Benjamin Law was born around 1773 in
Gomersal
Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
History
Gomersal was attested i ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
the son of George Law and Mary Wilby. He is credited by many authors as the inventor of the
shoddy
Recycled wool, rag wool or shoddy is any woollen textile or yarn made by shredding existing fabric and re-spinning the resulting fibres. Textile recycling is an important mechanism for reducing the need for raw wool in manufacturing.
Shoddy was ...
process. Benjamin Law set up his business at Howley Mill.
A memorial to Benjamin Law is in the grounds of
Batley
Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...
Parish Church.
An exhibition of "shoddy art", challenging misconceptions about disabled people, was held in Batley in May 2016. The history of the shoddy process was the conceptual starting point for the disabled artists, who used recycled and reused textile materials in their artworks. The exhibition was first shown in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
, and was chosen to tour in Batley, given that it is shoddy's birthplace.
References
External links
maggieblanck websiteShoddy exhibition
1773 births
People from Gomersal
Year of death unknown
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