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You might not be aware of it, but chances are you have walked countless times across a carpet made by Reg Andrews or one of his colleagues in Kidderminister, ‘the carpet capital of Britain’. For over 30 years he worked as a weaver in this Midlands town, where the carpet industry began in 1735 and is still the dominant employer among its 55,000 population. Even today, as the industry has contracted and technology has taken over many jobs, over 5,000 people are employed in its carpet factories, compared perhaps to 10,000 people 50 years ago. Born in 1927, Reg first worked in a foundry, moulding cast iron. Knowing that it was about to close, he looked around for another job, and naturally his thoughts turned to carpet making. Almost immediately, he got a job with one of the best known companies, which changed its name over the years from 'Carpet Manufacturing Company' to 'Guilt Edges', to 'Carpets International', to 'Coloroll'.
Everything changed when the factory closed down in 1990 and hundreds of jobs were phased out. I was made redundant two years before my 65th birthday. You might know it's coming, but it's a big blow when it actually happens, especially in a town like this where so many people depend on one industry. People were sobbing and crying everywhere. Luckily I had a part-time Saturday job delivering bread for the West End Bakery to 10 local shops, which I still do. It's a grand job which gets me out and about.'
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Title
Reg Andrews, Bread Delivery Man and Retired Carpet Weaver
Date
2000
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 124 x W 99 cm
Accession number
465
Acquisition method
on loan from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
signature
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0JG England
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