- Tenterground
A tenterground or
tenter ground was an area used for drying newly manufactured cloth afterfulling . The wet cloth was hooked onto frames called tenters and stretched taut so that the cloth would dry flat and square.It is from this process that we have the expression “on
tenterhook s”, meaning in a state of nervous tension.There were tentergrounds wherever cloth was made, and as a result the word tenter is evident in place names throughout the UK, including a street in
Spitalfields ,London .Tenterground in Spitalfields
The Spitalfields Tenterground was established in the 17th century by Flemish weavers, who were
Huguenot refugees fleeingreligious persecution . Theirweaving industry led to the area becoming a centre of the garment industry (therag trade as it became known colloquially), with names such asFashion Street andPetticoat Lane still extant.It was originally an area of open ground about 150 yards square, surrounded by the weavers’ houses and workshops in
White’s Row ,Wentworth Street ,Bell Lane and Rose Lane (the last of which no longer exists).By the 19th century, the Flemish weavers had dispersed and in 1829, the Tenterground was developed for housing. From about 1850, it was populated by
Dutch Jews (seeChuts ), to be joined later byJewish refugees fleeing persecution ineastern Europe (seepogroms ).During the early part of the 20th century, the Tenterground was largely demolished for redevelopment, but some old buildings remain in and around the area, including Flemish weavers’ houses and an early Dutch
synagogue which was formerly a Huguenotchapel . Another former Huguenot chapel is now amosque .ee also
*
Bleachfield References
*Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, and Borough of Southwark, John Rocque, 1746
*Ordnance Survey, London Sheet XXXVI, 1878
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