NG3 Sept/Oct 2020

Sew to Washing
by Bob Massey
Two modern appliances that we take for
granted today would have been a huge asset to
the early Victorian housewife, helping to make
her day a little easier.
The initial purpose of these two inventions was
not to help with domestic chores, but the local
industry for which Nottingham is famous, that
of lace manufacture.
Starting in Nottingham about 1825, the local
lace manufacturing firm of James Fisher and
Company appears to have moved to Short Hill
from London.
By 1830 they had moved to George Street in
Radford (now Moorgate Street) and were called
Fisher Robinson. It was taken over by William
Hurst and Sons in 1910.
During the 1840s John Fisher, son of the original
owner, was living in Mapperley Place, one of
the earliest streets in Mapperley. John was
working for his father’s company in Radford.
He was always looking at ways to improve the
lace manufacturing process. On 7th December
1844 aged just 19, he came up with an idea for
a machine to stitch lace which he patented in
1845. This was in effect a sewing machine, as it
had all the essential parts and mechanism of a
modern machine.
Sadly, John was not given the recognition for
this invention. Two Americans, Edward Howe
and Singer both filed patents in the same year
but after Fisher. The British patents by Fisher
were filed in the three British Patent Offices
at Manchester, London and Edinburgh. When
Singers lawyers came to England to check on
possible patents already filed, they visited the
Manchester patent office. Unfortunately the
Fisher patent in the Manchester office had been
mis-filed and so Fisher had no recognition. If
they had visited London or Edinburgh instead
they would have found Fishers documents and
portable sewing machines would be known as
Fishers not Singers.
In 1860, John Fisher was looking for an
alternative for rubbing fabric when it was
washed. The hand techniques then in use
damaged the delicate lace. John came up with
a machine that had a drum which was filled
with soapy water. A series of pipes blew hot
air through the water, soap and fabric and dirt
was blown out by the action of the machine.
This cleaned the delicate fabric without the
rubbing techniques of hand washing. Although
somewhat different in its action to the modern
drum based machines, it was the first machine
designed for the process.
The reporter from the Nottingham Post was
invited for a demonstration in June 1860. It was
described by him as consisting of a rectangular
tub some 2’ by 1’.5” standing on 4 legs with a
bucket underneath to catch the waste water.
A pair of bellows were attached to one end of
the box. These bellow were activated by a cam
mechanism and were attached to 6 small pipes
which fed the air through the bottom of the box
and upwards through the water and clothes.
The selling price was given as £5 10s.
So, early Mapperley is the home of both the
washing machine and the sewing machine, all
thanks to Nottingham’s lace industry and John
Fisher.
Fisher washing machine
I am researching the history of Mapperley and would be very pleased to hear from anyone with
more details or information. Email: bob.m.massey@gmail.com or post via NG5 magazine.