Cloth and Carving - the Trades of Mediaeval Nottingham
Weaving, dyeing and tanning were important trades in mediaeval Nottingham. The town was also famous for its alabaster carving.
Nottingham was a major centre of trading and craftsmenship during the middle ages. Many trades are reflected in the town's street names, where one or more craftsmen would have been employed:
- Fletcher Gate was where the flesh hewers or butchers worked
- Barker Gate for the barkers or tanners, also called Tanners Street and Bellar Gate
- Lister Gate for the litsters or dyers
- Wheeler Gate was where the wheelwrights worked
- Pilcher Gate for the sellers of furs or pilches
- Fisher Gate for the fish sellers
- Bridlesmith Gate, along with Great Smith Gate and Smithy Row, was where metalworking took place.
Weavers and fullers
Weaving was one of the main trades conducted in the town in the early middle ages. The weavers had a large guild, which was formed before 1155. The type of cloth the weavers used was either local or bought in the town. It sold to many buyers including Italian merchants.
Raw cloth would be fulled by fullers who would use earth to absorb grease. Once fulled the cloth would be stretched to dry. The shearman would then cut the loose fibres. The finish of the cloth relied on their skill. In Nottingham there were fulling mills and crofts where this would take place.
Dyers and tanners
Dyeing cloth was a major trade in Nottingham. Dyes would have been supplied by spicers or apothecaries and included brazil (red for leather), archil (a lichen that produced violet or purple dye), woad (a blue dye), madder (a red dye), verdigris (a green dye), sanders or sandalwood (a red dye) and saffron. Poytres were contraptions used for hanging cloth that had been dyed to dry.
Tanning was an important trade in Nottingham even into the post-mediaeval period. The tanners would soak and treat cattle skins before placing them in a tin vat where they soaked in a mixture of alum, oak bark and urine. The tanning trade was based in Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh where they were close to the River Leen for their water. Tanning continued in the caves beneath Nottingham.
Read an agreement made for dyeing wool in 1434 [PDF 19KB] 
Alabaster Carving
Alabaster carving was a major trade in Nottingham. The carvers produced devotional objects, statues, chests and works of art for churches and monasteries. The alabaster came from Chellaston in Derbyshire. Their skill was well-known throughout England and abroad. Edward III commissioned an altar-piece or reredos for St George's Chapel in Windsor in 1367, and in 1414 the architect mason of Rouen cathedral was in Nottingham arranging for alabaster to be produced for his new church in northern France.
Other trades
Other trades were undertaken in Nottingham. These included:
- Farmers and husbandmen: agriculture was very common in the lands surrounding the town
- Potters: kilns have been excavated on the north side of the town
- Tilers: tile-making was established in Nottingham by the thirteenth century
- Metalworking: foundries existed in the town, and many everyday implements such as cauldrons, horse shoes, candlesticks and knives would have been made from iron, copper, steel, bronze, lead, latten and pewter; there were also gold and silver smiths, bell-founders and armourers.
Many merchants would have navigated along the Trent with their produce. The charter of c 1155 allowed the burgesses to charge tolls to merchants entering the town and for those using parts of the Trent.
At Nottinghamshire Archives
References to trades appear in the records of the various Nottingham courts and the Hall Books.
Illustrations
Top right: presentment roll of the Mickletourn Jury, listing trades, 1396 (reference: CA 3942).
Top left: agreement for the dyeing of wool, 1434 (reference: CA 1324).
- See this record in more detail here [PDF 1708KB]
- Read a transcript of this agreement here [PDF 19KB]
Middle right: illustration of monuments in St Mary's church, Nottingham (reference: X/PR/11/11). See this illustration in more detail here [PDF 1189KB]
Bottom right: print showing boats on the River Leen, Nottingham (reference: X/PR/10/11). See this illustration in more detail here [PDF 2973KB]
