Weaving Heritage
OUR HISTORIC MILLS
Let’s make weaving thrive again!
When you wrap-up in a throw from The British Blanket Company, you’ll feel history and heritage woven into every strand. The journey begins with beautiful natural wool at one of our three historic mills in Wales, Yorkshire and Ireland, where traditional weaving looms have been running for generations.
We want to create cosy blankets that are as authentic as they are beautiful. Our signature style mixes together fresh colours with archive patterns and influences from traditional Welsh blankets. These are traditional blankets for contemporary homes. Thank you for choosing to buy British and help our precious weaving industry to thrive.
THE HISTORY OF WEAVING
Britain’s wool industry in a nutshell
Since medieval times, wool was at the heart of Britain’s thriving economy. From the sheep farmers on the hillsides, to the weavers in the mills and the tailors in their workshops, wool cloth made in England, Wales and Ireland was considered the best in the world.
The Industrial Revolution saw another boom in weaving, with vast woollen mills in Yorkshire and Lancashire employing thousands of people up until the late 1950s. Sadly, the weaving industry in England has since declined and many mills closed as production moved overseas. Today, just a handful remain. The mills that make our blankets are the last of their kind, still weaving the finest wool cloth as they have for generations.
A LOCAL LEGEND
Was the blanket invented in Bristol?
This might just be true! The blanket is thought to be named after Thomas Blanquette, a Flemish weaver who lived in Bristol in the 14th century. Before that, people would sleep under mounds of animal skins. Thomas pioneered a heavy woollen cloth, the eponymous ‘blanket’, and soon grew his small workshop into a thriving enterprise.
Whether or not the legend is true, we love the idea that the blanket was invented in our home city of Bristol. We hope Thomas Blanquette would be proud to see The British Blanket Company bringing his invention to life in this creative and colourful city he called home.