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Monday, 13 October, 2008



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Fuller or Miller

Fulling was the great traditional craft skill of the West of England.

Further cleaning of the cloth was done by the fuller – called a walker – by treading the cloth. He stood barefoot in a trough of cold water containing a detergent such as fullers earth. Some thickening of the cloth occurred but because no heat was generated, it was minimal.

Mechanisation of this finishing process in the 11cen made life much easier for the fuller. Water power was used to work fulling stocks, a machine with two large wooden hammers raised on tappets. The cloth was contained in a trough – the stock – and was repeatedly beaten by the rising and falling hammers. Such hammers did generate heat and heavily felted cloth was produced. It took several hours to get the right degree of felting. The piece shrank by about one third of its length and one quarter of its width.

By the 13cen, fulling stocks were in use in this area wherever a river provided sufficient water power. Fullers earth continued to be used for
coarser cloths but during the18cen, oil soap was used for finer ones. Some clothiers ran their own fulling mills which was often the base of their operations. Ladydown fulling mill was built in 1726 and water power was still used until well into the 19cen.

The patent for a rotary fulling machine was obtained by John Dyer, a Trowbridge engineer in 1833. The two ends of a piece of cloth were lightly tacked together so that the cloth could pass continually around rollers which generated friction and thus heat. Later a synthetic detergent was used instead of soap or fullers earth.

Fuller trampling cloth in the vat, 1460. From a French stained glass window.

Fulling Stocks on the river at Farleigh Hungerford

Water driven Fulling Machine in 1607

John Dyer's Fulling Machine patented in 1833

Fuller using Dyer's Machine