Weaving Silk Stories - research - blindness, deafness, knock knees & hump backs
A detail from the history of silk in Britain
"...living conditions were...comparatively decent as weavers cottages initially tended to be located away from the worsening pollution of town centres. In the late 18th century, these weavers were in a powerful position because although recent technological advances had mechanised cotton spinning operations (such as Hargreaves' Spinning Jenny in the 1760s, Arkwright's waterframe in 1769, and Crompton's spinning mule in 1779), nobody had yet invented a satisfactory power loom. This created a surplus of spun cotton and a production bottleneck that the weavers were able to exploit. They were guaranteed a constant supply of yarn, full employment and high wages. During the 1790s, Bolton handloom weavers could earn up to £1 10s a week - a large sum in those days. Then things took a turn for the worse. In 1785, Cartwright invented a weaving machine that could be operated by horse power, a waterwheel, or a steam engine, and he began using these looms in a Manchester mill."
"...for adults a fourteen hour day was not uncommon in these early manufactories. The throwing of silk was women's work and the mill would have had a large female workforce, with many young children working alongside in often hazardous and unhealthy conditions."
- Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne p22
The wages of women and children were lower, they had smaller hands and children at least could be more easily controlled, often with violence.
In it's very early years (circa 1819) Whitchurch Silk Mill employed 130 people on site, 39 of whom were children.
"...an advertisement placed... in 1830 for 2 to 12 girls of 10 to 14 years of age as apprentices to silk winding and weaving, premium expected to be £8."
- the Whitchurch Silk Mill archive
"The success of the mill system and British textile manufacturing was achieved on the back of great hardship and the exploitation of child labour on a national scale. Until the factory Acts, the industry had been entirely unregulated and the workforce at the mercy of mill owners who had complete control of conditions, wages and the length of the working day. The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act, passed in 1802, restricted the working day to just twelve hours and ensured that factories were well ventilated and were whitewashed twice a year, but there was no regulation of child labour for another thirty years. The years of recession and the end of the war with France saw a massive increase in the numbers relying on poor relief. Across the country Overseers of the Poor struggling to meet the demand would bound over destitute children to become apprentices in the new manufactories. Children as young as seven or eight were commonplace in the silk mills of the period....."
- Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne
Just for interest these were some of the other links i looked at regarding child labour
The Working Class Movement Library holds more information about the different jobs involved in making silk.
- images from Getty's Open Content Program and from Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne p22-23
When moves finally began to be made to improve conditions they faced fierce opposition from mill owners who argued against any government interference or regulation claiming it would put unnecessary constraints on the industry.. Samuel Courtauld, was one of the largest silk producers in the country. Responding to questions from the Board of Commissioners in 1832, he claimed that the occupation was:
"...perfectly innoxious; the labour light and suitable for children; their health was not effected; nor their constitution impaired; they grew up as robust and vigorous as persons engaged in the normal avocation of life."
- Childhood and Child labour in the British Industrial Revolution - Professor Jane Humphries 2010
He was firmly against any regulation but a certain silk mill department manager, Daniel Fraser, giving evidence to the same Board of Commissioners stated:
"The children were taken at a very early age and they exhibited great fatigue daily. In the mornings they would fall asleep after breakfast...The young children were strapped frequently with leather thongs...There was no provision for sitting down...The hands principally comprised females, who were considered more docile than males, but were less capable of enduring the conditions...Inadequate ventilation caused them to faint...The girls have hoarse, rough voices, as if they are not right within...The children have to work in silence. I have seen boys kicked."
- Regulation and the Health of Child Workers in the Mid Victorian Silk Industry - Tom McCunnie
Regional newspapers reported on numerous terrifying incidents:
"Last week another of those unfortunate circumstances too frequently attendant on silk machinery, occurred at a silk factory...A young boy...whose clothes got entangles in the machinery, met his death by strangulation."
And:
"Ralph Boothby, about five years of age, was unfortunately caught by one of the shafts or wheels...Killed on the spot"
- Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne p23
Whilst silk manufacturers often claimed that it was healthier to work in a silk mill than in one making other forms of textile because silk manufacture demands a dust free environment the mortality statistics of the Registrar General would disprove such claims.
"...deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis were extremely high in the silk manufacturing districts, indeed amongst girls aged ten to fourteen years it was three times that of the cotton and wool districts and exceeded the industrial black spots of Manchester and Liverpool."
- Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne p23
"The average height of the population fell in the1830's as an overworked generation reached adulthood with knock-knees, humpbacks from carrying heavy loads and damaged pelvises from standing 14 hours a day."
- Childhood and Child labour in the British Industrial Revolution - Professor Jane Humphries 2010
in 1833 a Factory Act was passed, factory inspectors appointed, the working week reduced to just 48 hours for children and 2 hours of schooling a day was introduced. Silk and lace manufacturers however had lobbied successfully so their industries were exempted, and nothing changed The most beautiful and fragile garments worn in the 1830's were being made under the harshest of conditions.
For more on this please see: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-act/#:~:text=In%201833%20the%20Government%20passed,under%20nine%20years%20of%20age
Isn't she lovely? But at what cost to whom?
- Silk and lace 1830's
Questions about the conditions of textile workers are still asked today of course but in the 1840's a factory inspector found on a visit to Macclesfield and Leek:
"...both weavers and piecers worked in constrained positions injurious to health. The posture of weavers, chest pressed against a wooden beam, compressed the stomach and the chest and caused many of them to become round-shouldered and narrow-chested...many piecers worked in winding sheds which did not use steam-power hence were not subject to factory regulations. Repetitive movement couple by long working hours seriously impaired respiration."
- Winders, Piecers, Warpers & Weavers The Story of Whitchurch Silk Mill by Jacqueline Browne p23
And we haven't yet even touched on the strain placed on eyesight and the loss of hearing suffered by those who worked every day amongst the noise of 70 active looms. In mills there were accidents that effected the eyes, but also dust would get into them that couldn't be removed with dusty hands. It was on my visit to Paradise Mill, Macclesfield (which is honestly one of the most atmospheric historic venues I have ever stood in) that I was made aware of this side of life for silk mill workers. One of the curators of the Silk Museum, which is next door to the mill, said that her own grandmother had become deaf because of work in a local mill.
I found myself standing in the walk way down the centre aisle of the factory floor, rows of looms joined in lines either side of me on a bright winters day. On the attic floor, with some electric lighting, I was barely able to comprehend the racket and the dinginess that must have flooded this space day after day after day.
After that I contacted the Working Class Movement Library who have "...a large archive relating to Silk workers, particularly related to trade union activity such as: Joint Industrial Council for the Silk Industry. Information regarding the health effects of this type of work on workers may be contained within the minute books of this organisation, for example: Amalgamated Society of Textile Workers and Kindred Trades, Leek branch: health insurance minutes, 1913-1940 (TU/SILK/8/F/4/8)"
And then I got in touch with the East Cheshire Eyesight Society (formerly known as the Macclesfield Eye Society) which achieved its 145th anniversary in 2020 and was set up because in the 19th century, so many people in Macclesfield worked in the silk industry doing detailed and complex work, for example the threading of hand loom harnesses. Many industrial towns had eye societies. It was all
"...generally carried out in very poor lighting conditions and inevitably this and the dust and fibres in the air had a detrimental effect on people’s sight. As a result, many became unemployable. The Local Authority acknowledged this problem and in doing so founded the “Society of Home Teaching for the Blind”...a committee of caring ladies was formed in 1875 when there were 80 blind people registered in the town. The object was originally to visit the blind in their homes or in the workhouse and to improve their quality of life by teaching them to read books, mainly religious works, produced in “Moon’s Simple Embossed Type” (an alternative system to Braille based on the standard alphabet).As the Society progressed over the following years the Committee began to teach further skills such as knitting and crocheting. With additional outside help, basket weaving, rush seating, piano tuning and even coal sack making were introduced and blind people began to obtain worthwhile occupations. As more saleable items were being produced it became obvious that permanent premises were essential and consequently 15 Queen Victoria Street was purchased in 1925 for a sum of £560. This became the central base and part of the building was converted into a suitable workroom. It was during this time that outings and monthly socials were arranged, and these have continued up to the present time with just a short break during the war years. In 1933 the Society officially changed its title to the “Macclesfield Society for the Blind”. Electricity was duly installed at 15 Queen Victoria Street and in 1950 the premises were officially classified as a “workshop for the blind”. Direct employment was provided here for blind people right up until 1963 when production at these premises had to be stopped as the Ministry of Labour considered them no longer suitable. The shop continued to sell items produced by blind and visually impaired people until 1974, when some very significant changes took place. Firstly, as a result of the passing of the Local Authorities Social Services Act, the Society’s role changed and it no longer acted as agents for the County Council as all statutory obligations were taken over by the Social Services. Secondly and far more positively, a team of dedicated volunteers founded the Macclesfield & District Talking Newspaper for the Blind – the first of its kind in the north of England. Initially sending out news items to its listeners recorded on cassette, it has progressed with technology on to CD’s and more recently memory sticks..in 1990 a home visiting scheme was started...refurbishment meant the Society was able to provide a proper Resource Centre where visually impaired people were welcome to come for advice and information. They could also try out and buy a wide selection of aids available to help maintain their independence... [in collaboration with ]Macclesfield District General Hospital an information desk was started at the Eye Clinic. Run by volunteers from the Society offers advice and understanding to people diagnosed with sight loss....[and is] also able to demonstrate more of the technology available to assist people with visual impairment, such as talking computer software and electronic magnifiers and mobile telephones. In October 2018 a decision was made to change [the] name to “East Cheshire Eye Society”....The isolation and anxiety that many experienced during Covid and lockdowns in 2020 and 21 caused the eye society to change and adapt to the needs of...members again [continuing] to keep in touch with people affected by visual impairments and...able to offer...services and support in different ways, including group chats; one to one keeping in touch calls; supported “confidence building walks” when people were able to get out and about again and increased technology support and training...[Today much more is done] online and over the phone [with] regular technology training sessions to enable people with visual impairments to make the most of smart phones, tablets and other “smart” devices."
© The East Cheshire Eye Society
As you can read in this post silk Mills such as Whitchurch have at various points integrated other thread types into their weavings. Many of the health concerns I've touched on above related as much or more so to work in mills weaving cotton etc. Do have a look here for further images and information: https://www.culturenlmuseums.co.uk/story/spinning-and-weaving/
and
I've written this post as a short background to consider some of the sufferings of weavers. Ironically of course though the work was harming them they suffered also from fear of any loss of income. Fashions changed and each time there was less work to be had wages dropped. This was sometimes helped, sometimes made worse by changes in the law which I touch on in other posts.
In order that this project is more available to those with eye sight loss today, following all the advise I've received I am looking into the following:
- talking to other local and national charities: https://vocaleyes.co.uk/about/our-mission/ and https://eastsussexvisionsupport.org/
- supplying large print descriptive text (I always describe the inspiration of my pieces alongside them in every exhibition)
- creating large photos of particular areas of detail
- creating audio description
- creating tactile/brail labelling
- creating a maquette sample piece of one or more of the garments, to allow for touching by visitors or special interest groups
- displaying QR codes for accompanying audio description
- allowing tactile touch tour groups
An interesting figure fighting for the rights of ill workers (children and women especially ) was Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna who used fiction writing to try to stir moral outrage and eventual change regarding the fact that children were working 17 hour days in the mills and being thereby damaged for life. To hear more about her work have a listen to this Long View episode on Radio 4.
Some of her aims strike a resonance today just as do many of the issues, concerning the challenges of immigration for example, that the Weaving Silk Stories collection research has touched upon.
"Her drive for social change was prominent in The Wrongs of Woman, wherein she wrote about the poor working conditions of female workers in London. The story focused on Kate Clark, a newly hired lace runners apprentice, who faced great work obstacles such as "long hours, poor pay and lack of food" which was common amongst labour workers in London. Published in four volumes between 1843 and 1844, the book adequately described the sickly and dirty lifestyle London workers endured during the Victorian era. She reflects, concerning the benefit for masters in maintaining low wages and poor conditions for the poor.
...in the desperate spirit of speculation, commercial men will set no limits to the production of what they may possibly sell, to the farther increase of their growing capital, and that in the struggle for means to live by the very scanty portion of this accumulated wealth which is allowed to circulate among them, the really destitute class are as little disposed to reject the most inadequate remuneration for their heavy til; thus at once glutting the market with labourers, and keeping down the price of work."
Another popular work by Tonna was Helen Fleetwood: A Tale of the Factories which told the story of cotton mill child labour workers, which was serialized between 1839 and March 1841 in The Christian Lady's Magazine. Her concern for the social and economic conditions of women expressed in her writing helped gather support for passage of the London Factory Acts of 1844, 1847, and 1848.
Sympathetic towards the Jewish community despite desiring their conversion to Christianity, she believed that "Jews might retain their traditional rituals and still reach salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as the Messiah." In 1843, she published Judah's Lion as her last book-length work of fiction which focused upon Jewish beliefs and culture."
Weaving Silk Stories is a new project in partnership with the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, which is due to launch in 2027.
Paper sponsorship by Duni Global
