CLOTH MANUFACTURING & TREATMENT

Cleanliness Is Next To Goldenness

During the Civil War, King Charles I established his capital at Oxford. London sided with Parliament. The monarch sought to avail himself of any source of funds that he could. He had left gold that was worth 85,000 in in the City of London. This was held by Sir Paul Pindar, who was one of the metropolis's leading merchants. The Parliamentarian authorities were unaware of the knight's custody of the ore.

Despite the on-going military actions, a few categories of people were allowed free passage between London and Oxford. One of these groups was composed of the royal laundresses. In an operation that was organised by Jane Whorwood, the women smuggled the gold to the monarch in barrels that they claimed contained soap.

Location: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Gardens, SW7 2RL. The Museum holds the oak front of Pindar's demolished Bishopsgate home. (orange, grey)

See Also: SPYING

Dye

See Also: THE WHITBY TRADE

Poisonous Hosiery

In 1869 the surgeon Mr Webber went to the Guildhall to inform the presiding alderman about the threat that was posed to public health by certain types of fashionably dyed socks, particularly ones that were mauve and magenta. The colours were created with aniline, a poisonous chemical. The residue from it could interact with the skin causing rashes, sores, ulcers, and swellings. The physician claimed that in one case a patient's feet had become so swollen that the man's shoes had had to be cut off. While the official was unresponsive, subsequent investigations revealed that arsenic was present in the hosiery.

Spitalfields

Cloth was exposed to the Sun and the wind in Spitalfields. It was held off the ground by tenterhooks.

Location: Spitalfields, E1 6AA (blue, pink)

Laundrette

Britain s first laundrette opened in Bayswater in 1949. The movie actress Jean Kent (n e Joan Summerfield) (1921-2013) performed the ceremony.

Location: 184 Queensway, W2 6LY (red, yellow)

Mercers

The Blackamoor's Head was the sign of the mercer.

David Backhouse 2024