‘Truly an old craft standing by itself, alone in this England of ours.‘ This post contains a transcript of a newspaper article about the linen industry of North & South Lopham, Norfolk, first published in the East Anglian Daily Times on 23rd January 1894. A version of the article is preserved in the Rita & … Continue reading Hand Loom Weaving (1894)
In this post I share some illustrations and extracts from a rare eighteenth century book about flax and hemp cultivation, processing and weaving. The book’s full title is: A Treatise concerning the Manner of Fallowing of Ground, Raising of Grass-Seeds, and Training of Lint and Hemp, for the increase and improvement of Linnen-Manufactories in Scotland, … Continue reading “Farming in Scotland”
“When I was a boy the two villages of North and South Lopham, between Thetford and Diss in South Norfolk, was still a thriving hive of village industry. For many generations hand woven linen had been its staple trade, and of such quality was the linen that it found its way into many aristocratic homes in the shires and the metropolis, even into Buckingham Palace itself, for one of the master weavers proudly flaunted the royal crown on his van.
This post is about the handloom from North Lopham, Norfolk, now in the collection of Bankfield Museum in Halifax. This old loom has been in storage since it was acquired in 1925 following the closure of T.W. & J. Buckenham, manufacturer of the finest linen in England. I am grateful to the curators for facilitating … Continue reading Lopham Looms: the Bankfield Loom
Two postcards in the Rita & Percy Beales Archive at the Crafts Study Centre show the village of North Lopham during the last days of ‘Lopham Linen’ in the second or third decade of the twentieth century. The horse chestnuts are in flower so it must be May, but the year is uncertain, perhaps 1913 … Continue reading From Lopham with Love.
Last year I converted my loom into a ‘spring-loom’ by building a new fly-shuttle mechanism. Before starting I spent some time looking at looms in museums and old photographs. I found there to be three alternative ways of making the springs, which I call the stick, the rope and the coil. Springs or no springs … Continue reading Fly-Shuttle Springs: the Stick, the Rope and the Coil
Late last year I finally made it to the North Yorkshire County Records Office to look at the manuscript known as The Weaver’s Guide: Linen Designs by Ralph Watson of Aiskew. In this post I share some photographs of the manuscript, along with some background about Ralph Watson and my speculations on the techniques he … Continue reading The Weaver’s Guide