Nostalgia with Margaret Watson: Dewsbury was the heart of the Heavy Woollen District

People of my generation still find it hard to believe that the textile industry, once the lifeblood of this district, has almost vanished.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Margaret Watson writes: Many remember when Dewsbury was the heart of the Heavy Woollen District, famous throughout the world for its high quality cloth, blankets and carpet yarns.

Huge export orders regularly came our way from countries like America, Russia, China, Germany, South Africa, Holland and Belgium.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Most of the world’s armies wore uniforms made from Dewsbury cloth, and the pinnacle of the town’s success came during World War One.

Crowds begin to gather in Market Place, Dewsbury, circa 1910, but what they are coming to see is something of a mystery. There is a banner in the distance. Could it represent the annual miners' union gathering? Whatever the event, most of those pictured would have been employed in the textile industry in some capacity or other, or in some of the industries which supported textiles, like mining and engineering.Crowds begin to gather in Market Place, Dewsbury, circa 1910, but what they are coming to see is something of a mystery. There is a banner in the distance. Could it represent the annual miners' union gathering? Whatever the event, most of those pictured would have been employed in the textile industry in some capacity or other, or in some of the industries which supported textiles, like mining and engineering.
Crowds begin to gather in Market Place, Dewsbury, circa 1910, but what they are coming to see is something of a mystery. There is a banner in the distance. Could it represent the annual miners' union gathering? Whatever the event, most of those pictured would have been employed in the textile industry in some capacity or other, or in some of the industries which supported textiles, like mining and engineering.

Mills were operating day and night to produce millions of yards of cloth for military uniforms, not only for our own soldiers but also for those of our allies.

During this period, many mill owners acquired great wealth.

But their workpeople, among the lowest paid in the country, didn’t benefit much from this increased prosperity.

Talking to some of the people who once worked in this industry, they tell me they were only too glad to have a job in those days than to be complaining about poor wages.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Their main priority it seemed was that the mills for which they worked had bulging order books to keep their looms busy rather than fighting for better wages.Workers also liked to keep fully informed of what was happening in the world because recessions abroad could seriously affect their livelihoods.

A slump in America could result in orders for British cloth drying up, and an increase in Australian wool prices could mean wage cuts for British textile workers.

Local newspapers, like the Reporter and News, made sure readers were kept up to date with this kind of information, and most weeks the papers published articles relating to such matters.

They felt it was their duty to keep abreast of what was happening abroad as well as at home, and passed this information on to readers, most of whom were in the textile trade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At the end of every year, the Reporter devoted a full page to reviewing how the textile trade had fared during the year, and how its performance had affected other local industries like coal mining, engineering and construction.

The year 1933 was a particularly good year for the local textile industry with nearly every mill in the town fully occupied.

Some had more than they could cope with and had to contract out work to smaller mills in the neighbourhood.

One reason for this sudden surge in orders was due to the changes taking place in lifestyles after the 1914-18 war.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

People from all classes were now beginning to dress more casually, which brought about a growing demand for sports jackets. These were becoming all the fashion, especially when worn with pullovers and flannel trousers.

And let us not forget that the Heavy Woollen area was famous for producing the kind of cloth needed for such casual wear, and produce it cheaply.

This meant hundreds of thousands of people were now able to dress at a cheaper rate than at any time in the history of the woollen trade.

Another reason for such a high demand for Dewsbury cloth came from a new idea launched by tobacco manufacturers to start giving coupons with their cigarettes and tobacco.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When enough coupons were collected, the holder could exchange them for a new overcoat.

And, seeing as heavy woollen cloth was eminently suitable for this kind of overcoat, a great many orders came Dewsbury’s way.

I don’t know how many coupons one had to collect for an overcoat, but if an entire family pooled their coupons, the number would have soon added up.

These overcoats became known nationwide as “cigarette coupon overcoats”, and many of them were made in this district.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

No doubt some of our fathers and grandfathers would almost certainly have obtained one, or at least worked in the mills which made them.

Almost ever mill operating in Dewsbury at that time has since closed down.

One of the last to depart was Joshua Ellis and Company, Bradford Road, which was pulled down and replaced by new apartments and houses.

This was one of the oldest mills in Yorkshire, having been founded in 1767 when the woollen manufacturing business was in its infancy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The firm gained its reputation with a wide variety of cloths, all of a very high standard, and it was noted for checking its products continuously to ensure there was no fall in quality.

It was famous for its specialisation in camel hair fabrics and its large mill on Bradford Road was well situated, being on the main tram line to Batley Carr, and near to the Great Northern Railway Station.

The works were well and conveniently arranged, with good frontage to the main road. I remember as a child passing by and being impressed by just how big it was and how far back it stretched from the road.

The main building housing the spinning department was six storeys high, and adjoining this was a huge warehouse three storeys high.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Stretching away from this for a considerable distance was a long series of weaving sheds, and there were also large office buildings and a few minor departments.

In the 1890s they employed 300 workers, and the firm was renowned for keeping up to date with the technological advances and being well equipped with the best labour saving appliances.

In later years they became exporters of high quality cashmere garments, and the firm was always generous in presenting gifts to celebrities whenever they visited the town.

Baroness Betty Boothroyd and the late Baroness Betty Lockwood, who were both born in Dewsbury, were each presented with cashmere shawls, produced at the mill, when they came to open “The Dewsbury Greats’” exhibition.

And film star Anthony Newley was presented with a cashmere travelling rug when he visited Dewsbury to open an exhibition about the Empire Theatre, where he had appeared as a young actor.