INDUSTRIES 



when the plumbago was sent to London an 

 armed escort accompanied it as far as Kendal. 1 



The deposits of plumbago are not found in 

 veins, like other minerals, but in pipes or sops 

 of varying sizes at some distance from them. 

 In 1778 one of these yielded 417 casks, each 

 cask containing 70 Ib. of the best plumbago. 

 Another deposit found in 1803 produced over 

 31 tons. As the current price of the ore 

 was about 30*. a pound, plumbago mining in 

 the eighteenth century was regarded as a very 

 lucrative industry. Since 1833 the mine has 

 been worked at intervals, but no deposit of 

 value has been found. 2 Though the ore is 

 scarce, Keswick still retains its ancient reputa- 

 tion for the manufacture of lead pencils, as an 

 inferior species of foreign plumbago, when 

 compressed, can be utilized for that purpose. 

 There is a tradition that plumbago was first 

 discovered by the uprooting of an ash tree in 

 a storm. 



Cumberland retains its position as one of 

 the most flourishing and important centres of 

 the tanning trade in the United Kingdom. 

 The large tanneries in Maryport and White- 

 haven are still regarded by those engaged in 

 this industry as examples of modern enterprise 

 and effective management. But like other 

 minor industries the manufacture of leather 

 has undergone many changes and fluctuations 

 in recent years. Half a century ago there 

 were thirty-three tanneries in the county with 

 the yearly output of 60,800 tanned hides ; 

 at the present time, though the number has 

 been reduced to ten, the yearly output has in- 

 creased to 215,200 hides. In the eighteenth 

 century almost every considerable village had 

 a tannery ; some of them had more ; but the 

 introduction of steam power and the employ- 

 ment of chemicals instead of oak bark had a 

 tendency to crush out the small tanneries and 

 to concentrate capital in the more convenient 

 centres for trade. Within living memory 

 there were seven tanneries in operation at 

 Cockermouth, four at Egremont, and one each 

 at Brampton, Harrington and Parton, but 

 they have all disappeared. In other places 

 the declension is also observable. The tan- 

 neries in Carlisle have been reduced from five 

 to one, at Wigton and Whitehaven from 

 three to one, at Penrith from two to one. 

 The number has remained stationary at 

 Maryport, Scotby, Workington and Thur- 

 stonfield, with an enormous increase in the 

 output of tanned hides. 3 



1 Postlethwaite, Mines and Mining in the Lake 

 District, 33-5. 

 Ibid. 34-5. 

 " We are indebted to Mr. Alfred Sutton of 



It is natural that a mountainous county like 

 Cumberland should be prolific in the pro- 

 duction of stone and slate for building pur- 

 poses. The Honister slate and Lazonby flag 

 hold a high reputation for durability in the 

 northern counties. From an early period the 

 lessees of the bishops of Carlisle worked the 

 red sandstone quarries of Shauk and Unthank 

 in their lordship of Dalston, from the former 

 of which, judging by the inscription which 

 once existed on the face of the rock there, it 

 is almost certain the Romans took some of 

 their stone for the construction of the Great 

 Wall. The quarries in various localities on 

 mountain side and undulating uplands may 

 be classed among the minor but important 

 industries. 



At the opening of the nineteenth century 

 Cumberland enjoyed some reputation for the 

 manufacture of textile fabrics. Hand-loom 

 weavers plied their calling in every village. 

 Numerous small mills had sprung up. The 

 manufacture of coarse linen cloth had been 

 established in Carlisle as early as 1750, and 

 was followed in a few years by the introduc- 

 tion of calico stamperies, which gave em- 

 ployment to a large number of people and 

 caused a considerable influx of Irish and Scotch 

 into the city. Machinery for the carding and 

 spinning of cotton was erected in various 

 parts of the district, and manufactories thrived 

 beyond the expectation of the promoters. 

 But it may be said now that the day of 

 country mills and small industries has passed 

 away. In most country districts the old in- 

 dustries, on which a section of the population 

 depended for subsistence, are fast becoming 

 extinct. The segregation of the industrial 

 classes in large centres and the concentration 

 of capital for the promotion of limited com- 

 panies have sounded the death knell of the 

 smaller industries of the county. 



There can be little doubt that improved 

 methods of communication had an important 

 influence in bringing about this industrial 

 revolution. Much had been done in Cum- 

 berland between 1750 and 1770 to facilitate 

 transit by means of turnpike roads. Before 

 this period the roads of the county were for 

 the most part narrow lanes fitted only for 

 transport by pack horses. When the local 

 acts were obtained for their widening and 

 improvement, the exaction of tolls gave rise 

 to considerable popular discontent, and it was 

 a long time before the inhabitants were recon- 

 ciled to the innovation. But experience 

 eventually proved that the amount of tolls 



II 



Scotby for the statistics of the tanning industry of 

 the county. 



345 



44 



