The Early Years

In 1907 William Paine founded this famous knitwear brand in Godalming, Surrey, and named it Paines of Godalming. Godalming was then a small town with a long history of woollen production. William discovered some knitting machines in an old warehouse behind the shop, taught himself and others to knit, and began to manufacture knitted garments, arguably developing the first cable knit sweaters.

By 1920 the business had grown to include supplying speciality shops - principally by adding the Club Colour Trim to a plain cable sweater.

The swatch book held a small swatch of wool for each client that could be used to create a sweater in the required club, school or regimental colours.

Cable-knit sweaters were increasing in popularity at this time. It was in this decade that Alan Paine's most famous unofficial patron, the Prince of Wales (later to become Edward VIII) ordered his own personalised sweaters, finished in his regimental colours.

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