Weaving in Late Fourteenth-Century Yorkshire: An Early Example of Proto-Industrialisation?

In 1399 an inquisition considered infringements of the York weavers' guild monopoly over weaving coloured and striped woollen cloths within the county of Yorkshire. It detailed the nature and extent of rural cloth-making in Yorkshire at the close of the fourteenth century, a period recently identified as one of significant transition within the national economy. The inquisition provides an invaluable insight into the spatial distribution of the weavers, the volume of their production and its seasonal nature. The important roles played by women and immigrants within this industry are also illuminated through this document. Geographically, weaving was spread across much of the central part of the county. The inquisition reveals a pattern of production that was predominantly small-scale, of limited duration, and of limited output. The evidence provided by the inquisition offers a rare opportunity to examine proto-industrialisation within a late-medieval context.