Witch engine pattern loom
Example of a pattern loom with a dobbie and drop boxes.
Author: Textile Department Bankfield Museum
Date: not dated
Location: Calderdale
Format: Postcard - Mono
Document ID: 100099
Library ID: 34559531
This design was used to make samples of cloth before a large run. A dobby is a device used to make the pattern. Used in the Calderdale area. The name Witch or Witch Engine was more commonly used around parts of East Anglia in the early 19th Century [1820].
This example of a loom is from the Textile Department of Bankfield Museum, Halifax.
Bankfield House was built for Edward Akroyd (1810-1887) who lived there from 1837 to 1856. The grandson of James Akroyd who in 1811 founded the world's largest worsted manufacturers: James Akroyd & Son. Edward was a benevolent employer, supporting many organisations and institutions which enabled his employees to seek better living conditions. He built Ackroyden to house his workers and provided them with low cost allotments. He also founded All Souls Church in 1855, after purchasing a former Baptist church at Haley Hill. It is now Bankfield Museum, which presents international exhibitions of costume, fabrics, textiles, and toys.
Still standing 2003.
