Halstead's Courtaulds Connection

Surrounded by the gentle rolling countryside of the Colne Valley in north Essex, Halstead developed over many centuries as a busy market town and, in the Middle Ages, much of its prosperity came from the wool trade. In the early 19th century Samuel Courtauld (1793-1881), an industrious and successful businessman, brought a new lease of life to the town. A descendant of a Huguenot refugee family, he set up in business as a silk throwster (a person who twists silk fibres into thread) and his family went on to found the internationally known Courtaulds company.

Courtaulds had its share of ups and downs, but always seemed one step ahead of its competitors, due to a policy of diversification. When the silk industry dwindled, mainly due to French competition, the company specialised in the production of mourning crêpe, which was to become the definitive fashion material during, and after, Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901). When crêpe fell out of favour, Courtaulds turned to the manufacture of artificial silk which became such a success that brand name materials such as Celanese saw the company through the depression of the 1930s.

The Courtaulds connection with Halstead began in 1825 when Samuel Courtauld bought the present Townsford Mill and converted it to produce silk-woven fabrics; much of the raw material was imported in bulk from India. In those days the cloth was produced in the workers' homes and some of these early weavers' cottages can still be seen next to the mill in Bridge Street. By 1891 the mill became one of England's largest employers, where 1,400 people, the vast majority young girls and women, toiled at 1,000 looms.

The Courtauld family left legacies throughout Halstead and on this walk you will discover some of them, such as the Jubilee Fountain at the top of Market Street, on a spot previously occupied by the old Market Cross. In Hedingham Lane you can see the Courtaulds workers' houses which are named after characters and titles from Jane Austen's novels. The family also footed the bill for building Halstead Cottage Hospital while the Homes of Rest next door, a semi-circular row of single-storey dwellings built in 1923, provided much-needed housing for retired silk weavers.

Samuel Courtauld became very rich, and lived to the ripe old age of 88 in an impressive Tudor mansion called Gosfield Hall, a few miles from Halstead. During the 1920s his great-nephew and namesake would often drive or walk along Box Mill where he apparently took a dislike to the housing and duly replaced them with his own preferred style of cottages. The young Samuel (1876-1947) went on to establish the Courtauld Institute of Art in London before he died. In 1982 Courtaulds factory finally closed down but there's little doubt that this name lives on in Halstead.

What to look for

Three-storeyed weavers' homes were still fairly common in Halstead during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these survive in Weavers Row near Parsonage Street. The upper and lower floors were used as domestic quarters while the middle floor, which had one room extending the length of the row, was used as a weaving workshop.

While you're there

Some of the oldest houses in Halstead, dating back to the 14th century, can be seen at the bottom of Chapel Hill. At the top of the High Street is the flint and rubble St Andrew's Church with its lovely tower; some parts date back to the 15th century.

Where to eat and drink

You are spoilt for choice with a range of tea rooms, restaurants and pubs. Of particular historic interest are two 500-year-old coaching inns in the High Street: the White Hart which ran a regular service to Great Yarmouth and the Bull Hotel, which featured in the TV series Lovejoy starring Ian McShane.