A HISTORY OF SURREY 



course of the Wandle the bleaching industry 

 was established. In 1792 the bleaching 

 grounds of Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Cookson 

 at Carshalton are mentioned, and the trade 

 carried on said to be extensive.* Foster 

 Reynolds of Carshalton, whitster, was ap- 

 pointed one of the executors of the will, 

 dated 20 July 1789, of John Paris of the 

 borough of Southwark, gentleman." Foster 

 Reynolds' own will was proved 23 February 

 1798^ by, amongst other executors, his son, 

 William Foster Reynolds, power being re- 

 served to Deborah Reynolds, the relict, who 

 was another executor. In 1 8 1 1 the Carshal- 

 ton bleaching works were carried on by 

 Thomas and Jacob Foster Reynolds.* In 

 1823 George Ansell and Thomas Gellibrand 

 appear as calico printers at Carshalton, and at 

 Wallington at the same date were ' the very 

 extensive print works of Messrs. Simpson, 

 Newton & Co., where some of the first work 

 is finished in an admirable style.' ° 



At Wandsworth, where the Wandle enters 

 the Thames, both calico bleaching and print- 

 ing were formerly carried on to a considerable 

 extent. David Asterly, who died on 22 May 

 1 761, and lies buried in Mount Nod ceme- 

 tery at Wandsworth, is described in his will 

 as a calico printer, and makes bequests to his 

 granddaughter, daughter of his own son, 

 John Asterly of Wandsworth, also a calico 

 printer.' In 1792 Mr. Gardiner had a calico 

 printing manufactory here which employed 

 about 250 hands, and another had been lately 

 established by Messrs. Lawrence & Harris. 

 There were also Mr. Rigby's manufactory 

 for printing kerseymeres and Mr. Dibble's 

 for whitening and pressing stuffs.'' In 1 8 1 1 

 the last had apparently passed into the hands 

 of Messrs. Johnson & Mason, but Mr. Rigby 

 was still carrying on his works. Two calico 

 printing manufactories were still maintained 

 in the parish, those of Messrs. Gardiner & 

 Dixon and of Messrs. Bartlett & West.' 

 Three or four years later we learn that the 

 whitening and pressing manufactory had been 

 discontinued, but calico printing was then 



1 Lysons. op. cit. i. 123. 



2 Prob. P.C.C. 30 March 1790 {Dodwell, 

 165). 



a P.C.C. Probate Act Book. 



« Lysons, Environs, ed. z, i. 91. In 1805 they 

 are said to be in the occupation of Messrs. Jacob 

 & George Foster Reynolds, and to be probably 

 the largest of their kind in the world (Malcolm, 

 Compendium of Modem Hmbandry, i. 6). 



" Pigot & Co., Commercial Directorj. 



« C. T. Davis, Industries of Wandsworth, 8. 



' Lysons, Environs, ed. I, i. 503. 



8 Ibid. ed. 2, i. 379. 



conducted at Wandsworth by Mr. Gardiner, 

 and 'in the minute fency way' by Mr. 

 Barker and Messrs. More & Co.* In con- 

 nection with the subject of printing textile 

 fabrics it may be noticed here that at Sum- 

 merstown near Wandsworth silk printing, 

 said to have been introduced by the 

 Huguenots, appears to have been carried on 

 until within recent years." Still on the 

 Wandle, we may note the existence both in 

 1792 and 181 1 in the parish of Wimbledon, 

 at some considerable distance from the village, 

 of Mr. Coleman's calico printing manufac- 

 tory.*^ 



We have noted elsewhere the fact that of 

 the forty industrial undertakings carried on 

 along the course of the Wandle in the year 

 1805 no less than twelve were devoted to 

 calico printing and three to bleaching. Of 

 the names of the firms or individual owners 

 engaged in these several works at this date 

 we have now mentioned amongst the calico 

 printers Mr. Fenning at Mitcham, Messrs. 

 Newton & Co. at Merton, Mr. Coleman at 

 Wimbledon, Mr. Howard at Phipps Bridge 

 and Mr. Gardiner at Wandsworth ; and 

 amongst the bleachers Messrs. Jacob & 

 George Foster Reynolds at Carshalton. The 

 list includes also the printing works of Messrs. 

 Lane & Lay at Croydon, who seem in addi- 

 tion to have carried on a bleaching business ; 

 of Mr. W. Kilburn at Wallington, who is 

 spoken of as ' that very ingenious artist ' ; of 

 Messrs. Bailey & Ansell at Carshalton ; of 

 Mr. Kinlay and Mr. Sutherland at Mitcham; 

 of Mr. West at Merton ; and the works 

 sometime occupied by Mr. Gedge, apparently 

 in Wandsworth. The other bleaching in- 

 dustries were those of Mr. Parker at Croydon 

 and of Messrs. Chisham and Stephenson at 

 Mitcham Corner." 



Outside the Wandle district calico printing 

 has also been carried on both in Lambeth, 

 from which place an extensive factory had 

 been removed by 1792,** and in Bermondsey 

 to a small degree.** Joseph Cox of St. Mary 

 Magdalen, Bermondsey, calico printer, ap- 

 pears as a bankrupt in the London Gazette of 

 2-6 March 1756. In Southwark bleaching 

 was probably carried on at an early date, as 

 Andrew Yarranton, writing in 1677, notices 



Manning and Bray, Hist, of Surrey, iii. 342, 



343- 

 10 



404. 



C. T. Davis, op. cit. 38. 

 Lysons, Environs, ed. i, 



i. 539; ed. 2, i. 



376 



Malcolm, Compendium of Modern Husbandry, 

 i. 6-8. 



13 Lysons, Environs, ed. I, i. 317. 

 " Ibid. i. 547. 



