London Leather Hide and Wool Exchange

[Dunluce]

I was out walking and passed the old London Leather Hide and Wool Exchange in Bermondsey (it’s now a pub). These reliefs, showing how leather was processed, were on the walls. It must have been the centre of the leather trade at one time as there are lots of streets, pubs, gardens etc with leather or tanner in the name. Thought people might like to see them.

 

kn the 

[fredk]

Thanks for these

For others, to educate them; in many English towns and especially so London, trades were grouped in certain areas, all workers in one type of trade were in one district,  eg the leatherworkers in one area, butchers in another, goldsmiths in another, and this is reflected today in the street names still existing

[jcuk]

really like those cheers. 

[chuck123wapati]

Thanks for posting those are remarkable. 

[Tugadude]

Yes, thanks!  I love the respect given to the trade.

[Dunluce]

As a follow up to this, I looked up the website of the pub that it has become and under the ‘History’ tab it has pages from the May 1842 edition of the Penny Magazine. It has a fascinating article on leather processing and the trade in Bermondsey. You can find it at the following:

https://www.theleatherexchange.co.uk/

[Rahere]

Not far from Fagin's old thieves kitchen, then.

[HENDREFORGAN]

That's an interesting tool in Picture #4?  Some kind of heavily weighted roller I presume?  The "mangle" maybe hadn't yet been invented?

[Matt S]

10 hours ago, HENDREFORGAN said:

That's an interesting tool in Picture #4?  Some kind of heavily weighted roller I presume?  The "mangle" maybe hadn't yet been invented?

Makes sense to me. The roller could conceivably be either smooth or textured. If the top of the contraption is open, as it appears, the mass of the thing could be adjustable by adding or removing weight.

I've seen machines that operate on a similar principle used at a US tannery but can't remember where. I think the machine pushed the roller back and forth along a fixed area and the hide was manipulated across the bed.

[fredk]

1. the mangle was in use certainly by the iron age Romans

2. these carvings were done in, afair, the Victorian period, who certainly used mangles

3. the Victorians often made-up things to do with earlier history. Its been the bane of my life separating Victorian myths from real historic fact for history teaching

4. rather than pressing down on the leather, could it have been used for applying some sort of drying agent, such as salt or chalk ? Think of one of those pots with a roller for applying edging finish to a strap or belt and sort of turn that up-side-down - pot on top with a slot for chalk to fall onto the roller which applies it to the leather

[MikeRock]

What great photos!

Fred, what are some examples of Victorian history alterations?  It would be fun to see something and know it was not the correct explanation. 

God bless,

Mike

[fredk]

26 minutes ago, MikeRock said:

Fred, what are some examples of Victorian history alterations?  It would be fun to see something and know it was not the correct explanation. 

I could list quite a few. But I don't think this thread is the right place for it