I hope you all enjoyed the film that Mike H selected on Tuesday about the Norwich textile trade. The film mentioned the Clabburn family who I had never heard of, so here is a summary of their involvement in Norwich weaving:
The Clabburns were a Norwich family long connected with the city’s weaving traditions going back to at least the late 1700s. Thomas Clabburn I (c.1762–1824) is recorded in an 1783 trade directory as a worsted weaver and “manufacturer of bed coverlids” in Norwich — showing the family were established as textile workers from this period.
The family’s weaving business grew significantly in the first half of the 19th century under Thomas Clabburn II (1788–1858). He became a manufacturer of Norwich shawls, a major local textile product. In 1846 Thomas and two of his sons (William Houghton Clabburn I and Thomas Clabburn III), together with Thomas Dawson Crisp, founded the firm Clabburn, Sons & Crisp — a well-known Norwich shawl manufacturer. The firm became especially prominent in the mid-19th century, benefiting from the shawl vogue sparked by Queen Victoria’s patronage (e.g., at the Great Exhibition of 1851) and won prizes for quality and design at major exhibitions. William Houghton Clabburn I, active in the 1850s–1880s, helped grow the business; by 1855, the firm employed around seventy weavers. William also secured a patent for an improved shawl-making technique. Thomas II was admired as an employer: 600 weavers and assistants contributed to a memorial tablet in St Augustine’s Church, Norwich, honouring him after his death — a sign of high regard within the local weaving community.
Despite early successes, demand for traditional Norwich shawls declined from the 1870s as fashions changed and Lancashire and Paisley production grew. The original Clabburn partnership dissolved after the death in 1878 of their non-family partner, though related textile ventures (like the Norwich Crape Company) continued longer. By the late 19th century the Norwich textile industry had entered a long decline, and shawls ceased to be a major local industry.
In the 20th century, Pamela Clabburn (1914–2010) — a descendant of the Norwich weaving Clabburns — became a noted textile expert, curator and author who championed the history and conservation of Norwich shawls and East Anglian textiles. She founded the Costume & Textile Association to support textile heritage and worked extensively on preserving and documenting the industry’s history.
Here is an article for those interested in further information:
https://www.johnbarnard.me.uk/Clabburn.html
