‘I shall be in bombazine and crape, according to what we are told is universal here’

Jane Austen 1808, writing to her about mourning for their brother

In British society, the passing of an important person was marked not only by appropriate funeral arrangements but also by a period of mourning, involving the wearing of distinctive clothing,. The wearing of mourning dress acted as a sign to the outside world of a recent bereavement and a changed state for the bereaved (i.e. widowhood etc). Initially the elaborate display was restricted to the nobility, but from the 17th century it became important to anyone of reasonable wealth to observe these rituals as a mark of respect and a sign of status. In large households, the wearing of mourning clothing extended to the servants as well as the family. Inventories record extensive provision for mourning rites and attire.

The Norwich industry benefited greatly from these conventions; Bombazine had been one of its staple products since the late 16th century. It was a worsted and silk twill weave. It produced a dense, matte black, and its high quality ensured that it became the standard wear for mourning until well into the 19th century. The two distinct types of Norwich Crape also played their part. The soft crape made from the 17th century onwards was a fine plain weave worsted and silk fabric, made from yarns with both S twists and Z twists to produce a broken surface through differential shrinkage. In the 19th century all silk gauze was developed and successfully marketed by Joseph Grout and later by the Norwich Crape Company. It was highly finished by top-secret heating and rolling methods. This variety was used for hats, veils and all kinds of trimmings... A cheaper cotton and worsted version of bombazine known as parametta was also made in the later 19th century.)This introduction was troubled by industrial problems and the more traditional weavers attempted to resist introduction of the new lines… S number of the later Norwich pattern books include fabrics devoted to mourning and half-mourning, including the recommended mauve patterns for half mourning.

Mourning ritual peaked with loss of Prince Albert. The later 19th century saw a gradual move away from the ostentation and expense of mourning, fuelled by various mourning reform associations and the option of cremation from 1882. The result for Norwich was inevitable: Bolingbroke and Jones ceased trading in 1889, and Grout’s Norwich factory closed in 1890.

The section above is summarised from Ursula Priestly Norwich & the Mourning Trade Costume No 27, 1993