Devonshire July and August 18

Tuckers Hall, Exeter
The Guild plaque in Exeter Guildhall
The upper storey
ou'll notice in the image above that the word
YTucker replaces Fuller, the term Tucker said to
derive from occupation as being a fuller of cloth.
Tucker is apparently very much a West Country
name, strongly represented in Devon, Dorset and
Wiltshire. Fulling occurs by pounding the wool
with large hammers, causing the scales on the
wool to open up. The fulling process causes the
fibres of wool to entangle with their neighbours
creating a dense material. This process was used
to produce felted wool, which can be fairly dense,
one of the uses being in hat making. Leats running
alongside the river Exe were used to power the
fulling mills. Firstly the woven wool cloth would
be scoured to rid it of grease and impurities, being
Weavers, Fullers & Shearmen
covered with soda and soap and submerged in hot
water that was trampled by food or put between
rollers. Secondly, the fabric received a pounding by
the fulling hammers, being submerged in human
urine, followed by the addition of 'fullers earth'
which is a form of powdered, dried clay. Lastly
the cloth was pounded in troughs of soapy water
to finish the process.
We probably don't need to elaborate on the
task of the weavers and shearmen. The plaque
above (situated in the Exeter Guildhall) shows a
pair of hand shears, the top items is possibly a
loom, although the other items are something
of a mystery. I assume the object on the blue
panel is a device for passing the thread through
the warps of the loom but am at a loss with the
flower type image on the red ground. The actual
Exeter Guildhall displays a fantastic array of all the
important guilds around the outer wall set on the
wood panelling.
You are able to visit Tuckers Hall, it's free of charge,
although you are asked to make a donation towards
the upkeep, you can find their opening times at
www.tuckershall.org.uk/contact
Tuckers Hall, 140 Fore Street, Exeter
For general information, the Beadle can be contacted
on 01392 412348
Above, left - situated on the hill down to the
river at 140 Fore Street, Exeter
The opposite end of the upper floor gallery
The Victorian Gothic external facade, necessary
to rescue the building from collapse
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