Linen Board

Linen Board, set up in 1711 to regulate and finance the expanding linen industry. The board was composed of 72 trustees, 18 from each of the four provinces. They were drawn from the episcopacy of the Church of Ireland, the nobility, and gentry. Trustees generally knew little about the industry, leaving the day‐to‐day work of the board to permanent officials. Nevertheless, in the early days of the board, the trustees' influence in parliament and with the government was very useful in winning preference for the linen trade. The board gave grants and prizes for outstanding work by spinners, weavers, and bleachers and also encouraged the spread of new methods and inventions. Money was granted to establish new bleach greens. In time, as the industry grew and became more complex, some saw the regulations of the board and the activity of its officials more as a hindrance than as a help. While the board's work undoubtedly helped to establish linen in its initial base in Ulster, the aim of disseminating its manufacture throughout Ireland was never achieved. The Linen Board lasted until 1828, by which time spinning was entering into its mechanized phase.

Peter Collins