WEST-RIDING-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: Halifax woollen mills
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 04:52:08 EST

To Belinda Jemmett

Wool was the predominant industry in the Halifax area (Sowerby is only two or
three miles from Halifax) in the 19th century and there were very many woollen
and worsted mills. As far as I know there are very few records of who worked
where (and no doubt the workers moved from one mill to another) but you could
ask the West Yorkshire Archives Service if they have any such records - though
I suppose then you'd have to pay a professional researcher to look at them.
Frankly I doubt if the chances of success make it worth while. In most cases
it would be a mill close to home, but I know that some of my ancestors - one
of them a cripple - walked three miles to work from Sowerby when the local
mill went bankrupt, as so many of them did from time to time.

You'd have to ask a local whether there's anything published specifically
about the Halifax woollen industry, but if you just want a picture of the wool
and worsted industry in general you might be interested in a little book
published by Shire Books who have a web site at www.shirebooks.co.uk; 'The
Woollen Industry' by Chris Aspin, 32 pages, well illustrated.

I would have suggested writing to the Halifax Industrial Museum at the Piece
Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire: but I heard that there was some doubt about its
future. It might be worth the cost of a stamp.

Incidentally, the trade (and the census returns) made a distinction between
'woollen' and 'worsted' but in fact they were both wool, though processed in
slightly different ways.

More personally, I have a Cockcroft connectioin in Sowerby (where all my
mother's ancestors lived): Mary (Polly) Barrett 1870-1954 married William
Cockcroft, an engine driver, who died about 1930. I know a very little more
about them which I can pass on if you are interested.

Yours, Chris Bradley

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