FLANNEL. A woollen stuff of various degrees of weight and fineness, made usually from loosely spun yarn. The origin of the word is uncertain, but in the i6th century flannel was a well known production of Wales, and a Welsh origin has been sug gested. The French form flanelle was used late in the 17th century and the Ger. Flanell early in the 18th century. Baize, a kind of coarse flannel with a long nap, is said to have been first introduced to England about the middle of the i6th century by refugees from France and the Netherlands. The manufacture of flannel has naturally undergone changes and, in some cases, deteriorations. Flannels are frequently made with an admixture of silk or cotton, and in low varieties cotton has tended to become the predominant factor. Formerly a short staple wool of fine quality from a South down variety of the Sussex breed was principally in favour with the flannel manufacturers of Rochdale, who also used largely the wool from the Norfolk breed, a cross between the Southdown and Norfolk sheep. In Wales the short staple wool of the mountain sheep was used and in Ireland that of the Wicklow variety of the Cottagh breed, but now the New Zealand, Cape and South Ameri can wools are extensively employed and English wools are not commonly used alone. Over 2,000 persons are employed in flannel manufacture in Rochdale alone, which is the historic seat of the industry and a good deal of flannel is now made in the Spen Val ley district, Yorkshire. Blankets, which constitute a special branch of the flannel trade, are largely made at Bury in Lancashire and Dewsbury in Yorkshire. Welsh fl annels have a high reputation, and make an important industry in Montgomeryshire. There are also flannel manufactories in Ireland.
A moderate export trade in flannel is done by Great Britain. The following table gives the quantities exported in 1924-27: sq.yds. sq.yds.
1924 . . . 7,787,000 1926 . . . . 4,427,900 1925. . . . . 5,85 7,500 1927 . . • •