This year and last year, I admired the Christmas wreaths hung on the doors of the traditional silk weaver houses in Spitalfields. The silk weavers were Protestant immigrants from France who moved to London due to religious persecution, as France was a Catholic country. The king of England at the time (Charles II) allowed these French Huguenots to come to England as he knew that they were skilled workers, and the availability of silk changes fashion and changed the east end of London dramatically.
When they moved to London, they built these tall townhouses and the upstairs had a lot of natural light with large windows, so they used to weave the silk upstairs. The French influence can be seen in the shutter designs, and the buildings are beautiful with large doorways with some interesting door knockers.
These photographs in this post are from this year and last year.
I hope that everyone had a good holiday.
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