A group from North Bovey recently enjoyed a fun wet felting workshop with Claire Packer from Buckland Abbey to make bunting from wool, all in fabulous Dartmoor colours. This was the start of making a wall- hanging to use for village events. Bunting was originally a specific type of lightweight worsted wool fabric manufactured from the turn of the 17th century and used as signal flags, so it seemed appropriate as part of the Parishscapes North Bovey - History of Wool project.
The project is looking at the wool industry which was key on Dartmoor for centuries and for much of the time it was a family cottage industry including carding, spinning and weaving and has already had workshops in these ancient skills. There was a woollen mill at Blackaller in the village from 1799 to 1839 producing a cloth called serge and a look at the Parish records shows inhabitants involved in the trade and a look at the Indictable Offences shows some residents of the Parish were punished for wool related crimes! Woad, madder and weld are being grown on the village allotment ready for the next workshop on dyeing.
For more information contact Emma Stockley, Community Heritage Officer emma@moorthanmeetstheeye.org
