It declined during the 19th century when machined lace was so much cheaper and quicker to make. There were also issues with health, education and morality!
Bedfordshire lace has a distinct pattern of 'leaf' shapes and edge picots. As well as the Beds style of lace, Turvey also produced the intricate Bucks style. Men, women and children worked at the pillows - it was hard work for little pay.
I have had a go at Beds Lace making and I can assure that you that it is a very slow and meticulous craft. What is now a fun hobby was then a life's work - all day, every day - not so much fun!
Lacemaking in this area began in the late 1500's and was proberbly introduced by the Hugenots. Some people say that Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, taught local people the craft - she was imprisoned in nearby Ampthill for a while.
'Bone lace' or bobbin lace was worked in homes and special 'lace-schools' where children could learn this intricate craft. In his book 'Former Days at Turvey', published 1908, Rev GFW Munby describes how 'little children sat, from nine to twelve in the morning, and again in the afternoon, every week day, except Saturday, in rows, with their little pillows before them, usually about ten or twelve in a room'.
The picture on the left shows an elderly lady at her lace pillow. The pillow was usually stuffed with horsehair or straw until it was very firm - or the pins would not stick firmly in. The pillow rested on a curious three-legged stool called a horse.
The pattern would be pinned on and then bobbins were wound with thread and hung in pairs. Pins were added as the lace grew to ensure it took on the right shape. The maker would have to regularly move the lace up the pillow as it grew in length. When finished the pins were all removed and the lace was washed and dried ready for sale.
The lace makers were taught by parents, elder siblings, friends and at lace schools - few instructions were written down. This means that some of the oldest lace patterns are now difficult to make up accurately.
For more information on the Lace industry and lacemaking today why not visit the great sites of The Lace Guild and Tussah.
In the 1830-1 Pigot's Directory for Bedsfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire there are 74 dealers listed.
The 1841 census lists 63.
Records from 1894-5 list just 4 buyers and 2 lacemen (dealers) in Bedfordshire, 2 in Bucks and 1 in Northamptonshire.
