Silkweaving

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="040d4c00dduajq.gif"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>TOUCHARD: One Name Study</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TOUCHARD: One Name Study"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U>About Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>Contact Me</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Huguenots"><U>Huguenots</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="England"><U>England</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="France"><U>France</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bethnal Green"><U>Bethnal Green</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BethnalGreen1851"><U>BethnalGreen1851</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BriansBranches"><U>Brian'sBranches</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canada"><U>Canada</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LondonChurches"><U>LondonChurches</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EnglishTouchards"><U>EnglishTouchards</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fiction"><U>Fiction</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ireland"><U>Ireland</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lace"><U>Lace</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="London"><U>London</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LondonHuguenots"><U>LondonHuguenots</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tours"><U>Tours</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tushaws"><U>Tushaws</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="UKTouchards"><U>UKTouchards</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Me"><U>Me</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NorthAmerica"><U>NorthAmerica</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Olives Tree"><U>Olive's Tree</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PamsPods"><U>Pam'sPods</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paris"><U>Paris</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrintTrade"><U>PrintTrade</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rhine"><U>Rhine</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shoreditch"><U>Shoreditch</U></A>   |   <B>Silkweaving</B>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TessasTwigs"><U>Tessa'sTwigs</U></A></div> <div> Silkweaving</div> <div> <U>HISTORY OF SILK IN TOURS, FRANCE</U><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <U>Silk in Lyon, France</U><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF WEAVERS: RECORDS, 1681-1844 </div> <div> The Weavers are described as the oldest chartered craft company in the City: their charter dates starting in 1155 and continuing to 1707. The fraternity is one of those listed as connected with their crafts in the 14th century. The Weavers' ancient books show that for centuries Weavers were withstanding the efforts of foreign craftsmen, but in the 16th century there were two major influxes of Huguenot weavers. These were a major factor in changing the main orientation from wool to silk. The company also provided considerable charitable funds for the advancement in design and technology of the textile industry, together with scholarships and prizes. It had complete control of the weavers of London, Westminster and Southwark, making these records essential to and study of crafts from the late 17th century onwards. </div> <div> 15 REELS of 35mn MICROFILM REF: WEA £650 </div> <bR> <bR> <div> RESEARCHING THE SILK WEAVING TRADE </div> <div> Henry VI in 1446 took the weavers under his personal protection. The influx of highly skilled French silk weavers and throwsters in the 17th century caused a lot of dissension with the existing English weavers </div> <div> Apprentices usually started at the age of 14 and were admitted to Guild freedom after 7 years, aged 21. (A very useful guide for genealogists). The 11s.10d. charged as admission included a 'free' silver spoon valued at 5/- or 8/-. </div> <div> The Guildhall library (manuscripts) keeps nearly all the original weaver records. MS4660, MS4656, MS4657 etc. The nearby Alderman's Court keeps the Freedom indentures for each admission after about 1685. This is most helpful as names of fathers and addresses are usually noted on each indenture form. Lastly the Huguenot Society Volume 33 includes excellent extracts from about 1660 of Huguenot weavers, including details of some of their misdemeanours. </div> <div> In 1409 Bernard Fort of the Gironde was a Tisserant, 'Oweure' or weaver, the firstrecorded in the family. </div> <div> The Huguenot silk weavers, refugees from France were much in evidence in London in this century. Apart from the various Jaques/James there were: John Delfos a Burgundian (i.e. from Burgundy-controlled part of the Low Countries, possibly Bruges) living in London for religion' was also shown as John Delfonce/Delfosse' and his wife Katherine (Gergart, see Threadneedle Street capers), daughter Jane 'all burgundians living at St. Martins Ontwiche (in the fields). Parish of Creplegate Without as Dyers, makers and weavers of Threde in the House of Anthony Agagh, public notary, worshipping at the Duche church in London in the period 1566-1571 came into this realme for religion about V years past. </div> <div> (E) The Huguenot Society vol. 55 record the saga of the Spitalfields weavers of 1739-41 who were in need of aid. The archives of La Maison de Charite' de Spittlefields gives a sad and a serious account of some 543 cases of weaver families in need, and indeed receiving help. There were no Delaforces amongst them -perhaps surprisingly. This book is a mine of information about the East Enders of this time and should be consulted by researchers with 18th century descendants living in that part of London. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> There was a major crisis in the weaving trade in 1811 when America declared war on England. In Manchester 32 out of 38 mills closed. In Glasgow weavers wages fell from 17/6d. weekly to 7/6d weekly. The Luddites broke up hundreds of framework knitting machines. According to the customs of the City of London and the Weavers Company the proper manufacturing procedures were as follows. 'A Merchant Silkman may deliver silk (yarn) or other stuff unto any Master Weaver that is a Freeman, or other which is admitted a Master by the Bailliffs, Wardens and Assistants of the Weavers Company. And the silk or other stuff ought to be delivered by weight and being wrought or fashioned, the owner may receive the same again by weight and pay the weaver for the workmanship or fashioning thereof, either by the pound or by the dozen, as both parties can agree, allowing sufficient waste upon every pound.' Alternatively the merchant or silkman might sell the raw materials to the weaver at a certain price and buy back the woven fabric at a price high enough to recompense the weaver for his work. </div> <div> The price paid for silk was 3d. or 4. a yard, and silk woven scarves sold at 18d. each. A journeyman weaver's wage was 2s.4d. a week plus food, drink, lodging & washing 'fitting for a journeyman' and new clothing at the beginning and end of his 7 or 8 years servitude. (Apprentices served 7 years - 55 percent, 8 years 35 percent, and over 8 years - 10 percent). Masters paid 20s. to the Weavers Company for journeyman weaver's admission and had to provide 'reasonable fare ... sweet and holdsome for man's bodie.' There were three distinct grades after Citizen and Weaver of London (i.e. Freeman of the City). These grades were called 'admissioners or foreign brethren'. </div> <div> 1. Foreign masters, whose qualifications were fully approved by the Company and who were allowed to take apprentices. </div> <div> 2. Foreign weavers allowed to work independently but not to set up as 'householders'. </div> <div> 3. Journeymen - weavers who had proved their apprenticeship or capability in the craft, but were not permitted to work except as journeymen. </div> <div> Moreover the grades of Gild membership were defined commercially in terms of the number of single looms, numbers of journeymen and apprentices employed. </div> <div> Denizens or foreigners in 1st year after admission </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="641" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="86"><div> Single (max)</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><div> Looms </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> No. of Apprentices </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> Journeymen (max)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 5 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><div> 1 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 1 in 2nd year</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><div> 5 </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 2 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="72" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 3 in 3rd or subsequent years</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="142" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 5</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><div> 2 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> 3 Strangers (aliens) 1st year after admission</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><div> 4</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 1 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><div> 1</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 2d and subsequent years</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="142" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="86"><div> 4 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="72"><div> 2 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 2</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><div> Liverymen of Company</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 6 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> unlimited </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 4 Bailiffs/wardens of Company</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="142" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="86"><div> 7 </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> unlimited </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="316"><div> 5</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="142"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="142" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> The location of Weavers in London in the 17th Century were 30 percent in Southwark, 20 percent in Cripplegate, 20 percent in Shoreditch and 10 per cent in hitehall. In 1618 a survey showed the percentage of weavers strangers' in London. At the end of the century Strype described "Spitalfields, a great harbour for poor Protestant Strangers, Walloons and French, who as in former Days, so of later, have been forced to become Exiles from their own Country for their Religion & for the avoiding cruel Persecution. Here they have found quiet and security, and settled themselves in their several Trades & Occupations: Weavers especially." </div> <div> The move by the weavers to the newer communities of Spitalfields and Bethnal Green took place early in the 18th century. Sources Fances Consitt 'The London Weavers Company.'Alfred Plummer 'The London Weavers Co. 1600-1970'. </div> <div> Many silk weavers from Lyons settled in a suburb of London known as Spitalfields, where they re-established their trade. The Huguenot weavers brought skills and technology heretofore unavailable to the English, and the British silk industry blossomed. Silk-weaving took hold throughout England, and the cities of Derby, Dublin, Coventry, Manchester, and Macclesfield boasted many silk-weaving looms. However, the industry remained centered in Spitalfields. </div> <div> The weavers adopted as their spokesman and campaigner, a local landowner by the name of George Wheler. Having recently returned from France, he understood the lives of the Huguenots, showed sympathy to their needs and built them a small chapel on the site of this Passage. It was the first of twelve places of worship built over the following years for the sole use of the silk weavers. All of this area is in the midst of long-lasting suspense-pending finalisation of building plans. </div> <div> Spitalfields Market has removed to another site, the adjacent Flower Market too has been vacated and the Market Garage, on the west side of the Passage, is broken and adorned with graffiti. It is also of worthy note that Nantes Passage is of over-sized proportions in relation to its width and is in no way representative of our image of a typical City passage. </div> <div> In 1684 Ormond Market, now awaiting demolition at any moment, was built beside the Pill and called after James Butler, the first Duke of Ormond, who played so large a part in the history of the Stuart period both in Ireland and England. Ormond Market was long the chief home of the Dublin butchers, celebrated in Walsh's interesting Ireland a Hundred and Twenty Years Ago already mentioned. The butchers were Catholics, and in the days of guilds, were the Guild of the Blessed Virgin, perhaps from their proximity to the site of her old Abbey. They waged continual warfare, the fighting taking place mostly on the bridges, with the French Protestant or Huguenot silk-weavers of the Earl of Meath's Liberties, once the Liberties of the Abbey of St. Thomas a Becket. </div> <div> For example, of the 181 silk workers surveyed in 1571, 63 per cent originated from Brabant and Flanders; and nearly 82 per cent had arrived in the city between 1560 and 1571, a period of escalating religious and political tension in the Low Countries. The contribution of these immigrants to the silk industry was significant, and by 1600, there was talk of the 'abundance which the strangers make of tuff taffetas, wrought velvets, figured satins and other sorts of silk mingled with thread and wool'. Migrants with skills in ubiquituous, non-luxury trades such as beer brewing, coopering, and botchering (a form of tailoring), on the other hand, were transferred mainly from the Rhineland, and the northern Netherlands. </div> <div> Joseph Jacquard, the son of a silk weaver, was born in Lyon in 1752. He inherited his father's small eaving business but trade was bad and eventually went bankrupt. In 1790 he was given the task of restoring a loom made by Jacques de Vaucasan. Although fifty years old, it was one of the earliest examples of an automatic loom. Working on this loom led to him developing a strong interest in the mechanization of silk manufacture. ne Laurent Mourguet, a puppeteer of Lyon using Polichinelle as the star of his show, sed to try out his new attractions on his neighbour, an old silk-weaver, before putting them before the pubic. One of the weavers expressions , "C'est guignolant" which he used when the puppet's antics took his fancy, Mourguet gave to one of his characters, a puppet modelled on the slk-weaver himself, though with a young almost boyish face, and in the inexplicable way in whichcertain phrases or expressions become catch-phrases of the general public "C'est guignolant"established the character who became known as Guignol as a result and who quickly became the principal character in a new series of puppet plays. This puppet,jolly and happy, freed from the limitations of speech imposed upon Polichinellethrough the traditional use of the sifflet pratique, gathered around himself a set ofcharacters just as Punch did, although they were conceived by Mourguet and didnot evolve in the same way as the Punch play characters. Guignol has a wife,Madelon and a drunken friend Grafron who replaced Polichinelle as his partner andwho contrives always to lead him astray, and a variety of other well-defined typesas friends and enemies. There is none of the fire and swashbuckling pride of Polichinelle in Guignol yet he conquered France and his name has becomesynonymous with glove-puppet shows generally. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Lyon was founded in 43 BC on top of Fourviere hill by the Romans, who called their town Lugdunum and made it the capital of Gaul. The restored Roman amphitheater, which held 10,000 people, is now used for concerts and other outdoor summer events. Nearby is the Gallo-Roman museum, a modernbuilding contoured to the shape of the hill with exhibits that re-create everyday life in Roman Lyon. </div> <div> Across the Saone from Fourviere is the hill of Croix-Rousse, which also has Roman remains. However, Croix-Rouse is best known as the silk weavers' quarter. In the heyday of the silk trade, roughly from the beginning of 15t century to the middle of the 19th, the quarter was home to as many 25,000 silk workers, known as ``canuts,'' and their looms. </div> <div> Demonstrations of silk weaving are given daily at the neighborhood museum,Maison des Canuts, a former silk weaver's house on Rue d'Ivry. Superb examples of the weavers' art can also be seen in the Textile Museum, whichshares an 18th-century townhouse on Rue de la Charite with the Museum ofDecorative Arts. </div> <div> Silk looms required high ceilings, and Croix-Rousse is known for its unusuallytall houses. The hill is now a trendy part of town, filled with cafes, clubs, and bouchons, and many of its high old buildings, once home to several familiesof poor weavers, are now fashionable residences. </div> <div> But the real center of local chic is Old Lyon, the neighborhood on the right bank of the Saone below Fourviere Hill. Once considered a slum, Old Lyon came close to being bulldozed away in the 1960s. Fortunately, preservationist prevailed, and the neighborhood today contains the finest concentration of restored Renaissance architecture in Europe: more than 300 buildings built in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. At the heart of Old Lyon is St. Jean Cathedral, which was begun in the late 12th century. It's a fine example of a medieval church, but the big attraction is the animated astronomical clock. At noon and 1, 2, and 3 p.m., the clock strikes the hour. Then, a cock crows three times, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, a dove comes down, and a long-bearded Jehovah blesses the onlookers. </div> <div> Lyon is located 300 miles southeast of Paris, between the Saone and Rhone rivers at the foot ofthe Alps. Due to this prime location, Lyon developed commercially. From the 14th through the17th centuries, Lyon flourished under royal protection. Beginning early in the 15th century, Lyonheld a monopoly on the silk-industry in France, and the first stock market in France opened in1506 in Lyon </div> <div> Not until after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes did Huguenot weavers from France cross the English Channel and establish silk mills in Spitalfields, a district in the East End of London. The silkworm, however, did not flourish in the English climate, nor has it ever flourished in the U.S. The first silk mill in the U.S. was erected in 1810. With the advent of the power loom, and with the help of the high tariffs introduced during the American Civil War against imported woven goods, the American silk-weaving industry entered a period of growth. </div> <div> The immigration from various parts of France and Flanders continued for many years. Cloth-makers came from Antwerp and Bruges, lace-makers from Cambray, glass-makers from Paris, stuff-weavers from Meaux, shipwrights from Dieppe and Havre. Steel-makers from the neighbourhood of Liege started the manufacture of steel at Newcastle and Sheffield. Potters from Delft instituted pottery. Many merchants set up business in the City of London and prospered. </div> <div> Despite all the persecution the Huguenots still carried on some industry in France. Silk was manufactured with great success at Tours and Lyons, paper was manufactured, and bleached cloth and sail-cloth were made in Brittany and elsewhere. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> French manufacture of woven silks began in 1480, and in 1520 Francis I brought Italian and Flemish weavers to Fontainebleau to produce tapestry under the direction of the King's weaver. Others were brought to weave silk in Lyon, eventually the centre of European silk manufacture. Until 1589, most of the elaborate fabrics in France were of Italian origin, but in that year Henry IV founded the royal carpet and tapestry factory at Savonnières. Flemish weavers were brought to France to produce tapestries in workshops set up by Jean Gobelin in the 16th century. By the time of Louis XIII </div> <div> (1610-43), French patterned fabrics showed a distinctive style based on symmetrical ornamental forms, lacelike in effect, perhaps derived from the highly regarded early Italian laces. In 1662, the French government, under Louis XIV, purchased the Gobelin factory in Paris. Rouen also became known for its textiles, with designs influenced by the work of Rouen potters. French textiles continued to advance in style and technique, and under Louis XVI (1774-93) design was refined, with classical elements intermingled with the earlier floral patterns. The outbreak of the French Revolution in the 1790s interrupted the work of the weavers of Lyon, but the industry soon recovered. Flanders and its neighbour Artois were early centres of production for luxurious textiles: Arras for silks and velvets; The most important group of refugees, some 3,500, lived in Spitalfields, a London settlement that became the chief centre for fine silk damasks and brocades. These weavers produced silk fabrics of high quality and were known for their subtle use of fancy weaves and textures. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> The year 1768 saw poor harvests with consequent food shortages and soaring prices. High unemployment and a severe winter provoked riots among the Spitalfields silk-weaver and East End coal-heavers. Merchant seamen in Hull, Tyneside and London went on strike for higher wages. These problems merely added to Grafton's burdens. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Sara Davey, nee Sodo applied for admission to the hospital in 1829 being the Daughter of Jacques Sodo and Grand daughter of Jacques Sodo Natif of Cambrey in France- she was a widow of 67 and living at 15 Holywell Lane Shoreditch. She has been a silk weaver and last worked at Messrs. Bennett in Spital Square, but now had very bad eyesight. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Name(s) Touchet, Thomas </div> <div> Occupation textile manufacturer 136 --> </div> <div> Year of Birth 1758 Year of Death 1821 </div> <div> Smith, Jeremiah Finch: The Admission Register of the Manchester School, with some notices of the more distinguished scholars. 3 vols. Manchester 1866-74. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>