A method of manufacturing a fibrous structure is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to the manufacture of friction products such as preform discs. The method comprises mounting a former on a shaft. First feeds of fibrous material are spaced along the shaft and applied to the former in a direction tangential to the shaft as the shaft is rotated. A second feed is also applied to the former in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The fibrous materials in the feeds overlie as the shaft rotates and the thickness of the material applied to the former increases to form the fibrous structure. Lengths of the first and/or second feeds are then inserted into the fibrous structure body in a radial direction with respect to the shaft as the shaft is rotated to interconnect the overlying layers and hold the structure together.