Click on photo to enlarge and on browser to return
St. Agnes's Church is also known as a wool church being financed and built by Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk and Catherine his wife (with the exception of the north aisle built by Robert Oxburgh) displaying wealth which he gained from the woollen Industry, he was lord of the Manor here from 1386 - 1415, on the shield externally above the west entrance are the arms of various members of the De la Pole family. St. Agnes Church is very grand both in and out side and is larger then the village required which is typical of a wool church.
It has been suggested that St. Agnes was chosen as the Patron Saint of our Church because of the importance of the woollen industry in the parish (Agnus-A Lamb in Latin). The stained glass window in the Chancel shows a lamb which may well represent St Agnes, a book, dove and a sword, St Agnes was killed with a sword in AD 305.

The wool Industry brought wealth to the area over a long period, certainly from the 13th century until the 19th with many Cawston villages being provided with work of spinning and weaving, Norwich was the centre for the trade.

In 1725 a annual fair was introduced in Cawston, this fair was held on the last Wednesday in August and was solely for sheep, principally lambs being a half way house for West Norfolk breeders and bought by the East Norfolk grazers this became known as the greatest sheep fair in the country, the fair was held on land opposite the Woodrow Garage.

Sheep rearing governed the course of agriculture in our area by the crop rotation with flocks being fed on fallow land, stubble, clover and turnips, by the end of the 18th century the Norfolk four- course crop rotation of wheat, turnips, barley and clover had become famous, many sheep were bred in West Norfolk but the best grazing was to be had in the East of the country.

With the industrial revolution the wool industry moved to the north-east of England, for a time the hand-loom weavers and spinners in our village continued to work for employers in Norwich, under-cutting the charges of the city weavers and often smuggling their cloth into Norwich by night to avoid reprisals.
Times were hard at this time and many redundant spinners and weavers turned to work on the farm, digging clay for brickmaking or clay lump cottages at one penny per cubic yard which produced an income of about four shillings for a week's hard work. The decay in the industry in the 18th and 19th century also led to an increase in smuggling.

In 1855 there were between thirty and forty looms in use in Cawston but by the end of the century this work had practically ceased and it is said that the frame of Cawston's last loom was burned on a bonfire about 1950.

 

Our Cawston village sign shows a weaver at his loom in the centre panel. Photo of Village Sign at Reepham Rd 1937 entrance to Railway Station Sign now at the Booton Road
At Chapel Street we have weavers cottages with very high ceilings for the looms.