In the North-east corner of Canada lies the settlement of Red Bay the hiding place of a marvellous secret for four hundred years.
In the sixteenth century, Basque whalers established a station in Red Bay from where oil was sent to Europe to light lamps, make soap and to be used in the leather and cloth industries. This was the largest whaling station in the world then and, naturally, there was a cemetery associated with the township. Among the remains in the burial plots were textiles, just waiting to be rediscovered by excavators.
Most of the pieces found in the graves are wool. The acidic conditions of the peaty soil dissolved any linen and the human remains but left the wool behind. One of the graves, actually set outside the formal cemetery for some unknown reason, had some of the largest pieces of cloth and garments: a knitted cap, an inner and outer shirt/ jacket, breech, stockings and shoes made from vegetable-tanned leather. The shirt and jacket look to be cut from the same piece of cloth, woven in both horizontal and vertical stripes.
Finds like these are rare and valuable. From the wool of this lonely grave it has been deduced that the Spanish Churra sheep were the breed from which the wool was plucked, and the colour palette of the man’s clothing indicated that the wearer was not of high rank. Dyes were expensive and these garments were not dyed russet but rather that was the natural colour of the wool.
An article from Piecework Magazine is now in the studio collection. This article explains how M. Elaine Mackay recreated the cap from the burial site. You can make one of your very own. Thank you to the reader who contributed this article to the collection. If you would like to read it please email and make an appointment to visit or simply pop into the studio in Greymouth between 11 and 3 weekdays and ask for it.
More:
https://textielcommissie.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Dubuc_1968_Basque_whalers_clothing.pdf