Cloth Trade and Fulling Mills in Stafford

Between the medieval era and the early modern period, the cloth trade near Stafford, Staffordshire, developed around an interconnected system of cottage production, central market exchanges, and water-powered fulling mills along local rivers. This article examines how the River Sow and River Penk powered mechanized fulling, how raw wool was processed and traded across the borough, and the factors that ultimately led to the industry's decline in favor of leathercraft.

Water Power and Mill Sites Along the Sow and Penk

The geography of the Stafford area, dominated by the River Sow and its tributary the River Penk, provided the hydraulic power necessary for early industrial processing. In the early Middle Ages, fulling—cleansing and thickening woven wool—was done manually by foot (a process known as "walking"). By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, local landowners and religious estates began converting existing corn mills or building dedicated fulling mills (often recorded historically as "walk mills") along these waterways.

Locations around Forebridge, Silkmore, and downstream toward Tixall offered steady, controllable water flows. Mill races and weirs diverted river currents to turn vertical waterwheels. These wheels turned camshafts that raised and dropped heavy wooden hammers (fulling stocks) rhythmically into troughs containing the cloth.

The Fulling and Finishing Process

Woven cloth brought to the mills underwent a labor-intensive chemical and mechanical treatment:

Scouring: The wool was submerged in water mixed with alkaline agents—such as stale urine or fuller's earth (a naturally occurring absorbent clay)—to remove natural sheep grease (lanolin), dirt, and oils added during spinning.
Thickening: Continuous pounding by mechanized stocks felted the wool fibers together, closing the gaps between the warp and weft, shrinking the fabric, and increasing its strength and weather resistance.
Washing and Drying: Once fulled, the cloth was rinsed thoroughly in clean river water and mounted onto outdoor wooden frames known as tenters. Fastened with sharp hooks ("tenterhooks"), the fabric was stretched evenly to dry without shrinking out of shape.
Shearing and Napping: After drying, dry teasel heads were used to raise the nap of the cloth, which was then sheared smooth by specialized clothworkers to create a refined finish.

Organization of the Stafford Cloth Trade

The cloth trade in Stafford functioned as a domestic or "putting-out" system. Farming families across rural Staffordshire washed, carded, and spun raw fleece into yarn. Local weavers then produced raw, unworked cloth known as "broadcloth" or lighter kerseys on handlooms in their homes and workshops.

Stafford served as the commercial hub for this network. Weavers and clothiers transported their unfinished pieces to the town’s markets and fairs, where goods were inspected, sold, and sent to fullers. Stafford's municipal records and guild regulations oversaw fair practices, standard cloth dimensions, and quality control. Cloth merchants from Stafford established trade links across the West Midlands, supplying regional markets in Lichfield, Birmingham, and Chester with durable woolen textiles.

Economic Transition and Decline

By the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the cloth trade around Stafford began to contract. The local textile industry faced fierce competition from the West Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the West Country, where larger coal reserves, steeper river valleys, and rapid mechanization concentrated mass cloth production.

In response, Stafford's industrial focus shifted. Fulling mills along the Sow and Penk were gradually decommissioned, demolished, or repurposed for grinding corn, flint, or ironwork. The town’s labor force adapted its specialized craft infrastructure, transitioning from woolen textiles to leather tanning and commercial shoemaking, which became Stafford’s defining trade throughout the nineteenth century.