Forest of Rossendale. 295 



between 1801 and 1891, a period of ninety years, is 380 per cent; 

 (b) while the annual rental of the Forest for 1891 is 560 per 

 cent, above the valuation of the year 1815. 



It is probable that the Cotton Manufacture, which first began to 

 assume importance in this country about the middle of the 1 7th 

 century, did not find its way into Rossendale till near the end of 

 the century following. It is not easy to determine with certainty 

 the e.xact date when cotton first began to be worked in the district ; 

 there is, however, good reason for conjecturing that no cotton 

 goods were manufactured in Rossendale prior to the year 1770. 



Between the latter year and 1780, a kind of muslin or fine cotton 

 lawn was woven in a small " factory " (so called) which stood in 

 Lane-head Lane, Bacup. Fustians also began to be made soon 

 after this time. " Cotton Dealers " residing in the neighbourhood, 

 and others from a distance, put out the warp and weft to the 

 weaver, who brought back the manufactured cloth. In some 

 cases the raw cotton was taken and put through the entire pro- 

 cesses of batting, carding, spinning, and weaving. As with the 

 woollen warp, so with the Fustian, the sizing was performed by the 

 weaver. But instead of drying the sized warp in the open air, it 

 was stretched on a machine called a " Deeting frame," and a bar 

 of iron which had been made red hot moved backwards and 

 forwards over its surface. This rod or bar was named tlie 

 " Deeting iron," and it required a dexterous and steady hand to 

 use it so as to dry the warp quickly without injuring the yarn. 



The following extract is from a Deed of Partnership under date 

 the year 1795, and is probably one of the earliest existing records 

 of the Cotton manufacture in the district. It exhibits in a very 

 striking manner the meagre dimensions of trade then, as compared 

 with its present vast proportions. 



(A) The increase in the population of England and Wales during the same 

 ninety years is 270 per cent. 



