Olde Fabrickes.................
Here are a few terms used to describe fabric and cloth over the centuries. These come to you courtesy of Judith Werner administrator of the Old English List at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ for which grateful acknowledgements are herewith advanced.
In 1806 Isaac Sandford of Gloucester and Stephen Price of Stroud, both Civil Engineers, found out, invented and had patented a new improvement of method to raise the Nap or Pile on Woollen, Cotton and all other cloth.
The descriptions are followed from the same source by some terms used for Fur and Leather during the 16th & 17th centuries and then some rather strange Wildfowl & Fish servings that appear in the household accounts of Sir Thomas Petrie at Ingatestone, Essex, 1548-1552. You won't need a fishing rod, traps or gun here!
Please click the eye for the letters identification as shown in the source column.
| Name | Description | Source |
| Alnage | Aulnage-Aulnéage-Ulnage the official inspection and measurement of woolen cloth by the ell and attestation of its value by affixing a leaden seal | OEL |
| Arras | Tapestries which hid rough walls and lessened draughts and were valuable possessions | B |
| B | ||
| Baft | Course fabric usually of cotton | A |
| Baize | Coarse, usually green wool with a long nap | A |
| Bartree or Barr-Tree | A rectangluar wooden frame with pins on the vertical sides around whcih warp yarn is wound from side to side to the required length (about 10 feet) and width to form the web or warp | OEL |
| Baudekin/Baudkins/Bawdekyns | Of Silk. A rich cloth now called Brocade | H |
| Beaupers | Linen cloth similar to bunting [loosely woven] | F |
| Bombazine | Twilled dress fabric of various blends-Silk & Worsted-Cotton & Wool-Silk & Cotton | C-F |
| Borato | Thin, light blend of silk & wool | F |
| Bord Alexander | {Alizandre etc} A rich striped silk originally from Alexandria | H |
| Branched Velvet | Any figured velvet | F |
| Breiding | The process of stretching and fixing woolen material at its proper width on the tenders (tenters) while wet from the fulling stocks | OEL |
| Broadcloth | Plain woven fine woollen cloth, two yards wide and produced in England from 12th Century | F |
| Buckram | Originally a fine linen or cotton used in hose or gowns, later a coarse fabric sometimes stiffened with paste. | A-F-H |
| Buffin | Blend used in doublets and other garments | F |
| Busk | A coarse linen used for lining and stiffening | H |
| C | ||
| Caffa | A rich silk cloth, apparently similar to damask and much used in the 16th century | B |
| Calico | Costly cotton or cotton & linen fabric imported from the East. Not the figured cloth called so today | |
| Cambric | Fine White Linen | F |
| Camlet/Chamlet | Originally were beautiful and costly eastern fabrics, afterwards their imitations and substitutes. Made from silk, wool or cotton and long hair, perhaps camel's hair, but in the 16th & 17th century made from the hair of the angora Goat. | B-F |
| Carsey | A ribbed cloth - also Kersey | G |
| Carzie | A type of plain, homespun fabric | |
| Cloth | A particular quantity or length of fabric, such as a Coat Cloth being enough fabric to make a Coat or a Gown Cloth being sufficient to make a Gown | B |
| Cloth Coloured | Un-dyed | C |
| Cloth of Gold | Cloth woven with Gold Wire, gold strips or both. May come in colours, especially crimson or violet, depending on the colour of the warp thread. | F |
| Comstock/Combstock | A rough wooden bench on which raw wool was 'made up' or prepared for the combs | OEL |
| Cotton Cloth | A woollen cloth of Northern manufacture of which the nap had been raised, such of frieze. | F |
| Cotton Russet | Cheap woollen cloth normally a yard wide, same as Welsh Straits. | H |
| Crape | A thin transparent silk or silk & linen used in mourning veils; A kind of thin worsted used for clerical dress. | F-A |
| Cypress | A fine sheer fabric made of chine silk, and used for chemises. | |
| D | ||
| Damask | Rich silk woven with light and shade effects forming designs and figures. True damasks were silks but the term came to any fabric with an elaborate design woven into it. | B-F |
| Diaper | Linen fabric woven with a small simple pattern, formed by the different direction of the threads. | B |
| Diced | Chequered | B |
| Dighting/Dighted Wool | Prepared wool | OEL |
| Dornech/Dornicks/Darinx | 1. Originally fabric made at Doornik, Belgium (Now Tournai) especially a silk or wool for hangings, carpets and vestments etc; 2. Linen fabric used in Scotland for tablecloths and napkins etc; 3. Linen made in Norfolk for servants clothes. | A-F |
| Dowlas | A coarse lumpy kind of linen, much used in the 16th-17th centuries. Now applied to a strong calico made in imitation of this. | EM |
| Drugget | A coarse fabric used as a protective floor covering | J |
| Duffle | A hard wearing cloth originating from a town of that name in Belgium. Used during WW2 for producing the Duffle Coat for the Royal Navy | Radio 4 Program 8 Feb 2003 |
| F | ||
| Folder | Fabric was sold by the folder rather than by the bolt | |
| Flaskyt/Flasket | A shollow, oval washtub or clothes basket or a clothes basket used by clothiers formed from a half cask or barrel, about 2ft in diameter, used to hold sizing for the warps but principally to hold water in which weft bobbins were wetted. | OEL |
| Frieze | A coarse woollen cloth with a nap, usually on one side only, of Welsh origin. | A |
| Frizado | A fine worsted with a nap, similar to Baize | A |
| Fustian | A napped fabric made of a mixture of flax and cotton or wool. Used as a substitute for velvet, Also a blanket of such material. | A-F |
| G | ||
| Galloon | A narrow band of cord, embroidery, silver or gold braid, used on clothes or furniture | |
| Garne | Coarse worsted yarn | OEL |
| Gavelocke/Gavlock | An iron lever with attached fulcrum for effecting the breiding of wet cloth | OEL |
| Geeres | In weaving, when the full quantity of warp threads required for the looms are stretched on frames or shafts, the whole are termed gears, a set of gears or pair of gears. | OEL |
| Grograine/Grograin | A fine ribbed fabric | |
| H | ||
| Holland | Any fine linen used for Veiling, Smocks, Coifs and Ruffs | F |
| J | ||
| Jarnsey | A fine Jersey Yarn | |
| K | ||
| Kendal | A kind of green woollen cloth named after the town Kendal in Westmoreland where it was manufactured. | B |
| Kersey | A coarse, ribbed, narrow woollen cloth named after the town Kersey in Suffolk, also a piece of Kersey of a definite size. Also Carsey | A-D |
| L | ||
| Lace | 1. A general term for all kinds of trims and braids as well as cords. 2. Points to fasten a garment at | |
| Lawn/Lawny | 1. A fine linen or cotton, the word probably from Laon, France which was noted for linen manufacture. 2. This fabric as used for sleeves worn by a bishop (hence, the dignity or office of a bishop). 3. Also described as very fine, semitransparent linen cloth. | F |
| Lea or Lay of Yarn | A applied to wool, a measure of yarn or worsted of varying amount, say 300 yards; also, the seventh part of a hank of worsted, containing 80 threads would on a reel, a yard in circumference. | OEL |
| Lindsey-Woolsey | Originally a textile material, woven from a mixture of wool and flax (as in linen); now, a dress material of coarse inferior wool, woven on a cotton warp. A mix of wool seconds & linen thread, cheap sheeting or shirting and servants' clothing. | EM |
| Lockram Apron/Lockeraine Aperna | A coarse linen for dirty work, strong & serviceable. [Please see the OED for various other spellings] | EM - OEL |
| Lyre | A designation for cloth, generally woollen, indicating high quality as "Black of Lyre" or "Black Allyre" from the town in Brabant now known as "Liere" | B |
| M | ||
| Medley/Merdley | A rough woollen cloth of mixed colouring or quality. | E |
| Minsters | A linen cloth originating from Munster. | H |
| Mocado/Mockado | Mock Velvet - Deep-piled velvet. The best quality was made of silk, otherwise wool or silk mixed with wool or flax. Also defined solely as a wool velvet, usually of inferior quality. | A-F |
| Motley | Cloth of mixed colours | B |
| Musterdevillers | Mixed gery woollen cloth much used in the 14th & 15th century. Name derives from a town in Normandy now called Montvilliers | B |
| Myllnings or Unmilned cloth | Material before being beaten with heavy wooden hammers to make it thicker | OEL |
| N | ||
| Northern Cloth | Cheap woollen cloth produced in the West Riding of Yorkshire. | H |
| O | ||
| Orphrey | Gold or any rich embroidery. | B |
| P | ||
| Pane | A piece of cloth made of several cloths joined side-by-side. | B |
| Paned | Made of different coloured strips of cloth jointed together. | B |
| Painted Cloths | Tapestries that hid rough walls and lessened draughts and were valuable possessions | B |
| Pariswork | (Towel of ...... ?) Fine linen used for napery. | B |
| Pattens | Clogs over-shoes for muddy weather | G |
| Penistone/Penystone | A coarse woollen. | E |
| Pinnes | Bobbins of weft | OEL |
| Points | Tagged Laces | G |
| Printed | When a fabric is as printed when the design has been stamped with hot irons; NOT produced by dyeing. | |
| Puke | 1. An imported woollen cloth or textile dyed before weaving. 2. A fine woollen cloth. 3. A dye for woollen cloth, apparently a bluish-black or inky colour. | A |
| R | ||
| Raddle | In weaving, a piece of wood full of pegs having a top part which fits on it to hold the warp while it is being wound on the beam, also (Ruddle or Reddle) meaning Red Earth used to colour bricks or colour-washing walls. | OEL |
| Raines/Reynes | A kind of fine linen or lawn made at Rennes in Brittany. | B |
| Rash | A smooth textile of silk or worsted. | A |
| Russet | Coarse homespun wool of red-brown, grey or neutral colour. Worn by farm workers - normally substantially serge-like. | BE |
| S | ||
| Sackcloth | Coarse fabric for making sacks, bales etc., but also worn as a sign of penitence or mourning. | A |
| Sarsenet/Saecenet | 1. Very fine, soft silk (later cotton) made both plain and twilled in various colours. 2. Often used for puffs in doublets & gowns. | B |
| Say | Fine textured cloth resembling serge. In the 16th century sometimes partly made with silk but later entirely of wool. | B |
| Scarlet | A common, plain Elizabeth fabric and NOT scarlet in colour. | |
| Seed Pearls | Bought in bulk for use on gowns costing a penny apiece. | |
| Sendal/Syndale | A fine silk cloth | H |
| Serge | A durable woollen fabric made from combed long-staple wool which was not fulled. | A-F |
| Shot Silk | Changeable taffeta | |
| Size Stand | A stand for holding the liquid used for keeping the warp or weft from fraying in the process of weaving | OEL |
| Soultwich | Line - probably from Saltzwedel, Germany. | H |
| Spruce | Linen from Prussia | H |
| Sussapine | A costly silk textile | F |
| Syes'Size | A weak glue liquid, made chiefly from animal bones to strength the warps from fraying or wearing during the weaving | OEL |
| T | ||
| Taffeta/Tapheta | Rich thin silk often used for doublets. | F |
| Thred/Threede | Thread | |
| Tinsel | A metallic fabric. less expensive than cloth of gold or silver. | |
| Treillis/Terlyson | Stout or coarse cloth similar to Buckram | H |
| Tripe | Imitation velvet. Velveteen or Fustian | A |
| Tuke | Canvas or linen cloth | H |
| V | ||
| Venice Gold/Venice or Venetian Pearls | Silver-gilt thread/glass pearls of poorer quality than true gold. | |
| W | ||
| Walker Shears | The fuller's scissors | OEL |
| Warping Wouke-Wouthe-Woose | The machine in which threads are arranged into warps and thus made ready for weaving | OEL |
| Welsh Straits | A cheap woollen cloth of single width (one yard) also known as cottone russet. | H |
| Worsted | Woollen fabric made from closely twisted yarn from long-staple wool. | A |
Around the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries a petition for patent for an invention to improve the raising of the nap or pile on woollen and all other cloth was applied for.
| Name | Description | |
| A | ||
| Agnorum | Lamb skins | |
| Amice | Grey squirrel or marten. Originally used by religious orders for lining a hood or later, a cape. | |
| B | ||
| Bauson/Bawson | Badger | |
| Bevyr/Bevir | Beaver | |
| Buk Pelles | Buck skins | |
| Budge/Bogy | North African or Southern European lamb | |
| C | ||
| Calaber | Squirrel skins, originally from Calabria | |
| Cony | Rabbit | |
| Cordwain/Cordewyn | Spanish Leather | |
| F | ||
| Fell | Hide or skin, usually before the hair is removed. | |
| Foin/Foyne | Beech-Marten | |
| G | ||
| Grey Skins | The backs of winter squirrels | |
| L | ||
| Lasch | Fine red leather, perhaps Moroccan | |
| Lizard/Lezard | Lynx (the supporters and dexter supporter to the arms of the London Skinner's Company) | |
| Lybert | Leopard | |
| Lettice/Letewis | Snow-weasel. Whitish-grey fur similar to ermine | |
| M | ||
| Martron | Marten | |
| Miniver | In use since c.1300, the term has applied to grey squirrel fur and from c.1600 the white winter fur of the ermine, also as decorated or "Powdered" with bars or spots of darker fur such as black ermine. Used extensively for ceremonial dress. | |
| P | ||
| Pane | A number of furs sewn together to form a lining. | |
| Pelles Cuniculorium | Rabbit skins | |
| Pelles Lanute | Woolfells | |
| Pelles Mureligorum | Cat skins | |
| Pelles Ovium | Sheep skins | |
| Pelles Rubra or Rossa | Red squirrel skins | |
| Pelles Vulpium | Fox skins | |
| R | ||
| Roan/Rone/Royne | Superior quality sheepskin tanned in sumac | |
| Red Skins | Summer squirrel skins, also red leather. | |
| S | ||
| Schonwerk/Skonewark | Fine, highly priced squirrel skins, presumably taken in winter from the far north. | |
| Shanks | Furs from the legs of budge | |
| Spruce | Prussian leather, popular for jerkins | |
| T | ||
| Tavelon | Bundle of four skins of black budge or sometimes the individual skins. | |
| Taw | White leather | |
| Ticks | A thick material used for bedding also know as 'ticking' | |
| W | ||
| White Skins | White squirrel skins | |
| Wombys | Fur from the belly |
On the various menus at Sir Thomas Petrie's residence at Ingatestone in Essex, the household accounts during the years 1548-1552 recorded several types of food which deserve further description. These are brought to you with acknowledgements to the OLD-ENGLISH List at ROOTSWEB. See also source 'E'
| Name | Description |
| Bret/Berte | A term in use c.1460 and in 1670 described a Turbot |
| Butt | In use from c.1300 although there is no specific definition known but is akin to the Turbot, Sole or Flounder. |
| Choyt/Cheyt | Definition unknown, but the accounts show about a dozen being bought weekly in June and in Autumn. The author believes it may be a Shad or Chad. |
| Goodwin | 1. In the 1500s know as the Godwit and the 1800s as the Godwyn. 2. Probably the black-tailed or marshland Godwit which resembled the Curlew. |
| Marle | The Knot, a variety of Snipe. The accounts show both Snipe & Snite which the author suggest the latter as being the smaller of the species. |
| Oxbird | A term from before 1547 but surviving locally as the name for the Dunlin or Sanderling. [SOED = Sandpipers] |
| Prane/Praine | A Curlew of the Essex marshes, a bar-tailed Godwit, also Preen or Prine. |
| Shelfowl | The Sheldrake (Shieldrake) now called the Shelduck [SOED] |
| Shovelard | The wading bird now known as the spoonbill. The term was in use in 1440. |
A New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
B Bedfordshire Historical Record Society Vol 58; Bedfordshire Wills proved in the PCC 1383-1548
C Richard Lederer Jr. Colonial American English [1608-1783]
D David N. Durant: "Where Queen Elizabeth Slept and What the Butler Saw"
E F.G. Emmison [Essex County Archivist] Tudor Secretary: "Sir William Petre at Court and Home" - Harvard Press 1961.
EM Eve McLaughlin - Author of "McLaughlin Guides for Family Historians" - Secretary of Bucks Genealogical Society
F Kathy Lynn Emerson: "Everyday Life in Renaissance England" [1485-1649]
G Vanessa Harding and Laura Wright, London Bridge: "Selected Accounts & Rentals 1381-1538"
H H.S. Cobb, ed., "The Overseas Trade of London, Exchequer Customs Accounts 1480-1481"
I "The Medieval Scene" Book 1 by RJ Unstead
J Collins Concise English Dictionary
OEL http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/
