Early industrial Manchester

Administrative/Biographical History

The Industrial Revolution which took place across parts of Britain from the 1780s onwards was centred around the technological improvements in textile manufacture and the consequent increase in coal and iron output. These three developments demanded that people worked in ever increasing numbers in factories, mines and mills. As a result of this they came to live in greater concentrations, thus giving rise to the unprecedented growth in urbanisation during the second half of the 19th century.

Sources

British Labour Struggles: Contemporary Pamphlets 1727-1850 – these are a collection of over 100 pamphlets that were republished in a series of volumes in the early 1970s. They cover early 19th century employment and social conditions that were faced by working class people. Early industrial Manchester is well represented, as are towns such as Leeds and Huddersfield.

With titles such as A Letter to those Millowners who continue to oppose the Ten Hours Bill (1836) and A Letter to Master Cotton Spinners (1842), the collection offers an easily accessible opportunity to get to grips with early industrial legislations, attitudes toward children, factory life and domestic politics.

Related material

The archive holds a complete run of the Manchester Regional History Review.