Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
Images of the Cloth Manufacturing Industry

FILE0040 Mule Spinning


The Mill Environment and Dangers

     The mill workers ("operatives") were mostly young children and women. Women and children tend to have smaller hands than men, thus women and children could work more efficiently in small spaces that existed in the environment of yarn and loom equipment. However, children and women commanded lower wages than men, while at the same time, women and children had far less legal protections than men, thus were more easily exploited.
     The work environment consisted of long hours, in which the operatives were strictly monitored. The growing bones of children as well as the required work postures caused many developmental pathologies. The fibers in the air resulted in "brown lung". The heat and moisture in mills caused diseases too. The spinning machines and looms had power delivered by belts that were not shielded: many operatives lost fingers, hands, arms, legs, and their lives (the more so, as operatives were required to clean machines while they were running, to save costs). Watching threads caused eye-strain, cataracts, cornea diseases, and blindness.


Click to see Household Loom

FILE083 Household Loom

Click to see Power Loom Weaving

FILE 0005 Power Loom Weaving

Click to see Early Warping Mill

FILE0085 Early Warping Mill

Click to see Carding, Drawing and Roving

FILE0025 Carding Drawing and Roving

Click to see Wiper Loom
(front view)

Multi_103

Click to see Mule Spinning

FILE0040 Mule Spinning

Click to see Wiper Loom
(end view)

Multi_104

Click to see Doubling Room

DoublingRoom

Click to see Calico Printing Mill

FILE0049 Calico Printing

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