A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



eluding C. i?i J. G. Potter, besides six other 



Lancashire firms from Pendleton, Heywood, 



Ramsbottom, and Middleton, joined the com- 

 bine. 



In 1901, 4,354 men and i,ji4 women were 

 employed in the Lancashire paper industry. 

 The figures for 1891 and 1 88 1 were 3,305 and 

 1,597, and 2,670 and 1,487, respectively. 



ASBESTOS 



The modern asbestos industry, which to-day 

 has one of its seats in Lancashire, is not quite 

 thirty years old. In 1878 a valuable deposit of 

 asbestos was discovered in the province of 

 Quebec, which led to the revival of this ancient 

 industry. The Egyptians had practised the art 

 of weaving asbestos into cloth used to wrap 

 up the bodies of their dead before cremation. 

 For thousands of years the art was practically 

 lost, chiefly owing to the fact that asbestos suit- 

 able for manufacturing purposes was difficult to 

 get. After the discovery of the asbestos deposits 

 in Quebec, the pioneer work of adapting it 

 to commercial purposes was performed by 

 Mr. Samuel Turner of Rochdale. In 1870 he 

 had taken out a patent for packing steam engines, 

 to work which the firm of Turner Brothers was 

 established. In 1878 he was among the first to 

 recognize the importance of applying the heat- 

 resisting mineral asbestos to packing. After 

 numerous experiments, machinery was invented 



to spin asbestos into yarn and weave this into 

 cloth. Asbestos-packing for the joints of steam 

 engines and as a non-conducting covering for 

 boilers, steam pipes, &c., is now an indispensable 

 factor in modern engineering. Other uses to 

 which asbestos fabrics may be put are filtering 

 strong acids, fireproof curtains in theatres, fire- 

 proof lining of rooms, &c. 



Messrs. Turner Brothers, Ltd., of Spotland, 

 Rochdale, the pioneers of this industry, continue 

 to be spinners, weavers, and manufacturers of 

 asbestos in all its forms. For the first four or 

 five years after 1879 they were able to supply 

 almost the entire demand. Since then their 

 productions have increased about tenfold, not- 

 withstanding the keen competition in this and 

 other countries. We believe that we are 

 correct in stating that they are still by far 

 the largest manufacturers of all those asbestos 

 articles which now form the staple trade of 

 the world. 



MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES 



Under this heading we do not pretend to refer 

 to all the other trades carried on in this county 

 of which no mention has so far been made. We 

 shall draw attention to the most noticeable of the 

 industries with which it has been impossible to 

 deal more fully. 



The earliest home of the brewing industry 

 in the county appears to have been Liverpool, 

 but at the present time there are various 

 breweries in the neighbourhood of Manchester. 

 Mineral-water manufacturers have settled in 

 different parts of the county, one of the best- 

 known firms to-day being Messrs. Jewsbury and 

 Brown, of Ardwick Green, Manchester, who 

 were established in 1825. There are several 

 biscuit-makers in the county, especially in Man- 

 chester and Liverpool. It is in the latter town 

 that we find in the Index to Wills'^ the first 

 reference to biscuit-makers : — 



1792. John Kelley, of Liverpool, biscuit maker 

 1 800. William Rigby, of Liverpool, biscuit maker 



The product of these early makers was probably 

 used for provisioning ships. 



Other industries which have their seats at 

 Manchester and Liverpool are those relating to 



' Lane, and Ches. Rec. Soc. xlv. 



preserves and jams, and matches. Messrs. W. P. 

 Hartley's works at Aintree, Liverpool, produce 

 the first-named articles, and Messrs. Bryant and 

 May's Diamond Match Works in the same town 

 the last. Another industry of Liverpool lis the 

 tobacco manufacture, the Ogden branch of the 

 Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain 

 and Ireland, Ltd., being situated there. In 1881 

 3,546 people were employed in this industry in 

 the county; the numbers for 1891 and 1901 

 were 5,269 and 5,553, respectively. 



Lmoleum and oilcloth are made at Lancaster 

 by Messrs. Storey Brothers & Co., Ltd., and by 

 Messrs. James Williamson & Son. Belting is pro- 

 duced by F. Reddaway & Co., Ltd., Pendleton. 

 Pnntmg is carried on in all parts of the county, 

 particularly in the large towns. In 188 1, 6,968 

 men and 492 women worked in the printing 

 trade in the county; in 1891 the figures were 

 9,296 and 951, and in 1901, 10,479 and 1,955. 

 Special mention may be made of Messrs. 

 M'Corquodale of Newton, who produce stationery 

 and account books for the British and Indian 

 Governments and for the London and North- 

 western Railway Company. Billiard tables are 

 made by Messrs. J. & J. Riky & Sons, Ltd., 

 Accrmgton. Works for making furniture and 

 preparing leather may be found in several places 

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