INDUSTRIES 



earlier part of the eighteenth century, and to 

 have continued until the general introduction of 

 carpets threw rush-matting largely out of use. 

 We cannot discover any very definite informa- 

 tion as to the actual extent of matting produc- 

 tion at the time of its greatest output ; but it is 

 certain that the Pavenham matting was in use 

 over a great part of the Midlands as well as in 

 London. It was used in the Houses of Parlia- 

 ment, and in many of the mansions of the 

 nobility. The development of the carpet in- 

 dustry in Britain, coincident with and perhaps 

 partly responsible for the change of taste in the 

 furnishing of houses, necessarily crippled the 

 Pavenham matting industry. Though not a 

 little matting is still used as floor-covering, most 

 of it consists of finer material than the old Eng- 

 lish matting, and much of it is imported from 

 abroad. The Pavenham matting now finds its 

 principal use in such articles as church hassocks, 

 &c. A few years ago, a gleam of hope came to 

 the Pavenham rush-matting makers, in the form 

 of a sudden and large demand for rush-plait 

 which was used — instead of wicker — for a new 

 style of lounge chairs and of such chairs as 

 are used for croquet and tennis lawns and for 

 garden parties. The demand for rush-plait 

 increased, and was for a time far greater than 

 the English makers could meet. Consequently, 

 a large amount was imported, at a price so low 

 that the English makers could not compete 

 with the foreigner. But the feshion was 

 very short-lived, and now there is practically 

 no demand for the rush-plait, either British or 

 foreign. 



The rush used is the large bulrush {Scirpus 

 Jacustris), which is not to be confounded — as is 

 often done — with the reed-mace {Typha lattfolia), 

 or club-rush, often used for indoor decoration. 

 The bulrush has the appearance of a magnified 

 ordinary wayside rush. It grows 8 ft. high, 

 and its largest part is as thick as a man's finger. 

 Being filled with soft spongy pith, it can be 

 easily flattened. The Pavenham matting makers 



draw their supplies from the River Ouse for 

 many miles both above and below the village. 

 The rush-cutting, which takes place in the 

 autumn, is done by men who have to become 

 inured to the work. They not only have to 

 wade in water often much above the waist, but 

 must be prepared to swim when, as not seldom 

 happens, they step into a deep hole. They use 

 no waterproof clothing, having only thick wool- 

 len hose and jersey under their outer dress. '. 

 Naturally they become accustomed to having 

 their clothes saturated ; and instances have been 

 known of men, when at a distance from home 

 on their rush-cutting expeditions, sleeping all 

 night in their wet clothes, with impunity. 

 Their life, during the rush-cutting season, is 

 necessarily a rough one. 



Though the present condition of the industry 

 is far from what it once was, there is every pro- 

 bability that the present demand will continue ; 

 and if an inventive genius were brought to bear 

 upon it, it might doubtless be extended in fresh 

 directions. The supply of rushes is copious, 

 and they are capable of many applications. 



The Pavenham basket -making industry, 

 though much less ancient than that of the rush- 

 matting, deserves notice as one giving employ to 

 local labour, utilizing a local product that might 

 be very much increased, and capable itself of 

 considerable extension. This industry was 

 started about sixty years ago, both in this vil- 

 lage and in the neighbouring village of Harrold ; 

 but in the latter place it has now died out. In 

 Pavenham, however, it flourishes as much as 

 ever it did, and is still carried on by the founder, 

 now a hale octogenarian vigorous enough to 

 superintend his business. He draws his material 

 from a radius of twenty miles. The manu- 

 factured product consists principally of fruit 

 hampers and other baskets of a similar character, 

 many of which are bought by London dealers. 

 Any attempt to produce much finer ware is 

 checked by the cheapness of such wares imported 

 from the Continent. 



ENGINEERING WORKS 



Among the few mechanical industries — not de- 

 pendent directly upon the soil or local produc- 

 tions — in Bedfordshire of suflicient importance to 

 deserve special notice, the one that claims first 

 mention is that of the manufacture of agri- 

 cultural implements and machinery. This in- 

 dustry is local, not merely as being accidentally 

 «stablished here — as is the case with other 

 mechanical industries in the county — but as 

 having an intimate relation with the character 

 of the district. In the chapter on the agricul- 

 ture of Bedfordshire, it is shown that, owing to 

 the zeal and liberality of certain noblemen and 



other large landowners, the county had become 

 an influential centre of agricultural development. 

 Hence it was almost inevitable that just when 

 one of the most urgent demands of agriculturists 

 was for new and improved machinery, an at- 

 tempt should be made to meet that demand in 

 a locality in which the demand was most loudly 

 expressed. This attempt was, in fact, made by 

 the late John Howard, the founder of the Britan- 

 nia Iron Works, at Bedford. Several years 

 before the building of the Britannia Iron Works, 

 Mr. Howard, who had formed a determination 

 to make the best plough that could be produced. 



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