Canal Navvy
Well-known member
I heard a rumour that sheep's wool was going to be in extremely short supply this year ..... I've bagged some before the panic buying sets in![]()
Apparently Newman Hender & Co made the best valves for the oil industry, even when the Americans took over the firm and tried to transfer the technology the Stroud valleys firm was still favoured as the best. The local expertise in the oil fields created a local oil service industry that was as big as the woolen mills once were.
Their real hidden secret was the knowledge gained from running the steam driven mills that natural wool fibre is a supreme gland packing material. There are now valves in the middle east that have been burnt-out and the only reliable materials will have to come from the valleys surrounding Woodchester.

