SILK WORKERS

The production of luxury goods from silkworm cocoons originated in China c2640 BCE, the closely guarded secret of silk farming or ‘sericulture’ eventually reaching medieval Europe via the Silk Road. The manufacture of silk ribbons and other small wares developed in England from the mid-1400s, and the fledgling silk industry was boosted immensely by the arrival of Huguenots fleeing the Netherlands and France in the late 16th and late 17th centuries. Thousands of these Protestant refugees settled in Spitalfields, East London, and put their superior weaving expertise to use. They also employed many poor homeworking ‘throwsters’ whose job was to ‘throw’ (spin) the silk – twisting the ‘filaments’ (strands) into lengths of strong