Meaning
A person who wove cloth on a loom from spun yarn.
Description
Weavers operated hand looms or power looms to interlace warp and weft threads into cloth. Before industrialisation most weaving was done by hand in the home as a cottage industry, with weavers working for merchant clothiers who supplied the yarn and collected the finished cloth. Power looms driven by water and steam power gradually displaced hand weavers from the late 18th century, causing great hardship in handloom weaving communities. The factory weaver operating power looms became the standard by the mid-19th century. Weaving was concentrated in the textile districts of Yorkshire, Lancashire, the West Country and Scotland.
Also Known As
Cloth Weaver, Hand Loom Weaver, Power Loom Weaver
Commonly Found In
- Census Returns
- Parish Registers
- Poor Law Records
- Factory Records
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