310 THE RURAL POPULATION, 1780-1813 



introduction of the manufacture of blankets was attempted. At 

 Oakingham there were established silk-spinning and silk-weaving 

 manufactories, and a considerable trade was carried on in hat-bands, 

 ribbons, watch-strings, shoe-strings, sarcenets, and figured gauzes 

 for women's dresses. In Oxfordshire the shag-weavers of Bloxham 

 and Banbury were out of employment and on the parish. The 

 coarse velvet trade of Banbury was travelling north. The blankets 

 of Witney still held their own ; but the introduction of machinery 

 had thrown two-thirds of the workmen out of employment, and the 

 rates had risen to 11s. in the pound. The glove trade of Woodstock 

 flourished ; but the polished steel trade had migrated to Birmingham 

 and Sheffield, and leathern breeches, no longer worn, had ceased to 

 be made. 



Northampton and the surrounding neighbourhood were already 

 famous for boots ; Daventry manufactured whips and wove silk 

 stockings ; in Wellingborough and the surrounding villages lace- 

 making employed from 9,000 to 10,000 persons, the thread being 

 imported from Flanders and distributed to the workers in their 

 houses. Since the war, the worsted manufactories of Kettering 

 had decayed ; instead of from 5,000 to 6,000 hands, only half were 

 employed, and the remainder fell upon the rates. Warwickshire, 

 Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire were becoming manufacturing 

 counties. Machinery was being introduced, and, as a consequence, 

 their industries were being withdrawn from the villages and con- 

 centrated in towns. Outside Birmingham, there were the ribbon 

 and tammy trades of Coventry, the horn combs of Kenilworth, the 

 nails of Bromwich, the needles of Alcester, the worsted works of 

 Warwick, the linen trade of Tamworth. For miles round Notting- 

 ham the villagers were stocking-makers ; in different parts of the 

 county were scattered mills for combing and spinning wool, or 

 silk spinning and weaving, for polishing marble, as well as works 

 for the manufacture of pottery, starch, and sail-cloth. Few cottagers 

 were without a web of home-spun cloth. Shropshire had a great 

 variety of local industries, such as garden pots at Broseley ; fine 

 china at Caughley ; china, ropes, and chains at Coalport ; glass 

 works at Donnington ; dye-works at Lebotwood ; Shrewsbury and 

 the neighbourhood maintained spinning and fulling mills, a trade in 

 finishing Welsh flannels, manufactures of coarse linens and linen 

 threads. In many cottages and farm-houses pieces of linen cloth 

 were got up for sale. The glove trade of Worcester employed a 



