Tenterground
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2009) |
A tenterground, tenter ground or teneter-field was an area used for drying newly manufactured cloth after
It is from this process that some have the expression "
There were tentergrounds wherever cloth was made, and as a result the word "tenter" is found in place names throughout the United Kingdom and its empire, for example several streets in Spitalfields, London[1] and Tenterfield House in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, which in turn gave its name to Tenterfield in New South Wales, Australia.[2]
London
The Spitalfields Tenterground was established in the 17th century by
It was originally[3] 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
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 Huguenot chapel. Another former Huguenot chapel is now a mosque.
The 1520 (early Tudor) map of london in layersoflondon.org shows a strip of land marked Tenter ground, between Cripplegate and Moorgate, with another behind The Bell Inn, immediately to the north
References
- ^ Approximate centroid of North-, South-, West-, and East- Tenter Street, and Tenter Passage, in Spitalfields, London: 51°30′45″N 0°04′18″W / 51.51251°N 0.07159°W
- ^ "Town blaze makes news Down Under". East Lothian Courier. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, and Borough of Southwark, London, 1746
- ^ The London magazine; or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer, Volume 25, London, 1756, p.564