MEMBERS and guests of Thorverton and District History Society enjoyed a fascinating talk on Friday, April 25 by Talitha Clarke MA, who traced the 271-year history and developments of Fox Brothers’ textile mills in Wellington, Somerset and beyond.

As Quality Control Manager for Fox Brothers Talitha has access to documents and archives not normally available to the public and had evidently pursued her researches with zeal and enthusiasm.

Through the Fox family’s history the audience saw how this Quaker family developed the textile business and looked after their staff extremely well by the standards of the day.

We saw the goods that were produced, all with quality foremost, that ranged from domestic fabrics, through World War One soldiers’ puttees and Khaki uniforms (itself a colour invented by Fox’s) to today’s finest flannel suitings used by London’s Savile Row tailors where only the best quality will suffice.

Their cheapest cloth now being £90 per meter.

No longer run by any of the Fox family the mill is owned in partnership between Douglas Cordeaux and Deborah Meedon and continues as a very successful business.

Talitha brought samples and pieces of old mill equipment to supplement her talk and these were the focus of much interest, as were the details of the socio-economic history both in Wellington and worldwide that were explained with an obvious passion for the subject.

A review such as this can only give an outline of the occasion. You really had to be there to fully appreciate the information, contexts and presentation.

A great night!

Harry George