Damsons have been part of Lilleshall’s landscape for centuries. In medieval times the Monks of Lilleshall Abbey cultivated the fruit for it’s deep natural pigment using damson skins to dye wool and cloth in rich purples and blues.
By the 19th century damsons were harvested in bulk and sent to mills and dye works across the Midlands and north west.
The dye coloured military uniforms, workwear, hosiery, and leather goods supporting local growers and farm labourers.
Today old damson trees still survive in the hedgerows and former Abbey farmland, linking the modern village with its medieval past.
Lilleshall Damsons
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