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The Fustian Cutting Shop on Mersey Street c1880, I would have never have uncovered this information if it was not from a e-mail I received from a visitor Warren & Jim Forster who were looking for information on their Great grandparents, I came upon a chance meeting from someone with the same interest as I and Jim, he is from Dawlish (Hi John) said I would mention him, he was doing research on Mersey street also,.

So Numbers 48 to 54, they were in face owned my the landlady of the ADELPH VAULTS in the 1800s, and she in turn rented them out for 6 p per week to Fustian Workers.

Fustian Workers played an important role in the North West by cutting the pile on specially woven cotton cloth called FUSTIAN (or as we now no it to be VELVET) running the length of a row of terraced houses (see photo) there were about fifty such shops around the Town.

Inside the workshop the cutter would walk the length of a  bench which measured fifteen yards in length, cutting the looped pile on the fabrics surface with a special knife, A cutter might walk as far as thirteen miles in one day which lasted 10 hours, all cutting shops ceased to be viable by 1959 and were forced to close, the one in Mersey Street was the last one to close. (unless you know diferent.!)