Fustian Cutting in Congleton:
Fustian is a term that includes a number of hard wearing fabrics usually of cotton. It is woven so that part of its weft is close to the surface and can be cut to form a nap.
A full description of fustian cutting can be found in Mill Walks and Industrial Yarns by Lyndon Murgatroyd an excellent account of the history of the mills and businesses of Congleton and District. The cutting below, reproduced by kind permission of Lyndon Murgatroyd, is an extract from that book.
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Toe-Rag - the clogs that the cutters wore chapped and tore at feet, so "toe-rags" were used - the term "toe-rag" is still used locally as a term of contempt |
The picture on the right appeared in an article by Roger
Mallows in The Industrial Scene published in 1972 and edited by Dr Joan Alcock
Congleton's eminent local historian. Dr Alcock has kindly agreed to allow this
picture to reproduced here. Fustian mills required a long uninterrupted
floor space on which the cutting tables could be erected. Some mills were
purpose built and some were converted idle Silk mills where the owners removed
valuable equipment to make way for the long fustian cutting frames. The floor
boards were usually 4inches (100mm) thick to allow for the constant walking back
and forth of the fustian cutters.
A report in the Congleton Mercury July 28th 1888 described the
closing of a fustian mill. There had been an attempt to drop the hands about 12
per cent, and the men who were only earning about 9s a week, rather that work
and starve , resloved to turn out, and the pieces being finished, one mill was
closed. We understand that other fustian mills in the town are likely to be
closed in a few weeks. On Thursday the silk dressers employed at the Forge and
Dane mills turned out in strike against a reduction of 1/2d per ib and the
prickers a deduction of 3/4d. per pound
The Knappers as Fustian Masters
Trade directories for Congleton reveal the following:
Slater 1890 - Knapper Edward, fustian cutter (Edward and George Knapper), 32 Victoria Street
Knapper Edward and George fustian cutters Salford Mill Rood Hill
Knapper George, fustian cutter (Edward and George Knapper) Havannah Street Buglawton
Kellys 1892 - Knapper Edwin and George Bridge Mill Fustian Cutters
Kellys 1896 - Knapper Edwin and George fustian cutters Bridge Mill
This map of about 1900 shows the locations of Bridge Mill and Salford Mill.
It is probable that Kellys names are in error and it was not Edwin and George but Edward and George who were brothers, there does not appear to have been an Edwin Knapper in Congleton in the 1890s. The address's in the Slater directory tie in with the census address of Edward and George. It is not clear when the brothers ceased producing fustian but there were when Edward died in 1902 see report of Edwards death . In Lyndon Murgatroyd's Mill Walks and Industrial Yarns he records for Bridge Mill - John Sheppard and son fustian cutters in 1890 and Edward Mason (shirt and blouse manufacturer) in 1906. Also records for Salford Mill show Edward Knapper (fustian cutter) 1890 and Thomas Taylor (fustian cutter) 1893.
Pictures below show Salford Mill with its classical facade(left) and Bridge Mill in January 2005
From the information in the directories and Lyndon Murgatroyd's book it can be inferred that Edward Knapper started making fustian at Salford Mill between 1881 (at which time he lived with his inlaws in Victoria Street and was a Wood Sawyer) and 1890. Also that around 1893 he joined with his brother George and they produced fustian at Bridge Mill until some time between 1902 and 1906.