Lace is a fabric that, perhaps more than any other, evokes images of romance and fantasy, and there is nowhere in the world that embodies the spirit of lace more than the city of Nottingham. Nottingham is famed for its ties with the legend of a man named Robin Hood, who, according to fable, stole from the rich to help the poor in medieval times. If we are to be historically accurate, Maid Marian would have knitted Robin’s green tights by hand. Until 1589 when William Lee, of Nottingham, invented a machine called the stocking frame, everyone handmade their own hosiery. Lee struggled for the rest of his life to make his machine successful, but was repeatedly denied a patent from the royals, for fear that it would jeopardize the hand-knitting industry. As Lee’s invention spread, the new profession of frame knitting was born, and Nottingham became a central hub for the booming new hosiery industry. Framework knitters generally worked from home and sold their wares to “Bagmen” (named for the bags they used to transport the stockings), who distributed and sold the finished garments. Handmade lace had been popular for centuries already, and as soon as Lee’s machine became popular, inventors were racing to find some way to alter Lee’s design to produce lace. It still took nearly two centuries for any machine worth mentioning to be created.
In the late 1770s, a man named John Rodgers, of Nottingham, modified Lee’s machine to create net, the foundation to many lace pieces. This modified machine created lace-like pieces, but they were still quite plain. These pieces weren’t finished the second they came off the machine’s pins. The factory machines produced ‘brown net,’ a coarse unfinished structure for lace. A piece was still in raw form and had to be washed, bleached, and dyed before going to the consumer. Workers would take the raw net home for processing and would embroider designs by hand onto the net before passing it onto a merchant for distribution and sale. Because it was based on the stockinette-knitting machine, Rodgers’ machine produced net with open knitted loops, and so the ‘lace’ was not very durable and lost shape easily. Bobbin lace, which is made by twisting several threads together, is sturdier and better able to withstand use. Additionally, twisting thread (bobbin-style) rather than looping it (knitting) opened more possibilities for design adaptation. Handmade bobbin lace still won out.
John Heathcoat created the first machine capable of duplicating twisted bobbin lace in 1808. Heathcoat’s bobbinet machine, combined with other enhancements courtesy of the Industrial Revolution, caused Nottingham’s population and industry to explode.
People flocked to the city to work, and as the crowds grew, factories, warehouses, and slums sprang up on top of the fleeing gentry’s homes. The lace warehouse district of Nottingham became known as the Lace Market. Even though Heathcoat had a patent on his machine until 1823, there was a rush to improve and expand upon his idea.
John Leavers modified Heathcoat’s machine (but did not market his own machine, as he didn’t want to infringe on Mr. Heathcoat’s patent). John Livesey combined all existing improvements into one super-machine, and in the mid-1800s produced a machine that could effectively be used in factories to mass-produce lace. Mr. Livesey’s machine was able to adapt to different styles, and allowed more and more elaborate pieces. For some perspective on how brilliant these machines were, the basic motions and methods from Heathcoat, Leavers, and Livesey’s machines are still used today in modern machines.
These days, to find lace that has been designed, produced and finished in Nottingham, there is only one premier destination. Established in 1946, Litmans is one of the most innovative independent textile suppliers in the United Kingdom. Known for their extensive range of fabrics, Litmans stocks over two million meters on site at their Nottingham warehouse. Litmans’ laces have adorned royals and celebrities from HRH The Queen of England to Lady Gaga. Litmans is leading the revival of true Nottingham Lace. The history of the city of Nottingham is closely woven with its textile innovation and lace market.