|
Straw plaiters gathered for a photograph which is now in the Dunstable and District History Society's archives. Producing intricately designed plaits of straw was a considerable cottage industry in the Dunstable area, employing hundreds of women and children. They would sell the plait to merchants who, in turn, sold the work to factories producing straw hats and bonnets. As worldwide demand for the hats increased, scores of hat factories opened in the area. The boom times ended when fashions changed. |