The Story of Axminster Carpet
Devon is famed for many things – from beautiful beaches, to the wild moors and of course Devonshire cream teas – but do you know one of the most famous types of luxury carpet also hails from the county of Devonshire?
Axminster carpet was created when the weaver Thomas Whitty visited a market in London and saw a carpet from Turkey. He went back to his home of Axminster in Devon and was so impressed by the carpet he had seen, he set about trying to create a carpet of the same high quality. By June of 1755 he created the first successful Axminster carpet, and also the right way to produce it, employing his children to create it for him.
From then, the orders started to come in from those looking for a good quality carpet, and once the carpets were put on display in London, the popularity surged, and orders were coming in quickly. The very rich opted for high quality carpets for their stately homes, and many of these Axminster carpets can be found still in stately homes around the UK such as in Saltram house in Devon and Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
In addition to this King George III even paid a visit to the famous Axminster carpet factory in 1789, where they had an escorted tour from Thomas Whitty. Despite the fact that a fire destroyed the factory in the 19th Century, in 1937 the factory was reopened, and today is still where high-quality carpets are produced.
Choosing carpet for the home is something that can be difficult and also expensive – nowadays we have companies like this pay weekly carpets Bristol based company www.simplypayweekly.co.uk/pay-weekly-carpets/bristol/ to help with the cost, and Axminster carpet is certainly a good option to consider.
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