INDUSTRIAL NOTTINGHAM 39 



of the economic life of this area. It is the area approximately of the 

 Labour Exchange ' Nottingham and District ' and it is within the Notting- 

 ham Postal Area. 



The criteria of community of interest referred to above may be applied 

 to show that Nottingham is the centre of a much wider area. Though 

 the interests are more attenuated in the more distant parts they are 

 sufficiently strong to make the people of the county borough of Derby, of 

 the boroughs of Ilkeston, Newark, Grantham, Mansfield and of the inter- 

 stitial areas regard Nottingham as their main town. In the area marked 

 out by the these towns in the north and west and Loughborough in the 

 south, there is a powerful tradition of unity of economic interests. Each 

 of these boroughs is a centre of economic hfe and has its own sense of 

 independence and its own traditions, but the nature of their extremely 

 friendly relationships is evidence of their recognition of their close 

 economic kinship. 



The unity of this area is of age-old standing; it is due, doubtless, to 

 its geographical nature. The Trent runs through from S.W. to N.E. and 

 the Derwent, Soar, Erewash, Leen, Doverbeck, join it within a short 

 distance of Nottingham, where the best crossing of the Trent was located. 

 The force of gravity brought all its inhabitants into Nottingham — if only 

 for its ancient Goose Fair. 



The most significant economic interest common to all the parts of this 

 district — excepting, of course, the ordinary exchange natural to neigh- 

 bours — is the interest in the textile trade. This area is a real cradle of 

 textile industry : it is doubtful if any other area in the country has such 

 a good claim to the title. Here were bom — of pure descent — two textile 

 industries, hosiery and lace, and here took place some of the most im- 

 portant early developments of the cotton trade. 



The first hosiery machine (a knitting frame) was made in 1589 at 

 Calverton by Rev. William Lee, M.A. A great framework knitting in- 

 dustry of the domestic type developed from this and the major improve- 

 ments — Strutts' Derby Rib and the famous Cotton's ' patents ' — took 

 place within this local industry. Hargreaves and Arkwright did their 

 early work on cotton in this district and, in 1808, Heathcoat produced 

 his lace-net (bobbin net) machine, followed later by Levers who produced 

 the ' fancy ' lace making machine. Calverton saw the first knitting 

 machine; Papplewick saw the first cotton mill driven by power; and 

 Nottingham the first lace machine. At Hucknall, Farrands produced the 

 modified ' jack frame ' which is used for the production of Shetland 

 work. Cotton went to Lancashire but there are survivals in the Derwent 

 valley, (Arkwright's) at Cromford, and at Mansfield (Hollins'). Lace has 

 been transplanted to Somerset (by Heathcoat himself) and to Darvel in 

 Ayrshire, but Nottingham still is the lace centre of the country and 

 dominates the trade, while hosiery has spread south and nourishes 

 Leicester, Nottingham sharing the leadership with her. 



The second great factor hmiting the parts of Greater Nottingham is 

 the coal industry. It has developed chiefly in the western half of the 

 area, in the rich Notts, and Derby coalfield. This field was opened up 

 about 80 years ago — not reckoning outcrop workings — and has had the 



