Twelve Bobbins Spinning; the story surrounding a horizontal flax wheel invented by Bernard Barton c.1766 (1984) by Andrew Humphries is a 20-page pamphlet outlining the invention of Bernard Barton of Carlisle (1728-1773).

[Full text reproduced with the permission of the author, whose contact details can be found here. Andrew has given me all his old research notes, and also a number of spare printed copies of 'Twelve Bobbins', and I can post one to you if you contact me.]


"Saw at Mr.Bernard Barton's a pleasing sight of twelve little industrious girls spinning at once at a horizontal wheel which set twelve bobbins in motion; yet so contrived that should any accident happen to one the motion of that one might be stopped without any impediment to the others". Thus Thomas Pennant, traveller, described the wheel. (From 'A Tour of Scotland' - Carlisle, 28th May, 1772).

Bernard Barton, an ingenious linen manufacturer was at the forefront of developments in the textile trade in Carlisle His invention, devised to provide work for the young unemployed reflects his social conscience. John, his eldest son and leading member of the society of Friends, further promoted the use of the wheel for the benefit of the poor. As a Quaker John also became actively involved in the campaign to abolish the slave trade. A member of the original National Committee for this purpose, he worked alongside such men as Clarkson, Sharp and Wilberforce.

Bernard and John give personal reality to the changing society in Britain, in which the industrial revolution and emerging humanitarianism were prominent features.
Bernard Barton belonged to that independent race, the Cumberland Yeomen. His small estate lay in the hamlet of Ivegill, with its roots in the Royal hunting forest of Inglewood. The slate covered homestead still stands above the packhorse bridge overlooking the River Ive. In about 1761 his mechanical genious drew him away from the pastoral life at Ivegill and thrust him into the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in Carlisle.

Following the ill-fated Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 the Border had begun to assume a more settled and peaceful state. The infant textile industry began to grow, further stimulated by the building of the Military Road from Carlisle to Newcastle, which produced improved trade links with the North East and Europe.
Attracted by the fine, clear waters of the River Caldew, Bernard took the lease of Lamplugh's Close in 1763, as a print field and, in the following year, obtained permission from the Corporation to set up a water wheel for washing and scouring the yarn and cloth. Along with other local entrepreneurs Bernard decided that, as well as bleaching and printing, there existed considerable potential for the spinning and weaving of cloth. In a short time he established an extensive manufacturing industry during a period which established Carlisle as a major centre for textile manufacture

Trading in partnership (Barton & Hodgson), the products from Bernard's factory and weaving shops in the city included:
Linen and cotton checks; stripes and handkerchiefs; dowlas; doileys; diapers; housewife's cloths; huckabacks; osnaburghs; brown and blue linen, etc. Linen yarn and cloth for bleaching came from Agents over a wide area, including Sunderland, Newcastle, Langholm, Annan, Whitehaven and Ulverston.

In about 1766 Bernard invented his horizontal flax wheel, an interesting reference may be found on the flyleaf of a book of poems in Carlisle Library, written by the inventor's grandson, Bernard Barton the Quaker poet:

Jane Christian Blamire: 16th April, 1837:
"In this book my beloved Mother was much pleased and interested on the evening of the 4th of March, 1837, sitting up later than her usual time and talking of the worth and great ability of old Barny Barton of Highead (Ivegill) the ancestor of the poet and inventor of the spinning jenny. On his invention Arkwright improved."

Whether or not there is any link with Arkwright we may never know; but the reference is curious. In practice Bernard's machine was different to other inventions of the day, insofar as its use was primarily to put people into work, gaining favour in particular for employing young girls.

The inventor's premature death in 1773, aged 45 years, deprived Carlisle of an ingenious manufacturer and his family of its breadwinner. John Barton, as the eldest son, assisted by the Trustees to his father's will, had little choice but to manfully take on the task of prosecuting Bernard's business for the benefit of his mother and her children.

Prior to his father's demise, and with his acquiescence, John was pursuing his studies with a view to qualifying "either for the Bar or the Pulpit". His preference for a studious rather than a mercantile career is well illustrated in this extract from a letter to Mr .Geo. Stather, written 4th July, 1774:

"I ever sat down to my ledger with a sort of constraint; I always perused a Locke, an Addison or a Pope with delight - and where my good friend shall we hope to be engaged with advantage but in that employment which is congenial to (the) mind".

John's initiation into the textile trade must have been traumatic. In 1772 he was still at school in Newcastle. Thrust into the textile trade in 1773 he was faced with difficult trading conditions. Following years of over-production in Britain the linen industry hit a slump, only to be followed in 1775 by a major labour dispute, when the following advertisement was placed in the Cumberland Pacquet by the five major textile manufacturing concerns in the City:

WEAVERS WANTED
ANY Number, acquainted with the Check, Stripe and Linen branches, may depend upon meeting with employment, and all due encouragement, by applying to Mr.Forster, Mr.Ferguson, Messrs .Jos. Stodart & Co., Mr. Robert Stodart, or Barton & Hodgson, Manufacturers in CARLISLE.
N.B. The weavers who have quitted our respective manufacturers having thought proper to assert, in an advertisement in the Newcastle Chronicle of the 22nd of July, that they were not able to earn more than 5s. 6d. per week, working 15 hours per day. We think it necessary to inform the public that, on a particular examination of their accounts, it appears that their constant wages throughout the year amount, on an average, from 7 to 8 shillings per week, clear of all deductions; and that some individuals amongst them have frequently earned from 10 to 12 shillings per week: nor it is necessary to work any such hours as they talk of, for earning the wages here mentioned.
We are ready to give full satisfaction, concerning this or any other particular, to those who may chuse to apply for work; and we hope this assurance of the falseness of their assertions (an assurance which shall be supported by indisputable evidence) will most effectually invalidate the aim of an advertisement, evidently calculated to deceive the public, and to deter other men from supplying the places they have inprudently left.
We will venture to further assure the public, that the lowness of their wages was not the real cause of the step they have taken; but they wished to avail themselves of a supposed extraordinary briskness of orders for the article, and hoped to FORCE their employers into a compliance with their unreasonable demands. As the bad consequences which such a conduct will ever be attended with in a manufacturing country must appear extremely evident to every person of discernment, it is hoped those who have been guilty of it, will meet the proper discouragement from the public in general, and from all MANUFACTURERS in particular.
ROBERT STODART BARTON & HODGSON JOHN FORSTER RICHARD FERGUSON Jos. STODART & Co.

The business (Barton & Hodgson, later to become Brumwell Barton & Co.) weathered the storm but failed to break John's resolve to gain release. His time at home was dominated by the factory, interspersed with business trips to Glasgow, Edinburgh, the North East and London. His Lancashire trips however he relished, since they afforded the opportunity to meet and converse with his friend and Attorney, William Roscoe the poet and founding father of the arts in Liverpool.

In 1782 John determined to effect a change in his circumstances. After selling his house in English Street he had removed, with his family, to London in early 1783, where he continued in the same business at 18 Milk Street. His early days in London proved to be a considerable success, crowned on 31st January, 1784, when his beloved wife Maria bore him a son. This child, later to gain recognition as the Quaker poet, is perhaps best remembered as a frequent correspondent with the essayist, Charles Lamb.

The joy of Bernard's birth was soon overshadowed by his grief at Maria's death on 1st March. Further stricken by the decease of his eighteen month old son on the 18th of the month from whooping cough, John suffered two hammer blows. Fortified by his faith he wrote to William Roscoe on the day of his son's passing:
"there is no other solid source of comfort and consolation but a firm persuasion in an all-wise, over-settling Providence, and a sincere well grounded belief that the supreme parent and Omnipotent Disposer of all things, has no other end in view but the happiness of his Creatures to whom he will not fail, in his own good time, to approve himself a Father whose tender mercies are over all his works He alone knoweth what is best for us, and will not fail, I humbly trust to cause all things finally to work together for our good".

London afforded John the long awaited opportunity to pursue those interests dear to his heart and to promote a more widespread appreciation and use of his father's horizontal wheel.

In 1786 a Mrs. Denward of Hardies Court, in Kent, was greatly interested in an article in the Kentish Gazette of October 1786, describing Bernard's wheel.

"The object of the invention is to furnish employment for poor children, especially girls at a very early age, and thereby enable them to contribute towards their support much sooner than otherwise they could do, for considerably less strength is required with this machine than with the spinning wheels in common use. This invention has also the merit of great simplicity and small expense. The machine is very little liable to get out of order, is easily repaired when it does so (if well made) and costs at first only about five pounds."
"....Mrs.Errington of Sandoe, near Hexham in Northumberland has had one of these machines for several years, which has been employed from the first much to her own honour, and much for the benefit of the poor children in her neighbourhood, to furnish suitable employment for whom was her sole object in procuring it. She buys flax for them herself, pays the children for spinning it and sells the yarn afterwards to such as have occasion to purchase that article.
She has also a number of common spinning wheels provided, on which the children are taught to spin after they have been employed for some time on the large machine, and so soon as they have strength to manage them, and being thus qualified to earn a subsistence for themselves, they are at length finally dismissed.
Surely such an example is highly worthy of imitation: and a plan like this has peculiar advantages to recommend it to those who have inclination to relieve the distressed. Much good is by this means done at a very small expense, and those to whom such relief is extended instead of being encouraged in idleness and indolence (the common and sometimes but too just an objection against mere pecuniary assistance) are early inured to habits of useful industry, as so far from remaining a burden to their families, and to society, they are happily rendered useful and profitable members of both.
Besides Mrs. Errington already mentioned, our correspondent informs us that the late Duchess of Northumberland, the Lady Darlington and the Earl of Surrey (now Duke of Norfolk) all of them had Mr. Barton's spinning machine for the benefit of the poor in their respective neighbourhoods; but he has mentioned Mrs. Errington's more particularly as having been more fully informed of the manner in which this lady's has been employed".

The information contained in the article was quickly relayed by Mrs. Denward to her friend Sarah Trimmer, the authoress and philanthropist. Mrs. Trimmer was deeply interested in the education of the poor and ranks alongside Robert Raikes in the promotion of Sunday Schools. The difficulties experienced in the Sunday Schools coping with large numbers of children who had spent the weekdays wandering the streets increased Sarah's resolve to establish schools of industry.

In this, Sarah's enthusiasm was matched by that of Mrs. Denwood, who wrote (26th December, 1786):

"my second reason for intruding on you is this, the wheel is daily in my thoughts, and on reflection I think I have been niggardly, as at first setting off unforeseen expenses will occur, the wheel I suppose will be large, which with the addition of twelve girls, will require a spacious room, dry and airy for their healths sake, I therefore enclose half a note, and will send you the remainder another time, wishing you to procure a store room or some out building in a garden for the purpose"

Two weeks later Mrs. Denward, now well over seventy years of age, wrote again of her enthusiasm for the wheel:

"Second hint. The inhabitants of almost every parish complain of the hight rates of their poor cesses (rates) if they would be at the expense of erecting one of the ingenious Mr. Barton's wheels in every parish, would they not soon find their account in it; for if the poor children earn but 2d. or 3d. a day each, it would be an object at the year's end sufficient to clothe them, or at least to find them in linen; they can never want work, as spinning can never be out of fashion, and in the seaport towns spinning coarse threads for sailors would be a continual employment for them.
I have spun out this scrawl to a good length, if my dear madam, you have the patience to read it through I must beg the favour of you to put it in the fire, as I hope you do all my other scrawls, for really I am not fit to correspond, quite superannuated, but my zeal for the cause and your unbounded goodness will I hope please excuse for the defects of dear Madam,
Your affectionate humble servant, E. Denward"

The School of Industry, using Bernard Barton's wheel, established at Old Brentford, became famous and a model for countless others. Apparently King George III was very interested in schools of industry and visited the Brentford establishment. It appears that Queen Charlotte was also keen to see the wheel and a 'Royal Demonstration' was arranged as reported in the Cumberland Pacquet in September 1787.

"A spinning wheel of peculiar construction, invented by the late Mr. Bernard Barton of Carlisle, has been introduced into Old Brentford, in order to employ some of the poor children belonging to the Sunday Schools in that place. This machine was on the 30th ult. (by the Queen's Command) removed into a room in Kew Palace, where the little spinsters had the honour of exhibiting their proficiency, in the presence of their Majesties and the Princess Royal, who condescended to encourage them to persevere in habits of industry, by every mark of Royal benevolence, and expressed the highest approbation of the exertions that are now making in different parts of the Kingdom, for the reformation of the lower class of people.
The Spinning Machine, invented by the late Mr. Barton, is likely to come into general use in the South of England. The Queen has ordered one to be made for Windsor, and another for Richmond, and several of the Nobility and gentry propose following the Royal example in having these machines employed for the benefit of the poor in their respective neighbourhoods. The King has also given orders to have some of them made to send to Hanover".

In the following year, 1788, John Barton sent a model of the wheel together with a description to the Royal Society of Arts, who included it in the catalogue of models and machines for 1788. Whilst living in London, John became actively involved with the Quaker movement to abolish the Slave Trade, being a member of Thomas Clarkson's National Committee, established in 1787.

As the wheel has so obviously been forgotten in Carlisle it may be relevant to mention that about that time the rapidly growing Calico industry provided fairly full employment in the city. By using children as assistants to colour in the pieces for stamping a husband and wife could double their income.

The economic success of the schools of industry may be fairly questioned. However, the efforts of Sarah Trimmer and others established an early pattern of systematic technical education. The problems of the poor unemployed were drawn to the attention of the Nation in a way which could not be ignored. Thus the wheel helped in a small way to create the climate for further improvements in the lot of the working classes.

Surrounded by whirring bobbins and chattering looms, Bernard spent much of his time and energy developing his Manufactury. Clearly however he devoted a fair portion of each for the benefit of the underprivileged through the devising of the wheel.

John's further promotion of the invention and his subsequent contribution to the abolition of the slave trade reflects a philanthropy parallel to that of his father.
They passed away 'still achieving still pursuing' -(Longfellow)

THE ORIGINAL WHEEL

Bernard Barton's horizontal flax wheel was simple in conception; consisting of a fixed outer rim, inside which revolved the 5' 7" diameter driving wheel. Twelve flyer mechanisms (referred to as 'bobbins') positioned round the fixed rim were each independently engaged by lowering onto the leather rim on the surface of the driving wheel. The whirler, a small wheel attached to each flyer mechanism, caused the bobbin to rotate. Each bobbin could be stopped by engaging a wedge which lifted the whirler clear of the driving wheel. By disengaging the wedge the weight of each flyer caused re-engagement.

The base of the bobbin consists of a fixed part and a part which can be raised from the fixed rim 'K'. When the wedge 'P' is pulled out, the pin 'T' in the side of the bobbin base is raised, lifting that part of the base. Thus the whirler 'H' is raised and disengaged from the leather rim of the driving wheel 'D'.

Writing to the Royal Society of Arts in 1788, John Barton stated that "the whole may be turned by a grown girl or infirm old person that is unfit for hard labour".
A crank at the centre is connected by rope to a pulling handle which was generally suspended by cords from the ceiling or upper part of the room. Each bobbin was retarded by a string brake which, by adjustment, achieved a variable differential between flyer and bobbin speeds. This allowed variation in the speed at which thread was wound on to each bobbin.

Bernard Barton's wheel is an interesting piece in the jigsaw of textile machinery. Its origins are uncertain but it may well have links with two other early inventions:
* "These are the cotton spinning machine which Paul and Wyatt patented in 1738 and again in 1758 but failed to make work. This in turn seems to have its origins in the silk throwing machine which the Lombes imported from Italy and installed in a water-powered mill at Derby around 1710. Pictures of this type of machine date back to 1607. All these machines have the same feature of a large horizontal wheel driving through friction at its rim a number of flyers and bobbins. On the silk throwing machines, the silk strands are wound on to the bobbins on another machine, and on the throwing machine are pulled off the bobbins, twisted by the flyer and wound on to hank reels above. It is stated that one of the Peels experimented in Lancashire with a Paul and Wyatt machine and also failed with it, but it could suggest an interesting route from Paul in Birmingham to Barton in Cumbria".
* Personal communication from Dr. Richard L. Hills, Curator, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE REPLICA OF BERNARD BARTON'S WHEEL

The construction of the wheel was a superb team effort involving Robert Fallis, Maurice Smith and Ron Harness of Lincolnshire. Additional facilities were provided by local wood working and metal-working firms. Much encouragement was given by Jean Fallis, the Lindum Guild and many friends before that unforgettable day in 1983 when the first few yards of thread were spun on Bernard Barton's wheel.

The colossal time spent planning, experimenting and building the machine is well reflected in the excellence of the completed replica. The following account was written by Robert Fallis:

I PLANS
"The plans are in no sense working drawings and the wheel as at present constructed is an informed reconstruction rather than a precise copy. The task of providing clear drawings was undertaken by Mr. Ron Harness. In the plans there are no clear details of joints used, there is no indication of the shape or the size of the distaffs beyond the indication that they fitted into circular holes in the frame. The original plans for the flyers state that they are full size drawings but by comparing them with the list of measurements I realised that they were a half size reduction.

II METAL
The metal on the originals would have been worked by the local blacksmith in iron. I dispensed with the services of the local blacksmith and used mild steel with welded joints Modern screws are used throughout and the bearings in which the wheel runs are phosphor bronze. I suspect the original bearings were just an iron bar driven through the oak frame and well greased.

III WOOD
There is no indication in any of the literature pertaining to the wheel as to the wood type used in its construction. The area around Carlisle and Ivegill was ancient Royal Hunting Forest and a wide range of deciduous hard woods, oak, ash, and beech would have been available to Bernard Barton. We know too that Baltic Fir (pitch pine) was imported locally to Whitehaven from advertisements in the local press of the time. I felt that oak was the more stable wood in modern central heating. Oak has been used in the construction of ships, English wood with a good straight grain is prohibitively priced. The final choice therefore was Japanese oak. I used mahogany for the bobbin centres as its finer grain allows for more accurate boring of the centre.

IV WHEEL CONSTRUCTION
The original plans show twelve spokes joining into the central pillar. However, as we constructed the wheel with a hexagonal centre post we could find no way of joining in twelve spokes and so opted for an eight spoke wheel. The wheel construction appears to be unique for this era in that the rim rests flat on the spokes as opposed to having a rim into which the spokes fit as in a cart or conventional spinning wheel. Inset into the outside rim of the wheel is a band of leather to provide friction between the wheel and the flyers.

V FRAME CONSTRUCTION
The greatest concession to modern practice comes in the construction of the frame which is made to take to pieces in order that it can be easily transported. Bernard Barton's wheels were probably made solid and transported on a flat cart. The cross pieces are of permanent construction in order to strengthen the bearings. They fit into the posts by a simple bridle-joint and the whole frame is tightened together by fitting the outside rim which supports the flyers. The construction of the wheel and the frame was under taken by Mr. Maurice Smith.

VI FLYER CONSTRUCTION
One of the first decisions to be made in the construction of the flyers was whether there was some means of removing the bobbin from the flyer or whether they were permanently fitted. In the drawings they appear to be permanently fitted, however I followed modern practice and made them removable. The relationship between the curve of the flyer and the bobbin size is crucial. If the bobbin is too large it does not fit the flyer and causes drag. The front posts of the flyer are a simple pusn fit and the smooth working of the wheel depends on the height of the bobbin which is adjustable by this push fit. Adjustment of this height is assisted by a small piece of linen thread which I feel was probably Mr. Barton's solution. The tensioning is achieved by a friction break of linen thread on both sides of the bobbin. I originally made the bearings a precise fit and discovered that they would not work until I loosened them off. The wedge device for lifting the flyer from the rim of the wheel is more complicated than at first appears. The height and the slope of the wedge is critical. If the wedge is too high at the front the flyer does not engage and if it is too low at the rear the flyer does not disengage.

VII FINAL ADJUSTMENTS
In her book, Mrs. Trimmer states that difficulty was experienced in making the wheels work. She was not alone in this, as we also had many difficulties to overcome, once the whole construction was assembled. I tested the flyers individually by holding them against my wife's Louet wheel rim while she treddled, and so knew that they worked in principle. We found the height adjustment of the outer rim difficult to maintain and some of the flyers had to be raised. The pieces of brass wire, not on the original drawings, prevent the entire flyer assembly from coming forward and dropping out of the back bearing as the spinner draws out her thread. These are but a few of the final adjustments".
Robert Fallis

THE LINEN INDUSTRY
Although the large scale manufacture of linen began in the 18th Century, the use of flax to provide linen for domestic use was an ancient practice.
Proverbs - "The virtuous woman is one in a thousand. She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands. She layeth her hands to the spindle, her hands hold the distaff. She maketh fine linen and selleth it".

Linen may have been traded here by the Phoenicians; it was certainly known to the Romans in Britain. At the time of the Norman Conquest, there is little evidence of anything other than manufacture at a domestic level. Edward III encouraged Flemish linen weavers to settle here; by 1386 a Linen Weavers Guild was established, only to fail due to pressure from the Weavers Company. Through succeeding centuries a modest level of production of coarse linen was achieved with fine yarn and material being imported from the Continent.

Commercial linen manufacture grew rapidly in the 18th Century, receiving considerable stimulus from bounties (export subsidies) for a considerable period. A further boost came with an Act in 1746, requiring all ships built in Britain or America to be furnished with sails made of new cloth manufactured in Britain.
During the 18th Century the appearance of imported cotton goods caused a deal of alarm in the linen and woollen industries.
Pressure from the home interests resulted in legislation passed in 1721, making it illegal to weave or sell calico on pain of a levy or fine. By 1736 calico could be woven provided that a linen warp was used and by 1784 all restrictions on calico were removed to pave the way for 'King Cotton'.

Linen and flax are generally associated with Ireland (North) and the East of Scotland (Forfar). It may be surprising that in the 18th Century the manufacture of finished linen in England was greater than the combined production of Scotland and Ireland. Yorkshire (Leeds) was the main centre of the English Linen industry.
Writing in 1776 on the origins of the linen industry, Thomas Pennant, the traveller recounts:
"I cannot ascertain the time when the linen industry arose. There could not be a great call for the commodity a century and a half ago when the people of fashion scarcely changed their shirts above once a week in England. But thanks to the luxury, or rather the neatness of the times, this article has become a most national advantage".

Much of the linen yarn spun cheaply in Ireland was shipped to England for manufacture. Expansion of production created an imbalance between weavers and spinners.
In Guests' History of Cotton Manufacture, the author notes: "It is no uncommon thing for a weaver to walk three or four miles in a morning and call on five or six spinners before he could collect enough weft to serve him for the rest of the day. When he wished a piece in a shorter time than usual a new ribbon or gown was necessary to quicken the exertions of the spinner".

Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, and so it proved. Hargreaves, Arkwright, and later, Crompton, revolutionised spinning particularly in the cotton industry.
Although by the 1780's mechanised spinning of cotton was well established, this was not true of flax.

Kendrew and Porthouse of Darlington mechanised flax spinning in 1787 but could only produce coarse thread. The problem lay in the fact that the fibres in the stem of the flax plant were bound together by pectin. Hand spinners could produce a thread five or six times as fine as that produced by machines. By the 1820's however the application of water to soften the pectin allowed a satisfactory separation of the fibres. With the advent of wet spinning, the advantage of hand work was finally eliminated. At about the same time power loom weaving for linen also became widespread.

Although a wide range of linens was produced in England much of the trade in the Border area, including Carlisle, was based on coarse materials. The main product appears to have been 'Osnaburgh' linen, the origin of which is interesting.

In 1738 a weaver in, or near, Arbroath had flax which was unfit for the kind of cloth normally marketed. He made it into a web and offered it to a merchant as a piece on which he would be willing to lose something. The merchant had been in Germany and remarked on the similarity of the Arbroath weaver's cloth to that of Osnaburgh (Osnabruck). He urged the weaver to make more which he reluctantly agreed to do. From this interesting beginning a major sector of linen manufacture quickly developed.

Linen based materials are generally long lasting. Smooth and lustrous, they respond excellently to laundering and, although absorbent, they dry out quickly. Linen based products include canvas and carpet backing, towelling, curtains, upholstery, clothing, sheets and a wide range of table ware, as well as handkerchiefs.

FLAX

Flax is an annual plant grown in a wide range of temperate and sub-tropical conditions for either linen fibres or the seed (Linseed). Generally reaching a height of about a yard, the flax plant yields three to seven hundredweights of fibre per acre.

When grown in hot climates, bulk is produced at the expense of fineness. In Britain the combination of showers and sunshine, combined with good husbandry, traditionally has produced high quality fibres. A non-exhaustive crop to the soil, flax proved useful in crop rotations.

Traditionally grown, the flax crop was often hand weeded before the plants were six inches high. The weeder was recommended not to wear clogs or shoes with nails in to avoid plant damage. By working with face into the wind the pressure on the flax allowed the wind to blow it back up again. The stage for harvesting was critical, being between flower fall and seed ripening. The crop was pulled in order to harvest the whole length of the fibres and bound in loose sheaves. The seed could be removed by rippling (combing) before the fibres were watered or retted. Retting could best be done in a pond or river by layering the sheaves one deep, like roofing tiles, and covering with straw or turf sods. After one or two weeks fermentation the sheaves were removed from the water. The timing of this removal was critical and very skilled. An alternative to retting in water was dew retting. This involved spreading the flax straw out on a cut sward (grassing) for about ten days.

After retting, the partially fermented bundles were dried before being put into a flax break, a hand operated guillotine to break the woody outer layers of the stem. Subsequent scutching (beating) freed the fibres. Hackling (combing) out the long fibres completed the preparation for spinning.

The high labour requirement associated with growing, harvesting and processing reduced the popularity of flax in Britain.

By 1939, 83 acres were recorded in Scotland, with 4,000 acres in England and Wales and 21,000 acres in Northern Ireland. By 1944, the war situation had stimulated increases to 8,000; 65,000 and 125,000 acres respectively. Since the war the crop virtually disappeared from Britain, although in the last few years an experiment in flax growing has been conducted on several farms in Angus in the East of Scotland.