The South West Textile Industry Project

Higher Flax Mills, Castle Cary, Somerset, mid- to late-19th century. A good example of Somerset's industrial vernacular, showing the range of warehousing, powered mills and twine walks found at the larger flax mills The south-western counties of England have a long-established tradition in the manufacture of a wide range of textile products from wool, silk, hemp and flax and retain an impressive variety of historic textile mill sites. An initial survey to assess the extent of the industry and the variety of its building types was completed in 1997-8, and identified approximately 1000 sites. 600 of these retain extant buildings, many of which are quite distinctive when compared to textile mills in other regions. Selected sites are now being recorded to form the basis of a forthcoming publication which will show the significance of the South-West textile industry in a national context.

John Boyd's Horsehair Factory, Castle Cary, Somerset, built c1850. A late and relatively large example of a loomshop, built for weaving horsehair cloth on handlooms. John Boyd Textiles is still producing high quality horsehair cloth, now based at the nearby Higher Flax Mills Mills and related buildings are widely scattered throughout the region, but the project is focusing on a number of key areas which had greater concentrations of mills specialising in particular branches of the industry. Each of these areas is characterised by its own distinctive building types. They include the woollen industry of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, the worsted industry of parts of Somerset and Devon and the flax and hemp industry of South Somerset and West Dorset. The silk industry was also important throughout the region, but was not confined to any one area.

Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme, Devon, built c1800. Now a working mill museum, this exceptionally well-preserved site is one of the earliest intact worsted mills in the region In addition to its distinctive building types, the South West textile industry was also distinguished by its unusual historical development. In some parts of the region the industry had exceptionally early origins, with mill sites continuously occupied from the medieval period, notably in the Stroud Valleys of Gloucestershire and the Bridport area of West Dorset. The development of textile processes was also different, with hand processes and the putting-out of weaving and other activities continuing long after factory methods had taken over in other regions. Of further interest are the traditional links between the textile industry and the economy and way-of-life in the countryside. In many rural communities, for example, a high proportion of the population worked in textiles, often part-time, while in some areas hemp and flax were grown extensively for centuries.