In the context of materials,stuff can refer to anymanufactured material. This is illustrated from a quote bySir Francis Bacon in his 1658 publicationNew Atlantis: "Wee have also diverse Mechanicall Arts, which you have not; And Stuffes made by them; As Papers, Linnen, Silks, Tissues; dainty Works of Feathers of wonderfull Lustre; excellent Dies, and many others."[1] InCoventry, those completing seven-year apprenticeships withstuff merchants were entitled to becomefreemen of the city.[2]
One type of stuff was a type of coarse thicklywovencloth manufactured in various places, formerly includingKidderminster. Originally it was probably entirely ofwool, but later a "woolsey-linsey" cloth, made with awarp oflinenyarn and aworstedweft.
The gowns of most English lawyers are still described as "stuff gowns" (though probably now made of otherfibres). This is in contrast with those ofKing's Counsel, which are made ofsilk, whence they are termed "silks". Thus, "stuff" in this context refers to fabric not made of silk or silk substitutes. The word was still in English upper-class usage in this sense in the 1960s.
InVictoriandressmaking terminology,stuff was used as a generic term for woven fabrics, withcloth generally reserved forwoollens (as opposed toworsteds).[nb 1]
Manufacture of Kidderminster stuff was established by the mid-17th century, when it was referred to byRichard Baxter, thepuritan divine, who was lecturer in the parish church of Kidderminster from 1641, and then vicar in the 1650s. The cloth was used for wall hangings and furniture fabrics.[5] In 1671, an Act of Parliament was obtained for preventing 'abuses and deceits in making Kidderminster stuffs'. This directed that the master weavers should yearly elect a President, four Wardens and eight Assistants to make byelaws for the trade. This body was responsible for regulating all cloth manufacture in the parish, whether with wool only or with wool and other materials. The Act specifically mentionslinenyarn being 'reeled on a reel four yards about' and sold by the 'lea' containing 200 threads.[6] In the early 18th century, the range oftextiles made in Kidderminster broadened withbombazine (with a silk warp and worsted weft) also being produced. The traditional stuff trade declined in the late 18th century with the rise of cotton fabrics. However Kidderminster continued to be a textile town, but in the 19th and 20th centuries specialised in carpets. The olden stuff trade was essentially extinct by 1815.[7]
Norwich,Darlington, and the West Riding ofYorkshire were also English centres for the manufacture ofworsted textiles, including stuffs.[8]