Thomas Wardle & Co. Thomas Wardle (1831-1909), a knowledgeable dye chemist, is credited with changing the face of silk dyeing and printing in the late nineteenth century. Born into a silk dyeing family, his father Joshua Wardle (1802-1879) based his dye works at Leekbrook, Staffordshire, where he was famed for producing a raven black dye, the bluest black then available. Thomas Wardle set up his own company in 1872, at the Hencroft Works in Leek, Staffordshire, which was strategically situated on the banks of the river Churnet. The plentiful supply and good quality of the river water was a vital element of the many processes undertaken. He swiftly gained a reputation for the high quality of the goods his small company produced.
Generally, the business acted as commission printers and dyers for a number of notable clients. They converted ‘grey’ cloth and skeins of yarn using diverse dyeing, printing and finishing processes. Different methods of production were employed according to the requirements of a particular product, and the Wardle pattern books at the Whitworth Art Gallery clearly show how dye recipes were adapted over time according to the type of cloth, dyestuffs available and market forces.
Wardle continued to hand-print silk with wood blocks as that technique gave him
maximum flexibility, but he was not against modern technology and used roller printing and synthetic dyes where appropriate (T.14009, T.14011 & T.14012). The same design could be produced using different processes, cloths and colourways according to the demands of his clients. At any one time the dye workshops were busy with steaming vats of different colours, and the print tables covered with various patterns, all with specific requirements for a range of customers.
To maintain high standards the company constantly monitored its supply chain and product development was a major part of daily activities. Wardle’s research into India’s wild silks and natural dyestuffs at the Hencroft site brought him international fame and many accolades (Tussur Silk).
In 1881 Wardle’s son Arthur joined him in the company and T. & A. Wardle, a large dyeing and finishing plant (later Sir T. & A. Wardle to acknowledge Thomas’s knighthood), was established at the Churnet Works on the riverside. The site was close to the Hencroft Works, which, from 1896, was leased by Bernard and Tom Wardle, Thomas’s younger sons. However, the site proved to be too small for them and Hencroft Works was closed in 1908. Wardle had various business partners during his lifetime and the various branches of the company specialised in different processes (Wardle Family Companies). By the mid-twentieth century the combined company was the largest independent dye works in Britain.
Wardle & Co.’s products and clients
Wardle & Co. traded on its flexibility and was organised so that the specialised business of smallscale dyeing and printing with vegetable dyes continued alongside large-batch production. Clients varied; bulk orders from the Admiralty were vital for their economies of scale, while the more challenging, but smaller, artistic ranges provided the skilled workforce with greater creative opportunities.
Locally produced plain and figured silks, silk plush and velveteen were dyed in the piece and printed along with imported silk cloths from India. Silk embroidery yarns, sewing thread and braids were transformed alongside linen, challis, cotton cloth, and hanks of wool for carpets.
Converted from their initial
‘grey’ state, they emerged from the dye vats and printing tables transformed by rich, jewel tones and were much in demand for late Victorian interiors and clothing.
It was at the Hencroft Works that the most challenging print work was undertaken. Between 1875-77 Wardle and William Morris took over two workshops there for their experimental work (Thomas Wardle and William Morris); this involved dyeing and printing with natural dyestuffs. Wardle also block-printed designs by leading figures in the Arts and Crafts movement: Lindsay P. Butterfield, Walter Crane, Lewis F. Day, Jessie M.
Block-printed silk designed by Léon V. Solon, 1893
King, Sydney Mawson, Cecil Millar, Edmond G. Reuter, John D. Sedding, Léon V. Solon and Charles F. Annesley Voysey all had their designs turned into textiles, many of which were sold through Liberty and other prestigious retailers (Designers working for Wardle & Co.).
During the late 1870s the company was a major supplier of dyed and printed textiles to Arthur L. Liberty (Wardle & Co. and Liberty). Liberty’s Regent Street store displayed Wardle’s ‘Art Colours’, which became a flagship product for the retailer. Dyed and printed Indian silks became a mainstay for both businesses and attracted a great deal of public attention.
A series of ‘Mysore Silks’, for
example, were produced for Liberty’s Art Fabrics range. HandMoultan May Flower, four colour paper proof
woven in India the soft silks were hand-block printed in Leek.
Patterns had names evocative of India and the Far East and many show Indian influences, such as Moultan May Flower, an all-over scrolling pattern that required four wood blocks to print (T.14007,
pp.1-4).
Products
of
Wardle’s
years
of
experimentation with India’s silks and dyestuffs, the lightweight silks were suitable for clothing and extremely popular with consumers.
The company developed a successful range of printed cotton velvets, such as Manchester Indian, which were fashionable fabrics for interiors (T.14007, pp.123-4).
Ajanta (T.14007,
pp.207-8), a design developed by Thomas Wardle from an Ajanta ceiling painting, was successful as both a printed velvet and embroidery.
Other patterns, such as Papaver, were
adapted from historical sources (Historical sources of Wardle patterns) either viewed in European museum collections or
Ajanta, block-printed cotton velvet, 1883
inspired by illustrations in publications such as Friedrich Fishbach’s Ornamente der Gewebe, an illustrated historical survey of decorative textiles (T.14008, p.5&6).
Wardle’s son Thomas
regularly supplied designs, including some for embroidery.
Silk, linen, cotton and velvet were all printed at Hencroft Works with patterns ready to be embroidered (Leek Embroidery Society) (T.14007, p.64). Some designs for embroidery were adaptations of all-over designs retailed as printed fabric; designs could be modified and produced as narrow strips to be used as embroidered borders, such as Lotus Border (T.14007, p.9-10). A number were, additionally, produced as wallpapers.
Wardle’s shop at 71 New Bond Street, London, was an outlet for his products, with Leek embroidery being given a prominent place. He also supplied the Aesthetic Gallery in New Bond Street, which specialised in retailing ‘artistic’ English fabrics, Harrods and Storys (Wardle & Co.: getting fabrics to the consumer).
The company frequently exhibited their goods at major
international and Arts and Crafts exhibitions and received many accolades and prizes for their products.
By Dr Brenda King