 From the late 18th century until just after WW1, silk processing was an important industry for Evercreech, a spillover from mills at nearby Bruton and Sherborne.The workforce for the village's three silk factories was made up almost entirely of young women and girls, some of whom started working as young as seven or eight years of age.Fulfilling orders from London, two of the factories were throwing mills which produced high quality spun silk thread.