SINCE our launch event at the Guildhall last month, we have been carefully sorting through the fantastic memories and stories that local people shared.

Lots of places were remembered, including local industries, one of which became hugely important in our city from the late 18th century onwards.

The name of Worcester became synonymous with gloving for over 150 years and at its peak in the 19th century employed a staggering 30,000 glovers – around 50 per cent of the nation’s glove makers!

The industry continued here well into the 20th century, with well-known factories such as Dent’s on the riverside (who produced the Queen’s coronation gloves) and Fownes’ now better known as the Fownes’ hotel, giving employment to many hundreds of workers. 

One local person said: “I remember the glove factories, my mum worked for them all! She worked at home until she was 80.” Outworking was common in the gloving industry, with many local people completing painstaking piece work from home.

Worcester News: This 1951 photograph of a section of the High Street now demolished, shows ‘Ye Olde Glove Shoppe’ on the left hand side. Local lady Beatrice Clinton, worked here in the 1920s and 30sThis 1951 photograph of a section of the High Street now demolished, shows ‘Ye Olde Glove Shoppe’ on the left hand side. Local lady Beatrice Clinton, worked here in the 1920s and 30s

Another resident said: “My mother worked at Ye Olde Glove Shoppe in the High Street selling gloves made at Fownes Glove Factory. The shop has been demolished but was situated roughly where Next and H&M are now.”

So important is the gloving industry to Worcester’s history that Museums Worcestershire have recently been funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund to deliver the project – A Glove Affair – Worcester’s hand in the global gloving industry.

The project aims to create a lasting legacy for one of Worcestershire’s greatest industries and the project team, led by David Nash, are currently researching their collections, collecting stories and working with local communities to record the legacy of this fascinating craft. David can be contacted via david.nash@worcester.gov.uk if you have any further information.

We’ve uncovered a few images of just a handful of the many glove factories and shops that once existed in Worcester, how many do you remember?

Worcester Life Stories is a collaborative project bringing local people together through shared stories of the City of Worcester. It is co-led by Dr Natasha Lord, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and Sheena Payne-Lunn, Worcester City Council and funded thanks to National Lottery players. For further information or to share your stories, visit worcesterlifestories.org.uk, our Facebook page or Twitter @worlifestories. You can also email worcesterlifestories@gmail.com or call 01905 721133.

And why not visit the We grew up in Worcester page on Facebook?