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You’re in Leeds (congratulations) and, naturally, you’re sipping a brew in The Angel Inn just off Briggate (well done you).
It is early spring, and it is 1830.
Two men walk in.
They're from Somerset, and they're selling these.
It is early spring, and it is 1830.
Two men walk in.
They're from Somerset, and they're selling these.
The ‘tazzle-men’ were (mainly) from the south west, who used the Inns of Leeds and Huddersfield to meet their customers and sell them...
teazles!
Teazles were *chronically* important to the production of lots of materials.
teazles!
Teazles were *chronically* important to the production of lots of materials.
Teazles can grow up to around the same height as @Harry_Styles, and you can see that spiky leaves form a kind of bowl.
It’s the soft but spiky nature of these flowerheads once they’ve dried out that make this plant so useful.
It’s the soft but spiky nature of these flowerheads once they’ve dried out that make this plant so useful.
Since the Romans, and maybe even before (!) the surface of woven woollen cloth was raised to soften the surface.
The cloth would be stretched over a frame and brushed with teazles.
The cloth would be stretched over a frame and brushed with teazles.
The brushing pulls out the ends of the wool fibres, producing a softer surface to make it more suitable for snuggly things, like blankets, which we like to be soft so that we can curl up with them after a long day with a glass of wine and a 90s Hugh Grant situation on ’telly
we digress
This process was very labour intensive, and it took the 1800s to say ‘excuse us but this could be quicker actually’.
Rows of teazles were mounted in frames around a rotating drum called a gig, which the cloth was pulled over.
This Raising Gig is at Leeds Industrial Museum!
Rows of teazles were mounted in frames around a rotating drum called a gig, which the cloth was pulled over.
This Raising Gig is at Leeds Industrial Museum!
and can we just say it is lovely
This new, quicker technique was adopted in our Leeds and Huddersfield, but lots of people objected to the loss of work.
By 1820, Leeds began to dominate the UK production of fine woollen cloth.
By 1820, Leeds began to dominate the UK production of fine woollen cloth.
However! The use of machines using metal teeth and the declining demand for fine woollen cloth steadily reduced the market for teazles after 1850, but there were short peaks in demand when military uniforms were needed during the world wars.
Our wonderful volunteer Rob has written a brilliant blog with much more information and much less Hugh Grant, and it’s a lovely interesting read: http://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/collections/teazles/
Also, if you take anything from this tale, let it be the outrage that they were called ‘Tazzle-men’ and not ‘Bobby Tazzlers’
