The Strawplaiters of Orkney

In the first half of the 19th century, thousands of women and girls were employed throughout Orkney plaiting straw.Orkney had everything that was needed for the success of this industry: the raw materials, a skilled cheap workforce and the shipping merchants who would transport the finished product to markets in the south.

What was the straw plait industry?

Using original research covering every parish in Orkney, 'The Strawplaiters of Orkney' reveals the forgotten history of the working lives of women and girls in the islands.