A Brief History of Carpets

18th and 19th Century

Carpets have been produced in Britain since 1720, when a factory was established at Wilton in Wiltshire. The original carpets made at Wilton were a low loop pile construction known as 'Brussels Weave'. A development on this was a cut pile version which was then named after the town it was produced. This new 'Wilton Weave' was then copied by other factories in Kidderminster and the rest of the country.

In 1755, Thomas Whitty started a factory at Axminster in Devon, making hand knotted carpets. As the industrial revolution began to take hold, he mechanised his production, and in doing so, established the name of Axminster as synonymous with quality woven carpet.

Both types of weaving were then produced in factories around the country as the carpet industry began to expand to fulfil a growing demand for its products worldwide.

The Twentieth Century

In the early 1900s, an entirely new method of producing carpet, known as 'tufted carpet' was invented in America. This method was based on the technique used to make candlewick bedspreads, whereby a piece of pre-woven cloth has tufts inserted into it. However, it was not until 1940 that this new method was used to produce broadloom carpet.

Modern technology allowed incredible progress to be made in yarn construction and developments in modern plant and machinery also provided the opportunity to produce even more sophisticated carpet products.

In many commercial locations, such as high-rise office blocks, there became a need for a floor covering that could be transported to these locations easily. In the 1960s, the first Carpet Tiles were produced in sheet form and then stamped out to the required size (usually 50cm x 50cm). The development of computers, which required under-floor access, has made the Carpet Tile the best option in this type of location, as they can be easily lifted on an individual basis, to provide such access, with the minimum of disruption to the business.