When I have the time I sometimes read historical fiction that relates to antique textiles. I have recently finished this novel ‘The Silk Weaver’ by Liz Trenow. An excellent read I thought, providing a fascinating insight into the Spitalfields silk weaving industry in 18th century London.

The book is a fictionalised account of the lives of the weavers, merchants and others involved in this industry, which thrived in this district of London during the 18th century, fuelled significantly by the arrival of waves of skilled Huguenot weavers from France. As the author mentions in her notes, it is the world of Anna Maria Garthwaite, and although the main protagonist of the novel has many of Anna’s characteristics, the two women’s stories differ in other respects. Anna Maria was an amazing woman, one of the foremost designers of silk patterns for the Spitalfields industry. She created over 1,000 watercolour illustrations, which were made up into silks by these weavers. Many of these designs are now in the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, with examples of some of the silks being on display in the museum.  Silks made from her designs were exported all over Europe and to America during this period, so when you see a fine 18th century woven silk dress or man’s waistcoat in a museum, it may well have been designed by her.

Of course, I had my eyes open for any references to lace in the text. Apart from the lace sleeves (which were actually called engageants) pictured on the cover, there is (understandably) very little mention of lace in the novel. Lace workers are very briefly mentioned as offering support for the protesting weavers at one point. And then one of the characters talks about purchasing some Taunton lace. My ears pricked up at this! Why did the author choose Taunton when referring to lace, when it would have been a bit more obvious to have said Honiton or Devon lace? But full points to her for her research, as she is correct.  Taunton is a town in Somerset to the north of the famous lace making region of East Devon. Lace from this area used to be known as Honiton lace but it is now known as Devon lace. Honiton is a market town, and it was the collecting point for laces that were produced in the surrounding villages, before being taken to Bath or London (or even further afield) to be sold. So it became known as the lace from Honiton, although probably very little was made in the town itself.

The Devon lace making industry was very well established and  lace making extended to nearby counties such as Somerset, particularly during the period when this novel was set, and the preceding century. Cosimo Medici III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, toured Europe and visited this area in 1669 and was quoted as saying –  ‘There is not a cottage in all the county (Devon) nor in that of Somerset where lace is not made in great quantities; so that not only the whole kingdom is supplied with it, but it is exported in great abundance.’  He had quite a trip, as he had time whilst in England to meet both Charles II and Samuel Pepys.

Actually, Cosimo has another slight connection with the history of lace. I will add a post about that here soon!