The Terrible Knitters of Dent
- timbarber
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
When I first heard the phrase “the terrible knitters of Dent”, I was intrigued as to what heinous crimes these ladies had committed. Had they been murdering people with their knitting needles or strangling people with wool?
So let’s explore who they were and how they got the mantle?
Dent and the surrounding area was traditionally a farming area, predominantly rearing livestock such as sheep and cows. But a close second in terms of bringing income into the locality was Knitting.
The knitting was not just women’s work, men and children also used to knit and knitting was taught in schools, being seen as important as the 3 R’s. Many of the local farmers had learnt to knit and would actually knit as they went about their daily chores in the fields.
The women were also multi - tasking as this little rhyme from the time shows…
A clever lass in Dent can do four things at once
She knows how to sing and knit
And she knows how to carry the kit
Whiles she drives the cows to the pasture
The people of Dent tended to knit stockings and gloves which were taken by middle men to market in Kendal. It was “piece work”, where payments were made based on each piece that was produced. The knitters did also knit coats and jumpers.
The gloves and stocking were sometimes taken to London and were mainly used by militia men in the wars such as that in Crimea. By all account,s as they started knitting so early in life, the Dent knitters were seen as some of the “best in the land”. The knitting supplemented their income and they needed to be very fast because of the low return on their work.
It is the fact that they were “terribly” fast, that created their legend of “The Terrible Knitters of Dent”.
The chain of trade consisted of a carter coming with a horse and cart from Kendal with a delivery of wool, dropping this off with the locals and then returning to Kendal with their completed knitted garments. It is said that Dent was supplying 800 pairs of stockings to Kendal market a week. These stockings were a sort of woollen long john for men. In the early 1800’s people were paid just 2 old pence a pair.
As well as wool deliveries from Kendal, the Dent knitters also used to often hand spin their own yarn from the local Dalesbred sheep.
The men, women and children had amazing dexterity, partly down to their equipment. The locals used to use a “Knitting stick”. This was carved in wood and was often given as an “engagement present” or gifted to a loved one. Into the knitting stick they put a bent knitting pin called a “prick, ” the knitting stick used to protrude from their belt. They then knitted with up to 4 needles in their right hand leaving their left hand free for other chores such as churning butter or wrapping cheese.
It is said the Terrible Knitters sang rhythmic songs as they knitted to keep time with their clicks.
Another product the Dent Knitters were making were “Bump caps”, knitted from a rough worsted wool called “bump” and were exported to Jamaica to be provided to slaves. Not a very worthy cause, but the residents of this small Dales town would not have been aware of the conditions that he slaves would have lived under.
The information for this blog was gained mainly from visiting the Dent Heritage Centre in the village of Dent, where there is a display about the terrible knitters and where I managed to get the photos. So thanks to the heritage centre for permission to use them and for spending time to explain to me about the story behind the name.
I would highly recommend a visit to learn more about life in the Yorkshire Dales, particularly Dentdale. They also do a wonderful cream tea in the café! https://www.dentvillageheritagecentre.com