COTTON weaving and spinning was Burnley's staple industry for almost 200 years.

Without cotton Burnley, as we know it, may never have existed, but in its heyday it became the weaving capital of the world.

Now Burnley author Jack Nadin explores the history of the industry in a new book, setting out details of the 140 mills which once operated in the town, the people who worked in them, and their families.

Jack tells that at the peak of the weaving industry in 1929, 63 per cent of the town's working population worked in some capacity for the mills.

But there began a steady decline, due to foreign imports and, by 1950, only 29 per cent of townsfolk worked in the industry - despite an attempt to increase home productivity following the war.

Britain's bread hung by Lancashire's thread' was the phrase coined by the Minister of Labour Mr George Isaacs, during a visit to the Mechanics Institute in 1947.

Mills and factories first began to make an appearance from around 1730 but, in the early days, conditions were far from ideal. Crude machines were crowded together, there were few precautions against fire, and the only light was a flickering candle or, at best, gas light.

Child labour was common; even infants are reported to have been carried to work on their father's backs, to supplement the family income and kept working by the strap of the overlooker!

Father, wife, sons and daughters often worked together at the looms, although children under nine were forbidden to work under an Act of 1833. The mill owners got round that by hiding the under-aged in sacks, should word get round that an inspector was on tour in the area!

It wasn't uncommon either for the master to be at the mill before the worker and anyone late was sent home without pay, and sometimes even fined.

In 1875 the hours of work for the mill and factory workers were reduced to 56 and, by the turn of the 19th century, the mill engine was stopped on Saturday lunchtime. The 45-hour week was introduced in 1945.

Our two pictures, courtesy of the Briercliffe Society, show King's Mill, Bridge Street, built in the 1850s to replace a corn mill dating from around 1290, which burnt down in a fire. It was run by John Moore, who later became the town's first mayor, and his brother-in-law John Spencer.

The other picture was taken in 1905 and shows Tom and Harold Nuttall at Hill End Mill, Haggate, when it had 428 power looms and two steam engines. It had just been bought by William Nuttall, for £4,700, acting on behalf of the work people, but had been operating since 1777.

  • Burnley Cotton Mills, by Jack Nadin, priced at £12.99, is published by The History Press.