The Role of the Dyehouse
At the hight of its industrial might, Trowbridge specialised in high quality woollen cloth. Dyeing usually happened “in the wool” (before spinning) to ensure the deep, consistent colour that made “West of England cloth” famous. Not all the mills in Trowbridge had dyehouses, some sent their wool to be dyed in Stroud and others sent theirs to McCalls dyehouse here in Trowbridge.
The “Dyed in the Wool” Tradition
Unlike other regions that dyed the finished fabric, Wiltshire was well known for dyeing the wool before it was even spun. This ensured the colour saturated every fibre. This led to the phrase “dyed in the wool” (meaning something deeply ingrained and unchanging). Because they dyed the raw wool, Wiltshire clothiers could mix different shades of blue and black wool during the carding process to create “medley” cloths—subtle, expensive textures that were the envy of Europe. This also meant the recipes for these dyes had to be very precise and were meticulously recorded to ensure that the colour remained consistent.
Location of Dyehouses
Dyehouses were almost always situated right on, or as near as possible, to the River Biss. Large quantities of water were needed for scouring (cleaning) the wool and for the dyeing vats. Before the invention of synthetic dyes, workers used natural dyes like indigo (for blues), madder (for reds), and woad. By the mid-19th century, these natural dyes were joined by synthetic aniline dyes. Eventually these natural dyes fell out of use for industrial dyeing completely.
Palmer and Mackay had a dyehouse located at Courts Mill. Kemp and Hewitt had one in the Innox Mills complex which was badly damaged by a bomb on 27th July 1942.
Another important dyeing site was Stone Mills. Records show it was occupied by Peter Anstie, a prominent dyer, between 1805 and 1817. It later passed to Webber and Strang, also dyers. When it was sold in 1912, it still contained “dye houses with vats.”
