Kersey is a kind of coarse
woollen cloth that was an important component of the textile trade in
Medieval England.
History
It derives its name from kersey yarn and ultimately from the village of
Kersey, Suffolk
Kersey is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district in Suffolk, in the east of England. The main street has a ford across a stream. Its principal claim to fame is that a coarse woollen cloth called Kersey cloth takes its name from it. ...
, having presumably originated in that region. However the cloth was made in many places. It was being woven as early as 1262 in
Andover, Hampshire
Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...
, where regulations prohibited the inclusion of Spanish wool in kerseys.
By 1475, the West Riding of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
including
Calderdale
Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...
was also a major producer, while Devon and Somerset were major producers and exporters until the manufacture later moved to
serge Serge may refer to:
*Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric
*Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme
*Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name)
*Serge (post), a hitchi ...
making. Kersey was a lighter weight cloth than
broadcloth. English kerseys were widely exported to central Europe and other places: a surviving business letter
[Letter dated June 26th, 1578, from John Withal in Santos, Brazil, to Mr Richard Staper, excerpted in ]Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...
(ed. Jack Beeching
Jack Beeching (8 May 1922 – 27 December 2001), born John Charles Stuart Beeching, was an English poet, novelist and nonfiction writer.
Life
Beeching was born in Hastings, Sussex, England, on 8 May 1922 and died in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, o ...
), ''Voyages and Discoveries'', (Penguin Press, 1972) 196. from the end of the 16th century recommends trading kerseys for good
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
on the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
.
Description
Kersey yarns were
spun in large gauges (thicknesses) from inferior
carded wool, and made thick and sturdy cloth. Kersey was a
warp
Warp, warped or warping may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books and comics
* WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher
* ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!''
* Warp (comics), a ...
-backed,
twill
Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...
-weave cloth
woven on a four-treadle
loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
.
The back of the cloth was
napped and shorn after
fulling
Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...
, producing a dense, warm fabric with a smooth back.
See also
*
Jersey (fabric)
References
External links
Calderdale site
Woven fabrics
Kersey, Suffolk
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