ENGLAND 



291 4 



ENGLAND&WALES 



.. RAILWAYS 



V > English Mile* 



Referervrs 

 London & North Eastern 



2 London Midland i Scottish 



3 Southern 



Westei-n 



those of York, Derby, and Notting- 

 ham, have an indefinite boundary 

 under the newer rocks to the E. of 

 the carboniferous series ; thus coal 

 inav be found at greater depths on 

 the E. margins. 



Britain produced about one- 

 cighth of the world's iron, chiefly 

 on the coalfields, where the ore was 

 found between beds of coal, and, in 

 addition, in Cleveland and Furness, 

 where there are large deposits of 

 haematite ore. The demand for 

 iron ore for war purposes led to the 

 increased mining of low-grade ores 

 in the newer strata E. and S.E. of 

 the Trent, and modern methods of 

 iron-mining, combined with high 

 prices, may mean the continued 

 exploitation of these ores. 

 Decline of Lead-mining 



Less than one p.c. of the world's 

 lead was mined, chiefly in Derby- 

 shire, but lead-mining has been de- 

 clining for many years. Cornwall 

 produced less than 4 p.c. of the 

 world's tin, chiefly at the E. Pool 

 and Tresavean mines. Zinc in 

 Cumberland, manganese in Corn- 

 wall and Devon, and tungsten in 

 Cornwall are minerals of minor 

 importance. The most important 

 non-metallic mineral is salt, which 

 is chiefly found in the Nantwich 

 district in Cheshire, but also in 

 Lancashire, Worcestershire, and 

 Durham. 



The chief English fishing towns 

 are on the E. coast. Grimsby, Yar- 

 mouth, and Lowestoft account for 

 most of the catch on this coast, 

 which amounts to more than 

 three-quarters of the English total 

 Newlyn, near Penzance, is the 

 chief 'fishing centre on the S. 

 coast, and St. Ives and Fleetwood 

 on the W. coast. The main catch 

 in the N. Sea is herring, in the Chan- 

 nel, mackerel and pilchard. 



The most important English 

 manufactures are textiles. Cottons 

 occupy 500,000 workers and are 

 f ocussed on Manchester ; the chief 

 districts are Blackburn, Oldham, 

 Bolton, Stockport, Preston, and 

 Rochdale. Woollens are chiefly 

 made in the W. Riding, with Brad- 

 ford as a technical and Leeds as a 

 marketing centre, the other chief 

 districts being Huddersfield and 

 Halifax. The manufacture of 

 woollens extends W. to Rochdale, 

 that of cottons E. to Halifax and 

 Bradford. Silk goods are made over 

 a wider area and on a smaller scale, 

 the main centres being Bradford, 

 Stockport, Halifax, Stoke, Bir- 

 mingham, and London. Leicester, 

 Nottingham, and Derby manufac- 

 ture lace and both cotton and 

 woollen hosiery. The distribution 

 of the textile industry is largely 

 controlled bv the S. Pennine coal- 

 fields. 



England. Map showing the principal railway systems of England and Wales 



Because England took the lead 

 in manufacturing on a large scale, 

 the English manufactures of iron 

 and steel were for a long time more 

 important inrly. construction, and 

 in iron and steel shipbuilding, than 

 those of any other country. 



Smelting operations are usually 

 carried out near the mines, especi- 

 ally in Cleveland and the Black 

 Country. Pig iron is made to the 

 extent of nearly 3,000,000 tons 

 annually of each type : forge and 

 foundry, Bessemer, haematite, 

 and basic ; for these purposes 

 iron ore is imported chiefly to 

 Middlesbrough to supplement local 

 supplies. Steel is made chiefly by 

 the open hearth process ; the 

 Bessemer process yielding only a 

 fifth of the total; during the 

 decade 1910-20 many electric fur- 

 naces were established for special 

 steels. Sheffield steel and Bir- 

 mingham hardware are famous 

 all over the world. 



The chief shipbuilding district 

 extends from the Tees to the Tyne. 

 The Great War led to a rapid 

 expansion of the iron industry; 

 numerous factories were extended 

 or newly built, and it remains to 

 be seen whether they will survive. 



The great centres, Sheffield, the 

 Black Country, the N.E., and 

 Barrow-in-Furness lie on coal or 

 iron fields, although the newer 

 factories are more widespread. 

 Metal factories and workshops for 

 zinc, copper, aluminium, and tin 

 goods are associated with the Iron 

 works, but are also developed, e.g. 

 the metal parts of motor-cars, in the 

 large urban centres such as London 

 and Manchester. Wolverhampton 

 is an important metal centre. 



Localised Manufactures 

 Certain manufactures are speci- 

 fically localised. The Potteries on 

 the N. Staffordshire coalfield use 

 local clay and coal for making 

 crockery and earthenware, coal pur- 

 chase being the main factory expen- 

 diture. Northampton and Leicester 

 are the main centres for boot and 

 shoe manufacture. Walsall special- 

 ises in harness and saddlery. Chem- 

 icals, alkali, and soaps are made 

 chiefly near the> Mersey in close re- 

 lation to the Cheshire salt for .-aw 

 material and the textile works for 

 consumption of part of the finished 

 products. Steam-driven flour nails 

 have superseded water mills : nd 

 are located at the wheat-imvrt- 

 ing ports, London, Hull, er-c. 



