The Silk Factory

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The Courtaulds used their enormous wealth to endow buildings, schools, parks and gardens through the Braintree and the Essex district during the 19 th to 20 th century. The cruelty and the blatant spite and greed of their employer, the silk factory owner, are depicted to perfection, until the young family of Effie, Tobias and Beulah would never be the same again. Weaving woollen cloth was a long tradition in Sudbury, before makers moved there in the late 18th century. The medieval timber-framed merchants’ houses in Stour Street mark the wealth this created. However, silk weaving paid better than wool. Workers therefore transferred their skills, happy to create this luxury material.

At the root of both timelines is ordinary life - warts and all: tragedy, endurance, and love, in all its many guises. Although it’s apparent that their paths will never cross directly, they are touched by the unravelling threads of The Silk Factory. Additionally, in recognition of Silk Factory’s commitment to creativity, inclusivity, and excellence, they were the recent BASE Award winner for ‘Agency of the Year’. Grouts' first factory in Yarmouth was established on Northgate St, just inside the Town Wall in an old brewery owned by Mr Lee. The company employed people to weave and print the silk. During World War II they made silk parachutes for the air force. They used Jacquard looms, which were controlled by punch-cards, an early form of 'computerisation'. This is a haunting, historical novel that I would recommend to anybody who is a fan of Barbara Erskine or Pamela Hartshorne. Whilst not a time-slip novel EXACTLY, the two stories run alongside each other, with Rosie in the present day occasionally catching glimpses of Beulah in the past.Silk woven in Sudbury has been worn by the Queen at her coronation, royal brides, former US First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Adele. Discovered in 2016, it was then loaned to the Historic Royal Palaces. It is finally ready for display after three years and 1,000 hours of conservation. The Cloth is exhibited alongside a painting of the Queen, which shows her wearing a dress made from similar material.

Beulah’s story of guilt and bravery will echo down two centuries and change Rosie’s life as she struggles to overcome the hand of her own past and find redemption.French Protestant Huguenots sought refuge from religious persecution in France in 1685. This was in response to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV. Many settled in Spitalfields, London, and this is where Britain’s silk story begins. At its height, Lister's employed 11,000 men, women and children – manufacturing high-quality textiles such as velvet and silk. It supplied 1,000 yards (910m) of velvet for King George V's coronation and in 1976 new velvet curtains for the President Ford White House. During the Second World War Lister's produced 1,330 miles (2,140km) of real parachute silk, 284 miles (457km) of flame-proof wool, 50 miles (80km) of khaki battledress and 4,430 miles (7,130km) of parachute cord. [1]