The glossaries that follow are intended to provide a guide to local or specialist textile terminology.

Crafts, trades and occupations

Cloths made in Norwich
: before or during the 15th century
: 16th & 17th centuries
: 18th & 19th centuries

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CRAFTS, TRADES AND OCCUPATIONS INVOLVED IN
THE NORWICH TEXTILE INDUSTRY

This list outlines some of the many separate trades involved in textiles production in the Norwich area. Contributed by Thelma Morris

BLOCK PRINTER Specialists who used wooden printing blocks to build up layers of colour into complete patterns for used primarily on Norwich Shawls.

BOBBIN WINDER Large bobbins, one for each warp thread in a stated width of the total width of the warp, were filled with thread and placed on a bobbin rack in readiness for the warper. It was the job of the bobbin winder to do this.

BORDERER Specialised weaver who wove narrow width borders which were to be sewn on the edges of certain shawls.

CARD CUTTERS Patterns produced on Jacquard looms needed a chain of cards punched with holes to operate the warp lifting mechanism and it was the job of the card cutter to read a coloured design on graph paper to know where to position a hole on a card.

CARPENTERS were required to build the looms, warping mills, bobbin racks and other large items of equipment.

CARRIERS In the latter part of the 18th and part of the 19th century warp chains made at master weavers’ workshops in Norwich were sent by carrier’s cart to many of the surrounding villages by carriers cart. The newly made chains were left by the carrier at the local hostelry for collection by village weavers and the webs they had woven the previous week were loaded onto his cart and taken back to Norwich.

CLIPPER Some cloth structures produced long floats of weft on the back of the cloth which if left would catch and pull out of position. Using small shears these unwanted threads were carefully trimmed away which tidied the cloth and also reduced weight.

CLOTH MERCHANT It is the pattern books of some 18th century cloth merchants which have enlightened our knowledge of cloth production in this period. They are the leather bound books which were produced in more than one language and used by representatives of the Norwich Merchants to sell their wares on the continent.

CORD SPINNERS Wooden foot looms, and especially draw looms, required a large amount of cord to gate them and it was essential that a ready supply of the correct thickness was always available.

DESIGNERS During the period of the production of the Norwich Shawls, designers were employed to paint designs on graph paper in readiness for the loom mounters( in the case of a draw loom) or the card cutters (in the case of jacquard looms).

DRAW BOYS To operate a draw loom, the weaver needed the assistance of a boy to pull the cords controlling the pattern harness.

DRAWER IN On a foot loom, or the iron frame industrial loom, warp threads had to be threaded in a predetermined order through the heddles mounted on the shafts to produce the pattern and it was the job of the drawer in to do this.

DYER Dyeing was one of the separate specialist trades in Norwich and thedyers’ expertise in producing bright, stable dyes contributed greatly to the national reputation of the Norwich industry.

FLAX AND HEMP MERCHANTS specialised in the preparation and supply of flax and hemp to the weavers, cord and rope spinners.

FRINGER Another separate trade within the shawl industry were workers who knotted a fringe on to the edge of a shawl or who sewed on a woven fringe.

FULLER Fullers were involved in the finishing of woollen cloths, using heat, pressure or shrinking to produce dense cloth with a felted appearance This was not a speciality locally as worsted cloths did not need to be fulled, but for a short period from the late 1560’s the Dutch Strangers wove bayes cloth and there is documentary evidence of Dutch fullers fulling their cloths by foot.

HEDDLE MAKERS During the handloom era, the number of heddles specified for the width of a cloth were fastened onto shafts which were used only for that particular type of cloth. A master weaver had as many sets of shafts in his workshop as types of cloth he produced.

HOT PRESSERS After removal from the loom worsted cloths required some kind of finishing and Norwich developed much expertise in the use of hotpresses. A high glaze was imparted to the cloth by means of heated boards and pressure.

JOURNEYMAN WEAVER A weaver had to serve at least a seven year apprentice. After the completion of his term he became a journeyman weaver: a weaver working for a master. If he wished to trade in his own right as a weaver he was required to pay and entry fee to become a Freeman of the City.

MOUNTER The person who mounted the harness on a draw or jacquard loom.

PACKERS With much of the cloth produced destined for London or overseas markets it was essential that secure, waterproof packaging was available. Packers handled this specialism.

QUILL WINDERS Shuttles contained a quill, sometimes called a pirn, on to which was wound the weft. This job fell to the children and wives of the weavers when the loom was in the home. Later, when the small factories were producing the cloth, young girls and women were employed.

REED MAKERS Early reeds were manufactured from cane and twine and it was a highly skilled job to accurately space the canes with the twine to enable a smooth and evenly spaced cloth to be produced in the loom.

ROPE MAKERS Hand looms tensioned by the means of ropes required several yards of rope. Rope-making was a separate craft supplying the needs of agriculture and industry.

SACK WEAVERS A good supply of sacks were needed to store and transport the many yarns in use. Yardage sacking was used to wrap the rolls of cloth.

SCARLET DYERS It was usual for scarlet dyers to specialise in producing this colour only and to have separate premises from other dyers.

SHIP OWNERS Small ships, keels or later wherries, were used to transport cloth from Norwich along the river Yare to Yarmouth where it was off loaded to larger ships.

SHUTTLE MAKERS Over the years various types of shuttles were used. The wood chosen for their construction had to be fine grained and hard to enable the shuttle to withstand contact with the reed without becoming splintered.

SILK MERCHANT Quantities of silk were required to produce the worsted/silk and all silk cloths and it was the role b of the silk merchant to hold an adequate stock of several varieties.

SOAP BOILERS Much soap was needed for the scouring of yarn and soap boilers in the City were present through the ages.

SPINNERS Worsted weavers for many years used only yarn spun with a drop spindle claiming that it was superior to that produced on the wheel. Hand spinning lasted in Norwich and the county for many years after the introduction of power machinery, the reason being that it brought in a much needed income for families, especially in the rural areas. Eventually manufacturers found that purchasing yarn from the North of England was cheaper, however, partly to ease unemployment, a spinning mill was erected in the parish of St. Edmunds and mechanised spinning came to the city.

THROWSTERS Their job was to de-gum and withdraw silk from cocoons, to make silk thread for use in silk weaving.

WAREHOUSEMEN As trade increased master weavers became owners of warehouses, the place where cloth could be kept and buyers from other parts could come to inspect and hopefully purchase what was on offer. If a period of court mourning was declared buyers from London visited these warehouses and at times cleared the stocks of the many black mourning cloths produced.

WARPER Warps were wound and designed in the master weavers’ workshops and journeymen weavers would collect the completed warp chain and sufficient weft to complete the length of cloth on a loom situated in their own home. By using this method the master weaver had control of his designs and materials, avoided wastage, did not have to provide premises for the looms, although some hired looms to the journeymen weavers.

WOOL MERCHANT The success of any trade is dependent on the quality of its raw materials and as locally produced fleece was not always the correct quality of long staple wool, or available in sufficient amounts to met the demands of the high quality worsted trade, the weavers relied heavily on the wool merchants to seek supplies from English long-wool producing counties.

WOOLCOMBER Before the long-wool could be spun into worsted yarn the fleece had to be combed to straighten and align the staple. Two heavy iron toothed combs, heated in a charcoal burner, were used to do this. The resultant sliver, called tops, was then ready to be spun and the short combings called noils were carded and spun on the woollen system. It is these noils which the Norwich Dornix weavers used to produce their colourful hangings, curtains and bedcovers.

WOOLSORTER Many qualities are to be found in a fleece and it was and still was the job of the woolsorter to distinguish and separate the various component types. If this sorting is poorly executed the resultant cloth falls far short of required expectations when it comes to the finishing processes. The woolsorter was considered to have one of the most critical jobs in the whole process of cloth production.

A selection of cloths made in Norwich before or during the 15th century

Terminology extracted from original sources and interpreted by Thelma Morris.



BEARSKIN a coarse, very thick woollen finished with a shaggy nap. As well as being made in Norwich, much cloth of this kind was produced East Norfolk during in the 14 and 15th centuries

BLANKET CLOTH a thick heavily milled woollen cloth used for garments as well as bed-covers.

COGWARE a narrow, coarse woollen cloth which was fulled and raised similar to Frieze. A worsted cloth also called Cogware was made in Norwich and thereabouts in the eighth year of the reign of Edward II.

COTTON a woollen cloth similar to Frieze which became a speciality of the North of England cloth trade.

‘To Cotton’ meant ‘to form a down or nap’ on frieze and similar cloth.

DREADNOUGHT a similar cloth to Bearskin and used for much the same purposes: outer garments needed to provide warmth.

FEARNOUGHT similar to Dreadnought finished with a long pile. Suitable for outer garments.

FRIEZE a heavily felted and raised woollen cloth made from coarse yarn. In the finishing of this cloth the pile was twisted to form small naps or burrs. After stretching the woven cloth over a table it was treated with a solution of honey and water and brushed with a crisper – a board encrusted with a mixture of glue and sand. Finally the cloth was put over a roller with fine short wire points.

FRIZARDO a superior type of Frieze.

WADMOL a rough, coarse cloth used for work clothes, saddle-cloths, horse collars etc. Wadmol was at one time traded with Icelanders for fish.

WORSTED CLOTHS a Statute of 1467 lists the following worsted cloths then in production – Beds, Monk’s Cloth, Canon’s Cloth, Double Motleys, Single Motleys, Double Worsted Tenyards, Half double Worsted Sixyards and Roll Worsted.

A selection of cloths made in Norwich during the 16th and 17th centuries

Terminology extracted from original sources and interpreted by Thelma Morris

AMENS an everlasting. A finely-woven, close sett satin or broken twill. The warp was made from double or treble threads crossed by a single thread weft. Cloth originally made in Amiens, used for shoe tops, gaiters etc.

ANTERINE a fine close sett silk warp crossed by a heavier worsted thread which formed a cross rib.

BANNAGON woven in the grey and piece dyed. Used for bunting, banners and such like.

BAYES Many of the ‘Dutch’ Strangers who settled in Norwich during the late 1560’s originated from Ypres where they had been weaving a cloth called bayes and they continued to practise this type of cloth making for many years after settling in the city. Classed as a woollen cloth, it was constructed from short staple carded fleece, spun on the woollen system. Woven ‘in the grease’ meant that the yarn was not scoured after spinning. The interlacement needed to produce a bayes cloth was one which would throw the weft onto the face of the cloth. A softly spun weft (one with only a few twists to the inch) was required, but the warp would have had a higher number of tpi in order to resist the stresses and strains of weaving and to enable sufficient tension to be applied. After weaving the cloth had to be scoured and fulled. Scouring removed the grease and fulling had the effect of closing up the web. Foot fulling was the method used by the Strangers. We find local orders that ‘no fullers shall com to the stars naked without a napern from the midell downward….’ Many of the cloths were sold white, others were dyed. After this the all important raising of the nap was carried out by using king teasels.

Finally the cloth was sent to the shearer to crop, which left a soft downy face to the cloth.

BEDS one of the early thick worsted cloths which continued to be made in three sizes during the 16th century.

BOMBAZINE ‘On 20th November 1575 the Dutch Elders came into Court and presented a new material calling it Bombasins which they said was made by them and asked ‘that they might have the search and sealing thereof to their benefit without the Walloons’. (See Dutch & Walloon Book of Orders at Norfolk Record Office)

The cloth presented to the Court by the Dutch had a linen warp with a worsted weft threaded to a 2/1 twill, woven grey and piece dyed. Later cloth of this name could be made of all-silk, silk/worsted and cotton/worsted. It continued to be made in very large quantities until the early years of the 20th century.

BORATOES the Walloon community made plain, striped and purled boratoes from 1578 until the middle of the 17th century.

BROAD SILK originally the Italians were the masters of this cloth, but technical knowledge of the process travelled west and refugees settling in Norwich from Antwerp, Lille and West Flanders commenced its production in the City.

BROCADE (double) from the inventory of William Poule, (Ref.NRO INV NCC 20/47) a Walloon, we learn that he had been making Double Brocades until his death in 1605.

BUFFINS a single camlet derivative measuring 13-34 yds. long by half an ell wide. Approximate time of production 1587-1620.

BUNTING made from 2 ply warps sett very close together to help this cloth to withstand wind. Mostly used for flags and street decorations.

BUSTAINS the worsted weavers themselves described this cloth as ‘a worsted is wrought with four treadles but to make thereof a bustain is to weave with three of the same treadles’. This would have produced a 2/1 twill.

CAFFA a Satin of Bridges derivative originally called Caphart was made with a ferret (spun) silk warp and linen weft.

CALENDERED CLOTH any cloth which has been subjected in the finishing process to heat whilst under pressure between boards or rollers to provide a glossy surface.

CALLIMANCOE first noted being made in Norwich in 1594. Threaded to a broken twill and slayed four or five ends to a reed dent. This extremely colourful cloth, finished by hot pressing sometimes enhanced with the use of beeswax and a rubber, was used to make attractive clothing for men – waistcoats, jerkins, breeches. (See also note in the 18/19th century list.

CAMELION a changeable twisted say with contrasting colours in both the warp and the weft. The weft was of two colours but was not twisted.

CAMLET a plain weave cloth made in many widths, lengths, qualities and colours. One of the cloths for which Norwich became internationally renowned. Over time it was made from all worsted, worsted and goats hair, silk and linen unions. The humble worsted camlet came to be known as Harateen, Moreen, Grosgram, Grogrinette and Cheanis when given different finishes. Figured camlets had figures stamped on them by means of hot irons. Watered camlet was first treated with water, then hot-pressed leaving it marked and with a smooth lustre. Waved camlet waves impressed by a calender through which it was passed and re-passed.

CATTALOWNE a camlet made with single yarn which was sometimes known as buffin. The Cattalownes made by the Worsted Weavers had two colours twisted together in the warp with a weft of a third colour. The Walloons made the same cloth in silk.

CHANGEABLE CLOTH a cloth with warp of one colour and weft of another. Sometimes known as ‘shot fabric’.

CHEANIS a worsted cloth, sometimes watered, used for furnishings. A Walloon, John Desmaret had been making broad laced cheanis valued at 56s. each before he died in 1636 (Ref.NRO INV NCC 149)

CHEQUERS a cloth made by the worsted weavers with two or more warp ends raised at the same time and crossed with a similar number of picks in the same shed.

CREWEL STOCKINGS hand knitted worsted stockings made particularly in Norwich, Reepham and Aylsham from the latter part of the 16C. From 1620 about 70,000 pairs per year were exported by Norwich Hosiers through Yarmouth to Rotterdam.

CROSS BILLET A Bird’s eye threading derivative. An order passed 1571/2 stated
‘ it is to be warped at least 400 reed dents and the chain owght to be dowble linen yarn twistered and the shootinge of saietrye dowble, meaning a twist of mingled silk and jersey, of silk and saiet’. Dutch & Walloon Book of Orders. NRO

CRYSTAL similar cloth to a fine wide Durrant with a silk warp and worsted weft, forming fine and heavy ribs across the cloth.

CURL a z-twisted 2-ply yarn twisted loosely around a finer z-twistered yarn which, when twistered anti-clockwise caused loops to form at intervals, was used to make this cloth. An all-silk or silk/worsted mixture.

CURL DE ROYS derived from curl but making use of fine silk threads and much thicker worsted ones.

CUT the formation of pattern on the surface of a cloth.

CYDRAMIDS a Worsted Weavers cloth similar to Pyramids.

DAMASK white damask cloth being made by the Worsted Weavers (City of Norwich Mayor’s Court Book 1632, NRO)

DENIMS a jersey cloth originally called Serge de Nimes made with a singles tightly spun warp and weft threaded to a 3/2 twill

DORNIX linen warp and ground weft with a woollen spun weft forming bands of pattern. The combings (noils) left over from making worsted tops were utilised to make this woollen spun yarn.
It was widely sed for hangings, coverlets, bed-curtains, carpets, vestments etc. In the 1590s about 3,500 dornix coverlets per year were exported through Yarmouth.

DOUBLE CLOTH made from two threads of yarn plied together and used for both warp and weft.

DRUGGETS a worsted plain weave open sett cloth which took on a smooth handle after finishing by hotpressing. Known to have been made in Norwich in the 1660’s by Worsted Weavers Thomas Barker and Thomas Edgely.

DURRANTS a stout worsted of everlasting quality made to imitate buff leather for jerkins finished by hot-pressing.

EVERLASTINGS strong twilled cloths which closely woven, dyed black and used amongst other things for women’s shoes.

FERRANDINE originally an all-silk cloth, Ferrading later made with a silk warp with a weft of wool, hair, cotton or linen. All worsted ferrandines were made by the Worsted Weavers in the 1670’s.

FIGURATO a Walloon cloth made of silk/linen, woven to the same specification as Spanish Sattins: half a yard and half a nail wide with 1,725 ends of double silk which obscured the linen wefts. It was threaded to a 4 or 6 end double twill. John Desmaret was making silk figuratos valued at £4.10s. each at the time of his death in XXXX.

FILOSELLE the Dutch started to make Filoselle using spun silk but it was almost immediately copied by the Worsted Weavers using all worsted. A kind of double camlet made 24 yards long. Until 1613 the width was measured in Flemish ells but after this date the English equivalents came into use. Early Filoselle broad cloths contained 1.920 warp ends and narrow ones 1,760.

FLORAMID also known as Flowered Pyramids

FORMADARDES/FORMADABILIS a worsted/hair cloth valued at 40s. a pc. in 1636.

FUSTIANS OF NAPLES made with jersey yarn by the Strangers or with a linen ground and jersey pile, woven one yard wide either white or coloured in the loom and both with pile uncut or all cut or cut and uncut at different lengths.

FUSTINADOES A pile cloth made to the same dimensions as velours with 400 pile threads.

GARTERING a tape or braid tied round the leg to support stockings.

GROGRAM a coarse cloth of silk or mohair, wool/silk or wool/mohair often stiffened.

GROGRINET a fine, watered camlet.

HENRIETTA a cloth first made in 1660 and named in honour of Maria Queen consort of Charles I. It had a twill face but a smooth back.

HOT-PRESS the apparatus used for pressing cloth between glazed boards and hot metal plates, resulting in a cloth with a highly glazed surface.

JERSEY YARN the name given to worsted yarn spun on Saxony wheels by the Strangers in Norwich.

JERSEY CLOTH Stranger-woven cloths made from jersey yarn.

HALF WORSTEDS cloth with a combed warp and a carded weft were known as half worsteds e.g. Bayes, Druggets, Minikins, Perpetuanas, Rashes, Ratteens, Serges, Swanskins, Wadding

LACE was ordered to be searched and sealed in 1580, rules then laid down were annulled in November 1582 when new rules were appointed.

MESSOLINAS linen warp and jersey weft finished by brushing the surface.

MINIKIN a half worsted – a superior type of bayes.

MOCKADO the Company of Walloons and Wardens of the Art of Mockado Weavers commonly called the Sayetrye in July 1577 presented a bill of request to the Mayor asking that certain new rules be laid down for the making of mockadoes. Mockado was a pile cloth used for cassocks, doublets, gowns, jerkins etc. and was also used to cover the seats of chairs and stools. The word mockado is a corruption of the Italian word for mohair .

MOHAIR a fine camlet made from the hair of the angora goat, sometimes given a watered finish.

MUSCARETS a striped warp threaded to produce small geometrical figures. A similar cloth to Toys.

NARROW WARES this trade was often called parchementary and its products parchment laces. Tapes, garters, ribbons, fringes, galloons, tassels, girdles, cauls, inkles, gimps, braids hat bands all come under this heading. Another name was ferrets , a word deriving from loom laces made from ferret silk. Weavers making these narrow wares were referred to as ferret weavers.

OLYETS Norwich Walloons were making their own version of ollyets and scallop shells with linen warps and jersey wefts. These were much the same as those produced in Lille since 1496.

PARRAGON a kind of double camlet which was much used for undergraduate gowns in the 17th century.

PEARLE OF BEAUTY a single camlet ‘tuft in the striken’. Some were striped others coloured and tufted by a second weft forming loops on the surface which were later cut to form a pile.

PERPETUANAS an everlasting, a half worsted.

PEROPUS from 1615 white coloured and changeable worsted peropus was made in very large quantities.

PHILIP & CHENEYS Jersey Philip & Cheneys were made by the Strangers in 1608 and could be termed broad, narrow, white and coloured by mid 17th century. In 1619 a double piece. was valued at 40s.

PHILISELLES a derivative of the double camlet.

PIRAMIDES/PYRAMIDS a derivative of the saye which in turn was derived from the early cloth known as worsted Beds a worsted cloth made with yarns of two colours twisted together.

PLUMETTES singles and doubles were made both having a pattern of plumes and measuring half a yard wide.

PLUSH made from silk, cotton, camel or goats hair. The pile was softer and longer than velvet.

QUADRAMIDS A Stranger-woven cloth made with coloured threads doubled and twisted together. A similar cloth to the Worsted Weavers ‘Pyramids’ cloth. First made in 1618, woven 27 ½ yards long with 900 ends.

RUSSELL a corded cloth made by the Russell Weavers using worsted spun yarn.

SATTINS satin cloths of various weights and colours were made throughout this period. Miles Greenwood, a Worsted Weaver, had three pieces. of mixed satin valued at £4.10s. when he died in 1681(Ref.NRO INV NCC DN 62a/66.)

SAYE another of the all-worsted cloths made in huge quantities and piece dyed in many of the high quality dyes developed by the Norwich dyers. Made in many weights and variously used for clothing, bed hangings, curtains etc.

SERGE a twilled cloth of worsted or a half-worsted, piece dyed.

SINGLE CLOTH made from a single thread of yarn in both warp and weft.

TOYS the name of this cloth came from the Dutch word tooi meaning fine attire. Threaded to small patterned point twills and usually woven in contrasting colours.

TRIPES a weft pile cloth with a linen ground with jersey, silk or jersey/silk weft piles.

TUFTAFFETA a broad silk made from all silk or a combination of silk/linen.

TURKEY WORK also called Norwich Work or Setwork. A knotted pile fabric with a linen or hemp warp introduced by the Strangers in the late 16C. Usually floral designs similar to the embroidery designs of the period were used. Used for cushions for buffit stools, window seats and for early upholstery when it was usually trimmed with braid.

VELOUR a weft pile cloth made by the Walloons.

A selection of cloths made in Norwich during the 18th and 19th centuries

Terminology derived from original sources and interpreted by Thelma Morris

ALEPINE a silk warp with a worsted weft threaded to a four end broken twill, similar to sattinet.

BALZARINE a light material much used for womens’ dresses, with a cotton warp and worsted weft. This cloth was succeeded by Barage.

BARATHEA made from silk and worsted, threaded to a broken rib weave which produced a pebbled appearance. It first appeared as one of the ‘new’ names for bombazine and was woven 24 inches wide.

BARAGE also known as Woollen Gauze and Woollen Grenadine. Threaded to a gauze draft and having a worsted warp with a silk weft, it produced a dress cloth with a soft handle.

BASSATES a variety of Barathea.

BATTAVIAS a four shaft twill silk.

BEIGE a fine soft dress cloth threaded to 2/2 twill.

BELLE-ISLES a glazed worsted dress cloth with supplementary white weft floats producing floral sprays on shaded warp striped ground. Similar to Martinique.

BLONDINES a fancy glazed worsted dress cloth.Lace effects and shaded flowers were produced by supplementary warps on plain or diamond patterned grounds.

BOLTING CLOTH used for sifting flour and screen printing, requiring a very accurately spaced warp and weft.

BOMBAZET originally made from all-worsted but in the 19th century from cotton and worsted. Finished without glaze.

BOMBAZINE in all weights continued to be made ( see 16th/17th century list).

BONNET STRINGS considerable quantities of fancy silk bonnet strings were made in the mid 19th century

BRIGHTON NAP a woollen cloth similar to bayes but with ‘knots’ on the face.

BRILLANTS the ground was striped in the warp with white and different colours, but crossed with a white weft. The white stripes were brocaded by a second warp and the coloured stripes brocaded by floating a white weft. The cloth was finished with a high glaze.

BRILLIANTINES a fine weave of silk and cashmere.

BROCADE double, basket figure, rich double point, and variegated brocades were popular cloths in the 18th century.

BROGLIOS flowered a silk and worsted cloth with small geometric patterns

BRUXELLS ALTEZZA the type made in Norwich at the end of the 18C had dark red and blue stripes with supplementary warp lace and floral sprig decoration.

CALLIMANCO brocaded, clouded, figured, flowered, hair, mock, mock striped, shaded, sprigged, striped, white and white flowered were variations of this cloth produced in vast volumes for the overseas markets.

CAMBLETEES clouded, glazed, ladine both glazed and unglazed and spotted were cloths which found a ready sale overseas in the 18C.

CAMELTEEN a worsted and goat’s hair cloth

CAMLET the many varieties of camlets produced during the 18/19C included broad, brocaded, check, clouded, double, flowered, watered mohair, ladine, plain unglazed, shot, silk, single, spotted, spotted glazed, striped both glazed and unglazed and watered.

CASHMERE a fine botany 2/1 twill weft faced dress cloth with more picks than ends. This cloth was drawn out in length and shrunk in width in the finishing which showed the weft as much as possible on the surface. Similar finishing techniques were used for Coburgs, Henriettas and Paramattas.

CHALLIS a very soft, pliable fine silk twill cloth printed with flowers on a white ground, woven 30 inches wide.

CHECKS both all-cotton and all-wool varieties were popular.

CLOUDED CLOTH ‘clouded’ worsteds made in the 18th century included Callemandres, Rayes a Flamme Rins, unglazed, Clouded Callimancoes, Taborets, Rayes et Nuances.

COACH LACE trimmings for coaches and carriages similar to furniture braids, livery tapes and gartering were made by specialist manufacturers.

COBURG a cloth similar to Paramatta with a silk warp and worsted weft, threaded to a 2/1 twill.
When made in a wool/cotton union it resembled a twilled Orleans or French Merino. It was introduced shortly after Queen Victoria married Prince Albert and was used for coat linings and dresses for the working classes.

COTTON varieties in production included blurred, checked, lacy, plain, shadowed, cotton and silk mixtures, cotton with silk stripes, striped, cotton, wool and silk mixtures.

CRAPE worsted crape was made of silk and worsted and closely resembled Bombazine.

CRAPE crimped a plain woven silk cloth. The crinkling was produced by weaving a soft weft on a hard twisted warp, the latter causing the cloth to ‘curl’ in the finishing process when it was passed over a heated roller engraved with the desired pattern of the finished crape.

CRINOLINE a cotton warp crossed with horsehair made in a variety of designs and colours. Each individual horsehair had to be placed in the cloth by hand, a labour-intensive process.

DAMASK bed a speciality of Norwich in this period, heavy damask cloths made in colours and all black for bed hangings,

DENMARK SATIN a stout worsted satin dyed black for use in making shoes and slippers.

DIAMANTIE 18th century glazed worsted dress cloth threaded to form small diamond patterns.

DORSETTEENS worsted warp with a linen or silk weft.

DRESDEN a fancy silk/worsted dress cloth

DUROYS similar to Tammies and Sagathies. A worsted cloth used for men’s clothing.

FLORENTINE a twilled silk thicker than Florence much used for men’s waistcoats.

FLORETTA a glazed worsted dress cloth.

GRENADINE an open all-silk or silk/worsted dress cloth.

GROGRINETT a fine watered camlet.

HARLEQUIN a fancy glazed worsted with small checks.

IRISH STUFFS made at Norwich had narrow satin stripes or checks composed of silk and worsted.

LADINE CAMLET a fancy glazed dress cloth dotted with supplementary warp stripes.

MARBLE CLOTH a type of cloth made to resemble veining of marble. Norwich was known for Marbrinds and Marbe, both types of worsted cloth.

ORLEANS one of the less expensive cloths produced in the 1830s in an attempt to compete with the lower priced cloths made in northern England. It had a fine cotton warp with a worsted weft. Other similar cloths were Coburg, Paramatta, Lustre and Poplin.

PAOLIS a plain shaded ground with small weft brocaded figures.

PLAIDS of all types were made in the 19th century. In 1830 there was a good trade for Scotch plaid with America.

POPLIN both ‘Spanish’ and’ Venetian’ poplin was made by Christopher Catt a Worsted Weaver in the early 18C and the trade in Cotton poplins continued into the 19th century.

PRUNELLA a strong worsted cloth threaded to a 2/1 twill.

SATTINS made during the 18th and 19th centuries included bed, black bed, brocaded, brocaded double points, castillons, common, Denmark, double, du Cape, fine sprig, flowered, mixed, mock, Saxon, striped versions.

SATINETTS silk/worsted satinetts woven in broken twill.

SAY /SAYE made during the 18/19C included Carthage, changeable, chequered, cut, flowered. laced, silk, scarlet versions.

SERGE de SATTIN a mohair cloth

SWANSKIN a fine woollen cloth threaded to a plain weave being made with worsted yarn in 1791.

TABORATTS a striped and shaded worsted cloth with decoration applied by a second warp to produced small dots or floral sprigs.

TAMMY a thin fine high quality plain worsted sometimes glazed on both sides.

TAPIZADO a brightly-coloured, sometimes glazed worsted cloth decorated with brocaded flowers and lace patterns.

VENITIANS a worsted weft with a warp of one end of the same colour as the weft to two, three or four ends of a contrasting colour. This cloth was not glazed.