Griffiths of Norwich and Other Planemakers of that City

Introduction

Since the Middle Ages, the city of Norwich has been the principal administrative and commercial centre of the county of Norfolk. Trade in wool had always been a prominent activity in the city and during the 17th and 18th centuries the weaving of fine cloth which was sold not only in England but also on the Continent gave added prosperity to the city.

In other parts of England, the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution led to the development of manufacturing and trade on a national or even international scale and resulted in the rapid growth of manufacturing towns. Norwich however was not significantly affected by the industrial development of the 18th century but it did remain an important county and regional centre of trade and production of goods for local use.

By the end of the 18th century the development of water-powered centres of weaving in the Pennines had caused the Norwich weaving trade to decline. Nevertheless, the city had developed into a considerable commercial centre whose influence extended not only to the county of Norfolk but to the larger regional area of East Anglia.

The size of the city is shown by Peck's Norwich Directory for 1802 which gives the following statistics: in 1788, population, 40,051 and in 1801, 36,832.

The decrease was explained. It is to be observed that in the returns of 1801 those serving in the Navy Arms and Militia are not included. Norwich during the present war has furnished at least 4,000 recruits.

Many other and much smaller towns (for example. Lewes, Newbury) had tradesmen specialising in the production of planes by the second half of the 18th century. It is perhaps surprising that a city of the size and regional importance of Norwich did not have a planemaker numbered amongst its craftsmen until the arrival of John Griffiths(i) in the city in 1803. Despite much research, the author has been unable to find an earlier maker there.

It must be assumed therefore that before 1803 the demand for manufactured planes was met from outside the area. It is known that the London planemaker, Christopher Gabriel (1770-95) was selling a large proportion of his production to Norfolk as, in 1798, the following income was recorded in the Gabriel Ledger.¹

Fig. 1. Invoice heading dated for the 1920s

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