Geoffrey Timmins

The last shift : the decline of handloom weaving in nineteenth-century Lancashire

Introduction: technological change during British industrialization sectoral studies of domestic outwork the cotton industry and outwork. Part 1 The changing balance in weaving technology - an overview: the rise of the powerloom the demise of hand weaving. Part 2 The economic importance of hand weaving in the early 18th century: numbers of handloom weavers geographical variation impact on settlement formation. Part 3 The nature of the hand weaving labour force: the emergence of the specialist weaver the change to cotton weaving. Part 4 The onset of decline in cotton hand weaving: the impact of the mid-1830s trade upturn intra-regional variation. Part 5 The survival of hand weaving in the mid-Victorian period: overall numbers and dependancy age/sex distribution. Part 6 The means of survival: hand weavers and family income type of fabric. Part 7 Mid-Victorian hand weavers - reasons for survival: historiographical issues new perspectives.

Housing Quality in Rural Textile Colonies, c. 1800–c. 1850: The Ashworth Settlements Revisited

Abstract The Ashworth Brothers, well-known cotton spinners and manufacturers of Egerton and Bank Top, near Bolton, have been accorded a high reputation for the quality of the housing they provided for their employees. This article argues that their reputation in this respect has been overstated, a combination of field and documentary evidence revealing that the housing they owned varied markedly in quality. That they offered a range of accommodation standards was partly a response to differing demands made by their employees, but it also arose from a paternalistic desire to ensure that their employees provided separate sleeping arrangements for boys and girls. Further evidence is adduced to suggest that cultural constraints prevented this desire from being fully realised.

Domestic Industry in Britain During the 18th and 19th Centuries: Field Evidence and the Research Agenda

Abstract This paper considers how fieldwork evidence can be used to investigate key themes that arise in the historiography of domestic industry, particularly with regard to the insights that can be obtained into the regional nature of Britains industrialisation. The focus is on articulating and explaining the variations that have been reported in the design characteristics of domestic workshops; on judging the impact that the rise of domestic industry had on the formation of rural and urban settlement, both in quantitative and qualitative terms; and on assessing the variation in accommodation standards that domestic workers and their families experienced. Work already undertaken in relation to each of these themes is discussed, drawing illustrations from various parts of the country, and further research possibilities are suggested. Emphasis is placed on the insights that can be derived by linking field and documentary evidence and by undertaking contextualised investigation, not only in relation to historiographical discussion, but also through comparative analysis within and between industrial regions.

Techniques of Easing Road Gradients during the Industrial Revolution: A case study of textile Lancashire

Abstract Analysis of road improvements during the Industrial Revolution period has focused on creating better surfaces, especially by using broken stone techniques, and has had comparatively little to say on easing gradients. Yet it is evident from field and documentary investigation that contemporary road engineers achieved a great deal in terms of easing gradients both by realigning routes and by cutting and embanking. Taking textile Lancashire as a case study, this article analyses the nature and extent of the improvements they made, arguing that some remarkable advances were achieved.