COTTAGES, ATTICS and WORKSHOPS.. 

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A journey from west to east visiting eighteen of Lymm's fustian cutting locations 

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Very little survives today to show the scale of the fustian trade in Lymm during the Victorian era . Church Road and Arley Grove are the only remaining three storey terraces.

In the early days, up to the 1840s,  work would often  have been done  in  homes on shorter five or six foot frames.  As early as 1841 there were 120+ cutters in Lymm.  As the trade grew so did the number of purpose built workshops. 

Some of these were open plan attics in three storey terraces. Others were two storey “factories” like the one still standing at West Hyde.

These workplaces were dirty and  dusty,  On a sunny day  they were well lit but on dark nights they relied on the cutters’ candles for light. The cutters even had to pay for the coal on the fire.

 At the trade’s peak in the second half of the nineteenth century there were at least thirty workshops employing 600+ people The largest held 50+ people.

On our west to east tour  you will see images and stories of around eighteen of the original workshops.

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Download the complete trail below ...