More from Eve... >In her reply Eve mentioned plaiting the straw. >Forgive me, but what was the purpose of this? The plait (of split straw) was made in long narrow strips, from a quarter inch to an inch wide, with new straw lengths woven into the ends of the old ones, so the finished plait could be several yards long, rolled into coils and loops. The plaiters were paid by the yard. Hats and bonnets were made of rows of straw plait, stitched one on top of the other, edge to edge (so other ancestors could be bonnet sewers). This type of plait, for hats, was very elaborate in patterns with holes and diamonds etc decorating it. Plain plait was also used for making baskets for shopping purposes and general packaging (this could be straw plait or rush plait) Luton was the centre of the straw hat trade, and even the police there wore straw helmets in summer. Cheap Italian imports ruined the home straw plait trade eventually, but Luton continued as the centre for packing materials - card boxes of all kinds etc and later on, plastic packaging. Because the straw plait girls could walk round the village and the fields plaiting away (unliike lace makers, who sat at home on their stools), it was entirely possible to get up to naughties while still apparently working hard. The plait girls had a bit of a reputation for - friendliness- shall we say. However, because the sstraw had to be dampened and kept damp to make it supple enough to bend without breaking, they tended to wet the straw between their lips - causing roughness in the end. One ungallant ytou man observed that 'kissing a straw plaiter be like kissing the old cow's backside' (which didn't stop him doing it. -- Eve McLaughlin -----Original Message----- From: Dave Frampton [mailto:david@watford.karoo.co.uk] Sent: Sunday, 17 October 2004 7:23 PM To: BUCKS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [BKM] Interests Researching: BIGSBY KNIGHT PLUMMER WAGER WARRELL BALDWIN, BEESON PRICE & PEARCY. All in and around Chenies, Chesham, Chesham Bois and Beaconsfield. I particularly looking for the following: Burials in Chenies 1700 - 1800 for WAGER. Can anyone help? Does anyone know anything about Straw Plaiters? I am trying also to enlarge my knowledge of the social history of the area 1600 - 1900. Does anyone know of a good site tucked away somewhere. All the main sites are far too general. Many thanks Dave Frampton ____________________________________________________________________________ This email and all attachments have been electronically scanned by Kingston Communications' email Anti-Virus service and no known viruses were detected. ____________________________________________________________________________ ==== BUCKS Mailing List ==== Your signature should be no more than 3 lines long and should not include surname interests which are outside the scope of this List.