The Lacemaker

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Liedekerke was an agricultural community with small-scale farms that were mainly focused on self-sufficiency. The main crops were rye, mastelin, wheat, potatoes and hops.

Due to the strong population growth in the second half of the 19th century, the small farms were increasingly divided up so that around the turn of the century most families were forced to earn some extra money: the women as a lace maker working at home or as a worker in a textile workshop, the men as brickmakers in one of the brickyards in the Dender valley. In 1896, 701 women were active as lacemakers.

Creator: Albert de Kock

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