Description: Looking south down the street, showing St Mary's Place on the right, Broadway in the centre and High Pavement in the distance. Lace making in Nottingham stemmed from the invention of the Stocking Frame by Rev William Lee of Calverton, near Nottingham. The most successful net made on an adaptation of the stocking frame was 'point-net', finally perfected in 1786 by John Rogers of Mansfield. It had a six-sided mesh which resembled hand-made net very closely in appearance, if not in structure. It was immediately popular and the first fabric to be known as 'Nottingham Lace'. By 1865 there were over 130 large lace factories in Nottingham, with more than 90 per cent of the machines steam driven. Over 30% of all working women were employed making lace at the height of its popularity.