Family company is centre stage in American Revolution battle re-enactments
THE military expertise of Wyedean Weaving is 'front and centre' of international commemorations of the American Revolution.
Orders of the company's regimental lace have increased by nearly 20per cent as re-enactment groups across the UK create replica British regimental uniforms associated with the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence.
Since January, the Haworth-based team has fulfilled re-enactment orders totalling 500 metres of regimental lace alone, in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. In addition to this, there has been a notable uplift in sales of other decorative trims such as herringbone twill design laces, flat braid, and worsted braided cord - all commonly used to adorn military uniforms for celebrations, re-enactments, and historic occasions.
Richard Marren and 7th Fusiliers on route from Boston to Lexington. Image: Richard Marren
Wyedean's Business Development Director Rosie Wright said that regimental lace is made on the company's site at Bridgehouse Mill with the family business holding 5,600 metres of lace across 70 distinctive designs, each woven with heritage in mind: 'The regimental laces are woven on traditional shuttle looms onsite in our Haworth Mill, and where required we can create new designs or tweak the old designs according to customer requirements.
'Over the last six months we have also dedicated one of our needle-looms to weaving these intricate laces due to the increase in orders.'
Wyedean worsted lace in production (Image: Richard Marren)
She added: 'As specialists in military uniform accoutrement, we have a rich history spanning 50 years of creating 128 unique designs, many of which have subtly evolved to reflect regimental changes over time.
'Every thread tells a story of tradition excellence and our commitment to quality and we are finding an increasing number of orders from UK and overseas re-enactment groups whose eye for detail and accuracy means they want the very best replica lace for their uniforms.'
Richard Marren in uniform with Susan Cately, a 'colonial citizen' at Battle Road. Image: Richard Marren
This April saw the anniversary of the 250th Battle of Lexington and Concord, which took place in April 1775 at the start of the American Revolution.
Taking part in commemorations of the Battle of Lexington and Concord is Cheshire-based Richard Marren who founded re-enactment group the 23rd Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Historically, each regiment has its own specific uniform design and Richard uses Wyedean's custom made regimental lace and Wyedean's plain white worsted (a type of wool yarn) for a sergeant's coat.
Armed with his Wyedean-accoutrement adorned uniforms, Richard travelled to Boston in April for the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord - the first battle of the war in which the 23rd Foot fought.
Richard's uniform in progress
Richard said: 'It's critical that we research our uniforms from scratch and go for the highest quality. For this particular re-enactment, organisers can refuse you entry to an event if your uniform isn't authentic. To achieve this, we go thread to thread comparing today's recreations with examples from the past.
Richard Marren's 23rd 1770s coat with Wyedean lace (Image: Richard Marren)
'For this event, we worked with Wyedean to base our 23rd Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers military lace on the original sample held in the 1768 Lace Book at Windsor Castle.
'Wyedean were fantastic in ensuring the lace was a truly accurate representation of that used on the uniforms from the era and as a result the lace looks more striking than ever before and my uniform passed the reenactment authenticity standards - which is a real achievement.'
Richard joined that re-enactors from across the world to portray the 'redcoats' who fought at Lexington Green and 'Battle Road', the fight between Lexington Green and the town of Concord. Around 350 re-enactors portrayed the British Army and the event included a six-mile night-time march along the route taken by the regiment in 1775.
He said: 'Over the week we marched 18 miles in total and it was amazing to be part of what was almost a full-sized company, which is rare for a redcoat reenactment. It was so tough and everyone was exhausted by the end, but we all felt we owed it to the soldiers of the past to continue.'
Wyedean was founded as a manufacturer of braid and military uniform accoutrement in Haworth in 1964 by David Wright. In 2023, the family-run company secured the £5million, seven-year contract to replace British Armed Forces' Colours and Standards with the new King's insignia and the Tudor Crown.
Rosie added: 'While a high percentage of our time is spent on producing ceremonial military uniform accoutrement for armed and uniformed services at home and abroad, we're delighted to use our resources and expertise to recreate military wear from the past and help others in their retelling of important historical moments by facilitating the high quality uniform needs of reenactment groups across the country.'
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