Woven Linen, in its early state, is a dull, fawny-coloured material with a texture slightly fuller than basic cotton.

'Bleaching' transforms this cloth into its more familiar pure white form.

At this stage, when viewed through a microscope, the flax fibres retain their round section and sit snugly, but independently from their neighbours.

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A good description offered by a guest likens the process of beetling as "similar to a nice steak or chicken breast as the chef tenderises / scallops their meat under the force of a stout culinary 'hammer'. (!!)

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Put simply, the linen cloth is fed across a large padded roller where heavy beech 'beetles' are repeatedly dropped onto it.

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This results in the individual fibres being 'flattened', spreading out and merging with their neighbours.

The 'raw' cloth is transformed into a smooth, silky and shining 'fine beetled linen'.