Thomas Whitty (1713-1792) was a British carpet manufacturer who founded Axminster Carpets in 1755.
Whitty was impressed by the great Turkish rug he saw in London's suburbs, and on his return to Axminster he used his skills as a weaver to figure out how to produce a product of the same quality. After several months of work, he completed his first carpet in mid-summer 1755. The carpet was then chosen by the rich nobles to live in their home and home town of England. Axminster Carpets was produced for the music room of Brighton Royal Pavilion, Saltram House, Warwick Castle, Chatsworth House and in 1800 for the Sultan of Turkey.
King George III and Queen Charlotte bought Axminster carpets and also visited a factory that dominated the UK carpet market between 1755 and 1835 when Samuel Rampson Whitty, the grandson of the founder was declared bankrupt after a devastating fire seven years earlier that destroyed weaving.
Blackmores from Wilton, near Salisbury, bought the remaining stock and looms and expanded their business to include hand-knitted rugs still called Axminsters.
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
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