Devon Notes afid Queries, 41 33. Two Tudor Merchants of the Staple of Tiverton and Cullompton, Devon. — The rise of the woollen trade, or Staple of the West of England, appears to have occurred during the reign of Henry VII, after the internecine conflict of the Wars of the Roses had ceased^ and men, weary of its strife, turned their attention from the ravages of the desolating sword to the peaceful pursuits of industry and commerce, one of which, largely in these western parts, resulted in the beneficent employment of shuttle and loom. As at the inception of all great industrial occupations the growth of which was destined to be of national importance, those pioneers fare best, as a rule, who by foresight and energy first lay hold of and diligently follow up the new or revived avocation before competition distributed the spoils, so with r^ard to the fresh impetus given to the woollen trade at this era, when the inherent commercial proclivities of the Englishman were rapidly developed, wealthy merchants arose and held influential positions amid the social and industrial surroundings of the district they were associated with, and they often sprung from the humblest beginnings as spinner or weaver. Of two such merchants we propose to append a few particulars. At this period the inhabitants of central East Devon appear to have been largely engaged in the occupation of the woollen trade, Tiverton and Cullompton being the chief industrial centres. Great commercial activity prevailed, and rich *' Marchants of the Staple *' had their residences within these old towns, with, doubtless, accompanying premises for the storage of wool gathered from farms in the west country or imported from beyond seas, together with its subsequent manufactured products of kersey, serge, and other materials of kindred description pertinent to the clothing trade, princi- pally fabricated in the cottage looms for many miles around, there all duly trussed either for export or home use, each bale with the special '*mark*' of the merchant carefully impressed thereon. Sobn (BtenewaS, of Tiverton, was one of these Mer- chants of the Staple who flourished at that era, and who has left behind him ample and enduring testimony of the opulence he acquired in the pursuit of its avocation in this world, now
