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Claude Passavant's Exeter carpet manufactory (1756–1761): costly knotted carpets, three survivors

Research finding · not yet checked at the source

Made by: Claude Passavant
Date: 1756–1761
Place: Exeter, Devon
Themes: Woven carpet

View at the source Cited in chapter 3, note 5

Cite this source

“Claude Passavant’s Exeter carpet manufactory (1756–1761): costly knotted carpets, three survivors.” Research note. huguenotsofspitalfields.org/huguenot-towns/exeter.

Research notes

Hand-knotted context. Passavant, a Swiss Huguenot, bought Parisot's workshop (sources say 1755 or 1756) and moved the weavers to Exeter. Huguenots of Spitalfields: only three Passavant carpets survive (V&A, Petworth House, private collection); its page features the 1758 Petworth carpet. The NPS notes Exeter carpets' 'counting warps' and a signature and date woven into the border. Axminster Heritage: Exeter Carpets stopped trading in 1761 because the carpets were too expensive. Conflict: one source places all three survivors in English country houses; the Cambridge History of Western Textiles reportedly credits Winterthur for an image of a 1757 Passavant carpet (see wint-pre-wilton-leads). Sources: https://www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org/huguenot-towns/exeter/ · https://axminsterheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/the-story-of-axminster-carpets.pdf · https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/inde/anderson/chap2.htm Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.