John Heathcoat, 1783-1861. Oil on canvas by William Gush
Nottingham City Museums and Collections
John Heathcoat was an English engineer from Duffield (Derbyshire), who developed various machines for textile production. During his apprenticeship he made an improvement to the warp loom so that it could produce mitts (fingerless gloves) with a lace-like appearance.
He eventually set up his own business in Nottingham. In 1816 he moved to Tiverton in Devon, where he established the Tiverton (bobbinet machine) lace-making industry.
Wikipedia (retrieved 1 July 2016).
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 10 August 2016).
GVE
