| Item | Description |
|---|---|
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BargeBarges picked up dyestuffs, which had been imported from overseas into London and dropped them on the banks of the Wandle. |
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HuguenotsHuguenots (a popular name for French Protestants) settled in the Merton and Wandsworth in the late 17th century and brought with them skills in dyeing, bleaching and colouring. They were also known for hat-making and silk weaving. |
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The Colour House TheatreFrom the late 18th century, the Colour House was used as a 'drying mount' - where dyed cloth was hung on rails and ‘aged’ in a warm steamy atmosphere. |
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Merton Abbey SchoolThe school takes its name from the historic Merton Abbey, on whose site the area stands. |
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Dean City FarmThe farm is based on National Trust land and is part of the Morden Hall Park Estate. |
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Woad PlantWoad produces a blue dye very like indigo. |
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Madder RootMadder is a plant that produces red dye. There are stories of waste madder dye being poured in to the Wandle and turning the whole of the river red. |
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William Morris/Morris & CoWilliam Morris is a famous 19th century textile artist, designer, poet and socialist. Morris brought a factory and set up Morris & Co on the site of what is now the Savacentre, in Merton in 1881. Morris' factory included facilities for vegetable dyeing, workshops for cloth printing, textile and tapestry making. |
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Sun Bleaching the ClothMany of the fields surrounding the Wandle were used as 'bleaching grounds.' The process of bleaching involved soaking cloth in water, treating the fabric with a solution made from wood ashes and laying it out in the sun. |
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The Long ShopIn 1831 Edmund Littler took over the Merton Abbey Works - now the site of Merton Abbey Mills market and produced silks and fine fabrics. In 1904, Arthur Liberty - founder of the famous department store and designer of Liberty prints took over the site and used the Long Shop as a print works. |
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Merton Abbey WheelhouseThe wheelhouse dates to the 1860s and powered tools used in textile production, including 'rinsing spools' to wash gum off printed silk. |
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