35051
W. Britain
A “bleachfield” or “bleaching green” was an open area used for spreading cloth on the ground to be purified and whitened by the action of the sunlight. Usually found in and around mill towns, bleachfields were an integral part of textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. When cloth-making was still a home-based occupation, a open field served the purpose. Bleachfields became obsolete after Charles Tennant developed a bleaching powder based on chlorine. Year-round processing of the fabric could be done indoors without the summer sun and bleaching became a regular part of the washday chores.
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