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Norfolk gansey patterns

Cromer

The majority of Cromer fishermen wore commercially produced ganseys from chandlers and outfitters such as the Coal Salt and Tannin Company, either hand-knitted or machine-knitted. But there are a few such as Henry Blogg who sported more interesting patterns but I do not know ehere he obtained that example (GP6 below). I have been criticised for saying that Cromer did not really have a gansey knitting tradition, Some ganseys were knitted in the town, it is true, but some of the fishermen also went elsewhere, such as Sheringham, Caister and further afield to get theirs. Reggie Jonas, for instance, bought his quite plain ribbed commercial ganseys from Cornwall in the 1970s. I have met only one Cromer knitter and recorded her - Edith Kerr, daughter of fishermen and lifeboatman, Walter 'Primo' Allen, but she had a construction technique all of her own and spent much of her life in Glasgow. An example of her work survives in Sheringham Museum. She knitted ganseys for several local fishermen and for Dr Barclay, the GP and doctor for the lifeboat. The Davies family knitted a few too.


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GP16 Walter? Allen's machine-knitted gansey Cromer
undated
Walter? Allen's machine-knitted gansey

Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP6 George Blogg's machine knitted gansey Cromer
1909
George Blogg's machine knitted gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP5 Henry Blogg's seeds and coil o'rope gansey Cromer
undated
Henry Blogg's seeds and coil o'rope gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

GP32 Billy Harrison's machine-knitted gansey Cromer
undated
Billy Harrison's machine-knitted gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP22 John Harrison's plain machine-knitted gansey Cromer
undated
John Harrison's plain machine-knitted gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP4 Tom Kirby's seed panel gansey Cromer
undated
Tom Kirby's seed panel gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

GP28 Kite Rix's machine-knitted gansey Cromer
undated
Kite Rix's machine-knitted gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP31 Gilbert Rook's seeds and bars gansey Cromer
About 1880-1900
7 spi (estimated)
Gilbert Rook's seed panel gansey
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

GP30 Robert Warner's button-up woollen jerkin Cromer
undated
Robert Warner's button-up woollen jerkin
Norfolk Museums Service (Cromer Museum)

No chart
GP64 Cromer seed stitch gansey Cromer
undated
Cromer seed stitch gansey