Textile Industries in North-West England in the Early Eighteenth Century: A Geographical Approach

Textile History

Volumn 29, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 3-18

  Stobart, Jon ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY; INDUSTRIAL HISTORY; MANUFACTURING; TEXTILE INDUSTRY;

UNITED KINGDOM;

ECONOMIC INFORMATION; MANUFACTURING; TEXTILE HISTORY; TEXTILE INDUSTRY;

EID: 0032226602     PISSN: 00404969     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/tex.1998.29.1.3     Document Type: Article

References (92)

1. C. Harley, 'British Industrialization Before 1841', Journal of Economic History, 42 (1982), pp. 267-89; N. F. R. Crafts, British Economic Growth during the Industrial Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985); G. Hawke, 'Reinterpretations of the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); M. Berg, The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820 (London: Routledge, second edition, 1994), pp. 13-33.
2. C. Harley, 'British Industrialization Before 1841', Journal of Economic History, 42 (1982), pp. 267-89; N. F. R. Crafts, British Economic Growth during the Industrial Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985); G. Hawke, 'Reinterpretations of the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); M. Berg, The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820 (London: Routledge, second edition, 1994), pp. 13-33.
3. C. Harley, 'British Industrialization Before 1841', Journal of Economic History, 42 (1982), pp. 267-89; N. F. R. Crafts, British Economic Growth during the Industrial Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985); G. Hawke, 'Reinterpretations of the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); M. Berg, The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820 (London: Routledge, second edition, 1994), pp. 13-33.
4. C. Harley, 'British Industrialization Before 1841', Journal of Economic History, 42 (1982), pp. 267-89; N. F. R. Crafts, British Economic Growth during the Industrial Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985); G. Hawke, 'Reinterpretations of the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); M. Berg, The Age of Manufactures, 1700-1820 (London: Routledge, second edition, 1994), pp. 13-33.
5. D. Gregory, 'A New and Differing Face in Many Places', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin (eds), An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1990), pp. 350-99; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (London: Arnold, 1992), pp. 120-21; G. Von Tunzelman, 'Technological and organizational change in industry during the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 208-54.
6. D. Gregory, 'A New and Differing Face in Many Places', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin (eds), An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1990), pp. 350-99; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (London: Arnold, 1992), pp. 120-21; G. Von Tunzelman, 'Technological and organizational change in industry during the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 208-54.
7. D. Gregory, 'A New and Differing Face in Many Places', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin (eds), An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1990), pp. 350-99; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (London: Arnold, 1992), pp. 120-21; G. Von Tunzelman, 'Technological and organizational change in industry during the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 208-54.
8. D. Gregory, 'A New and Differing Face in Many Places', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin (eds), An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1990), pp. 350-99; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (London: Arnold, 1992), pp. 120-21; G. Von Tunzelman, 'Technological and organizational change in industry during the Industrial Revolution', in P. O'Brien and R. Quinault (eds), The Industrial Revolution and British Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 208-54.
9. The classic study is that of A. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1931), but see also J. Walton (ed.) 'Proto-industrialisation and the First Industrial Revolution: The Case of Lancashire', in P. Hudson, Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 41-68; and M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester, 1967), chs 9-10. The general significance of early industrial development is discussed by, inter alia, M. Berg, P. Hudson and P. Sonenscher (eds), Manufacture in Town and Country before the Factory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) and is modelled by F. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process', Journal of Economic History, 32 (1972), pp. 241-61.
10. The classic study is that of A. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1931), but see also J. Walton (ed.) 'Proto-industrialisation and the First Industrial Revolution: The Case of Lancashire', in P. Hudson, Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 41-68; and M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester, 1967), chs 9-10. The general significance of early industrial development is discussed by, inter alia, M. Berg, P. Hudson and P. Sonenscher (eds), Manufacture in Town and Country before the Factory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) and is modelled by F. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process', Journal of Economic History, 32 (1972), pp. 241-61.
11. The classic study is that of A. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1931), but see also J. Walton (ed.) 'Proto-industrialisation and the First Industrial Revolution: The Case of Lancashire', in P. Hudson, Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 41-68; and M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester, 1967), chs 9-10. The general significance of early industrial development is discussed by, inter alia, M. Berg, P. Hudson and P. Sonenscher (eds), Manufacture in Town and Country before the Factory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) and is modelled by F. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process', Journal of Economic History, 32 (1972), pp. 241-61.
12. The classic study is that of A. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1931), but see also J. Walton (ed.) 'Proto-industrialisation and the First Industrial Revolution: The Case of Lancashire', in P. Hudson, Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 41-68; and M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester, 1967), chs 9-10. The general significance of early industrial development is discussed by, inter alia, M. Berg, P. Hudson and P. Sonenscher (eds), Manufacture in Town and Country before the Factory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) and is modelled by F. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process', Journal of Economic History, 32 (1972), pp. 241-61.
13. The classic study is that of A. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1931), but see also J. Walton (ed.) 'Proto-industrialisation and the First Industrial Revolution: The Case of Lancashire', in P. Hudson, Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 41-68; and M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester, 1967), chs 9-10. The general significance of early industrial development is discussed by, inter alia, M. Berg, P. Hudson and P. Sonenscher (eds), Manufacture in Town and Country before the Factory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) and is modelled by F. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization: The First Phase of the Industrialization Process', Journal of Economic History, 32 (1972), pp. 241-61.
14. J. Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization: the space economy of northwest England, 1701-1760', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, ns21 (1996), pp. 681-96; P. Hudson, 'The regional perspective', in P. Hudson (ed.) Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 5-38; M. Dunford, Capital, the state and regional development (London: Pion, 1988).
15. J. Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization: the space economy of northwest England, 1701-1760', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, ns21 (1996), pp. 681-96; P. Hudson, 'The regional perspective', in P. Hudson (ed.) Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 5-38; M. Dunford, Capital, the state and regional development (London: Pion, 1988).
16. J. Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization: the space economy of northwest England, 1701-1760', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, ns21 (1996), pp. 681-96; P. Hudson, 'The regional perspective', in P. Hudson (ed.) Regions and Industries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 5-38; M. Dunford, Capital, the state and regional development (London: Pion, 1988).
17. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation'; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade; P. Laxton, 'Textiles', in J. Langton and R. Morris, Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780-1914 (London: Methuen, 1986), pp. 106-23.
18. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation'; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade; P. Laxton, 'Textiles', in J. Langton and R. Morris, Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780-1914 (London: Methuen, 1986), pp. 106-23.
19. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation'; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade; P. Laxton, 'Textiles', in J. Langton and R. Morris, Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780-1914 (London: Methuen, 1986), pp. 106-23.
20. M. Berg and P. Hudson, 'Rehabilitating the industrial revolution', Economic History Review, 45 (1992), pp. 24-50.
21. P. Lindert, 'English occupations, 1670-1811', Journal of Economic History, 40 (1980), pp. 695-712; R. Finlay, Parish Registers: An Introduction (HGRG Historical Geography Research Series, 1981).
22. P. Lindert, 'English occupations, 1670-1811', Journal of Economic History, 40 (1980), pp. 695-712; R. Finlay, Parish Registers: An Introduction (HGRG Historical Geography Research Series, 1981).
23. For a fuller discussion of these problems, see Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization', pp. 682-84.
24. Indexes of all the probate granted at the courts at Chester and Richmond, as well as those transmitted cases dealt with by the diocesan court in Chester have been published in volumes 13, 20, 22, 23 and 25 of the Transactions of the Records Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. Records of probate granted at the courts of Canterbury and York are listed in manuscript indexes in the Public Record Office, London and the Borthwick Institute, York, respectively.
25. J. Patten, 'Urban occupations in pre-industrial England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, ns2 (1977), pp. 296-313; P. Glennie, Distinguishing Men's Trades: occupational sources and denates for pre-census England (HGRG Historical Geography Research Series, 1990), pp. 20-45.
26. J. Patten, 'Urban occupations in pre-industrial England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, ns2 (1977), pp. 296-313; P. Glennie, Distinguishing Men's Trades: occupational sources and denates for pre-census England (HGRG Historical Geography Research Series, 1990), pp. 20-45.
27. Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization', p. 683.
28. Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 136-65; Hudson, Industrial Revolution, pp. 225-32; J. Rendall, Women in an Industrial Society: England 1750-1880 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), pp. 11-32.
29. Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 136-65; Hudson, Industrial Revolution, pp. 225-32; J. Rendall, Women in an Industrial Society: England 1750-1880 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), pp. 11-32.
30. Berg, Age of Manufactures, pp. 136-65; Hudson, Industrial Revolution, pp. 225-32; J. Rendall, Women in an Industrial Society: England 1750-1880 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), pp. 11-32.
31. For the detail of the multiplier, see Stobart, 'Geography and industrialization', p. 683.
32. Figures are for textiles workers appearing in the probate records with a definite cloth type. Many others, of course, appear simply as 'weaver', 'dyer', etc. Woollens covered a huge variety of cloths, ranging from coarse kerseys and bays to finer serges and worsteds, and is taken to include both woollen and worsted cloths in the following discussion. Fustians were originally mixtures of linen and wool, but by the eighteenth century referred to combinations of linen and cotton, or, more rarely, cotton and wool. The nature of linen and silk is self-explanatory. Woollens and linen formed the 'indigenous' textiles industries (although increasingly flax was imported from Ireland and northern Europe, and wool was brought in from Yorkshire); fustians were introduced at the start of the seventeenth century, but thereafter grew strongly; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 23-25. Silk production occurred on a small scale in several towns, but expanded rapidly in Macclesfield from the late seventeenth century; G. Malmgreen, Industry and Culture in Macclesfield 1750-1835 (Hull, 1985) pp. 1-27.
33. Figures are for textiles workers appearing in the probate records with a definite cloth type. Many others, of course, appear simply as 'weaver', 'dyer', etc. Woollens covered a huge variety of cloths, ranging from coarse kerseys and bays to finer serges and worsteds, and is taken to include both woollen and worsted cloths in the following discussion. Fustians were originally mixtures of linen and wool, but by the eighteenth century referred to combinations of linen and cotton, or, more rarely, cotton and wool. The nature of linen and silk is self-explanatory. Woollens and linen formed the 'indigenous' textiles industries (although increasingly flax was imported from Ireland and northern Europe, and wool was brought in from Yorkshire); fustians were introduced at the start of the seventeenth century, but thereafter grew strongly; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 23-25. Silk production occurred on a small scale in several towns, but expanded rapidly in Macclesfield from the late seventeenth century; G. Malmgreen, Industry and Culture in Macclesfield 1750-1835 (Hull, 1985) pp. 1-27.
34. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 23-25; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', pp. 45-47.
35. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 23-25; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', pp. 45-47.
36. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 302-03; T. Baker and J. Harris, A Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St Helens 1750-1900 (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1954), p. 120.
37. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 302-03; T. Baker and J. Harris, A Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution: St Helens 1750-1900 (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1954), p. 120.
38. J. Swain, Industry before the Industrial Revolution: north east Lancashire c. 100-1640 (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1986). pp. 203-03; G. Tupling, The Economic History of Rossendale (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1927), ch. 6; A. Wadsworth, 'The history of the Rochdale woollen trade', Transactions of the Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society, 15 (1923-25), pp. 136-56; M. Gray, The History of Bury, Lancashire, 1660-1876 (Bury, 1970), ch. 1. Woollen manufacture was also evident in towns throughout the region - from Chester to Knutsford to Preston.
39. J. Swain, Industry before the Industrial Revolution: north east Lancashire c. 100-1640 (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1986). pp. 203-03; G. Tupling, The Economic History of Rossendale (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1927), ch. 6; A. Wadsworth, 'The history of the Rochdale woollen trade', Transactions of the Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society, 15 (1923-25), pp. 136-56; M. Gray, The History of Bury, Lancashire, 1660-1876 (Bury, 1970), ch. 1. Woollen manufacture was also evident in towns throughout the region - from Chester to Knutsford to Preston.
40. J. Swain, Industry before the Industrial Revolution: north east Lancashire c. 100-1640 (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1986). pp. 203-03; G. Tupling, The Economic History of Rossendale (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1927), ch. 6; A. Wadsworth, 'The history of the Rochdale woollen trade', Transactions of the Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society, 15 (1923-25), pp. 136-56; M. Gray, The History of Bury, Lancashire, 1660-1876 (Bury, 1970), ch. 1. Woollen manufacture was also evident in towns throughout the region - from Chester to Knutsford to Preston.
41. J. Swain, Industry before the Industrial Revolution: north east Lancashire c. 100-1640 (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1986). pp. 203-03; G. Tupling, The Economic History of Rossendale (Manchester, Chetham Society, 1927), ch. 6; A. Wadsworth, 'The history of the Rochdale woollen trade', Transactions of the Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society, 15 (1923-25), pp. 136-56; M. Gray, The History of Bury, Lancashire, 1660-1876 (Bury, 1970), ch. 1. Woollen manufacture was also evident in towns throughout the region - from Chester to Knutsford to Preston.
42. The origin of fustians as a woollen-linen mix may hold the key to the central location of what constituted a major growth industry of the North-West in the early eighteenth century. Wadsworth and Mann (The Cotton Trade, map and note on p. 24 and pp. 317-27) suggest that fustian manufacture in the North-West began in Bolton and spread north to Blackburn, exactly along their boundary between linen and woollen production. See also, J. Aikin, A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles round Manchester (London), p. 23, and S. Kenny, 'The location and organisation of the early Lancashire cotton industry: a systems approach', Manchester Geographer, 3 (1982), pp. 9-11.
43. The origin of fustians as a woollen-linen mix may hold the key to the central location of what constituted a major growth industry of the North-West in the early eighteenth century. Wadsworth and Mann (The Cotton Trade, map and note on p. 24 and pp. 317-27) suggest that fustian manufacture in the North-West began in Bolton and spread north to Blackburn, exactly along their boundary between linen and woollen production. See also, J. Aikin, A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles round Manchester (London), p. 23, and S. Kenny, 'The location and organisation of the early Lancashire cotton industry: a systems approach', Manchester Geographer, 3 (1982), pp. 9-11.
44. The origin of fustians as a woollen-linen mix may hold the key to the central location of what constituted a major growth industry of the North-West in the early eighteenth century. Wadsworth and Mann (The Cotton Trade, map and note on p. 24 and pp. 317-27) suggest that fustian manufacture in the North-West began in Bolton and spread north to Blackburn, exactly along their boundary between linen and woollen production. See also, J. Aikin, A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles round Manchester (London), p. 23, and S. Kenny, 'The location and organisation of the early Lancashire cotton industry: a systems approach', Manchester Geographer, 3 (1982), pp. 9-11.
45. The reasons for the growth of fustian and cotton manufacture are complex, but it is clear that the expanding overseas markets for the finished cloths and its relatively privileged position within the intricate regulatory system which governed textiles production were vital to its success; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 91-96 and pp. 248-50; M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester; Manchester University Press, 1967), chs 9-10.
46. The reasons for the growth of fustian and cotton manufacture are complex, but it is clear that the expanding overseas markets for the finished cloths and its relatively privileged position within the intricate regulatory system which governed textiles production were vital to its success; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 91-96 and pp. 248-50; M. Edwards, The Growth of the British Cotton Trade, 1780-1815 (Manchester; Manchester University Press, 1967), chs 9-10.
47. These figures include only instances of linen, woollen and fustian workers outside their 'own' areas, and exclude Manchester.
48. In order to allocate spinning activity to either town or country, it has been assumed that the five spinners who would 'attach' to each weaver lived in the same type of settlement as the weaver (i.e. the number of rural weavers, multiplied by five, was added to the rural total for each cloth type, and the same for urban weavers). Clearly this is an over-simplification of reality since urban weavers, for example, often drew on supplies of yarn from the surrounding countryside - Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, p. 276. Thus, the analysis probably exaggerates the number of urban spinners. However, it does place the clear majority in the countryside where they were undoubtedly more numerous and allows for the inclusion of spinning in the broad analysis at least.
49. The volume of urban woollen production is probably inflated here by the presence of such manufacture outside the major areas of textiles production, much of which would be directed to local consumption. Also, under-counting of textiles in the north-east of the region (where dual-occupations were, perhaps, most prevalent - Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 40, 110-18) tends to depress the number of rural woollen workers and exaggerate the importance of the more specialized full-time urban producers.
50. Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, p. 108.
51. J. Langton, 'Industry and Towns, 1500-1730', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin, An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1978), pp. 173-98; P. Corfield, The Impact of English Towns, 1700-1800 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 17-33, 82-98.
52. J. Langton, 'Industry and Towns, 1500-1730', in R. Dodgshon and R. Butlin, An Historical Geography of England and Wales (London: Academic Press, 1978), pp. 173-98; P. Corfield, The Impact of English Towns, 1700-1800 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 17-33, 82-98.
53. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', pp. 59-63.
54. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization', pp. 244, 256; D. Coleman, 'Proto-Industrialization: A Concept Too Many', Economic History Review, 36 (1983), pp. 435-48; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 72-96.
55. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization', pp. 244, 256; D. Coleman, 'Proto-Industrialization: A Concept Too Many', Economic History Review, 36 (1983), pp. 435-48; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 72-96.
56. Mendels, 'Proto-industrialization', pp. 244, 256; D. Coleman, 'Proto-Industrialization: A Concept Too Many', Economic History Review, 36 (1983), pp. 435-48; Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 72-96.
57. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 78-80; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 56; Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 122-23; Tupling, Rossendale, pp. 168-71.
58. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 78-80; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 56; Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 122-23; Tupling, Rossendale, pp. 168-71.
59. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 78-80; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 56; Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 122-23; Tupling, Rossendale, pp. 168-71.
60. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 29-48, 78-80; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 56; Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 122-23; Tupling, Rossendale, pp. 168-71.
61. Coleman, 'Proto-Industrialization', p. 437.
62. See J. Simmons, 'The Organization of the Urban System', in L. Bourne and J. Simmons (eds), Systems of Cities (New York, 1978), pp. 61-69, and J. Stobart, 'Regional structure and the urban system: north west England', Transactions of the Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 145 (1996) for more detailed discussion of the implications of this for spatial interaction within the region.
63. See J. Simmons, 'The Organization of the Urban System', in L. Bourne and J. Simmons (eds), Systems of Cities (New York, 1978), pp. 61-69, and J. Stobart, 'Regional structure and the urban system: north west England', Transactions of the Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 145 (1996) for more detailed discussion of the implications of this for spatial interaction within the region.
64. This concentration was even more apparent from trade directories from the late eighteenth century -Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 250-53.
65. Finishing industries accounted for 56% of textiles workers identified by stage of process in Rochdale, 30% in Bolton and 50% in Wigan. Of course, since the finishing industries are probably over-represented in the probate records (being high skill and high capital enterprises), these figures are likely to be over-statements of the finishing trades, but their undoubted importance is apparent.
66. In Manchester, the probate records list calenderers, cloth dressers, dyers, fustian dyers, fustian shearers, hot pressers, inkle calenderers, linen dryers, shearers, whitsters and woollen dyers.
67. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 150-60.
68. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, p. 252
69. There were eighteen chapmen in Blackburn, nineteen in Salford and twenty in Bolton; Manchester dominated, though, with 144.
70. For details of how to access these records, see note 9.
71. The concentration of rural textiles dealing in the east of Lancashire may be somewhat illusory, since many of these men were clothiers - a title which was used in this area to refer as much to manufacturing as to dealing activity.
72. Tupling, Rossendale, pp. 166, 176-77.
73. Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, pp. 199-204.
74. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 57.
75. Swain, Industry before Industrial Revolution, p. 146.
76. Two isolated proto-industrial systems did exist, based on the production of sailcloth in and around Kirkham and Warrington; Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', pp. 47-48.
77. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 50.
78. Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 78-87.
79. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 63.
80. R. Lloyd-Jones and M. Lewis, 'The economic structure of "Cottonopolis": Manchester in 1815', Textile History, 17 (1986), p. 82.
81. Supplies of cotton took several months to arrive and payment for textiles sold in the London cloth halls could be even longer coming. Moreover, increasing sales to America and West Africa produced still longer delays in receiving payment. It was common for the merchant at the centre of the putting-out system to extend credit to both his producers and the exporting merchant; Wadsworth and Mann The Cotton Trade, pp. 91-96, 224-40.
82. Walton, 'Proto-industrialisation', p. 62.
83. These two lines of organization are described by Wadsworth and Mann (The Cotton Trade, p. 80): '(i) the linen draper advanced cotton and yarn to an intermediate class of country manufacturers, the price being set off against the value of the woven goods when bought in; (ii) he put out materials to dependent spinners and weavers, either from his own warehouse or through a putting-out agent'.
84. Amounts owed by each weaver varied from £1 2s. 0d. to £11 0s. 0d.
85. He was owed a further £1,145 4s. 0d. by 74 people, whilst he had accrued £1,043 5s. 0d. of debts (owed to 28 people) himself, the nature of these being unclear. In all, the inventory of Joseph Jolley had £2,612 4s. 0d. of debts owed by or credit extended to 137 people - a large network of activity focused on one individual.
86. Thomas Smith - one of the administrators of the estate of David Jackson (a Manchester chapman who died in 1740) - was described as 'putter-out of goods': a rare unequivocal statement of this system in operation.
87. Bolton middlemen were instrumental in linking Manchester industrialists to 'local' producers, but their influence declined in the second half of the eighteenth century (Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 250-73); Wigan was similarly drawn into Manchester's web through the production of checks; Rochdale was originally an important woollen centre, but this role appears to have declined in the eighteenth century as rural workers generated their own contracts with London merchants, and other activities were taken over by Manchester (Tupling, Rossendale, p. 277). Only the far north-east of Lancashire seems to have escaped Manchester's expanding business empire, as it was much more closely integrated with worsted production in the West Riding; Swain, Industry before Industrialisation, p. 146.
88. Bolton middlemen were instrumental in linking Manchester industrialists to 'local' producers, but their influence declined in the second half of the eighteenth century (Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 250-73); Wigan was similarly drawn into Manchester's web through the production of checks; Rochdale was originally an important woollen centre, but this role appears to have declined in the eighteenth century as rural workers generated their own contracts with London merchants, and other activities were taken over by Manchester (Tupling, Rossendale, p. 277). Only the far north-east of Lancashire seems to have escaped Manchester's expanding business empire, as it was much more closely integrated with worsted production in the West Riding; Swain, Industry before Industrialisation, p. 146.
89. Bolton middlemen were instrumental in linking Manchester industrialists to 'local' producers, but their influence declined in the second half of the eighteenth century (Wadsworth and Mann, The Cotton Trade, pp. 250-73); Wigan was similarly drawn into Manchester's web through the production of checks; Rochdale was originally an important woollen centre, but this role appears to have declined in the eighteenth century as rural workers generated their own contracts with London merchants, and other activities were taken over by Manchester (Tupling, Rossendale, p. 277). Only the far north-east of Lancashire seems to have escaped Manchester's expanding business empire, as it was much more closely integrated with worsted production in the West Riding; Swain, Industry before Industrialisation, p. 146.
90. The sequence of development seen in the North-West was generally that of fustian and cotton production displacing 'indigenous' woollen or linen manufacture; Walton, 'Proto-Industrialisation', p. 46.
91. The extent to which urban capital penetrated rural production areas is crucial and, notwithstanding Wadsworth and Mann's work on this area (The Cotton Trade, pp. 78-96, 241-50), requires fuller and more systematic enquiry if it is to be properly mapped and understood.
92. This argument is strengthened by the urban domination of finishing industries and the putting-out system; production was of but not in the towns.