Table of Contents

Acknowledgementsx Prefacexi 1Introduction: a manufacturing people1 Part I ;'Illustrious followers of science' 2Fuelling growth: energy and power for industry41 Wood, peat and coal before the industrial revolution41 The enduring importance of muscle power, water and wind45 A revolution in power: the development of steam52 3Making machines67 Techniques of machine making70 Machine tools71 New forms of power transmission74 Networks of engineers around the British Isles76 A wide variety of engineering and mechanical skills86 Market-town foundries92 Conclusions: a diffusion of technical skills93 4Comprehending structures: the evolution of civil engineering95 Sappers and architects96 Designing new roads: turnpikes and the road to Holyhead97 Bigger and better structures: the development of arches and beams101 Bridges, aqueducts and viaducts on canals and railways105 Wooden bridges111 The age of iron: new forms in civil engineering112 Waterway engineering: the building of canals, locks, bridges and tunnels122 Building ports, docks and harbours129 Draining land, controlling water134 Contractors and navvies140 Understanding the earth beneath144 Civil engineering: an evolving profession145 5Changing horizons: transport in an industrial age147 To distant shores in little ships147 Coastal shipping154 Transporting goods by canal and inland waterway159 Passenger traffic on the canal network169 Coaches and carriers: a golden age of road transport171 Railways: creating a national network for goods and passengers178 A transport revolution?199 Part II; Creating the 'workshop of the world' 6Coal mining and coalfield industries203 Working the seams203 The industrial uses and consumers of coal211 Salt and soda ash212 Glass making213 Pottery215 Limestone burning, brick making and other uses of coal217 First and foremost: coal mining and industry in north-east England219 Industrial innovation on the Shropshire coalfields229 Coal mining in Ireland235 Industry on the fringe: the Cumberland coalfield236 Coal mining and industry in Scotland239 The coalfields of Yorkshire243 The East Midlands seams250 South Derbyshire and north Leicestershire256 Warwickshire259 The Black Country260 Coal and pottery in the north Staffordshire coalfield269 A complete industrial landscape: the Lancashire coalfield274 The coalfields of North Wales280 The Forest of Dean280 Coal mining and industry around Bristol282 Coal and industry in the valleys: the South Wales coalfields283 Conclusions289 7'Iron in the blood': the making of iron and steel291 Developments in the technology of iron making292 Traditional charcoal-fired furnaces293 Coke and coal replace charcoal296 Henry Cort and the puddling process297 New steel-making technologies299 How iron was used 301 Iron making in Shropshire and the West Midlands303 North Staffordshire310 Volcanoes in the Valleys: iron making in South Wales311 North Wales322 The ancient iron-making industry of Dean322 Iron making in the East Midlands324 Sheffield: cutlery, iron and steel326 Beyond Sheffield: iron making elsewhere in west Yorkshire330 Iron making in lowland Lancashire333 The Irish and Scottish iron-making industries334 Iron in west Cumberland and Furness340 Ironstone along the Jurassic Ridge343 Iron in the North East: Tyneside, Weardale and Cleveland344 Conclusions349 8Precious veins: non-ferrous metals351 The tin industry 353 The tin and copper mines of Cornwall355 Bristol and brass358 A copper revolution360 The lead industry369 The lead industries of Derbyshire and the northern Pennines370 Lead production in Scotland, Man and Ireland380 Lead mining in Shropshire and Wales380 Lead processing in towns and cities383 Conclusions: mining and processing384 9'The spinners' ardent toil': the textile industries387 Innovations in cotton machinery389 Cotton mills: a revolution in factory working395 Divergent patterns of growth and production in the cotton industry401 Weaving cotton cloth on handlooms404 Cotton manufacturing across Lancashire407 Middleton410 Oldham411 Bolton412 Bacup413 Power-weaving communities413 Manchester as 'Cottonopolis'414 Lancashire in 1870421 Cotton across the Midlands422 The spread of cotton427 The Scottish cotton industry429 The cotton industry in Ireland432 The silk industry433 Flax, hemp, linen and jute441 Wool and woollens449 Woollens elsewhere in England457 The woollen industry in Wales461 The Scottish woollen industry462 Lace and hosiery463 Conclusions: leading the industrial revolution468 10Rags to riches: a revolution in paper470 The mechanisation of paper making472 Patterns of paper making475 Developments in paper making after 1850479 Part III ;Towns, cities, and communities 11Great cities, old and new483 Urban thinking486 Living quarters486 Capital cities490 Towns of the North and the Midlands495 Facing the Atlantic502 An east-coast metropolis: Hull511 Conclusions515 12Capital industries: manufacturing in London517 The changing topography of London518 Trade and the city521 London as showcase523 Retailing and manufacturing in London525 Precious materials, precision goods and music531 Brewing532 Leather and glass535 Engines, carriages and ships537 Sugar importing and processing542 Bricks and stones543 London's housing543 Spreading suburbs546 Conclusions: London as an industrial centre549 13Towns of a different kind: resorts550 Bath: the archetype551 Bathing, piers and promenading: Britain's coastal resorts555 Taking the waters: inland spas and resorts560 Hydropathy561 A variety of resorts563 Manufacturing in resort towns573 14Creating communities: calculations and aspirations575 'Open' and 'close' communities575 Seigniorial enterprise578 Improvement582 Improvement at the margins584 The Fens589 Improvement in the Highlands589 Communities in Ireland594 Moravian communities596 Robert Owen: New Lanark and after597 The Chartists601 Industrial communities602 15Epilogue: a revolution in context603 Changing manufactures603 The wider world605 Glossary611 Further reading620 Index638

Reviews

'An authoritative, comprehensive and accessible study from the hand of a master.' David Gwyn 'Barrie Trinder's work over recent decades has played a vital part in the recognition and understanding of the importance of Britain's legacy as the first industrial nation. In this magisterial survey he now takes the long view in an impressive and wide-ranging survey of the experience of industrialisation, presenting the fruits of a lifetime of research in a richly illustrated picture of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. A valuable, accessible and up-to-date overview achieved through an impressive union of local examples and wide historical insights.' Kate Tiller 'Barrie Trinder is one of our foremost industrial historians. This fully illustrated book is a compendium of his own observations over more than fifty years coupled with the work of others across Britain and Ireland. It shows in detail, superbly illustrated, numerous sites and places where industry, coal, iron, steel, lead, tin, textiles, and many more activities once ruled. So much has now gone that the book is as much a record of a now lost industrial world as it is an account of Britain's industrial revolution. A monumental study of the industrial glory that we have now lost, this is a book that anyone with an interest in our industrial heritage as well as our towns can enjoy dipping into, from an author who has criss-crossed the British Isles to record and document our industrial heritage. The numerous illustrations with long and helpful captions make this a compelling account.' Prof. John V. Beckett 'This is the story of the great powerhouse of British history. Here, renowned historian Barrie Trinder offers a magisterial and comprehensive view, sweeping in its perspectives yet coloured by a wealth of rich and vivid detail. It is timely in two senses. First, the Industrial Revolution, its causes, effects and aftermath, are increasingly the subject of conjecture, analysis and research. This engaging new study opens the door to that debate. Second, in Barrie Trinder we have an erudite mentor who affords us the immediacy of his own experiences; of doubling at Masson Mill, weaving at Saltaire, casting at New Foundry, Stourbridge. And, in this compendium he brings a sense of clarity to themes that are often conflated; the revolution in transport as distinct from its engineering structures, the steam engine analyzed both as a source of energy and the creation of mechanical engineers. To all with an interest in this most misunderstood episode in the nation's history, Barrie Trinder's new book brings, as no other, the Industrial Revolution into focus.' [Sir] Neil Cossons 'Britain's Industrial Revolution is a magisterial achievement. Compendious yet sharply incisive, expert yet wise, academically exact yet visually compelling and at times almost poetic, it presents a lifetime's investigation and understanding of one of the most exciting moments in world history in a volume of Braudelian scope and ambition. It is hard to imagine that anyone but Barrie Trinder could have brought this prodigious enterprise to fruition. There has been no other book like it and it will be the standard bearer for a generation.' All best wishes. It is going to be an outstanding book! Dr Peter Wakelin