The History of british wool

Early man soon realised that to kill a sheep for its meat alone was a waste; sheep could be milked and its fleece could be spun and woven into cloth. So with the help of his friend the dog, (probably the only animal to be domesticated before the sheep) he became a shepherd. 

Before 10,000 BC wool cloth was being spun and woven. By the time the Romans invaded these islands in 55 BC the Britons had developed a wool industry. By the twelfth century, wool was becoming England's greatest national asset and cloth making was widespread.

The first half of the fourteenth century was a time of prosperity for English wool farmers. Despite setbacks, raw wool exporting expanded, and so also did manufacturing of wool fabrics. This was becoming both specialized and localized. The West Country had three advantages - extensive sheep pastures, a supply of soft water for washing, scouring and dyeing, and water-power to drive milling machinery. Similarly, the Pennine districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire had soft water, and water power from steeply graded streams.

Cloth from English looms quickly achieved an international reputation. From being primarily a raw wool exporter, England became a manufacturer and exporter of cloth. At the end of the fifteenth century England was largely a nation of sheep farmers and cloth manufacturers.