Llanidloes - the flannel makers
4
Makers, fullers, and drapers
The entries on this page are from a Trade Directory published in 1835, and they emphasise the great importance of the manufacture of flannel in the history of the town of Llanidloes.
The population of the town around that date was estimated at around 2,520 people, and this publication records over 30 flannel manufacturers plus many others in related businesses, some of which are shown here.
Powys
County Archives
The trades shown here include "fullers", who carried out an important role in the clothmaking process. Fulling mills were used to cleanse and thicken the finished cloth, and fulling was the first woollen process to be mechanised by the use of water power. These mills were known as "Pandai" in Welsh, and they began to close as the processes of fulling and dyeing were incorporated into later, bigger mills. Very few of the buildings survived, but the name "Pandy" occurs in over three hundred Welsh place names, a reminder of the former importance of the textile industry to the rural economy.
There are 11 pages on the flannel industry. Use the box links below to view the other pages.
