I don’t really have a very good sense of how many readers of this blog drive Aston Martins. Those that do are probably familiar with Newport Pagnell, the English town where the car maker has had a presence since 1955.
What they may not know is that Newport Pagnell is also home to the UK’s only manufacturer of Vellum:
William Cowley has been in continuous production since 1870 in the small market town of Newport Pagnell and even today is ran by the same family that founded the business over 130 years ago.
Little has changed with regard to the production, the same techniques being used today as in the formation of this company. Indeed, many of the factory workers have spent their entire working lives with the firm as it takes many years to master the craft of making parchment. [Parchment and Vellum]
I discovered this as I had a congenial dinner with my Open University hosts in Newport Pagnell last week.
