Norfolk and its hinterland

The relationship between Norwich and its hinterland was a vital part of the textiles equation. The supply of yarn and the efficient despatch of the cloth to its markets were both essential, in an age when land transport was slow and inefficient. The light heatthlands of north-west Norfolk was sheep country and local wool was still in great demand. The Norfolk towns and villages to the north-east of Norwich also preserved their own textiles traditions and weavers were located throughout the Norwich area, not just in the City itsef. All this resulted in a huge quantity of wool, warps and finished pieces being moved about by pack-horse, carrier or waggon train. Wool and dyestuffs were transported into and out the city by keel and wherry from Great Yarmouth and finished cloth went back by the same route, and then by sea either to London or other destinations. The main roads south into Suffolk, Essex and London saw a heavy volume of textile traffic on waggon or pack-horse, bound for Bishopgate.

Together with the other East Anglian counties of Suffolk and Essex, Norfolk was noted for its prosperity from textiles, visible in surviving architecture and embellishments in its famed stock of churches. To a great extent the individual specialities of each county : Norfolk in worsteds, Suffolk in fine wool and kerseys and Essex in bays and silks, meant their industries were largely complementary rather than competative.



The wool supply

It is thought to have taken between 6 and 9 spinners to keep one hand-loom weaver supplied with yarn, and there were reckoned to be about 12,000 weavers in the Norwich area in the 18th century glory days. Up to 92,000 spinners were therefore involved in keeping the Norwich looms working. In medieval times much would have been supplied by the East Anglian country and small town women and girls, but by the 18th century the best wool was sourced from across the whole of the eastern side of the country. Yarn merchants such as James Oakes in Bury St Edmunds and the Gurneys in Norwich ran large-scale, profitable businesses sourcing yarns from an increasingly wide area and co-ordinating the sale, sorting and distribution.



Home Market

Until the mid 18th century, the home market for Norwich cloth was the most important. The pieces of cloth were sold to chapmen, mercers, drapers and general merchants. The most important destination was London,and especially to the London Mercers. These men kept warehouses in the innyards of the capital, where they were well placed for the goods from Norwich coming up through Newmarket and Ware to Bishopgate. Trade advertisements of numerous 18th century Drapers and Mercers record their extensive stocks of Norwich textile goods for wholesale and retail.