Quarry Bank Mill Learning Journey
Follow the Learning Journey steps into the world of The Quarry Bank Mill community, and discover a microcosm of life in the cotton factory system.
Click on the steps below to explore.
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Quarry Bank Mill Learning Journey Step 5: The Workforce
In the first years of the Mill's existence, the workforce consisted of two main groups: adults from the surrounding areas, many supplementing their agricultural incomes; and child apprentices from the parish workhouses. Neither group offered high skill levels initially, although some had small scale experience of domestic textile outwork. Due to its rural location, the Mill was highly dependent upon child apprentices in the early years, employing up to 100 who lodged at the Apprentice House. From the 1820's, it became less economical to use apprentice labour and numbers began to decline with the apprentice system abandoned in 1847. As the Mill grew, so greater numbers were employed, peaking at 454. Everyone aged 9 years or more could be found jobs - men, women and children - their duties depending upon their gender, age and skill level. Wages were lower than in the urban centers due to a lack of competition for labour. There are no recorded strikes prior to the early 1900's which, even if not completely accurate, may indicate that conditions were generally regarded as being fair: the historical opinion is that they were better than the norm for the time, with the Gregs being regarded as good employers. |
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