Old Ashburton

                                              The Wool Trade

The advantages of fast flowing rivers......

The importance of the wool trade to Ashburton can be seen by the inclusion of a teazel in the Town Arms (below) - used for brushing up the surface of cloth during manufacture.  In 1956, in a lecture on the West Country Woollen Industry,  Mr K G Ponting said that teasel gigs were still used. Another step in the process was fulling, and he described how loose cloth was 'felted together' to make it warm and durable.  From at least Roman times people achieved this by massaging it with their hands, or they walked on it. Then the first machine in the wool trade was invented - water drove a wheel, which in turn drove hammers, and these pounded the cloth. Towns with fast flowing rivers then came into their own: although Mr Ponting was speaking about places in Gloucestershire and Dorset,  Ashburton would have been amongst them. He went on to say that between 1350 and 1400 the wool industry became the major trade of England.

Lecture on 'The special characteristics of the West Country Woollen Industry', K G Ponting, Director Samuel Salter and Co. Ltd, at the Royal Society of Arts February 1956. Publ by the Dept of Education of the International Wool Secretariat, Regent St., London.

                                                                         *******

For an account of the wool industry in South Devon in the mid 1850s, see the article in the Western Times 26 January 1850 p8 cols 3,4,5

Gifts: '1 sheep the gift of William Denbold besides 1 sheep already in his custody.'

Devon and Cornwall Record Society, Churchwardens Accounts of Ashburton, 1479-1580, Alison Hanham, The Devonshire Press, Torquay 1970, p84

'In 1672, Mr John Ford procured another market, on Tuesdays, chiefly for wool and yarn (spun in Cornwall), but this market has for some years been discontinued'

Ashburton and its Neighbourhood, Charles Worthy, printed and publ by L B Varder, Ashburton 1875 p7 

                                                                       *******

'In some parts of this county considerable attention is paid to the breeding of sheep. The established breed, reared chiefly on Dartmoor and Exmoor, is the middle-woolled class, bearing a strong resemblance to the Dorsets; but many other kinds are also reared. The total stock is estimated at 630,000, nearly 200,000 of which produce heavy fleeces of long wool.'

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840, A. Fullarton & Co. Glasgow, Edinburgh and London 1841 p587

"The short, or rather middle-wooled sheep of Devonshire.......have white faces and legs, generally horned but some without horns. They are small in the head and neck, and small in the bone everywhere....The fleece is 3 or 4 lbs in weight in the yolk, and the wool is short, but with a coarse and hairy top...

The wool produced in Devonshire used to be manufactured in the same county, not indeed in large factories, but at home and by the family of the principal workman. This old method of working the wool, never very profitable or consistent with the commercial superiority of England, is now laid aside; but it lingered longest in this south-western portion of the kingdom.

 In very few counties in England has so complete an alteration taken place in the character and produce of the sheep as in Devonshire. When Mr Luccock compiled his table in 1800, he stated the number of short-woolled sheep 436,850, and that of the long-woolled sheep 193,750. The number of packs of short wool were 7280, and of long wool 6458 packs. The number of packs of short wool has now diminished to 2275, but no satisfactory account has been obtained in the increase of long wool. The fleece of the Dartmoor sheep, as well as the carcase, has been essentially altered by a cross with the Leicesters....The fleece has...materially improved in fineness and softness of fibre, and is more useful for many important purposes ".

Sheep, their Breeds, Management and Diseases, William Youatt, Orange, Judd and Co., New York, 1867, pp 251,253,254

Above and above right: Modern Devon and Cornwall long-woolled sheep.

My own photograph 2013. Thanks to N & N Haley, Forder Flock of Longwools

The price of yolk wool in 1851 was 7½d a pound. An agreement had just been reached on the price manufacturers would pay woolcombers in the town. This was not the first time that there had been negotiations - the 1842 report above commented that the workshop doors were opening again after being closed for a long time.

Western Times 25 October1851,p7col3                           

 In 1853 the Western Times reported that the price of yolk wool was high, the paper suspecting that the suppliers were holding on to large stocks. Rather than pay the price demanded, many manufacturers were stopping work.

Western Times 26 November 1853 p6 col6

In 1855 yolk wool was at 8½d a pound, but the price was tending to go lower.

Western Times 28 July 1855 p7 col4

In 1858 1s a pound was considered a good price.

Western Times 25 September 1858 p6 col3

By 1872 the price of wool was 1s 5d a pound

Western Times 21 June 1872 p5 col6

In 1884 the price was 6 to 6½d a pound

Western Times 21 January 1884 p3 col3

                                                    *******

                               An Act for Burying in Woollen, 1677*

'Whereas an Act made in the that now is, intituled, An Act for Burying in Woollen only, was intended for the lessening the Importation of Linen from beyond the Seas, and the Encouragement of the Woollen and Paper Manufactures of this Kingdom, had the same been observed ; (2) but in respect there was not a sufficient Remedy thereby given for the Discovery and Prosecution of Offences against the said Law, the same hath hitherto not had the Effect there by intended :
II. For Remedy whereof..... it is hereby enacted by the Authority aforesaid That from and after the first Day of August one thousand six hundred and seventy-eight, no Corps of any Person or Persons shall be buried in any Shirt, Shift; Sheet or Shroud, or any thing whatsoever made or mingled with Flax, Hemp, Silk, Hair, Gold or Silver, or in any Stuff or Thing, other than what is made of Sheeps Wool only, or be put in any Coffin lined or faced with any sort of Cloth or Stuff, or any other Thing whatsoever, that is made of any Material but Sheeps Wool only: (2) upon pain of the Forfeiture of five Pounds of lawful Money of England, to be recovered and divided as is hereafter in this Act expressed and directed'.

Copyright Guy Etchells © 2001-2006 All rights reserved.

* 30 Car. II. c.3  This replaced an earlier act of 1666: 18 Car. II. c.4.

The 1677 Act was repealed by the 54 Geo. III, c. 108.

                                                     Serge

Serge is a durable cloth with diagonal lines or ridges on both sides (twill weave). Often used in making military uniforms, suits and greatcoats.

http://www.collinsdictionary.com and others

It is made from a long fibre wool combined with a yarn made from a shorter fleece - see Exeter Memories for more detail on this. The website also has Celia Fiennes writing about the wool trade in the south west in 1698

 http://www.exetermemories.co.uk

'In the ....arming of 1798 Ashburton had formed the 9th Devon Corps, under Captain Walter Palk; they had clothed themselves with local made serge, and so gained the name of Sergebacks'

The Haytor Volunteers, Lieut-Col Amery, publ Mortimer bros, Totnes, 1888, p17

'Formerly about £100,000 worth of serges were made here* yearly.'

*ie Ashburton.

History, gazetteer and directory of Devonshire, William White 1850, p462.

                                                    ******* 

All of the above appear to be connected with Messrs Green and Walford's warehouse, Little Winchester Street, late Spencers malt lofts, near Hayes Wharf, Tooley Street.

John Soper, sergemaker, was buried on January 11th 1792
Mrs Soper, widow of John Soper, sergemaker, was buried on February 15th 1795
Parish records

For more on the Soper famliy see the Individual Families section

                                                                                     ***

The memorial also commemorates his wife Catherine, who died in November 1790, aged 89.

Exterior wall St Andrew's Church. My own photograph 2014

                 
'In 1787 295,311 pieces (of woollen cloth) were exported from Exeter. In 1789, the East India trade being then increasing, 121,000 pieces were bought by the East India company alone.
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales, A Fullarton and Co., Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, 1841,Vol1, A-D, p587,588

The Devon Archives and Local Studies Service has a lease dated 1788 concerning a messuage, orchard and garden in St Lawrence Lane. William Fabyan ('Now of Plymouth...but heretofore of Ashburton, perukemaker') was one of the parties - he was the only son and heir of George Fabyan, woolcomber, deceased.

Ref Z10/2/5a, Devon Record Office, http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Bankrupts from the Gazette. December 7 1790. Edward Laskey, of Ashburton, sergemaker.

Universal Magazine, vol 86, London 1790, p366

1807 Obituaries. At Ashburton, Devon, aged 99, Mr Hurst, woolstapler.

The Gentleman's Magazine, vol 77, 1807, p1233

In 1817 Solomon Tozer sold his 'substantial' house in West Street. Amongst other rooms it consisted of two parlours and a drawing room, 7 bedrooms, 'an excellent pump', and drying lofts. It could be used as a family residence, a boarding school, or, the advertisement suggested, 'the serge trade'.

Exeter Flying Post 16 October 1817 p1 col5

In 1824 The Exeter Flying Post reported the death of John Berry, 'formerly a respectable serge-maker' of Ashburton.

Exeter Flying Post 26 August 1824 p4 col2

1827 The Rew fulling mills and causeway were amongst a large amount of leasehold property up for auction. The Messrs. Caunter were listed as the tenants or occupiers.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 6 January 1827 p1 col3

On December 31st of the same year 'Notice is hereby given that the partnership subsisting between us the undersigned, John Caunter and Richard Caunter, of Ashburton, in the County of Devon, Sergemakers and Woollen Manufacturers, under the firm of J and R Caunter, is this day dissolved by mutual consent...' Richard Caunter was to continue the business.
London Gazette 4 January 1828, Issue I8429, p33

'An article in your paper tells us the East India Company have only contracted for 25,000 pieces of serges; and in consequence of which...the inhabitants of Ashburton are thrown into the greatest distress, and hundreds destitute of the common necessaries of life. About seven years ago the purchases of the East India Company were about 350,000 pieces of long ells annually; these are now reduced to 100,000 or 150,000 pieces...'
The Oriental Herald, vol XX, Jan-March 1829, p217

By 1829 John Berry and Richard Bennett Berry, of Ashburton and Ivy-Bridge, Woollen manufacturers, had become bankrupt. The London Gazette advertised that their 'capital mill' was to be auctioned. Suitable for a corn-mill or paper-mill, as well as its current purpose, it had the advantage of a strong water course, which continued even in the driest summer. The mill contained frames for spinning worsted, and machines for spinning yarn.

London Gazette Issue 18564 3 April 1829, p633

'In 1838 there were still in the county 39 woollen mills and more than 3000 looms employed in weaving serges. Of the latter there were in and around Ashburton 660...'

White's History, Gazetteer and Directory of Devon 1850, p44

By 1839 the Western Times reported that 'The trade of Ashburton is much depressed at present', with high unemployment amongst weavers and woolcombers* (between 2000 and 3000 in the Ashburton and Buckfastleigh district, according to the article). Some went as far as Yorkshire seeking work, but had to return home 'in a very distressed condition'.

Western Times, reported in Palmer's Index to The Times, 3 December 1839, p6 col 3

*Wool combs can be seen in Buckfastleigh Museum, alongside the Valiant Soldier Museum

In 1852 'the extensive woollen manufactory at Buckfast, the property of S Tozer Esq.,' was acquired by John Berry of Ashburton. The machinery would soon be set to work.
Western Times 22 May 1852, p5 col3

In 1898 Mr J Alsop resigned as Clerk to the Newton Board of Guardians. He was appointed to the post in 1840, and remembered just before that time that 50 men arrived at the workhouse seeking relief, having lost their jobs at the Ashburton Serge Factory.  People's prospects were so poor at the time that many emigrated to America and the colonies.

East and South Devon Advertiser, 15 January 1898, p8 col2

                                                    *******

 In 1841 there was a large amount of serge and wool being stolen in the district. If caught, the offenders faced a hefty penalty - a W MacDowell and W Major had been transported for 14 years after stealing wool from R Caunter. Now W MacDowell's wife, Ann, was giving evidence against four new suspects: Thomas Connibeare, William Westaway, William Harris and John Ayres. William Westaway had escaped custody at one point, but the Town Crier offered £10 reward and he was soon recaptured.

Mischievously, the Western Times reported that the four prisoners had all been supporters of the old political system (ie not reformers), and were stalwarts of the church and state. 'Toryism', the paper said, 'loses in them four good votes'.

Western Times 22 May 1841 p3 col 5

See the Caunter Family under People and Properties for more details of Richard Caunter's premises, which was in the Kingsbridge Lane area.

                                                  ******* 

Wool had traditionally been shipped from Totnes, but by 1844 this had changed. The river charges had increased enormously after improvements to the river Dart, and consequently the woollen manufacturers started sending consignments to Torquay or Teignmouth. The arrival of the railway was anticipated to be a 'great accommodation for the woollen trade.'
Western Times 11 May 1844 p3 col2
 

                                                   ******** 

1847. The Western Times complained at the new postal arrangements. Plymouth and Totnes letters sent in the afternoon were carried to Newton Abbot and left there overnight, so that they did not arrive at Ashburton until the next day. Woollen manufacturers, pointed out the newspaper, depended on the post for orders from their London and Northern markets

Western Times 25 September 1847 p7 col1

                                                   ******* 

1848 A woman named Twiggs fell through a trapdoor in one of the wool lofts belonging to Richard Caunter, in Kingsbridge Lane. She fractured her skull and was not expected to recover.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 28 January 1848 p8 col 2

In 1848 50 men, mainly involved in woollen manufacture, were suffering hardship through unemployment. They petitioned the vicar, the Rev W Marsh, and others, to help alleviate their condition. The wool shops had by this time been closed for some weeks, due to 'stagnation' in the wool trade.

Exeter Flying Post 3 February 1848 p3 col6

In 1849 three poor women were making their way towards Ashburton carrying serges on their backs which they had woven during the week. A Church of England minister travelling in the same direction dismounted and put the serges across the saddle of his horse, which he then led into the town.

Western Times 10 March 1849 p7 col3

The woollen trade that year was dull, but there was a 'fair demand for blankets and serges, principally for the East India and the home markets'.

Exeter Flying Post 7 June 1849 p8 col4

                                               ********

In 1854 the extreme dulness of trade resulted in 40 Buckfastleigh people and a number from Ashburton leaving for Quebec. The ships the Rose and the Lady Peel were leaving from Plymouth.

Western Times i1 April 1854 p7 col5

                                                        *******

The Spinning Jenny was invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 - a spinner turning a wheel by hand could draw out and twist several threads at once. In 1769 Richard Arkwright invented a water frame, which was driven by water power and squashed and stretched the yarn. Samuel Crompton combined the moving carriage of the Spinning Jenny with the rollers of Arkwright's water frame, and developed the Spinning Mule (called mule because it was a cross between two different 'animals'). This machine allowed greater control of the weaving process, and could produce a variety of yarn. Each carriage carried 1320 spindles and was up to 46m long, and the carriage moved back and forth 1.5m four times a minute. On the early machines yarn had to be wound onto the spindles by hand, but later this was done automatically - a 'self-acting' mule.

http://www.newlanark.org/uploads/Spinning%20Mule.pdf

http://www.intriguing-history.com/was-spinning-mule

http://www.boltonmuseums.org.uk - All accessed 2-11-2015

                                                       Other Mills  

In 1847 there was danger of a riot in Ashburton because of the high price of corn. A large number of men (mainly, according to the newspaper report, miners), women and children gathered near the Mr W R Whiteway's Town Mills, which may have been  in West St (see below) or may have been in North St., which were also called the Town Mills*. The mob searched through the mill store-rooms, and then '100' women seized a quantity of wheat that was arriving at the yard. 

Taking the key to the market from Mr S Mann (and allegedly threatening to break his shop windows if he did not give it to them), the women sold the wheat at 8s a bushel.

The town was in 'a state of excitement' all day, and '200 special constables were sworn in'.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 22 May 1847 p8 col3

*On the 1851 census, which is difficult to read, William R Whiteway, his wife Elizabeth and son William R Jnr appear to be living in Kingsbridge Lane. William senior is a land agent, maltster and (?) seedsman. Robert Osmond, and his brother Alexander, are millers at the 'West Street Mills'.

http://ancestry.co.uk

to divert all water down the leat, to power the mills. Conversely, the gate on the right could be shut, diverting all water down the river. In the photograph both are open.
Memories of Ashburton in Late Victorian Times, John Satterly, Reports and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 1952 p35

My own photograph 

1935 A case was heard in the Chancery Division where four Ashburton mill owners sued Ashburton Urban Council for damages. They alleged that the council had wrongfully abstracted water from the river Yeo (now called the Ashburn), affecting the efficiency of their mills.
James Stephens, Jas. Wm. Redvers Stephens and Ernest Bryant were the owners and occupiers of the Town Mills, North Street, and Mrs. Annie Violetta Taxworth was the owner of the Town Mills, West Street. Although the hearing was adjourned, Mr. Justice Bennett commented on the 'terrible example' of a public authority.
Western Morning News 5 July 1935 p5 col4

                                              ********