32 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF NOTTINGHAM AND DISTRICT 



Arkwright, Hargreaves, Hammond, Heathcoat, Mellors, Levers and many 

 others, most of them Nottingham men, served to foster the lace industry 

 in particular to such an extent that the town attained to an unchallenged 

 supremacy which it held until the first decade of the present century. 

 At the time of its heyday before 1910, lace-making employed some 25,000 

 persons in the city alone, and the houses of Birkin and Simon May had 

 become world renowned. Changes of fashion and foreign competition 

 have chiefly been responsible for the marked decline in subsequent years, 

 though manufacturers have sometimes been able to adapt their products 

 to the changing times. Thus mosquito netting for use in the tropics is 

 now a profitable section of the trade, whilst the use of new materials such 

 as artificial silk has enabled other branches to retain their markets. To 

 a large extent, however, the decUne in lace has been offset by the develop- 

 ments in the manufacturing of hosiery, especially since the War, although 

 in this branch of the textile industry Nottingham remains less important 

 than Leicester. Nevertheless, many famous hosiery and knit-wear pro- 

 ducts originate from Nottingham and district. ' Meridian ' (J. B. Lewis), 

 ' Viyella ' and ' Day and Night Wear ' (W. Hollins), ' Vedonis ' (G. 

 Spencer) and ' Flying Wheel ' (I. & R. Morley) are outstanding examples, 

 whilst ' Celanese ' locknit products and ' Aristoc ' stockings from Spondon 

 and Langley Mill respectively are made nearby. Here again manufactur- 

 ing is accompanied by continual adaptation and specialisation, for the 

 hosiery trade too is becoming increasingly subject to the vagaries of 

 fashion. 



In ironworking and engineering, Nottingham boasts a long tradition 

 based no doubt upon the treatment of ore obtained from Derbyshire in 

 mediaeval times. Fine examples of early Nottingham wrought iron work 

 are preserved in the Castle Museum, whilst the skill of the craftsmen is 

 commemorated in a couplet which became proverbial : 

 'The httle smith of Nottingham 

 Who doth the work that no man can.' 



The smithies and forges of the old town are represented to-day by work- 

 shops and foundries engaged in a remarkably wide range of manufactur- 

 ing. The best comprehensive term for this is ' light engineering ', in 

 which three main branches can be distinguished. There is first the con- 

 struction of textile machinery, of great importance to the lace and hosiery 

 manufacturers as well as providing for a large export trade. This, of 

 course, is the outcome of a long connection between textiles and engineer- 

 ing and an equally long tradition of local skill and inventiveness. Indeed, 

 it has been claimed that the modern lace-machine is perhaps the most 

 complicated piece of textile machinery ever devised. Then there is the 

 making of cycles and motor-cycles, the names of Raleigh and Brough 

 especially being of universal repute. Thirdly comes a variety of mechani- 

 cal products, most of which are small though highly specialised in 

 character: typewriters, clocks, telephones, totaUsators and other elec- 

 trical installations; boilers and heating apparatus; small high-speed steam 

 engines for pumps, fans and hydro-extractors, (the sugar extractor is a 

 Nottingham invention dating from 1837); sterilisers and gas-meters. 



