Ald 
now feed upon our paftures and walks, it 
was wholly inapplicable to the diftaff (or as 
it now began to be called rock) {pinning. 
This county ftands unrivalled at this day 
for the curious fine texture of its worfted 
yarn, which, however, is not made trom 
the wools of the county, but from thofe of 
Lincoln, and fome rich marfhes bordering 
uponit. During the reign of Edward VI. 
and Philip and Mary new articles of manu- 
facture continued from time to time to be 
introduced into this city. Phii¢ and Mary 
pafied an act to encourage the making of 
the Kufells, Satins, Satins-reverfes, and 
Fujiians of Naples, as Edavard had be- 
fore to rerulate the manufacture of Bats, 
Dernecks, end Coverleis; thefe, with the 
Saies and Stammins mentioned before, 
and broad and narrow woollen clot!:s 
(which were alfo made here in confiderable 
guantities) compofed the trade of the 
county. But nothing contributed fo ra- 
pidly to advance its profperity, as the ar- 
rival of thofe induftrious fwarms, fiom 
the Dutch and Walloon hives, who fled 
hither from that religious tyger, the duke 
_of Alva. With them they imported the 
art of fabricating many articles, before 
unknown in this country: their names 
were various as their qualities*, “* mingled 
with filk and faitrie, or linen yarn, &c. ;”’ 
and it may not be unworthy of remark, 
that in 1575, ‘‘ the Dutch elders prefented 
im court (at Norwich) a new work, called 
Sombaiinsy,” for the making of which 
elegant kind of ftuff, this city has ever 
fince been in high repute. Juft at this 
moment, when the country was deriving 
ineftimable benefits from the {fkill. and. 
labour of thefe refugees, the fpirit of per- 
fecution which was renewed againft them 
in this afylum (probably through the 
“jealous mterference of fome native manu- 
faéturer) had nearly deprived us of thefe 
advantages. The mayor of this city was 
ordered to examine them, “ touching the 
horrible and damnable doétrine of the 
anabaptifs, ** from which however, they 
exculpated themfelves, and obtained a re- 
fpite, till archbifhop Laud, with his in- 
junctions, drove many hundreds of the 
manufacturers into Holland, where they 
and their aris were protected and cherifiied. 
But with the mild fpirit of toleration 
returned the vigour and enterprize of 
trade, and the exiles brought back, with 
new ipecimens of their inventive art. 
‘The articies which were anciently the 
py Be a eee 
~ Blomfield, Vol. Ti. v2 
+ ibid. page 20-. 
Be 205. 
Litfiory of Norwich Manufadtures. 
[ Bec. 
chief manufactures of the city, now be- 
came fo intirely obfolete, that it was 
thought neceflary to pafs an act, in the 
7th ot Geo. I. to compel the makers of 
any fort ot ttuffs to become freemen of the 
city, as were formerly the manufaéturers 
of Rufells, Fuftians, &c. ; and, the rea- 
fon afligned for this was, that a conftant 
fupply of able magiftrates might at all 
times be found. During this long period 
it does not appear, that thofe who manu- 
factured thefe goods for the foreign trade, 
were the exporters of them: Many of the - 
mafter-weavers lived in the villages near 
Norwich ; thefe brought their ftuffs to 
the market, and, as well as thofe who re- 
fided in the city, fold them toa fort of 
middle-man, who fupplied the London 
merchants with them. It required a large 
extenfion of capital and of knowledge to 
add the charaéter of the merchant to that 
of the manufaéturer: to fome, the gene- 
ral advantage of this union of charaéters 
may {till be held problematical ; and it 
has been maintained (how wifely I pretend 
not to determine) that the public profpe- 
rity ftood upon a firmer bafis, while the 
manufactory was in the hands of a large 
body of mafters of circumfcribed capital, 
but who made quick returns by means of 
the merchants who reforted to them, than 
it does at this prefent time, when the 
whole trade is conduéted by a few houfes, 
who command large capitals, and who 
add the fagacity of the merchant to the 
fkill of the manufa€turer. This queftion, 
ftanding by itfelf, is of confiderable im- 
portance ; and as the fame fyftem is be- 
ginning to take place in Leeds, Halifax, 
and fome other manufaturing towns, I 
fhould like. to fee the matter difcuffed by: 
fome able correfpondent. But the trade 
of Norwich did not formerly fo much de- 
pend upon the foreign demand as it does 
at this time. From the beginning of the 
prefent century, ’till within thefe forty 
years, this kingdom alone tock offa very 
coniiderable quantity of fiuffs of various 
kinds: the crepes of Norwich were in 
very common ufe, and during the admini- 
itration of Sir Robert Walpole, and fo 
long as the city had powerful friends at 
court, the public mournings were always 
ordered to be in Norwich crapés. This 
unpleazfant fabric, unfupported ‘by mi-~ 
nifterial influence, foon fell into difgrace, 
and gave way to more elegant manufac- 
tures ; and the’ deftruction of our dome 
traae was completed by the prevalence of 
articles made from cotton, ‘which the in- 
ventions of Arkwright and others ren- 
| dered 
To 
re 

