Coventry blue

Summary

Coventry blue was a blue cloth woven and dyed with woad in Coventry. The permanence of the colour led to the phrase "as true as Coventry blue" or "true blue".[1][2][3][4][5]

Bride-laces were wedding favours traditionally made as sprigs of rosemary tied with blue ribbon which were worn by wedding guests. Coventry blue ribbons were commonly used for these until festivities were suppressed by the Puritans during the Interregnum (1649–1660). The exact recipe for Coventry blue was then lost as a result of the disruption and decline in trade.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "First 'Coventry Blue' to be revealed at historic Weaver's House", Coventry Observer
  2. ^ "The City of Coventry: Crafts and industries, Modern industry and trade", A History of the County of Warwick, vol. 8, the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick, London: Victoria County History, 1969, pp. 162–169
  3. ^ As True as Coventry Blue, The Weaver's House
  4. ^ "366 places in Coventry to be painted 'Moving Blue' ahead of UK City of Culture 2021", www.theculturediary.com
  5. ^ Mary H. M. Hulton (1995), 'True as Coventry Blue', Coventry Branch of the Historical Association, ISBN 1873206216
  6. ^ James Robinson Planché (1876), "Lace (Bride)", A Cyclopaedia of Costume, Chatto & Windus, p. 324