F
ive hundred years ago, huge flocks of sheep roamed the open rolling hills of The
Cotswolds in South West England. Their wool provided much of England's wealth - to this
day the Lord Chancellor presides over Parliament sitting on a wool-sack as a reminder of
English wool's ancient importance.
Over the centuries a weaving trade developed in the area based on high quality broadcloth
made from fine woollen-spun yarns. These West of England cloths, from finest woollen
flannel to thick cavalry twill, all share the same soft, sleek handle and wonderful drape - quite
different from that of more loosely-woven 'hairy' Northern tweeds, and different also from flat
worsted cloths.
Marling & Evans began life as a simple hand-weaving workshop during the 16th century.
By 1782 it had become one of the most significant West of England textile companies. The
company logo incorporates an early merchant's mark (see above). This would have been
stencilled onto the bales of cloth before they were sent by pack-horse all over Europe. And it
was a huge trade, for during the 18th century the discerning among the gentlemen of Europe
all wore West of England broadcloth.
In 1990 Marling & Evans moved to the Oxfordshire / Gloucestershire borders and the
tradition of fine woollen cloth manufacture continues. The mill is 20 miles west of Oxford
(about one hour from London) and visitors are welcome to consult the extensive archive of
qualities and patterns.
Nowadays, although the company has fine-tuned its qualities for today's market, Marling &
Evans still offers traditional excellence: finest West of England woollens for menswear and
tailored ladieswear (280 to 900 gm) - Saxony suitings, Twist jacketings & coatings, Covert
Venetians, Whipcords and Cavalry twills.
New directions for Winter 1998 include: both greyed-off and "sporting look" Saxony
suitings, small-pattern flannels, softest-twist lambswool and tumble-wash jacketings, and
lighter-weight West of England Coverts and Cavalry Twills.
Marling & Evans offers customers best design and manufacture for superb English tradition,
a large archive of qualities and patterns - and a company heritage second to none.
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Go to Marling & Evans "Title Page" Go to M&E range of qualities for 1998/9 Company representation outside the UK (Or use your "back button" to return to previous page) |
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Find out more about cloth-making
Tour Cotswold Woollen Weavers historic mill on the net! |
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