ONBOARD WHITBY SHIPS: 1720s to 1770s
– Textile Trade via European Countries and North America

A substantial number of preserved 18th century documents give information about textile material in connection with the shipping trade in Whitby. All this evidence was an essential part of my research for the publication The Textile History of Whitby 1700-1914 to open up a more comprehensive geographical understanding of a small town along the Yorkshire coast. These early writings lighten anything from describing sails and clothes in diaries to importing fabric from overseas, garments salvaged from shipwrecks, muster rolls, insurance policies and freight books. Some of the earliest written sources will be presented in this essay, assisted by a selection of contemporary images to further emphasise the exchange of goods – like printed handkerchiefs, linen, velvets and figured silks – transported on ships via the local coastal trade, to London, towards the Baltic Sea and over the Atlantic Ocean.

This somewhat later harbour view gives a detailed understanding of the importance of River Esk for all transports and goods arriving and leaving by sailing ships via the North Sea. ’Whitby old draw bridge... in 1833’. (Collection: Whitby Museum, Library & Archive, Plans and Views of Whitby, 769.942.74.) Photo: Viveka Hansen, The IK Foundation.

The earliest material comes from a document named ‘Coasters into Whitby 1729-1735’, a time when all kinds of goods were brought by sea to Whitby from other British ports. Many of these items, including cloth unloaded in Whitby, had been imported from other countries. The descriptions given are so detailed that they sometimes reveal the place of origin: ‘Yorkshire linen cloth, Russian linen, German linen, Hambro. Linen, English Printed handkerchiefs & Ozenbriggs linen’. In other words, it was mainly linen cloth of various origins, but it was not only linen that these ships carried. For example, a coaster arrived on 13 September 1731 with the following textiles in its cargo: 

• 8 yds cambrick [cambric]
• 250 ells Russia linen
• 18 ells printed handkerchiefs 16 yds shagg [shag]
• 35 yds druggit [drugget]
• 90 yds callamanco [calamanco]
• 38 yds cambrick [cambric]
• 20 yds buckram’ 

These goods represent some of the cloth qualities among the rich array of textile materials available in 18th century drapers’ shops. As far as the above list is concerned, it is also evident from the quantity of yards and ells involved (a yard being about 0.91 m and an ell about 1.14 m) that the cloth was intended for sale in a shop. The largest consignment, ‘Russia linen’, was probably for bedclothes of all kinds as well as shirts or shifts. Whilst ‘cambrick’ is a more expensive cloth – whether in linen, silk or cotton – finely woven with a treated glossy surface. This effect was achieved using calendering, that is to say, passing the cloth between rollers under high pressure and heat. However, the resulting glossy finish was impermanent and would not survive washing in water, so this quality could only be used for the clothes of well-off people. ‘Shagg’, ‘druggit’ and ‘callamanco’ were different types of wool cloth of various thicknesses and textures, while ‘buckram’ is more challenging to define since the word can have several meanings. ‘Printed handkerchiefs’ – presumably made of cotton – were extremely popular in the 18th century. This was because the cotton fabric was still expensive, but not so costly, to prevent more and more people from being able to afford a small accessory like a handkerchief made of that material.  

Central Whitby in the 1770s shows the streets with their medieval origins gathered on each side of the ‘Draw Bridge’; at this time, many properties still had extensive gardens. The mouth of the River Esk, leading to the North Sea, was the most critical trading route for textiles and other wares to and from Whitby in the 18th century. (Collection: Whitby Museum, Library & Archive, Plans and Views of Whitby 769.942.74, Made in the Year 1778 by L. Charlton).

Almost contemporary with this map, ‘Coasters Outward Journeys’ tells about textile goods exported from Whitby during the 1765-1772 period. These goods may have been partly prepared in Whitby, like the sail-cloth, which was shipped in significant quantities to other ports along the English east coast. Other goods may have arrived by ship from either local or foreign ports to be carried further in coasters, and cloth was, in any case, a particularly convenient product for handling in several stages. Above all, textiles had definite value, but they were also easy to transport because they were not heavy and also durable if the bales of cloth were packed with care. Even if there is often no complete description of quality and quantity, now and then detailed examples have survived from this intensive traffic that reveals the range of this textile trade.

From Whitby harbour, for instance, a coaster left for Scarborough in September 1768 carrying ‘linen, drapery, hosiery & millinery’, while in March 1771, ‘mercery, drapery, millenary’ were taken to London in the ship Three Sisters, listed in the document ‘Coasters outward journeys’. Sometimes, a fuller description of the cargo was recorded; for example, in February 1768, the ship Increase took a load of ‘Eng. Made worsteds’ to Sunderland while the ship Saltwick, destination London, in June 1767 carried ‘35 Yds. Printed linen & 92 Yds. Huckaback’ and in March 1770 10 cwt. (c. 500 kg) of ‘old linen rags’. These cargoes prove that all textiles were considered worth transporting on these coasters, everything from old linen rags to new-woven patterned fabric or printed cloth.

This beautiful fragmented block-printed linen of British or French origin, dated circa 1725, is an excellent example of an 18th century fabric sold by the yard. Like the somewhat later qualities above, transported on a Whitby ship. (Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Everfast Industries Inc., 1971. No: 1971.270.6).

This close-up detail of a large-scale painting illustrates ‘A Thames-side Quay’ around the year 1757; it is uncertain if the Whitby coasters are anchored in this particular quayside area, but this is, even so, an interesting comparison that it visibly reflects the trading of various goods. Wares were kept in bales, barrels, pots, and boxes – striped red and white cotton or silk fabric was included, and East India goods were judging by the United East India Company mark on one of the bails. Oil on canvas by Samuel Scott (c. 1702-1772). (Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, no. FA249). Photo: Viveka Hansen, The IK Foundation.

Several portraits of the period have survived, showing clothes of contemporary cut; these originated with prosperous Whitby citizens. Of the most significant interest are two undated oils on canvas depicting the Whitby couple Abel Chapman (1694-1777), Merchant and Master Mariner, and his third wife Hannah Chapman, née Gaskin (1715-1785). These half-length portraits – probably c. 1740s – show both man and wife dressed predominantly in silk and other expensive qualities. He is wearing a dark red broadcloth jacket lined with unbleached silk and an elegant white cotton ruffled shirt, while his young wife is wearing a white silk dress draped with an elegant yellow silk shawl. Fabrics, which had probably arrived by the busy sea trade, maybe via his ship/s, were made up by tailors in Whitby and alternatively tailored elsewhere. (Courtesy: Whitby Museum, PEF25.2 & PEF25.1. Oil on canvases).

Another contemporary document kept (in a copy) at the Library & Archive in Whitby Museum is ‘The Voyage Book of the Flora’, which reveals that other ships from Whitby were ready to make more extended trading expeditions carrying various kinds of goods. Master William Manson’s ship, the Flora, sailed between 1764 and 1771 to such far-flung destinations as Charlestown, Belfast and Madeira, frequently carrying textiles as part of the cargo. For example, an entry for 16 October 1767 takes the form of an ‘Account of Sales of Sundry Goods and Merchandize Sold at the Island of Madeira for acct. of Mr. Jonas Brown of Whitby by Willm. Manson’. This included the following textiles: ‘2 boxes of Checks first cost as per Invoice £70...3..0’ and ‘1 Box of Silk & Ch. Exclusive of 18 Black Silk Handkerchiefs first cost £49...13..6’. There is no proof that either the fine-checked cloth or the exclusive silk handkerchiefs had been made in Whitby, but they were valuable goods exported by a local businessman in Mr. Manson’s ship to Madeira. In fact, the merchant Jonas Brown arranged several trips from Whitby to Madeira with fine cloth of various qualities, and it can also be read of ‘velvetts, Oznaburghs, Silicias, printed cottons & linens, figured silks, sattins’ in Mr Manson’s cargoes. Likewise, in 1768, ‘17 Black Silk Handkerchiefs’ were sold by the same trader through Manson in Charlestown on the east coast of America. 

Understandably, all kinds of cloth would find a ready market on an island like Madeira that had no manufacturers of its own. Still, it also took a long time for weaving to be introduced on a large scale in the American colonies along the East Coast, whose inhabitants at that time still mainly depended on imports from Europe due to a complex interplay of laws – Navigation Acts from the 17th century – and various demands/fashions etc. This is confirmed by the travelling naturalist Pehr Kalm (1716-1779), who noted, among other things, during his stay in New York in 1749, that ‘No manufactures were yet established in the country, or rather few so that broadcloth and the like were mostly brought here from London’. Considerable evidence of this can also be seen in the mid-century New-York Gazette, which often carried announcements that textile goods had come in from Britain and Ireland. For instance, on the number 13 November 1749, one can read ‘Velvets & a Variety of Broad Cloths in Pieces’, ‘All sorts of Upholsters Work...’, and ‘Yorkshire Broad Cloths’ together with ‘A very good Assortment of Irish Linnens’. In other words, the colonial American market was significant for British cloth and the European textile trade during the 18th century. At least one Whitby ship – and more likely several – was involved in this lucrative trade. 

Sources:

• Hansen, Viveka, The Textile History of Whitby 1700-1914 – A lively coastal town between the North Sea and North York Moors’, London & Whitby 2015 (pp. 171-173).  
• Kalm, Pehr, Travels into North America, three volumes. London 1770-1771. 
• Library of Congress – Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room, Washington D.C., USA; (New-York Gazette, November 13, 1749). 
• Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, United Kingdom. | Research visit in January 2020.
• Whitby Museum (Whitby Lit. & Phil.), Whitby, United Kingdom. Library and Archive: | The Voyage Book of the Flora, William Manson, Master 1764-1771 (photocopies, original Orkney Archives). | Waddington Papers Vol. 61, extracted from (transcribed by E. Shone 2002) Coasters into Whitby 1729-1735 & Coasters outward 1765-1772. | Plans and Views of Whitby, 769.942.74. | Art Collection: PEF25.2 & PEF25.1. (Researched in 2008-2009).