Page 7 - The Long Crendon Connection

The Long Crendon Connection Redditch Heritage

Needles, Redditch and The Long Crendon Connection

The Humble Needle

Even a small thing like a needle has had a role in the history of humans. In the History of Redditch
the humble needle plays a very important part. However, there is much more to the story of the
needle and how Redditch dominated the supply of needles in the 19th century, producing over
95% of the worlds needs. This booklet is a collection of some of the key elements in that story
collected together from various sources, but first some facts and history about the hand sewing
needle:
● The first sewing needles were made from bone and were used to sew animal hides together.
The oldest known bone ones were found in what is now southwestern France and has been
estimated to be over 25,000 years old.
● Needles made from copper, silver and bronze were used in ancient Egypt.
● The oldest iron needle known was found in what is now Germany, and dates back to the 3rd
century B.C.E.
● Bookbinders and shoemakers used ones made from hog bristles in the Middle Ages.

● Native Americans used porcupine quills and the pointed end of agave leaves for sewing needles.
The fibres of the agave leaf were also used for thread.

● Metal needle making was perfected by Muslims in Spain in the 11th century. Spanish Muslims
were some of the most knowledgeable medical doctors in the world at the time, and had
perfected many surgical techniques that required needles for suturing.
● When the Muslims were driven out of Spain in the 15th century, they took the knowledge of
needle making with them to Arab lands. Muslims returned to making them, and Arab traders
took them to Europe.
● Europe learned the art of needle making from Arab needle makers, and it came to England
in the 17th century. Before this time, metal needles were made in Europe by the local
blacksmith, and resulted in very crude needles.

● The knowledge of needle making was also used to make fish hooks in England. The country
became well known for high quality fish hooks as well as sewing needles in the middle of the
17th century.
● Metal needles were handcrafted before the industrial age. The process began with cutting wire
long enough to make two needles. Then points were ground on either end of the wire, the
wire was flattened in the middle and eyes punched out. The needles were then separated.
This operation is still followed today, but machines now do the work instead of humans.
● Around 1850 needle making machines began producing needles and turned needle making
from a cottage industry into an industry done in factories. By 1866 there were 100 million
needles being made in England a year.
● The English town and district of Redditch in central England became the centre of the world's
needle production in the 19th century. The craftsmanship of the needles made there was so
great that a foreign manufacturer sent a hypodermic needle to Redditch claiming that it was
smaller than Redditch needle makers could produce. The needle was sent back to the
manufacturer with a needle made by Redditch craftsman so small that it fit inside the foreign
manufacturer's!

Source: Facts from "The Origins Of Every Day Things" for more articles:
http://originsofthings.blogspot.com/ The Worshipful Company of Needlemakers
- Short History

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