By Sheila Sharpe
Few references are made to lace making during the latter half of the 16th Century, and it is not until we enter the 17th Century that references become more common. In 1595 a reference to the craft was recorded by a business man for London Apprenticeships, Philip Henslow, regarding his niece "Apprentice to John Grygs ... to lem to sowe al maner of works and to lem bone lace". It appears that until the early 17th Century lace was an individual accomplishment and a domestic craft of women.
The majority of lace for adornment was imported from Flanders
and Venice and many famous inventories of the time record lace
including "The Great Wardrobe Account" of Henry VIII
in 1545 and "The Lace Inventory" of Elizabeth I, ( now
held at Hatfield House).
The Poor Laws of 1598 urged overseers to place the poor in work to earn such sums as they were able. The Orders for the Poor of 1626 discouraged children begging, preferring instead that they be "set to sewing, bone lace making, spinning of woollen yarn and linen, pin making, button making or some such occupation". The Trade Companies which replaced the medieval guilds do not mention lace as a trade, so it is likely that it was considered an unskilled occupation of the poor.
Benefactors during the 17th Century attempted to assist
the plight of the poor by paying for them to be apprenticed to
a craft, (not a trade!). The largest charity of this type on record
was set up by The Duke of Somerset in 1674 and £3000 was
invested in land, the profits of which were used to help the poor
and pay for various apprenticeships. Bone Lace making was included
and some were apprenticed as young as 6 years of age.
One record from the Duke of Somerset Charity states that in 1689
Dorothy Newall was apprenticed to weaver William Sidney and his
wife. The indenture read:
"She faithfully shall and will serve, their secrets keep,
their lawful commandments everywhere gladly do. She shall do no
damage to them nor see it be done of others. The goods of her
said master and dame she shall not waste nor the same without
license of her said master and dame to any give or lend. She shall
not commit fornication within the said term. Hurt to them she
shall not do, she shall not haunt taverns or playhouses but in
all things as an honest and faithful apprentice shall and will
demean herself towards her said master and dame and all theirs
during the said term and the said master and dame their said apprentice
in the art of bone lace making which she now useth shall teach
and instruct by the best way and manner they can, finding unto
the said apprentice sufficient wholesome meat drink and apparel,
washing, lodging and all othere necessaries during the said term
and in the end of the said term double apparel of all sorts".
Dorothy's apprenticeship would have lasted between 7 and 10 years
and she could only have been released from her indentures through
the court quarter sessions. A lacemaker could earn between 4d
and 10d a yard for lace which today would involve about 10 hours
work, but it is difficult to know how many hours a day were devoted
to lace making along with the other domestic chores.
As
lace became coveted during the 17th Century much was
imported from the continent. Charles I attempted to ban the importation
of foreign laces in 1636 but this was repealed by parliament in
1662. Demand for lace was high and there is evidence that it was
widely made. Records for Devon and Southampton show lacemakers
in great numbers. In 1698 there were 1,081 lace makers in Salisbury,
336 in Downton and 500 in Blandford. The lace trade in Devon was
also flourishing and centred around Honiton.
Following the restoration of Charles II to the throne the importation
of foreign lace was again forbidden on pain of a £100 fine.
The King himself, however, is known to have ordered 3 cravatts
for £194, and 57 yards of point de Venise at 24 shillings
a yard!
The basic technique of lace making has changed little over the
years; only the threads which were finer than are now available
in the 20th century and the scale upon which lace was
made has altered. Some equipment has survived from the
17th Century and The Lace Guild publish photographs
of 17th Century bobbins that have been excavated from
old cottages and retrieved from wrecks. Reproduction bobbins are
also made by them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Fitz Randolph and H.C.May "Lacemaking in Rural Industries of England and Wales"
Tinnieliffe W. "Survey of the Counties of Hants, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall"
Salisbury records
Devon County Record Society. "Devon Inventories 16th and 17th Centuries".
Dr John Yallop "A history of Honiton lace".
The Downton Lace Industry at Salisbury Museum.
The Lace Guild The Hollies Stourbridge. E Midlands