Textiles: From domestic to factory production

In contrast to the evidence of domestic production, factory rules such as those in the image and transcription below for Haslingden Mill show the demands made by employers on workers in their factories.

The strictly regulated working conditions of the mill worker are quite different to the lifestyle of independent domestic craftsmen like Cornelius Ashworth. Ashworth was free to decide how he used his time to do a variety of agricultural and cloth-making activities, as well as catch up with repairs and leisure, as long as the agricultural work was done in time and he had enough cash coming in from the sale of his cloth.

You might also be interested in this reconstruction scene about another contemporary factory, Belper North Mill.

At Haslingden Mill, the difference in power between worker and employer was considerable. The key characteristic of life at the mill was its deeply structured and disciplined schedule. It could not operate on the basis of a flexible approach to time or action, and the workers had to do what they were told.

Most of the rules dealt strictly with timekeeping, although some of the rules were to avoid threats to the machinery, such as damage to the brushes or the risk of fire. The mill buildings and atmosphere were filled with inflammable cotton dust and natural oils soaked into the structures, but firefighting technology remained extremely limited until later inventions.

© Helmshore Mills Textile Museum