The Dacorum Heritage Trust
 The history of Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley & Tring

Material That Shaped the World

Paper - The Amazing Material

Since the dawn of history, man has needed to communicate ideas and to record important events. Carved in stone, pressed onto clay or wax tablets, written on animal skins or silk, records were passed on through generations.

The Egyptians used papyrus reeds nearly 6,000 years ago, but it was the Chinese, in AD 105, who first made paper. T'sai Lun's process was a closely guarded secret for 500 years, gradually spreading to southern Europe by the 12th century.

The invention of moveable type in 1440 meant that printed matter could be produced more easily, but paper was still a costly material.

John Tate set up the first British hand papermaking mill near Hertford in 1488. The single sheets of paper were made from rags.

Over the next four centuries, education, commerce, exploration and industry expanded, helped by the increasing mechanisation of the production of this amazing material.

Even in this hi-tech age, it would be hard to imagine a world without paper.