A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



farm of about 300 acres. At his death his son 

 Milnes Farrand entered into partnership with 

 Mr. Whyatt, but the business was never very 

 profitable, except for a few years about 1872, 

 the golden era of the modern lace trade. After 

 the breaking up of the bleachers' combine the 

 competition in prices was severe, and Farrand 

 was eventually compelled to retire. Mr. Arthur 

 Whyatt, a son of Farrand's former partner, still 

 carries on the business. The firm of Birch, 

 Musson & Hopewill, all its members being work- 

 men from the neighbouring districts, were en- 

 gaged in the bleaching of lace only until the 

 business was taken over by Messrs. Lindley 

 & Lindley, by whom it is still carried on. 

 One of the members of the firm of Birch, Mus- 

 son & Hopewill dissolved partnership with the 

 other two in order to acquire the bleaching 

 works founded by Mr. G. Stretton, and after- 

 wards belonging to a Mr. Mason. The works 

 were eventually dismantled and are now occu- 

 pied by Messrs. Green & Co., perambulator 

 manufacturers. J. Pearson, of Highbury Vale, 

 was a bleacher at Bulwell of fine yarns only ; the 



business is believed to have been acquired by the 

 Fine Cotton Spinners' Association, but is still 

 carried on under the original style. 



Mr. Bromley established a bleaching establish- 

 ment at the same place a few years ago, but it 

 has now been converted into dyeing works. 

 The combined works of the Bleaching Associa- " 

 tion, Ltd., include the Bulwell Finishing Co., 

 Ltd., who deal with lace curtains only. George 

 Pearson & Co., at Basford, bleach lace and 

 yarns only. On the site where these works 

 stand a small bleaching or crofting ground pre- 

 viously stood, prior to the invention of chloride 

 of lime. A Mr. S. Robinson erected works at 

 Basford which failed in two or three years, the 

 business being then sold to Mr. B. S. Oliver. 

 On his death the works passed to his son George, 

 from whom they were acquired by Mr. G. A. 

 Beardmore, and at his death by Charles Cox & 

 Sons, who carried them on as the Springfield 

 Bleaching Company, and afterwards by Messrs. 

 Lindley & Co., Ltd., the starch works of Messrs. 

 D. Mordle & Co. now occupying the pre- 

 mises. 86 



SILK AND VELVET 



The manufacture of silk appears to have been 

 introduced into the county somewhat earlier than 

 its establishment in the neighbouring county of 

 Derby, for according to Deering, there were 

 two silk weavers in Nottingham in 1641 , a but 

 the industry undoubtedly received a fresh im- 

 petus from the advent of the stocking-frame. 

 The manufacture was carried on for over seventy 

 years by the Fellows family at Nottingham. At 

 the funeral of Mr. Samuel Fellows, 1 8 Decem- 

 ber 1765, the pall-bearers, we are told, were 

 presented, in lieu of the customary mourning 

 scarves, with scarves made of the finest China 

 silk, 'a new material made on the stocking- 

 frame.' " The Nottingham silk mills at the 

 close of the i8th century were worked by 

 horses. 3 



In 1815 the following were at work : Mr. 

 Elliott's, in Sheep Lane ; Mr. Bolton's, in Low 

 Pavement ; Nelson's and Watson's, Fletcher 

 Gate ; the most important, however, being that 



" For these numerous and hitherto unpublished 

 details I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Ashwell. 

 1 Deering, Nottinghamia, 94. 

 * Ward, Notes on S/. Mary's Re*. 90, I o i . 

 J Lowe, Gen. View Agric. Notts. (1798), 139. 



of John Fellows, in Turncalf Alley, where 2, 800 

 'swifts' were employed. 4 In 1828 the chief 

 silk mill business was that of Messrs. Fellows & 

 Crosby, at whose establishment 1 50 men, women, 

 and children were employed in preparing raw 

 silk, as imported, for the stocking-frame by 

 winding, doubling, twisting, dyeing, and sorting, 

 600 Ib. of raw silk being thus treated every week. 5 

 In 1844 there were 2,096 persons engaged in 

 the production of silk goods in Nottingham, 687 

 at hose frames, and 1,409 in the manufacture of 

 gloves. 6 



There was a short-lived velvet industry at 

 Nottingham in the i8th century recorded by 

 Blackner, dating from 1767, when two persons 

 named Ross and Dorrella began the manufacture 

 of this fabric on the stocking-frame. The in- 

 dustry, however, was chiefly located in London 

 and at Edmonton, the quantity produced at Not- 

 tingham being small. The undertaking fell 

 through, we are told, ' owing to the pile not 

 being fast.' 7 



4 Blackner, Hist. Nott. 251. 



Phillips, Personal Tour, 169. 



' Pel kin, Hist. Hosiery and Lace, 463. 



' Blackner, Hist. Notl. 223. 



350 



