Straungers  for  the  tyme  beyng 

firemen  of  the  said  Cite  shalbe  chosen  and  admitted  to  be  Baillies  or  Wardyns 

of  the  same  crafte  with  other  p'sons  to  be  chosen  by  Englisshmen  so  that  one 

of  the  said  Weu's  aliens  so  chosen  and  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  Baillies  of  the 

same  Crafte  and  that  the  other  so  chosen  and  admitted  to  be  a  Wardeyn  of  the 

same  Crafte     And  also  it  is  aggreed  that  aswell as  James  Cok    the  xth. 

shall  have  either  of  them  wekely  of  the  Aliens  of  the  said  Weu's  Citezeyns  and 


646  APPENDIX    C. 

their  Successours  vij.  during  their  lyues  &c.  Also  it  is  ordeigned  and  aggreed 
the  xtth.  betwen  the  said  parties  that  the  said  Weuers  Straungers  at  noo  tyme  hereaf  t' 
amonge  them  self  shall  make  assembles  or  Congregacione  of  any  Guyld  or 
Brederhed  oute  of  the  ffeauliship  and  Guyld  of  the  said  Weuers  denezejnis  in 
eschewyng  of  dyverse  Inconvenyences  that  might  ensue  thereof  but  that  they 
may  joyntly  and  holly  hold  assemble  with  the  said  Wen's  denezeyns  ffurther- 
the  xuth.  more  it  is  aggreed  betwen  the  said  p'ties  that  what  p'son  so  eu'  of  them  or  of 
their  Successours  that  breketh  or  disobeyeth  the  said  Composicions  and  Aggre- 
ments  or  any  of  them  shall  forfait  and  lese  for  eu'y  such  breche  or  disobeysaunce 
xs.  st'l  the  one  half  th'of  to  be  applied  to  th'  use  of  the  Chambre  of  london  and 
the  other  half  to  the  co'em  boxe  of  the  said  ffeauliship. — Journal  10,  fo.  113. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     15th  May,  9  Elizabeth  [1567]. 

Item  yt  was  ordered  that  the  Wardens  of  the  Carpenters  and  Hurp'  the 
Carpent'  of  the  bridge  house  shall  view  the  Weavers  newe  hall  and  esteme  as 
nere  as  the[y]  can  whither  the  carpenter  that  made  yt  did  ou'see  himself e  in  making 
of  the  price  for  the  doinge  thereof  or  not  and  make  reporte  here  of  there  opinions 
therein  wt.  convenyent  sped. — Repertory  16,  fo.  208. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     1st  October,  1605. 

Item  the  peticion  of  William  Lee  Mr.  of  Arts  first  Inventor  of  an  Ingene 
to  make  silk  Stockings  made  to  this  Court  for  his  freedome  of  this  Cittye  by 
Redempcon,  and  for  certein  roomes  to  be  granted  vnto  him  in  Brydewell  to 
work  in  is  by  this  Court  referred  to  the  consideracion  by  Sir  Stephen  Soame 
Sir  John  Garrard  Sir  Thomas  Bennett  Sir  humf  rey  Weld  and  Sir  William  Romney 
Knights  or  anye  three  or  more  of  them  and  they  to  make  report  to  this  Court 
of  their  opinions  touching  the  same. — Repertory  27,  fo.  87. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     19th  December,   1606. 

Item.  Whereas  Wm.  Halshierst  Estranger  havinge  in  his  possession  nine 
papers  of  black  silk  all  of  it  verye  rotten  not  merchantable  nor  fitt  for  anye  good 
vse,  and  hee  as  himself  confessed  here  in  open  court  knowing  the  same  to  bee 
defective  as  aforesayd  procured  one  Henrye  Sands  a  broker  to  offer  the  same 
to  sell  for  him  with  intent  to  deceive  the  Kinges  maiesties  subiects  therewith. 
And  as  well  the  said  Halshierst  as  the  sayd  Sands  being  for  the  cause  aforesayd 
con  vented  before  this  Court  and  they  bothe  confessing  the  same ;  It  is  therefore 
ordered  and  adiudged  by  this  Court  that  all  the  sayd  rotten  silk  saving  one  paper 
to  be  kept  for  a  sample  shalbe  this  p'sent  daye  burnt  at  the  standard  in  Cheapesyde. 
And  both  the  sayd  partyes  for  their  sayd  fraudulent  dealing  to  stand  openly  vppon 
a  stage  at  the  burning  thereof  wth.  either  of  them  a  skayne  of  the  sayd  silk  about 
their  necks,  to  she  we  the  cause  of  their  punishment. — Repertory  27,  fo.  3206. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     10th  February,  1606  [1606-7]. 

Vppon  the  peticon  of  certein  silkmen  of  this  Cittye  shewing  to  this  honourable 
Court  the  greate  abuses  vsed  by  the  Silkdyers  in  and  about  this  Cittye  in  dyeing 
of  Coale  black  silks,  co'enly  called  London  heavye  dyed  silk  wch.  silks  to  the 
greate  deceipt  of  the  buyers  thereof  have  of  late  tyme  bene  vsuallye  augmented 
by  dyeing  to  double  waight  That  is  to  saye,  everye  pounde  to  waighe  two  pound 
or  more,  Whereuppon  the  lord  Maior  and  this  court  called  before  them  all  the 
said  Silkdyers.  And  vppon  examinacon  it  playnely  appeared  that  the  sayd 
deceiptfull  abuse  was  much  encreased  by  certain  of  those  dyers  who  have  vsed 
to  buye  silks  for  themselves  to  dye  and  sell  agayne  to  others  and  to  rayse  greater 
gayne  to  themselves  have  by  deceiptfull  meanes  added  and  p'cured  in  their  owne 


APPENDIX  C.  647 

silks  a  greater  and  extraordiiiarye  eiicrease  of  waight  and  afterwards  put  the 
same  deceiptfull  dyed  silk  to  sale  to  the  king's  subiects,  and  that  some  of  the 
sayd  dyers  for  favor  or  other  respects  have  deceiptfully  dyed  some  p'ticular  mens 
silk  with  a  greater  encrease  of  waight  then  to  others  for  reformacon  of  which 
abuses  it  is  ordered  that  all  the  sayd  dyers  shalbe  everye  of  them  bound  to  the 
kings  Matie.  by  Recognizance  in  Cti.  a  peece  wth.  this  condicon  following 
vizt.  : — 

The  Condicon  of  this  Recognizance  is  such,  That  if  the  sayd  Recognitor  nor  anye 
other  for  him,  by  his  meanes  or  to  his  vse,  neither  directly  nor  indirectly  shall 
after  the  last  daye  of  March  now  next  coming  dye  or  p'cure  to  be  dyed  anye  sort 
of  rawe  silk  in  skeynes,  into  the  color  co'enly  called  Coaleblack  or  London  heavye 
waight  black  silk  But  shall  dye  all  such  rawe  silk  as  he  shall  after  the  sayd  last 
of  March  dye  black,  into  the  color  comonlye  called  light  waight  black,  nor  shall 
augment  p'cure  know  or  suffer  to  be  augmented  by  dyeing  or  otherwyse  howsoever 
the  waight  of  anye  sort  or  kind  of  rawe  silk  whatsoever  above  the  quantityes 
hereafter  mentioned,  That  is  to  saye  for  everye  pound  haberdepoitz  waight  of 
organzine  silk  the  quantitye  of  sixe  ounces  encrease  and  not  above  and  for  everye 
pound  haberdepoitz  waight  of  throwen  silk,  or  of  anye  other  sort  or  sorts  of  rawe 
silk  the  quantitye  of  eight  ounces  encrease  and  not  above,  and  so  for  everye  pound 
of  silk  in  greater  or  lesse  quantityes  after  that  rate  and  p'porcon,  nor  shall  after 
the  sayd  last  of  March  for  favor  gayne  or  anye  other  respect  by  dyeing  or  otherwyse 
make  or  encrease  or  suffer  consent  or  procure  to  be  made  or  encreased  the  waight 
of  any  rawe  silk  of  any  sort  or  kind  whatsoever,  to  anye  person  or  p'sons  what- 
soever more  to  one  then  anye  other,  nor  shall  dye  or  p'cure  to  be  dyed  after  the 
sayd  last  of  March  any  rawe  silk  for  himself  to  sell  the  same  againe.  That  then 
etc.  or  else  etc. — Repertory  27,  fo.  4306. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     21st  April,    1607. 

Item  forasmuch  as  Wm.  Pixley,  Barborsurgeon,  exercysing  the  trade  of  a 
silkedyer  and  dayly  vsing  greate  deceipt  in  dyeing  of  silks  to  the  hurt  of  divers 
his  maiesties  subiectes  refuse  to  become  bound  by  Recognizaunce  to  his  maiestie 
for  his  true  and  iust  dealing  accordinge  to  an  order  of  this  Court  lately  taken  for 
avoyding  of  such  lyke  deceipts  in  such  sort  as  the  rest  of  the  silkedyers  within 
this  Cittye  libertyes  and  suburbes  are  alreadye  entred  into  It  is  therefore  ordered 
that  the  sayd  Pixley  shall  for  his  contempt  in  that  behalf  be  comitted  to  the 
gaole  of  Newgate  there  to  remayne  vntill  he  shalbe  willing  to  be  bound  as  the 
others  alreadye  are. — Repertory  28,  fo.  11. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     12th  March,  1610  [1610—1611]. 

Item.  This  day  the  Silkemen  of  London  p'f erred  their  peticon  to  this  Court 
complayninge  of  divers  deceites  and  fraudes  vsed  by  sundry  silke  dyers  in  dyinge 
of  blacke  and  coloured  silke  Whervpon  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court  that  aswell 
the  p'sons  therein  offendinge  as  also  any  witnes  whome  the  Silkemen  shall  produce 
shalbe  examined  upon  certaine  Interrogatories  for  the  better  manyfestinge  and 
attestacon  of  the  said  frauds  and  deceites  and  that  my  Lord  Maior  shall  appoint 
some  Citizens  of  experience  to  be  p'sent  to  see  a  quantitie  of  the  said  false  dyed 
Silke  washed  and  scoured  and  the  Corruption  taken  out  of  the  same,  so  as  the 
fraud  may  be  apparently  discovered  and  knowen. — Repertory  30,  fo.  856. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     2nd  April,   1611. 

Item.  It  is  ordered  by  this  Court  that  John  Stubbes  one  of  the  S'rienats  of 
the  Chamber  shall  p'sently  this  aftenioone  and  at  other  tymes  hereafter  as  shalbe 
thought  convenyent  attend  certaine  of  the  Silkemen  of  this  Citty  who  shall  repaire 
to  the  seu'all  houses  of  George  Pitt,  John  Deardes,  Thomas  Deardes,  Robert 


648  APPENDIX  C. 

Smyth  and  John  Miles,  Silkedyers  and  others  that  vse  to  dye  silke  wth.  increase 
of  waight  wthin.  this  Citty  or  the  liberties  thereof  and  shall  there  make  diligent 
search  whither  they  have  any  silke  in  their  custodye  that  is  not  yet  dyed  and 
whose  silke  the  same  is  and  also  what  quantitie  of  silke  they  have  ready  dyed 
or  now  in  dyinge  wth.  increase  of  waight  in  their  seu'all  keepinges  and  to  whome 
the  same  belongeth.  And  the  said  Silkmen  shall  also  make  enquyrye  and  informe 
themselves  as  neere  as  they  can  what  and  how  much  silke  the  said  silkdyers  or 
any  of  them  have  received  to  be  dyed  wth.  increase  of  waight  since  the  xixth  day 
of  March  last.  And  for  the  better  aide  and  assistance  in  the  p'mysses  it  is  further 
ordered  and  this  Court  have  appointed  the  Wardens  of  the  Dyers  to  accompany 
the  said  Silkemen  if  they  shalbe  by  them  thervnto  called  and  requested.  And 
it  is  lastly  ordered  that  the  said  John  Stubbes  shall  specyally  warne  the  said 
Silkedyers  and  eu'y  of  them  p'sonally  to  be  and  appeare  at  the  Sessions  of  the 
peace  to  be  holden  for  this  Citty  at  the  Guildhall  tomorrowe  mornynge  by  seaven 
of  the  clock  as  they  will  aunswere  the  contrarye  yf  they  make  default. — 
Repertory  30,  fo.  916. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     30th  July,  1611. 

Item  whereas  at  a  Court  heere  holden  the  Tenth  day  of  ffebruary  1606  and 
in  the  tyme  of  the  Maioraltie  of  Sr.  John  Wattes  knight  vpon  complainte  made 
vnto  that  Court  of  the  great  abuses  vsed  by  the  Silkdyers  in  and  about  this  Citty 
in  dyinge  of  Coleblack  Silke  comonly  called  London  heavy  died  silke  for 
reformacon  therof  it  was  ordered  that  all  the  said  Dyers  should  be  eu'y  of  them 
bound  to  the  Kinges  Matie.  by  Recognizaunce  in  Cti.  a  peece  wth.  Condicon 
That  after  the  last  day  of  March  then  next  followinge  they  should  not  dye  any 
sort  of  Rawe  Silke  in  Sakynes  into  the  Color  comonly  called  Coale  blacke  or 
London  heavy  waight  black  silke  but  into  the  coulor  comonly  called  light  waight 
blacke  nor  should  augment  by  dyinge  or  otherwise  howsoeuer  the  waight  of  any 
sort  or  kynd  of  Rawe  Silke  whatsoeu'  above  the  quantities  hereafter  menconed 
that  is  to  say  for  ev'y  pound  haberdepoitz  waight  of  organzine  silke  the  quantity 
of  sixe  ounces  increase  and  not  above  and  for  eu'y  pound  haberdepoitz  waight  of 
throwen  silke  or  of  any  other  sort  or  sortes  of  Rawe  silke  the  quantity  of  eight 
ounces  increase  and  not  above  and  so  for  eu'y  pound  of  silke  in  greater  or  less 
quantities  after  that  rate  and  proporcon  as  in  and  by  the  said  order  and  Condicon 
more  at  lardge  appeareth.  Now  forasmuch  as  this  Court  p'fectly  vnderstandeth 
that  the  toleratinge  of  such  increase  of  waight  as  is  before  menconed  hath  bred 
further  abuses  and  deceiptes  so  as  by  such  deceiptfull  dyinge  they  have  increased 
and  made  one  pound  of  silke  to  waigh  above  two  poundes  to  the  great  defraudinge 
of  his  Maties  Subiects  and  Scandall  of  the  gou'nite  of  this  Citty,  Therfore  after 
often  examynacon  of  the  said  abuses  and  deceipts  and  due  deliberacon  had 
thervpon  this  Court  doth  gen'ally  thinke  fitt  and  so  order  that  from  henceforth 
it  shall  not  be  lawfull  for  any  p'son  or  p'sons  whatsoeu'  wch.  now  or  hereafter 
at  any  tyme  shalbe  a  dyar  of  silke  or  wch.  shall  vse  the  exercisinge  or  dyinge 
of  silke  wthin.  this  Citty  or  the  liberties  therof  to  dye  consent  or  p'cure  to  be 
dyed  any  sort  of  Rawe  silke  before  the  Gumme  be  clearly  discharged  out  of  the 
same  nor  in  any  sort  wherby  there  shalbe  any  increase  of  waight  other  then  of 
necessitie  must  be  to  make  the  Coulor  by  the  dye  added  thervnto  nor  shall  augment 
procure  consent  or  suffer  to  be  augmented  by  dyinge  or  otherwise  the  waight 
of  any  sort  of  Rawe  silke  whatsoeu'  and  shall  dye  all  blacke  silke  into  the  Coulor 
comonly  called  black  spunysh  silke  or  Spanysh  dye  silke  or  such  like  dyed  silke, 
The  said  Toleracon  in  the  tyme  of  the  Maioraltie  of  Sr.  John  Wattes  or  any  other 
order  to  the  contrary  not  wthstandinge. — Repertory  30,  fo.  162. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     15th  April,  1624. 

Item;  It  is  thought  fitt  and  so  ordered  by  this  Court  that  Mr.  Mosse  the  Citties 
Solicitor  shall  att  the  Cittie  Charges  take  care  for  the  drawinge  of  an  Act  to  be 


APPENDIX   C.  649 

p'ferred  to  the  house  of  p'liament  for  reformacon  of  Corrupt  and  heavie  dyed 
Silke  throughout  the  Realme  of  England.  And  to  attend  Sr.  Heneadg  ffynch 
Knight  and  Recorder  Mr.  Comon  Srieant  and  Mr.  Stone  about  the  penning  of 
the  said  Act  wch.  is  to  be  p'sented  unto  this  Court  for  allowance  thereof  before 
it  bee  exhibited  to  the  house  of  p'liaint. — Repertory  38,  fo.  1086. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     28th  September,  1624. 

Item.  This  daie  vpon  the  humble  peticon  of  Thomas  Worsleye  dyer,  this 
Court  doth  authorize  the  said  Thomas  Worsleye  so  farr  as  in  them  lyeth  to  search 
and  fynde  out  by  all  the  best  wayes  and  meanes  hee  can  in  all  places  within  this 
Cittie'and  libties  thereof  from  tyme  to  tyme  all  corrupt  and  heavye  dyed  silke, 
either  in  silke  or  in  lace  or  wares  made  thereof  or  mingled  therewith  and  the  same 
silke  lace  or  wares  so  found  to  seaze  and  bringe  to  the  Guildhall  there  to  be  keept 
till  order  be  taken  by  this  Court  for  the  disposinge  thereof  accordinge  to  the  Act 
of  Comon  Councell  made  in  that  behalfe. — Repertory  38,  fo.  2366. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     2nd  December,  1624. 

Item.  This  daie  the  matters  complayned  of  to  this  Court  against  Edward 
Worsleye  Silkdyer  who  haveinge  authoritie  from  this  Court  to  search  and  seaze 
all  corrupt  and  heavie  dyed  Silke  and  lace  within  this  Cittie  and  libties  hath 
without  the  licence  of  this  Court  and  contrary  to  La  we  made  Composicon  with 
divers  persons  in  whose  handes  hee  had  seazed  divers  quantities  of  silke  as  Corrupt 
and  heavie  dyed  and  made  restitucon  of  the  same  to  the  p'ties  and  for  and  con- 
cerninge  some  other  his  misdemeanors  and  by  this  Court  referred  to  the  hearing 
and  Examinacon  of  Sr.  Thomas  Middleton  and  Sr.  Martyn  Lumleye  Knights 
and  Aldermen,  and  Mr.  Aldr'an  Hamersleye  or  any  two  of  them  and  theye  to 
certifie  this  Court  of  their  doeinges  and  opinions  and  vpon  theire  report  the  said 
Worsleye  for  the  same  his  offence  was  by  this  Court  committed  to  the  Gaole  of 
Newgate  there  to  remayne  until  other  order  bee  taken  for  his  enlargement. — 
Repertory  39,  fo.  36. 

Court  of  Aldermen.     15th  October,  1721. 

This  day  the  humble  Petition  of  the  Bayliffs  Wardens  and  Assistants  of 
the  Company  of  Weavers  was  presented  to  this  Court  and  Read  praying  to  be 
excused  from  their  Attendance  on  the  Lord  Mayor's  days  for  the  Term  of  Five 
years  in  consideration  of  their  great  Poverty  and  Incapacity  of  Defraying  the 
Expenses  and  after  hearing  several  of  the  Members  of  the  said  Company  relating 
thereto,  this  Court  doth  Excuse  them  from  their  attendance  on  the  next  Lord 
Mayor's  Day. — Repertory  125,  fo.  558. 

RECORDS    FROM    THE    BRITISH    MUSEUM. 
The  Ballance  of  the  Trade  of  Forreign  Wrought  Silkes. 

ti. 

We  pay  for  Silk  from  Holland  Custom  2  p.  Ct.  . .          . .  2  Harleain  MS. 

For  Comission  and  all  Charges  there      . .          . .          . .          . .  1  1243, 

Charges  in  Bringing  by  the  Packet  boate          1  f.  2076. 

Our  Custome  here  pays    . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  5 

Our  Merchants  cannot  expect  to  gett  Less  for  the  Bringing 

them  hithen  to  a  Markett    . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  5 

The  Silk  man  that  Sells  to  the  Weavers  . .          . .          . .  4 

The  Workmanship  cheaper  there  then  here  when  made  in 

Silkes 5 

Insurance  by  Sea  2 

25 


650  APPENDIX  C. 

The  greatest  Weavers  bring  their  Silkes  from  Italy  on  their  own  Accot.  and 
so  have  their  Goods  made  Cheaper  by  25  p.  Cent,  then  wee  at  present,  without 
a  further  Impost  on  throwne  Silkes  which  the  house  is  at  present  about. 

The  totalls  of  the  seuerall  kindes  before  Written — entred  aswell  by  English 
as  Marchant  Strangers  [last  of  February,  1601]. 

Harleain  MS.  Veluett        39349  yardes. 

1878,  Satten          33274  yards. 

f .  826.  Taffeta  broade 99318  yards. 

Spanish  taffeta 00566  yardes. 

Towers  taffeta 01007  yardes. 

Sticht  taffeta         02251  yardes. 

Siluered  taffeta 00146  yardes. 

Leuen  taffeta         09716  yardes. 

Tustaffetta  broade  ..          ..          ..          ..  01517  yardes. 

Tustafeta  narrow 01457  yardes. 

Sarcenetts   . ,          21891  Elles. 

Spanish  silk  and  fine  silk  . .          . .          . .  24226  poundes. 

Orgasine  and  thrown  silk  32975  poundes. 

Rawe  silk,  longe  silk       . .         . .         . .         . .  22722  poundes. 

Shorte  silk  ..          ..  05173  poundes. 

Brigges  silk  01002  poundes. 

Ferret  silk 16862  poundes. 

Paris  silk.     Felozel  silk  00714  poundes. 

Cambricks  16085J  di.  peeces. 

Lawnes        15684J  di.  peeees. 

Sletia  lawnes  13893  di.  &  q'ter 

peeces. 

EXTRACT.  Marginal  Summary. 

Lansdowne  This  Indenture  made  the  13  day  of  July,  2  James  I  [1604]  between  the  Kings 

MS.  172,      Majesty  of  the  one  part  and  Thomas  Bellott   and  Roger  Houghton  of   London 
ff.  297-335.     Gentlemen  of  the  other  part. 

Demise  to  them  and  their  assigns  all  Manner  of  Customs  and  subsidies  of 
Velvets*  Sattens  taffetaes  sarsenets  silke  grogrames,  and  all  manner  of  silks 
and  all  manner  of  raw  silk  and  lawnes. 

During  the  space  of  15  years  to  be  accompted  from  our  Lady  day  last  past 
before  the  date  of  these  presents. 

to  be  brought  into  any  port  or  Creek  of  England  Wales  or  Towne  of  Berwicke 
directly  or  indirectly. 

they  paying  to  the  King  at  the  receipt  of  the  Exchequer  the  sum  of 
[£]8977  9s.  Id.  at  Michaelmas  and  Lady  Day  by  equall  portions. 

none  of  the  said  goods  to  be  landed  without  a  certificate  under  the  hand  of 
the  lessees  or  their  deputy  that  they  be  satisfied  for  the  customs  and  subsidies 
of  the  same. 

That  none  [of  his  Majestys]  Officers  but  the  said  lessees  and  their  deputies 
shall  grant  any  bill  of  store  provision  or  portage  for  any  of  the  said  goods. 

All  forfeitures  of  the  said  goods  seized  by  others  then  the  said  lesses  or  their 
deputies  shall  owe  their  custome  to  the  lessees,  for  which  they  shall  defalte  so 
much  of  their  half  yeres  rent. 

No  part  of  the  Said  Goods  so  forfeited  and  seized  by  the  lessees  or  their 
deputies  shalbee  pardoned  by  the  King. 

*  These  are  more  fully  detailed  in  the  body  of  the  document. 


APPENDIX   C.  651 

the  said  Goods  not  to  be  vttered  or  vented  abroade  before  they  bee  sealed 
and  the  sole  sealing  thereof  is  here  given  and  demised  to  the  said  lessees  and  their 
deputies. 

even  such  Kindes  of  Wares  made  within  the  Kings  dominions  shall  not  bee 
vented  or  vttered  till  they  bee  sealed  by  the  said  patentees  and  lesses  or  their 
deputies. 

Authority  given  to  Gl.  L.  Treasurer,  Chancellor  etc.  uppon  complaint  by 
the  lessees  of  any  grievance  received  by  them  to  the  premisses  of  theise  presents 
by  the  sd.  Act  to  deminish  and  abate  so  much  of  the  said  rent  etc. 

ifk  the  rent  reserved  vppon  this  demise  bee  vnpayed,  or  any  part  thereof, 
by  the  space  of  60  Daies  after  any  day  of  payment,  then  this  demise  to  bee  vtterly 
void. 

the  lessees  shall  from  time  to  time  under  their  handes  notify  what  persons 
they  have  appointed  for  their  deputies  in  every  port  for  the  exectution  of  the 
premisses. 

[Endorsed.] 
The  farme  of  Velvets  Silkes  and  Lawne.     13  July,  2  R.R.  Jac. 

To  the  Quenes  most  excellente  Matie. 

Humbly  besechethe  your  most  Excellente  Majestie,  your  highnes  faiethfull  Lansdowne 
and  humble  servauntes  Thomas  Bullocke  and  Roberte  Redhedd,  that  it  may  MS.  107, 
please  your  Majestie  of  your  aboundante  grace  to  graunte,  that  they  and  there  f .  54. 
assignes,  maye  have  the  whiteninge  of  all  suche  rawe  silke  as  now  is,  or  at  anny 
tyme  hereafter  shalbe  browghte  oute  of  any  the  partes  beyonde  the  Seaes  into 
this  your  Majesties  Realme  of  Englande,  before  the  same  be  converted  into  any 
other  dye  or  culler.  They  takeinge  for  there  so  doinge,  vid.  of  every  pounde 
accordinge  the  usuall  rate  now  acustomed  withoute  any  other  imposition  or 
exaction,  And  that  it  shalbe  lawfull  for  theme,  there  deputies  and  assignes  from 
tyme  to  tyme,  to  sease  uppon,  and  take  into  there  handes  (as  goodes  forfeited), 
All  suche  Silcke,  as  they  shall  hereafter  finde  to  be  died,  before  the  same  be,  by 
them  or  there  deputies,  (and  no  other),  whitened  :  accordinge  your  Majesties 
most  gracius  graunte  in  that  behalf.  That  thereby  the  abuses  used  to  your 
Majesties  subiectes,  conteined  in  certeine  particulars  hereafter  followinge  maye 
be  dewly  reformed.  And  your  poore  and  faithfull  servantes,  as  they  ar  there 
unto  most  dewtifully  bounde,  shall  delaye  praye  for  the  continewall  preservation 
of  your  most  excellent  Majestie  in  all  blessed  felicitie  longe  to  reigne  over  us. 

The  abuse  used  in  dienge  of  Rawe  Silke  before  the  same  be  whitened. 

Whereas  all  rawe  silke  generally  oughte  to  be  whitened  before  the  same 
be  died  into  any  other  cullor,  aswell  for  the  avoydinge  of  the  Drosse,  which  other- 
wise it  will  take  in  the  dyeing,  as  for  the  better  receauinge  of  suche  culler  as  the 
same  shalbe  converted  into.  The  Merchauntes  and  Retaylors  of  those  silkes, 
doe  only  cause  suche  parte  thereof  to  be  whitened,  as  they  doe  converte  into 
anny  riche  or  light e  culler,  bycause  the  deceite  therein  will  sonest  be  discouered. 
But  all  suche  silke  as  is  died  into  blacke  culler,  Whereof  is  made  sowinge  silke, 
buttons,  lace,  ffrindg  and  suche  like  comodities  used  amongeste  the  greateste 
multitude  and  meaneste  sorte  of  your  Majesties  Subiectes,  is  not  whitened  at  all. 
By  reason  whereof  it  receaueJi  suche  drosse  in  the  dyeing,  as  every  pounde  in 
weighte,  is  increased  to  as  muche  more  after  it  is  died  :  to  the  great  losse  and 
detriment  of  your  Majesties  Subiects,  aswell  thorowgh  the  increase  of  the  seid 
weighte,  as  thorowgh  the  rottennesse  of  the  said  silke  receaueth  by  the  drosse, 
not  being  whitened  before  the  dicing. 


652  APPENDIX  C. 

(f.  556.)  [Endorsed.] 

The  humble  petition  of  your  Majesties  faithfull  and  obedient  servauntes 

Thomas  Bullock  and  Roberte  Redhedd. 

for 
The   whitening  of  all  suche  rawe  silke  as  shalbe  brought  into  this  your 

Majesties  Realme  of  Englande. 

Lansdowne  In  Queene  Elizabeth  daies,  was  an  Acte  of  Parliament  made  that  no  made 
MS.  152,  ware,  (that  is  to  saie)  any  made  ware  that  is  wrought  by  handie-craft-men,  because 
f.  237.  she  should  sett  her  owne  people  at  work,  but  after  that  the  English  men  were 
not  so  skilfull  in  trades,  to  make  all  kinde  of  wares,  Therfore  there  was  a  tolleration 
graunted  that  merchaunts  brought  in,  payinge  theire  custome  as  they  did  before, 
But  now  is  the  people  mightely  increased  bothe  in  number  of  people  and  in  all 
good  skiJl,  and  skillfull  of  all  kinde  and  manner  of  trades  as  followeth, 
Silke  weaving  of  silke  lase  of  silver  and  gould  lase,  and  broode  tufted  taffities, 
all  kinds  of  broode  stuff e  and  fustians  but  especiallie  the  throinge  of  rawe  silke 
by  silke  throsters,  which  be  mightelie  increased  and  dothe  an  number  of  poore 
people  at  worke  in  London  and  about  London  and  in  Middlesex,  and  can  be  proved 
that  many  thousands  of  poore  people  are  imployed  by  windinge  and  throinge  of 
silke  and  gett  theire  lyvinges  by  yt.  Now  further  some  a  fewe  merchaunts  do 
bringe  in  so  muche  throwne  silke,  likewise  died  silke,  that  it  dothe  hurte  this 
number  of  poore  people,  that  ihey  cannot  be  imployed  and  sett  at  worke,  that 
they  cannot  gett  theire  lyvinge  with  the  trade  that  they  have  learned,  because 
there  is  so  muche  made  ware  daylie  brought  into  this  land,  especiallie  throne 
silke  and  dyed  silke.  Therfore  wee  crave  in  the  behaulf  of  the  number  of  poore 
people,  because  all  kinde  of  vyttells  groweth  scant  and  deare,  and  the  number  of 
poore  people  do  dailie  increase. 

Therfore  it  shall  please  his  highe  maiestie  in  his  greate  wisdome  to  consider 
the  greate  number  of  the  poore  handie-craft-men  to  sett  a  new  taxation  or 
imposition  uppon  all  made  ware  that  shalbe  brought  heureforat  or  hereafter  into 
England,  as  for  throne  silke,  died  silke  and  orgessine  and  naples  and  fferrett, 
two  shillings  or  haulf  a  crowne  uppon  every  pound  of  throne  silke,  or  died,  besids 
the  old  ancitient  ordynarie  custome,  and  whosoever  bringeth  in  any  by  stealth 
it  shalbe  forfeyted  and  the  partie  laied  in  prison,  and  this  wilbe  the  right  occasion, 
wherby  the  merchaunts  will  bringe  in  the  silke  rawe  and  unwrought,  and  soe 
the  kings  people  shalbe  imployed  and  sett  at  worke,  by  theire  trade  and  handy 
crafte. 

f .  2386.  [Endorsed.] 

Touch,  an  imposition  desired  to  be  put  uppon  wrought  silk  beyond  the  seas 
that  poore  people  here,  uppon  the  rawe  silke  may  be  set  on  work  the 
more  plentifully. 
13  July,  1608. 

6  Aug.,  1612. 

Lansdowne  Touching  the  stay  of  importation  of  all  manner  of  silke  wrought  by  itself, 

MS.  152,     or  with  any  other  stuf  in  ribbons,  laces,  girdles,  and  points. 
f.  332.  19.  H.   7.     cap.  21.     silk  weavers    1         the    importation   of   silke   ribbons, 

3.  E.    4.     cap.     6.     Embroderers  >  laces,  pieles  points  and  imbrodered 

1.  R.   3.     cap.  12.     by  strangers   j  stuf  prohibited. 

(f .  3336.)  [Endorsed.] 

Notes  touching  the  silke  weavers  petition. 
6  Aug.,  1612. 


APPENDIX  C. 


653 


The  Bailieffe  of  the  fratemitie  of  Silkweavers  of  London  did  heretofore 
preferre  their  petition  to  the  Maior,  and  Aldermen  of  the  said  citie,  desiringe 
thereby  that  their  said  petition  might  by  them  be  commended  to  the  right  honour- 
able the  Lords  and  others  of  his  Majestie's  most  honourable  privye  councell.  The 
which  was  done  accordinglie.  And  thereupon  the  same  was  by  their  Lordships 
referred  to  the  right  honourable  Sr.  Julius  Cesar  and  the  right  worshipfull 
Sr.  Francis  Bacon. 

The  said  petitioners  by  their  said  petition  did  shewe  that  it  was  enacted 
in  Anno  19n<>.  H.  7,  that  no  man  should  bringe  into  this  realme  to  be  sold  any 
manner  of  silke  wrought  by  it  self,  or  with  other  stuff  in  Ribbands,  Laces,  girdles 
&c.  upon,  panie  to  forfeite  the  thinge  so  brought. 

The  said  petitioners  did  further  shewe,  that  the  same  La  we  was  at  that  time 
a  very  necessary  La  we  for  the  settinge  of  many  people  on  worke,  and  is  now  much 
more  necessarye,  then  at  that  time  it  was,  for  that  the  kingdome  doth  now  much 
more  abound  with  people,  then  at  that  tune  it  did. 

This  statute  beinge  dispensed  withall  by  (non  obstante)  wares  ready  wrought 
are  brought  into  this  kingdome  to  the  greate  preiudice  of  the  petitioners. 

The  humble  suite  of  the  said  petitioners  is  that  the  said  wares  may  not  be 
brought  in  ready  wrought,  but  may  be  wrought  within  the  kingdome  as  by  la  we 
and  equitie  they  ought  to  be. 


(f.  3316.) 

The  Imbroderers  petition. 
6  Aug.,  1612. 


[Endorsed.] 


10  Sept.,  1612.     The  silkeweavers  and  imbroderers  of  London. 

1.  The  multitude  of  Strangers  of  those  trades  to  be  restreyned. 

2.  And  the  statute  of  restraint  of  bringing  into  England  forreine  manufactures 

of  that  kind  to  be  put  in  practise. 

The    Farmour    of    the    silke    farme. 
That  the  rawe  silkes  will  amount  to  a  such  custome  and  the  said  wrought 

commodities. 

That  an  infinite  number  of  subiects  shalbe  set  on  work. 
That  bad   stuf  and  falsely  wrought   is   brought  over  which   would   be 

amended  here. 
That  this  importation  is  flat  against  the  statute  of  19  H.  7,  21  cap. 

The  ff armour  of  the  generall  Customes. 

1.  The  Kings  custome  thereby  wilbe  diminished. 

2.  Leagues  and  treatises  wilbe  broken. 

3.  Our  necessary  commodities  wilbe  restreyned  in  other  countries  to  a  greate 

losse  of  our  nation,  then  gaine  to  these  few  petitioners. 

4.  The  first  ground  of  that  la  we  was  uppon  a  contention  of  sphere  betwene 

E.  the  4  and  the  then  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

5.  That  the  use  of  that  la  we  hath  here  allwais  suspended. 

6.  That  our  clothes  were  at  that  time  forbidden  in  the  lowe  Countries,  and 

sent  onely  breighd  from  time  to  time. 

7.  That  proclamations  have  been  made  against  the  practise  of  that  lawe. 

8.  All  informations  in  the  Exchequer,  and  elsewhere  in  the  statute  alwais  stayed, 

and  none  executions  uppon  it. 

9.  That  by  like  and  the  same  statutes  the  like  manufacturers  prohibited  to  be 

imported,  but  never  practised. 

10.  (f.  2356.)  If  the  prohibition  desired  should  be  granted  it  were  nedeles  ;  for 

time  hath  drawn  the  custome  of  such  commodities  from  2,000^.  yearly 
to  an  other,  by  reason  of  our  peoples  making  here  of  these  manufactures. 


Lansdowne 

MS.  152, 

f .  330. 


Lansdowne 

MS.  152, 

f .  235. 


654  APPENDIX   C. 

[Endorsed.]     (f.  2366.)     10  Sept.,  1612. 
The  silke  weavers  and  the  embroderers  for  the  prohibition  of  the  importation 

of  silke  manufactures. 
1  Rich.  3,  cap.  9.     Strangers  artifices  in  this  kingdome. 

Additional  A  Com.  under  the  greate  seale  of  England  dated  xxvi°  die  Junij  Anno  xviii0 

MS.  29975,  Re  Jacobi  Angl  etc.  made  to  Sr.  Thomas  Coventrye  or.  Sollicitor  generall, 
f.  39.  Sr.  Thomas  Lowe  Alder,  or.  of  Citty  of  London,  Sr.  John  Jolles  Alderman  of 
the  Citty  of  London,  Sr.  ffrancis  Gofton  one  of  or.  Auditor  of  or.  Impreste, 
Sr.  William  Pitte,  Knights,  Robert  Heath  Recorder  of  or.  said  Citty  of  London, 
Richard  Deane  one  of  the  Sheriffs  of  or.  said  Citty  of  London,  Esquires.  Or 
any  fower  or  more  of  them  the  said  Sr.  Tho.  Coventrye  and  Robert  Heath  being  two. 
The  said  Com.  are  aucthorised  to  calle  before  them  or  any  ffower  or  more  of 
them  whereof  the  said  Sr.  Thomas  Coventrye  and  Robert  Heath  to  be  two  all 
such  Silkedyers  Silkmen  Silkeweavers  and  other  persons  as  they  shall  thinke  fitt 
by  whome  the  truthe  may  best  appeere  (as  well  by  examination  of  them  upon 
oathe  as  by  any  other  good  wayes  and  meanes  as  to  them  shall  soonne  meete) 
to  discover  what  abuses  ffraudes  and  deceipts  have  beene  or  are  in  any  sorte  put 
in  practice,  used  done  or  committed  in  the  dying  of  any  manner  of  silke  eyther 
Blacke  or  in  Colors  by  any  person  or  persons  as  well  in  those  silkes  which  come 
ready  dyed  from  fforraigne  parts  as  in  those  which  are  dyed  within  this  Realme 
of  England  and  in  the  dominion  of  Wales  or  eyther  of  them  whereby  there  hath 
beene  any  increase  of  weight  more  then  of  necessity  ought  to  be  to  make  the 
Colours  by  the  dye  added  there  unto,  without  corrupt  matter  or  stuffe  applyed 
or  used  to  increase  the  weighte  thereof,  And  in  what  manner  the  same  is  or  hath 
beene  done,  What  corrupt  matter  or  stuffe  hath  beene  soe  used  in  dyinge  such 
silke,  and  generally  what  other  fraudes  deceipts  and  Abuses  have  beene  or  no  we 
are  usually  done  or  put  in  practise  in  the  dying  of  Silke  for  private  lucre  or  gaine 
to  the  deceipte  of  his  Mats.  Subiecte  buying  useinge  or  weareinge  the  same, 
What  plotte  Combinations  conclusions  or  Agreemts.  have  beene  made  betweene 
merchante  Silkemen,  Silkedyers  Weavers  Haberdashers  or  other  persons  to 
contynewe  the  said  deceipts  frauds  and  abuses  in  false  dyinge  of  silkes, 
What  meane  unexpert  dyers  or  other  unskilfull  persons  not  trayned  upp  in 
the  trew  dying  of  Silkes  have  beene  and  are  used  and  ymployed  in  dying 
of  silkes  for  the  private  benifitt  and  avayle  of  themselves  or  of  any  mer- 
chante Cittizen  or  any  other  person  or  persons  whereby  the  Subiecte  hath  beene 
endamaged  hindered  and  deceived  as  aforesaid,  And  all  other  matters  circum- 
stance and  things  within  their  discretions  they  shall  thinke  fytt  to  be  knowne 
founde  out  and  discovered  concerning  the  premisses,  whereby  the  said  Abuses 
Corruptions  falseties  and  deceipts  may  be  the  more  playnelye  manifested  and 
a  corse  of  reformation  therby  the  better  and  more  speedely  understood  sett  downe 
and  put  in  execution. 

(f.  396.)  And  ffurther  the  said  Com.  or  any  ffower  or  more  of  them  whereof 
the  said  Sr.  Tho.  Coventrye  and  Robert  Heath  to  be  two  are  aucthorised  to  conferr 
with  the  said  Silkmen  Silkdyers  and  Weavers  or  other  persons  aforesaid  of  the  best 
and  fittest  courses,  waies  and  meanes  to  be  used  and  taken  for  reformation  of 
the  said  falseties  and  deceipts  as  well  in  the  Silkes  dyed  in  fforraigne  parts  and 
ymported,  as  in  the  silkes  dyed  within  this  Kingdome.  And  ho  we  the  meane 
unexpert  dyers  and  other  persons  unskilfull  in  the  trade  of  dyinge  of  silkes  by 
whome  the  greatest  parte  of  the  said  abuses  are  committed  may  be  barred  and 
excluded  from  dying  of  silke  and  such  as  are  skilfull  honest  and  well  experienced 
in  the  arte  or  mistery  may  be  therein  whollie  ymployed  to  dye  the  said  silk  truly 
without  increase  of  weight  above  his  true  nature. 


APPENDIX  C. 


655 


And  for  the  better  effecting  thereof  to  conferr  with  the  said  merchants  Silk- 
men  or  other  persons  what  reasonable  prices  and  allowances  are  fitt  and  Requisite 
to  be  paid  and  given  to  the  Silkdyers  by  the  pounde  for  theire  paynes  in  dyinge 
the  said  silke  truly  without  fraude  or  deceipts,  and  what  courses  the  said  skilfull 
silkdyers  will  yeild  unto  for  engageing  themsealves  unto  his  Maty,  to  dye  all 
manner  of  silkes  hereafter  without  such  fraude  or  deceipt.  And  what  Allowance 
the  said  Silkdyers  wil  bee  contente  to  yeild  upon  the  pounde  of  silke  dyed  to  such 
person  or  persons  as  his  Maty,  shall  from  tyme  to  tyme  .ymploye  carefully  to 
searche  and  look  unto  the  execution  of  such  courses  of  reformation  as  shalbe 
sett  downe  therein. 

And  upon  examination  conference  and  discussinge  in  and  about  the  premisses 
and  upon  consideration  thereupon  had  and  of  any  other  matter  or  circumstance 
tendering  to  the  execution  of  his  Mats,  pleasure  here  informerly  declared.  The 
said  Commissioners  or  any  ffower  or  more  of  them  as  aforesaid  are  aucthorised 
and  required  to  sett  downe  in  writeinge  under  their  hande  the  substance  and 
effecte  of  theyre  proceedinge  upon  this  his  Mats.  Com.  Togeather  with  their 
opynions  and  Judgments  what  they  should  finde  and  hould  fittest  to  be  done 
and  the  best  and  lykelyest  Course  to  take  effecte  for  reformation  of  the  said 
frauds  corruptions  deceipts  and  abuses  and  settlemente  of  the  said  trade  of 
Silkedyinge  in  a  just  and  true  Course  whereupon  his  Maty,  may  give  such  further 
direction  as  in  his  highness  Judgment  shalbe  thought  meete. 

Aucthority  given  to  the  said  Com.  or  any  ffower  or  more  of  them  as  aforesaid 
by  warrante  or  otherwise  to  call  all  such  persons  before  them  who  yf  they  shall 
refuse  to  come  or  comeinge  before  them  shall  refuse  to  be  examined  upon  oathe 
or  otherwise  then  his  Mats,  pleasure  is  the  said  Com.  should  certefy  the  names 
of  such  person  or  persons  for  refuseinge  whereby  his  Maty,  might  take  such  ffurther 
Course  as  to  Justice  shall  apperteyne  for  doeing  of  all  which  his  Mats,  letters 
pattents  shalbe  unto  every  of  them  a  sufficient  warrante  and  discharge,  ffor  the 
more  ease  and  expedition  in  the  said  service,  his  Maty,  hath  commanded  that 
such  of  his  Mats.  Officers  whome  the  said  Commissioners  shall  thinke  fitt  and 
require  shalbe  ready  and  attendante  -upon  them  etc.  The  said  Commission  is 
to  continue  in  force  and  the  said  Commissioners  to  proceed  in  the  execution 
thereof,  albeyt  the  said  Commission  be  not  contynued  from  tyme  to  tyme  by 
adiournament. 

(f.  406.)  [Endorsed.] 

An  abstracte  of  the  Com.  for  dyinge  of  Silkes. 

Hen.  8.      A  project  for  bringing  in  the  weyning  of  Silke  into  England. 
The  transcript  of  Antony  Gwydot's  Letters  to  my  Lord. 

To  my  most  honourable  Lorde. 

Knowing  myself  unhabil  to  satisfie  to  the  obligacons  and  debts  which  I  owe 
unto  the  kings  Majestic  our  Souveraigne  Lorde  dayly  labouring  in  mynde  and 
contynually  thinking  in  what  manner  I  may  in  any  parte  shewe  my  dewtie  towards 
his  highenis,  and  being  fewe  days  passed  at  Messina  I  took  fantasie  to  speke  with 
certaine  weyvers  of  Silken  cloth  and  maistres  of  that  Crafte,  which  ben  those 
kinds  of  workemen  that  haue  within  these  15  years  so  proffited  the  said  Citie 
which  (destroyed  as  it  was)  at  this  daye  is  chief  and  principall  Citie  of  the  Realme 
of  Cecile,  and  the  Citizens  of  the  same  growne  so  Riche  that  it  is  marvail  to  see 
them  and  all  by  the  same  said  crafte. 

Ffor  the  which  considering  the  Towne  of  Hampton  for  lacke  of  exercise  of 
Workemen  to  be  almoste  destroyde  and  also  howe  good  it  wolde  be  to  haue  such 
a  crafte  in  the  said  place.  Cheefely  for  the  commoditie  of  the  Kings  Majectie 
and  the  benefite  of  his  Subiects.  Also  that  (the  sayd  crafte  increased  in  the 
said  place,)  (which  I  doubt  nothing  so  that  by  your  Lordeship  the  same  may 


Cottonean 

MS., 

Titus  B.  v., 
f.  195. 


656  APPENDIX   C. 

be  favoured)  the  Normands  and  Britons  which  haue  gon  to  Lyones,  three  or 
four  &c.  myles  for  Clothe  of  Silke,  schall  haue  more  commoditie  to  repaire  to 
Hampton  for  the  same,  for  that  they  may  bring  and  Carye  their  merchaundizes 
thither  by  See,  where  as  to  Lyones  they  cannot,  and  they  schall  haue  of  all  sorts 
of  silke  as  good  Chepe  as  at  the  said  Lyones.  I  Resolued  with  myself  secretly 
to  haue  communication  with  one  of  the  best  maistres  of  the  said  crafte  in  the 
said  Citie  of  Messina,  also  at  florentyne.  Nevertheless  making  hym  Large  offer, 
and  to  such  effecte  that  in  the  (f .  1956.)  name  of  God  the  24th  day  of  february  last 
with  24  persones  men  and  woomen  practised  in  the  said  craft,  he  schippyd  hymself 
upon  a  schip  of  Raugey  (?)  for  hamptun.  Among  the  which  ben  eight  maried 
men  with  their  wyves  and  chyldren,  and  all  necessaries  that  may  pertaigne  to 
their  said  Craft.  The  which  (I  assure  you)  hath  not  ben  done  with  lytell  daunger 
of  my  lyfe,  and  without  grete  expensis  to  conveye  them  a  waye  with  all  their 
necessaries  for  their  said  craft.  And  all  things  with  my  labour  I  schall  thinke 
well  bestowed,  when  I  perceive  that  your  good  Lordeship  shall  take  it  for  well 
and  that  I  haue  made  good  determynation  as  I  perswade  my  self  to  have  done. 
And  because  I  wolde  knowe  parte  of  your  Lordeschip  is  mynde  upon  the  said 
besynis,  that  is  to  say  that  the  same  may  be  desirous  the  said  Crafte  to  be  well 
applyed  at  this  present,  as  it  is  my  desire,  being  never  so  good  occasion  as  nowe 
for  these  preparations  of  warre  in  all  thies  parties,  which  given  small  courage  to 
such  crafte,  I  will  if  ye  schall  thinke  good  take  mo  men  at  florence,  Luke,  Jeane, 
and  Venyce  to  the  number  of  six  or  eight  famylyes  the  connyngest  men  of  all 
Italy,  for  they  cannot  be  without  their  wives  and  servaunts  practysed  in  their 
crafte,  they  must  haue  also  all  their  necessaries  pertaynyng  to  the  same,  which 
muste  needs  be  grete  travaile  and  coste  to  Remoove  their  habitation  so  hoolly, 
nevertheles  if  ye  encourage  me,  let  me  alone  with  the  rest,  notwithstanding  that 
the  burden  is  much  weighty  and  hevy  for  my  schulders  that  I  shall  haue  neede 
of  some  helpe,  as  I  haue  written  to  my  father  in  La  we  at  Large  (f .  196).  Wherfore 
it  may  please  your  Lordschip  to  be  so  good  that  I  may  be  answered  by  the  same 
or  sum  other  for  you.  One  onely  grace  I  demaunde  of  your  Lordeschip  in  this 
affaire,  which  is  to  be  intermediator  to  the  Kings  Majestie  to  give  me  privilege 
for  15  or  20ti.  years.  No  man  to  may  within  the  Realme  make  or  let  make  any 
such  kinde  of  worke  but  under  me  and  my  name,  which  me  seemyth  no  unreason- 
able Request,  having  ben  at  such  labour  charge.  And  I  haue  good  confidence 
when  ye  schall  see  the  saide  Crafte  in  Hamptun,  and  that  the  Kings  grace  the 
qualities  of  the  men  brought  thither,  ye  wilbe  Intercessor  to  the  same  to  give 
me  sum  helpe  and  courage  to  amplifie  the  said  Crafte  the  which  (I  doubt  not) 
but  in  fewe  years  shalbe  as  well  practised  by  thinglysch  nation  as  any  other. 

Themperors  Majestie  twoo  years  passed  being  here  in  Napolls  dyd  give  grete 
privilege  and  gifts  unto  ye  brethren  named  frauncys  and  Augustin  Cordes 
Wyllames  for  to  set  up  the  said  Craft  at  Antwarpe,  which  (I  understand  haue  so 
done  being  a  crafte  of  great  proffit  and  Reputation)  humbly  beseeching  your 
Lordeschip  to  write  half  a  dozen  words  to  the  Maior  of  Hamptun  to  well  intreate 
the  24:ti.  persones  which  I  haue  sent  thither,  that  they  be  not  preiudiced  but 
privileged  in  what  parte  so  ever  they  dwell.  And  when  they  of  Hamptun  might 
have  commoditie  for  a  certayne  tyme  to  give  them  eight  or  ten  howses  of  two 
or  three  nobils  by  the  yere  Rentfree.  It  shuld  be  well  Imployed  upon  them  by 
whoes  writing  of  their  good  entertaynement,  within  fewe  monethis  without  any  costs 
or  chargs  to  us  they  wold  resorte  thither  to  dwell.  But  being  the  Towne  poore 
(f .  1966.)  I  will  not  require  you  to  desire  it  of  them,  notwithstanding  it  wolde  make 
to  a  good  purpose  and  also  the  Towne  of  Hamptun  shuld  be  gretely  refreshed 
to  haue  30^'.  or  40^.  howseholds  of  one  craft.  And  bycause  your  Lordeship 
can  consider  the  same  better  then  I,  I  enlarge  no  ferther  in  the  same  mater. 

Yf  the  Kings  Majestie  or  your  Lordeship  may  be  pleased  that  I  shall  bring 
over  a  maistre  that  worketh  upon  tellets  or  other  cloth  of  golde,  ye  shall  see  other 


APPENDIX   C.  657 

workemen  then  ever  I  have  scene  there.  And  it  may  please  you  to  be  advertised 
that  the  maistre  that  is  with  the  24£i.  persones  for  to  work  damasks,  Satyins, 
velvets,  crymysen  and  taffata,  all  Italye  hath  no  better,  ye  may  set  hym  to  what 
thinge  ye  will  whether  badge  or  any  other  thing  and  schortly  he  will  speede  you. 

Likewise  if  it  may  please  you  to  have  a  coonnyng  palar  maker. after  the 
manner  of  Italy  or  for  gardynes  or  a  paynter  I  haue  commoditie  to  prove  your 
desire  with  such  as  ye  never  had  in  those  parties. 

When  I  may  haue  your  Lordeschip'is  answer  I  will  departe  from  this  cuntrey, 
and  if  I  may  be  hable  to  prove  the  Kings  Majestic,  your  Lordeship  or  yours  in 
Napolls,  Rome,  florence,  or  Venyce,  or  any  place  wheresoever  I  am  moste  redy 
to  beye  according  my  dewtie,  for  I  desire  nothing  so  much  as  to  do  you  service, 
and  bycause  your  Lordeschip  understandeth  more  sleeping  then  I  can  do  waking 
I  enlarge  no  ferther.  I  haue  preferred  certain  things  for  the  Kings  Majestie, 
and  for  the  queens'is  gaine  not  forgetting  your  good  Lordship.  I  trust  by  the 
feast  of  Mydsomer  to  be  in  Ingland  desiring  you  to  contyneu  good  Lord  unto 
my  father  in  Lawe,  who  truly  hathe  suffered  enough  for  me. 

CATALOGUE    DESCRIPTIONS    OF    CHARTERS. 

G.  22.     Indentura    qua    Maria    filia    Johannse    Savage    pomit    se    ipsam  Harl.  Ch.  55. 
apprenticiarp,  Roberto  Udale,  aurifabro  London,  et  Katerinse  uxori  ejus,  sylke-  [Photo- 
woman,   ad   artem   qua  dicta   Katerina   utitur,   erudiendam,   ad   finem   septem  graphed.] 
ammorum.     Test.  Thoma  Myrfyn,  tune  Mayore  Lond.,  Thoma  Aleyne  et  Jacobo 
Spencer,  vicecomitibus.     Dat.  22  Feb.  10  Hen.  VIII  [1519].     Signata  "  p.  me 
Robtu  Udale."     2  Seals. 

Release  from  the  Crown  to   Samuel  Dashwood,   Stephen  Evance,   Henry  Add.  Ch. 
Furnese,  Knt.,  Frank  Dashwood,  merchant  of  London,  and  others,  of  the  moieties     44892. 
belonging  to  the  Crown  of  three  consignments  of  raw  silk  imported  into  the  Port 
of  London  from  Amsterdam,  contrary  to  the  Statute.     Dat.  14  Oct.  5  William 
and  Mary  [1693].     Great  Seal. 

Warrant  addressed  to  Thomas  [Pelham]  Holies,  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Keeper  Add.  Ch. 
of  the  Privy  Seal,  for  the  issue  of  Letters  Patent  to  William  Martin  of  Fenchurch      29385. 
St.,  London,  hosier,  and  Ann  Robinson  of  Woburn,  co.  Bedford,  spinster,  to 
protect  for  14  years  their  invention  of  a  new  method  of  manufacturing  silk  mitts 
and  silk  gloves.     Westminster,  17  Jan.,  1766.     Paper  Seal  and  Revenue  Stamp. 

"  Extract." 

"  WHEREAS  William  Martin  of  Fenchurch  Street  in  Our  City  of  London, 
Hosier  and  Ann  Robinson  of  Woburn  in  Our  County  of  Bedford  Spinster  have 
by  their  petition  humbly  Represented  unto  us  that  they  have  by  long  study 
application  and  Great  Expence  invented  a  method  entirely  new  and  not  hitherto 
practiced  of  making  and  manufacturing  of  Silk  Mitts  and  Silk  Gloves  which  said 
Invention  they  have  with  great  Application  and  at  a  Considerable  Expense  brought 
to  perfection  so  as  to  be  of  General  Utility  and  benefit  to  the  Subjects  of  this 
Our  Kingdom." 


APPENDIX   D. 


"  The  demolition  of  all  Protestant  temples  throughout  France ;    the  entire    Revocation 
proscription  of  the  Protestant  religion  ;   the  prohibition  of  private  worship,  under     of  Edict  of 
confiscation  of  body  and  property  ;    the  banishment  of  Protestant  pastors  from     Nantes — 
France  within  fifteen  days ;    the  closing  of  Protestant  schools  ;    the  prohibition     What  it 
of  parents  to  instruct  their  children  in  the  Protestant  faith  ;    the  injunction,     involved, 
under  a  penalty  of  five  hundred  livres  in  each  case,  to  have  their  children  baptized 
by  the  parish  priest  and  brought  up  in  the.  Roman  Catholic  religion ;    the  con- 
fiscation of  the  property  and  goods  of  all  Protestant  refugees  who  failed  to  return 
to  France  within  four  months  ;    the  penalty  of  the  galleys  for  life  to  all  men, 
and  of  imprisonment  for  life  to  all  women  detected  in  the  act  of  attempting  to 
escape  from  France." — The  Huguenots,  p.    157.     Smiles. 

"At  this  time  (1687)  a  dreadful  persecution  raging  in  France  against  the    Assistance 
distressed  Protestants,  they  were  obliged  to  seek   refuge  in    most    Protestant    to 
countries  ;    many  thousands  of  them  came  into  this  Kingdom,  as  appears  by     Destitute 
fifteen  thousand  and  five  hundred  of  them  being  relieved  in  this  year,  by  money     Huguenots, 
arising  from  a  brief,  whereon  wras  collected  the  sum  of  sixty-three  thousand,  seven 
hundred  and  thirteen  pounds,  two  shillings  and  threepence.     Thirteen  thousand 
and  five  hundred  of  the  said  refugees  settled  in  this  city  and  parts  contiguous, 
besides  such  as  wanted  no  charity.     On  this  melancholy  "occasion  the  Citizens  of 
London  exerted  themselves  in  a  very  laudable  manner,  striving  to  out- do  one 
another  in  their  charitable  benefactions,  for  the  support  of  their  afflicted  Christian 
brothers." — Maitland's  History  of  London,  vol.   1,  p.  485. 

Boyde,  J.,   Spital   Square,   E.  List  of 

Brooks,  T.,   Spital  Square,  E.  Silk  Manu- 

Campbell,  J.  &  Co.,  Spitalfields,  E.  facturers 

Campbell  Harrison  &  Co.,  Friday  Street,  E.G.  from  the 

Carter  Vavasour  &  Rix,  9,  Trump  Street,  Cheapside,  E.G.  Art  Journal 

Casey  &  Phillips,  13,  Spital  Square,  E.  Catalogue  of 

Cornell  &  Co.,  Nuneaton,  and  15,  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  E.G.  Exhibition, 

Courtauld  &  Co. ,  Norwich.  1 85 1 . 

Duthoit,  I.,  26,  Steward  Street,  Spitalfields,  E. 

Graham  &  Sons,  31,  Spital  Square,  E. 

Grout  &  Co.,  Foster  Lane,  City. 

Hill  &  Co.,  30,  Spital  Square,  E. 

Houldsworth  &  Co.,  Manchester. 

Le  Mare  &  Sons,  27,  Spital  Square,  E. 

Robinson,  I.  &  W.,  Port  Street,  Spitalfields. 

Stone  &  Kemp,  Spital  Square. 

Vanner,  J.  &  Son,  Spitalfields. 

Walters  &  Son,  Wilson  Street,  Finsbury,  and  Kettering. 

Winkwork  &  Co.,   Manchester. 

The  above  are  all  manufacturers  of  one  or  more  kinds  of  furniture  or  dress 
silks.  There  were  many  other  exhibitions  of  silk  fabrics,  but  they  were  only 
dealers  in  silk  goods  which  had  been  made  for  them, 

0084 


658B  APPENDIX    D. 

Illustrated  London  News,  February  28th,  1860. 

Advertise-  1.  "  Jas.  Spence  &  Co.,  of  77  &  78,  Saint  Paul's  Churchyard,  beg  to  state 

ments.  that,  in  consequence  of  the  proposed  abolition  of  the  duty  on  French  silks  and 

Note  2.  the  competition  already  begun  to  be  exhibited  in  the  Home  Markets,  they  have 

succeeded  in  securing  several  large  lots  of  new  spring  silks  at  6d.,  8d.  and  l/- 

per  yard  under  the  regular  prices." 

March  16th. 

"  Knight  &  Company  having  secured  at  immense  discount  the  entire  stock 
of  a  French  manufacturer,  are  offering  dress  lengths  of  silks  at  prices  far  below 
the  cost  of  production." 

"  French  Silks  at  13/9  the  Robe  !  A  manufacturer's  entire  stock  of  striped 
Chene  and  checked  French  washing  silks  at  13/9  the  full  dress." 

"  Spring  Silks  duty  free." 

"  New  French  breakfast  dress  silks." 

"  Commercial  Treaty  with  France  !  !     (Spring  silks  Duty  free.)  " 

"  Dress  silks,   Half   price  !  !  !  " 

"  Family  Mourning  and  Black  Silks  at  half  price !  !  !  " 

Etc.     Etc. 

Reports  from         The  Select  Committee  appointed  to  examine  the  Petitions  presented  to 

Committees    the  House  of  Commons  during  the  last  and  present  Sessions  from  Handloom 

of  House  of    Weavers,  and  to  Report  their  Observations  thereupon,  and  who  are  empowered 

Commons,      to  Report  the  Minutes  of  the  evidence  taken  before  them  from  time  to  time  in 

Vol.  XIII,      the  House  :— 

Session  19th  "  Have  examined  the  matters  referred  to  them,  and  have  agreed  to 

Feby.  to  the  following  Report." 

10th  Sept.,  The  Report  fills  over  four  hundred  pages  of  closely  printed  matter,  and 

1835.  presents  in  every  clause  an  unmitigated  picture  of  industrial  misery. 

Note  1. 

At  p.  x  of  the  Report : — 

"  From  Spitalfields  your  Committee  took  evidence  of  a  Mr.  Ballance,  a 
respectable  Manufacturer,  who  stated  that  the  weaver  could  earn  at  the  time 
he  spoke  from  7/6  to  8/-  a  week  clear  of  deductions  :  but  that  to  do  this  he  was 
compelled  to  work  14  hours  a  day ;  and  that  this  labour  is  excessive  and  is  in- 
compatible with  the  Weaver's  health  ;  that  in  1826  he  could  earn  14 /-  ;  and  that 
20 /-  would  be  sufficient  pay  ;  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  support  themselves 
at  their  present  earnings ;  that  their  distresses  are  truly  appalling,  there  being 
many  men  who  used  to  support  their  families  with  credit,  who  are  mere 
paupers." 

At  p.  xii  of  the  Report  it  is  stated : — 

"  The  weekly  wages  a  fair  average  weaver  can,  if  fully  employed  14  hours 
a  day,  now  (1835)  earn  at  the  work  the  majority  of  weavers  are  employed  on 
(in  Great  Britain)  is  stated  in  evidence  by  weavers,  manufacturers  and  other 
witnesses  to  be  as  follows : — 

At  Aberdeen  ..  3/6  to  5/6  net  At  Manchester  ..  5/- to  7/6  net. 

Dundee  ..  6/-to7/-    „  Paisley  ..  6/- to  7/- gross. 

Forfar    ..  . .  6/-               „  Perth     ..  ..  4/9  to  7/9  net. 

Glasgow  . .  4/-  to  8/-  gross       Preston  . .  4/9  to  6/1  gross. 

Huddersfield  ..  4/6  to  5/-    „  Spitalfields  ..  7/6to8/-    „ 

„     (A  few).  .  16/-               „  Stockport  ..  9/- 

Lanark  . .  , .  5/1             net  Nuneaton  . ,  4/8 


APPENDIX     D.  658o 

Coventry  . .     7/6  net          Drogheda          . .     2/4  to  4/-  net. 

Belfast  . .     3/6  to  6/6  gross 

Note  that  these  prices  are  for  weavers  in  full  work,  which  they  declared  was 
14  or  16  hours  a  day. 

Extract  from  a  List  of  Prices  in  the  several  Branches  of  the  Silk  and  Silk- 
mixed  Manufactures  as  settled  from  time  to  time  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen 
and  Recorder  of  the  City  of  London  and  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County 
of  Middlesex  and  the  Liberty  of  His  Majesty's  Tower  of  London  in  their  respective 
Quarter  Sessions,  in  pursuance  of  Two  several  Acts  of  Parliament  made  and 
passed -in  the  13th  and  32nd  Years  of  the  Reign  of  George  III,  commencing  in 
the  year  1795.  Compiled  by  James  Buckridge,  Senr.,  and  printed  by  E.  Justins, 
34,  Brick  Lane,  Spitalfields. 

PERSIANS.— April,  1805. 

2  threads  in  the  reed,  120  shoots  to  the  inch,  or  under.  List  of 

s.    d.        Prices 

20  inches  in  width  or  under  --  1100  or  under,  per  yard  ..  05        issued  in 

From  20    to  23    inches              -  1400    ditto           „       ,,  ..  0  |7         1821. 

23    to  27    inches              -  1600     ditto           „  . .  0  ?  8 

„       27    to    31-J  inches             -  1800    ditto           „  . .  0  10 

„       31|to36    inches              -2200     ditto           „  ..  0  1H 

PLAIN    TAFFITIES.— April,  1806. 

1  thread  in  a  reed,  single  or  double,  2,600  or  under,  at  yard,  if  2  threads  in  a  reed, 
1,800  or  under,  at  yard,  single  or  double. 

s.   d. 

27  inches  or  under       . .          . .          . .          . .         08 

27  to  31J    inches         0  10 

32  to  36    inclusive 10 

37  to  42  , 12 

42  to  45  „  13 

Taffities  not  to  exceed  75  shoots  to  an  inch ;  should  it  exceed  75  shoots,  to 
be  paid  as  Sarsnet. 

PLAIN  TWO-THREAD  SINGLE   SARSNETS.— 4pr*7,  1805. 

120  shoots  to  the  inch  or  under. 

s.   d. 

1,000  or  under,  17  inches  or  under,  per  yard      . .          . .         06 
For  every  100  in  the  reed,  exceeding  1,000,  extra          . .         0    0| 

SARSNETS    SHOT    COTTON. 

80  shoots  to  the  inch  or  under. 

s.   d. 

1,100,  2  threads  single,  20  inches  or  under  . .          . .         06 

For  every  100  in  the  reed,  extra     . .          . .          . .          . .         0    0£ 

FLOWERED  SARSNETS.— A pril,   1806. 

20  inches  or  under. 

s.   d. 

1,000  2  thread  single,  50  lines  or  under,   per  yard  . .         10 

1,100    „       ,  „     „  „  „  ..11 

1,200    „       „  „         „     „  „  „  ..12 

If  any  of  the  above  are  made  2  double  to  advance  * ,        0    1J 


658D  APPENDIX     D. 

MANTUAS    SHOT    COTTON.— April,   1805. 

80  sJioots  to  an  inch,  or  under. 

8,   d. 

1,100,  3  or  4  threads,  or  under,  20  inches  or  under,  per  yard        0     8 
1,300  or  under,  from  20    to  221  inches         ..          „     ,.  0  10 

1,400    .         „         „      22i  to  24"       „  ..    .      „     „  0  11 

1,500    „         „  „     „  1     0 

MANTUAS    SHOT    SILK. 

120  shoots  to  the  inch,  or  under. 

s.   d. 
1,100  or  under,  20  inches  or  under,  3  or  4  threads  in  the 

reed,    per  yard      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .         09 

From  20    to  22  J  inches,    1,300  or  under,  per  yard        . .         Oil 
„       22i  to  24~      „  1,400      „  1     0 


PLEATED    TABBY. 

8.   d. 

6  double,  36  shoots  or  under,  per  yard     .  .          . .          . .  36 

Pleated  tissues,  on  mountures,  with   binders  out  of  the 

ground — 45  lines  or  under         . .          . .          . .          . .  36 

For  every  line  extra  01 

One  thread  extra  binder        . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  03 

Two  threads        ditto  06 

Plate  three-quarters     . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  2    7| 

Ditto  one-half    . .          . .          19 

Ditto  one- quarter         . .          ....          . .          . .          . .  10 


HANDKERCHIEFS.—.4pn7,  1805. 

Black  Fringed  Twilled. 
Two  or  three  threads  in  the  reed,  made  with  Dounce  Warp. 

For  Twilled  Handkerchiefs,  3  Thread  Dressed,  per  dozen. 

£     ,9.    d. 

27  inches  and  under  063 

30         „         „         „  076 

36  ,.  „  „  0  12     0 

42  „  „  „  0  17     3 

48  „  „  „  ..          .;          146 

54  „  „  „  1  12     6 

LOVE    HANDKERCHIEFS.— Aug..  179f>. 

£   s.    d. 

28  inches  and  under,  2,200  or  under,  per  yard  . .       056 

30  ditto  060 

32  ditto  069 

34  ditto  080 

37  ditto  0  10    0 

41  ditto  0  12     6 

This  includes  the  price  for  the  border  shuttle  arid  the  dressing  also. 


Att>ENDtX     IX  65SE 

MODES. 

Half -ell  two  or  three  thread  Modes. 

20  inches  or  under. 

s.  d. 

800  or  under      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  per  yard  0  4 

900    ditto          ditto  0  4A 

1,000  ditto          „  05 

1,100  ditto          „  0  5J 

All  above  1,100  to  advance               ..          ..  „  0  l" 

CHAIN    TABBIES.— July,  1795. 

*.   d. 
1,000  or  under,  6  double,  per  yard..          ..          ..          ..         12 

1,100      „  „  „  13 

1,200      „  „  „  ..          1     4J 

VELOUR    A    LA    REINK—Jufy,    1795. 

«s\   d. 

1,000  or  under,  6  double,  with  1  lost  shoot,   per  yard        . .         18 
Ditto  \rith  2  lost  shoots  „  . .         22 

Ditto  terry  velour,  with  1  lost  shoot  „  . .         1  10 

Ditto  with  2  lost  shoots  „  ..         24 

BARETTES. 

*.   d. 

1,000  or  under,   4  double,  or  under,  per  yard      . .          . .         13 
1,100      „                 „                   „                 „   *    „         ..          ..         1     4| 
1,200      „                 „                   „                 „„....!     6" 
1,000  or  under,  from  4  to  6  double      „                 . .         . .         16 
For  every  100  reeds  extra 0     1 1 

BROGLIOS. 

s.   d. 
1 ,000  or  under,  4  double,  or  under   . .          . .          . .          . .         14 

1,100      „  „  „  15 

1,200      „  . .  1     6| 

FLORENTINES.— April,   1806. 

Twenty  inches  in  width,  or  under. 

s.   d. 

1,000  or  under,  4  double,  or  under  .  .          . .         per  yard         1     1 

1,100      „               „                   „             ....            .,  „             1     '2 

For  every  100  reeds  extra     . .          . .          . .            „  0     1 1 

If  treble  in  the  leish,  extra  . .          . .          . .            „  02 

If  4  threads  in  the  leish,  extra        . .          . .            „  04 

SOI    DE    DEVIL. 

s.   d, 
1,000  or  under,  4  single,  or  under,  on  12  lambs,  and  12 

treadles        ..          ..         per  yard         1     1-J 

1,000  or  under,  from  4  to  6  single,  ditto  . .  „  1     3| 

For  every  100  extra „  01 


658F  APPENDIX    D. 

POPLINS    AND    TABBINETTES.— April,   1806. 

Half-ell,  20  incites  or  under,  2  threads,  single  in  the  leish. 

s.   d. 

1,000  or  under per  yard        0     6| 

1,100      „  „       „  07 

1,200      „  „  0    7J 

1,300      „  „  08 

1,400      , „       „  0    8| 

1,500      „  ,       „  09 

For  every  100  extra    . .         . .  . .  „  01 

TABIRETT.— April,   1805. 
Four  double,  or  under,  shot  yarn  or  cotton. 

s.   d. 

800  or  under,  35  shoots  to  the  inch,  or  under,     per  yard        0     8 
900  or  under,  35  shoots,  or  under  . .  „  09 

1,000  or  under,  35  shoots,  or  under  . .  „  0  10 

If  more  than  35  shoots  to  the  inch,  to  be  paid  for  every 

5  lines  extra          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .         0    0| 

The  master  to  find  the  yarn  or  cotton,  wound  on  bobbins. 

GINGHAMS. 

s.   d. 

1,000  or  under,  on  thread  tabby,  with  bias  stripe,  3  double 
or  under,  where  bias  no  tabby,  shot  incle  or  cotton, 
24  inches  or  under,  per  piece 
7  yards  in  length  plain          . .          .  .          . .          . .          . .         43 

If  barred  with  4  changes,  or  less,  per  piece         . .          . .         50 

SAXAGOTHAS. 

800  or  under,  1  or  2  threads  in  a  reed,  with  a  single  or 
double  cord,  price  the  same  as  Ginghams,  widths, 
shoots,  bars,  &c.,  the  same. 

VELVETS. 

Narrow  Velvets. 
Two  thread  ground,    1   thread   double   pole,   or   under. 

s.   d. 

,000  reed  or  under,  21  inches  or  under        . .         per  yard        4    0 

,100     „  „    '  „     „  ..  „       „  43 

,200     „  „  „  „     „  ..  „       „  46 

,300     „  „  „  „     „  ..  „       „  49 

,400     „  „  „  „     „  ..  „       „  56 

If  part  double,  and  part  treble  pole,  to  be  paid  as  all  treble. .         0     3 

Stocking-tie  ditto         . .         . .         . .          . .         . .         . .         03 

On  the  above  article,  no  count  under  1,200  to  be  made 
with  a  bias  leizure. 

SILK    GENOA. 

5.    d. 

900  reeds  or  under,  21  i  inches  or  under      . .         per  yard        5    9 
1,000      „  „    '         „  „  ..  „       ,,  63 

If  any  double  in  the  ground,  extra  . .  »  06 


APPENDIX    D.  658G 

FOOT   FIGURED    VELVETS. 

s.  d. 

From  700  to  1,000,  4  double,  or  4  single,  on  tabby  or  twill 
ground,  made  barred.  2  cut  and  2  terry,  more  or  less, 

on  1  roll per  yard        6    0 

1,000  counts  or  under,  6  thread,  satin  ground  or  under — 

per  yard        6    6 
Tying  in  the  whole  of  the  ground  . .  „  76 

SHAGS  FOR  HATS,   OR   OTHERWISE. 

s.   d. 

1,200  or  under,  from  21  to  24  inches,  with  2  threads, 
stocking  or  tabby  ground,   1  thread  double  pole  or 

under,  on  1  roll  or  1  treadle    . .          . .         per  yard  4     1 

25  inches,  1,250  or  under              . .          . .            „  43 

26  inches,  1,300  or  under              . .          . .            „       ,,  46 

27  inches,  1,350  or  under              . .          . .            „     '  „  49 

28  inches,  1,400  or  under              . .          . .            „  51 


.—  April,  1806. 

s.  d. 

1,000  four  or  under     .  .          .  .          .  .          .  .         per  yard  0    7| 

All  counts  under   1,000  to   be  paid  as   1,000,   and  all 

counts  above  1,000  to  be  paid  as  5  thread. 

1  ,000  or  under,  five  thread    .  .          .  .          .  .         per  yard  0     8 

six  thread     ......  „  0  10£ 

seven  thread  .  .         .  .  „  11 

eight  thread  ......  „  1     2| 

nine  thread  .  .          .  .          .  .  „  14 


ten  thread    .  .         .  .         .  .  „  15 

eleven  thread  .  .          .  .  „  17 

twelve  thread  1     9 


DAMASKS.— July,   1805. 

8.   d. 
1,200,  5  thread  or  under,  50  lines  to  the  inch  or  under — 

per  yard        2    0 

1,000,  6         ditto  ditto  „  20 

1,100,6  „  „  „       „  22 

1,200,6  „  „  „',.    „  24 

To  advance  for  every  100  above  1,200      . .  „  02 

And  for  every  5  lines  above  50,  to  advance          „       „  01 

If  shot  with  any  other  material  than  silk  and  made 
upon  the  same  principle  as  silk  damask,  to  be  paid 
the  same  prices. 


AT  A  GENERAL  MEETING 

OF  THE 
MANUFACTURERS  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NORWICH, 

HELD  AT  THE 

HALL  IN  THE  MARKET  PLACE 

ON  FRIDAY,  THE  5th  OF  JULY,  1822. 

JOHN  \V.  ROBBERDS,  ESQ.,  IN  THE  CHAIR. 

THE  FOLLOWING  PRICES  FOR  WEAVING  WERE  AGREED  TO  BE  PAID  FROM 

THIS    DAY. 


BOMBASINES. 


Rate. 
24-3 
26-3 
28-3 
30-3 
32-3 
33-3 
34-3 
36-3 
38-3 
40-3 
42-3 
44-3 
46-3 
48-3 
50-3 


Pence. 

10  ^ 

1QJ 

11 

ii! 

12 

12 

12! 
13 

)  Per 

14 

dozen. 

14! 
15 

15! 
16 

16! 

17  i 

COLOURED  BOMBAZINES. 
Four-pence   per   Dozen   advance  for 
Coloured  Silk  and  Coloured  Shoot. 


Rate. 


12-4, 
13-4, 
14-4. 
15-4, 
16-4, 
17-4, 
18-4, 
19-4, 
20-4, 
21-4. 
22-4 
23-4, 
24-4, 


CAMBLETS. 

Above  24 

18  to  24    to  27 

Above  27 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Sing. 

Don. 

Sing 

.  Don. 

Sing. 

Dou. 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Doz. 

Doz. 

Doz. 

Doz. 

Doz. 

Doz. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

12 

11 

13 

12 

14 

13 

12| 

ii! 

13! 

12! 

14J 

13! 

13 

12 

14 

13 

15" 

14 

13| 

12! 

14! 

13! 

15-i 

14! 

14 

13 

15 

14 

16| 

15t 

14! 

in 

15! 

H! 

16! 

15j 

15 

14 

16 

15 

17 

16 

16 

15 

17 

16 

18 

17 

17 

16 

18 

17 

19 

18 

18 

17 

19 

18 

20 

19 

19 

18 

20 

19 

21 

20 

20 

19 

21 

20 

22 

20 

21 

20 

22 

21 

23 

22 

PLAID  BOMBAZINES. 
Two-pence  advance  for  the  Ground 
Shuttle,  and  One  Penny  for  every 
additional  Shuttle. 

BATAVIAS. 
20-2  from  2s.  6d.  to  2s.  9d.  per  Dozen. 


BRILLIANTS. 


Rate. 

14-4 

15-4  i 

16-4 

17-4; 

18-4 


Pence. 
16 

Per 
17     /  dozen. 


18 


CAMBLETEES,  under  18  inches. 


Rate. 
18-2 
19-2 
20-2 
21-2 
22-2 
23-2 
24-2 
- 


plain 

checked 

plain 

checked 

plain 

checked 

plain 

checked 


Pence. 
11 

12!  i 

ii!  I 

13 

12 
14 
12! 


Per 
dozen. 


zo-z 

26-2 

18-3  and  upwards,  plain.     13 

18-3  and  upwards,  check..     15 


Spotted  Gamble  tecs,  Threepence  per  dozen 
more  than  Plains. 


G5Su 


6581 


Clouded  Cam ble tees,  One  Penny  per  dozen 

more  than  Plains. 
N.B. — Exceeding  18  inches,  to  be  paid  as 

an  equal  rate  of  Carnblet. 

WORSTEAD  PLAIDS. 

To  be  paid  the  same  as  Cambists,  ad- 
vancing One  Penny  per  dozen  for  every 
Shuttle  after  the  first. 

LUSTRES. 
Rate. 
70-4 
60-4 
50-4 
To  advance  or  fall  Sixpence  for  every 

Ten  Score. 

If  27  inches  Drawn,  Sixpence  per  dozen 
more  than  Narrows. 

CALIMANCOES. 


Rate.  Pence. 

14-4  16    i     Per 

15-4  . .          . .  17     ]  dozen. 

16-4  17 

Checked,  One  Penny  per  dozen  extra. 

Brocaded   Calimancoes,   from   2s.    3d.    to 
3s.  per  dozen. 

OLD  NORWICH  COLOURED  CRAPES. 

Narrow  and  Broad. 
21-2  . .  12  Pence  per  dozen. 

DORSETTINE. 
DUROYS. 

Rate.  Pence. 

19-3  figured         ..          ..12    \     Per 

19-3  flowered       . .         . .     14    j  dozen. 


FLORENTINES,    12   Pence  per   dozen. 
FLORETTS,    sec   TOYS. 


Rate. 
22-4 
23-4 
24-4 
25-4 
26-4 
27-4 
28-4 


HAIRBINES. 

Pence. 

.  . 

.  .     16 

.  . 

Per 

.  . 

17" 

dozen 

..      171 

from 

.  . 

..     18 

18  to  27 

..     18J 

inches. 

19 


Rate. 

Pence. 

18-3 

..10 

14-4 

..    io| 

Rate. 

15-4 

.  .  '  10^ 

16-4 

..      10J 

Per 

22-2 

17-4 

..    11 

dozen. 

14-5 

..  Ill 

15-5 

..     12 

20-3 

16-5 

..      121  j 

Clouded,  One  Penny 

per  dozen  extra. 

24-3 

Spotted  do.  Threepence  per  dozen  more 

26-3 

than  Plain. 

28-3 

29-3 

FLOWERED   CALIMANCOES. 

30-3 

One  halfpenny  per  dozen  advance  above 

24  to  27  inches. 
One  Halfpenny  per  dozen  more  advance 

above  27  inches. 


MECKLENBURGHS. 
20-2  from  2s.  3d.  to  2s.  6d.  per  dozen. 

CORDED  POPLINS. 

Pence. 

13  Per 

13    /  dozen. 


PRUNELLS. 


111 

13 

131  j      Per 

14       dozen. 

15 

15 


CRAPES. 

50  score  to    59  score  White  12  Pence. 
60  score  to    69  score     do.      13     „ 
70  score  to    79  score    do.      14     „ 
80  score  to  100  score     do.      15     „ 
Coloured    Crapes    Twopence    per    dozen 

more. 
Twilled  Crapes  One  Penny  advance  above 

plain. 

Figured  Crapes  Sixpence  per  dozen  ad- 
vance above  Plain. 

Plaid  Crapes,  as  Coloured,  and  to  advance 
One  Penny  for  everv  additional 
Shuttle. 


ROSETTS 


13d.  per  dozen. 


658J 


APPENDIX    D. 


Pence. 

12  v 
13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

Per 

21  !  dozen. 

22 

23 

24 

251 

27 

281 
30 

SINGLE  SATTINETS. 

Rate. 
14-5 
15-5 
16-5 
17-5 
18-5 
19-5 
20-5 
21-5 
22-5 
23-5 
24-5 
25-5 
26-5 
27-5 
28-5 
29-5 
30-5 

Double  Sattinets,  One  Penny  per  dozen 
less. 

SATTINS. 
Rate. 

15-4  and  under,  coloured.. 

15-4  ditto,  white  . . 

16-4  coloured  . .  . . 

16-4  white  . .  . . 

17-4  coloured  . .  . . 

17-4  white  . .  . . 

18-4  coloured  . .  . . 

18-4  white  . .  . . 

19-4  coloured  . .  . . 

19-4  white  . .  . . 

20-4  coloured  . .  . . 

20-4  white  . .  . . 

21-4  coloured  . .  . . 

21-4  white  . .  . . 

22-4  coloured  . .  . . 

23-4  white  . .  .  . 

24-4  coloured  . .  . . 

25-4  white  

Bed    Satins,    the    same    price    as    other 

Sattins. 
From  24  to  30  inches  One  Penny  per  dozen 

advance. 

Above  30  inches  Three  Pence  advance. 
One  Shilling  per  Piece  be  allowed  to  such 

Weavers  who  provide  their  own  Tows, 

etc. 


Pence. 

16 

14 

16| 

17  2 

15 

18 

16 

19 

Per 

17 

dozen. 

20 

18 

21 

19 

22 

20 

25 

23 

Common   Brocaded   Sattins,    2s.    6d.    per 

dozen. 
Variegated  Brocaded  Sattins,  from  2s.  9d. 

to  3s.  6d.  per  dozen. 

NARROW  DAMASKS. 
Rate.  Pence. 

15-3  coloured       . .          . .     14    1      Per 
15-3  white  . .     13    j  dozen. 


TOYS  AND 
Rate. 
18-2  foot 
18-2  draft 
14-3  foot 
15-3  foot 
16-3  draft 


FLORETTS. 
Pence. 
..     11 
..     13 
..     13 
..     13 
15 


Per 

dozen. 


J.  W.  ROBBERBS,  Deputy  Chairman. 

J.  W.  Robberds  and  Sons. 

Harvey  and  Lohr. 

William  Herring  and  Co. 

Worth,  Carter  and  Worth. 

Booth,  Theobald  and  Booth. 

J.  C.  Hampp. 

Thomas  Barnard. 

Joseph  Oxley  and  Sons. 

William  Willement. 

Martyn  Willement  and  Sons. 

P.  and  C.  Etheridge. 

Coopers  and  Torris. 

John  Brownfield. 

Robert  Blake. 

John  Francis. 

Thomas  Martineau  and  Son. 

Cornelius  Tipple. 

Joseph  Gibson,  Jun. 

Jer.  Graves  and  Son. 

William  Bossley. 

Colman,  Willett,  and  Oxley. 

William  Robinson. 

H.  R.  Priest. 

James  Pur  die  and  Sons. 

Ephraim  Hinde. 

John  Cater. 

(Printed  by  Matchett  and  Stevenson f  Mar- 
ket-Place, Norwich.} 


LIST  OF  PRICES  FOR  HAND-LOOM  WEAVING  IN  NORWICH 
AND  ITS  NEIGHBOURHOOD. 

AGREED  TO  BY  MANUFACTURERS  AND  OPERATIVES,  MARCH,  1846. 


BOMBAZINES  AND  PARAMATTAS. 

TWILL  CHALLI. 

Broad  and  Narrow  White. 

Rate. 

Per  doz. 

Rate.     Sinqle.                                Per  doz. 
d. 

50-2  &  under 

d. 

8 

30-3  &  under  

8 

51-2  to  58-2    

9 

32-3   „         „     

59-2  to  66-2    

10 

34-3   „         „     

92 

67-2  to  74-2    

11 

36-3   „         

9i 

75-2  to  82-2    

12 

38-3  „         „     

2 

10 

Diaper,     Twills,     8    Havels,     Id. 

dozen 

40-3   „         .     

101 

extra. 

42-3  „         „     

11 

44-3  „         „     

11! 

SPLIT,  OR  GAUZE  SILK. 

46-3   „         .     

12 

Broad  and  Narrow. 

48-3  „         „     

12! 

White. 

50-3  „         „     

13 

Rate. 

Per  doz. 

52-3  ,         „     

13  1 

d. 

54-3   „         .     

14                  50  and  under 

8 

56-3   . 

14!                 51  to  55            

gi 

58-3   „         „     

15                  56  to  60            

9" 

60-3   .         .     

15^ 

Double  Bombazines  to  be  paid  three  half- 
pence per  dozen  above  single  ditto. 

SPLIT,  OR  GAUZE  COTTON 
Coloured. 

Rate.                           Per  doz. 

WORSTED  AND  SINGLE  STUFFS. 

d. 

Broad  and  Narrow  White. 

64  &  under  .  .          .  .       9  J  2   shuttles 

Rate.                                               Per  doz. 

65  to  70       .  .         .  .     10~   „ 

m 

28-2  &  under  

10 

71  to  76       ..         ..     10!  » 

I 

30-2  „         „     

10! 

77  to  82        ..          ..11     h 

lt 

32-2  „         „     

11 

34-2   „         „     .. 

ii! 

SILK  NETS. 

. 

38_2  "„         "„     

12 

Broad  and  Narrow  White 

4Q_2 

13 

Plain. 

42-2   „         .......          '.'.          '.'. 

13| 

Rate. 

Per  doz. 

•t 

Tammet    and    Satin    Stripes    upon    the 
Worsted  to  be  paid  the  same  as  on 
ChaUi. 

60-2  &  under  
61-2  to    65-2  

d. 
12 
12! 

66-2  to    70-2 

13 

ITALIAN  NETS. 

71-2  to    75-2  

13J 

Rate.                                               Per  doz. 

76-2  to    80-2  

14" 

d. 

81-2  to    85-2  

14! 

60  to    68          

19 

86-2  to    90-2  

15 

69  to    76          

20 

91-2  to    95-2  

15! 

77  to    84          

21 

96-2  to  100-2  

16 

85  to    92 

22 

Gauze  or  Ground  Net,  every  shoot  Id. 

93  to  100          

23 

per  doz.  extra. 

658K 


6&8L 


APPENDIX     D. 


Twilled  Nets,   2d.   per  doz.   extra. 
Cotton    Nets,    Id.    per    doz.    below    Silk 

Nets. 

FANCY  SPUN  BOTTOM  SHAWLS. 

Ground  White. 

Rate.  Per  doz. 

d. 

45  and  under  . .          . .  8 

46  to  50  8' 

51  to  55  9 

56  to  60  n 

Coloured  Warp,  Id.  Ditto  Shoot,  Id. 
Satin  to  be  paid  by  Challi  List.  Shuttles 
to  be  paid  the  same  as  other  fabrics. 

First  Set  of  Treadles  (above  the  ground), 
Id.  per  dozen  extra,  and  one  half- 
penny for  every  additional  set. 

Doubling  Silk  or  Cotton,  2d.  per  dozen. 

Twelve  Treadles,  being  a  round  Tread, 
Id.  per  dozen  extra. 

Cotton  Bottom  Shawls  to  be  paid  as 
Spun  Bottom  Shawls. 

Stoved  or  Washed  White  Warp  and 
Shoot  to  be  paid  as  coloured. 


Havels. 


Rate. 


THIBET  SHAWLS. 


Rate. 


26-2  and  under 

28-2  „         „  .. 

30-2  „ 

32-2  „ 

34-2  „ 

36-2  „ 

38-2  „ 

40-2  „         „   .. 


Per  doz. 
d. 
9 

9J 
10 
10£ 

11 

Hi 

12 
12* 


FULL  SATINS. 

Broad  and  Narrow  White. 
Havels.  Rale. 


6 

8 

50-3 
51-3 
56-3 
61-3 
66-3 
50^ 
51-4 
56-4 
61-4 
66-4 

& 
to 

to 
to 

to 
& 
to 
to 
to 
to 

under 
55-3 
60-3 
65-3 
70-3 
under 
55-4 
60-4 
65-4 
70-4 

ti  ingle. 
Per  doz 

d. 

12 

13 

142 
14 

15^ 
15J 

16  ~ 


10 


12 


50-5  &  under 
51-5  to  55-5 
56-5  to  60-5 
61-5  to  65-5 
66-5  to  70-5 
50-6  &  under 
51-6  to  55-6 
56-6  to  60-6 
61-6  to  65-6 
66-6  to  70-6 


Single. 

Per  doz 
16 
164 
17 

m 

18" 

18 

18' 

19" 

19J 

20 


TAMMET  PRINCETTAS  AND  DOUBLE 

WORSTED  WARPS. 
Broad  and  Narrow  White. 
Rate.        Single.  Per  doz. 

d. 
28-2  &  under  ......  9 

30-2   „         „     ......  9| 

32-2    „    '     „     ......         10 

34-2    ..         „     ......         10| 

36-2    ;          „      ......  11 

38-2   .         „     .  .          .  .          .  .         11| 

40-2   „         „     ..          ....         12 

42-2   „         ,  .......         m 


CAMLETS  WHITE. 


Rate. 


Per  doz. 
d, 

13 

16-4 ..         13 

21-4 15 

23-4 15 

21-4    Colored    Coating,     Treble     Shoot, 

19d.  per  dozen. 

Mohair   Warp,    Id.,    and    Shoot    Id.    per 
dozen  extra. 


SPOTS  OR  BRILLIANTS  WHITE. 


Havels.  Rate. 

8  &  under        36  &  under 
38  „ 
40  „ 
42   „ 
44  „ 

SPOT  OR  SPLIT  WHITE. 
Havel*.  .  Rate. 


12  &  under 


40  &  under 
42  „ 
44   „ 
46  „ 

48  „ 


Per  doz. 
d. 
12 

13" 
14 


-  doz. 
d. 
12 

12* 
13 


14 


APPENDIX     T). 


058M 


CRAPES.   OR  CHALLTS,   BROAD  AND  NARROW  WHITE,  per  dozen. 
SVTIN   STRIPES. 


Rate. 

Plain. 

Ends. 

500  and 

501  to 

1001  to 

1501  1o 

under. 

1000. 

1500. 

2000. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

d. 

60-1  and  under 

8 

9 

<•>! 

10 

10J 

61-1  to    68-1 

8i 

9j 

10" 

10' 

11 

69-1  to    76-1 

9 

10 

10! 

11 

11! 

77*-l  to    84-1 

93 

10! 

11 

IH 

12 

85-1  to    92-1 

10 

11 

11  j 

12 

12j 

93-1  to  100-1 

10! 

1H 

12 

12! 

13 

101-1  to  108-1 

ll" 

12" 

12?, 

13 

13i 

109-1  to  116-1 

1H 

12  J 

13" 

13! 

14 

117-1  to  124-1 

12 

13" 

13.V 

14 

UJ 

125-1  to  132-1 

121 

13i 

14 

14J 

15 

Mock  (or  Twill)  Satins  Id.  per  dozen  above  plain  Challi  price. 

If  above  six  Satin  Havels,  one  half -penny  per  dozen  extra  ;  and  one  half -penny 
per  dozen  for  every  additional  six  Satin  Havels.  If  above  12  Treadles, 
Id.  per  dozen  extra.  If  12  Treadles,  or  more,  being  a  cross  tread,  Id.  per 
dozen  extra. 

For  every  additional  500  ends,  half -penny  per  dozen  extra. 


FILLOVERS. 


Width. 

Inches. 

Rate. 

Per  Cover. 

Rate. 

Per  Cover. 

s.   d. 

s.  d. 

64 

55 

.  .  30  to  50 

2     6 

51  to  70 

2    9 

6J 

outwidth  from 

55  to  60 

>» 

2     9 

»          » 

3    0 

71 

64 

.     .              .,                                 !> 

3    0 

,. 

3     3 

71 

outwidth  from 

64  to  70 

.     .              •.                                 „ 

3     3 

„ 

3     6 

81 

73 

•     •             >,                                 „ 

3     6 

„ 

3     9 

81 

outwidth  from 

73  to  79 

.... 

3     9 

4    0 

N.B. — Doubling  Shoot,  2d.  to  the  Shilling  for  the  colours  doubled. 
6  Satin  Havels  and  under,  3d.  per  Cover  extra. 
8  Satin  Havels  and  under,  4cl.  per  Cover  extra ;    and  Id.  per  Cover  for 

every  additional  2  Satin  Havels. 
500  Satin  Ends  and  under,  4d.  per  Cover,  and  2d.  per  Cover  for  every 

additional  500  Satin  Ends. 
Presses,  3d.  per  Cover. 
For  cutting  Tiers,  2s.  6d.  per  day  without  boys  ;   with  boys,  3s.  6cl.  per 

day. 


LUSTRES. 


Rate 


1000-2  Double 
1100-2      Do. 
1200-2      Do. 


Per  doz. 

d. 
21 
21J 
22 


Rate. 


1300-2  Double 
1400-2       Do. 
1500-2       Do. 


Per  doz. 

d. 

22£ 
23 
23| 


14  inch,  3d.  per  dozen  above  the  common  width. 
Extra  Treadles,  Id.  per  dozen  extra. 
Satin  paid  same  as  on  other  fabrics. 


658N  APPENDIX     D. 

BOMBAZETTES,    BROAD    AND    NARROW     WHITE. 


Rate.  Per  doz. 

d, 

24-3  &  under         . .          . .  10 

26-3    „         „  ..          ..  10| 

28-3    „         „  ..          ..  11 

30-3    „  114 


Rate.  Per  doz. 

d. 

32-3  12 

34-3  124 

36-3  13~ 

38-3  131- 


CHECKED  MOUSLIN   DE  LAINS. 
Rate.  Per  doz. 

d. 
64-1  &  under     . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .         10     two  shuttles. 

65-1  to  70-1 10J       do. 

71-1  to  76-1 11         do. 

77-1  to  82-1      ..          ..          \H r       do. 


CROSS-BAR   DRESSES. 

Rate.  Per  doz. 

d. 

64-1  &  under     . .          . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  10     two  shuttles. 

65-1  to  70-1 10J       do. 

71-1  to  76-1 11         do. 

77-1  to  82-1 11|       do. 

N.B. — Colouring  and  Checking  on  the  Worsted  Shoot  Fabrics  to  be  paid  for  as 
follows  : — Coloured  Shoot  Id.  per  dozen  above  White.  Ditto  Ground 
Warp,  Id.  ditto.  Checking  first  Shuttle,  Id.  per  dozen  advance  each 
additional  one,  |d.  ditto.  With  extra  Treadles,  Id.  ditto  above 
common  Checking.  The  Checking  Silk  to  be  calculated  and  paid 
as  Yarn. 

(Printed  by  order  of  the   Nonvich  Hand  Loom    Weavers'    Union.) 

M.  SMITH,  Chairman. 
G.  LYNES,  Secretary. 

(Fletcher  and  Alexander,  Printers,  8,  The  Walk,  Nonvich.) 


APPENDIX     D. 


658o 


Anthony  Francis  Haldimand ;  James  Vere  Nephew  &  Co.  ;  James 
Cazenove  &  Co.  ;  Francis  Menet  &  Co.  ;  Charles  Theo.  Cazenove  &  Batard ; 
A.  &  A.  Favene  ;  Prinsep  &  Saunders  ;  Edward  Gwatkin  ;  Doxat  &  Divett ; 
Zaccaria  Levy  ;  Nathaniel  &  James  Pattison  ;  Charles  Morris  &  Co.  ;  Marling 
&  De  Ferre  ;  J.  Matteux  &  Co.  ;  Macrill,  Hutton  &  Barber  ;  Rougement  & 
Fisquet ;  Charles  &  J.  P.  Robinson  ;  Wombwell,  Gautier  &  Co. ;  Francis 
Baring  &  Co.  ;  W.  Bosanquet. 

For  regulating  the  allowance  for  tare  and  tret,  but  which  was  of  a  very  crude 
nature  and  no  account  taken  of  the  varying  humidity,  and  a  month  allowed  to 
the'  buyer  to  send  in  any  claim  to  the  seller,  which  often  led  to  disputes,  it  was 
not  until  the  great  Exhibition  of  1851  held  in  London,  that  attention  was  called 
to  the  fact  that  a  further  allowance  was  reasonable  on  account  of  the  weight 
of  moisture  absorbed  by  the  silk  itself,  and  a  scientific  means  of  discovering  its 
exact  weight  was  introduced  into  this  country.  An  apparatus  was  shewn,  and 
is  still  in  existence  and  being  used,  by  means  of  which  a  certain  number  of  heads 
or  skeins  are  drawn,  after  the  bale  has  been  weighed  nett,  from  different  parts 
of  the  bale,  and  divided  into  three  parts  of  about  one  pound  each,  which  are 
each  weighed  in  most  accurate  scales  to  grains  troy  of  which  7,000  go  to  a  pound 
avoirdupois.  Two  portions  are  opened  out  and  cotton  loose  ties  placed  on  them 
so  as  to  hang  inside  the  apparatus  heated  by  gas,  and  kept  there  so  long  as  they 
cease  to  lose  any  more  weight,  which  could  be  seen  by  a  balance,  and  a  ther- 
mometer placed  inside  to  shew  that  the  heat  did  not  exceed  the  required  tem- 
perature, for  if  it  did  so  it  would  render  this  test  and  also  the  samples  useless. 

The  third  portion  is  kept  in  reserve  in  case  of  the  two  tests  shewing  more 
than  half  per  cent,  difference  when  this  third  test  is  tried,  and  added  to  the  two 
others,  and  an  average  taken  of  the  three. 

After  the  samples  have  been  dried  absolutely,  they  are  weighed,  and  the 
difference  between  the  received  and  the  dry  weight,  plus  11  per  cent.,  the  recog- 
nised and  accepted  natural  moisture  of  the  raw  reeled  silk  gives  the  weight  for 
invoicing. 

These  skeins  are  placed  again  in  the  bale,  which  is  packed  in  a  sealed  wrapper 
with  the  necessary  notes  shewing  the  working. 

A  small  beetle,  which  feeds  on  a  variety  of  the  cactus  plant  that  is  peculiar 
to  Central  and  South  America.  A  valuable  crimson  colour  is  obtained  from 
it  by  boiling,  which  becomes  scarlet,  if  the  boiling  takes  place  in  a  tin  vessel, 
or  a  small  quantity  of  tin  in  solution  be  mixed  with  the  boiling  liquid.  Cochineal 
was  not  known  in  Europe  until  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards 
in  1518.  In  1858  it  was  cultivated  successfully  in  Teneriffe,  but  the  vines  failed 
through  disease.  260,000  Ib.  of  cochineal  were  imported  by  England  in  1830 ; 
1,081,776  Ib.  in  1845  ;  2,360,000  Ib.  in  1850 ;  3,034,976  Ib.  in  1859 ;  47,790 
cwt.  in  1870,  since  which  year,  owing  to  the  introduction  of  coal  tar  colours, 
its  use  has  rapidly  declined. 

An  Act  providing  a  recompence  to  Sir  Thomas  Lombe  for  discovering  and 
introducing  the  arts  of  making  and  working  Three  Capital  Italian  Engines  for 
making  Organzine  Silk  and  for  preserving  the  Invention  for  the  benefit  of  this 
Kingdom. 

Whereas  the  Riches,  Strength  and  Prosperity  of  this  Kingdom  depend  upon 
the  Trade  thereof ;  and  whereas  the  introducing  and  improving  such  new  arts 
and  inventions,  as  will  employ  great  numbers  of  our  poor,  keep  our  money  at 
home  and  increase  the  profitable  trade  carried  on  by  the  exportation  of  our  own 
manufactures,  tend  greatly  to  the  securing  and  enlarging  of  the  general  trade 
and  commerce  of  Great  Britain,  and  ought  by  all  proper  ways  and  means  to  be 


Cochineal 
Insect. 
(Coccus 
cacti}. 


658P  APPENDIX     D. 

encouraged  ;  and  whereas  Thomas  Lombe  of  London,  Merchant,  now  Sir  Thomas 
Lombe,  Knight,  did  with  the  utmost  difficulty  and  hazard  and  at  very  great 
expense,  discover  the  arts  of  making  and  working  the  three  capital  engines  made 
use  of  by  the  Italians  to  make  their  Organzine  Silk  and  did  introduce  those  arts 
and  inventions  into  this  Kingdom  ;  and  whereas  his  late  Majesty,  King  George, 
was  graciously  pleased,  by  his  Letters  Patents  bearing  date  the  Ninth  Day  of 
September,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign,  under  the  Great  Seal  of  Great  Britain, 
to  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Thomas  Lombe,  now  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  his 
Executors,  Administrators  and  Assigns,  especial  licence,  full  power,  sole  privilege 
and  authority  to  exercise,  work,  use  and  enjoy,  his  new  invention  of  three  sorts 
of  engines  by  him  the  said  Thomas  Lombe  found  out,  never  before  made  or  used 
in  Great  Britain,  one  to  wind  the  finest  raw  silk,  another  to  spin  and  the  other 
to  twist  the  finest  Italian  raw  silk  into  Organzine,  within  that  part  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  called  England,  the  Dominion  of  Wales  and  the  Town  of  Berwick 
upon  Tweed  ;  and  the  whole  Profit,  Benefit,  Commodity  and  Advantage  from 
time  to  time  coming,  growing,  accruing  and  arising  by  reason  of  the  said  Invention, 
during  the  full  term  of  Fourteen  Years  from  the  date  of  the  said  Letters  Patents, 
according  to  the  Statute  in  that  case  made  and  provided  and  did  thereby  require 
every  other  Person  or  Persons,  Bodies  Politic  and  Corporate,  within  that  part 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  called  England,  the  Dominion  of  Wales  and 
the  Town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed  aforesaid,  that  neither  they  nor  any  of  them 
do  directly  or  indirectly  make,  use  or  put  in  practice  the  said  Invention  ;  or  any 
part  of  the  same  during  the  said  Term  ;  and  whereas  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Lombe 
since  the  granting  of  the  said  Letters  Patents  both  at  a  further  great  expense 
erected  large  buildings  and  therein  set  up  the  said  engines  or  machines  and  put 
the  said  Invention  in  use  and  practice  on  the  River  Derwent,  at  the  Town  of  Derby, 
for  making  Organzine  Silk  and  applied  himself  with  the  utmost  care  and  diligence 
to  improve  the  same,  in  order  to  render  it  of  the  greater  use  and  benefit  to  this 
Kingdom ;  but  by  reason  of  the  long  time  required  to  finish  and  complete 
the  said  buildings  and  Engines  and  to  instruct  so  great  a  number  of  people  as 
were  necessary  to  work  the  said  engines  and  the  great  obstruction  this  under- 
taking received  by  the  King  of  Sardinia's  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  raw 
silk  which  the  said  engines  were  made  to  work  and  afterwards  by  reason  of  the 
great  difficulty  of  bringing  the  manufacture  to  full  perfection,  which  could  not 
be  effected  by  the  most  diligent  application,  until  about  a  year  ago,  the  said 
Sir  Thomas  Lombe  has  been  deprived  of  the  benefit  intended  by  the  said  Letters 
Patents  ;  therefore  for  providing  of  a  proper  Recompence  to  the  said  Sir  Thomas 
Lombe  and  preserving  the  said  Invention  for  the  benefit  of  the  Trade  of  this 
Nation  ;  may  it  please  your  Majesty  that  it  may  be  enacted.  And  be  it  enacted 
by  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  tJiat  out  of  any  or  all  of  the  aids  and  supplies  granted 
to  His  Majesty  for  the  service  of  the  year,  One  Thousand,  Seven  Hundred  and  Thirty 
Two,  there  shall  and  may  be  applied  and  paid  to  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  his 
Executors,  Administrators  and  Assigns,  the  sum  of  Fourteen  Thousand  Pounds, 
as  a  Reward  and  Recompence  to  him  for  the  eminent  service  he  has  done  this  Nation 
in  discovering,  introducing  and  bringing  to  full  perfection,  at  his  own  great  expense 
as  aforesaid,  a  work  so  useful  and  beneficial  to  the  Kingdom  ;  and  the  Lords  Com- 
missioners of  His  Majesty's  Treasury,  or  the  Lord  High  Treasurer,  for  the  time 
being,  are  hereby  authorised  and  empowered  to  direct  the  payment  of,  and  issue  the 
sum  of  Fourteen  Thousand  Pounds  to  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  his  executors, 
administrators  or  assigns  accordingly. 

II.  Providing  ahvays  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  His 
Majesty,  his  Heirs  or  Successors,  under  His  or  Their  Sign  Manual,  to  appoint  any 
person  or  persons  from  time  to  time,  to  view  and  inspect  the  said  Three  Engines,  to 


APPENDIX     D. 


658Q 


take  a  perfect  and  exact  model  thereof  and  to  deposit  the  same  in  such  a  place  as 
His  Majesty,  his  Heirs  or  Successors  shall  appoint,  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the 
art  of  making  the  like  engines  for  the  advantage  of  this  Kingdom  ;  and  in  case  the 
said  Sir  Thomas  Lombe  shall  refuse  or  not  permit  such  person  so  authorised  to  take 
such  model,  he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  Fourteen  Thousand  Pounds  to  the 
use  of  His  Majesty,  his  Heirs  and  Successors,  to  be  recovered  by  Information  in 
any  of  His  Majesty's  Courts  of  Record  at  Westminster. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  an  Act  containing  divers  Orders  for  Artificers, 
Labourers,  Servants  of  Husbandry  and  Apprentices. 

1 .  A  Repeal  of  all  former  statutes  which  concern  the  Hiring,  Keeping,  Departing, 

Working  or  Ordering  of  Servants,  Labourers,  Handicraftsmen  and 
Apprentices.  These  are  all  repealed  in  order  that  a  new  Act  may  be 
framed  prescribing  and  limiting  the  wages  and  other  orders  for  appren- 
tices, servants  and  labourers,  so  that  idleness  may  be  banished,  husbandrj7 
and  handicraft  improved  and  service  be  made  to  yield  to  the  hired  person 
both  in  the  time  of  scarcity  and  the  time  of  plenty,  a  convenient  proportion 
of  wages. 

2.  Certain  statutes  excepted  from  the  general  repeal. 

3.  No  person  shall  engage  or  retain  a  servant,  labourer  or  apprentice  for  a 

shorter  term  than  one  year. 

4.  All    persons    having    no    other    means    of   support    shall    be   compelled    to 

serve  in  some  art  craft  science  or  labour  according  to  the  tenour  of  this 
statute. 

5.  No  person  shall  put  away  his  servant,  nor  any  servant  depart  from  his  master 

before  the  end  of  his  term  unless  so  determined  and  allowed  by  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  or  Mayor. 

6.  No  servant  shall  depart  or  be  put  away  but  upon  a  Quarter's  warning. 

7.  All  persons  between  the  ages  of  twelve  years  and  sixty  years  not  being  lawfully 

retained  in  service  or  apprenticed  to  any  trade  or  craft,  shall  be  compelled 
to  be  retained  to  serve  in  husbandry  by  the  year  with  any  person  who 
may  require  such  service. 

8.  Forfeiture  for  putting  away  a  servant  within  his  term  or  at  the  end  of  his 

term  without  warning. 

9.  Punishment  of  a  servant  for  refusing  to  do  his  duty  in  service  or  departure. 

10.  None  may  depart  from  a  city,  town,  parish,  etc.,  without  a  testimonial. 

11.  Any  person  retaining  a  servant  without  a  testimonial  shall  forfeit  for  each 

offence  five  pounds,  and  any  servant  forging  or  using  a  forged  testimonial 
shall  be  whipped  as  a  vagabond. 

12.  The  times  of  labour  shall  be,  in  summer  from  five  of  the  clock  in  the  morning 

till  betwixt  seven  and  eight  of  the  clock  at  night,  and  in  winter  from  spring 
of  the  day  in  the  morning  until  night.  TWTO  and  a  half  hours  being  allowed 
during  the  day  for  meals  and  drinking. 

13.  Any  artificer  undertaking  to  do  any  special  work  may  not  depart  until  it  is 

finished  on  pain  of  imprisonment,  so  long  as  his  wages  are  paid. 

14.  Masters  also  are  to  fulfil  their  contracts. 

15.  Wages  of  Servants,  Labourers,  Artificers  and  Apprentices  shall  be  assessed 

by  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  or  Sheriff,  etc.,  proclamations  of  the  rates 
of  wages  to  be  made  publicly  every  year. 

16.  Alterations  in  rates  of  wages  also  to  be  publicly  made. 

17.  Justices  to  be  fined  for  neglecting  to  fix  rates  of  wages. 

18.  Fine  for  paying  more  than  the  legal  rate  of  wages. 

19.  Punishment  of  servants  that  take  more  than  their  legal  rate  of  wages. 

20.  All  engagements,  whether  in  writing  or  not,  contrary  to  the  above,  to  be 

void. 


The 

Apprentice 

Act, 

5th 

Elizabeth, 

Cap.  IV. 


658R 


APPENDIX     D. 


21.  Severe  punishments  for  assaulting  master,  mistress,  or  overseer. 

22.  All  artificers  may  be  called  on  to  work  in  pay-time  and  harvest. 

23.  Provision  for  extra  work  in  neighbouring  counties. 

24.  Unmarried  women  between  the  ages  of  twelve  years  and  forty  years  may 

be  compelled  to  service  if  they  have  no  means  of  support. 

25.  Husbandmen  may  take  apprentices  by  indenture. 

26.  Every  householder  over  twenty-four  years  of  age  and  exercising  any  art  or 

craft,  may  take  an  apprentice  for  seven  years  by  indenture. 

27.  Merchants  or  traders  may  only  take  apprentices  whose  parents  have  freehold 

property  of  the  yearly  value  of  forty  shillings. 

28.  Special  rules  for  taking  artificer  apprentices  in  market  towns  not  corporate. 

29.  Special  rules  for  taking  merchant  apprentices  in  market  towns  not  corporate. 

30.  Apprentices  may  be  instructed  in  one  craft  only. 

31.  None  may  use  any  manual  occupation  unless  he  has  been  instructed  in  the  same. 

32.  The  parents  of  apprentices  to  woollen  weavers  must  have  freehold  property 

to  the  annual  value  of  three  pounds  at  least. 

33.  He  that  hath  three  apprentices  must  keep  one  journeyman. 

34.  Some  exceptions  to  the  liberties  of  Norwich. 

35.  The    punishment   for    refusing    to    be    apprenticed.     The    remedy    for    the 

Apprentice  who  is  misused  by  his  master  and  for  the  master  when  the 
Apprentice  does  not  do  his  duty ;  also  why  and  where  an  Apprentice 
may  be  discharged  of  his  Apprenticehood. 

36.  None  can  be  apprenticed  but  those  under  21  years  of  age. 

37.  The  duty  of  Justices  and  other  Officials  to  see  these  statutes  carried  out. 

38.  Payment  of  Justices,  etc.,  for  these  duties. 

39.  Who  shall  benefit  by  the  fines  forfeited  under  this  Act. 

40.  A  proviso  for  the  Cities  of  London  and  Norwich. 

The  eight  remaining  clauses  of  the  Act  are  concerned  with  matters  of  detail 
in  its  working  out,  but  are  not  of  general  interest. 

From  a  "  Short  Historical  Account  of  the  Silk  Manufacture  in  England,"  by 

Samuel  Sholl,  1811. 

Technical  The  Design. — The  Proposer  and  Founder  of  the  work  was  Samuel  Sholl. 

Details  The  plan  for  brocading  on  both  sides  alike  was  invented  by 

of  the  John  Lemere  of  London. 

Weavers'  Mr.  Geo.  Blatch  of  London  suggested  ah1  the  figures  in  the 

Flag  and  picture  and  the  all-seeing  eye. 

its  making.  Mr.  W.  Lovel  of  London  suggested  a  bee-hive  as  an  emblem 

of  industry. 
W.  Carter  of  London  proposed  the  border  and  the  Weavers' 

Arms. 
The  outlines  were  drawn  by  a  famous  artist  and  were  drafted 

by  a  native  of  London. 

Thomas  Franke  wove  the  work.     He  was  a  native  of  Canterbury. 
Description  of  the  loom  and  apparatus  : — 


Height  of  loom  frame 

Pulley  Frame  for  ground  harness  in  three  rows  on  top  of 

loom  

Highest  part  of  table  from  ground  floor 

Lowest      „  „ 

Width  of  tables  with  25  rows  of  mullets 

Tables  in  depth        

Comber  Board,  depth  of 

From  ground  harness  to  Breast  roll       . ,         . .         . , 


•2 

10 
7 
2 

4 
0 
1 


in. 
6 

10 
0 
0 
9 
4 
4f 
3 


APPENDIX    D. 


658s 


A 
i 


tw.- 
4 


l^rom  ground  to  figured  harness 
Two  simples,  with  lashes,  to  draw  the  ground  harness  to 
obtain  a  ground,  opening  with  two  powerful  engines, 
first  from  loom  . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  16 

Second  engine  from  loom,  with  a  stand  to  support  the 

ceiling,  and  row  of  pullies  above     . .          . .          . .  58 

"  The  above  simples  were  made  of  double  bruckle  cord ;    and  as  no  cord 
would  stand  the  pull  of  the  engines,  the  weight  was  so  great,  we  put  wire  in  its 
stead,  to  the  harness.     To  prevent  the  tail  to  the  mounture  from  being  too  wide 
it  was  ^parted  in  four  :    the  bottom  ones  crossed  through  the  top  part.     The 
mounture  was  curiously  curved  to  make  room  for  the  cords,  all  tied  up  very 
neat,  and  does  great  credit  to  the  builder.     Account  of  the  work  : — 2,448  double, 
34  dents  to  the  inch,  making  in  the  whole  in  single  threads  63,648,  planned  for 
48  lines  to  the  inch  ;    13  double  threads  to  the  mail,  each  mail  making  a  dent's 
threads,  and  of  course  the  same  number  of  cords  as  mails,  that  is  2,448  ;    the 
weight  of  lead  in  the  work,  upwards  of  500  Ibs.     There  were  five  rolls  used  to 
this  work,  one  for  top  satin,  one  for  bottom,  one  for  binder,  another  for  breast 
roll  covered  with  flannel,  for  the  work  to  run  over  to  the  knee  roll  where  the  work 
took  its  span,  two  strong  cheese  and  suns  to  the  same. 

"  The  weight  on  the  spand  or  canes  2,000  and  upwards,  to  draw  in  the  notch 
of  the  work  with  two  iron  tantoes,  and  a  third  to  move  round  the  breast  roll 
to  help  it  at  the  same  time,  or  perhaps  the  plate  may  have  been  injured.     To 
make  the  cross  border  required,  18,470  lashes  and  36,940  brocade  sheets.     The 
body  of  the  work,  on  an  average,  took  to  the  inch  4,500  lashes  and  9,000  brocade 
sheets  to  the  inch.     The  figure  within  the  oval  measures  six  feet  six  inches ; 
to  the  extremities  of  the  border,  seven  feet  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  :    blanks 
and  all,  making  seven  feet  eight  inches  and  a  quarter.     The  quantity  of  lash 
and  number  of  simples  would  have  been  so  great,  that  it  was  deemed  impossible 
to  perform  the  work  in  the  usual  way,  so  the  workman  read  in  two  inches  and  a 
half  at  a  time  ;    when  that  was  wove,  reeled  out  the  lash,  and  read  in  the  same 
quantity  again." 

"  Time  employed  on  the  Flag  concern,  from  beginning  to  end  : — 

To  strengthening  loom  . .         . .         . .         . .  3  weeks 

To  Building  Monture  . .         . .         . .         . .  5      ,, 

To  reading  in  figure  and  reeling  out  lash  . .         46      „ 

To  mending  threads 26 

To  dark  days  when  no  work  could  be  done         . .         26       „ 
To  exhibiting  the  work  while  in  progress  ...  7 

To  doubling  and  winding  silk,  plate,  etc.  . .  4 

To  holidays,  sickness,  waiting  for  sundries  . .         13 

Neat  time  left  to  make  the  work  . .          .'.         26       „ 

Making  the  whole  just  three  years  from  the  commencement  to  the  com- 
pletion, wanting  five  days. 

At  the  Manchester  Exhibition  in  1887,  great  pains  were  taken  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  claims  of  British  manufactures,  and  after  visiting  the  section  set  apart 
for  the  exposition  of  English  silks,  Princess  Mary  caused  it  to  be  known  that  she 
would  do  all  in  her  power  to  bring  about  their  reinstatement  in  public  favour. 

This  pronouncement  was  followed  almost  immediately  by  the  formation 
of  "  The  Silk  Association  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  and  once  more  the  uphill 
task  was  essayed  of  restoring  the  commercial  activity  that  formerly  prevailed 
in  the  silk  districts  of  this  country.  Again  the  obstacles  in  the  way  were  found 
insuperable,  and  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  prevent  the  further  decline  of  the 
English  silk  trade,  several  factories  had  to  be  closed,  with  the  natural  consequence 
that  numbers  of  operatives  were  thrown  out  of  work.  It  seemed  impossible  to 


A  Memoir 
of  H.R.H. 
Princess 
Mary 
Adelaide, 
Duchess  of 
Teck,  1900. 
Vol.  II, 
p.  268-271. 
Kinloch 
Cooke. 


658?  APPENDIX     1). 

make  headway  against  public  opinion,  and  even  the  stoutest  hearts  began  to 
despair  of  success. 

Matters  were  in  this  position  when  it  was  decided  to  appeal  to  Princess  Mary 
for  advice  and  assistance.  Without  hesitation,  her  Royal  Highness  threw  herself 
into  the  spirit  of  the  undertaking,  and  putting  herself  at  the  head  of  a  Ladies' 
Committee  which,  with  Lady  Egerton  of  Tatton  as  Honorary  Secretary,  was 
subsequently  formed,  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the  cause  she  had  espoused. 
Grasping  easily  the  economic  difficulties,  as  well  as  those  arising  from  the  un- 
bending laws  of  fashion,  she  devised  a  scheme  which,  if  it  did  not  at  once  accom- 
plish the  purpose  in  view,  at  any  rate  checked  the  downward  movement  and 
saved  the  home  of  many  a  bread-winner.  The  purport  of  this  scheme  is  perhaps 
best  explained  by  the  following  extract  taken  from  the  first  report  of  the  Ladies' 
Committee  of  the  Silk  Association,  which  the  Princess  herself  drew  up  and  signed 
in  her  capacity  as  President : — 

"  We  consider  that  the  time  has  come  to  invite  the  attention  of  the 

ladies  of  England  to  the  revival  of  this  ancient  industry.     In  order  to  do  this, 

the  Committee  propose  to  form  a  '  Ladies'  Silk  Association  '  on  an  extended 

scale.     Its  members  will  not  be  pledged  to  the  exclusive  purchase  of  English  - 

made  silks,  but  they  will  be  asked  to  interest  themselves  and  their  friends 

in  this  British  industry,  and  to  make  enquiry  for,  and  inspect  English  silks 

before   deciding   to   purchase  those   of   foreign   manufacture.     .     .     .     We 

trust  that  before  long  ocular  demonstration  of  the  excellence  of  English  silks 

may  be  afforded  by  an  Exhibition.     Should  success  crown  the  efforts  of 

those  who  have  been  working  on  behalf  of  the  silk  operatives  of  England, 

Scotland,  and   Ireland,  they  will  feel  rewarded  by  the  knowledge  that  the 

time   and   energy  they  have  devoted   to   this  enterprise  have   resulted    in 

increased  prosperity  to  their  working  brothers  and  sisters  in  silk  factories." 

In  less  than  three  months  from  the  date  her  Royal  Highness's  proposal  was 

made  public,  the  first  Exhibition  of  British  Silks  took  place  at  Lord  Egerton  of 

Tatton's  residence  in  St.  James's  Square,  when  manufacturers  and  distributors 

co-operated  in  a  manner  they  had  never  done  before,  while  many  distinguished 

ladies  seized  the  opportunity  to  support  Princess  Mary  in  her  patriotic  attempt 

to  remove  the  prejudice  that  prevailed  against  home-made  silks.     Much  of  the 

work  of  organisation  fell  upon  the  Princess,  and  it  was  to  her  unfailing  energy  and 

admirable  management  that  the  success  of  the  Exhibition  was  mainly  due.     She 

enlisted  the  sympathy  of  her  large  circle  of  acquaintances  in  the  cause,  and  when 

writing  to  friends  rarely  omitted  to  make  some  reference  to  the  work  in  hand. 

"  A  Ladies'  National  Association,"  she  would  say,  "  has  just  been  formed  under 

my  presidency  to  encourage  our  silk  industries,  and  I  enclose  one  of  our  forms, 

with  the  request  that  you  will  not  only  join  it,  but  persuade  as  many  of  your 

friends  as  you  can  to  follow  your  good  example." 

The  duty  of  carrying  out  the  Princess's  idea  of  a  Ladies'  National  Silk 
Association  was  for  the  time  entrusted  to  Lady  Egerton  of  Tatton,  and  the  results 
achieved  showed  beyond  doubt  that  substantial  progress  was  being  made  in  the 
growth  of  the  British  silk  industry.  Slowly  but  surely  Princess  Mary's  influence 
began  to  make  itself  felt,  and  year  by  year  the  demand  for  English  silks  increased, 
not  only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  "the  United  States.  Meanwhile,  her  Royal 
Highness  determined  to  make  herself  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
practical  aspect  of  British  silk- weaving  at  the  present  day,  and  to  carefully  study 
its  possibilities.  The  Princess  had  placed  herself  at  the  head  of  a  national  move- 
ment, and  rightly  considered  that  before  advising  others  she  must  herself  be 
well-informed  on  all  points,  a  matter  regarded  by  her  as  the  more  necessary  since 
her  appeal  was  based  on  the  assurance  that  the  requirements  of  ladies  could  be 
as  readily  satisfied  by  British  as  by  Continental  looms.  Accordingly,  a  series 
of  visits  to  the  principal  silk  centres  was  arranged,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Wardle, 
the  President  of  the  parent  Association. 


APPENDIX    t>. 


658tT 


Spitalfields  was  the  place  first  selected,  and  thither  on  a  cold  bleak  day  in 
March,  1893,  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter  journeyed  from  White  Lodge  to 
visit  East  London  Silk  Mills,  where  a  whole  afternoon  was  spent  inspecting  the 
old  pat  tern- books,  dating  from  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  watching  the  men  at  work, 
and  making  a  minute  examination  of  the  beautiful  brocades  and  other  silks  which 
were  being  woven  for  dress  and  furniture  purposes.  Each  step  from  the  weaving 
of  the  pattern  to  the  completion  of  the  finished  length  was  shown  and  explained 
to  the  Royal  ladies  ;  in  fact,  Princess  Mary  insisted  upon  seeing  everything, 
and  made  many  pertinent  inquiries  concerning  the  people  employed,  especially 
as  to  the  number  of  hours  they  worked  and  the  amount  of  wages  they  received. 
Her  Hoyal  Highness  had  instructed  her  own  dressmaker  to  be  present,  in  order 
that  she  might  convince  herself  that  silks  made  in  England  are  equal  if  not  superior 
in  beauty  to  those  imported  from  France. 

The  weavers  were  much  gratified  at  the  personal  concern  shown  in  their 
welfare  by  the  distinguished  visitors,  and  were  not  a  little  astonished  to  learn, 
that  the  Duchess  of  Teck  and  Princess  May  had  sat  down  to  tea  in  "the 
Master's  Office."  An  incident  occurred,  when  going  over  the  factory,  which 
illustrates  Princess  Mary's  excellent  memory  for  names  as  well  as  faces.  Pointing 
to  a  particular  loom,  her  Royal  Highness  was  heard  to  remark,  "  Why,  May, 
there's  Mr.  Clark  who  was  weaving  those  lovely  brocades  at  Lady  Egerton's  "  ; 
and,  advancing  to  the  loom,  the  Princess  spoke  a  few  kind  words  to  the  man, 
pleasing  him  greatly  by  saying  that  she  hoped  to  see  him  weaving  on  some  future 
occasion.  Before  leaving  the  mills,  the  Duchess  ordered  a  dress  to  be  made  for 
her  daughter,  at  the  same  time  expressing  a  wish  that  English  women  might  be 
led  to  take  a  deeper  interest  in  silks  of  home  manufacture,  and  so  benefit  their 
fellow-countrymen.  A  few  months  later,  Mr.  Warner's  firm  received  the  Royal 
commands  to  make  Princess  May's  wedding- gown. 

The  Canterbury  Book  of  Patterns,  which  had  been  jealously  preserved  for  over 
two  hundred  years,  was  really  a  most  valuable  historic  record  of  silk  weaving 
from  its  first  introduction  to  South-Eastern  England,  by  the  Huguenot  refugees, 
at  the  end  of  the  17th  Century.  The  book  in  its  ancient  parchment  binding  was 
composed  of  paper  which  had  been  carefully  examined  by  experts  and  found  to 
bear  the  water-mark  of  that  early  period  (1685).  On  its  pages  were  pasted  cut- 
tings of  all  kinds  of  fancy  and  brocaded  silks  and  beautifully  written  descriptions 
of  them,  together  with  the  names  of  the  operatives  who  had  woven  them. 

The  book  was  sent  for  show  to  the  Exhibition  at  Brussels  in  1910,  and  there 
unfortunately  destroyed  in  the  disastrous  fire,  in  which  so  many  things  of  artistic 
value  were  consumed,  none,  however,  being  of  such  historic  interest  as  this  ancient 
pattern  book. 

Henry,  King  of  England  and  Duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitain  and  Earl  of 
Anjou  :  To  the  Bishop,  Justices,  Sheriffs,  Barons,  Ministers,  and  to  all  his  liege- 
men of  London,  Greeting  :  Know  ye  that  I  have  granted  to  the  Weavers  of 
London  their  Guild,  to  be  had  in  London,  with  all  the  Liberties  and  customs 
which  they  had  in  the  time  of  Henry,  my  grandfather  :  and  so  that  no  one  but 
through  them  intermeddle  within  the  City  concerning  their  mystery,  and  unless 
he  be  in  their  Guild  :  neither  in  Southwark,  or  in  other  places  appertaining  to 
London,  otherwise  than  was  used  to  be  done  in  the  time  of  King  Henry,  my 
grandfather,  wherefore  I  will  and  firmly  command  that  they  may  be  everywhere 
lawfully  treated  and  have  all  the  aforesaid,  as  well,  and  in  peace,  and  freety, 
and  honourably,  and  wholly  as  they  better  and  more  freely,  and  honourably,  and 
wholly  had,  in  the  time  of  King  Henry,  my  grandfather.  So  that  they  yield 
thenceforth  every  year  to  me  Two  Marks  of  gold  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael.  And 
I  forbid  that  anyone  do  unto  them  thereupon  any  injury  or  contumely,  upon  the 
forfeiture  of  Ten  Pounds. 

Witnesses — I,  the  Chancellor,  and  Warin  the  Son  of  Gerald  the  Chamberlain, 
at  Winchester. 


The 

Canterbury 

Book. 


Translation 
of  a  Charter 
Granted  by 
Henry  II 
(about  1160) 
to  the 
Weavers' 
Compaq. 
Tested  by 
Thomas  A. 
Beckett, 
Chancellor. 


658v 


APPENDIX     D. 


TABLE    I. 

THE   NUMBER   OF   PERSONS   EMPLOYED   IN   THE   SILK   INDUSTRY 
IN  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  DECENNIALLY  FROM  1851   TO  1901. 


Statistical 
Tables. 


Year. 

Males. 

Females. 

Total. 

1851 

53,936 

76,787 

130,723 

1861 

43,732 

72,588 

116,320 

1871 

29,225 

53,738 

82,963 

1881 

22,205 

42,630 

64,835 

1891 

19,090 

32,937 

52,027 

1901 

11,058 

26,422 

37,480 

1907 

8,805 

21,905 

30,710 

The,  figures  for  1911  have  not  yet  been  published. 


TABLE    II. 

IMPORTS   AND    EXPORTS    OF   RAW    SILK,    1900—1920. 
RAW  SILKS  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


Year. 


1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 


Remained  for 

Imports. 

Exports 

. 

British 

Con-sumption. 

U>. 

£ 

Ib. 

£ 

Ib. 

1,413,320 

916,421 

192,616 

100,917 

1,220,704 

1,332,480 

768,390 

244,566 

153,086 

1,087,914 

1,252,848 

728,020 

152,463 

83,751 

1,100,385 

1,109,930 

738,602 

178,458 

112,786 

931,472 

1,337,579 

884,769 

186,174 

114,342 

1,151,405 

1,160,265 

762,378 

188,246 

114,216 

972,019 

1,036,258 

732,681 

92,124 

59,469 

944,134 

1,195,366 

916,890 

80,645 

57,747 

1,114,721 

1,110,481 

667,267 

42,898 

25,698 

1,067,583 

1,043,846 

600,501 

44,216 

27,553 

999,630 

996,565 

589,872 

39,782 

23,362 

956,783 

1,237,775 

732,603 

379,102 

202,503 

858,673 

1,199,448 

689,353 

130,821 

72,628 

1,068,627 

969,633 

619,427 

44,167 

26,050 

925,466 

1,030,502 

667,034 

22.008 

17,215 

1,008,494 

1,465,285 

880,650 

120,135 

78,900 

1,345,150 

1,200,459 

1,059,185 

46,964 

36,111 

1,153,495 

1,280,682 

1,306,615 

13,169 

18,190 

1,267,513 

2,230,725 

2,610,440 

326,179 

380,877 

1,904,546 

1,278,748 

1,934,910 

117,490 

178,454 

1,161,258 

982,795 

2,227,712 

36,913 

81,629 

945,882 

APPENDIX    D. 


658W 


TABLE    III. 
IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS  OF  THROWN  SILK,  DYED  OR  NOT  DYED. 

1905—1920. 
Prior  to  1905,  the  Returns  were  not  classified  separately. 

Remained  for 
IMPORTS.  EXPORTS.  British 

Consumption. 
Quantities. 

Ib. 
47,117 


190S 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 


Quantities. 

Ib. 

538,787 

598,373 

605,651 

511,832 

483,157 

445,522 

462,176 

501,136 

478,823 

289,175 

45,063 

29,518 

48,037 

70,670 

157,573 

141,268 


Value. 

£ 

517,294 
583,211 
602,114 
505,007 
465,813 
421,976 
438,924 
478,181 
464,996 
277,942 
37,859 
32,751 
62,376 
126,568 
355,706 
352,120 


41,490 

61,129 

72,148 

80,814 

81,959 

118,905 

133,519 

113,308 

80,708 

8,141 

1,562 

965 

54 

1,097 
3,146 


Value. 

Quantities. 

£ 

Ib. 

42,262 

491,670 

37,621 

556,883 

64,956 

544,522 

69,141 

439,684 

72,115 

402,343 

72,681 

363,563 

101,994 

343,271 

113,542 

367,617 

97,673 

365,515 

69,354 

208,467 

7,173 

36,922 

1,721 

27,956 

1,537 

47,072 

70 

70,616 

2,752 

156,476 

6,301 

134,967 

TABLE    IV. 

IMPORTS    AND    EXPORTS    OF    SILK    MANUFACTURES. 

1900—1920. 


1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 


IMPORTS. 


£ 

14,281,102 
13,030,321 
13,416,400 
13,663,771 
12,793,402 
12,466,211 
12,782,466 
12,585,405 
11,621,609 
11,930,043 
12,651,479 
12,481,112 
13,261,158 
14,003,659 
12,628,836 
14,375,070 
12,857,839 
11,040,669 
16,645,271 
22,149,449 
35,505,770 


EXPORTS. 
British          Foreign  and  Colonial 


Manufacture. 

£ 

1,637,915 
1,429,381 
1,393,314 
1,436,734 
1,604,554 
1,693,314 
1,858,634 
2,009,613 
1,344,537 
1,478,687 
1,767,034 
1,744,640 
1,767,058 
1,671,430 
1,416,217 
1,231,986 
1,686,295 
1,646,750 
1,820,405 
3,235,064 
4,222,076 


Manufacture. 

£ 

1,381,546 
1,397,948 
1,735,032 
1,709,844 
1,872,625 
1,783,606 
1,221,364 
1,936,039 
2,004,934 
1,753,886 
1,924,284 
1,816,676 
1,735,761 
1,536,481 
1,915,377 
2,004,045 
2,632,181 
1,553,552 
1,530,510 
2,528,980 
5,967,853 


658X 


APPENDIX     D. 


TABLE    V. 

THE    WORLD'S    PRODUCTION    AND    CONSUMPTION    OF    SILK    FOR 

THE  YEAR   1911   IS   ESTIMATED  AS   FOLLOWS  :— 
PRODUCTION.  CONSUMPTION. 


Kilos. 
402,000 

United  Kingdom 
United  States     
France 

Kilos. 
502,000 
9,215,000 
4  077  000 

3  490,000 

Italy 

1  100  000 

Switzerland 
Germany.  . 

1,628,000 
3  445  000 

350,000 
88,000 
292,000 
120,000 

Austria-  Hungary 
Spain 
Greece,  Salonica  and  Crete 
Bulgaria 

894,000 
150,000 
25,000 
12  000 

50,000 
783,000 
145,000 
1,265,000 
*300,000 

Serbia  and  Roumania 
Russia  and  Caucasus,  including  Turkestan    .  . 
Turkey  in  Europe  (Adrianople)         .  .          .  .  1 
Turkey  in  Asia  (Brouasa  and  Syria)           .  .  j 
Persia 

13,000 
1,720,000 

250,000 

224,000 

India        .  .       -  .  . 

605,000 

*5,940,000 

China       

*  1,7  30,000 

Canton 

*9,370,000 

Japan 

*  16,000 

Tonkin     

5,000 

Egypt  and  Cyprus 
North  Africa  and  Various  Countries 

2,000 
416,000 

24,570,000  24,054,000 

*  Export  figures  only  ;   the  internal  consumption  of  these  countries  is  unknown. 


TABLE    VI. 

IMPORTS,   EXPORTS   AND   RE-EXPORTS    OF   SILK   MANUFACTURES 
DECENNIALLY    FROM    1851    TO    1911.—  VALUES. 


Year. 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 
British 
Manufacture  . 

EXPORTS. 
Foreign  &  Colonial 
Manufacture  . 

*1851 
1861 
1871 
1881 
1891 
1901 
1911 
1920 

£ 
Not  obtainable. 
5,906,029 
8,397,938 
11,727,397 
11,179,588 
13,030,321 
12,481,112 
35,505,770 

£ 
Not  obtainable. 
1,395,582 
2,053,086 
2,564,730 
1,744,645 
1,429,381 
1,744,640 
4,222,076 

£ 
Not  obtainable. 
2,421,329 
683,307 
263,826 
900,740 
1,397,948 
1,816,676 
5,967,853 

The  regular  issue  of  the  Annual  Statement  of  Trade  of  the  United  Kingdom  on 
modern  litres  only  commenced  with  the  year  1854, 


INDEX. 


Ackroyd,  James,  and  Son,  237. 

Adulteration  and  False  Description,  action 
of  Board  of  Trade,  578. 

Advertisements,  curious,   284. 

Alien  Merchants,  Protective  Laws,  18,  19. 

Alizerine  Dyes,  447. 

Alpaca,  218-222. 

America,  Spinning  in,  433  ;  Trade  with, 
330. 

Aniline  Dyes,  446. 

Antwerp,  rise  of,  27  ;    sack  of,  33. 

Appendix,  British  Tariffs  on  Silk,  624. 

Apprenticeship,  57,  495,  498. 

Arkwright,  149,   174. 

Art  and  Technical  Training,  608. 

Artificial  Silk,  first,  "  Vanduana,"  369. 

Arts  and  Crafts  Society,  599-618;  Ex- 
hibition, London,  1888,  599  ;  Paris, 
1914,  615. 

Aylesbury,  322. 


Bandana  handkerchiefs,  418  ;  frauds,  530. 

Baville,  38. 

Beaming,  448. 

Benevolent   Society   of   United   Weavers, 

508. 

Berkshire,  323-325. 
Besant,  Sir  Walter,  91. 
Bethnal  Green,  53,  58 ;   population  of,  59. 
Blockley,  327. 
Booking,  300,  302,  307. 
Bombazines,  30. 
Bradford,  218. 

Braintree,  299,  302,  307,  613. 
Brighouse,  247. 
Bright,  John,  80,  263. 
British  Silk  Exhibition,  1912,  580. 
British  silk  weaving,  beginning  of,  20. 
Broderers  Company,  568. 
Buckinghamshire,  321. 
Burne-Jones,  Edwd.,  influence  of,  601. 
Button  Trade,  128,  138,  146,  328. 
Byzantine  Industry,  44. 


Callaway,  John,  313. 

Canterbury,  51,  312-317. 

Canterbury  weavers   (modern),  317. 

Carriers'  Act,  agitation,  576. 

Chaucer,   references  to   Royal  patronage, 

534. 

Chelmsford,  305. 
China :     first    home    of     Industry,     44 ; 

various    manufactures    in,    394-396 ; 

waste  silk  exports,  434,  435. 
Christ  Church,   Spitalfields,   64. 
Cobden,  attitude  of,   80. 
Colbert,  37. 

Colchester,  31,  33,  304. 
Combination  Act,  1799,  496. 
Conditioning  Company  formed  in  London 

1859,  directors  of,  1901,  443. 
Conditioning  Office,  96. 
Congleton,  146. 
Continental  Industry,  120. 
Cord,  Silk,  manufacture  of,  in  China,  395 . 
Coronation  Robes,  use  of  Silk  for,  100,  309, 

317,  535,  541,  547,  549. 
Cotton,  sewing  and  knitting,  218 ;    warp, 

224 

Courtauld,  Messrs.,  298,  302,  306,  307. 
Coventry,  107. 
Crape   Manufacture,    148,  306 ;    Norwich, 

285,  299. 

Cullompton  Weavers,  617. 
Customs   Regulations  to  end    smuggling, 

531,  532. 


Damico,  23. 

Derby,  198. 

Desborough,  325. 

Designers  and  Designing,  451  ;    methods 

of  working,  452. 
Devonshire,  341,  342. 
Doree,  George,  74,  100. 
Dorset,  333-337  ;    smugglers  in,  519. 
Dover,  40,  313. 
Drapers  Company,  567. 
Dublin,  371,  373. 


659 


660 


INDEX. 


Dunfermline,  369. 

Duties  on  Silk,  160. 

Dyeing  Industry,  142,  255,  444  ;  Alizerine, 

447  ;   Aniline,  446  ;  experiments,  446, 

447  ;  Vegetable,  445. 
Dyers  Company,  568. 


Early  Mills,  298-305. 

East  India  Company,  378  ;    Agent's  diary 

quoted,  396  ;  Dutch  competition  with, 

381. 

Edict  of  Nantes,  36,  38,  40,  274. 
Edinburgh,  369. 
Elastic  Web  Trade,  216. 
Emperor  Charles,  28. 
English  Silks,   first  Exhibition    of,    1893, 

544 ;    Exhibition  of  1912,  550. 
Eri  Silk,  396-398. 
Essex,  297-311  ;    smugglers  in,  520. 


Factory,   first  English,  201  ;    Committee, 

191  ;       modern      conditions,      459 ; 

System,  91. 

Fashion,  effects  of,  288,  306. 
Felkin,  185,  190. 
Filoselle  (floss),  393. 
Finishing,  449. 
Flax  Spinning,  258. 
Flemish   Immigrants,   24,   33 ;    privileges 

of,  348. 

Floret  Silk,  391. 
Fox,  Paul,  297. 
Framework  Knitters  Company,  181,  568  ; 

decay  of,  499. 
France  :    16th  Century  Silks,  35  ;    rivalry 

of,  587  ;    smuggling  between  France 

and  England,  527. 

Franco -British  Exhibition,  1908,  578. 
Free  Traders  and  French  Treaty,  80. 
French  Immigrants,  39. 
French   Revolution,   effect  of,   on  Indian 

trade,  382. 
French  Silks,  50. 
French  Treaty  of  1860,  78,  119. 
Fulton,    Humphrey,    360. 
Furniture  Silks,  303,  309,  515,  614. 


Garrick,  David,  54. 

Garthwait,    Anna    Maria,    first    designer 
mentioned  by  name,  452,  453. 


Gauze,  360. 

Gillingharn  (Dorset),  336. 

Girdlers  Company,  569. 

Gladstone,  and  Silk  Duties,  162  ;    Budget 

of  1860,  79. 
Glasgow,  Incorporation  of  Weavers,  1528, 

359. 

Glastonbury,  Flemish  Weavers  in,  337. 
Glemsford,  320. 
Gloucestershire,  326. 
Gloves,  146,  185,  337,  358. 
Gold  and  Silver  Wire  Drawers  Company, 

569. 

Great  Charter,  17. 
Great  Privilege,  grant  of,  28. 
Grout,  Joseph,  286. 
Guilds,  Ancient  Trade,  554. 


Haberdashers  Company,  568. 

Halifax,  235  ;    Firms,  245. 

Halstead,  300. 

Hampshire,  329,  330. 

Hand  Loom  Weaving,  151, 154  ;  in  Ireland, 
374,  375. 

Hanover,  House  of,  and  Silk  Industry,  541. 

Hargreaves,  149,  174. 

Hatband  Makers  Company,  569. 

HaverhiU,  319. 

Hawkhurst  Gang,  smugglers,  518. 

Heathcoat,  John,  341. 

Hertfordshire,  321. 

Heywood,  263. 

Hinckley,  212. 

Huddersfield,  252. 

Huguenots,  Immigration  of,  35  ;  in  Spital- 
fields,  56  ;  persecution  of,  36  ;  initiate 
Silk  Industry  in  Ireland,  371. 


Imports  :  India,  385  ;  Persia,  380  ;  waste 
silk,  390;  417,  436. 

India,  378-389  ;    Native  prejudices,  381. 

India   Dock  Company,   443. 

India  Silk,  143  ;    Eri  Silk,  396-398. 

Indian  Commerce,  foundations  of,  379. 

Indigo,  introduction  of,  445. 

Industrial  unrest,   133,   277. 

International  Exhibitions  :  London,  1851, 
77,  442,  582-598 ;  criticisms  of,  586- 
598 ;  success  of,  597 ;  Illustrated 
London  News  on,  590,  591  ;  The 
Times  on,  585  ;  London,  1862,  603 ; 
Paris,  1855,  603;  1867,  605;  1872, 
423  ;  1878,  143  ;  1900,  309. 


INDEX. 


661 


vention,  influence  of,  on  workers,  498. 
swich,  33,  320. 
3land,  371-377. 
.ilian  Weavers,  35,  44. 
ily  :    Silk  throwing  in,  441  ;    waste  Silk 
Industry  in,  434. 


icquard,    113 ;     machine    invented    by, 

453-456. 
apan,  waste  Silk  Trade,  433  ;    exports, 

435. 


Kashmir :  Sericulture  experiments,  388, 
389 ;  Silk  weaving  established  by 
Queen  Alexandra  and  Queen  Mary, 
548. 

£ay,  William  and  Robert,  619,  620. 

iendal,  172. 

Kent,  312-317  ;    smugglers  in,  518,  526. 

Kettering,  76. 

Kidderminster,  327. 

King  Edward  VII.,  Coronation  of,  547. 

King  George,  Coronation  of,  549. 


Labour  Troubles,  17th  Century,  356,  357. 

Lace,  machine  made,  187,  195. 

Lace  net,  341. 

Lancashire,  migration  to,  320. 

Lancaster,  170. 

Lawsuit,  important  Judgment  in,  1840, 
405-407. 

Leadenhall  Market,  63. 

Lee,  William,  175,  497,  536. 

Leeds,  258. 

Leek,  138  ;  manufactures,  141  ;  School  of 
Embroidery,  143. 

Legislation,  91,  128,  186,  359,  372,  445, 
446,  468-493,  495,  496,  502,  520,  521, 
534;  14th  Century,  468-477;  15th 
Century,  478,  479;  16th  Century, 
480-483;  17th  Century,  483^88; 
18th  and  19th  Centuries,  490-493. 

Leicester,  212. 

Letchworth,  323. 

Liber  Eegalis,  reference  to  Silk  in,  535. 

Liberty,   Sir  Arthur,   618. 

Licences  granted,  408. 

Limborough  Lectures,  96. 

Linen  Manufacturers,  38. 

Lister,  Samuel  Cunliffe,  221,  230,  248,  410- 
416. 


Little  Hallingbury,  297  ;    Holman  (1720) 

on,  298. 

Livery  Companies,  554-570. 
Lombe,  John,  149,  199,  441. 
London :    Industrial   Statistics,   99,    103 ; 

Silk  Markets,  63 ;    Weavers,  41. 
Long-spinning  introduced,  420. 
Loom,  Fillover,  293. 
Louis  XIII,  36 ;   Louis  XIV,  37. 
Low  Bentham,  261. 
Low-grade  goods,  418. 
Lyons,  beginnings  of  Industry,  35. 


Macclesfield,  127  ;    Manufacturers,  135. 
McCulloch,  on  smuggling,  526. 
Machinery,  British,  abroad,  432. 
McKinley  Tariff,  effect  of,  424. 
Maistone,  312. 
Maldon,  305. 
Malmesbury,  331. 
Manchester,  33,  149 ;    Exhibition  of  1887, 

543 ;     Testing    House,    169 ;     Trade 

Protective   Society,    166 ;    Wool  and 

Silk  Conditioning  Company,  169. 
Manufacture,  Domestic  System,  101. 
Manufacturer,  Old  School,  67. 
Marabout  Silk,  341. 
Masham,  Lord,  226. 
Mazarin,  Cardinal,  37. 
Mercers    Company,    566. 
Merchant  Adventurers  Society  (later  known 

as  Hanburg  Company),  566. 
Merchant  Tailors  Company,  568. 
Middle  Class  Weavers,  62. 
Milverton,  340. 
Mixed  Silk,  50. 
Mochado,  30. 
Mohair,  219. 
Monasteries,  14. 
Moorish  Industry,  introduction  into  Spain, 

44. 

Morley,  John,  162. 
Morris   and    Company,  Messrs.,    605-607, 

610. 
Morris,  William,   143,  329,  456  ;   influence 

of,  601. 
Mutual  Aid  Society  first,  505. 


Narrow  Silk  Weaving,  105. 
National  Flag  Committee,  509. 
National      Silk      Workers'      Association, 
517. 


662 


INDEX. 


Netherlands  :  Free  Cities  of,  26,  47  ; 
Industrial  Supremacy  of,  25 ;  In- 
dustry, 47. 

New  Mills  Manufactory,  1681,  under  Royal 
patronage,  353. 

Noil  spinning,  428. 

Nomenclature,  392-394. 

Norfolk,  265. 

Norman  Conquest,  13. 

Northamptonshire,  325. 

Norwich,  29,  33,  50,  236,  265;  famous 
Firms  of,  295  ;  visit  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth to,  32. 

Nottingham,  174. 

Nubbs,  silk,  import  of,  390,  391. 


Oriental  Weavers,  16,  44. 
Origin  of  Industry,  44. 
Oxfordshire,  325/ 


Paisley,  360-364 ;  old  Silk  Firms  in,  362, 
363. 

Paris  Exhibitions  :  1855,  603  ;  1867,  605  • 
1872,  423  ;  1878,  143  ;  1900,  309. 

Patents  :  Early,  quoted,  401  ;  Gibson 
and  Campbell,  1836,  403;  Yarn- 
cleaning,  416. 

Pedlars,  129. 

Pepys  Diary,  31. 

Peri-lusta,  142. 

Perkin,  Sir  Wm.,  446. 

Persia,  imports  from,   380. 

Perth,  pioneer  work  in,  346. 

Petitions,  181. 

Plaid  Silk,  use  in  Scotland,  345,  346. 

Plush  Trade,  263,  301. 

Poplin  Industry,  327,  375. 

Power  Looms  :  Introduction  of,  117,  152, 
457 ;  failure  in  Ireland,  375 ;  first 
in  Scotland,  366  ;  use  at  present  day 
448. 

Pre-Raphael  Brotherhood,  influence  of, 
600. 

Prices,   fluctuations  in,   425. 

Prince  Consort,  77. 

Products  and   by-products,   428. 


Queen  Elizabeth,  32,  53,  177,  267,  536. 


Queen  Mary,  and  modern  revival  of  Silk 
Industry,  542,  546;  wedding  dress 
of,  545. 

Queen  Philippa,  266. 

Queen  Victoria,  542,  543. 


Raleigh,   Sir  Walter,   54. 

Raw  Silk,  378;    imports  of,  385. 

Reading,  324. 

Reeling  methods,  46,  387. 

Refugees,  29. 

Ribbon  Industry,  327. 

Richelieu,  Cardinal,  36. 

Ripley,  264. 

Rivalry  of  France  in  Silk  Trade,  587 

Rochdale,  262. 

Roe,  Charles,  131. 

Royal  Lustring  Company,  520. 

Royal  Patronage,  534-553,  573,  580,  583, 
613. 

Royal  Society  of  Arts,  77,  619  ;  "  Trans- 
actions," organ  of,  references,  619- 
622. 

Ruskin,  John,  influence  of,  600,  601  ;  on 
the  public  taste,  600. 

Rye,  39. 


Saffron  Walden,  299. 

St.  Albans,  322,  323. 

St.  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of,  36. 

St.  Mary  Spittle,  54. 

Salisbury,   332,   333. 

Salt,    Sir  Titus,    221. 

Sandwich,  31,  312  ;    Flemish  immigrants, 

33,  51. 

School  of  Design,  76. 
Scotland,  343-370  ;   currency  problems  in, 

351  ;    imports  prohibited,  350  ;    Kirk 

against  use  of  Silk,  344;    smuggling 

in,  531. 

Sealskin  cloth,  423. 
Seamen's  Hospital,  Greenwich,  524. 
Self-acting   dressing   machine,    first,    411 

415. 

Sericulture,  45,  338,  440,  538,  620. 
Sewardstone,  297. 
Sewing  Silks,  429. 
Shawls  :      Norwich,     290 ;      Paisley,  363, 

364,  419,  597. 
Sheffield,  257. 
Sherborne,  333. 
Shoddy,  426. 


INDEX; 


663 


Sholl,  Samuel,  463-466. 

Silk  Association  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  543,  571-581  ;  Ladies'  Com- 
mittee, 572  ;  notable  members,  579  ; 
Presidents,  579 ;  visit  to  Brussels 
Exhibition,  580. 

Silk  Comb,  invention  of,  228,  402,  413  ; 
superseded  by  intersecting  gill,  415. 

Silk,  laws  restricting  use  of,  343,  344. 

Silkmen's  Company,  569. 

Silk  Research  Committee  formed,  1915, 
581. 

Silk  thread,  199. 

Silk  Throwers'  Company,  570. 

Silk  throwsters,  298,  301,  336. 

Sixteenth  Century  work,  35. 

Skipton,  264. 

Smith,  Adam,  on  smuggling,  526. 

Smuggling,  518-533  ;  effect  of  on  shop- 
keepers, 520  ;  prosecutions  and  fines 
for,  521,  524  ;  effect  of,  526  ;  records 
of,  527  ;  smugglers  in  Scotland,  531. 

Somerset,  337-341. 

South  of  Scotland,  370. 

Southwark,  Alien  colony  in,  328,   329. 

Spanish  Fury,  33. 

Spinning  Industry,  148,  405  ;  decline  of 
British,  424;  in  Scotland,  409. 

Spitalfields,  41,  51,  52 ;  dispersal  of 
workers,  88  ;  industrial  decay  of,  84  ; 
migration  from,  300  ;  modern,  95. 

Spital  Sermon,  54. 

"  SpuneUa,"  321. 

Spun  Silk  Trade,  427. 

State  Papers,  references  to  Silk  in,  399. 

Statistics  :  99,  115,  225,  234;  Essex,  310, 
311  Gloucestershire,  326 ;  Lace, 
195  Manchester,  151-159  ;  Norwich, 
275  Paisley,  361  ;  Waste  Silk  im- 
ports, 436. 

Statute  of  Apprentices,  495. 

Stocking  Makers  Association,  500. 

Stocking  Trade,  198-213,  323,  326,  353- 
355;  Frame,  175;  Loom,  177. 

Strikes,  121,  498,  503. 

Stroud  Valley,  326. 

Strutt,  Jedediah,  185. 

Stuart  patronage  of  Silk  Industry,  538- 
540. 

Sudbury,  76,  308,  319. 

Suffolk,  318-321  ;    smugglers  in,  526. 

Surrey,  328,  329. 

Sussex,  smugglers  in,  526. 


Tapestries  :   Flemish,  47  ;     15th  and  16th 

Centuries,  49. 
Tariffs :    Foreign,    164,    232 ;     McKinley, 

424 ;    Mr.  Chamberlain's  Tariff  Com- 
mission, 1905,  424. 
Taunton,  338-340. 
Technical  Societies  of  the  Industry,  619- 

623. 
Teck,  Duchess  of,  and  modern  revival  of 

Industry,  542,  546. 
Textile  Institute,  623. 
Throwing   Industry,   foundation   of,    131, 

441. 

Tiverton,  341. 
Trade  :  Colonial,  280  ;  Indian  fluctuations, 

386,  387  ;    conditions  at  end  of  18th 

Century,    513 ;     early   protection   of, 

470  ;     failures,    240  ;     Foreign,    281  ; 

regulations,  19 ;    various  branches  of, 

440-450. 
Trade  Unions  and  Associations,  484-517  ; 

case  of  workers,  501,  502  ;    methods 

and  practices,  494. 
Travellers'   Tales,   378,   379. 
Tring,  321,  322. 

Tudor  patronage  of  Silk  Industry,  535-537. 
Tulle  Trade,  342. 
Tussore  (Tussah),  or  wild  silk,   143,  378, 

386 ;  yarn,  422. 


Umbrella  Silks,  319,  321. 


Vegetable  Dyes,  445. 

Velvet,  49 ;   loom,  229  ;   weaving,  301. 

Vestings  Trade,  253. 

Victoria  and  Albert  Museum  Collection, 

50  ;    18th   Century  sketch   books  in, 

451. 

Victorian  Era,  and  the  Silk  Industry,  542. 
Victorian  Records,  59. 
Violet,  Thomas,  520. 
Voltaire,  38. 


Wages,  134,  140,  156,  279,  294,  365. 
Walloon  Settlers,  313-316. 
Walters,  Daniel,  and  Sons,  603,  613. 
Walters,    Stephen,    and    Sons,    320,    458, 

552. 
Wardle,  Sir  Thomas,  142,  386,  422,  423, 

457,  458,  548,  571. 


664 


INDEX. 


Warner  and  Sons,  Messrs.,  304,  306-310, 

515,  516,  544,  576  ;  Coronation  robes, 

548 ;    exhibits  at  Exhibition  of  1912, 

550-552;    history  of  Firm,  611-615; 

success  at  Foreign  Exhibitions,  614- 

617. 
Warner,  Mr.  Benjamin,  biographical,  611- 

612. 

Warp  and  warping,   102,  448. 
Waste  Silk,  49,  194,  219,  255,  390-439; 

course  of  invention,  399  ;   output  and 

values,  430  ;  production  abroad,  432  ; 

uses  of,  394. 
Weavers :     English,    in    Scotland,    355 ; 

Foreign,  269  ;   old  and  modern  types, 

462, 467  ;   Spitalfields,  distress  of,  83  ; 

work  and  recreation,  65. 
Weavers'   Company,   51,   556-565;    Hall 

of,  55,  564  ;  Hall  in  Dublin,  376,  377  ; 

Charities   of,  564,    565 ;    Corporation 

of,  1706,  372. 

Weavers'  Societies,  59,  64,  515,  517. 
Weaving,    20,    105,    448;     first    London 

factory,  458. 


Weighing,  illicit,  182. 

West  Africa,  carded  silk  in,  398. 

West  of  Scotland,  survivals  in,  368. 

Willmott's,  333-336. 

Wiltshire,  331-333. 

Winchelsea,  40. 

Windermere  "  Spinnery,"  617. 

Winding  Industry,  443. 

Wokingham,  323. 

Women  Workers,  20,  139,  197;    field 'for, 

459 ;    first  mentioned,  469. 
Wood,  Thomas,  402. 
Wool,  14. 

Woolmen's  Company,  566. 
Worcestershire,  327. 
Workers :     Alien,    269 ;     English,    child, 

20  ;  condition  of,  214  ;   protection  of, 

21  ;    Hiring  System  introduced,  499. 
Workhouse  labour,  335. 

Worsted  :  First  spinning  mill,  171  ;  origin 
of  name,  265. 


Yarn-cleaning  Patent,  416. 


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