Period of major change in British agricultural practices that partly preceded and partly overlapped the Industrial Revolution. Land enclosures in the 18th century brought an end to medieval methods and encouraged large-scale farming, with consequent improvement in scale and methods.
Radical movement of the 1830s and 40s aimed at persuading Parliament to adopt a six-point charter which would have brought about major parliamentary reform.
An attempt to provide an
alternative to capitalism, where organisations - notably grocery stores - were
run by and for members. Early attempts by men like Robert Owen to establish
co-operative communities met with no lasting success, but a shop set up by the
Rochdale Pioneers in 1844 set the pattern. Co-op members could purchase basic
supplies of food, fuel and clothing at reasonable prices, with surplus profits
being returned to them in the form of a regular dividend.
A device to keep the cost of wheat and
other grain artificially high in Britain. The law, passed in 1815 at the end of
the Napoleonic Wars, allowed the importation of grain free of duty only when the
domestic price reached 80s a quarter. This brought tremendous suffering for the
poor, but the laws were not repealed until 1846, following a long and bitter
battle led by the Anti-Corn Law League.
Machine used in the cotton-waste industry. Fitted with teeth in a revolving cylinder, it was designed to rip apart starched, hardened cop bottoms as a first step in the recovery of waste thread.
A process which turns woollen cloth into felt by the application of heat, water and pressure, which locks together the fibres. Fulling mills used water power to lift drop hammers which constantly pounded the material. In earlier times, similar results were achieved by treading the cloth under foot - if your name is Walker, your ancestors probably did this work!
Strong, hard-wearing cloth combining a linen warp and cotton weft. First made
in Egypt about 200ad, spreading across Europe and probably brought to Britain by
migrant workers. Normally used for workers clothes but, by cutting the weft, French workers produced Cord du Roi, or corduroy.
Machine built by Highs,Hargreaves and others which features a discontinuous process of spinning. The yarn is first stretched against the twist, and then wound onto the spindle.
The gap between two sets of mules in a spinning room, allowing space for the in-and-out
movement of the carriages. Known alternatively as the mulegate and the wheelgate.
Single length of weft in a piece of woven material. Used as a measure of the fineness of a material so, for instance, calico of 64 picks would contain 64 weft threads to the inch.
Laws providing for the relief of poverty
which gradually replaced charitable responsibilities from the 16th century. The
Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was an attempt to end the provision of relief in
the community, forcing the needy and destitute into parish workhouses.
The British Parliament brought in the Riot Act in
1715 to prevent civil disorder. It imposed on magistrates the duty of attending
the scene of a riot or potential riot in order to read the act.
Advanced version of Crompton'smule, automatic instead of manual, designed to allow operation by unskilled workers. The invention, by Richard Roberts, was a response by the manufacturers to the repeal of the anti-union Combination Laws in 1824.
Machine for turning heat into power by means of steam. Heat applied to a boiler expands water into steam, which is directed into a cylinder where it acts upon a piston. Newcomen (1712) produced the first practical engine for draining mines, Watt (1769) introduced major improvements, including a separate condenser and rotary motion, while Trevithick (1801) introduced the high pressure engine that led to the locomotive.
A drum covered in teasels, or thistles of a type found in Somerset, designed to raise the nap of cloth passed over it, making the material suitable for blankets.
The rise of manufacturing industry saw
many company owners cashing in on their workers by paying them in full or in
part with tokens, rather than coin of the realm. These tokens were exchangeable
for goods at the company store, often at highly-inflated prices. The Truck Act
of 1831 made this practice illegal in many trades, and the law was extended to
cover nearly all manual workers in 1887.
Spinning machine probably invented by Thomas Highs, but in fact patented by Arkwright which used the twisting mechanism of the Saxony handwheel with drafting rollers. So called because the machines were originally driven by waterwheel.
Method of making fabric by interlacing threads. Plain weave is a simple, over-under construction giving a flat, even texture, while patterned weaves such as twill and herringbone are obtained by differential raising of warp threads on the loom.
Building where the poor who were unable to support themselves were housed and
made to work if able. The 1723 Workhouse Act stopped relief being given to the able-bodied who refused to enter the workhouse.
