Booklist

A few books that give information about the woollen cloth industry in Gloucestershire and more general details of the industry.

Gloucestershire Woollen Mills Jennifer Tann (David and Charles, 1967)

Provides an overview of the history of the industry in the County from 1550 and also a gazetteer of every known mill, workshop and dyehouse including details of their history and an indication of what remains on site with some illustrations.

The Mills of Gloucestershire Stephen Mills & Pierce Riemer (Barracuda Books, 1989)

Covers all types of mill in the County and provides a very wide range of illustrations as well as descriptions of the mills on each river or stream.

Gloucestershire Mills in Camera Stephen Mills & Pierce Riemer (Quotes, 1991)

Provides additional historic illustrations of many of the County’s mills with extended captions.

The Woollen Industry of South West England Kenneth Ponting (Adams and Dart, 1971)

Is an account of the industry in the region from its origins in the 12th century through the turbulent period of the industrial revolution and ending in the 19th century. The book features some illustrations and also transcripts of various historic documents relating to the woollen industry in the south west, a gazetteer of remaining historic sites and a detailed glossary of textile industry terminology.

Trust Publications

The Trust is building up a range of value for money publications:

Playne’s: Anatomy of a Mill    £4

This was the catalogue to a very successful exhibition on the historic Longfords Mill, Minchinhampton, in 2009. It includes historic photographs of the exteriors and interiors of the historic buildings. There are also documents recording events and memories of working there. There are also superb photographs of the site by the internationally known photographer Paul Caffell.

Temples of Work    £2

This catalogue of a much earlier exhibition pairs photographs of work at two local mills, Playne’s at Longfords Mills and Worth’s at Ham Mills, with previously unseen work by Lewis Hickes Hine for a study of child labour in the southern states of the USA. A commentary on the two Gloucestershire mills accompanies these evocative images.

Local Walk Leaflets    £1 each

Although cheap these leaflets are beautifully produced. They offer an easy walk with historical background setting the general context as well as information on particular buildings or sites. They are fold out leaflets easily carried in a pocket.

Nailsworth Mills 1: Streams of Cloth
is a walk round the town and up the Horsley brook. Pinpointing a succession of mills it provides a background to the growth of the local woollen cloth industry and the town. It is supported by history boards at each of the mill sites.

Nailsworth Mills 2: Weavers’ Yarns
is a walk out of the town into the delightful Shortwood Valley, over the hill and down into the Horsley Valley. It uses mainly well trodden footpaths and passes sites of mills, chapels and quarries that provided stone for Charles Barry’s rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament

Stroud Town 1: Step into the Picture
invites you to cover the ground depicted in a painting c.1790 of the hamlet of Wallbridge, its mills and the fields behind. It is a beautiful landscape much changed by industrial development but footpaths take you through fields and beside the river in peaceful countryside. The painting, along with others, can be seen in the Stroud Museum in the Park.

Stroud Town 2: The Upp End of Stroud
will use another Museum painting to evoke the artisan suburb at the top of the town which developed in the late 1600s. This will be a gentle walk round historic but unpretentious streets. (Expected publication date early 2010.)

Card    40p

This is part of a watercolour painting of around 1800. It is a view of the mill that stood where Crystal Fountain Retirement Village is now. It is a simple pre Industrial Revolution fulling mill set in a beautiful landscape looking over towards Minchinhampton Common.

Postcards    25p

On Tenterhooks
is a detail of another c.1800 painting by the same artist as produced the card. It shows two men hanging scarlet cloth on the tenter and is the most detailed image we know of this process.

Badbrook Mill
is a watercolour dated 1808. It shows a pre Industrial Mill in the valley to the west of Stroud with views towards Rodborough and Selsley Common. This peaceful site has been transformed into the A46 lined with the cinema and other modern features.