D'oyleys?

[Vibey]

I've been going through my crochet books for the first time in several years (more on that later) and found some vintage patterns that a friend once sent me. Among them are a few booklets from the beginning of last century (did I just say LAST century? EEK! how did THAT happen?). They are Weldon's books, published in England, and were quite widely available. I was intrigued by their spelling. I have here "Weldon's Crochet D'Oyleys".

 

Is "D'oyley" the original spelling for doily? It makes sense to me. Many French words have been anglicised through time. But if this is the spelling, where on Earth did the actual name come from? Were D'oyleys named after someone or someplace?

 

Does anyone know? It's intriguing.

[anu_paradox]

Mr. D'oyley is credited with creating the doily. So there ya go.

[Vibey]

REALLY? Well, I had no idea. Thanks for that, I'll add it to my endless supply of useless trivia.