THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK 
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The Silk Era began in England in 1553. 
Then, on a bright June day, Sir Thomas 
Gresham went to the palace of King Edward 
VI and presented the King with a pair of 
silk stockings from Spain. In that year— 
only 12 generations ago—there was only this 
one pair of silk stockings in the British 
sles. 
They were a nine-days’ wonder. They were 
the first ever seen in England by the people 
of those days. The King was delighted. He 
gave Gresham a large estate. “ You shall 
know that you pleased a King,” he said. 
Poor King! He did not live long enough to 
wear out his silk stockings. He died three 
weeks afterwards. 
In 1685 tens of thousands of French 
Huguenots fled to England for safety, and 
they brought silkworms and looms with them. 
They began to make silk and to fashion it 
into garments. Their trade grew. They 
prospered and helped to start England on her 
way as the greatest of the textile-exporting 
nations. 
There was a time when there were 30,000 
people in Bethnal Green, London, all engaged 
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