What is "tenterground"

A tenterground or tenter ground was an area used for drying newly manufactured cloth after fulling. The wet cloth was hooked onto frames called tenters and stretched taut so that the cloth would dry flat and square.

It is from this process that we have the expression "on tenterhooks", meaning in a state of nervous tension.

There were tentergrounds wherever cloth was made, and as a result the word "tenter" is found in place names throughout the United Kingdom, including a street in Spitalfields, London.