The Silk Trade in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England
The Silk Trade in Westhoughton, Lancashire, England
A Collection of notes on the History of Silk Weaving in Westhoughton
Notes on the "History of Silk Weaving by John Coop" and contributed by J Coop to the "Westhoughton Recorder" from July 5th to September 27th 1907.
Notes from "The Robert Walmsley collection" in Bolton Central Library Archives.
Transcribed by Pam.Clarke, Sept. 1990
Edited by Lois Basnett & Ada Bellis
For the Westhoughton Local History Workshop.
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Extract from "Westhoughton Recorder" July 5th 1907
The silk mill in Church Street has been bought by Mr Cooke of Barrowford, near Nelson, to be run as a cotton mill. The mill was erected by the late Mr John Chadwick and was worked by that gentleman for more than 50 years until his death in Jan. 1892. For four months after that event, the mill was carried on by the Chadwick family, when it was sold to Messrs Joseph Dunkerley & Sons, Silk Manufacturers, of Glasgow and Macclesfield, who entered into possession on June 1, 1892. This firm carried on business until about six years ago when the concern was floated. Formerly the mill gave employment to 300 or 400 operators, but at present, owing to the bad state of the silk trade - a depression which has been felt for a year - there are only about half a dozen employed and these will be paid up at the end of this week. Mr Cooke who has taken over the premises, will use them for the manufacture of cotton. The work of putting in new boilers and the introduction of necessary machinery for the cotton industry is to be begun as soon as possible, and it is expected to be ready for use in its new form sometime in September. It is anticipated that it will give employment for a considerable number of workers, and will, therefore be of great benefit to the township.
The transformation of this silk mill into a cotton mill leaves the township without any mill engaged in the manufacture of silk, whereas, 30 or 40 years ago, there were no less than 4 such mills, viz: Mr Chadwick's Mill in Church Street; Messrs Soper's Mill in Market Street (now known as the Westhoughton Manufacturing Co's Glebe Mill); Messrs Kemp's Mill in Victoria Street, and Mr Joseph Gregory's Mill in Wigan Road, both being now run as reeling sheds - a concern worked by Messrs Hampson Bros. A building in Peel Street which was formerly used by Mr Chadwick (and which was connected to the mill in Church Street) for handloom weaving and picking, is now, and has been used for some years as a corn mill by Messrs Philip Westhead & Sons.
The history of silk weaving is more romantic and interesting than any other industry. It is one of the oldest occupations in the world, one of the most luxurious, and its conception one of the most remarkable on record. The first silk loom was constructed by an Empress, and an Empress wove the first piece of cloth. It is on record in official documents of China how the wife of Emperor Huang-ti, well on 5000 years ago, cast about for something new. She had, no doubt seen the cocoon spinning its fine web and she and her maids began to collect these threads and twine then together to strengthen them, and so for the first time silk was spun. These threads were next placed in order on some contrivance that would answer for a beam (perhaps it was a bamboo cane). A loom was contructed, such perseverance was ultimately rewarded with a piece of cloth - a proud Empress had spun the yarn and woven the fabric.
Thus began the manufacture and for years weaving was in the hands of the well-to-do in the Celestial Empire and the cloth was sold at fabulous prices. All through history there are glimpses of its costliness - the Emperor Aurelines in 275 A.D. could not afford to buy his Empress silk goods. In the earlier days of the Roman Republic silk goods were forbidden in the Eternal City as too effeminate for her warlike sons and too costly for her daughters. In the days of the Empire things were different - Justinian fixed the price of the article if it came into the Empire it should be sold at £4.15.9 per llb (A.D.552). He did more, he sent two Persian missionaries to teach the Chinese wisdom and truth - and to steal the secret of their great success in making this costly article - and they succeeded (this in 555 A.D.), but it took some centuries for this knowledge to penetrate into the states of Europe. It was well established in Italy in the 13th Century - from Italy into Spain. The war between France and Spain in the 14th Century gave France an opportunity and Francis the Great brought over from Milan some silk weavers who settled in Lyons, establishing a superiority which that city has struggled to maintain ever since.
During the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) the art of weaving cloth was introduced into England from Flanders and there is little doubt that some portion of these Flemish refugees settled in this neighbourhood. It is to them that we owe the useful footgear of clogs. They also introduced "jannock" (the making of which is almost a lost art - more's the pity, for it is a wholesome food our forefathers have enjoyed for 500 years).
Westhoughton was once as noted for its "jannock" as Eccles is for its cakes and there is no doubt that many natives owe their strong constitution to the wholesome jannock. But these weavers were not silk weavers - their particular trade was woolens and linsey wolseys, so serviceable for petticoats for our great-grandmothers and once extensively manufactured on Bolton-le-Moors.
The first time there is any mention of silk being woven in England is a pair of silk stockings being presented to Henry II (1154). It was known at that time in Spain Henry VIII stumbled across a pair by great chance. Sir Henry Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange, presented Edward VI with a pair he had brought from Spain in 1549.
On New Year's Day 1560 Queen Elizabeth was presented with a pair of silk stockings as a New Year's gift, she was so pleased with them that she "vowed" (no doubt swore, that being a weakness of hers) "she would never wear cloth stockings again!".
In Lancashire and Cheshire we have mention of silk weaving in Macclesfield before Manchester; in fact Manchester is later in the field than several places of less importance in the commecial world. The silk industry of Macclesfield wa confined to articles of smallware previous to 1756, when owing to the prosperity of silk throwing that branch was introduced. In 1790 weaving was started by Messrs Leigh & Voce, Congleton, and Middleton soon afterwards engaged in the light craft.
From Middleton, it was introduced into Westhoughton about the year 1826....
The old COTTON weavers were in the last throes of existance - as "Joan o' Grinfield" has it:- If you go into a loomshop, where there's a toothery pair o' looms,
They are all standing empty, encumbrance of the rooms,
If you ask the reason why, old mother will tell you plain:
"My daughters have forsaken them, and gone to weave by steam".
The power loom and the modern factory system was taking the place of the home-worker. The handloom weaver and the small "putter-out" were being equally squeezed out of existance.
SILK offered a salvation to the sufferers - they were rather afraid of the fine, delicate work for a time -however, some from the stress of circumstances, some from motives of novelty and speculation, took it up. They sought low reed and light pick for a beginning and gradually mastered the more intricate sorts, until anything that came could be worked - as the old handloom weaver put it in his mellow moments: "they could make anything that could be made with traddles and healds!" At this time the silk business was mostly confined to the home markets in the surrounding districts of Manchester, including Leigh and Westhoughton. In 1832 there were from 20,000 to 24,000 looms. This district was by no means the leading centre of the trade - Coventry, Spittlefields, Derby & Glasgow were seats of large operation.
The total value of exports in 1832 was £529,691. whereas in 1903 the value of exports was £1,436.665. - when only one solitary hand-loom was working in Lostock (near Westhoughton); None in Westhoughton; about ten in the district of Leigh, once the hive of 10,000 busy workers. Westhoughton alone contained well on for 600, of which Mr Chadwick found employment for over 200 at one time - exclusive of mill hands.
When the manufacturers began to tackle the foreign markets, and Manchester enterprise was brought to bear, the industry expanded wonderfully. It seems incredible to us today, to know that cotton and silk have ever stood in any competitive relationship, but such is the fact culled from Wheelen's "History of Manchester" - to which source I am indebted for several items of information contained in these articles:
"It appears that, taking the average of three years - 1815, 1816 and 1817 and the three succeeding years of 1818, 1819 and 1820, the increase in the cotton trade in 22 per cent, and in silk 31.5 per cent. In the years 1824 and 1825 the cotton trade increased to 80 per cent, and the silk trade 156 per cent.
(1821,2,3. Cotton 48% & 1821,2,3. Silk 80%)
The tables however have turned. Cotton has careered up, expanding in every direction. Silk has shrunk less and less until it is something of a rarity.
When the Manchester manufacturers, with their agencies, spread around Manchester, Leigh became a centre for "putting-out". The weavers for miles around went to Leigh. Harrop, Taylor & Pearson; Maken and Walker; E.R.Le Mare; Chas. Hilton; Peter Joynson, Winkworth; Smith; Clough and others, were a few of the firms employing handloom weavers in and around Westhoughton. When the silk trade was in a depressed condition, owing to the scarcity of raw material or the whims of "Dame Fashion" (silk being a luxury and seldom worn by it's makers), the masters or agents were a terror to the poor weavers often causing them to journey to Leigh on the slightest and most provoking pretext - and sometimes having to wait for hours.
(The following extract taken from "The Westhoughton Historical Review" (1897) published by R Clough of Westhoughton gives a better idea of the conditions of the local silk weavers):-
"For some time (after the introduction of silk weaving) matters went pretty well, but from 1833 a system of deducting a portion of the weaver's wages for alleged deficiency of shute - that portion of the silk which the weaver had to pick in with the shuttle, which was delivered to the weaver upon tin bobbins - and numerous other frivolous excuses, such as "too much shute"; "too little shute"; woven too slack"'; etc., was begun by the masters and their agents. This system of robbery continued to increase in such a degree that at last a committee of gentlemen enquired into the employee's grievances, and two petitions were prepared - one in 1844 and another in 1845 - and presented to the House of Lords by the late Lord Lilford. On this committee was the late Rev.J.R.Alsop B.A. incumbent of Westhoughton. In those days the weavers had to take their work, when finished to the warehouses in Leigh. Some idea of the hardships they endured, may be gathered from some of the statistics compiled by this Committee:
One person residing at Westhoughton Chapel, from the date of receiving shute, which was 32 days, from December to January 1844-45, travelled 14 times to the warehouse and covered a total distance of 126 miles, and waited 70 hours at the warehouse. Amongst others from Wingates was a person who had waited 24 days and had travelled 11 times to the warehouse, covered a distance of 132 miles and waited 50 hours at the warehouse.
When the business was "bright-side-up" as it was from 1841 to 1851, the handloom weaver was the most independent man of his time.
The next twenty years of the trade was a period of fickle spurts which continued well on to 1870, when Germany and France took it into their heads to cut off as many of each other's heads as possible (Franco-Prussian War) and whilst this "infatuation" lasted the silk manufacturers reaped a golden harvest, and the silk weaver did well. The spasmodic fluctuations in the trade were no more keenly felt in the latter years than from about 1875. In 1884 there was a Royal Commission on labour. The preparation of the report was entrusted to Thomas Wardle of Leek (later Sir Thomas) president of the Silk Association, and a well known silk dyer. He laid the fault of the depression on shoulders that resented it - but this part of the question is not the subject of these notes.
There is perhaps no industry that has had so much prejudice to contend with that of silk. Our silk buyers seem always to have had a preference for foreign makes - French for preference. About 20 years ago I remember a special effort being made to move the "upperton" in the interest of home-made silks. The late Lady Egerton of Tatton took so lively an interest in the matter that several meetings were held at her mansion in London to render popular home-made fabrics. Queen Victoria accepted a silk dress with all its trimmings made from silk, but all these efforts resorted to were only temporary in effect. A silk merecer in the metropolis says that "His purchasers prefer to believe that they are buying foreign made goods and to describe in these terms assists their trade.
Some time ago on one of my rambles in Rivington, I met a man from Bolton who had seventy four or five years behind him, who told me of a trip he had to Paris with his good wife in their young days, and how they decided to bring a present for a young lady friend, of a real good and nice silk dress - a real French make - none of your English imitation. He told me of their going into a grand establishment, and how their limited knowledge of the French language interfered with their pleasure of bargaining, until one of the staff(who was aquainted with the English tongue) took the matter up and recommended a piece of cloth woven at "John Chadwick's, London, Manchester and Westhoughton" (the Chadwick trademark) as being superior to anything in stock; and how this Gentleman bought his neighbours' and friends' goods in the great capital of the silk country. The recital of this adventure is enough to prove the prejudice that was encountered by the English silk manufacturers.
Westhoughton's Last Silk Mill
(It's greatest prosperity and the beginning of it's decline).
John Chadwick's Mill in Church Street, Westhoughton (demolished around 1985)
The mill began it's career when the silk trade was passing through one of those depressions that made it so precarious an occupation. The old hand loom weavers could not think that so delicated a fabric would be satisfactorily made by power, and as Mr Chadwick put work out in the old style the weavers satisfied themselves for a time that it was only the less tedious and difficult work that the "childer" could do by machinery. By a close application to business and catering to the varying whims of fashion, and other influences incidental to trade, the hand loom and power loom were worked by the firm for several years.
There is one interesting fact to be noticed in the industrial development of Westhoughton, that the population of the township only increased from 3,810 (1811) to 4547 (1851) or 19.34% - Whereas with the 40 years ending with 1891, the increase was 121.61% or more than double.
It would be idle to pretend that the increase was due to the four silk mills you name, but that industry was the mainstay of Westhoughton during the period named, with the mill and home-system of weaving. None of the cotton mills existed in 1851. The colliery system was not so fully developed - the railway had been opened in 1848. I think the enterprise of Mr Chadwick who, when he came to Westhoughton, was about 40 years of age, had more to do with establishing the future prosperity of this township than any other man.
The depression mentioned (in the silk trade) was a reflection of the general state of trade in the country, and the bad state of trade had been of long duration. That the unemployed were very numerous and had become rather troublesome we see by the public prints, as well as from individual recollections that the workers suffered great privations.
Queen Victoria before she had been Queen three months, was called upon to give her signature to the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the condition of the unemployed handloom weavers of the United Kingdom. A Royal Commission had long been considered the most graceful form of delay, or rather the shelving of a question when excuses might lead to an awkward dilemma.
The Commission consisted of four gentlemen - one of whom was Nassau William Senior (a professor of political economy at Oxford), Samuel Jones Lloyd, who was looked upon as having sympathy with the suffering unemployed; W.E.Hickson and John Leslie. These gentlemen completed the list and had power to appoint assistants to take various districts. Thus invested with all the paraphernalia of circumlocution and delay they proceeded to investigate. Witnesses from all parts of the land were examined - doctors, aldermen, councillors, manufacturers and weavers. One of the Commissioners seems to have visited Wigan. 42 families were reported on whose wages ranged from 3/- to £1.2.0 per week per family or an average of 1/11(3/4d) per week per member of a family. Blackburn, Preston, Bolton and other places were also visited. The prices of all classes of weaving from silk to sail and sacking cloth, the conditions of living, as to food and housing (as well as habits and ammusements) came under review. Their labours extended over 4 years and the report filled 130 pages, being presented on 19th February 1841.
And the people went on starving.
On the margin of an old book in my possession it is written "Bad times in 1842 People out of work and starving to death in Westhoughton in 1842". From Chew Moor comes the pen of an ancient poet, saying:- "Chew Moor stinks of poverty, but it can't be done!" (meaning I take it, that there was nothing MORE to CHEW). In the years 1844 and 1845 the silk weavers of Westhoughton petitioned Parliament, and in the latter years they approached the House of Lords. Their complaint was stated to be a system of robbery known as "bating" in which the cloth agent deducted part of the pay for a piece on any pretext. "When the Law ends -tyranny begins -". The Rev.J.R.Alsop, incumbant of Westhoughton Church, interested himself on behalf of the weavers and secured the sympathy of Lord Lilford, but very little effect followed this worthy effort.
Such was Westhoughton when the mill was established by Mr Chadwick in 1850. The spinning mills, weaving sheds, bleach works and othere active and prosperous industries in your midst as well as all your places of worship, with the exeption of the Friends Meeting House, have been built (or rebuilt) since 1850. The number of houses have increased nearly 300% the rateable value more than 300% and the population 121% The establishment of the silk mill set all this prosperity in motion, and if Mr Chadwick had not ventured, who would? for this township had been at a standstill for 40 years.
The mill grew; steady application to business and attention to the beautiful in colour and combination (Mr Chadwick had good taste) serving well to stimulate progress and achieve success. The home weavers too were kept more steadily employed than was the case with most masters, and their daughters were gradually drafted into the mill, the older ones to weaving and the younger ones to half-time winding. When the mill was working at it's full capacity about 250 looms were in operation, with a weaver at every loom, which with winding, warping, dressing and other preparatory requirements found occupation for about 500 hands, exclusive of the inside and outside handloom weavers.
Mr Chadwick had a humane side to his nature that manifested itself in many little ways. The half-timers only commenced work at 7 o'clock on the morning turn. He had a spacious dining room attached to the mill where plain cooking was attended to, and a person appointed to take charge whose duty it was to keep the place and the pots clean, and dry wet clothes when needed, without any charge to the hands. These advantages were rather primitive in their early stages, but in their later development were very useful to the hands. At one time he furnished each of the weavers with a cape and a hood for use in inclement weather. He also made arrangements of an experimental kind with the late Dr Bringloe to attend his employees during sickness free of charge on the recommendations of the Manager. The higher employees had a scale of payment for attendance.
The system of paying the hands was quite original. The weavers and dressers were paid on the completeion of their work; thus every day was a pay day. The day-wage workers were, or course paid on Fridays. Weekly payments were by no means the rule in those days, there being fort-nightly or monthly, with every kind, five weeks pay. You could get a sub, as a favour, by making out a good case of necessity.
These are a few of the traits in Mr Chadwick's character, but the many and most kindly features in his life were best developed in a personal acquaintance. Religiously he was very broadminded, and all denominations shared his generosity. Indeed he never said "No" to any local effort if good was it's object. In evidence of this fact it may be mentioned that when the corrugated iron Mission Hall was being erected by Mr R Clough in Tithebarn Street, Mr Chadwick requested that the plans be sent to his residence at Southport and after perusing the same, he sent a most encouraging and complimentary letter to the promoter and enclosed five pounds as a preliminary gift. Upon the completion of the building he paid a visit to it, and after personal inspection, suggested certain improvements which were promptly carried out. Unfortunately his life was not spared to permit his continued interest in the work of the Mission.
Politically Mr Chadwick was a very advanced Liberal, and on one or two occasions went so far as to make room in his mill for holding political meetings. He was a personal friend of Mr Cobden.
When appointed Overseer for the township, he arranged matters so that Vestry Meetings began to be held on Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock, instead of 11 o'clock in the morning. This arrangement enabled a greater number of ratepayers to attend and so become interested in the management of the affaires of the town. He played a leading part in the agitation for the Adoption of the Local Government Act in 1870-72. Adoption of which was actively opposed by a few prominent ratepayers. The want of water was keenly felt by the inhabitants and a sewage system was also very much needed. These, together with public lighting and scavenging, as well as other requirements of good sanitation, came in due course under consideration.
It is hoped that when the "city fathers" decorate the walls of the Council Chamber with the benefactors of the town, they will not forget the portrait of John Chadwick, Esq., J.P.
Mr Chadwick's belief in Free Trade was thorough, having no fear of rivals, although every particle of the material that he worked was imported. He would never ask to "tax the consuming public to support the silk manufacturer". In 1852 he succeeded in moving the silk manufacturers of Manchester to petition the Chancellor of the Exchequer - the Rt.Hon.Benjamin Disraeli M.P. with regard to the restrictive duty on silk goods.
The petition was couched in language characteristic of Mr Chadwick, and any one with only a slight acquaintance with him will suspect no assistance. I give the whole of the "prayer" for to summarise will detract from its pith and pungency:- "This Memorial Sheweth:
That your Memorialists are manufactureres of broad silks in Manchester; that the trade are engaged in is in a depressed state; that their workpeople are not fully employed and that this branch of manufacture has been almost stationary in extent for a period of ten years at least, whilst every other branch of textile manufacture has largely increased; that they consider the depression and non-extension of their trade to be owing chiefly to the limited nature of the foreign demand for their goods and your memorials are of opinion that this is contributable to the protective duty imposed on foreign silk goods imported into this country, the effect of such protective duty being to create an impression in the markets of the world that England is unable to compete with the Continental manufacturer in the production of silk goods, and thus to throw the export trade almost entirely into the hands of the French and Swiss competitors; that in the opinion of you Memorialists. however necessary protection may have been in a former period, it is now positively injurious to them, and they feel that it cannot under any government, or under any circumstances, long be maintained.
Your Memorialists pray, therefore, that you will be pleased to relieve them, by repealing the duty of foreign silk goods not partially and gradually but totally and immediately, and thus proclaim to the world that the Manchester silk manufacturer denounces the so-called protection and every aid a government can give; that he is prepared to depend solely on his own merit, and that he avows himself capable of taking a higher position in the race of competition unfettered by protection than it has hitherto attained under its fostering care - Manchester Nov. 10th 1852.
Here follow 27 signatures, embracing all the manufacturers and agencies in Leigh, John Chadwick, Henry Coop & Son of Westhoughton as well as the Manchester firms.
This prayer had no effect on the Government. Eight years later Mr Bright presented the following petition for the silk manufacturers of Manchester, still seeking relief from protection, in which they state: "That these duties are quite at variance with the general policy of commerce" They pray the House "To grant free admission into this country the silk manufacturers of all nations".
This document bears the date; Manchester, February 4th 1860, and it was signed by 19 silk manufacturers covering the same area as the former one. Some of the former signatories had been "protected" out of existence, some had other reasons for with-holding their support.
The following manufacturers signed the memorial to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from the silk manufacturers of Manchester in 1852, before alluded to:-
HENRY COOP of Chequerbent (a manufacturer of muslins - once a very remunerative trade) was attracted tp the business of silk manufacturing about 1840. He collected round him some very good silk weavers and his business connections were of the highest character. From two to three hundred hands found employment in his name, all branches of preparation being carried on at his premises situate in Chequerbent.
Beyond Mr Coop's business connections with Sir James Watts, there was an acquaintance which led to Sir James's frequent visits to Westhoughton and that gentleman's generous support to the cause of local Congregationalism.
The occasion of Mr Coop's retirement from trade, which he was so well fitted to conduct, was a circumstance regretted by a large circle of acquaintances and business connections, He died on the last day of May 1867, preceded by his wife by just one year.
PETER GREGORY and ROBERT HUNT were also local silk manufacturers that deserve a place in your resume' Both these gentlemen made brave attempts to cope with the intricacies of the trade, but failed to accomplish very great results.
J.R.KRAUSS, at one time in the employ of Mr Chadwick, opened a business in Seddon Street, Wingates, early in the seventies and no doubt had a fair harvest during the boom of that decade. Mr Krauss had only a short experience in Westhoughton; whether he transferred his usefulness to some other field or not I do not know.
Silk "Throwing"
In 1853 Mr Chadwick took out a patent for "throwing silk direct from the cocoon". The name of his mechanic Arthur Elliott is associated with Mr Chadwick in this invention, as the latter gentleman states in a circular, "My own engagements prevented me giving it the necessary attention".
In 1859 he had a machine of 80 spindles fitted up and exhibited in London, to which he invited all interested in the silk trade. Two or three of his hands from the mill in Church Street, went to London to manipulate and show the working of the machine. The circular states:- "that is is generally known that the imperfect character of the raw silk of China and other countries - it's coarseness, it's unevenness and foulness - does not arise from defects in the cocoon itself, but solely from such machinery employed and the careless method adopted in reeling it. To remedy this evil, it occured to me as a manufacturer, that by importing the cocoons themselves, we could adapt machinery to wind and throw (or partly to throw it) direct upon bobbins, and thus not only effect a saving on waste and in cost of production, but obtain a thread of any size required even and clean". This being an original invention, a patent for the process was taken out on April 14th 1853. This process was adapted at his works at Manchester.
On the same date April 14th 1853, Mr Chadwick read a paper before the Directors of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce on "Silk Manufacture" - being himself a Director of the Chamber at that time. The paper is directed against the protective policy that hung around the silk industry from it's introduction into England. Showing that from 1363 to the present time (1852) various methods have been tried by Parliament, but never on the free trade policy, to foster and establish the manufacture of silk goods. Mr Chadwick enforces his views in a masterly manner, in a paper of much research and historic dates. In pamphlet form it covers 16 pages, printed and distributed at the sole cost of Mr Chadwick to propagate his views.
Early in 1860 (January 12th) Mr Chadwick issued an open letter to Mr Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging the desirability of Free Trade in Silk Manufacture. The French Treaty was at this time far on in negotiation - in fact the treaty was signed on the 23rd January 1860 - Mr Cobden negotiating the compact on behalf of the Cabinet at home. Mr Chadwick primed Mr Cobden in matters relating to the silk trade.
There was no change in the condition of the silk trade immediately following the French Treaty. Everything went on much the same until the conflict between France and Germany in 1870, so upset the labour of the two countries that the silk industry prospered here, and for some time the loom was busy and the trade profitable - we may venture to say PROFITABLE. Mr Chadwick with his usual forsight turned this to good account - our own Government's mental attitude during the struggle favouring the opportunity.
But in prosperity as well as the reverse, he insisted that the managers and overlookers should apply all their energies and improve every opportunity to excell in the trade they had to live by. In free and open competition the fittest will survive. To say you had done your best iritated him. "Your best is never done" he has said to people who will read these lines. He surrounded him with capable men in every department of usefulness, among whom were a few ingenious handloom weavers who were constantly employed in pattern designing and weaving, producing varieties of twillings, floating, and flushing's of warp and woof, the blending of colours in every variety to captivate the fancy of fashion.
The award of "Honourable Mention" was given to the taste and skill of the products of the "Old Mill" at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. The overseers looked upon this achievement with some "swagger" as it was on the enemy's own ground. There were several exhibits in the London Exhibition of 1862 to which about a dozen of the principal hands went from Westhoughton (partly at the employer's expense) as a means of education. I do not know the extent of success gained there, but my impression is that it was considerable.
Several original inventions were in operation in the mill, one of which was a very good dobbie for fancy work, and which has only recently been surpassed - a section self-stopping warping mill. No patents were taken out for these improvements, as he wished to benefit by his own skill, and not put it on the market to compete with himself.
Mr Chadwick was personally acquainted with S Cunliffe-Lister Esq., of Mimmingham Mill, Bradford (created Lord Masham in 1891 for his many inventions; the principal one - or the one that brought Mr Chadwick into touch with him - being the silk throwing by which the waste and refuse in silk manufacture was utilised. He esteemed all inventors as benefactors to their country.
Thrift,cleanliness and punctuality were virtues encouranged and rewarded. I have here a depositor's book of the "Westhoughton Silk Mill Penny Savings Bank". This was not like the modern "going-off" club, but established to encourage the utility of it as a useful aid in after life. Cleanliness was insisted on. I have before me a notice that used to be attached to the looms, stating "that extra money will be paid if the weaver makes a good time and nice cloth and keeps her loom clean". A silk dress was presented as a reward for attention to these virtues for a number of years, to a weaver now living.
The requirements of the "particulars" clause in the amended Factory and Workshops Act was in operation at this mill fifty years ago. Every weaver - or dresser ticket contained the length, width, count and price for weaving or dressing, as the case may be - the very particulars that Parliament has since forced on all employees.
Several misfortunes overtook the family to the detriment of the industry. The eldest son - Master George, unable to bear the strain of a close attention to business, retired from the mill in 1882. He succumbed at the early age of 43 in 1898. Master Fred's life was cut short on his holiday tour of Scotland in August 1884, and there was no doubt that these two occurencies altered the course of events at the Westhoughton Silk Mill. Mr Chadwick erected, and handed over to the local authority, a public drinking fountain to the memory of Master Fred and of a boy who died at the age of 12 in 1862.
On January 29th 1892, Mr John Chadwick passed away at the age of 79 years, he being active to within a short time of his death. His good wife followed him within three months afterwards.
It was the wish of Mr Chadwick that the mill might continue on the same lines as hitherto, but things have worked out otherwise. We hope the new interest may have a long a peaceful career. I had no intention of saying as much, but have been urged by friends and impelled by respect and I contribute it as the appreciation of an old servant.
The silk manufacturers and the small cotton manufacturers of former days have been relegated to the ruined industries of the country by mills of 100,000 spindles and the sheds of 1000 looms. The spinner with his weekly earnings of £2.10s to £3, and the weaver with her £1 to £1.10s have replaced the handicrafts of our youth with their 16/- to £1 per week - are we better off?
THE LAST HANDLOOM WEAVER
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I found on Chew Moor - the very place one would expect to meet with engineering trades and ancient devices, with tales of erie and folk-lore - a handloom weaver. This one is just the type of the weavers of 70 years ago, happy at his loom, content with his lot, and taking pride in his work which would satisfy Ruskin. Serge cloth of a very superior quality - a beautiful and perfect twill, not an uneven pattern or broken pick in the whole piece - he has attached to his loom, a primitive home-made dobbie, by which he manipulates the shedding of twelve shafts on two "traddles". The machine is perfect in adaptation to it's work, and neat in structure. Hattersley Hall, or Hutchinson & Hollingworth turn out no more effective instrument. The whole could (?) easily be stored away in a top hat.
The springs to his sley is equally ingenious and effective. To the loom is also adapted a taking-up motion, which instead of the usual "monkey tail" and pinion wheel, is operated by a catch and string.
In one corner stood the companion to the handloom - the hand wheel, a near relation of the distaff (to which Solomon tells us, the good wife held her hands in his day). It always required a lot of patience to wind on the hand wheel, and if pin winders had been fit for soldiers, there had been no need for the press gang.
While the handloom weaver clickety-clacks away, every limb he has in motion, the rhythm of his loom is conducive to contentment, and if he has music in his composition it's bound to come out if his material is tolerable.
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