A tenterground, tenter ground or teneter-field was an area used for drying newly manufactured cloth after fulling. The wet cloth was hooked onto frames called tenters and stretched taut so that the cloth would dry flat and square. It is from this process that some have the expression "on tenterhooks", meaning in a state of nervous tension. There were tentergrounds wherever cloth was made, and as a result the word "tenter" is found in place names throughout the United Kingdom and its empire, for example several streets in Spitalfields, London and Tenterfield House in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, which is turn gave its name to Tenterfield in New South Wales, Australia.
London
The Spitalfields Tenterground was established in the 17th century by Flemishweavers, who were Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution. Their weaving industry led to the area becoming a centre of the garment industry, with names such as Fashion Street and Petticoat Lane still extant. It was originally an area of open ground about 150 yards square, surrounded by the weavers' houses and workshops in White's Row, Wentworth Street, Bell Lane and Rose Lane. By the 19th century, the Flemish weavers had dispersed, and in 1829 the Tenterground was developed for housing. From about 1850, it was populated by Dutch Jews, to be joined later by Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in eastern Europe. During the early part of the 20th century, the Tenterground was largely demolished for redevelopment, but some old buildings remain in and around the area, including Flemish weavers' houses and an early Dutchsynagogue which was formerly a Huguenot chapel. Another former Huguenot chapel is now a mosque. Rocque's 1746 map shows further tenter grounds between Bishopsgate and Moorfields, adjoining "Mr Witanoom's Vinegar Yard", and also covering large areas of Southwark. Lower Moor Fields, east of Finsbury, connected to Long Alley northwards, was a cloth washing area with cloth pegged to the ground to be stretched and dried.
