Lace and Bobbin making
Lace Making
In the latter part of the 19th century lace-making in Deanshanger was a thriving cottage industry, undertaken by women and girls mainly to supplement men’s earnings. The 1851 census lists no less than 37 lace makers. Eventually by the end of the century the competition from cheaper machine-made lace resulted in economic hardship for many as the industry declined Also skills were gradually lost as young girls were expected to attend school under the 1870 Elementary Education Act.
Bobbin Making
Various Kelly's Directories list wood turning businesses in the 19th Century, but there is no direct mention of bobbin making. Deanshanger can boast of two famous bobbin makers, who spanned the greater part of the 19th century, Jesse Compton and his son James. The quality of their distinctive trait of spiral inscriptions along the bobbin’s body was rarely matched by other makers and their combined output was prolific. Examples of their work are in several Museum Collections, notably Bedford, Luton, Aylesbury & Northampton.
Jesse Compton, son of a farmer, was born in Wiltshire in 1793. In 1817,aged 24, he moved to Lincolnshire but fell upon hard times and was escorted out of the County as a vagrant. He finally ended up at Hanslope where he met and married Catherine and they moved to Deanshanger. Jesse first undertook work as a hawker and a labourer and it's not until 1838 that records list him as a bobbin maker on his 5th child’s baptism certificate.
His bobbins are of a delicate and intricate style bearing inscriptions mostly of every day mottoes which spiral around the length of the bobbin body. He also decorated them with insets of good quality pewter; sadly not many bobbins have pewter remains intact. He was a prolific bobbin maker and began making high quality bobbins of wood and bone in the 1820s. Lace was at its most popular during the 1830s and 40s, thus Jesse was able to earn a sustainable income from his work. Jesse died 14th January 1857 and had declared himself as a turner in his will, written in 1849.
James Compton, born in 1824, was the eldest son of Jesse and Catherine’s six children. Unlike his father James declared himself a turner and bobbin maker throughout his working life. He married Elizabeth Andrews on 26th December 1845 and they went on to have six children.
James, taught by his father, made bobbins in a similar creative style to Jesse’s but his were larger and had thicker bodies, no doubt in response to the trend of lace makers using thicker threads. However he went on develop his own distinctive designs with many of his bobbins also bearing inscriptions but mainly for those commissioned to commemorate family events and special occasions. His market was the many lace makers in the Buckingham area and he regularly walked to the town to sell his bobbins. It’s reported that as a wager James once drank a pint of beer in The Beehive and then walked to Buckingham and drank his second pint, all in the space of one hour.
Further reading with information and images of bobbins “Success to the Lace Pillow” by Christine & David Springett
ISBN 0 9517157 5 5