Walls of Cloth: Tentergrounds and Cloth Production in Bruges, c. 1200–1600

Abstract

The example of the tentergrounds in late medieval Bruges shows how landowners—both public and private—profited from unfavourable geo-morphological conditions to create vast industrial spaces used for the drying, stretching, and shearing of woollen cloths. A combination of evidence from historical and toponymical records gives us a unique insight into the changing scale and impact of this industry on the medieval urban landscape. This evidence also reveals the ways in which these industrial spaces were controlled, appropriated, (re)organised and put to different usages by various actors, social groups, and institutions, depending on commercial changes and economic interests.