What was a Black Starcher? Castle Cary Area

[Rena]

Whenever you buy certain materials or clothes it's noticeable after they've been washed that the fabrics are rather more "limp" than when they was first bought.  This is because it has been "finished" or "starched".

When I surfed the web, I found a few students discussing how to get black starch results from leaves.  When wet, starch is a gluey sticky type of liquid, which when applied to a fabric ultimately stiffens the fabric when it dries.   Potatoes contain a variety of starch = "black starch"

Have you found the 4 minute video of how they process horse hair fabrics.  Unfortunately it doesn't say if the liquid they dip the horsehair into contains starch.   (video at bottom right of this webpage):  http://www.johnboydtextiles.co.uk/

[Groves]

Black Starcher is the person that dyes the horse hair for weaving. I have just visited the only Horse Hair weaving factory left in the UK, it is in Castle Cary. Visiting can be arranged by phone. +44(0)1963 350451 (www.johnboydtextiles.co.uk)  The horse hair has to be dyed black to even the shade of the hair, as the tail hair lightens further down the length. Then dyed into other colours. Fascinating.

[Rena]

All this talk of horse hair is making me itch.  When I was young many of my relatives had cushion seats stuffed with horsehair and if the seat was covered in furnishing fabric the horsehair used to poke through like bristles on a brush.

[Jed59]

Just reminded me that a few of years ago we went to the Black country Living Museum in Dudley (was a rootschat meet) . Amongst the exhibits  was a cinema as it would have been in the early 20th century,..black and white, Charlie chaplin etc ;  and the man explained why  they were known as "fleapits" ..seems its because the  "posh" seats (cheap seats just benches)   were stuffed wth horsehair, and  one job was to go round putting flea powder  down!

[Skoosh]

Scottish fishing villages used to send off for combed horsehair to make into the droppers on long-lines which held the hundreds of hooks. This hair was specifically not to come from mares as the urine apparently made the hair brittle.
 You still see "Line-Caught Haddock" advertised here but who uses the long-lines in Scotland nowadays?

 I also remember the jaggy bits of horsehair in the seats Rena, the hair was covered by a kind of canvas which supposedly prevented the hair ends poking through.

Skoosh.

[Groves]

my ancestors were George and Mary Ann Groves who worked as a Black Starcher in the Horse hair weaving factory at Castle Cary (1841 census). I am finding this web site difficult to work and unable to reply to messages directly.

[etiolation]

Hi Groves. =)

Thank you for the response; it looks like we do share a family! Their children were James, Elizabeth, Mary, William, Jane, Caroline and George? =)

If you would like to reply to my message directly there should be a link in the top right of the initial message that I sent you.

- Jess

[goldie61]

Hi Groves

"I am finding this web site difficult to work and unable to reply to messages directly".

if you mean you can't send a Personal Message to somebody, it's because you have to have made three 'posts' on the site before you can send a Personal Message (PM).
If you look under your name on the left of this page, it will show you have only made 2 posts - so just write another - anything! - and you'll be good to go!