http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1405647789

Bolton's textile industry, 18th-19th century : manufacture, trade and politics

"This resource combines papers relating of two families prominent in the history of Bolton. Both families, the Cromptons and the Heywoods, were involved in Lancashire's rapidly expanding textile industry. Samuel Crompton's 'Mule', invented near the turn of the nineteenth century, was instrumental in the revolutionising the manufacture of textiles, leading in turn to the subsequent prosperity of Bolton. Documents contained in the Crompton Archive, are highly instructive on the rise to prominence of the mule and on the efforts of its inventor, who did not patent his machine, to secure financial recompense for the economic benefits that it brought. They also facilitate research into contemporary business practices, as well as into more domestic concerns, including the nature of family relationships and their household expenditure. The papers also show some of the varied ways in which provincial Victorians sought to commemorate pillars of the community, in addition to providing insights into the religious life of members of the non-conformist New Jerusalem Church, or Swedenborgians. The Heywoods were successful textile manufacturers. The business correspondence drawn from in this archive offers insights into the nature of trade within England and abroad. Robert Heywood became influential in local politics and public affairs, becoming the second Mayor of the Borough of Bolton in 1839-1840. Thus these Heywood papers also provide insight into contemporary political issues in Bolton, in particular the Chartist movement and riot of 1838, while his journals and letters relating to expeditions to America, Europe and the Levant shed light on nineteenth-century travel, in which business opportunities were never entirely forgotten during the sightseeing. The Heywood papers also contain personal correspondence between family members and friends, which complements items in the Crompton archive regarding the nature of kinship at that time."--Collection metadata screen.

Open All Close All