Today's Quilter - UK (2020-01)

Q:Whatis thehistoryofForgeMillandwhat
sortofneedlesweremanufacturedthere?
A:ForgeMillhashada longandveryinteresting
history.It starteditslifeasanironforgingmill

• hencethename– andwaseventuallyusedasa
  scouringmill(whichis thecleaningandpolishing
  partof theneedleprocess).Steppingintothe
  scouringmillis likegoingbackintime,asyouwill
  experiencethegenuineatmosphereof anoriginal
  Victorianneedlemill.Incredibly,themilloperated
  commerciallyusingalltheoriginalVictorian
  machineryrightupuntil1958.Alltypesof needles
  werescouredhere,fromthefullrangeof hand-
  sewingneedlestogramophoneneedles,dartpoints
  andknittingneedles.

Q:You’vealludedtosomeoftheperilsof
workingintheneedleindustryinVictorian
times.Canyouelaborate?
A:Undoubtedly,theworsejobintheneedletrade
waspointing;thepointers,asthenamesuggests,
groundthepointsontheneedles.It wasa very
dangerousjobandpointersrarelylivedbeyond
theageof about35,astheyquicklysuccumbedto
a diseasecalled‘pointer’srot’,causedbyinhaling
thefinemetaldustthatcamefromtheneedlesand
stonedustfromthegrindstones.Theyonlyhada
scrapof clothovertheirnoseandmouthtoprotect
them.Thislethaldustveryquicklydestroyedtheir
lungsand,beforelong,theywerecoughingup
blood.Otherdangersincludedexplodingpointing
stonesandmetalsplintersthatcameotheneedles
andhadthepotentialtoblindthem.

Tex t i le t ow n

Victorian Paisley was equally as industrious as

Redditch and the landscape was dominated by the

imposing mill buildings – Ferguslie Mills, Anchor

Mill and Mile End Mill. But the town’s textile

heritage goes further back to the late 17th century,

when weaving as a cottage industry employed

nearly 10 percent of the population. The famous

Sma’ Shot Cottages on Shuttle Street in Paisley

will transport you back to 1750 where the Old

Paisley Society has recreated a typical weaving

cottage. Such fine weaving required an extra ‘shot’

on the weft to keep the woven fabric taught, hence

the name ‘Sma’ Shot’ meaning ‘small shot’. With

Paisley’s expertise in weaving fine silk gauze, and

with the introduction of the Jacquard oom, you can

start to trace Paisley’s evolution to becoming ‘the

town that made textiles’. The Paisley shawl with

the distinctive Kashmiri design of Persian origin,

is recognised as one of the 25 objects that shaped

Scotland’s history. In 1860, there were 71 shawl

manufacturers in the town, all experts at recreating

the fashionable Paisley shawl with the instantly

recognisable teardrop motif. When the recently

opened V&A in Dundee created its Scottish Design

Galleries, it choose a Paisley shawl made in 1845 by

Charles Burgess as one of its permanent exhibits.

Entrepreneurs

Although separate industries, Paisley’s reputation

as a centre for woven shawls grew just as fast as its

reputation as a manufacturer of quality threads.

The leading character in its early evolution was

an interesting woman called Christian Miller (nee

Shaw). Quite separately to her achievements in

establishing the first Paisley thread company, years

Above, Thomas Coats

(Brian Coats’ great-

reat-grandfather and

younger brother of

James and Patrick) and

is wife Margaret and

eir 11 children (1869);

eft, A selection

f Clark’s Anchor

tranded Cotton for

broidery

TEXTILE HISTORY l b a c k t o b a si c s