Corduroy

 

Corduroy

Cotton corduroy (Manchester)

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons 

Another long-held belief crumbled to dust recently when I looked up the origins of the word corduroy. It’s nothing to do with kings! 

Wikipedia explains: 

‘A common false etymology holds that the word "corduroy" derives from the French phrase corde du roi or the cord of the king. The word corduroy is from cord (i.e. rope) and duroy, which was a coarse woollen cloth made in England in the 18th century.

Corduroy is made by weaving extra sets of fibre into the base fabric to form vertical ridges called wales.’

There are different styles of corduroy material, ranging from standard to needlecord or pincord. Wide wale is used for furniture upholstery and trousers. Finer cord is used in garments like shirts, or dresses.

Corduroy has been in use since the 18^th century and became much more popular in the mid to late 20^th century. Although it is associated with country clothing, it was originally worn by people living and working in industrial towns.

In parts of Europe it is known as ‘Manchester.’

I started thinking about corduroy because Barry was considering buying new cords. He has a habit of jumping subjects and suddenly we were discussing corduroy roads, as he had been reading about the Eastern Front. Corduroy roads were crucial between 1941 and 1944, when troops met ground that had become impassable as a result of appalling weather conditions.

Camp scene showing winter huts and corduroy roads, between 1860-1865, USA
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons 

The name, ‘corduroy road’ came into existence in the late eighteenth century in the USA, because it loosely resembled corduroy material.  

  A corduroy road is a basic road created with logs laid over boggy ground at right angles to the track that is to be traversed. It makes forward progress possible, although it is rough and not easy to travel along. It provides a surface that is difficult, though not impossible, for wheeled and horse-drawn vehicles to use.

Excavation of a corduroy road from the 16th century, Oranienburg, Germany 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons 

The earliest record of a corduroy road was in 1071 in England, as the Normans worked to defeat Hereward the Wake, on the Isle of Ely.

An adaptation of the corduroy road was the plank road, which used sawn planks instead of logs. These presented a smoother surface.