Origins

The caddow (or caddy) quilts are thought to have developed from quilting traditions brought over from Europe by refugees fleeing religious persecution.  It has been suggested that the design of the caddows is derived from the Spanish ‘macadow’ or ‘mackado’ quilts of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Spanish designs were woven with tufts of cotton, which were then cut, unlike the Bolton caddows where the loops were left intact.  An article from the Textile Recorder cites references from as early as 1460 and 1494 to the use of fustians (heavy cotton) for bedcovers in Bolton.

The Bolton collection

The earliest examples of the caddows in the Bolton Museum collection are two quilts dated 1794 and 1795, both with very similar designs. The earliest was made for Thomas Gisborne Molyneux Esq of London (IND 1992.24), and the following year another was woven for William Leaf Esq (HITW 1906.21.1) and is dated 2nd February 1795.

Height of production

The height of production came in the middle of the nineteenth century, with 1700 caddow looms in operation in 1862; up from 1000 in 1833.  This peak in production mid century led to the founding of the Counterpane Weavers Association in August 1843.

Decline in production

However, by the end of the century the industry had significantly declined and in 1890 a German writer visiting Bolton wrote that there were only fifty ‘very aged’ counterpane weavers left in the town.  The decline of the counterpane industry was brought on by competition from the steam powered loom and the increasing mechanisation of the weaving process, leading to younger generations working in the mills rather than learning to weave by hand.

The last caddow

The negative effect of the Crimean War on trade with Russia has also been suggested as hastening the demise of the industry.  The last of the caddows were produced by the 1920s, with the latest example in the museum’s collection dated 1915 (T.1971.37) which was produced by the last hand-loom weaver in Bolton. 

Other caddow collections

Examples of the caddow quilts are also found in America dating from 1820 onwards, probably taken over by English immigrants from the late eighteenth century. In the American quilting tradition the technique is usually known as candlewick or whitework.  Several examples exist in American museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Winterthur Museum.

The designs in America are usually much less formulaic than the Bolton examples, frequently incorporating patriotic symbols such as eagles and even large ships. The motifs are also interpreted much more freely, although the structure of borders surrounding a central design is still usual.