Bringing a traditional heritage building and craft back to life

Framework knitting is a method of producing knitted fabric using a mechanical knitting frame, first invented by William Lee in 1589. It marked a pivotal shift from hand knitting to machine-assisted production and became the backbone of the cottage textile industry across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The process used a knitting frame, a hand-operated machine made primarily from wood and metal, which enabled knitters to work more quickly and produce fabric with greater consistency than was possible by hand alone. Despite the introduction of machinery, the craft still relied heavily on skill and experience. Each row was worked manually, with the knitter controlling the frame through a series of levers and handles.

As one of the earliest forms of mechanised textile production, framework knitting laid important foundations for the later Industrial Revolution. Crucially, it allowed small rural communities like Bonsall to participate in large-scale textile production long before the rise of factory-based manufacturing.